I head for the front door and open it to find Mistress Claudia smiling at me. “Hey there, sweetie. What a cute dress.”
“Thank you, ma’am.” I let her in and shut the door. “Master Grayson says you’re going to babysit me this morning.” I push out my bottom lip. “I’m big enough to stay by myself, though.”
Master Grayson comes into the living room at that moment and frowns at me. “Is that any way to speak to Mistress Claudia?”
I drop my gaze. “No, Sir.”
He tips my head back. “I need to get going so I’m not late, but I want Mistress Claudia to spank you, and then I want you to apologize to her.”
“Yes, Sir.” I’m breathless. This is out of character for us. Both of us. I know he doesn’t like to be a Daddy. He’s trying so hard to give me this. I appreciate it, but we can’t do this regularly. It will feel strained.
“Thank you for coming over,” he tells Mistress Claudia after releasing me. “Hopefully, she’ll behave better after I’ve left.”
“I’m sure we’ll be fine.”
And just like that, Master Grayson is gone, and I’m staring at the door wondering what the hell has turned my world upside down. I know Master Grayson is trying hard to give me what I need by inviting someone else over to give it to me.
Mistress Claudia takes my hand and pulls me toward the sofa. She drops her purse and sits. Today, she’s wearing cute white crop pants and a navy blouse. Her sandals are also navy, the same shade as her blouse. She has her hair pulled back at the base of her neck and perfect makeup. I wonder if the woman ever looks relaxed. Does she own comfortable jeans and sweats?
“How many times have you been spanked, sweetie?”
I flush. “Three times.”
“When was that?”
“At Master Quinten’s house last weekend. He spanked me twice, and he had Master Grayson do it once.” I squeeze my legs together. I’m nervous and uncertain about this.
She brings me around to one side and sets a hand on the small of my back. “Did they let you come afterward?”
I lower my gaze and whisper, “Yes. Master Quinten talked about spanking for punishment and not letting me come, but he didn’t do it.”
“Well, this spanking is not going to be for pleasure. I’m going to discipline you.”
I bite my lip.
“I think you’ll benefit from the experience. It will help you get more into the headspace of a little. A spanking is much different when you already know you won’t be given permission to come afterward.”
I nod at her. I’m intrigued if nothing else. I want to know what it will be like to be spanked by someone who is not my Daddy or Master. “Okay.”
She lowers me over her lap, lifts my dress, and palms my bottom. I’m kind of glad that she doesn’t lower my panties. The first swat isn’t too bad. I flinch and grit my teeth, bracing myself. The second one is harder. She keeps them high on my bottom and I can feel the burn through my cotton panties.
I lose count, but I think she spanks me about ten times. Finally, she lifts me back to my feet and holds me steady in front of her, her hands on my shoulders. “There. Done. That wasn’t so bad, was it?”
I shake my head. My bottom is burning, but I’ll live.
“Now, what would you like to do this morning?” She points at the large bag she carried in with her. “I brought some fun things with me.”
I light up. “What did you bring?”
“You’ll have to see.” She taps my nose and stands. “You think you can carry my bag into the kitchen? It’s heavy.”
“I can get it, Ma’am.” I rush over to pick it up, my heart lighter than it’s been in days. I’m little. I don’t have Master Quinten, but at least I can be myself for the morning.
We color for a while and then play cards. Old Maid and War. Mistress Claudia makes me PB&J for lunch and then lets me watch a cartoon on DVD.
I curl up in the corner of the couch with a soft blankie, not bothering to worry about the fact that my dress is too short and my panties are exposed.
Mistress Claudia sits in an armchair and reads a book while my movie plays. When it ends, she sets her book aside and smiles at me. “Master Grayson will be back soon. I hope you’ve had fun.”
“Yes, Ma’am.” I sit straighter, letting my legs stick out over the edge of the sofa. I fidget with my fingers in my lap. “I had fun, but…” I need to talk to someone. My emotions are all over the place.
“Go on.”
I draw in a breath. “It’s different when I’m little with Master Quinten,” I admit.
“I’m sure it is. Tell me what’s different.”
“Well…” I squirm on the couch, adjusting my dress. “I like being with you and all, but I’m not, uh, like…”
“Aroused?”
I nod. “Yes. That.”
She smiles. “I understand.”
“It’s not because you’re a woman or anything,” I rush to add. “It’s that you’re not Master Quinten.” Or Master Grayson, even. A tear falls down my cheek. “I miss him.” I swipe at my eyes. “I shouldn’t have let myself fall for him because he doesn’t like me that way.”
“Oh, sweetie, you don’t know that.” She stands and comes to my side. She pulls me against her and lets me cry. “From what I’ve heard, Master Quinten is a very busy man. You can’t take it personally.”
I draw in a sob, unable to stop myself, especially now that I’m deep in my little. “If he wanted me and Master Grayson, he wouldn’t have sent us away.”
She brushes a loose lock of hair from my forehead. “Maybe it’s more complicated than that. He was out of town all week, and it sounds like he has a lot of travel coming up. Maybe he just doesn’t think he can give you what you need right now.”
I blink at her. “I need him.” More tears fall. “And I feel bad because I don’t want Master Grayson to think he’s not enough. He loves me. I love him back.”
She hugs me again. “He knows that, sweetie.”
“And, and, and, Master Grayson misses Master Quinten, too. He doesn’t talk about it, but I know he does. He’s sad.”
“I’m sure he is, sweetie. It’s hard when things don’t go exactly how we want them to, but I bet the perfect Daddy is out there for you. Someone who can also be the perfect Dom to Master Grayson. You just haven’t met him yet.”
“I don’t want to meet him.” I squirm out of her embrace and push from the couch. As soon as I’m standing I yell, “I don’t want a different Daddy. I want Master Quinten.”
I turn and run from the room. I run all the way down the hallway and climb onto Master Grayson’s bed and under the covers. I smash my face into the pillow, draw my knees up tight, and sob.
Maybe I’m being ridiculous or dramatic, but once I got into the mindset of my little, I kept slipping deeper until I’m feeling petulant and naughty. I’m sad. And I’m mad.
Mistress Claudia doesn’t come to find me, and I don’t want her to, so that’s okay. Eventually, I cry myself to sleep.
Chapter 31
Master Grayson
When I get home, I’m surprised to find Claudia sitting in the living room alone. “Everything okay?”
She nods. “Yes. More or less. We had a great morning. She took her spanking well. We colored and played cards and ate lunch and watched a movie and then she kind of fell apart on me.”
“How so?” I sit across from her. I’m worried. Hell, I’ve been worried all week. That’s why I invited Claudia over. I thought she might do Josie some good.
“She misses him.” He holds my gaze.
I sigh and run a hand down my face. “I miss him, too. Can’t blame her.”
“I think she feels bad because she’s worried about you, but she misses Master Quinten at the same time.”
“I’m sure she does. I’m worried this is going to tear us apart, and I have no idea what to do.”
“I have an idea.” She lifts her brows.
I frown. “I’m all ears.”
/>
“Go talk some sense into Quinten.”
I flinch, shaking my head. “Not a chance.”
“Why not?”
“First of all, my pride. But more importantly, it wouldn’t matter. He didn’t mince words the ten thousand times he told us we weren’t welcome in his life. We fought. Things ended…badly.”
Claudia draws in a slow breath. “He asked about you.”
I jerk my entire body and frown.
She nods. “Roman spoke to him. He’s as miserable as you are.”
I run a hand down my face.
“Talk to him,” she repeats as she stands and gathers her things.
I walk Claudia to the door, my mind reeling. “Thanks for coming over.”
“Anytime. Josie’s an amazing woman, and you don’t need me to tell you you’re also a fantastic Dom. I know you love each other.” She sets a hand on my arm and meets my gaze, saying nothing more.
I watch as she walks to her car, and then I shut the door slowly. Taking a deep breath, I head down the hallway to the master bedroom and find Josie curled up in a ball in the corner of the bed. Her covers are pulled up over her torso, but I can see she’s still wearing the pale green dress she put on this morning. Her hair is in the pigtails she put in, too, splayed out on the pillow.
I watch her for a few minutes, considering my options, and finally decide to leave her sleeping. I return to the kitchen, glance around, and flatten my palms on the counter. Talk to him? Seems like a horrible idea. But what choice do I have? I have to try. Josie and I are miserable. I have to make another effort. If it ends badly, at least I’ll know I did my best.
I open a drawer and pull out a pen and paper to leave her a note so she’ll know where I’ve gone if she wakes up. And then I grab my keys and head back out the door.
Twenty minutes later, I pull up to his house without warning him I’m coming. I can’t even be sure he’s home, but this isn’t a conversation I want to have over the phone.
I knock and then wait, holding my breath. I have no idea if I’m doing the right thing. This could blow up in my face and leave me more angry than I already am. My hands are fisted at my sides. I’m breathing heavily like I’m ready for battle. In a way I am.
Finally, the door opens and I’m half-surprised to find Quinten himself answering. His eyes widen. “Grayson? Is everything okay?”
I shake my head. “No. Not even close.” I glare at him.
He backs up and lets me in, his hand coming to my biceps with a familiarity I both crave and want to shake off. Does he deserve to stand so intimately in my space? He nods behind him. “Let’s go to my office.”
As I follow him, I realize he’s more casual than I’ve ever seen him. He’s wearing jeans and a white polo shirt. Loafers. His hair is disheveled as if he’s been running his hands through it. When we step into his office, I’m surprised to find his desk is covered with papers and open books. Several lie on the floor, too. As I get closer, I notice scribbled, hand-written notes on notebooks and loose paper.
He waves a hand through the air. “Ignore the mess. I’ve been working on my next book all day. Or trying to.” He aims for an armchair and sits, pointing at the matching chair to indicate where he’d like me to sit.
“Talk to me,” he demands. “Is Josie okay?”
I draw in a breath and meet his gaze. “No, Quinten. Nobody is okay. We haven’t been since we left here. We’ve done nothing but scramble to find a new normal and we failed.”
He glances down and then back up. “Shit. I’m sorry. I’ve been worried all week about you. Afraid you might be struggling. Concerned I made things worse.” Wrinkles at the corners of his eyes confirm he’s stressed. His eyes draw together, tightening his forehead, too.
“Maybe you could have called,” I suggest with a bit of snark.
He sighs and looks off to the left. “I was afraid that would only make things worse.”
“You spoke to Roman, though. Wednesday night. While we were there,” I point out.
He winces. “Yeah. He called to yell at me.”
Now I flinch. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
“It means he laid into me about how I left things with you and Josie. He basically told me I’m an idiot.” Quinten offers a surprising small smile.
I lift both brows. He’s stealing my thunder. I’m supposed to be the one telling him he’s an idiot.
He closes his eyes slowly and tips his head back as if he might be able to gather words from the ceiling. “It was wrong of me to let myself get emotionally involved with you two. I knew it was a possibility even before I invited you into my home, and I did it anyway.”
I let out a snarky laugh. “Let yourself?” My voice rises. “Let yourself get involved? You say that as if feelings are something you can turn on and off at will.”
He lowers his gaze. “I had hoped that was true.”
I laugh again, no humor in my voice at all. “You have a Ph.D. in Psychology and you thought you were immune to emotional attachment?”
He rubs his temples.
I lurch off my seat and close the distance between us in seconds, setting my palms on the arms of his chair so that I’m inches from his face, hovering over him. “You can fix this, Quinten.”
He jumps to his feet, dislodging me and grabbing me by the biceps so that I don’t fall on my ass as I take a step back. His expression is tense, drawn, narrow. He holds my gaze for a long time, both of us breathing heavily.
Finally, he grips my arms tighter. “Do you have any idea how badly I want to dominate you right now?”
“So fucking do it, Quinten,” I return, knowing I’m antagonizing him. I don’t care. “Do it. Dominate me. Do it now. What are you waiting for?”
He draws in several deep breaths as one hand slides up to cup my face. “The two of you are way under my skin. You’re all I’ve thought about for the last week. I’m supposed to be working on my book, and I can’t focus.”
“Good.”
He groans, his hand tighter on my face. His thumb is pressing against my jaw. “I’m forty-five,” he tells me as if this is relevant. “Twice Josie’s age. Thirteen years older than you.”
“What the fuck does that have to do with anything?” I retort.
He sighs slightly. “My plate is full. My schedule is outrageous.”
I grab his hand from my face and hold it, jerking my gaze toward his desk. “And I see you’re getting a lot done without Josie and me here underfoot.” My sarcasm oozes.
I can’t believe I’m practically begging this man to see reason, to listen to me. To enter into a relationship with me. With Josie. With us. We need him. He needs us. “Damn, you’re stubborn.”
He slowly smiles. “I’ve been called worse.” His face returns to sober and he flips his hand over so that now he’s grasping mine. His other hand is on my shoulder. “I don’t have the time you both deserve.”
“Did it ever occur to you that perhaps we don’t need every second of your day? We have jobs, too. I work long hours. Josie works full-time. But wouldn’t it be nice if in our downtime the three of us could fulfill our needs? Tell me this is one-sided and I’ll leave. Tell me you don’t crave dominating us as much as we crave your domination. Tell me, Quinten. Look me in the eyes and tell me to leave.”
He groans and then squeezes me tighter. “You know that’s not true.”
I lower my voice. “Then stop pretending you can’t fit us in and enjoy your life.”
He seems to hold his breath for several heartbeats and then releases me. “Where’s Josie?”
“At home. When I left, she was curled up in a ball in the corner of the bed wearing a pale green dress and in pigtails. Her face was swollen because she’d cried herself to sleep.”
“Let’s go.” He turns around and rushes from the office.
I follow him through the house and out the side door that leads to a four-car garage. Without another word, I climb into the passenger side of his SUV and buckle up. God, I ho
pe he has decided to see reason.
Chapter 32
Josie
When the bed dips beside me and a hand lands on my back, I curl into myself tighter. I’m not sure how long I’ve been asleep, but I don’t feel like talking yet. I know the hand belongs to Master Grayson. It’s too firm and large to be Claudia’s.
I draw in a breath and then freeze. The scent doesn’t belong to Master Grayson. My mind must be playing tricks on me. I refuse to open my eyes.
“Princess…” That voice. I jerk my eyes open and gasp.
Master Quinten is leaning over me. His brow is furrowed, but he’s also smiling slightly.
“What are you doing here?” I whisper.
“I came to get you and bring you home. I thought you might sleep better in your little girl room.” He slides his hand up to my face and cups my cheek, his thumb stroking my skin.
I blink several times. Am I dreaming? And then I see Master Grayson sitting next to Master Quinten. He’s smiling at me. “Have you been sleeping this whole time? I left you a note telling you I was going to Master Quinten’s.”
I shake my head. “I never got up.”
Master Quinten reaches under me and lifts me onto his lap. He tucks my head against his chest and rocks me back and forth. “I’m sorry, princess. I’ve missed you.” He kisses the top of my head.
I wrap my arms around him and hug him tight. “I’ve missed you, too.”
“I’m a very busy man with a schedule most people would cringe at, but would you consider staying with me for a while? Both of you? I’d love it if when I came home, I had the two of you to relax with.”
I lift my face to meet his gaze. “Do you mean it?”
He nods.
When I twist my head around to look at Master Grayson, he’s smiling.
“We could come stay at your house, Sir?”
“Yep. I’d like that very much. It would give us a chance to see how our dynamic might play out in real life.”
I grin. “I’d like that.”
He hugs me tight and then kisses me on the lips.
Master Grayson leans in closer and kisses me also before turning to kiss Master Quinten.
Pleasing Josie (Surrender Book 5) Page 23
