Page 100 of Daddy P.I. 3.0

I bow again. “Master Drew, I think this conversation should be tabled until a time when we’re not further disrupting an ongoing scene. I don’t want to distract Al from monitoring his submissive, particularly when she’s restrained. I’ll apologize again to everyone for the interruption?—”

“Do you think I’d leave my submissive restrained without anyone monitoring her, Logan?” Al asks, his tone sharp.

Goddamn, now I’m pissing off someone I consider a friend.

“Absolutely not,” I say quickly. “My apologies if it sounded that way, Al. Gentlemen, good night.”

I turn and walk away quickly, knowing that I’ve lost that round.

Behind me, the door to the Stocks slams.

twenty-eight

LOGAN

The party’s ruined.At least for me.

The Long Gallery’s nearly empty when I return. Knowing where Emily likes to retreat when she’s stressed, I continue into the Library. There’s a crowd around one of the leather couches, maybe even the one Emily and I had our very first scene at Blunts on. Maude and Twitch sit with Georgie curled between them. A group of Doms—Jiro, Mac, Javier, Bravo, and Faolan—cluster behind the couch, talking quietly. A line of submissives kneel on the floor in front of the couch. Everyone’s rubbing Georgie gently while Maude holds his head to her breasts and speaks to him.

I whip out my phone, take a picture, thumb over to my text messages with Bull, and send it to him. He’s been my friend for years but he’s letting whatever’s going on between him and Maude cloud his judgment. A submissive should not look like this, not even after a breach of protocol.

As I move toward the couch, Javier walks around and puts his hand on my shoulder. “Georgie is okay. He had a panic attackand went non-verbal. Emily brought him out of it. Maude’s giving him aftercare. He’s okay, Logan.”

I take three deep breaths, trying to calm down.

“This was not your fault,” Javier continues. “Emily told us you apologized to Bull and Al for interrupting their scene. That’s the end of it.”

“That’s so very far from the end of it,” I say, grinding my teeth. “This is a fiasco.”

He squeezes my shoulder. “Take three more deep breaths. There’s no harm done. Everyone’s enjoying the Nursery. No one’s been hurt?—”

“You didn’t see Georgie in there surrounded by?—”

Javier’s fingers on my shoulder turn crushing. “Deep breaths,” he says. “Let Georgie define what happened and how he feels about it. I’m aware there’s some tension between Bull and Maude at the moment but Twitch is here, helping Georgie relax and process his fear. This only becomes confrontational if we allow it to. It’s ... unwise for Maude and Bull to be at odds right now. Do you understand what I’m saying to you, mon frere?

I draw deep breaths through my nose. I understand what he’s saying. He’s thinking politically and I’m having trouble thinking of anything beyond the need to protect our submissives.

“Yes,” I grit.

Bright eyes and dark curls poke around Javier’s shoulder. “Master Javier, may I talk to Daddy, please?”

Javier steps away, nodding.

I open my arms and Emily rushes into them. She hugs me tightly, then pushes up on her toes and climbs me. I grab the backs of her thighs, pull her up into position, and settle her against me. She tucks her face into my throat and hums soothingly.

“Baby, what are you doing?”

“Calming you down. You have a full frowny on and your angry vein is throbbing.”

“I have an angry vein?”

Her hand worms under my coat, waistcoat, and shirt to palm a circle over my back. “Yup.”

I drop my face into her sweetly-scented hair and continue taking deep breaths.

“Do you have an angry vein?”

“Not that I’m aware of but I have very veiny wings.”

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