Chapter 17
CHAPTER 17
RUBY
S he should have taken the day off.
It wasn’t even that working at the office Jacqueline sent her to had been hard, really, it was just new. And new meant learning all the things everyone who’d been there for a while took for granted. Like where to find the copy machine, how to use certain programs on the computer. So that by the time she’d left at nearly six in the evening, her brain was feeling completely fried. If she hadn’t already promised Beckett she would meet him at the club, she would have begged off completely.
But she had promised, and if she was being honest with herself, she was looking forward to letting him play Daddy for the evening. Especially if that meant letting him fuss over her and pamper her a bit.
Or even if it just meant getting strapped to something while he flogged and fucked all the tension from her body.
She was good either way, really.
Unfortunately for her, not leaving until six meant she was pushing it to get to the club by seven. She barely had time to wash off her day and throw on a cute emerald- green bodysuit and a pair of jeans before rushing out the door.
Her phone buzzed just as she was parking her car in the lot off the side of the club, and her heart leapt against her ribs when she saw the message from him.
Beckett
You’re late, little girl.
Apparently he was taking his ‘Daddy in the club’ role very seriously.
Thank god .
Without bothering to respond, she tucked her phone into her purse and headed for the club. The familiar excitement of doing something ‘naughty’ coursed through her veins as she stashed her purse in her locker and made her way upstairs with a wave for Vivian, their rainbow-haired receptionist. Her hair was a vivid green today, which Ruby imagined would have made anyone else look like a stalk of broccoli but Vivian somehow managed to pull it off.
She found Beckett at a table with Lottie and Frankie, both of whom were laughing loudly at something Beckett had just said. It took her a moment to identify the twisting in her gut as jealousy, which was stupid because Lottie was madly in love with her fiancé and Frankie was… well, Frankie loved to flirt, but there was no danger there since Holden’s general presence was enough to keep anyone from flirting back.
It was a bit uncomfortable to realize she didn’t know where Beckett would land in this scenario, though. Would he welcome the flirting? Would he want to scene with other women when he was playing Daddy?
And why did the thought of him touching someone else fill her with an emotion dangerously close to rage?
Ignoring those rather uncomfortable feelings, Ruby plastered a smile on her face and sauntered up to the table. “Am I late to the party?”
Beckett’s dark eyes met hers, so much emotion swirling in the brown depths it nearly knocked the breath from her lungs. “You are. We were worried about you, Ruby Red.”
Guilt joined the jealousy pangs, making it a struggle to keep her bright smile in place. But she would not apologize, even though everything in her wanted to drop to her knees and beg forgiveness. Because she hadn’t actually done anything wrong , so she had nothing to apologize for. “I saw your message that I was late, but I was already walking into the club so I figured I’d see you when I saw you.”
“Oh?” There was a wealth of warning in that single tone, and it made her heart beat a little faster, a little harder. “So you saw my message but decided to ignore it?”
“I was like, two minutes away from actually seeing you in person, Beckett. Relax.”
She knew she was poking the bear, and she wasn’t disappointed when his eyes narrowed. She was also painfully aware that Lottie and Frankie were watching the scene unfold with wide, hungry eyes.
Well. She hadn’t gotten to give Frankie much of a show the other night, so maybe she could make up for it tonight. Nothing would relax her more than a thorough punishment.
Win-win, at least for her. ‘Daddy’ might not think so, though.
And judging by the look on his face, he definitely did not think so. “Take your jeans and boots off. Fold your jeans neatly and place them on top of your boots, under the table.”
“Can’t I at least eat first? I’m starving.”
“Food is on its way. Jeans off, Ruby. I won’t ask again.”
Oh, shit. Maybe she’d poked too hard, because the steel in his voice told her this was not some playful punishment but rather a lesson in obedience.
She wanted to obey. She really did, more than she’d expected to. But with Frankie watching her like a hawk, she felt like she needed to push back. At least a little.
“Counteroffer. We eat and then you take me down to the pit and punish me for being an insolent little brat.”
He smiled, that same wolfish smile she’d seen on his face a dozen times before. Only now, she was painfully aware she was the lamb this particular wolf had his eye on. “Oh, my na?ve little girl. Do you really think I’m not already planning to do exactly that? All you’re doing is making the inevitable worse with every second you delay.”
Fuck, fuck, fuck. What was he planning to do to her down there?
It was the fear of the unknown that finally got her moving, toeing off her boots and kicking them under the table while her friends watched. Humiliation burned across her face, but it wasn’t the kind that made her sick to her stomach. This particular brand of humiliation had her soaking the gusset of her bodysuit as she wiggled out of her jeans and folded them neatly, per his instructions.
“Good girl,” he praised softly, his eyes warm with approval. “Now, on your knees. I want you kneeling beside the bench here, eyes forward and hands on your thighs.”
With that hot, heady humiliation flooding her body, she lowered herself to the ground as instructed, sending up a little prayer of thanks that Braden was as obsessive as he was about keeping the restaurant area clean.
“Much better. You’re going to kneel there, and you are not going to speak unless Daddy says you may. And you’re going to think about how it makes people feel when you ignore messages. Especially when you are late for a meeting and you haven’t checked in with anyone to let them know where you are, or that you’re safe.”
There was an undercurrent to his tone that told her this was about so much more than her being a couple minutes late. Had he actually been… worried about her?
Guilt pricked at her, an apology burning on her tongue. But he hadn’t given her permission to speak yet, so she simply nodded her understanding.
“Good girl. If you need to ask me something, just tap twice on my leg to get my attention.” He ran a hand over her hair, giving her ponytail an almost playful tug before shifting his attention away from her. “Frankie. How is school going?”
From the corner of her eye, she watched her friends grapple with this new development. Lottie looked from her, back to Beckett, back to Ruby again, her mouth hanging slightly open.
Frankie recovered first, settling back against the booth with a shrug. “It’s good. Not as hard as everyone made it out to be.”
“Really?” Beckett’s voice held a hint of disbelief. “I don’t think I’ve ever heard anyone say that about medical school, and I have quite a few friends who are doctors. I also have quite a few friends who couldn’t hack it and ended up dropping out.”
“Well, maybe your friends just aren’t as smart as me,” Frankie shot back with a smug smile.
Now that he’d brought it up, Ruby realized it did seem a little odd that Frankie spent as much time as she did at the club. Didn’t she have like, a shit-ton of studying to do?
But she wasn’t allowed to speak, so she kept that question to herself.
Ugh.
“Frankie’s always been top of her class.” Lottie was practically beaming with pride for her best friend. “I swear there’s literally nothing she can’t do.”
“Find a dress that doesn’t make my ass look huge?”
The proud, beaming smile vanished from Lottie’s face at Frankie’s words, replaced by a worry so deep it made Ruby’s chest ache. “Don’t say that.”
“Sorry. Just having a day,” Frankie said with a wave of her hand. “You know how it is.”
“I know how you are. Which is why I don’t like you talking like that.”
Okay, it might actually kill Ruby to not be able to voice her curiosity with such a loaded conversation happening right in front of her.
“I’m fine. Seriously.” Before Lottie could argue, Frankie shifted her focus back to Beckett. “So… you’re Daddy now, huh? When did that happen?”
The concern vanished from Lottie’s face at Frankie’s question, replaced with a bright-eyed excitement. “Oooh, yes! Tell us how that happened. We need all the deets.”
“Are you putting your nose where it doesn’t belong again, Charlotte Ann?”
A pair of legs had appeared in front of Ruby. Braden, from the sound of his voice and the sheepish tone in Lottie’s when she responded. “Yes, Daddy. But you’d be asking too if you’d heard Beckett referring to himself as Ruby’s Daddy a minute ago.”
“Is that so?” To Lottie’s credit, there was indeed a hint of curiosity in Braden’s tone. “That is an interesting development. Is it safe to assume our Ruby is kneeling here in silence because she was a naughty girl today?”
“Yes.” Once more, Beckett ran his hand over Ruby’s hair, silently soothing her as she fought the urge to speak up and defend herself. “And yes, Ruby and I have an… arrangement. I’m her Daddy here in the club, but with the understanding we can both still scene with others if we so choose.”
Ruby swallowed hard against the sudden tightness in her throat. That was the agreement, and that was how they both wanted it. So there was no reason to feel hurt by him pointing it out to their friends.
“I see.” Braden’s words were heavy with meaning, but Ruby wasn’t sure exactly what that meaning was. “Well, I’m sure you have the situation well in hand.”
“I do.”
Okay, there was another whole conversation happening right in front of her, and it was all happening in subtext she didn’t understand. And again she couldn’t even ask anyone what the hell was going on because he’d revoked her right to speak.
Worst. Punishment. Ever .
Before the conversation could go much further, Silver and Ice appeared in her peripheral vision. Or at least, Silver’s boots and the floor-length dress with the slit up to her hip she favored appeared, along with a pair of leather-clad legs she assumed belonged to Ice.
“What’s this?” Silver’s tone was full of the same curiosity Ruby had heard in Braden’s voice, but with much more amusement. “Is Beckett finally flexing his Daddy muscles?”
“On a limited basis, yes.”
“Daddy in the sheets,” Lottie whispered loudly, followed by a wild giggle that said she was incredibly amused by her own joke. “Like friends with benefits I think, but the only benefit I’ve seen so far is Beckett getting to be a bossy ass?—”
“ Charlotte Ann .”
A laugh escaped before Ruby thought to catch it, and she immediately pressed her lips together to try and smother the sound.
Too late.
Beckett’s hand came to rest on the back of her neck and he squeezed once in warning. “Quiet, Ruby Red.”
“Ooooh, is she not allowed to talk?” Sympathy wound its way around Silver’s voice as she wiggled into the booth beside Frankie. “Poor Ruby. Speech restriction sucks .”
“I’ll keep that in mind the next time you’re feeling extra bratty,” Ice said with a grin, rounding the table to slide into the booth beside Beckett.
“No, thank you.”
God, this was embarrassing. Being punished so obviously and publicly was bad enough, but to have her friends discussing her punishment right in front of her just straight up sucked.
As if he’d read her mind, Beckett gave her neck another gentle squeeze. “All right, everyone is up to date on me and Ruby. I think we’re ready for a change of topic.”
Gratitude swamped her, and as much as Ruby wanted to tell him she appreciated him stepping in, she’d been given very strict orders. And the best way to show her appreciation, would be following his orders to the letter.
So she straightened her spine, pinned her gaze on a spot well past her friends at the table, and did her best to tune out the conversation happening around her.
To her surprise, it wasn’t long before their voices did actually fade to background noise and a strange sort of peace settled over her. Beckett’s hand never left the back of her neck, and she was grateful for the connection as she sank deeper and deeper into her submission.
There was peace here, in this floaty place she’d never been before. A calm that seemed to reach all the way to the depths of her soul that she’d never experienced with anyone else. This was what she’d been missing all these years. No matter how many men she’d knelt for, no matter how they punished her or hurt her or ordered her around, nobody had ever brought her to this place.
Nobody… until Beckett.
She’d completely lost track of how long she’d been kneeling there when he leaned over and whispered in her ear. “You’re being such a good girl for me, Ruby Red. I’m very proud of how well you’re taking your punishment. Ivy is on her way with our food, so I’d like you to turn and face me. You can stay on your knees or you can sit on your bottom, whichever is more comfortable.”
With a quiet sigh of relief, she shifted positions, sitting with her legs folded, facing the table. But she didn’t spare a glance for her friends.
She only had eyes for her Daddy.
“That’s my good girl.” An indulgent smile spread across his face as he cupped her chin. He took his eyes off her for only a second, long enough for him to choose something from one of the many plates now scattered across the table. Holding a piece of succulent pork belly in front of her he tapped it against her lips. “Open up for Daddy, sweetheart.”
With her gaze still locked on him, she opened her mouth, welcoming in the sweet, savory bite. Flavor exploded in her mouth, and though she’d always loved the food at the club, she could swear it tasted a million times better from his fingers.
“Beautiful,” Beckett murmured, running his thumb over her lips. “Ready for another bite, pretty girl?”
Yes, Daddy . Since she couldn’t say the words, she nodded again, this time accepting a stuffed mushroom, one of her favorite items on the menu.
And as she ate, bite by hand-fed bite, she began to think her favorite place in the world might be right here, at her Daddy’s feet.