Page 25 of Irish

“No, she doesn’t. She has no authority in your life and her opinion doesn’t matter. Kick her and the negative hold she has over your thoughts out.”

“I wish you were around when I met her. You know how sometimes people say they have an angel and a demon on eachshoulder? She was like a demon, constantly trying to ruin my life. She didn’t just guide me in the wrong direction, she used others to hurt me. I get what you are saying, but, sometimes, her words echo in my mind telling me I’m worthless, not good enough…”

“Baby girl, you are a bright fucking shining light in this world and she’s nothing but an annoying gnat buzzing around the picnic table. Sometimes, icky bugs are drawn to the light, especially when it’s blazing in the dark. They fly around it and try to distract from its beauty. But you know what happens when those bugs get too close to the flame? They don’t extinguish it; they can’t hurt it. Nope. They get burned and die. Now, it’s time to let her hold on you and your thoughts go. For every negative accusation she hurled at you, I will replace with ten compliments.”

She threw her arms around his neck and hugged him tightly. “I got you, baby. I got you.” After a minute, she pulled back from him.

“What if I’m both then? Can someone be both a Little and a Middle?”

“Yes, absolutely. There are switches at The Citadel who are both dominant and submissive. Why don’t you tell me more? What ages are your Little and Middle?”

“Well, sometimes, I want to watch reruns of theGilmore Girls, have a bit of an attitude, and flip my hair over my shoulders and other times, I want to watchPeppa PigandBo on the Gowhile cuddling a stuffy to my chest.”

“I see.”

“Is that bad?” She asked quietly. Irish heard her words, but he also heard what she wasn’t asking. Am I bad?

“No, baby. Your feelings aren’t bad, you aren’t bad.”

“Then what was the ‘I see’ about?”

“It was me processing what you said. I was thinking about all the ways I could spoil both my Little girl and my Middle girl.”

“Really?”

“Yes, really. And also, how the discipline would look.”

“Like no spankings when I’m a Middle?”

He chuckled at the hopefulness in her tone. “No, sweetheart. Middles get spankings too, if it works for them. Depending on the age of your Middle, you might get added chores, phone privileges taken away, an earlier bedtime…”

“Ugh.”

“There’s a solution to this you know,” he said gently.

“Not be in a DDLG relationship?” she asked, and he heard the concern in her tone.

“No. I was thinking not be a naughty girl who needs discipline.”

The forlorn look she gave him was almost his undoing. “I don’t think I know how to do that. I try to be a good girl, but?—”

“Don’t worry, Mak. I’ve never met a brat I couldn’t tame.”

CHAPTER 10

MAKENZIE

Irish had a meeting, he called it church, at The Watchmen’s Clubhouse and Makenzie had tagged along, deciding to work there instead of at his office. She looked at the budget on the computer screen but didn’t see it. She was supposed to be reworking the numbers, running a few different scenarios for Irish but her thoughts wouldn’t stop going back to last night. She’d slept with Irish. They didn’t have sex, hell he didn’t even kiss her besides the soft one he placed on her forehead. But the intimacy of cuddling in his arms and talking until late in the night, felt deeper than having sex.

She hadn’t agreed to be in a DDLG relationship with him, not exactly. She did consent to giving it a trial run for the next week. She still hadn’t decided what she was going to do when the week was up. Everything was moving quickly. She’d left her fiancé at the altar, sold her house, and resigned from her job, and now she was going to do a test run DDLG relationship with her older brother’s best friend.

Everything was moving at lightning speed.

The buzz of Makenzie's phone shattered the stillness of the room, a sudden burst of noise that made her jump. Hesitant fingers swiped across the screen, unveiling words that twistedher stomach into knots. There’d been several new messages from this person in the past two days. She didn’t understand where the calls were originating. Each time, she blocked the number, but it didn’t stop them from coming from new numbers.

Unknown Caller: Watch your back. You won’t get away with it. You caused pain and now it’s time for you to receive some in return.

A chill swept through her, prickling her skin with goosebumps. Standing from the table, she tucked her phone into her pants pocket. She walked over to the sidebar where Tater had placed plenty of baked goods and fresh fruit. Picking up a plate, she absentmindedly placed a blueberry muffin on it. After refilling her coffee cup, she walked back to where she’d been working and set the food down next to the laptop. Clover came bounding over and Makenzie rubbed her between her ears.

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