Page 241 of The Daddy P.I. Casefiles: The Second Collection

“We’ll make this a ritual, girl. I want open communication between us, but if things have gotten fucked up and we need to reset, it’ll be a massage followed by five with my belt. Agreed?“

“Agreed, sir.” I’ve had rituals before, mostly with Edz, but nothing like this. Despite the strangeness of it, it feels right.

“I want a relaxed evening where we just enjoy each other’s company,” Mac says. “Are you up for that? Any commitments tonight?”

“No commitments.” If I had any, I’d cancel them. “Totally up for that.”

“Good.”

He rubs for a while longer and I melt all over him. I was holding myself up with my elbows because I’m not a lightweight and I didn’t want to crush him, but he keeps pressing me tighter and tighter into his body. So I relax and enjoy being held. I can’t remember the last time anyone held me like this and it calms everything inside me.

I doze off while Mac’s hugging me. When I wake, he’s pulled the edge of the quilt over us, the candles have burned down, and the rich scent of frying onions is filling the air. I lift my head from the pillow of his throat. Mac takes a deep breath, his chest lifting under me, and blinks himself awake.

He gives me a lazy, sleepy smile.

“Good nap?”

“Yes, sir.” The headache I woke up with this morning, the perpetual pinched feeling around my eyes—they’re gone. I feel refreshed, even though I just slept on the world’s hardest, lumpiest mattress.

“Can you spend the night?” Mac asks. “I feel like I owe you a good night’s sleep.”

The last night we spent together was anything but, and I am running a serious sleep debt. Maybe I’ll be able to crash outtonight, given how tired I am. Even if I can’t, I don’t want to give up the opportunity to sleep with Mac again.

“Yes, sir. I’m opening in the morning, though, so I need to head home by eight.”

“No problem.” He lets out a long sigh. “Among the many things I let slide while I was dealing with Naomi was making an appointment with you?—”

“I have time this week, sir. I’ll text you when I get in and look at the schedule.”

He cups the back of my head and draws me into his kiss, which is warm and deep with only a hint of dominance. When he lets me come up for air, he smiles against my lips. “Thank you for making time for me, bold girl. I know I haven’t made it easy this week.”

“Are you telling me it will be easier next week?” I ask.

He chuckles. I like the feeling of his laughter against my lips.

“I’ll do my best. Smells like Em’s making dinner. You want a shower while I go down and lend a hand?”

“Yes, thank you, sir.”

“Good girl.” He gives me another kiss. “I know you’ll be feeling my stripes when we sit down to dinner, but I still want to plug you. Anything I should know about?”

“No, sir, I’m good.” There’s no lingering soreness from the plug he had me wear, and I’m doubly-glad I didn’t let Theo fuck me, because that man just loves rough anal. It feels like a gift to be able to offer Mac a blank slate.

“Excellent. You can wear my shirt to dinner, but otherwise you’re naked until you leave tomorrow.” He grins against my lips. “I love Logan’s house rules.”

I smile back even while I roll my eyes. “Such a Dom.”

“That I am. Anything you need, beautiful?”

I need him to keep calling me beautiful. “Ten minutes on the phone to make sure everything’s okay at my shop?”

“Of course. I wouldn’t ever interfere with your business. Thanks again for making time for me, Bren. Means a lot.”

“You’re welcome, sir.” I press my smile into his lips and feel him echo my gesture.

When I emerge from the bathroom, feeling even more refreshed than I did after my nap, I find that Mac’s left me not just one of his shirts, but the T-shirt he was wearing. There are a couple of spots of massage oil on it. It smells like him. And when I pull it on, it’s still deliciously warm. I hug it to my body as I head downstairs.

There are more voices than I expect coming from the kitchen. I hear Logan and Mac, but also Austin’s bass rumble and the cool alto of his Domme, Dana. Everyone’s clustered around the kitchen island. Emily and Mac are working on one side of it, while Logan and Dana are in the bar chairs on the other side, with Austin kneeling at Dana’s feet.