Page 10 of Under Their Watch

“It’s okay,” I whisper.

“Hey,” Jace says, nudging me. I look up at him, and he grins. “You can punch him if it’s makes you feel better.” I laugh at his remark and they both hug me.

“So… What I am getting here is that Marvin is a fake Dom,” Theo says. “She got triggered because Marvin would tell her that brats are submissives who need to be beaten. You called Anika a brat and she panicked.”

“Oh, Rhea,” Quinn says. “I’d never hurt Anika. Ever.”

“Do you think she’s a brat?” I ask, looking up at him.

“Yes,” he says. “Mia is a bigger brat. You are a brat. Emma is a brat. Max is the biggest brat. I’m surrounded by brats, baby girl. That’s not a bad thing.”

“Quinn is a brat,” Anika laughs. “Rhea, honey. Brats just need more reassurance in different ways. For example, I have a tendency to say shitty things about myself because I know it will get their attention. I do it without thinking. Sometimes I do it on purpose because I like to see Theo’s face turn red when I run away from him. But you know what?”

“What?” I ask.

“Not one of them has ever hurt me,” she says. “Quinny here is a fucking monster, but he has never once done something I wasn’t okay with.”

“What do you mean?” I ask.

“Let’s not go there right now, please,” Quinn says.

“No, I am,” Anika says. “She deserves to understand everything. Marvin used BDSM to abuse her. She needs to know that it’s not what he made it out to be.”

“I’m confused,” I say.

“Okay,” she says. “I am submissive. So is Mia. Emma is a switch, so she is also dominant sometimes. Rowan, Max, Theo, Quinn, and Jace are dominant. They all like to pretend they are bothered by us being a brat, but they love it. They are brattamers, and all go about taming differently. Quinn and Theo fuck like monsters. I’m sure Jace does too.”

“He does,” Mia laughs. “He’s fun to piss off.”

“Back up,” I say.

“See? I told you not to go there,” Quinn says.

“Do you know what polyamory is?” Anika asks me.

“Yeah. Kinda,” I say. “I know Marvin had other submissives.”

“Were you okay with that?” Theo asks me.

“I just felt left out when he brought them to the house. I was made to go to the guest room until they were done,” I say.

“We are all poly,” Anika says. “Quinn doesn’t do much with us, but he has. Jace is afraid of me, so he’s only been with Emma and Mia.”

“I’m not scared of you, you little shit,” Jace laughs.

“What Marvin did to you is not a dominant-submissive dynamic. He abused you and called it BDSM,” she says.

“She wasn’t allowed to have a safe word,” Theo says. “She also likely has scars from what he was doing.”

“What was he doing?” Quinn asks me.

“He has a flogger that has metal pieces on it,” I say. “The bullwhip did the most damage, I think.”

“I’ve never wanted to murder someone so badly,” Quinn sighs. “May I see?”

“Yeah,” I say. I go to move off the table and he stops me.

“Slow down, Rhea. Do you actually want me to see?” he asks. “You are under no obligation to do anything you don’t want to.”

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