Chapter 14
Chapter Fourteen
“Are you sure you’ll be okay?” Anson asked, glancing around the room as though there was something else he or Joey could do.
The fireplace was roaring. The entire cabin was toasty warm. Alice had made the bed and Joey had even shoveled the steps and the path down to her car.
Anson owed him. Big time. He was waiting in Anson’s truck, giving them a moment to say goodbye.
“I’ll be fine.”
“You’ll eat?” he fussed.
“I’ve got some soup ready to heat up,” she told him.
“I don’t know that soup is a good dinner,” he told her. “You need protein and iron and fiber.”
“My soup has all of that.”
“It does?” He raised his eyebrows.
“Uh-huh.”
Hmm. Was she lying to him? That was naughty. But he bit back his need to scold her. He’d done enough of that lately and in no way did he want to remind her of fucking George.
“You have my number in your phone.” It wasn’t a question, he’d made her do it while they drove up here, then he’d had her call him so he had her number too.
“Yes, Sir.” She flipped out a salute.
“You’ve hung out with Joey too long.”
She grinned at him.
“But you can feel free to call me Sir, anytime,” he told her. “Especially in the bedroom.”
Her mouth dropped open slightly. Reaching up, he cupped her cheek and ran his thumb over her lower lip. Then he dipped down, but he simply pressed his lips to her forehead. “I want you to call me if you need me. Promise?”
“I promise.”
“Such a good girl. Eat your dinner. Message me when you go to bed. Get a good sleep.” He grimaced at the barked orders. But when he drew back, she was smiling at him.
He got the idea that he amused her.
Anson forced himself to leave. As much as he wanted to stay, this was her time to heal and think.
And he had some research to do. When he got to the truck, he sighed and got in.
“Everything all right? Think she’ll be okay on her own?” Joey asked.
“She will be. She has our numbers.”
“Maybe one of us should stay?”
Anson wanted that more than anything. He felt his stomach tighten into a knot as he drove away from her. “She needs some time to herself.”
“Some bastard treated her badly, didn’t they?” Joey asked.
“Yeah. They did.” He cleared his throat. “This is between us.”
Joey mimed zipping his mouth and throwing away the key.
“He mistreated her. Made her feel like she was stupid and couldn’t do anything right. He also made her feel small for her . . . needs.”
Joey turned to face him. “She’s a Little like me.”
Surprise filled him. “How’d you figure that out?”
“I have an excellent Little radar,” he said.
Anson shot him a quick look of disbelief as he parked in his garage.
“And she told me about her toy mouse,” he said before jumping out of the truck and rushing into the cabin.
Anson followed his brother through the covered walkway to the cabin. This hadn’t existed before he’d hurt himself, but he’d needed it after to easily get from his house to the garage.
“Joey, you probably shouldn’t have done that,” he told him before noticing that his brother had come to a sudden stop.
He glanced over, surprised to find Lochlan sitting in an armchair, sipping on a coffee as he checked something on his phone.
Lochlan glanced up, his gaze moving over Joey with a hunger that Anson was shocked he didn’t hide better.
“What did Joey do?” Lochlan asked.
“Nothing,” Joey said rapidly.
“Nothing you need to know about,” Anson added, feeling protective of his brother. “But, Joey, don’t let her know that you know, all right? I think she’s always suppressed that side of herself and I don’t want her to feel embarrassed or think that I might have told you.”
“You got it!” Joey agreed. “I don’t want to do anything to scare Alice away. She’s good for you. I like this new Anson.”
“Thanks, brother. One more thing. If anyone ever treated you like that . . . you’d tell me.”
Joey’s eyes narrowed. “I might be a Little, but that doesn’t mean I can’t take care or protect myself. I’m still a man and I’ve studied mixed martial arts for years.”
“I know. Didn’t mean to insult you. It’s just . . . this guy made her feel so ashamed of her needs. I hate the idea of anyone doing that to you.”
Joey shot him a grin. “They wouldn’t dare. I’d use my kung fu on them.” He chopped the air with his hands.
“Does someone want to tell me what’s going on here?” Lochlan asked. “Who are you talking about?”
“The woman that Anson is going to marry,” Joey sang.
“What?” Lochlan let out a burst of laughter. “Don’t make jokes like that, Joey. Anson doesn’t like it.”
Joey’s face dropped and Anson moved further into the living room. “Actually, Joey is just speaking the truth and I’m fine with it. I’m gonna marry Alice.”
Joey sent him a surprised look, then a wide smile. Anson had just spoken the truth, but even if he hadn’t it would have been worth it to make his brother look at him like that.
Shit.
When had their relationship started to deteriorate? It was before the car accident, he was certain. And it had been entirely his fault.
“What?” Lochlan asked in shock. “Who is this girl? Where is she? We need to do a background check on her.”
“I need to speak to you about that. Among other things. But where is your car?” Anson hadn’t seen it when they had driven up.
“I got dropped off.”
Dropped off?
Anson eyed him for a moment. “Is there something I need to know? Why would you get driven here?”
Lochlan sighed. “Nothing you need to worry about. I’m just not driving for a while.”
“Sure you’re all right?” Joey asked worriedly.
“Yep. Nothing for you to worry about Joe-Joe,” Lochlan told him gently.
Joey didn’t look less concerned, but he nodded. Anson sat down across from Lochlan and Joey sat next to him.
“I need you to do some research into someone,” Anson said to Lochlan. “I think his name is George Madison.”
“But that might not be his last name. She might be using her maiden name,” Joey said.
“Yeah, that’s true.” Anson nodded. “That makes things trickier.”
“Who is she?” Lochlan asked, making notes on his phone.
“Alice Madison. Early thirties. Married to an asshole called George. They live in San Diego, well, he does. She used to work in marketing for a supermarket chain. He’s an abusive narcissist who we need to destroy.”
Lochlan’s head shot up at that. “Well, you know there’s nothing I love more to do than destroy the lives of assholes. I had so much fun doing that to Jenna.”
“I want his life utterly destroyed,” Anson said. “He told her that she was stupid. That she was nothing. That everything she did was wrong. He taught her to be ashamed of her Little. And that part doesn’t leave this room.”
“A Little?” Lochlan narrowed his gaze.
Anson shifted around uncomfortably. “Yeah, that’s the other thing I need from you. Some advice on how to be a good Daddy Dom to a Little who has never experienced that.”
“Finally, you’re admitting that you’re a Daddy Dom.”
Anson frowned at Lochlan. “What are you talking about?”
“You’ve always had Daddy Dom vibes, big bro,” Joey told him. “You’ve just never been keen on acknowledging that side of yourself. But it’s definitely there.”
“Daddy Dom vibes?” he queried.
“Joey is kind of right,” Lochlan told him. “You like to be in control in the bedroom, right?”
Was he really having this conversation with his brother here? He glanced at Joey.
“Don’t mind me,” Joey said, waving his hand in the air. “I’m all about control in the bedroom. Well, giving it away. Nothing like a big, handsome Dom who likes to boss me around.”
A low growl came from Lochlan and they both turned to give him looks.
“Sorry,” he said. “Scratchy throat. But you do, right?”
“Yes, you know I’ve been in the scene for a while. I just haven’t had a submissive partner in . . . years. I had to concentrate on my career.” And there hadn’t been room for anything else.
“Big bro, you shouldn’t deny your needs.” Joey waggled a finger to him. “It isn’t healthy. It can give you blue balls and constipation.”
Lochlan sighed. “Joey is right that it isn’t healthy. And we all kind of figured that you decided to date Jenna because she wasn’t a sub. Then you could focus fully on your career.”
He wasn’t wrong. “I’m a dick.”
“You’re driven,” Lochlan countered. “Not a bad thing. But now that you no longer have your career, you can think about what you really want and desire.”
Right. Now that his career was in tatters.
“Jesus, Lochlan,” Joey grumbled.
“What?” Lochlan asked.
“He knows his career is over, but he doesn’t need it rubbed in.”
“I’m just pointing out that there could be an upside. Finding happiness in his life.”
“Okay, maybe the two of you should stop trying to make me feel better,” Anson grumbled. “Lochlan isn’t wrong, even if he’s as clueless about people’s feelings as ever.”
“Since when did you have feelings?” Lochlan grumbled.
Anson snorted. “So I chose Jenna as I didn’t have to give her too much of myself?”
“I’m not saying you can’t be successful in a career and in your life,” Lochlan told him. “Just you didn’t want your attention diverted by other things.”
“Like being a Daddy Dom?”
Lochlan leaned forward. “How do you feel with this Alice? Like you naturally want to take charge but at the same time want to do everything that will make her life easier? Better? Do you want to nurture her? Support her? Provide her with a space where she’s safe and loved?
Do you want to be her caregiver? Her confidante?
Her friend? The person who makes the rules and enforces them?
Do you think she’s adorable in Little headspace?
Do you think you could dress her and play with her and discipline her as necessary?
Obviously everyone’s relationship is different.
But those are some things that come to mind. ”
“I want all of that. And she is adorable. I met her Little for the first time today. She was in this gorgeous onesie with her thumb in her mouth and I just wanted to wrap her up in safety and keep her protected from the rest of the world. But what do I do? How do I get her to trust me with her Little? I think she only showed me her today because she was overwhelmed and maybe a part of her was testing me.”
“Sure, she’ll do that. But stay steady. Stay true to yourself. Lay down boundaries and stick to them. Stay the course. Show her that you’ll be there for her no matter what. And that you accept all of her.”
“Presents don’t hurt either,” Joey piped up. “Just saying. I like presents.”
“Do you?” Lochlan murmured.
Joey wiggled. “I mean, they don’t have to be bought things. I’m not after expensive stuff. I just mean . . . she might never have been given anything. Like a soft blanket. Or maybe some cute slippers. Fluffy pajamas.” Joey shrugged.
That was a good idea.
“Thanks, both of you.” He sat in silence for a long moment before turning to Lochlan. “You’re staying until after New Years?”
“I was planning to, but I don’t want to get in the way of your budding romance. I’ll go stay with Miles.”
He should protest, but he kind of did want the house to himself in case he could convince Alice to come stay with him.
“I’ll drive you down there if you want,” Joey said.
Lochlan eyed him. “Thanks. I’ll get to work on this George guy. Also, I’ll send you some information about being a Daddy Dom.”
“Thanks, I appreciate it.”
Anson swallowed his pride, knowing there was something more he needed to ask of them.
“Before you go, there’s something else I need to ask you to do for me.”
Lochlan raised his eyebrows while Joey nodded.
“Anything, brother.”
Yeah, he really didn’t deserve these guys.