by Karen Nappa
Paula and Will had sidled up to him, and he felt their support even before Paula spoke. "Angie," followed by a louder, "Angie!" When the woman kept screaming and fighting against Jim's hold, Paula took a step forward and put her hands on either side of Angie's face. After a moment, Angie stilled. Paula nodded. "Better. Now can you behave like a human being and not some crazy banshee?"
"I'm going to sue you all! Let me go so I can call the police. You assaulted me."
Derek heard a chuckle beside him and turned to see Will. He'd almost forgotten about the other man.
"Good luck with that; let me introduce the three of us," Will said to Angie. "The guy holding you is Det. Jim Cagney, the woman who prevented you from making a spectacle of yourself—at least more than you already did—is Det. Sgt. Paula Stone. I'm Det. Will Tolbert. Enough police for you?"
"Daddy, do something about these people!" Angie begged Derek.
"No, Angie. I've been very clear with you since we broke up. We're done!"
"B-but."
"Let me escort this unwanted guest out," Jim said as he started to maneuver Angie to the exit. She started struggling again, and he growled in her ear, "Behave, or I'll let my wife have another round with you." Angie gave up her efforts, and Derek almost laughed at the glance she sent Paula's way.
Paula winked at Derek. "Let's go enjoy the munch."
Derek started when Will clapped him on the shoulder and rumbled, "Come on. It's why we're here, isn't it?"
What? Derek had hoped for a bit more supportive behavior from his friends and the local police, but he hadn't been expecting this!
Stunned by both Angie turning up and the support he'd gotten, Derek let Paula and Will escort him to a booth where they would have privacy from the audience that had gathered at Angie's noise.
"So," the way Paula stretched the word held a wealth of meaning, "that was Angie."
Derek let out a shuddering sigh and scrubbed a hand over his face.
Will chuckled. "Unlike Jim and Paula, I have no clue who Angie is, but it's obvious you weren't happy to see her. By the way you're looking right now, I think you need a drink." The big man sauntered off to the bar without waiting for Derek's reaction.
He wanted to get shit-faced, but that wouldn't solve a thing. Besides, he didn't want Sonja to see him wasted or have to deal with the aftermath. Wait a minute. Derek peered around. "Where's Sonja?"
Paula shrugged. "I don't know." She scanned the room. "I don't see her. Should she be here?"
"Yes, I was stuck at work, so she came on ahead."
"You don't think that she saw that stunt and ran off, do you?" Paula asked. Derek closed his eyes in horror as he realized how it must have looked to a submissive in a new relationship, struggling with her 'little' identity and her own appeal. Fuck! He wanted to roar and throw something. He wanted to go outside and—
A hand clamped on his shoulder, and Will pressed a tumbler into his hand. "Drink this," he ordered. "I recognize that murderous look. I've seen it multiple times when we had to let a criminal go because an asshole lawyer found some loophole. Calm the fuck down, before you do something stupid and we have to book you. Now, tell me who Angie is."
Paula slapped her hands on her knees and rose from her chair. "Excellent idea. I'll find Sonja."
Derek mouthed "Thank you," to Paula and turned to look up at Will, who was still holding a firm grip. The guy packed serious muscle, and Derek couldn't have moved if he wanted. "I'm cool."
Will narrowed his eyes and studied him for a moment, and Derek made sure his face was impassive and his hands were lightly holding the tumbler with amber liquid. Will nodded and let go of his hold. Derek sighed in relief and moved his shoulder and rolled his neck.
"Holy hell, you have a firm grip."
Will chuckled. "It's more about knowing where to grip a person than real strength. I used pressure points and nerve endings to control you and not strength. Sorry about that, by the way."
"You look more smug than sorry."
"Maybe a little." Will grinned, and it transformed his face from rugged to handsome. Derek bet he'd charmed his fair share of ladies. "Now, tell me about Angie," he said again.
"She's my former baby girl, um, submissive."
"Okay, so you're a Dom."
"I'm a Daddy Dom."
Will frowned. "Can you explain that to someone new to the scene?"
"A Daddy—or Mommy—but let's not make this explanation more complicated," Derek's lips twitched despite his worry for Sonja and his stress over Angie, "is the caregiver in a Daddy Dom/little girl relationship or DD/lg. The little girl is a submissive with the personality of a young girl who gets guidance, dominance and discipline from the Daddy. It's also called age play."
Will nodded during Derek's monologue. "So, you and Angie were a couple, but you split up?"
"Yes, I was with her for almost two years. Three or four months into the relationship, I realized Angie was playing a game. It was my first full-time BDSM relationship, and it took me a while to figure her out. I guess I should have listened to my sisters."
"What do your sisters have to do with it?" Will looked nonplussed.
"Sophia and Maya hated Angie from the get-go. They saw through her theatrics right away and tried to set me straight, but I was too smitten to listen."
"Okay, I can believe that. In my experience, women are better at reading people than men, especially other women," Will said. "But that doesn't explain why your relationship lasted almost two years!"
Derek sighed and scratched the back of his head. Will he think I'm weak if I tell him she manipulated me by threatening to harm herself? He took a fortifying breath, but before he could take the plunge, Paula came back.
"Sonja was here, but she left in a rush. The others didn't see Angie's play for you, so they were baffled but not alarmed at Sonja leaving in a hurry."
Even before Paula finished her sentence, Derek had his phone out and was calling Sonja. Voicemail! He tried again and when the second call had the same result, he shot her one text and then another.
Sonja woke up with a massive headache and needed a moment to remember what had happened. Her stomach dropped as she reviewed the events of last evening. She covered her mouth as she bit back a sob. She was done crying and feeling sorry for herself. She wouldn't give in to the urge to curl up in a ball. Resolved to move forward, she sat upright and received a disgruntled look from Snuggles.
With fake cheer in her voice, she crooned to him, "Want some breakfast, sweet boy?" Snuggles stretched, turned around, and flopped on the bed again. Okay, I guess he's not hungry, but I'm going to get up and have breakfast—strong coffee and a couple ibuprofen!
Sonja pulled on her fluffy robe and shoved her feet into her favorite pink slippers. Before she left the bedroom, she gave in to temptation and grabbed her favorite stuffed animal from the shelf. Sonja cuddled the light grey elephant to her chest as she went down to the kitchen. As she waited for the coffee to brew, she fought to keep her tears at bay. Apparently, people forget pain because I can't remember feeling this hurt before. The silence in her home pressed down on her, and she picked up her phone to put on music at the same time the device started to vibrate.
She almost dropped it but answered without glancing at the screen. "Yeah?"
"Baby girl."
She sobbed at hearing Derek's voice and answered, "Daddy?" before realizing what she was doing. She stiffened and pulled herself together. "Why are you calling, Derek?"
"Whatever you saw last night, it's not what you think!"
Sonja scoffed. "You mean another woman wasn't hugging you and calling you 'Daddy'?"
"Please, can we talk?"
"Why?"
"I want to explain." Derek sighed, and she imagined him running his hand over his face as he did when agitated. "But not over the phone. Can I come over?"
Sonja thought for a moment. She didn't want him in her home right now, but she wanted his explanation. He was right. It was a conversation to
have face to face.
"Meet me in half an hour at The Sweet and Savory Table," Sonja decided. She had to go to work anyway. "Aside from Suzie, no one will be there yet and she'll be busy in the kitchen.
"I'll be there."
Sonja poured herself a cup of coffee and set it on the counter to cool off then added a chocolate-filled croissant, Suzie's specialty that was a favorite among the café's regulars. After eating half, she downed two painkillers with a tall glass of water and went for a shower.
Derek paced up and down the pavement in front of the café for at least ten minutes before he spotted the familiar small, red sports car. His knees almost buckled in relief. She was here, and she wanted to talk.
His beautiful baby girl got out of the car and greeted him with a nod. "Derek." He could live with that. He didn't think he could live without her !
"Good morning, Sonja."
She opened the café and went inside in front of him. He followed her and almost had to laugh at how out of character their dynamic was, but when he saw her rigid shoulders, he sobered. She was hurting, and before he could remedy that, they had to talk.
"Coffee?"
He shook his head. "No, thank you."
"All right, let's go into the office."
Sonja took the lead again, and he followed her into the room at the back of the café. "Take a seat."
Derek did as she suggested and noticed Sonja deliberately sat behind the desk, putting the formidable barrier between them.
He took a fortifying breath and launched into his explanation. To his satisfaction, Sonja lost some of her tension as he explained how he had broken up with Angie over a year before he started seeing Sonja. Her eyes had softened, and when he finished, she was leaning forward on the table.
"So, during the two years you were together, you tried to break it off several times, but she kept coming back?"
Derek nodded.
"That sounds a lot like stalking to me."
Derek huffed. "Yeah, well. I tried to get a restraining order once but got nowhere with the local police."
Her eyes widened, and she touched his hand. He grabbed hers, thankful for her support and the opening. They were going to be all right!
"What now?"
"This time, things will be different. Jim, Paula, and Will were with me and supported me. Today, I'll file a complaint with the KCPD. Angie is unstable, and she needs professional help, but she'll never submit to therapy voluntarily."
Sonja nodded. "I talked to her for a while last night, and I sensed something was off, but I didn't know what."
"I was miserable last night, baby girl."
Sonja looked up at him with tear brimmed eyes. "Me too," she whispered.
Derek scooted his chair back and tugged on her hand. Sonja didn't need much encouragement, and she came around the desk and threw herself in Derek's arms.
Chapter 11
D espite her misgivings, Sonja had settled comfortably into the lifestyle. She loved the freedom age play granted her. She enjoyed settling down with her coloring books before dinner, but her greatest pleasure was Derek reading her a bedtime story. Her connection with him deepened with each passing day. They spent weekends in each other's pockets and were at Club Indigo either Friday or Saturday night and sometimes both. They would text and talk during the week, and she looked forward to their easy banter. A couple of months into their relationship, Sonja had finished the paperwork she had brought home from the café when she heard the chime on her phone and saw a new message from Derek. She pulled it up immediately, eager to see what he had to say.
8:48 pm: How was your day, baby girl?
Sonja started to type and changed her mind. She dialed his number instead.
"Kiriakis." His typical abrupt greeting.
"Hi, Daddy."
"Hey, baby girl, good to hear your voice."
Sonja smiled. It was good to hear his voice, too. "The funniest thing happened at work today. I thought you'd like to hear about it instead of reading it."
"You know I'm always up for a good story. Do tell."
"Someone performed an upgrade on the walk-in cooler. Every time the door opened, it started playing Rihanna singing Umbrella . Turned out that our chef hates the song. Everyone was baffled until I had one of the dishwashers climb up and poke around at the top of the doors. Seems someone had put a blue-tooth speaker just inside the door and hooked it into the switch that controlled the lights."
Derek laughed. "Somebody there is pretty smart. Did you find out who did it?"
"Not for sure, but my newest busboy is a student at UMKC and is studying electrical and computer engineering. He also impressed me at the interview as having a good sense of humor. He was conveniently off today, but he worked until closing yesterday. Fortunately for the sanity of the chef, the dishwasher managed to disconnect the speaker without any problem." Sonja couldn't help giggling at the memory. "It was really funny. I had the hardest time keeping a straight face while it was happening. I'll be talking to him tomorrow. I think he's enough of a straight shooter that he'll admit it if he's responsible."
"You're a good judge of character. I'm sure you'll figure it out," Derek reassured her.
"What was your day like, Daddy?"
"The usual paperwork, committee meetings, and frustrations, precious. You don't want to hear about that."
"Sure, I do. You listen to me when I'm complaining about work, why shouldn't I listen to you?" Sonja asked.
Derek agreed, and by the time he had finished telling about his second meeting, Sonja started yawning audibly, and Derek chuckled. "See what I mean? It puts you to sleep, too. Time to head to bed, baby girl."
Sonja pouted, glad he couldn't see her face. "I like talking to you."
"I like talking to you, too, but you have to get up early in the morning. No more stalling. To bed with you!"
"Yes, Daddy. Goodnight."
"Goodnight, baby girl."
They had just disconnected when her phone chimed again.
10:23 pm: Go to sleep, baby.
10:24 pm: Aahh, I'm not tired, Daddy. Upside down face emoji
10:25 pm: You will be once you go to bed. Love you, baby.
10:26 pm: Love you too, Daddy. Smiling face with heart eyes emoji, face blowing a kiss emoji
Sonja connected her phone to the charger on the nightstand and picked up her tablet. Dressed in an oversized T-shirt, face scrubbed clean, and teeth brushed, she was ready for bed.
Snuggles was already settled in his round bed by her pillow. She got under the covers and checked that she had set the alarm on her tablet. She started to put the tablet on her nightstand and remembered she wanted to check if her favorite author had shared the release date of her latest book. What Derek didn't know, wouldn't hurt him. She tapped the Facebook icon and clicked 'Cherise Sinclair: News and Discussions!' Browsing the posts, she was disappointed. No news yet. What was taking so long?
Someone had posted a new video of their kittens! Sonja tapped the screen to start the video. Oh, my, look at that cute little face.
5:29 am: Good morning, Daddy.
5:32 am: Good morning, baby. How was your night?
5:33 am: Very good, Sir. I'm well-rested.
5:35 am: Baby girl, you know Daddy can tell when you're lying.
Sonja looked in shock at her screen. He couldn't, could he? At least not by text.
5:38 am: What do you mean, Daddy?
She almost dropped her phone as it started to ring and 'Daddy' flashed on her screen.
"Good morning, Daddy."
"Good morning, baby girl. When did you go to bed last night?" His deep voice did funny things with her insides; he sounded so masculine and dominant.
Sonja grinned in relief. "Right after our chat, Daddy." She was sure she sounded as chipper as the proverbial early bird.
"Okay, let me rephrase that. When did you go to sleep?"
Oh, poop and hairballs!
"Um—" Silence at the other side of the line. So
nja gulped. "About midnight, I guess."
"You guess?"
"Well, I saw this new kitten video and after that, Facebook showed me more and, and, well, I sorta lost track of time." Another silence. "I'm sorry, Daddy."
"I know you are, baby, and thank you for being honest with me. I will, however, punish you for not obeying me and then lying about it!"
Sonja sputtered, "I-I didn't lie."
"Didn't you?"
What could she answer to that? "I'm sorry. Really, I am."
"Good. Then you'll invite me to come over tonight after dinner so we can finish this conversation and I can handle your discipline in person."
Sonja sighed. "Daddy, would you like to come over for dinner tonight? That would be better than after dinner."
"That would be lovely, baby. What time would you like me there?"
"About six would be good, I think. Is there anything special you'd like me to cook?"
"Whatever you want is fine with me. I'll see you then."
Derek thanked her for the meal and carried their plates to the kitchen counter. When he returned, he said, "Baby girl, do I need to remind you that I'm all in as your Dom, and you are one hundred percent my submissive?"
His question puzzled her. "What do you mean by that, Daddy?"
"What I mean by that is I'll hold you accountable for your behavior. Every. Single. Time."
Now, she understood. "This is about last night," she whispered.
He nodded and tipped up her face so she had to make eye contact with him. "Why was that, baby? Why didn't you think you could be open with me? Don't I take good care of you?"
She could feel the blood drain from her face and tried to shake her head, the movement hindered by his hand. "No, no, no!" Her eyes widened in shock, she looked up at him. "That's not it, Daddy. I didn't want you to be disappointed in me." She slapped a hand over her mouth as realization dawned. Tears formed in her eyes as she whispered, "By lying, I only let you down more."
He gave her a reassuring smile and wiped a tear away with his thumb. His sweet gesture drove home how stupid she'd been, and she burst into sobs. Derek pulled her against him, and without a word, he rubbed her back and let her cry.
