Daddy released her legs and set Mr. Bear down on the desk while she frantically tried to scramble up his back. His shoulder twisted, and in an instant, she was swung around to face him without knowing how he did it. “Not yet, Lisha. You’re okay, there’s no rush. The form just needs your signature, or some semblance of one.”
Okay, that was doable. She could manage that, right? Her feet touched the ground, and Daddy guided her around in a careful circle, his arm roped around her waist for support. The pen was still warm from being in Daddy’s hand when she picked it up.
“Right here, babygirl,” Daddy murmured in her ear, tapping his finger on a space above a thick black line.
Alicia stuck her tongue between her teeth and set the pen to paper. Painstakingly slow and painfully aware of it, she made the upside-down vee of the A, then drew a line across the middle. The L was much simpler, as was the I. Her C was crooked, her second I straight, and she realized she was sweating by the time she completed the last A.
Legs trembling, knees about to buckle, she pushed the paper toward Saul.
“Thank you, sweetheart. That’s beautiful,” he told her as he picked up the sheet and studied her work. “Have a nice evening with your Daddy.” He nodded at Atticus. “I’ll catch up with you in an hour or so. Someone’s relieving me at ten.”
“Looking forward to catching up. Come on, princess, your chariot awaits.”
Mounting Daddy again wasn’t as easy as the first time—he’d turned his back to her while she sat on the truck seat, her arms had gone around his neck, and then she’d been plastered against him.
This time, he showed her his back, then crouched low with the barest squeak of protest from his pants. Her knees gave, sending her sprawling over him, but Daddy recovered without even seeming to notice the error. “Arms in position, Lisha. No falling off now.”
She obeyed, holding on tight as he pushed out of the crouch. Her heart dropped out of her throat to where it belonged as he turned and plucked Mr. Bear off Saul’s desk. A few long strides, and they were pushing through a pair of swing doors into the room the club members dubbed the social area.
Almost immediately, her senses went haywire. She’d only ever seen this room with literally a handful of people inside, now there was more like eighty. The booths around the edge were occupied, the seating pit located near the stage was full, and everywhere she looked was a sea of blurry faces.
So many people in different states of undress. Women—and men—in nothing more than carefully placed strips of cloth. She saw one woman whose nipples were covered by nothing but some pretty silver flowers, although Lisha couldn’t figure out how they stayed there.
Others were dressed like Daddy. Slacks, jeans, leather pants. Shirts without ties, the collar buttons open. More than one lady wore a contraption that highlighted her breasts, her thighs, her figure—but in a different way to the other women who seemed quieter.
There was a balance of power hanging low over the room, a pressure that ebbed and swayed as people moved around. Small acts of deference, like the bow of a head as a man walked through the crowd, the lowering of several pairs of eyes as Daddy strode toward the pit.
Hiding her face in his neck again, Alicia was bombarded by the constant hum of conversation. Talking, laughter, and someone was crying. She didn’t dare lift her head to look. And beneath it all, faintly masked by the cacophony of noise, she heard a woman scream.
“Easy, princess. I’ve got you.”
Her brain was about to implode from too much information at once. Never in her life had she been exposed to so many sights and sounds, so many people. How did anyone cope in this chaos, how did they hear themselves think?
“You’re here! I was beginning to believe you’d decided not come after all.” Connie’s voice was a balm, smothering the noise. “What can we get you to drink, Att? Alicia?”
“Just a coke for me, thanks. I’m driving, and I think I’ll need all my faculties with a certain little girl tonight.” Daddy did that weird thing again, swinging her down onto her feet, then pulling her onto his lap as he sat before her legs crumpled. “What would you like, Lisha? Liam can get you anything you want.”
She shook her head, cuddling into his chest.
“Thane, drinks please.”
“Of course, Mistress. Juice for Alicia?”
Daddy stroked her back lazily, his body at ease. “That’d be good, thanks. Alicia, say hello to everyone, please. I think you know everyone.” He lifted her chin up. “Be a good girl, Lisha. No one’s going to eat you, however delicious you look. That’s my treat, and my treat only.”
God, he did such wicked things to her insides when he said stuff like that. Her belly twisted and released as she peered up into his patient gaze, the green dark and mysterious.
“Obviously,” he continued as though she was paying attention to anyone else in that moment, “Connie isn’t a stranger, and Thane will be back in a moment. You know Jasper and Anarchy.”
Alicia forced herself to look around the seating area, lifting her hand in a shaky wave of hello.
Connie wore black from neck to toe. Skintight, accentuating the woman’s curves. Her demeanor was more like Daddy’s tonight with that aura of dominance radiating around her. She offered Alicia an easy, welcoming smile. “Don’t worry about the noise, sweetie. Everyone will move next door soon, and it will all quieten down.”
“If someone had kept his voice down,” Jasper interjected irritably, “they’d have gone through already.”
“Hey, don’t blame me for Richard’s sub having hearing like a goddamn bat. He should keep her on a leash for all the trouble she causes.”
Lisha’s eyes darted over to the man who spoke, vaguely remembering the shaggy brown hair and molten chocolate eyes. He wore a shirt like Daddy’s, only a short-sleeved version, and his bare arms were littered with tattoos.
“Alicia, you might remember Loki from the last time you visited. Pay him no mind if he gets out of hand—he likes to think he’s a joker, but he’s not that funny.”
“Oh, I so am. It’s just that your sense of humor and mine operate on alternative levels. But tonight, I will be the big, bad wolf stalking a pretty blonde victim. Isn’t that right, Anarchy?”
Anarchy sat by Jasper’s feet, her arm curled around his calf as she rested her head against his thigh. There were nerves showing in her eyes, but her lips curved in a cocky smile. “Master Loki, I look forward to wiping my feet on your hide once I’m done with you. There’s still time for you to change your mind and back out.”
“Oh, fighting talk.” Loki’s eyes lit up. “Baby, don’t make the sadist jealous. I am planning on sharing the spoils, after all.”
“About that.” Daddy stepped into the middle of the conversation. “I’d appreciate a heads-up before you start the scene, Jasper. If Alicia is uncomfortable staying, we’ll leave before you begin. I’m assuming you have safety precautions in effect?”
Jasper lifted his eyebrows, then stroked his hand over Archie’s head. “Kitten, Thane might struggle getting through the throng with the drinks. Why don’t you give him a hand, and let us have five minutes here.”
Not a question, Lisha realized, but an order. She shrank into the comfort of Daddy’s arms as the magnitude of just how much dominance surrounded her became evident—Daddy, Jasper, Connie, Loki, and Thane all worked on that higher plane of power.
“Yes, sir.” Anarchy sighed and got to her feet, adjusting her lacy boy shorts before hurrying out of the pit.
Jasper didn’t speak until she was well out of earshot. “We made a few changes, starting with using barn two, with Braun’s permission. All voyeurs,” he said with an eyeroll for Loki, “will be asked to remain around the perimeter of the room. We’re lowering the lights slightly for effect, so having a few people acting as barriers should help keep her away from the walls. We start at ten, once Saul’s relieved from his desk duties, and the doors will be monitored.”
“The equipment?”
A rumble of approval echoed under Alicia’s ear. She reached out for Mr. Bear, grateful when Daddy pressed the fluffball into her hand.
“Loki, you’re happy with this?”
“Pretty sure I can chase Jasper’s kitten around for ten minutes before fucking her, yeah. It’s not a hardship, and I’m glad I can help.”
Alicia’s shoulders tightened. That tone wasn’t particularly helpful, and it plucked at every nerve ending. It was almost reminiscent of Abraham’s voice when he was high and barged into her room with every intention of hurting her to the best of his ability.
Connie decided it was her time to talk, before either Jasper or Daddy could. “Do not be an asshole, Loki. Sorry, Atticus, I’ll try to mind my language,” she said apologetically. “It’s a CNC scene, you don’t have to take on the character of the bad guy. All you’ll do is terrify Archie and blow the whole thing. If you’re nervous, call it off now before someone—namely Anarchy—gets hurt. This only works if you’re confident, not cruel.”
Tension was stirring, thickening. It was distressing.
“Sorry, sorry. CNC isn’t really my kink. I prefer my subs to be wet, willing, and not liable to kick my balls to the back of my teeth.” Loki scrubbed his hands over his face. “You know I’d never willingly harm any sub, least of all that sweet girl. I don’t get nervous, Con, but this is new territory for me.”
“Jesus, Loki.”
“I think,” Jasper said slowly, leaning back and drumming his fingers along the wooden edge of the seating, “it would be best for all concerned if we just put a halt to this once and for all. We’re less than an hour away from a scene that has the potential to wreck my sub, and the guy I’m relying on to help me enact her fantasy has cold feet. I’m grateful that you volunteered, Loki, but I’m not prepared to damage you either. We’re done.”
Sucking on Mr. Bear’s furry ear, Alicia’s eyes bounced from face to face, trying to read the unfolding situation. Guilt nibbled at her toes—after all, she was the one who’d messed everything up in the first place by removing Daddy from the original equation. If she hadn’t taken precedence in his life, the scene would already be over and done with, instead of everyone dragging their feet through this uncomfortable mess.
She tried to find Anarchy in the crowd, wondering how her new friend would feel about this nail in her fantasy’s coffin. While Lisha couldn’t understand the attractiveness of such a scene, it wasn’t her dream being crushed to dust beneath some very heavy boots.
“That’s not necessary, Jasper. I can handle a little non-con with my sex.” Loki protested, shaking his head so messy locks of hair fell over his eyes. “Don’t ruin it for Archie based on a few nerves. Once my pants are off, my dick usually takes charge anyway.”
Daddy clapped his hands over her ears, blocking out all the sound in the room. She could see his lips moving quickly, and guessed his tone wasn’t pleasant. She could feel the rumble and pause of his voice humming into her where her shoulder rested against his chest.
Loki was more animated in his response, his hands swishing and flicking through the air, faster than his lips were going.
Lisha cringed as Daddy’s reply was vehemently returned, his body turning to stone beneath her. She bit her lower lip as it began to quiver, wishing they’d stayed at home, cuddling on the couch while a stupid movie played on the screen.
Connie stood up and stalked into the middle of the pit, slashing her hands down and glaring at both men. Jabbing a finger at Loki, she appeared to give him a mouthful of his own medicine, enough so that he rose and went toe to toe with her.
For a moment, Alicia thought the man might strike her friend, but the Domme just laughed and patted his cheek, shaking her head as he gestured again with those quick hands. Connie lifted her eyebrow, pointed at Jasper, then shrugged.
What the hell was going on?
Clapping Jasper on the shoulder, Loki said something to Daddy, then made an unhurried exit as Thane and Anarchy returned to the pit, an arsenal of glasses between them. Thane handed one of the ones he carried to Loki as the man passed him at the top of the stairs.
Lisha discovered she really didn’t like being deaf.
When her ears were finally uncovered, she breathed a huge sigh of relief. Even though the return of her hearing was too loud and chaotic for her to process, she didn’t care. All thoughts of complaining dissipated when Daddy’s mouth brushed over hers, firing up her libido.
“Sorry, princess. Loki forgot his manners for a moment.”
“Did you tell him off?”
He laughed and stroked a hand down her back. “You could say that. He’ll be back to apologize. Luckily for him, Connie intervened before I could kick his ass into the next century.”
A shadow fell over them, and Anarchy grinned as she held out two glasses. “Master, Atticus, I’ve got your drinks. Where would you like me to put them for you?”
“Just on the ledge, little bit. Thanks.”
“My pleasure.” Glass clinked on wood as she followed his instruction, then she hurried back to the sadist and resumed her place at his feet, her arm back around his leg, and her head against his thigh.
Jasper’s hand landed gently on her hair, toying with the pretty gold strands as he spoke quietly with Connie.
“Will he tell her that they aren’t…you know?” Alicia asked, feeling sorry for her friend. “Is she going to be mad with Loki?”
Daddy sighed and rubbed his cheek on her head. “Jasper will tell her what she needs to know, but she won’t be mad with anyone, princess. Archie understands that the tough scenes like the one Jasper had planned for her need all the participants to be committed to it. She’s better off being disappointed for a few days than traumatized for the rest of her life. Loki had every right to change his mind.”
That was fair, she supposed. She could hardly argue against it—she’d faltered at the last hurdle each and every time with Daddy, and he’d accepted it as her right.
Locking her gaze on the small, black eyes of Mr. Bear, she patted her Daddy’s arm. “Atticus…”
The switch in him was instantaneous. Just like her use of his proper name indicated her step away from her little self, so did his body language warn her that he’d set his Daddy half to one side. “Are you okay, Alicia?”
No, not really. She knew what she had to do, and it was difficult. Of course, it would only get worse when he realized she was right. What came after that would hurt, but it was the right thing to do. “Do the scene with Anarchy.”
There. It was out in the open, blurted and more like DothescenewithAnarchy than actual words in a proper, audible sentence, but she’d said it. As every eye in the seating area focused on her in shock, it became clear she’d said it just a bit too loudly.
“Hmmm.”
“Hmmm?” she mimicked, poorly, by her own admission. “That’s it?”
“I’m musing. Shush.”
Alicia blinked at him. Musing? Opening her mouth to question his musing was thwarted by his finger pressing against her lips. His silence made her want to be naughty and bite it.
“Do the scene with Anarchy,” Atticus repeated carefully, spacing out the words more effectively than she had. “I wonder if you understand how selfless you are, Lisha. What would you do if I said yes, I’ll do it?”
She shrugged miserably, her fingers digging into Mr. Bear. “Probably learn a lot about how a woman almost dies sandwiched between two very big men?” Her shoulders drooped sadly. “Then cry. Preferably where no one could see me.” When Archie made a wounded noise, Alicia attempted a laugh to rewind her mistake. It fell flat. “Just…just joking. I guess you could park me in a dark corner somewhere until you’re done.”
“Like hel
l—” Connie snapped before Atticus lifted his hand for silence.
“As much as I appreciate the gesture—as I’m sure Jasper and Anarchy do, too—I’m not going to be their third, Alicia. The only woman I want to fu-fluff,” he said, catching his F-bomb at the last second, “is sweet, unselfish, and calls me Daddy because she knows I love it. Because she knows I need it. I’m not leaving you anywhere, princess, because someone would come along and steal you from under my nose if I was stupid enough to take my eyes off you for a second.”
“Aw,” Anarchy exclaimed, then yelped when her sadist smacked her thigh.
“But you’d find me if someone stole me?” Alicia whispered, leaning into his palm when he cupped her cheek. Funny how when she was on his lap like this, his touch so firm and gentle, she forgot her flaws. She was just a woman curled into her man, feeling loved.
“I would rip apart every city in every state until I found you.” He kissed her, long and slow and deep. “No more talk about dark corners, Lisha. No more erosive jokes. Take pride in who you are, what you’ve accomplished in two short weeks, and love yourself the way I love you.”
“It’s not that easy.”
“Not right now, but it will be. The answer is no, Alicia. I’m not doing the scene, and that’s the last time we’re discussing it.” His voice deepened an octave, and tripped her little side instantly. “Do you understand, little girl?”
“Oh, Daddy Atticus is home,” Anarchy whispered, then gave a muffled giggle when Jasper clamped his hand over her mouth to silence any further remarks.
Alicia pouted and scrunched her face up with the effort of kicking her feet. She almost accomplished a swing of her right foot, much to her delight. “I understand you’re being mean.”
Dryly, he retorted, “I am the meanest Daddy you will ever meet, princess. After all, a good Daddy wouldn’t make his little girl get wet and needy in front of all her friends, would he?” He set his hand high on her thigh, his fingers skimming her pussy through the seam of her pants. “A nice Daddy wouldn’t even think about fingering her while her friends watched, would he?”
Walk For Me: Club Avalon Book 4 Page 44
