Page 10 of The More the Merrier

"Daddddyy," Noelle whined. "I really want to watchNoelle. It’s my favorite, and I was saving the best for last!"

Logan looked between us and quickly gave in. "Okay fine. But this is the last one. And as soon as the credits roll, it's straight to bed, little girl."

"Deal!" Noelle exclaimed, sticking her hand out in front of her for him to shake. "But only if we can have popcorn!" she added.

Logan raised his eyebrows and didn’t take her hand. "Is that how you ask for something?"

Noelle had the good grace to look chagrined. "No, Daddy. I'm sorry. I was just… I got excited, is all. What I meant to say was, can we please have popcorn while we watch our movie?"

Chuckling at her precociousness, Logan smiled indulgently. "That's better. And yes, we can. Thank you for asking nicely."

Noelle beamed, Logan retreated to the kitchen to pop popcorn, and I pulled up the movie, then settled on the couch, pulling Noelle against me and covering both of us with a blanket.

Logan joined us a few minutes later carrying a huge bowl, and settled in on the opposite side of the couch so that Noelle was snuggled in between us.

When the credits rolled one hundred minutes later, Noelle was sound asleep, snoring softly. I stood and bent to pick her up and carry her to bed like I had done hundreds of times before, but Logan stopped me with a shake of his head.

"Leave her. We'll grab her in a bit. But first, you and I need to have a little talk."

There was something about those words. Even when I knew I'd done nothing wrong, they struck fear in my heart and bottom. I instantly felt like a naughty little boy.

"Okay," I mumbled, casting my eyes to the ground. "If you say so."

"I do." He stood in front of me and took my hand, leading me into the bedroom and locking the door behind us.

Logan

I wasn't sure exactly how to broach the subject. I only knew that something was wrong and I needed him to talk to me. I didn't want him to feel like I was upset or like he was in trouble, but when you're in a power exchange Daddy Dom relationship, it's nearly impossible to speak the words "we need to have a talk," without accomplishing exactly that.

I could tell when we got into the bedroom that Liam was nervous. My suspicions were confirmed when he shuffled the toe of his sock on the carpet and looked up at me with wide, inquisitive eyes.

"Am I in trouble, Daddy? I don't think I did anything bad."

"You didn't and you're not in trouble." I sat down on the edge of the bed and held my arms out, beckoning him.

His expression still confused, he stepped into my embrace, but pulled back to look at me, his eyes full of questions.

With a sigh, I grabbed a stray lock of curly hair and tucked it behind his ear. "I told you I'd tell you what happened with Noelle," I said, figuring that was the safest starting point.

"Oh, yeah. Is she okay? She did seem a little off today. She's not really the tantrum type, and while that was no doubt a tantrum, it felt a little contrived, almost like she was faking it."

"That's because she was."

"What? Why?"

"She wanted you to spank her. Well, no, she was just trying to goad you into bringing out your inner Daddy. She's worried about you."

"Huh. Wow. I missed those cues big time, didn't I?" The corners of his mouth turned into a concentrated frown and his eyes glazed with sadness. "It didn't even occur to me to react. I really failed as a Daddy. I'm sorry."

He looked so down and heartbroken, it made my own heart clench in my chest. "It’s okay, babyboy. She understands, and so do I. I took care of it, and I don't mind taking on full Daddy duties for as long as you need me to. That's not the issue."

"Then what is?"

I took his face in my hands and wiped the corners of his eyes with the pads of my thumbs. "There's no issue with what happened today. Noelle and I are both fine. We understand that you're going through something and we are prepared to be patient and love you through it. But I do want you to talk to me about whatever is going on in that head of yours. You have a tendency to hold things in and I'm afraid I can't let you do that this time. My gut is telling me that it's too important. So talk to me, babyboy."

Liam took a deep breath, and a moment of panic flashed across his features before he sighed and nodded. "I don't know if I can put everything I'm feeling into words."

"I understand. And it's okay if you can't, but I need you to try."

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