Page 135 of Daddy P.I. 3.0

I’ve put the biscuits in and started scrambling eggs when I finally hear Master Mac and Bren come through the great room.

They’re easy to hear because they’re having a full-blown argument, even though they’re trying to keep it quiet in deference to the five subbies still sleeping on the floor in front of the TV. But I know because Bren doesn’t hiss like that unless she’s pissed off. She also doesn’t march into spaces with her arms crossed over her chest, even though she’s just wearing a “Navy men know where to put their missiles” shirt that barely covers her thighs.

Mr. De Leon chuckles softly before he takes Livvy back from Dana and burps her.

As soon as Master Mac lets the curtain fall closed behind him, Bren whirls on him, planting her hands on her hips.

“I love you, Sir, and I say this with all due respect but you are fucking wrong.”

It’s Mac’s turn to cross his arms over his chest. “Is that so, girl?”

“Yes. If you hadn’t been born in the damn Renaissance you’d know that you can’t keep a fifteen-year-old from finding out what she wants to know. Kids have unprecedented access to information now with nothing more than a phone. I’m betting True can program rings around you. Any parental control you set up, she’s going to work around it. She’s gotten a good look at kink now, and she’s not going to let it go just because theauthority figures in her life—most of whom she doesn’t trust anyway—tell her to. Why are you forcing her to stumble her way into kink through what she finds on the internet?”

“Cause she’s fifteen fucking years old. She should be in school, doing the things fifteen-year-olds do, mooning over rock stars and gossiping about who has a crush on who?—”

“Oh my fucking Benevolence,” Bren hisses, throwing her hands up. “Maybe that’s what fifteen-year-olds did five hundred years ago whenyouwere fifteen but that’s not what they do now, Sir. She’s already had sex. She’s already watched scenes. She broke into a kink club because she identified it as a safe space. She’sactively seeking out submissionand you’re denying it to her because of a number on a calendar.”

“I’m denying it to her because it’s the law, girl. Anyone who acts as her dominant right now is breaking the law.”

“Only if they have sex with her! There are a thousand ways you or any other experienced Dom could top her that wouldn’t break the law.”

“AnyexperiencedDom is going to be a decade older than her.”

“That’s what this is about, isn’t it? It’s the same fucking thing over and over. It’s the perception that an older man is preying on her, grooming her, when she’s the one who is actively seeking out his dominance. You haven’t done that to me, Sir, and you wouldn’t do that to her. She needs rules. She needs guidance. She needs a safety net. Or she’s going to find it on her own. She’s going to get online with some goddamn predator who really does groom her. He’s going to draw her into an unsafe space and break her. She’s going to be preyed on just like?—”

She breaks off, wild eyed and panting.

“Say it, little goddess,” Mac growls. “Say it.”

“Okay, just like I was! Is that what you want to hear? That I’m projecting my experiences onto True? I am. Because I knowwhat it’s like in the chat rooms and the clubs. I know what it means to get a fake ID and sneak in when you’re far too young and inexperienced. I know what happens when you taunt someone who’s a predator rather than a real dominant and they turn on you. Iknow, okay?” Tears roll down Bren’s cheeks and she dashes them away angrily. “Please, Sir, please, can’t we do better? Why does this have to happen over and over again? Can’t we learn from our fucking mistakes?”

Mac holds out his arms and she rushes into them. He holds her against his chest while she cries. His big hand smooths her dreadlocks down her back.

“Yes, sweetheart,” he soothes. “We can do better. We’ll figure something out for True and you’ll finally tell me what the hell happened to you before you found Blunts.”

“It’s ancient history,” Bren mumbles into his collar, her voice broken.

“Clearly not if it has you tossing and turning all night and baiting your Dom first thing in the morning when you know he’s not at his best before a cup of coffee.” He rubs her back. “It’s going to be okay.”

She fists his sweatshirt and nods into his neck.

“Make me a cup of coffee and then come sit on my lap. I’m going to need you close for a bit.”

“Yes, Sir.”

With a final pat, Mac releases her. As she comes into the kitchen, wiping her eyes, Austin and I sandwich her in a hug. To my surprise, as soon as we release her, Daddy turns from the grill and folds her into a hug, too. Bren doesn’t seek hugs, ever, and since Mac collared her, I’ve seen her sidestep hugs from other Doms. I guess Daddy’s the exception. He’s a good exception to pick; Daddy’s hugs are the best.

We’re just finishing breakfast when the doorbell goes. Daddy checks his phone before he gives me the nod to answer it. At least I know it’s not Miranda.

Acrowdof people are at the door. Master Theo, Mistress Maude, Daddy Bravo and Yummy, Charlotte and her gorgeous new master, Ian, Matty and Faolan, Saoirse and her daddy Sutter, and Master Ten. They file in quietly as I take coats and scarves. I get lots of hugs before people filter through into the great room. Finally, I’m just left with Master Ten as he removes his huge boots and sets them in a row with all the other footwear. Geez, I thought Daddy had big feet.

Master Ten turns to me. His eyes are even more red-rimmed and bloodshot than Mr. De Leon’s.

He opens his arms to me.

What am I supposed to do? Master Ten and I are not on hugging terms. Or at least I didn’t think we were. Maybe we are today.

I rush to him and wrap him in a big hug.

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