Page 26 of Bet On Me, Daddy

“Liar.”

“Asshole.”

Shrugging, Ice sipped his drink. “Both things can be true, my friend.”

Beckett drained the rest of his whiskey, and tried to ignore the churning in his gut that told him Ice was right.

Ruby

“Doyou want to talk about it?”

Curled up under a soft, heavy blanket with her head in Ivy’s lap, Ruby broke off another piece of the chocolate bar that had been waiting for her. “Not really.”

“All right.” Running her fingers through Ruby’s hair, Ivy hummed softly. Ruby didn’t recognize the tune, but it soothed her all the same.

She let her eyes drift closed as Ivy played with her hair the way she’d asked when they’d negotiated this. And tried like hell not to wish too hard that it was Beckett instead.

Little by little, the high of the scene faded, and she let out a sigh as her system settled.

“He’s not what I expected,” she said, surprising herself. It wasn’t like her to want to chat about a scene or a man.

Or was it simply that she’d never had that option for so long that she considered it her normal reaction? Girlfriends had never been a part of the equation when she’d been with her first man to call himself her Dom, and she’d just now started opening herself up to those female friendships again at Dr. Jenn’s urging.

“What do you mean?” Ivy’s question pulled Ruby out of her spiraling thoughts and back to the present.

“Nothing. I don’t know.”

Soft laughter vibrated in Ivy’s stomach as she continued to run her fingers through Ruby’s hair with steady, gentle touches. “Those are different answers, sweetie.”

“I guess.”

Again they drifted into silence, broken only by the songs Ivy would hum as Ruby nibbled at her candy. Until, finally, the urge to say something overwhelmed Ruby’s instinct to keep her feelings to herself. “He’s so… patient. But in a way that like, you know he’s still going to hold you accountable, he’s just waiting for you to submit first. It kinda threw me for a loop.”

“You’re used to being forced to obey?”

A lump lodged in Ruby’s throat, forcing her to swallow hard before she could respond. “Yes. Or simply being ignored when I’m bad.”

The hand running through her hair stilled. “You aren’t bad, Ruby.”

“I know.” Years of therapy had helped her finally accept that the problem hadn’t been with her, but with the man who’d had no damn business being a Dom in the first place. “I know,” she repeated, with more conviction this time. “I should say I’mused to being ignored when I don’t live up to the expectations someone has set for me.”

“I’m sorry. That sounds awful.”

“It was. But anyway, Beckett wasn’t like that at all. He didn’t force me, but he also didn’t ignore me. Or let me ignore him. It was… disconcerting, I guess would be the best word for it.”

“He does have that way about him,” Ivy said with another quiet laugh. “Cordelia loves it when he’s willing to scene with us, especially if I’ve been pushing her buttons.”

Twisting around, Ruby grinned up at her friend. “When I first met you, I never would have pegged you as a brat.”

“I’m not, generally.” A dreamy smile tugged at Ivy’s lips. “Dee brings it out in me. We were friends long before we were together, so I’m comfortable with her in ways I’ve never been comfortable with anyone else. Plus, she enjoys ‘punishing’ me, so it feeds a need in her when I’m a brat.”

“Bratting is part of your service to her.”

“I never really thought of it that way, but yes, I suppose it is.”

Ruby’s gaze landed on the colorful flower pendant Ivy was never without unless she had an actual collar on. Each petal was a different gemstone, and even in the dim lights of the aftercare room, it sparkled. “I’ve never told you, but I really love your necklace.”

Lifting a hand to the flower, Ivy’s dreamy smile widened even further. “Dee gave it to me our first Christmas together, the first time she told me she loved me. Which also happened to be just a few days after she spanked me for the first time.”

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