Chapter 3 #2
Mace lifted the glass and inhaled. The scents of oak, smoke, and a hint of heat filled his senses. Master Derek had a point. “Wouldn’t dream of it.”
Derek’s smile was brief but approving. He took his own seat, studying Mace over the rim of his glass. “I’ve read your file, but I prefer to hear it from the man himself. You’ll be working with a lot of our Littles, so tell me what being a Daddy means to you.”
Mace didn’t bristle. It was a fair question that showed Derek cared about the people who’d put their trust in him.
“I like control and order,” he said plainly.
“I’m not one to make rules just to have a reason to punish.
My rules make sense and serve a purpose.
The main things I focus on are my Little's safety and consistency. I don’t micromanage, but I don’t tolerate testing just for the sake of noise. ”
Derek nodded. “And discipline?”
Mace shrugged. “I’m calm, and I try to be kind, even when someone has earned a punishment,” he said, because that part mattered to him.
“I don’t yell. But when a spanking is earned, I give the one who’s earned it something they’ll remember the next time they think about doing whatever put them over my knee.
I don’t play games when it comes to punishments. ”
Derek’s blue eyes sharpened. “Do you enjoy it?”
“I enjoy funishments when everyone knows they’re really meant for pleasure. Giving a punishment? Fuck, no. I don’t think real punishments are ‘fun,’ but I don’t think they’re supposed to be. That doesn’t mean I avoid them when they’re needed.”
That earned him a low chuckle from Derek. “Good answer.”
They drank in silence for a few minutes.
The whiskey warmed Mace’s chest, settling there like something earned.
Derek leaned back, and the chair creaked under his weight.
“You know I spoke with Rowan Hale. We’ve known each other for years, and I respect him a great deal.
From what he said, you’ve worked in BDSM clubs before. ”
Rowan would know. Mace had been a Dungeon Monitor at a club in Amarillo years ago that catered to the DDlg lifestyle.
He’d realized there were problems early on and forced the owners to call Rowan in to help them rewrite their protocols and weed out problematic Doms. He and Rowan had become friends and stayed in touch over the years. “I have.”
“Tell me, have you handled any Littles whose fear response is fight over flight, freeze, or fawn?”
Mace’s mouth twitched. “A few.”
“Brats?”
“Many.”
“Enough to tell the difference between the two?”
That caught his attention. Nothing got his blood boiling faster than someone scaring a Little to make himself feel like a big man. “Yes.”
Derek studied him for a moment, then nodded as if a decision had been confirmed. “I like you, Mace. I think you’re going to be a great fit here. As a matter of fact, I’ve got a Little one I want to place under your care while she’s here.”
Okay, that was the last thing he’d expected.
What was he supposed to say? The words landed heavy.
Something in his chest tightened. He’d hoped to get to know the wild child with the shock of white hair, but he was here to do whatever Derek needed.
And if that meant taking care of a Little for a few days, so be it.
“Tell me about her,” he said evenly.
With a nod, Derek reached for a file on his desk. Mace took in Derek’s posture and serious tone. This wasn’t a casual check-in.
“Her name is Fiera Sharpe. She’s a live wire,” Derek said, mouth tipping into a fond smile.
“The people who know her best refer to her as fast, curious, and fearless. If there’s a fence, she’s already calculating how to clear it without breaking her neck, though she might be willing to sacrifice an arm or an ankle.
That energy keeps her interesting and usually entertaining, but it also means she needs someone watching out for her. ”
Mace said nothing, listening.
“She came out of a relationship about nine months ago,” Derek went on.
“A man named Erwin Pierce. On paper, he looked like a solid Daddy. In practice…” Derek’s jaw tightened.
“Let’s just say his affections came and went.
From what I could gather, he changed his rules frequently, depending on his mood and the phase of the moon, I guess.
When she needed him most, he was too busy admiring his own reflection. ”
Mace felt something heavy settle in his chest. He hated so-called Doms who were inconsistent at best and offered care on a conditional basis. They usually knew exactly what they were doing to their Little. They just didn’t care.
“According to the principal at her school, a Ms. Eloise McGillicuddy, Fiera believed most every lie that bastard told her when she finally got shot of him,” Derek said. “Ms. McGillicuddy was the one who talked her into coming to stay with us for the week.”
Mace exhaled slowly.
“There’s also a medical consideration,” Derek added.
“She has a condition, Waardenburg Syndrome, that makes her eyes sensitive to bright light and also makes her have some auditory quirks. Nothing dramatic, but it means she can get overwhelmed faster than she lets on. Sunglasses aren’t optional, even when she pretends they are. ”
“Got it,” Mace said.
Derek studied him for a long moment. “She doesn’t need softness without structure. And she doesn’t need control without care.”
Mace met his gaze. “She needs someone who stays.”
A smile creased Derek’s beard. “That’s why I picked you.”
Mace nodded once. Inside, something careful and deliberate clicked into place.
Derek’s expression softened around the edges without losing its steel.
“According to her references, she’s a lovable handful of chaos.
She rushes in where angels fear to tread.
She’s bright and brave, although often too brave.
She doesn’t always know when to stop, or maybe how to stop.
I think you’re the kind of Daddy she needs…
a firm, steady hand to keep her safe and out of trouble. ”
Mace allowed himself fifteen seconds for one last mental image of a darling girl with long legs, tumbling suitcases, and a skunk stuffie swinging, as if she dared the world to comment. And then he let it go. Giving a mental shake of his head, he said, “I can do that.”
Derek studied him again and smiled. “I’ll bet you can. I have a second sense about these things, and I think you’re exactly who she needs.”
Mace took another sip, the whiskey suddenly tasting sharper. He nodded because that was the job. Because he’d agreed to come here to work, not to chase distractions.
Still, disappointment pricked his chest. He’d been interested in the girl from the taxi. More than interested, if he was honest. There had been something in her movements, the way she took up space without apology. A familiar pull he hadn’t expected to feel again.
Derek set his glass down. “There is one more thing.”
Mace lifted his gaze and waited.
“She’s from Wilder, Wyoming.”
Interesting. He was headed to Wilder after this week.
The foreman position at the Three Eagles Ranch had been a godsend.
He needed a fresh start on new ground. If life suddenly wanted to throw him a bone, who was he to turn it down?
From what he’d heard about Wilder, getting a lay of the land in advance would be a good idea. Maybe this girl could help.
Then he noticed the twinkle in Derek’s eyes. What was the Master of the Ranch playing at? “Even though you haven’t actually met her, based on that scene earlier with the taxi, I’m going to go out on a limb here and say I think you’ll like her.”
Mace didn’t dare hope. Not with the fickle turns life had taken lately. But he had to ask. “You mean the one with all the suitcases?”
Derek’s mouth curved, slow and knowing. “I do. She’s here because life sometimes gets the best of us, and she needs time to recover. Given what we know, lack of supervision is not her friend. So I’d like you to take that responsibility from her if she agrees.”
For a moment, Mace couldn’t move. The world felt still, as if life were waiting to see what he’d do with the information. No one knew more about the nasty tricks life could play than Mason Cody. What would he be getting himself into?
Derek went on, his voice firm. “I don’t make matches lightly. I’ll be watching and listening to make sure everything is going well and that she’s getting what she needs. But when situations like this drop into my lap this neatly, I pay attention.”
Mace nodded. He thought of all the times circumstances had yanked him forward, then let him go at the worst possible moment. His intuition was to be pessimistic, especially after all he’d been through recently.
Maybe this time was different. What did people say?
When you’re at the bottom, the only way to go is up.
Mace lifted his glass in a small, private toast. To order.
To control. To the possibility that, just once, the universe wasn’t winding him up just to watch him tumble.
With a grin, he nodded his consent. “I’ll do it, but like you said, only if she’s on board with it. ”
Derek nodded. “Let’s see what the lady says.”