Chapter 4
Chapter Four
Dan
He didn’t sleep worth shit. All night, he’d lain awake, staring up at the ceiling above him, searching for answers he didn’t have.
For months now he’d been fighting his attraction to Kylie. Maybe if they’d met at a different college, maybe if they weren’t so… different they could have made things work. They were both smart, ambitious, a little nerdy.
But they hadn’t met somewhere else. They’d met at Rawhide. And not only did he have his own less-than-Big side to contend with, Kylie was very much a Little. Even more than he was. And he was the farthest thing from a Daddy.
Though he’d certainly come close last night. At least, it felt like he had. He’d tapped into some hidden toppy side of himself, more so than he’d ever done before, even with Kylie.
What did it mean? For him, for them?
He wasn’t any closer to an answer by the time he finally dragged himself out of bed to get ready for the day. Or by the time he was standing in front of Kylie’s dorm room door, trying to work up the nerve to knock.
He was still standing there, staring at the dark wood, when the door swung open and Kylie nearly plowed straight into him.
“Oh!” Eyes round with surprise, she jerked backward, her blonde ponytail swinging wildly. “Dan. Um. Hi.”
Unlike the night before when she’d been dressed in her “Little” clothes, this morning she was looking much more like the version of herself everyone else was used to seeing. Her white button down shirt was freshly pressed, her tie perfectly knotted and the pleats in her skirt sharp as knives.
He never could decide which version of her he preferred, as he found them both equally alluring.
“We need to talk about last night.” Thanks to the lingering arousal, which was not at all helped by the teasing bits of creamy thigh between the bottom of her skirt and the top of her knee-high socks, his words were rougher than he’d intended.
A sharpness that earned him a narrow-eyed glare from his best friend.
“We can talk later. I’m going to breakfast with Eliza.”
When she tried to skirt around him, he simply stepped to the side, blocking her path. “You’re not meeting Eliza for another hour.”
“Maybe we changed our plans.”
“Did you?”
She hesitated, just long enough for him to know she was at least considering outright lying to him. But in the end, her responsible side won out and she sighed. “No. I just don’t want to talk about last night.”
“Well, too bad. We need to.”
“Fine.” Turning on her heel, she marched back into her dorm room and flopped down onto her bed, arms crossed. “When did you get so bossy?”
“Dunno.” Amused by her sulky attitude, he stopped in front of the bed and smirked down at her. “A certain bratty Little girl seems to bring it out in me.”
Pink bloomed on her cheeks. “I’m not Little. Not right now.”
“Uh huh. Which is why you’re pouting on the bed because you didn’t get your way. Because that’s how Big girls act.”
“Shut up, Dan.”
“Don’t let Professor Renard hear you saying that,” he teased, not bothering to hide his enjoyment when the color in her cheeks darkened. “You might get another spanking.”
“Is that what you wanted?” Fire flashed in her eyes as she jerked her head up to glare at him. “To rub it in my face that the most gorgeous woman in the world caught me acting like a total brat last night?”
“Aw, Ky.” Guilt tangled in his chest as he crouched down in front of her, resting his hands on her thighs. “That’s not what I meant. I’m sorry.”
Kylie sighed, the tension draining from her shoulders. “No, I’m sorry. I’m just feeling really out of sorts after last night.”
“Because of Professor Renard or me?”
“Both.”
Fuck. Somehow, he’d convinced himself she hadn’t been nearly as affected by their almost… whatever it was last night as he had been. “Yeah?”
“Of course, Danny!” Shoving up from the bed, she paced the small room, her movements jerky and agitated. “You’re my best friend. What if we go down that road and it doesn’t work out? What if we end up hating each other? What if we ruin everything because of one stupid moment?”
“One moment?” He rose to meet her, wrapping his hands around her upper arms. “Ky… It’s been a lot more than just one moment for me.”
Staring up at him with those wide, brown eyes, she looked so damn hopeful he could hardly stand it. “Really?”
“Yeah. I just always figured… you know. It wouldn’t work. You want a Daddy and I’m not a Daddy.”
Amusement flickered over her face. “Coulda fooled me last night.”
The memory of her beneath him, warm and willing and with that hint of delicious fear had his cock straining against the stiff denim of his jeans. “That’s not the same thing, Ky, and you know it.”
Her eyes darted from side to side and he could swear he saw the wheels turning in her brilliant mind. “If it weren’t for that, would you want to be with me?”
“Kylie, I want you more than anything. But—”
“But you’re not a Daddy. And I’m not a Mommy.”
Heat rushed to his cheeks. Kylie was the only person he’d ever told about his secret desire for a strict Mommy with a penchant for spankings. “Right.”
“So really, what we need, is someone who can fill that role for both of us. Someone we’re both attracted to.”
“What are you talking about, Kylie?”
“It’s the perfect solution, really.” Pulling away from him, she resumed her pacing, but she didn’t seem agitated now. More thoughtful, than anything. “After all, if a Little can have two Daddies then why couldn’t a Mommy have two Littles?”
The puzzle pieces slowly clicked into place. “You want us to share a Mommy.”
“Yes.” Kylie’s nose crinkled. “Well, I’m not a fan of the term sharing. It makes her sound like a piece of pie we decided to split. I want us to both have a relationship with her, yes, and also with each other.”
“Uh-huh. So where do you suppose we find this unicorn Mommy?”
“It’s a large ranch, Daniel. But I suggest we start with someone we know we’re both attracted to already.”
“And who might that be?”
Coming to a stop in front of him again once more, she smiled sweetly up at him. “Professor Renard, of course.”
Kylie
If Dan’s eyes got any wider, his eyeballs were liable to fall right out of his head.
It was kind of adorable, really.
“You want us to ask Professor Renard to be our Mommy?”
“Yes. Though I’m not sure just asking her is the best course of action.” She nearly giggled at the wariness creeping into his eyes.
“What, exactly, do you have in mind?”
What did she have in mind? She’d lain awake half the night, replaying their punishment over and over in her mind.
And after the first hundred or so times, the scene had gradually shifted, changed to something different.
Instead of promising Professor Renard she’d be a good girl, she was begging and pleading with her Mommy for the spanking to end.
But she hadn’t actually considered it a possibility until Dan had come storming into her apartment demanding they talk.
Now, faced with the possibility of a new Mommy for herself and Dan, her mind was going almost too fast for her to think. Twisting away from him, she resumed her pacing of the small living room while her thoughts whirred.
“We need a plan. Something to get her attention and show her we’re interested.”
“That could be accomplished by just talking to her.” Dan’s voice was dry, wry with amusement, but Kylie waved him off.
“She’s kind of prickly. We need to warm her up to the idea before we pitch it to her.”
“All right. How do we do that?”
The million dollar question. “I’m not sure.”
“We could ask her to dinner.”
“Too forward.”
“Kylie…”
“Hush, Daniel, I’m thinking.”
She ignored the raised eyebrow he sent her way while she paced, even though that look made her heart rate spike considerably.
“So, for the most part, Professor Renard doesn’t really engage with me outside of class.” Still pacing, she glanced over at her best-friend-turned-co-conspirator. “What about you?”
“Same.”
“Except for last night.”
“What are you getting at, Ky?”
It was risky. And they would likely both be sporting plenty of painful marks on their asses by the time it was all said and done. But wasn’t that a small price to pay for the chance to land the woman of both their dreams? “We acted out, she paid attention. Maybe we need to act out more.”
“Professor Renard hates brats.”
“Does she?” Pausing in front of him, she met his worried gaze. “We’ve heard that about her, but as far as I know, she hasn’t been romantically involved with anyone since she came to the Ranch. So we don’t really know what she likes, do we?”
The corners of Dan’s lips dipped down in a frown. “No, I suppose we don’t.”
“Then it’s worth a try, right? What’s the worst that could happen?”
Again with that damn eyebrow. Quiet down, heart.
“We could both end up in Mr. Chambers office getting our asses paddled. Or, worse, she could decide to punish us in class. In front of everyone.”
“We want the latter, and we’re in luck because she prefers to dish out her own discipline unlike some of the other professors. Unless it’s something really bad, so we need to make sure we walk that line.”
That worried frown deepened. “Are you sure about this, Ky? You hate being punished, especially in public.”
“I know.” Just the thought of being bent over in front of the entire class, her skirt flipped up and her panties on display for everyone to see made her vaguely queasy. “But other than that, do you see any holes in the plan?”
“Kylie, there are so many holes in this plan it’s basically Swiss cheese.” His lips curved up, his frown slowly transforming to a mischievous smile. “But it could be fun. For me, anyway. I don’t mind being in trouble.”
“Well, do you have a better idea?”
“Not really,” he said with a shrug. “Since you shot down my plan to just, you know, talk to her.”
“Because that’s not how romance works, dickhead.”
As soon as the words left her mouth, everything about her friend changed in an instant. His gaze still locked on hers, Dan captured her chin between his thumb and forefinger in a move she’d witnessed her friends’ Daddies utilizing on a regular basis but she’d never experienced herself.
It was just as hot as her friends said it was.
“You’re pushing your luck, little girl,” he murmured. “I may not be your Daddy, but I’m not going to stand for you being disrespectful of me and our friendship like that. Apologize now and I won’t bend you over that bed and whip your bare bottom with my belt.”
A shiver wracked her body, despite the heat flooding her veins. Or maybe because of it, though that didn’t really make any sense.
Then again, nothing about romance or sexual attraction really made much sense to her, if she was being honest.
She was tempted to push him, just to see if he’d follow through on his threat. But she actually did feel really bad for calling him a name, and the thought of being paddled by Professor Renard after being strapped by him didn’t appeal in the slightest.
“Sorry.”
His grip on her chin tightened. “For what?”
Fuck he was good at this. “I-I’m sorry I called you a dickhead.”
“Good girl.”
Oh. Oh, she liked that. She’d been on the Ranch long enough to know she enjoyed being praised by her professors and the occasional Ranch staff member, but hearing it from Danny, her Danny was another experience altogether.
One that sent her heart galloping in her chest as moisture pooled between her legs.
Maybe she was wrong. Maybe they didn’t need a Mommy after all. Even if Danny wasn’t a Daddy, he clearly could be dominant when the situation called for it.
But then he released his hold on her chin, and the spell was broken. His grin flashed, and her sweet, goofy best friend was back.
“Come on, Ky. We need to figure out exactly how we’re going to get our hot professor to paddle our asses.”
Oh, boy. What had she gotten herself into?