Page 30 of Melt For Us, Daddy (Big Daddy Energy #4)

Jacob

“ W ait. You’re telling me dinosaurs are real ?”

Staring down at the book in front of him that Ivy had unearthed from one of the boxes in the basement, Jacob ran his fingers over the photographs on the page. Real, live photographs of people digging up bones from the ground.

“Yup. And some of them are still alive today, in a way.”

“No way!” Excitement pumped through his veins. “Which ones? Can we go see them?”

Giggling, Ivy flipped through the pages to a picture of a chicken.

“Pretty sure you have. Birds are descendants of dinosaurs. And there are lots of animals alive now that are pretty closely related, like crocodiles and sea turtles and sharks. When we get home, we’ll go to the aquarium and you can see some.

There’s an even bigger one in Georgia we can make a trip to as well, if you’d like. ”

“An aquarium?”

“Yeah it’s like…” She hesitated, seemingly searching for the words to explain. “A zoo, but for fish. Giant tanks of water where they keep different species of fish and sharks and other underwater creatures so we can learn all about them.”

“Isn’t it sad for the fish to be locked up like that?” The thought of so many animals never getting to be free, to explore the world sat in his stomach like a rock. He knew what it was like, being kept somewhere, isolated from the wonders outside his cage.

“Maybe. But most places have conservation programs too, so they can help injured animals be released back into the wild. They’re not perfect places, but they do a lot of good.”

“I see. Kind of like what you and Cordelia are doing for me. Helping me learn so when the time comes I can go out on my own in the real world.”

His observation was greeted with silence, and when he looked up, Ivy’s eyes were wet. But she smiled brightly for him and gave his arm one of those reassuring squeezes she was always giving him. “Yeah. Something like that. Um… okay, so, what else can we learn about dinosaurs?”

They spent the rest of their morning ‘school’ time going through the dinosaur section of the book, with Ivy occasionally frowning and muttering about trying to teach with twenty-year-old material.

“If I could just get online I could show you so much,” she said with a sigh.

“Don’t even think about it, little girl.”

Looking up, he found Cordelia leaning against the doorframe, her arms crossed and one eyebrow raised as she pinned Ivy with a look. “The internet is firmly off-limits until we get back home.”

“I know, I know. But half this stuff is either flat out wrong or just out of date. I’m going to have to go back over all of it when we get home.”

“I’m sure you’re doing a fine job, blossom. And it’s time for your break, anyway. There’s stuff for sandwiches in the fridge if you want to set it out on the island for us.”

Everything about Ivy seemed to light up at the suggestion. “Yes, Daddy!”

Popping up from the couch, she hurried into the kitchen, leaving him alone with the sharp-eyed Cordelia yet again. His backside clenched, as if remembering how she’d spanked him earlier, and his forbidden parts jerked in his pants.

“How are you feeling, Jacob?”

“Um. Fine, Ma’am.”

A slow smile curved her lips. “I enjoy hearing you say that. Probably more than I should.”

“What do you mean?”

“Just that I know you don’t fully understand the weight of it. You’re saying it to be polite, but to me… god, for me it’s the sweetest fucking music. This beautiful, sweet boy calling me Ma’am. Especially after having had you over my lap, it’s just intoxicating.”

“It… pleases you?”

Her smile widened, showing her teeth a bit, and he nearly shivered. “Oh, baby boy. It pleases me very much.”

“What else would please you?”

Those green eyes he swore he could lose himself in darkened. “That’s a very dangerous question to ask a woman like me, Jacob.”

“Maybe I want that. Dangerous, I mean. I’ve lived my whole life being afraid of doing the wrong thing, saying the wrong thing so that the people I loved wouldn’t get hurt. But I don’t feel afraid with you and Ivy.”

For a long moment, she simply watched him. “That pleases me, as well, knowing you don’t feel afraid with us. We can talk about your desire for danger later. Right now it’s lunchtime. Come.”

At that single word, he rose and followed her into the kitchen. Somewhere in the back of his mind, he was still wondering about his response to her, to them. Wondering why he was so compelled to obey them when everything he’d been taught said that he should be the one giving the orders.

But so much of what he’d been taught was wrong, wasn’t it? After all, if dinosaurs were real, pretty much anything could happen, as far as he was concerned.

Ivy looked up when they entered, her face still that bright mask of joy as she gestured to the island in front of her. “We’ve got a few different types of lunch meat, cheese, and some condiments. And potato chips! I already made you a turkey sandwich with plenty of mayo, Dee.”

Taking the offered plate, Cordelia pulled Ivy close, lowering her head to claim Ivy’s lips in a long, slow kiss. Feeling a bit like an intruder, Jacob looked up at the ceiling and tried to pretend he wasn’t feeling that way about their kiss.

“Thank you, blossom. Fix yourself something to eat and come sit with me.”

“Oh, but Jacob?—”

“Jacob is a big boy. He can make his own sandwich.”

Lowering his gaze from the ceiling, he offered up a reassuring smile. He’d never had to make a sandwich for himself, but he was pretty sure he could manage. After all, it was just bread and meat and cheese, right? “I can do it, Ivy.”

Ivy’s jaw set in a stubborn line he recognized all too well. It was the look Hannah got whenever she was about to dig in her heels. “What if I want to make him a sandwich?”

Capturing Ivy’s chin between her fingers, Cordelia leaned in. “Which do you want more? To be a good girl for your Daddy or to make a sandwich?”

Eyes wide, Ivy sucked in a sharp breath. “To be a good girl, Daddy.”

“Then make yourself a sandwich, put some of those sour cream and onion chips on your plate and sit your butt down. If Jacob needs help, he can ask. And he will ask, won’t you, Jacob?”

“Yes, Ma’am.”

“That’s settled, then.” Picking up her plate, she carried it to the table.

Ivy sighed and flashed him an apologetic smile. “Sorry. I tried.”

“It’s okay. I don’t mind making it myself. And if I’m going to be living on my own at some point, I should probably get used to making my own meals.”

“True. Maybe we can add some cooking lessons to your schoolwork. Would you like that?”

Cooking is women’s work. Are you a woman, Jacob?

The one time he’d tried to help his mothers and sisters bake some cookies, his father had walked in, eyes blazing with righteous fury and chased him out of the kitchen before delivering a blistering lecture about the roles of women and men in the household.

It was his duty to provide, to lead, to discipline.

It was a woman’s job to follow, to keep the house, to submit in all things.

Locking eyes with sweet Ivy, practically beaming up at him while she waited for his answer, he nodded. “Yeah. I’d like that a lot.”

Ivy

It still wasn’t her routine, but Ivy had to admit that Cordelia’s schedule had certainly improved her mood a lot. Enough to have her humming softly to herself as she finished her nighttime routine and flipped the lights off in the bathroom before slipping back into the bedroom.

But instead of finding Cordelia sitting on the edge of their bed the way she always did at the end of the day, she instead found her woman pacing back and forth in the spacious bedroom. Nerves fluttered in Ivy’s stomach as she slowed to a stop several feet from where Cordelia was pacing.

“Everything okay?”

Pausing halfway through one of her rotations, Cordelia looked up, her expression a mixture of uncertainty and excitement. “Yes. At least, I think so.”

“You think so?”

With a laugh that sounded as uncertain as she looked, Cordelia ran a hand through her hair, which she’d taken down from its usual ponytail and brushed out, leaving the long golden locks to hang down over her breasts. “Sorry. I didn’t think I’d be this nervous.”

“Okay, well, you’re making me nervous. What’s wrong?”

Closing her eyes, Cordelia dragged in a deep breath and blew it out slowly. Which seemed to visibly calm her as far as Ivy could tell, but it had the exact opposite effect on Ivy. Why did she need her breathing techniques just to talk to her?

Then she opened her eyes again, and Ivy’s own breath tangled in her chest at the depth of emotion in those emerald eyes. “Nothing’s wrong, baby. I want to give you something. Something I’ve never given another living soul of my own free will.”

Taking a step back, Cordelia reached for the hem of her t-shirt, slowly dragging it up over her head to reveal her bare, heavy breasts.

“You asked me today if I trust you. And I want you to know— need you to know that I trust you more than I’ve ever trusted anybody in my entire life.

” With her eyes still locked on Ivy’s, Cordelia reached for the waistband of her pajama pants, tugging them down a bit to reveal the lacy black panties underneath.

“I want you to touch me, Ivy. I want you to touch and taste and explore every inch of my body until I come all over that pretty face.”

For a moment, she could only stand and stare as the woman she’d loved for years wiggled out of her pajamas, kicking them aside, leaving her standing in the middle of their bedroom in nothing but those pretty lace panties.

She was a vision, a goddess, and Ivy could hardly breathe through the avalanche of emotions threatening to smother her.

And as tempted as she was to dive right in and finally indulge herself the way she’d ached to for years, worry held her back.

“Dee… I don’t need you to prove anything to me.

I know you love me and you trust me, as much as you’re able.

” Which over the past few weeks didn’t feel like a whole lot, if Ivy was being honest. But this? This was asking too much.

Closing the distance between them with slow, deliberate steps, Cordelia took Ivy’s hand, lifting the palm to her breast, all without breaking that soul-shattering eye contact.

Her skin was soft, smooth beneath Ivy’s fingers and she couldn’t help but sigh at that first touch.

“The fact that you would never ask this of me is the reason I can give it to you now. I’ve been thinking about it for a while, but I could never quite get the courage to go through with it. ”

“What changed?”

“Me.” A smile curved her lips, that same smile Ivy had fallen in love with so long ago.

“You changed me, Ivy Mae. You’ve made me stronger, kinder, better in every possible way.

The way you’ve loved me, the way you’ve trusted me, even when you didn’t want to, even when it was really fucking hard…

how could I not be changed by that kind of love?

” Lifting her free hand to Ivy’s cheek, she dropped her voice to a low murmur.

“My sweet little blossom. You have given me everything these past few years. Let me give you this.”

Everything inside her melted at that simple plea.

With one hand still cupping her woman’s breast for the very first time, Ivy shifted closer, tilting her head back, a silent invitation.

“I love you, Cordelia. Whatever you want to give me, I will take. Because I’m yours.

Everything that I have, everything that I am, belongs to you. Daddy.”

At that final word, need flashed in Cordelia’s eyes. And then Ivy was up in her arms, being kissed as though both their lives depended on it. Her own desire welled up, hot and demanding as she whimpered into the kiss.

“Bed. Now .” The command was a low growl that had Ivy’s pussy spasming in response.

Without even bothering to get undressed herself, she climbed onto the bed and waited, watching hungrily as her woman stripped that last bit of lace from her body, leaving her bare to Ivy’s gaze.

Stretching out on the bed beside Ivy, Cordelia once more sank her hands into Ivy’s hair, pulling her down for another deep, urgent kiss.

“All right, blossom. Show Daddy what a good girl you can be.”