Chapter 19
Jesse
Just as Jesse met Edie’s wide-eyed gaze, the belt came crashing down again, this time right across her sit-spots. Kicking her feet up in a vain attempt to protect her bottom, she let out a loud howl of pain. “Ow, ow, ow! Daddy, no!”
“Feet on the floor, little girl. Now.”
There was an edge to her Daddy’s voice that told her he was about out of patience with her. She’d dragged her feet—figuratively as well as literally, necessitating him physically picking her up to position her over the couch—when he’d announced she still had to go through with the second half of her punishment.
But it was hard to focus on being a good girl for her spanking when all she wanted to do was find Edie and knock some sense into her brain. Why couldn’t she see how good they could all be together? It was the perfect solution, but she was just too stubborn and set in her ways to see it.
Unfortunately for Jesse, her Daddy wasn’t the type to accept any excuses when it came to a well-earned punishment. So she quickly lowered her feet back to the worn wooden floors, her gaze still locked on Edie’s face.
“Are you ever going to run away without your phone on and fully charged, little girl?”
“N-no, Daddy.”
Another crack of the thick leather across that same tender spot had tears slipping down her cheeks and her breath hitching as she tried to inhale.
“Good. Because if you ever”—he whipped her again, this time just a little higher, but with enough overlap to have her crying out—“worry me like that again, little girl, you will be grounded for the rest of your natural life and the spanking you’re getting right now will seem like nothing more than a few love taps. Am I making myself perfectly clear?”
“Yes, Daddy! I’m sorry, I’m so s-sorry!”
At the next snap of the leather, she collapsed over the thick padded arm of the couch, her breaths coming in loud, hiccupping sobs. And then his arms were around her, picking her up and cradling her as he settled on the couch.
“That’s my good girl. Let it all out, baby.”
Clinging to him, she did exactly as she was told, weeping out the guilt and frustration and outright fear she’d felt over the past few days. It was, as much as she hated to admit it, exactly what she’d needed to finally cleanse her soul.
As her sobs slowed, another set of hands, smaller and gentler than her Daddy’s, tilted her chin up. A cool washcloth brushed away her tears, and she nearly wept again at how right it all felt.
“Poor babygirl,” Edie murmured before pressing a kiss to Jesse’s forehead. “You had a lot of big emotions bottled up in there, didn’t you?”
“Uh-huh.”
Daddy’s arms tightened around her, and though the gesture put more pressure on her chest, for the first time in weeks it felt like she could breathe. “You took your spanking so well, baby. Daddy’s so proud of you.”
They were familiar words, ones she’d heard countless times over the course of their relationship. And yet, they never failed to make everything inside her light up with pure joy. “I really am sorry I made you worry, Daddy.”
“I know, baby. It’s all forgiven now.” He paused, and she felt his head raise. “Isn’t that right, Edie?”
An eternity passed in the seconds it took Edie to answer. An eternity where it felt as though Jesse’s entire future hung on whatever answer she gave.
“Yes. All forgiven, little one.”
Something inside her, something she hadn’t even realized was out of place, settled. Like when you’re trying to put together a puzzle, and you can’t quite get a piece to match but then you realize it was just facing the wrong way. So you turn it and it just… clicks. And while she didn’t for a second think Edie was saying she forgave her for everything, she’d been forgiven for this at least, and that was enough for now.
The only thing that would make this moment better would be Edie saying she’d give them a chance.
Baby steps, Walker. Baby steps.
“Edie, could you do me a favor and sit with Jesse for a moment?” Daddy asked, his voice soft and gentle the way it always was after a harsh punishment. “I don’t think our…” He stopped and cleared his throat. “I don’t think Jesse is going to feel like putting her jeans back on anytime soon.”
“Of course.”
The couch dipped a bit beside them, and then she was snuggled up beside Edie, her head resting on Edie’s breasts. Gentle hands stroked her back soothingly, and a moment later she heard the soft, familiar sound of Edie’s voice.
Closing her eyes, she let herself drift, buoyed by an old melody she’d all but forgotten. It was an older country song, and it took her a moment to place the lyrics.
When she finally did, the memory hit her full force. Out by the lake where they’d first explored each other”s bodies, one of those nights between falling in love and being torn apart, dancing in the headlights of Edie’s old pickup to a playlist Edie had made just for her. The song Edie was singing now had been on that list, a woman with a sweet, high voice singing about how much could be heard when her lover was being completely silent.
Now, just like then, she was struck by how much the song reminded her of Edie. Her woman had never been big on grand declarations of love, but she said so much in those long silences.
“You have an incredible voice.” Daddy’s tone held a hint of awe. “You could give Alison Kraus herself a run for her money.”
“I doubt it,” Edie replied dryly. “And I wouldn’t want to. I’m not really cut out for all that.”
Unease crawled up Jesse’s spine as she let her Daddy help her up and into her pajamas. She couldn’t help but feel like Edie wasn’t just talking about a career of her own.
“You know, plenty of celebrities have spouses who stay completely out of the limelight.” Craning her neck, she looked over her shoulder to try and gauge Edie’s response.
But the other woman’s face was frustratingly blank. “I never gave it much thought.”
“We have plenty of time to talk about the future.” Daddy’s voice had that ‘This discussion is closed’ tone that Jesse knew so well. Which, as it always did, only served to annoy her.
“Obviously, Edie wants to talk about it now.”
Firm fingers gripped her chin, and Jesse froze as he forced her to look at him. “Does Edie make the rules, little outlaw?”
“Um, well, when we were together, she did.”
It was an evasive answer and judging by the flash of annoyance in Daddy’s eyes, he knew it. “And who makes the rules now?”
“You do, Daddy.”
“So if I say this discussion needs to wait until later, what should you do?”
Maybe if her ass hadn’t still been on fire from his belt, she might have felt brave enough to push him a little farther. But seeing as how she couldn’t even shift from one foot to another without being reminded of how thoroughly she’d been punished, she backed down. “I should drop it.”
“Good girl.”
He pressed a kiss to her forehead, and the butterflies doing somersaults in her tummy quieted.
“Then I suppose this is a bad time to ask y’all what the hell you two were thinking, asking me to tag along in your relationship.” Edie’s tone was still dry, not giving any insight into how she was feeling about the offer.
I was thinking I want you however I can get you. Stubborn old goat.
Daddy’s eyebrow rose as his gaze shifted to Edie. “No. I think that’s absolutely something we should discuss. If you can do so respectfully, Edie.”
It amused Jesse to no end to watch Edie’s face turn red. But even though she was clearly not immune to Daddy’s bossiness, Edie jerked her chin up. “I was being plenty respectful.”
“Edie.”
There was a wealth of warning in those two syllables. And Edie obviously heard it as well, judging by the way her eyes widened ever so slightly before she dropped her gaze. “Well, I was.”
To Jesse’s surprise, her Daddy simply laughed. “If you accept our offer, I have a feeling you’re going to end up over my knee quite a bit, little pixie.”
Jesse had never considered herself a sadist. But the memory of Edie over her Daddy’s lap, getting her bottom roasted, brought the need between her thighs roaring back to life. Some small part of her almost wished Edie would push the envelope so she could watch it happen again.
But although Edie lifted her head enough to glare at Grant, she didn’t argue. “I’ll do my best. Sir,” she added, almost as an afterthought.
“Good girl.” Daddy looked around the room for a moment before striding out of the living room and into the kitchen. He returned a moment later with one of Edie’s old dining room chairs, which he placed in front of the couch before dropping down onto the seat and gesturing at the spot beside Edie. “Sit, little outlaw, so we can talk.”
Excitement bubbled up in her chest as Jesse took the seat next to Edie, crossing her legs under her to get comfortable. Something in her Daddy’s expression told her they were going to be here for a while.
“All right. I think we should start by answering your question, Edie.” Leaning forward, Daddy propped his elbows on his knees, his expression turning thoughtful. “I can’t, and won’t, speak for Jesse. But for me, I can see how much you mean to my Little girl. And all I want in this world is to make her happy.” His gaze zeroed in on Jesse with an intensity that had her breath tangling in her chest. “Would being with Edie make you happy, baby?”
“Yes.” She didn’t even have to think about it. Even with all the fighting they’d done over the past few days, being here, with Edie, had felt like finding a piece of her soul that had been missing. “It would make me incredibly happy.”
Edie shook her head. “You don’t know that. I’m not—we’re not the same people we were ten years ago, Jesse. What if we don’t fit anymore?”
“We fit pretty well when you were spanking me. And when you had your head between my?—”
“Oh my god, that’s not what I meant.” If Edie’s face had been red before, it was positively crimson now, and Jesse had to swallow a laugh. “Sex was never a problem with us, brat.”
That was true. “Well, for what it’s worth, I’m not really worried about how we’ll fit in any other way, either.” Sobering, Jesse reached over and laid her hand on Edie’s arm. “I never stopped loving you, Edie. And I don’t think you ever stopped loving me.”
“I don’t know how to answer that.”
Edie’s voice trembled, breaking Jesse’s heart all over again. “You don’t need to answer it, not right now. But you asked what we were thinking, and that’s what I was thinking. How much I still fucking love you, and how much it will kill me to have to walk away without doing everything I can to fight for you. For us.”
It was one of the hardest things she’d ever done, sitting there and waiting for Edie to answer her. To either accept their offer or reject it outright.
“Say I was willing to give this crazy idea of yours a shot,” Edie said slowly, obviously choosing her words carefully. “How would it even work?”
It wasn’t an outright ‘No’ and Jesse had to fight to keep from jumping up and dancing around in celebration. “It can work however we want it to work. You and I could have our own relationship, and you and Grant could just be friends.”
“Or… you could be my little girl, too,” Daddy said slowly, as if he was worried speaking too fast might spook her.
Edie shook her head. “I’m not Little. Submissive, yes. Little, no.”
“No, I didn’t think you were. But if you and I were to have a relationship, I would expect to be the one in charge. And, in the interest of complete honesty, I think you could use somebody taking the reins every now and then. Isn’t that right, little pixie?”
“I plead the fifth.” But the corners of Edie’s lips twitched for a moment before she turned to Jesse, her expression once again serious. “And you’d be okay with that? With sharing your Daddy with another woman?”
“Generally speaking? No.” Taking a chance and hoping it wouldn’t spook her, Jesse reached over and took Edie’s hand in hers. “But with you? Absolutely. And don’t ask me to explain, because I can’t. I can just feel it in my bones that this will be good for us. All of us.”
“That still doesn’t answer the question of what we do when it’s time for you two to go back to California.”
“One step at a time,” Grant said. “We have a month before we absolutely need to head back. I’ll need to work some during that month, but I can set up just about anywhere with a decent internet connection. That’s a month for us all to get to know each other, and to talk about the future if we decide we want to take that next step. So, what do you say, Edie? Give us a month?”
Once again, Jesse was left feeling like her life was hanging in the balance as she waited for Edie to answer. Finally, after what felt like yet another eternity, Edie nodded.
“Okay. I can give you a month.”