Page 465 of The Daddy P.I. Casefiles: The Second Collection

I nod. I love the aquarium in New Jersey. It’s very cozy and interactive. But that might not be the best thing with Sammi. I can see him squeezing the life out of a starfish. Besides, Laurel’s visiting and my dragon friend deserves the big aquarium with its tunnel of stingrays and sharks. Even though I’m a little scared of the sharks, I won’t be if I’m with my flight.

“I’ll make it an early lunch with Queen Twitch. Brunch if that’s okay with them.”

Daddy boops me on the nose. “Thank you for doing that, baby.”

“It’s not a hardship, Daddy. I love spending time with Queen Twitch. They’ve read everything I’ve read and fifty thousand other books besides. We can talk books for days.”

“I’m glad you’ve found a friend there. I know Bull worries that Twitch’s circle of friends is so small, they don’t have people to lean on when things get rough. Thank you for making such an effort with the other submissives.”

“I’m happy to, Daddy. You asked me to reach out to Master Ten, too. He didn’t come last night. Do you want me to try again?”

Daddy shakes his head. “I appreciate the effort you’ve made. I think we’ve done enough there.”

I’m not going to push because I don’t know all the ins and outs of Daddy’s political maneuvering but I’ve actually come to like Master Ten in the months since I first met him. He’s a grizzly bear of a Dom. Growly and grumpy. But I suspect underneath he’s fiercely loyal and expects that of anyone close to him. When they act in ways he doesn’t expect, he feels betrayed. I understand betrayal. I still have the scars it leaves, even though Daddy’s helped soften them a lot. I didn’t expect to ever be anything but scared of Master Ten but I actually feel some sympathy for him.

“Can I invite him to the Aquarium?” I ask.

Daddy winces. “Why?”

“Because it’s neutral ground. He didn’t want to come to the party last night and I understand why but I’d still like to include him whenever we can. I think he’s very lonely. Besides, Cappa and Fleur will come since they’re pretty much unofficial Littles’ Army members now and, although it isalwaysa good thing for subbies to outnumber Doms, I don’t want it to get too unbalanced.”

“Particularly since Sammi’s coming.”

“Right? I have visions of him in the shark tank.”

Daddy groans. “Do not tempt fate, little girl. Yes, you can invite him if you want to. Don’t be hurt if he ignores you.”

“I won’t.” I’m happy to keep shining my ray into Master Ten’s life. It doesn’t matter if he refuses to reciprocate. The sun doesn’t care if you draw the black-out blinds; it keeps shining.

thirty

EMILY

Master Ten sendsme a thumbs-up in response to my invitation to the Aquarium. I’m not sure if that means he’s coming or he’s just acknowledging the invitation but I’ll take it.

Queen Twitch watches me put my phone away. We’re waiting for our food in a corner of the restaurant, at a low table with armchairs, instead of a booth or table. When I first found Konk, I thought it was too trendy for me. But it’s become my favorite café. No one blinks if I wear little clothes, or even fetish wear. The waitresses all know me now and greet me by name. They have a running joke about Daddy’s cholesterol and steer him toward healthy menu choices. I love the setting: in a converted greenhouse. The roof is still cloudy glass and the restaurant is full of huge, potted plants. I like to pretend I’m off on a Victorian botany expedition to somewhere exotic like the Galapagos Islands but with smashed avocado toast and Tung Ting Oolong tea. I’ve even dressed for it today in a pinafore printed with antique maps over a high-necked, ruffled, green blouse with butterfly trim, and thick, green-and-white striped thigh-highs. I’m in my green mermaid phase.

Daddy added wire nipple clamps before I left the house because, sigh, Daddy. He promised to check them when I meet him at Rockefeller Plaza but didn’t promise to take them off. Double-sigh. They keep my nipples hard and chafing against the fine cotton of the blouse. Good thing the pinafore is thick.

Queen Twitch looks as fabulous as ever, sprawled in the armchair across from me in a fitted paisley pants suit and deep purple shirt with an extravagant spill of ruffles down the front. They’re wearing their crown atop silver-gray waves. You’d think that would look out of place at Konk but it doesn’t. There are yummy mummies, college-aged kids wearing shorts which it isdefinitelynot warm enough to do, a table of drag queens, a man with a beard redder than Niall’s wearing a leather kilt and sporran, and holiday shoppers juggling their fifty million bags. You’d have to wear a full hazmat suit to truly look out of place at Konk and even then, I think everyone would just raise a mildly-curious brow.

Twitch sips from their sunset mimosa. “How are we going to unfuck this, darling?”

“Can you tell me what’s going on with Georgie? I’m not blind. I could see the tension between you and Mistress Maude and then when Master Bull demanded Georgie pull down his bottoms so he could see if the terms of the loan were being observed ... it was a lot, even from where I was standing. I could tell how angry your sir was.”

“Incandescently,” Twitch says before clamping perfect teeth on the recyclable straw of their drink. “Sir approached Elephant’s Playground for a present for Kiki. Someonedeeplysubmissive. Claudia recommended Georgie. We played together a dozen times. Georgie made Kiki so happy. Her own pet mousie. You have no idea what it’s been like, with Kiki so sick. Sir and I would literally do anything to make her smile. Georgie made her laugh again. Em ...”

Twitch trails off, looking at the ceiling, eyes shimmering. Before anything can mess up their perfect liner, they dab a finger at the corner of each eye and clear their throat. “Anyway. I guess Georgie met Maude coincidentally at the club. They played together several times. Georgie was honest with Sir about it and Sir said it was okay as long as it didn’t affect our playtimes. Sir hadn’t asked Georgie for exclusivity but I know he was considering it. The next thing we knew, Maude told Sir she was considering collaring Georgie and wanted Sir to give up any prior claim on him. Sir said no. He and Kiki were also considering collaring Georgie as Kiki’s pet. Darling, from there it’s just become a huge old mess. Maude and Sir can barely be in the same room without yelling at each other. I’ve been acting as a go-between and I hate it. I got them to agree to thisloanbusiness but it's been worse than negotiating the Treaty of Versailles. I’ve been trying to get Georgie to express a preference but all he’ll say is that he loves all of us. He’ssosubmissive.”

I nod along to everything Queen Twitch says. I was there when Maude met Georgie. Georgie was helping me in the Blunts Library; Maude homed in on him like a hawk. Maybe love at first sight isn’t a real thing but finding your perfect submissive at first sight? I’ll buy that after seeing the way Maude and Georgie were drawn together. I understand that Bull, Kiki, and Twitch had a prior relationship with him—and Georgie probably would like to be owned in a kinky sense—but a prior relationship doesn’t give Master Bull ownership of Georgie. And even though it’s not fair and I shouldn’t measure relationships this way, Kiki already has a masteranda sub. Maude’s alone.

“Was he okay after everything last night?” I ask.

Twitch nods. “Poor thing. He wassoapologetic once he came around. He’s never had a panic attack like that before. He said he thought he was comfortable in small spaces as a mouse. But being in that tunnel with a predator coming for himabsolutely threw him, poor cherub. He must have apologized a thousand times to Maude, to me, to Sir. And it hasn’t helped the situation at all. Now Sir’s angry at Maude for putting Georgie in a situation where he panicked and Maude’s furious at Sir for humiliating Georgie in the Stocks.” Twitch throws up their hands. “Sucha shitshow.”

We both fall quiet as the waitress delivers our orders. Mulligatawny soup for me and vegan lasagna for Twitch. Once we’re eating, I ask, “Is sharing him completely out of the question?”

“It’s certainly not something Maude wants,” Twitch says between elegant bites. “I gather she had a monogamous marriage before her husband died. Since then, it’s been casual play with the house submissives. She never collared anyone but her husband. If Sir won’t give up his claim, maybe Maude would accept some kind of sharing arrangement instead of losing Georgie completely but it’s definitely her last choice.”