Chapter Eight #2
classes together and they seemed to fit, and not once had she felt for him like
she did for Nate.
Probably because he wasn’t Nate and never had been even
close. She had to acknowledge the fact that she’d been thinking about Nate
Carter for years.
“I don’t need to hear that,” her da said. “I knew we
shouldn’t have let you go off to college.”
“You probably shouldn’t have let me out of the house,” Daisy
said quietly.
“Aidan, I’d like an answer.” Her mother stared a hole
through her brother. “What does your father mean?”
“I’d like to know, too.” Carys crossed her arms over her
chest. “I would also like to know why it’s perfectly okay for me to play in the
club but it’s too dirty for Daisy.”
“Now, you know what I’m talking about, Carys,” her da
insisted. “You have a perfectly good fiancé. It’s fine for you and Aidan to do
whatever you like.”
“But I’m alone so I should be a virgin?” This conversation
was everything she’d been afraid of.
“I only want you to be safe,” he replied, his voice going
low. “It’s not the same for you as it is for Aidan. We have to protect you, and
part of protecting you means having conversations with the men who want to get
close to you.”
What had Nate said? She hadn’t believed him at the time, but
now she wondered. “Like you had Aidan talk to guys at The Hideout?”
“What?” Carys’s head shook like she didn’t even understand
the words Daisy was saying.
“Sweetie, why would you think your brother did that?” her
mom asked.
She felt tears fill her eyes. “Well, it’s not like I haven’t
tried to play. But when I do, suddenly no one is available.” She turned to her
brother. “Did you or did you not warn all the Doms at The Hideout not to play
with me?”
“Don’t you dare lie to her,” her mother warned. “Aidan, I’ve
dealt with your father putting Daisy on a pedestal because I thought he didn’t
know how to handle having a daughter. But you damn well know how to handle a
sister. So I need to know if you’ve been meddling with your sister’s
relationships.”
“I’ve been protecting her.” Aidan sighed and pulled the cap
from his head, shoving it into the pocket of his scrubs. “I know those guys,
Mom.”
Oh, but he didn’t. “You barely knew that guy named Grim. And
Josh Barnes.”
“I knew his name was fucking Grim, and he wasn’t getting his
hands on my sister,” Aidan shot back.
Carys’s jaw had dropped. “You warned Doms off her?”
“I did what my father asked me to do,” Aidan replied with a
frown.
“Yes, he’s done a good job, but he took his eyes off her
this time,” her da replied.
The room went quiet for a moment and her mother stared at
her father. “Li, I need to speak with you in private.”
She rarely heard her mother talk to anyone in that tone of
voice. It was usually directed at her, a sure sign she was in trouble. She
almost never heard her mother use a harsh tone when talking to Da or Aidan.
Daisy’s gut clenched. She didn’t want to be the reason they
had this conversation. She hadn’t meant to make her mom upset. She loved her
mom. Loved them all. Her family was all she had.
Were they going to ask her to give up Nate?
What would she do if they told her she had to choose? Should
she choose momentary joy over her lifelong family? When Nate eventually decided
she was too much trouble, who would she have?
She’d only spent a single night with the man. The best
night. The hours she’d spent with him had made her happier than she’d ever
been, made her feel more than she’d thought she could, and it hadn’t all been
about sex. He’d talked to her, opened up to her, and it had been everything.
But if it hurt her father, did she have any right to
momentary pleasure?
“Avery, you don’t understand,” her da argued.
Her mother stood and started for the door. “Oh, I
understand. I understand what you’ve done to our girl. Daisy, I want you to
know how much I love you and how proud I am of you. I’m going to have a
discussion with your father and he’s going to stay out of your relationship
with Nate. I’ll send over supper for both of you tonight, and I hope you have a
lovely time. You should try the privacy rooms. They’re a lot of fun.”
“You shouldn’t…” her da began but her mom was already
walking out of the conference room. Her da followed behind. “Avery, slow down.”
The door closed behind them.
“Dais,” her brother began.
“So, all those times I worked up the courage to ask someone
to play with me, you knew they never would?” It felt like a betrayal.
Her brother’s face fell. “It wasn’t like that. I wasn’t
trying to hurt you.”
“And yet you did a fabulous job.” Carys stared at her fiancé
like she didn’t know him. “I can’t believe you did this.”
Aidan leaned her way, an earnest expression on his face.
“Why is it wrong to protect my sister?”
“You’re protecting her from what, Aidan? From enjoying her
life? From having good sex? From finding someone who she can love? You damn
straight didn’t protect her from feeling like no one wanted her,” Carys pointed
out.
It was good to know Carys hadn’t realized what was
happening. Another woman being in on it would have hurt far worse. “So my
friends didn’t know?”
Carys shook her head. “Absolutely not. I’m shocked no one
talked, and now I’m worried the guys are being assholes and have some sort of
pact to protect the little women. Are the other guys in on it? TJ? Tristan?”
“TJ doesn’t have anything to do with it. Tris is looking out
for his sister like I’m looking out for mine. When we started the club, Da was
worried,” Aidan began.
The door came open and Nate strode in, carrying the bags of
sandwiches her mom had sent with Da this morning. Food was her mother’s love
language, but she didn’t feel much like eating now.
“Are your parents okay?” Nate asked, setting the bag down.
He also had a green can he handed to her. “You still like lemon lime? It’s all
you used to drink as a kid.”
She loved it. “You remembered?”
His expression softened. “I remember a lot, love.”
The way he was looking at her…like she was precious. Like
she was the whole world.
“My parents aren’t okay.” Aidan reminded her he was still
here.
“Neither are we,” Carys said. “Nate, did he try to warn you
off Daisy and Brianna? Any other young virgins who need to be protected at all
costs?”
Nate whistled and started unpacking the food. “So, I was
right and that’s why all the Doms freaked out when they realized it was Daisy.”
He sat down beside her. “I watched you from the lounge. You should understand
there wasn’t an eye not on you last night. Every Dom in the club wanted you the
minute you stepped out because you were the most gorgeous sub on the floor. It
was only after they realized it was you that they started acting like you had
an infectious disease or something.”
Every word was a balm to her soul. “Well, I’m kind of glad
now because I think it worked out for me.”
He shook his head and took her hand in both of his. “I would
have come after you. I knew what I wanted, and even if you’d started playing
with someone else, I would have made a move.”
He brought her hand to his lips and kissed it, sending a
thrill of arousal through her.
“Is that what you wanted to protect her from?” Carys asked
quietly.
Aidan’s eyes closed, and he took a long breath. When he
opened them again, there was regret in his gaze. “From the moment you were
born, Da told me it was up to me to protect you. It’s always been my job. I
honestly wasn’t trying to hurt you. I want the best for you, and I know that’s
you finding someone who loves you and having a great…sex life, but you’re still
my kid sister. The one I’m supposed to protect from everything.”
“He’s going to stop now,” Carys promised. “And we’re going
to have a long talk with Tristan if he ever fucking comes home again.”
Carys had enough on her plate. “I’m sorry. I don’t mean to
cause trouble between the two of you. Aidan, you should know I had already
decided to find a new club. You won’t have to worry about watching me make any
mistakes.”
“Daisy, please don’t.” Aidan slumped down onto the chair
across from her. “I was trying to please Da. You know how much he adores you,
and he’s never been able to see beyond you being the five-year-old girl who
wanted nothing more than to be with her father. Can you forgive me? I will talk
to every Dom at the club and explain I was wrong.”
“Maybe we should play on different nights.” It still hurt,
but it was easy to see her brother loved her. She wasn’t so sure about her da,
who seemed to be figuring out she wasn’t a little girl. Daisy wasn’t sure he
would be able to love the woman she’d become.
“Nate and I will work that out,” Aidan promised. “Car, do
you want to talk?”
Carys sighed and moved around the conference table, sitting
next to her fiancé. “Not really. If Daisy is willing to accept your apology,
then I say we sit here and have our first double date.” She reached for his
hand. “Life is too short to be mad.”
“Thank you.” Aidan leaned over and kissed her and then
looked to Daisy. “And I’m so sorry, Dais. I love you. I want you to be happy,
and if your version of happiness means you’ve got a three-hundred-pound
Australian tree on top of you most of the time, then I’m glad for you. I will
talk to Da.”
“I’m not three hundred pounds,” Nate said with a frown. “I’m
barely two sixty.”
“And it’s all muscle,” Carys said with a wink.
“Hello, fiancé right here.” Aidan frowned Carys’s way.
“Well, I can look, and I’m going to high-five Dais when you
two aren’t looking. Now, is there a ham and brown bread? I’m starving, and I
have to get back to the hospital for afternoon rounds soon.” Carys took the
sandwich Daisy gave her.
Aidan stood again. “And I will go get us some sodas since
Nate only remembers what Daisy drinks.”
“Mate, I didn’t even know you were here.” Nate had a big
smile on his face.
“Well, you should know I’ll be anywhere my sister needs me,”