Page 19 of Melt For Us, Daddy (Big Daddy Energy #4)

Cordelia

F or once, she woke before Ivy. Probably because they didn’t have her phone so she could set an alarm.

There were clocks downstairs, but not in their bedroom for some reason.

She’d considered asking for one last night, but her girl needed rest. They both did, and if there was an alarm in the room, Ivy would be up no later than six, getting a start on her day when she should be sleeping.

God, she looked so young. And innocent. Even though they were both closing in on thirty, and they spent most of their free time at a kink club where they’d seen and done things that would make most people clutch their pearls, her Ivy never seemed to lose that sweet, innocent quality.

No matter how bad things got, she always saw the best in people.

Until someone fucked with the people she loved. Then she was a warrior princess, riding into battle to defend her family to the death.

Cordelia had never loved anyone more.

With a soft little sigh, Ivy’s eyelids fluttered open. Still glazed with sleep, her eyes locked on Cordelia’s face and her lips curved up into a smile.

“Morning.”

“Morning, baby. How’d you sleep?”

“Mmm. Pretty good.” Twisting in Cordelia’s arms, she frowned at the nightstand. “What time is it?”

“No idea. And it doesn’t matter. You needed the rest.”

The haze of sleep faded from Ivy’s eyes, replaced by a love that shined so brightly it made Cordelia’s chest ache. “I’m supposed to be the one taking care of you.”

“You should know by now that’s a two-way street, blossom.”

“It’s sweet. I love the way you look out for me.”

“You’re mine.” And for her, it was as simple as that.

“Always.” Ivy’s soft smile spread to a wicked grin. “And you always know exactly how to take care of me. That move yesterday, where you pinned me to the wall by my throat to get me to calm down? I, ah, kinda liked it.”

“Oh?” Matching Ivy’s smile with a grin of her own, Cordelia slid her hands up to Ivy’s throat, let her fingers rest gently on that slender column.

“Mmm. Kinda reminded me of how the guys get sometimes. All growly and protective. Big ‘Daddy’ energy, if you know what I mean.” A giggle slipped past her lips as she arched up into Cordelia’s touch. “Go ahead, Daddy .”

How many times had she heard that title, in the club and out? Every single Dom she was friends with was a Daddy, and their babygirls used the title freely.

But hearing it from her babygirl was something else entirely. Something new, and just so fucking right . Staring down at her babygirl, she tightened her grip on Ivy’s throat. “Say it again.”

“What?” Ivy blinked up at her, her brows drawing together in confusion. “Say what again?”

“Daddy. Say it again, blossom.”

“Oh.” Pupils slightly blown, Ivy let out a stuttering breath. “Daddy. My Daddy.”

“ Fuck , baby.” With her hand still around Ivy’s neck, she dipped her head, claiming her girl’s lips in a brutal kiss. The need to claim, to conquer, to fucking own burned through her, hotter and brighter than it ever had before.

Riding that wave of need, she slid her hand down Ivy’s chest, her stomach, beneath the waistband of the sexy little shorts she loved to wear to bed. Her touch was harsh, frantic, and Ivy whined pitifully in response as Cordelia stroked her swollen flash.

“My babygirl. Come for me, blossom. Come for Daddy.”

“Oh, fuck!” Head thrown back, Ivy let out a short scream as she did exactly that, her arousal gushing over Cordelia’s hand.

More. Give me more. Give me all of you, babygirl.

“Again.”

“I can’t, please, Dee. I can’t.”

Growling low in her throat, Cordelia sank her teeth into that full bottom lip. “Who am I, Ivy Mae?”

Ivy’s eyes flew open, the dark brown blurry with need. “D-Daddy,” she gasped out, her body trembling as Cordelia worked her furiously toward that peak again.

“That’s right, baby. I’m your Daddy and you’re going to do as you’re fucking told and come for me. Because you’re my good girl, aren’t you, Ivy Mae?”

“Y-yes, Daddy!”

This time when Ivy came, Cordelia swallowed her cries with another hard, claiming kiss. Two more times, she forced her girl over that edge, until tears slipped from her eyes and she lay gasping for air on the bed.

“Holy shit.” Ivy let out a shaky, disbelieving laugh. “If I’d known calling you Daddy would get that kind of reaction, I would have done it ages ago.”

“If I’d known hearing you call me Daddy would make me feel like this, I would have made you do it ages ago.”

“So, um.” Worry crept into Ivy’s gaze. “What does this mean? For us? Does it change anything? Are my rules going to be different? Are you going to?—”

“Ivy.” Amused and delighted by her, Cordelia leaned down to brush a gentle kiss across her lips.

“Nothing has to change unless we want it to. I think I’ve always been your Daddy, even if that's not what you were calling me. You can still be your sweet little subbie self and I’ll continue taking care of you in my own way.

Like telling you to go pee, because I’m sure your bladder is about to burst.”

Blushing furiously, Ivy rolled off the bed and hurried to the bathroom. And as she lay there, listening to the sounds of her girl going through her normal routine, everything was just as it should be.

For now.

Jacob

“Guess the girls are up.”

Seated across the kitchen table from Jacob, Merlin grinned and raised his coffee cup toward the ceiling and winked.

Leaning against the counter behind him, Kestrel rolled his eyes. “Don’t be crass, Mer.”

“Oh so they can start the day with screaming orgasms but I can’t comment on it?” Merlin sighed and shook his head. “The double standards in this house.”

“You’re supposed to be setting a good example for the kid.”

“I’m not a kid,” Jacob grumbled. But he felt like a child, listening to something he had no business overhearing. He knew his cheeks were bright red, but there was nothing he could do to keep himself from blushing.

And that feeling was back. Sipping his own coffee—which he was regretting taking ‘black’ just because he’d been too embarrassed to ask for milk and sugar—he silently prayed the other men couldn’t tell he was having that reaction to Ivy and Cordelia.

He still didn’t know what exactly they did together.

But when Ivy had let loose that first scream, he’d jumped up from the table, ready to run to her rescue until Kestrel had cocked an eyebrow and told him to sit his ass back down and not ruin their fun.

It had taken a moment for him to realize what fun meant, but once he had, his imagination had taken over.

As had his… forbidden parts.

He was still trying to finish his awful coffee when he heard their footsteps on the stairs, followed by Ivy’s giggle. They were both flushed and dewy-eyed when they walked in the kitchen, and he immediately lowered his gaze to the wooden table in front of him.

“Morning, gentlemen. You’re up early.” Cordelia slid gracefully onto the seat beside Merlin while Ivy moved around the kitchen, humming softly to herself.

“Actually, it’s almost nine,” Merlin said with a smirk. “You slept in.”

“ Nine ?” Spinning around from where she’d been looking in the fridge for something, Ivy stared at him. “It’s already nine? But—but?—”

“Blossom, look at me.” Cordelia’s voice had that firm-but-gentle quality he associated with her. “It’s okay. I think we all need a rest day today.”

“But you always have your coffee by seven. No later.”

One corner of Cordelia’s mouth kicked up in a smirk. “That’s okay. I had a much better pick-me-up this morning.”

“ Cordelia! ”

Throwing her head back, Cordelia let out a long, loud laugh at Ivy’s squeak of horror. “What? You taste so much better.”

“Oh my god, you are impossible .” Face flaming, Ivy turned back to the fridge and yanked out a bottle of milk. She doctored her coffee, but to Jacob’s surprise, she set it in front of Cordelia instead of keeping it for herself.

And when she tried to move away, Cordelia snagged her around the waist, pulling Ivy down into her lap. “Maybe I am impossible,” she conceded, nuzzling at Ivy’s neck. “But you’re not freaking out over our routine, so I’ll call it a win.”

“I wasn’t freaking out. I was just surprised, is all.”

“Mmm. Well, you’re not the only one feeling a little off balance today. I left my vitamins upstairs. Would you mind running up and grabbing them for me, blossom?”

“Yes, um, Ma’am.” A fresh blush rose to Ivy’s cheeks as she tried to slip off Cordelia’s lap.

But Cordelia held on tight, one brow raising in that look he was starting to associate with someone being in trouble, and Jacob’s heart beat faster at the sight.

“Who am I, Ivy?” Cordelia asked softly.

“Oh. Umm. You want me to call you that… here? In front of everyone?”

Without taking her eyes off Ivy, Cordelia pitched her voice up for everyone in the kitchen to hear. “Is anyone here going to be upset if Ivy here calls me Daddy, the way she’s supposed to?”

Merlin and Kestrel exchanged a glance and shrugged. “No skin off ours,” Kestrel said.

Everyone, save for Ivy, turned to look at Jacob and his own cheeks heated in response. “She calls you Daddy? Isn’t that, um, for men?”

“Oh my god,” Ivy groaned. “I’m going to go get those vitamins now before I die of embarrassment. Let me go, Cordelia.”

“You are going to sit right there until Daddy tells you otherwise, little girl.” Shifting her gaze to Jacob, she pinned him with a hard stare, and it was all he could do to keep from squirming.

“To answer your question, Jacob, yes. Traditionally, ‘Daddy’ is a term used for men. But some women enjoy being called Daddy, and as I’ve very recently learned, I happen to be one of those women.

As we said before, you have every right not to consent to being exposed to our kink.

So if this really makes you uncomfortable, please tell us so we can do our best to keep it private. ”