Page 22 of Melt For Us, Daddy (Big Daddy Energy #4)

Ivy

S he’d never been so embarrassed . Even when she’d sworn at Cordelia in the middle of the club, she’d mostly just felt horror at her own actions.

But now, lying in bed and thinking over how she’d been acting all morning, humiliation was slowly creeping in. She’d acted like a spoiled, bratty, out of control child for no reason.

No wonder her Daddy didn’t want to have anything to do with her. As evidenced by the fact that Cordelia hadn’t come storming up the stairs after her to paddle her ass red for the way she’d behaved.

Instead, she was downstairs watching a movie with Jacob. Which Ivy could be doing, but no. She’d been a brat. She didn’t deserve to watch a movie.

And thanks to the gnawing pit in her stomach that seemed to grow with every passing second, she couldn’t even take a nap to sleep off the embarrassment and hurt.

Ugh.

She was still lying there, staring up at the ceiling and feeling sorry for herself when the bedroom door opened.

Cordelia stood in the doorway, her arms folded beneath her breasts, looking very, very much like a disappointed Daddy.

Ivy’s stomach twisted at the sight of her, tears burning at the backs of her eyes as she waited for the lecture to come.

“I should wash your mouth out with soap for speaking to me the way you did downstairs, little girl.”

“You should.” Sitting up in the bed, Ivy pulled her knees up to her chest, unable to meet her woman’s eyes. “I’m sorry. I don’t know what’s wrong with me.”

Cordelia’s heavy sigh filled the room. Stepping inside, she closed the door behind her before crossing to sit on the bed. “You’ve had a lot of big changes in the past couple weeks. Anyone would be out of sorts.”

“You aren’t. Jacob isn't. I’m the only one acting like a brat.”

“Oh, baby. That isn’t true. Jacob’s too scared of his own shadow to be a brat. And if I need some stress relief I have a very willing submissive who will put herself over my knee any time I ask. We all have our own ways of coping.”

A reluctant smile curved Ivy’s lips. “I guess that’s true.”

“That being said… I can’t allow you to speak to me that way, Ivy Mae. If it happens again, I will have to punish you. I don’t want to, because I know you’re having a hard time. But that doesn’t mean you can be allowed to flaunt our rules. Understood?”

Shame washed over her, heating her face as Ivy pulled her knees closer to her chest. “You should punish me now. I deserve it.”

“You also deserve a little grace under the circumstances. Which is why I didn’t come right upstairs and blister your ass. I figured we both needed a little space to cool down.”

Hope beat at Ivy’s chest. “That’s why you didn’t come up?”

“Yes. I was angry, you were obviously angry. I didn’t want to force a confrontation and both of us end up saying things we didn’t mean.”

“Oh. I thought… never mind.”

Reaching out, Cordelia gripped Ivy’s chin, forcing her to look up. “None of that. Tell Daddy what’s wrong.”

Daddy. The word was still so new and shiny and bright. But it settled something inside her, in a way nothing else ever had. “I thought maybe you just wanted to be with Jacob instead. Since I was being such a brat.”

“Why on Earth would I want to be with him instead?”

Looking into her Daddy’s eyes, she knew she’d never get away with just part of the truth.

And maybe she shouldn’t. Maybe, even though they were all going through something impossibly huge, she needed to be completely honest no matter how much it hurt.

“You two have a connection I can’t understand. And that I’m not part of.”

“That’s true… but you and I also have a connection he doesn’t understand, and that he isn’t a part of.”

“Do we?”

Cordelia frowned. “What do you mean?”

“Whether you mean to or not, you get bossy with him and he responds. You called him good boy earlier.”

“I did?”

“You did. And it’s… it’s not that I’m worried , necessarily. I know you love me and I know you aren’t going to stop loving me because he’s around. I’m just a little…”

“Jealous?”

“Yeah. I’m sorry, I know it’s stupid and I know I shouldn't be but it’s there, in the pit of my stomach, and I can’t seem to make it go away. I know I’m a horrible person, because he’s been through so much, but?—”

“Stop right there, little girl. You are not a horrible person. It’s entirely understandable for you to be struggling right now.”

“It is?”

“Yes, baby. And you’re right. Jacob and I have a connection that is very unique to us. But you are my babygirl. Nothing, and no one will ever come between us. And I’m so sorry if I ever made you doubt that for a second.”

“No, it’s my fault for getting jealous over nothing.”

“I swear to god I’m going to send Kestrel outside for a switch if you don’t stop being so damn hard on yourself.

” Tilting her head to the side, Cordelia smiled, and a shiver raced up Ivy’s spine.

“Actually, that’s not a bad idea. A switch would be nice and quiet, so we wouldn't have to worry about Jacob overhearing us.”

“What if I promise to be the best, most well-behaved submissive in history?”

“Oh, my sweet Ivy Mae. You already are. Come here, baby.”

Crawling into Cordelia’s lap, Ivy closed her eyes and sighed. “I’m sorry. I know I’m not making all of this any easier.”

“You don't owe me easy, blossom. This whole situation sucks, on so many levels. But we’ll get through this, together. Do you believe me?”

“Yes, Daddy.”

Jacob

What were they doing up there?

There was no noise which should have been a relief, but if anything, the silence only made his imagination run more rampant. Was Ivy getting spanked? Or had Cordelia come up with some other, even more horrible punishment?

Or maybe she wasn’t punishing her at all. Maybe they were having fun like they had this morning?

He still had no idea what that might mean.

He’d never even seen a woman’s down there parts, so he had no frame of reference for what they could possibly be doing to each other.

All he knew was that there was a hole of some kind where a man’s part was meant to go so he could deposit his seed and make a baby.

But if neither of them had the male parts…

That didn’t stop his imagination from conjuring up images of them together. He’d watched them kiss, watched Ivy snuggle up on Cordelia’s lap. From there, the rest wasn’t much of a leap.

And as his imagination went wild, he slid a hand into the top of the soft pants Holden had bought for him. Joggers, he’d called them, and Jacob liked them much more than the jeans Zach had given him.

Especially now, when he was able to lean back against the couch, his eyes closed as his fingers wrapped around his aching member. An image of Cordelia formed clear as day in his mind, that little half smile she sometimes wore on her face.

“Are you going to be a good boy for me, Jacob?”

“Yes, Ma’am.”

He had no clue what came next. No idea what being a good boy entailed.

But when she’d used that phrase at breakfast, he’d gotten so hard he’d nearly rushed off to the bathroom to relieve himself then and there.

And now, imagining her in that pretty green shirt from the other day with her soft, smooth breasts swelling up over the top, he was so close.

“Look at our poor boy, Cordelia.”

Ivy joined the fantasy now, her tiny hand wrapping around his length, tugging gently.

But before she could say or do anything else, a squeak on the stairs jolted him out of his fantasy.

Yanking his hand from his pants, he sat up straighter, praying his face wasn’t nearly as red as it felt.

His heart was beating so hard it nearly drowned out their footsteps as they made their way down to the living room.

“Ivy’s going to bake us some brownies if you want to come hang out with us in the kitchen, Jacob.”

The sound of Cordelia’s voice only made the shame burn hotter and brighter. “Yes, ma’am,” he managed to choke out.

“Are you alright? Your voice sounds… odd.”

“Just a little tired.”

“Hmm. Maybe you should take a nap. You’ve been under a lot of stress, and you need rest.”

A nap. In his bed. Where he could be free to dream about them until he finished his filthy, wicked fantasy and spilled his seed all over his hand.

But I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lustful intent has already committed adultery with her in his heart.

Guilt sat in his stomach, so heavy it made him want to be sick. “I don’t need a nap. And I don’t need you telling me what to do all the time.”

He was being rude. Unnecessarily curt. And the ache in his stomach worsened as he sat there, awaiting her rebuke.

But it didn’t come.

“My apologies. You are, of course, free to do whatever you want with your time.”

He listened to the sound of her soft footsteps moving away from the living room, the rock in his stomach growing heavier with each one. And he found himself almost wishing he was Ivy. Wishing he could go to her and accept whatever punishment she deemed necessary so she would forgive him.

But he wasn’t Ivy. And it was wrong for him to want a woman, any woman to have that kind of authority over him.

So why did the thought of begging for forgiveness on his knees before accepting a painful punishment for his behavior have him so consumed with need he could barely breathe?

Cordelia

“What was that all about?”

Ivy was already at the kitchen island, the ingredients for brownies carefully set out in front of her. In exactly the order she would need them, if Cordelia knew her girl.

“No idea. I suggested he go take a nap and he got all snippy about it. Said he didn’t need me telling him what to do all the time.”

“He has a point.”

Annoyance pricked at her chest, but she tamped it down. No need to take her hurt out on Ivy.

And it was hurt. Which didn’t make any sense. She shouldn’t care if Jacob didn’t want her bossing him around, and yet she couldn’t deny it had stung when he’d snapped at her.