Chapter 7
Ruby
God, it was torture, trying to keep her excitement bottled up while her stylist tugged and curled and sprayed her hair into the loose curls Lottie had requested. But today was Lottie’s day, and she absolutely would not take even an ounce of attention from the bride.
Even if it killed her.
She was suffering through, dreaming of her own wedding day, of how freaking hot Beckett would look waiting at the end of the aisle in one of those tuxes that made him look even richer and sexier than he did on a regular basis, when the door to the bridal suite eased open and Jacob poked his head in.
“Can I crash the party for a minute?”
From where she’d planted herself on the couch after her own hair and makeup had been completed, Cordelia raised a brow. And even though the look wasn’t aimed at her, Ruby’s stomach clenched with unease. “Depends on if you have a good reason, baby boy.”
“Ah… Is ‘Braden sent me and I couldn’t tell the groom no’ a good enough reason?”
Luckily for Jacob, a sly grin stretched across his Daddy’s face. “Good enough. For now. Come on in, baby.”
Looking as relieved as Ruby felt, Jacob straightened and stepped further into the room. “He sent me to come get Lottie. He needs to talk to her.”
“Me?” Lottie frowned, the move earning her a scolding ‘tsk’ from her makeup artists. “Why does he need to talk to me?”
“Um, I can’t really tell you that.”
“Jacob Aaron. Are you keeping secrets?”
There was enough steel in Cordelia’s voice to have Jacob’s cheeks turning red as he shifted from foot to foot. “Yes, Ma’am. But it’s for a good reason, I promise.”
“Well, you can go tell Braden that his bride is getting her makeup done and if he knows what’s good for him, he won’t bother her again.” When Jacob didn’t move, Cordelia somehow managed to raise her brow even higher. “Go, Jacob.”
“I, um, can’t do that. Ma’am.”
Complete and utter silence fell as Cordelia slowly rose to her feet. Ivy, who had been tucked up against her Daddy, watching the entire scene unfold with open curiosity, now looked rather panicked.
“Did you just tell me no, boy?”
“I don’t think that’s what he meant.” The panic in Ivy’s eyes echoed in her voice as she hopped to her feet. “He just, um… Well, tell her, Jakey.”
“Ivy Mae, unless you want some of what our boy has coming to him, you’ll stay out of it.”
“It’s for a good cause, Ma’am.” Poor Jacob’s cheeks looked like they could cook an egg, red as they were. “I promise I’m not just being a brat.”
“A good cause?” Head tilted to the side, Cordelia studied her submissive. “I assume Braden put you up to this?”
“He did. Well, um, they all sort of did, Ma’am.”
“I see. I’ll be right back.”
Without giving Jacob a chance to respond, Cordelia swept out of the room, leaving the rest of them in stunned silence.
“Holy crap.” Eyes bright, Aria broke the silence with an excited whisper. “I wanna be her when I grow up.”
Beckett
It was pure fucking torture, waiting for Jacob to return with Lottie. So much so that he nearly jumped out of his damn skin when the door to their suite swung open. “Finally. Took you long enough—oh, fuck.”
Standing in the doorway of their suite, barefoot and wearing nothing but a green silk robe, Cordelia Summers still managed to look every bit the badass Domme she was.
Fury, the cold, lethal kind Beckett imagined often left her submissives trembling with the terror of what was to come, whipped around her like an icy wind.
“‘Oh, fuck’ is exactly right. I’m about to kick every single one of your asses unless you can give me a very, very good reason not to. ”
“We had nothing to do with it.” Damian held up his hands in the time-honored gesture of surrender and took a large step back.
His twin followed suit, and Beckett could swear he heard Braden mumble “cowards” under his breath.
Crossing her arms, Cordelia pinned them each with her iciest glare. “Someone care to explain to me why my boy is over in the other room, refusing to do as he’s told?”
“Fuck.” There was no doubting that response as Braden stepped forward, a placating smile on his face that did nothing to hide the panic in his eyes.
Despite the fact that they were all Doms, and Cordelia was a solid six inches shorter than all of them, if not more when it came to Holden, that didn’t stop her from striking fear into all of their hearts.
“That’s my fault, Delia. But I swear, it’s for a good cause. ”
“Jacob said the same thing.” Tilting her head to the side, Cordelia smiled, but to Beckett it looked more like she was baring her teeth before she used them to rip Braden’s throat out. “Tell me, exactly, what cause is good enough for you to convince my boy to outright defy his Daddy.”
“I’m going to ask Ruby to marry me.” The words burst out of Beckett, drawing Cordelia’s steely gaze straight to him. “And I’m sorry, I know it was shitty to put him in that situation, but we were hoping you guys wouldn’t kick him out the way you kicked Ice out earlier.”
A frown tugged at the corners of Cordelia’s mouth. “You’re asking Ruby to marry you. Now?”
“Not now. Later. If Lottie approves of our plan, that is.”
He saw the moment he won her over. Tears shimmered over the green of her eyes, just for a second before she blinked them back. “You’re going to ask our Ruby to marry you.”
Our Ruby. His babygirl had no shortage of people who loved her, and wanted nothing more than to see her happy.
Which meant she also had no shortage of people to kick his ass if he fucked up this proposal.
A fact he found equal parts terrifying and comforting.
“Yeah. Yeah, I am. I have the ring and everything.”
A high-pitched squeal rent the air, and it took him a moment to realize it came from the hardass Domme in front of him. Face lit with excitement, she danced on the balls of her feet as she held out her hand. “Well don’t be stingy with it! Let me see!”
Figuring there was no point keeping it a secret since Ruby had already seen the ring, he pulled the box from his pocket and flipped it open for Cordelia to see.
“Oh. Oh, Beckett.” With the most un-Cordelia sigh he’d ever heard, she pressed both hands to her chest. “It’s stunning. And so perfect for our girl.”
“I thought so. Hopefully this helps you not be quite so pissed at me for putting your boy in the middle of things.”
“You’re forgiven, as long as you do this right and give that girl the proposal she deserves.”
“That’s what we’re trying to do,” Braden interjected. “Which is why we need Lottie.”
“Right. Well, she’s getting her makeup done now, but as soon as she finishes up, I’ll send her over.”
“Thanks, Delia. And, ah, if you could keep this a secret from Ruby…”
Twisting her finger at the corner of her lips, she mimed throwing away the key. “Your secret is safe with me.”
“You’re the best. Don’t be too hard on Jacob, he really was trying to help.”
A slow, wicked smile curved her lips. “You let me worry about my naughty boy. He’ll be just fine.”
Fuck. He was going to owe Jacob so big when this was all over.
DC, here we come.
Ruby
Cordelia strode back into the suite and pinned Jacob with a look. Snapping her fingers, she pointed to the seat on the couch she’d vacated earlier. “Sit.”
“But—”
“I said, sit. Now.”
With a small huff, he lowered himself onto the couch, gingerly enough that Ruby was left wondering if he was wearing a plug. The moment he settled, Ivy was on him, stroking his hair and speaking too softly for anyone to hear.
Shaking her head, Cordelia turned her attention to Lottie, but not before Ruby caught how her lips twitched at the sight of her submissives. Whatever trouble Jacob was in, she wasn’t too mad about it if she was laughing.
But that knowledge only made Ruby even more curious about what was going on. What were the men up to, and why did they need Lottie for it? And why had they gotten Jacob involved?
Those questions and more bounced around in Ruby’s mind as she watched Cordelia whisper something to Lottie.
“Shut up!”
Lottie’s shocked exclamation silenced the room just as effectively as Jacob’s earlier refusal had, and every head in the room swung to look at her.
“Sorry, sorry.” She tried to wave it off, but even from clear across the room, Ruby could see the way her eyes glittered with excitement. “Ignore me. I’ll be right back.”
Slipping from her chair, she hurried out of the room after Cordelia.
“What the fuck was that all about?” Titania asked as soon as the door shut behind them.
“No idea.” Aria grinned, slow and wicked. “But he knows something.”
As one, they all turned to look at Jacob, who seemed to shrink in on himself. But it was Ivy who sat up, pinning them all with a surprisingly Domme-like glare. “Absolutely not. You are not interrogating my boy.”
“I thought he was Cordelia’s submissive?” Again it was Aria, curious little thing that she was, asking the question with a thoughtful frown.
“He’s mine, too. And we’re hers. It’s… less complicated than it sounds, I promise.”
“I get it,” Titania said with a nod. “My, ah, partners are the same way.”
“Wait.” Eyes wide, Aria sat up even straighter. “Uncle Desmond is… you know? But he's such a goody two-shoes.”
Titania’s lips kicked up in a smirk. “Not all the time.”
Swinging around, Aria jabbed a finger at Emily. “What about you? Is Uncle Damian in on this, too?”
Red flooded Emily’s cheeks. “Um… I’m not sure he’d appreciate me answering that.”
“That’s a yes. Oh my god. My whole family is freaky and nobody ever told me?”
“It, ah, didn’t really seem appropriate.” Emily’s voice rose to a squeak.
Before Aria could argue, the door swung open and Lottie breezed back through, a wide grin stretched across her face that had the hairs on the back of Ruby’s neck standing up.
Seriously, what were they up to over there?