Page 2 of Melt For Us, Daddy (Big Daddy Energy #4)

Ivy

S ilas Redding is my husband.

Those words rang in Ivy’s mind over and over again, nearly drowning out the conversation happening around her.

Cordelia, her best friend, her lover, her Domme had lied to her.

Kept the world’s biggest fucking secret from her for years.

If Ivy ever dared to keep even the smallest thing from Cordelia, she found herself over her woman’s knees getting her bottom blistered until she finally confessed.

It didn’t happen often, but it was one of Cordelia’s biggest rules, one she enforced without hesitation.

The irony was not lost on her.

But as furious as she was, as hurt as she was, this wasn’t about her.

Looking over, she took in Cordelia’s profile.

The curve of her jaw, currently clenched tight, the long, dark lashes that framed those gorgeously green eyes Ivy had fallen in love with well before they’d taken the leap from friends to lovers.

Every muscle in her body was tense, as if braced for a fight.

Or preparing to run.

Reaching over, Ivy threaded her fingers through Cordelia’s, giving her hand a gentle squeeze. Cordelia looked down, almost as if she was surprised to find Ivy's hand there. And although she looked away again without meeting Ivy’s gaze, her fingers closed around Ivy’s hand in a tight fist.

Following Cordelia’s line of sight, Ivy looked over at the young man they’d run into outside the club.

Their club. Their home, their safe place.

Knowing he’d come so close to the door, that he could have run into anyone, had that anger she was trying so hard to push down bubbling back to the surface.

Jacob Redding. Grandson of Silas Redding who, from what she’d pieced together, was head of The Prophets of the Sacred Truth. The same cult Cordelia had escaped as a teenager. The people who had her screaming herself awake once every few months or so when the nightmares came for her.

He looked so… harmless. Young, much younger than her and Cordelia if she had to guess. Dressed in a perfectly pressed suit with thick brown hair brushed back from a face she didn’t want to find attractive.

It was the eyes that drew her in. Pale gray, and filled with what was either true fear or a damn good imitation of it. Like the attraction, she didn’t want to feel the pity stirring in her chest at the sight of those terror-filled eyes.

“All right, Jacob.” Leaning back against Braden’s desk, Holden Prescott folded his arms across his massive chest and stared down their guest. Tall and built like a fucking redwood, he didn’t even have to try and look intimidating, but he was definitely putting in the extra effort just then.

“You said you came here for help. What kind of help?”

“Um.” Swallowing hard, Jacob rubbed his hands on his dress pants, wrinkling them in the process. “I’m supposed to talk to Zachary. Are you Zachary?”

“Zach works for me. Anything you need to ask him, you can ask me.”

“Oh.” Relief flashed across Jacob’s face as he reached into his pants pocket.

Instantly, every man in the room was on their feet, surrounding him. Shrinking back, he jerked his hand from his pocket, holding his palms up in instinctive surrender.

“Oh for fuck’s sake.” Letting go of Ivy’s hand, Cordelia jumped to her feet, shoving past them to stand in front of Jacob, turning her back on him to glare at the group of large, intimidating Doms. “Can’t you see he’s fucking terrified already? Back off.”

“He could have a weapon.” Ice, the bad boy rockstar of the group, didn’t take his eyes off Jacob. None of the men did.

Despite being several inches shorter than all of them even in her heels, Cordelia held her own. “Holden patted him down before we brought him inside. Now back the fuck off before I make you all back the fuck off.”

That’s my girl. Even as serious as the situation was, it was still hot as fuck watching her woman take on all those big bad Doms.

Turning away from them, Cordelia crouched in front of Jacob, her voice dropping to a low, soothing tone usually reserved for Ivy, and she hated herself a little for the twist of jealousy in her gut.

It was petty and mean, and completely uncalled for given the situation.

And yet, there it was, and even the silent lecture she gave herself about not being jealous of Cordelia just trying to help someone in obvious need didn’t seem to shake it.

“What do you need to show us, honey?”

Jacob looked up, his gaze darting from one man to the next, but Cordelia lifted a hand, snapping her fingers to draw his attention back to her. “Eyes on me, Jacob. Only me. You ignore them for right now. Understood?”

Everything about Jacob visibly relaxed. His shoulders dropped, the slight tremble in his hands disappeared as he lowered them to his lap and nodded. “Y-yes, ma’am.”

“Good. Now, reach very slowly into your pocket so we don’t spook the goon squad and show me what you have in there.”

A rumble of annoyance rolled through the ‘goon squad’ and Ivy had to swallow a laugh.

Not only was it likely to earn her a round of glares from the men, she doubted Cordelia would appreciate it given the seriousness of what was happening.

And she was a hell of a lot more scared of her woman’s wrath than any of the men surrounding her.

Obviously Jacob wasn’t scared of Cordelia though, judging by the way he was staring at her, like she was his guardian angel.

Then again, he’d never seen or felt the way she wielded a flogger or paddle or crop to teach a naughty little subbie a lesson.

And yeah, maybe it was petty, but that knowledge helped to loosen the knots of envy in Ivy’s gut.

Reaching into his pocket, slowly, like he’d been instructed, Jacob pulled out a piece of paper. When Cordelia held out her hand, he placed it into her palm.

“Thank you, Jacob. May I read this?”

“Yes, ma’am. Hannah—my sister—she said I could give it to any of you. Anyone who knows Zachary. She, um, she said she’s been talking to him. Giving him information about our church.”

“Hannah. Fuck,” Holden muttered, pulling out his phone and tapping out a message. “Does she know who he is? Who he works for?”

“No. I don’t think so. She said she thought he was with the police. But she said I could trust him. That I could trust you.”

“And you can,” Cordelia said in that same soothing tone. “Don’t let them frighten you, Jacob. They look mean, but Holden, that’s the giant guy Zach works for, he’d put his own life on the line to keep anyone in this room safe from harm. And that includes you. Do you believe me, Jacob?”

“He would?”

“I would,” Holden confirmed in his usual gruff tone. “Unless I thought you were a threat to my family.”

Rising to her feet, Cordelia spun to glare at him. “Seriously? Lay off the alpha caveman routine for five fucking minutes, Holden.”

“I’ll lay off once we’ve determined he’s not a threat.”

“You’ll lay off because I said to.”

“You aren’t in charge here, Cordelia.”

Cordelia’s lips pulled back in a snarl. “Try and pull rank on me and see how far it gets you.”

Pushing up from her chair, Ivy slipped between Holden and Beckett, her eyes locked on her woman.

“Hey. Dee. It’s okay.” Keeping her voice low, just like Cordelia had done with Jacob, Ivy reached for her, running her hands up and down Cordelia’s arms. “Holden’s just trying to help.

He loves you and wants to keep you safe. To keep us safe.”

Bottle green eyes snapped to hers and Cordelia’s nostrils flared slightly as she breathed in deeply. The reminder that Holden was protecting all of them, and that everyone included Ivy, seemed to settle her. “You’re right. Of course you’re right. Thank you, blossom.”

Stepping closer, Ivy slid her arms around Cordelia’s neck. “I could really use a hug.”

In reality, it was Cordelia who needed the comfort. But she’d been with Cordelia Summers long enough to know that she wouldn’t take it just then, wouldn’t let herself be seen as weak, not in front of all these people.

But taking care of Ivy was a completely different story. Just as she’d expected, Cordelia wrapped her arms around Ivy’s waist, pulling her close.

“Thank you, baby,” she whispered in Ivy’s ear. “You’re a good girl.”

Pulling back, Ivy flashed her a teasing grin. “I don’t know what you’re talking about. I just wanted a hug.”

Cordelia cocked an eyebrow, but amusement danced in her eyes despite the attempt to look stern. “Uh-huh. We’ll deal with that little lie when we get home.”

Her lie? What about Cordelia’s lies? Like the fact that she was married ?

Anger sparked in her chest at the thought of being punished, no matter how playfully, for her supposed ‘lie’.

And immediately on the heels of that anger came guilt.

This wasn’t the time or the place to have it out with Cordelia, not when they were discussing how to help the boy in front of them, a boy who had apparently just escaped an extremely harrowing situation.

At the same time, she also couldn’t bring herself to give her normal, submissive answer. Instead, she simply lifted one shoulder in a shrug. “Sure.”

Cordelia’s eyes narrowed slightly, but apparently she’d decided it also wasn’t the time, because she didn’t push the issue. Instead, she looked down at the paper in her hand. With another deep inhale, she unfolded the note, her eyes scanning the words on the page.

“It’s basically just her explaining to Zach that Jacob’s her brother and that we can trust him. It says…” Trailing off, she swallowed hard, and her voice was rough with emotion when she continued. “She’s begging us to send help.”

“They want me to marry my sister, Ruthie.” Jacob’s voice trembled slightly when he spoke, but fire sparked in his eyes. “Father says it’s what kings do, but he’s wrong. I know he’s wrong. But if I defy him…”

“You can’t defy him,” Cordelia finished softly, squeezing her eyes shut. And when she opened them again, Ivy’s heart shattered at the ghosts haunting that dark green. “I know. I get it.”

“I’ve heard of you,” Jacob said, and once again every person in the room was on alert, including Ivy who instinctively stepped closer to Cordelia, pressing herself against her softness.

“You have?” Cordelia’s words were a whip crack, sharp enough to have Jacob’s eyes going round. “How? What have you heard?”

“Just whispers. I never heard your name. Just that one of grandfather’s wives had escaped a long time ago.

I was young when it happened, only four or five, I think.

But even in our house it was big news. Everyone talked about it for weeks at the time and every now and then someone still brings it up.

Nobody ever mentions you by name, but you’re something of a legend in our family. ”

“Fucking hell.” Muttering under his breath, Holden ran his hands through his thick silver hair. “Maybe we should talk about that safe house after all, Cordelia.”

Safe house? What safe house?

More secrets. More lies. Her stomach twisted, so many emotions running rampant inside her she could barely breathe through them.

“No.” With her arm tightening even further around Ivy’s waist, Cordelia shook her head. “You’re not sending me away, not now. There isn’t a single person in this room who knows more about The Prophets and what Jacob’s dealing with than I do. I’m not letting you or him face this on your own.”

Despite the hurt and anger churning inside her, pride welled in Ivy’s chest. She knew Cordelia was terrified of these people, and yet, she was willing to set that all aside to take care of some boy she’d just met.

And he was a boy. If he’d only been four or five when Cordelia had left home at the tender age of sixteen, that meant he was at most twenty or twenty-one now.

Almost a full decade younger than her and Cordelia both.

A boy, being forced into things even the strongest men she knew would balk at.

Knowing that, knowing he’d put himself at risk to save his sisters only added to the attraction she didn’t want to feel for him.

Braden stepped forward. “All right. I don’t think we’re going to get anything decided tonight. I need to get Lottie home and we all need to give Cordelia some space to think about how she wants to move forward. Holden, do you have somewhere safe Jacob can stay until we sort through all of this?”

“Yeah. I’ve got a few buildings in the city and I keep a couple of the apartments open for situations like this. I’ll get him set up, put Zach on him at least for the night. One of the things we’ll need to talk about is whether or not it’s worth sending Zach in deeper.”

The thought of anyone, even one of Holden’s men, going into that place chilled Ivy to her bones.

“No!” Eyes wild, Jacob leapt from his seat. “You can’t send anyone in there. If they learn who he is… No,” he repeated, shaking his head. “It’s too dangerous. For him and for my family. Others have seen him talking to Hannah and they’ll hurt her again if they find out.”

“Again?” Though he’d mostly stayed silent, it was Beckett who spoke up now.

“Yes. Again. It took her weeks to heal the last time. Father might actually kill her if he thinks she’s done something… impure .”

A horrified silence fell over the room. It was Cordelia who broke it, letting go of her hold on Ivy to approach Jacob again, taking his large hands in hers, her eyes boring into his pale gaze.

“We won’t let that happen.” Even though Ivy knew this had to be bringing up trauma she hadn’t faced in years, Cordelia’s voice rang out strong and clear.

“You have my word, Jacob. We will do everything in our power to keep your family safe, and to get you and your sisters out of there for good. Do you trust me to do that, Jacob?”

Whatever he saw in Cordelia’s eyes, it seemed to do the trick. He still looked terrified, but he nodded, his gaze locked on hers.

“Yes, ma’am. I trust you.”