Page 34 of Submitting to Daddy
The sun’s starting to dip outside the massive windows, casting long golden rays across the hardwood floor as I sit cross-legged on the couch next to Eavan. We’ve been holed up inside all day, just the two of us. Cillian, Enzo, and Nik have been gone since this morning, tied up at the club with Hawk and Jagger.
I didn’t want to stay, but Cillian looked like he had enough going on without arguing with me. Although I have to admit, spending the day with his sister has been nice. She’s as sweet in long doses as she is in the short amount of time I’ve spent with her before.
We spent hours on the couch with the TV on in the background, flipping through old movies neither of us really watched. We swapped stories—small, surface-level ones. She told me about growing up in New York, and I told her aboutmy boring childhood in a small town in Virginia. I shared the carefully curated version of my life, keeping my secrets tucked tight to my chest. Sharing more with her than I have with Cillian, I talked about my dad’s passing and how I took up stripping to finish paying my way through college.It’s not pretty, but it is the truth.
The apartment smells amazing—garlic and sweet basil wafting from the oven where our lasagna is baking. It’s not gourmet by any means, but we made it with what little there was to work with in this apartment. Eavan claims Enzo will turn his nose up at the jarred sauce the moment he smells it, but dinner will be ready when they all get home.Home… This isn’t your home, Madison.
We’re nestled into the plush leather couch, a near-finished bottle of red wine on the coffee table—both of us working on our second glass.
I take a sip, watching the light catch in the deep crimson liquid. The day has been peaceful, but I feel like I’m crawling out of my skin as I sit beside her. “How do you do this?” I blurt suddenly, unable to sit with the guilt twisting in my stomach any longer.
Eavan’s head tilts slightly as she turns toward me. “Do what?” she asks with curiosity.
I swirl the wine in my glass, avoiding her eyes. “Handle Enzo leaving in the middle of the night. And knowing what he does when he’s gone.”
Her smile is soft but steady. “Simple. I know who he is and what kind of man he is when he leaves our home. But more importantly, I know what kind of man he is with me and his family. The rest doesn’t matter.”
I stare at her for a moment. Her eyes don’t flicker. She means it. Every word.
“It’s that easy?” I ask, unable to hide the disbelief in my tone.
“I love him. More than I thought possible to love a person,” she replies without hesitation. “So, yes. It is that easy.”
Her words are a punch to my chest.
I glance down at my wine, swallowing hard. Could I ever be that sure? That grounded? Could I really live in the gray areas Cillian’s world bleeds into—where violence and power sit at the table with loyalty and love?
The guilt gnaws at me, slow, constant. Being here with Eavan, making dinner, drinking wine… it feels like stepping into someone else’s life. A better version of mine. A far different future than I was ever meant to want. But I do.God help me, I do.It wasn’t supposed to be like this.Falling for a man like Cillian King shouldn’t have happened. And yet, here I am… making dinner with his little sister and spending the day with her like I belong here.Wanting to belong here.And that scares me more than anything.
Eavan doesn’t ask what’s going on in my head. Maybe she senses it. She’s been in my shoes—sort of. Maybe she knows that whatever I’m feeling doesn’t have a simple answer.
I glance over at her as she curls her legs beneath her. She’s beautiful and composed. But there’s an edge in her posture. It’s the same one I see in Cillian and the guys, too. They all live like this, always bracing for something to go wrong. I’ve lived on the edge too, but not like this. Not with people I care about involved.
The oven beeps, loud and shrill, yanking me from my thoughts. Eavan hops up with a smile and heads into thekitchen, grabs oven mitts, and slides the bubbling pan of lasagna out onto the oven. I follow her slowly, still thinking. My thoughts are further thwarted by the sound of heavy footsteps and familiar voices behind me. I glance up as Nikolai walks in first, with Enzo immediately behind him.
Cillian’s eyes instantly find me when he steps into the room, and he crosses it with purpose. Before I can even breathe, his mouth is on mine. His kiss is firm and demanding, but also warm and comforting. The tension drains from shoulders with every second his lips linger on mine.
Yeah… Maybe it really is just that simple.
His hand settles on my hip, and I glance up at him as he pulls back. “It smells amazing in here.” He inhales, his gaze wandering behind me to the dinner cooling on the island.
“It smells good,” Enzo admits. “But definitely not like Nonna’s sauce.” Eavan and I both start laughing before he even finishes his sentence.
“See!?” she exclaims. “He’s a total snob about what he eats.”
He pulls Eavan to him and uses his finger to pull her chin up toward him. “I am.” He stares down at her with a dark gaze, and I very quickly realize that he is no longer talking about dinner.
“Go. Out,” Cillian playfully barks. “The last thing I want to be thinking about while I eat dinner is my best friend’s face between my little sister’s thighs.”
“It’s not always my thighs,” Eavan quips, clearly pleased with herself when Cillian lets out a disgusted groan.
Nikolai throws his arm around me and pulls me away from Cillian. Lowering his voice, but still loud enough for everyoneto hear, he shares, “If he won’t eat your ass, I would.” My cheeks burn at his teasing of Cillian.At least I think he’s kidding.I glance between the two of them, trying to make sure.
“Jesus Christ. I will eat her ass,” Cillian huffs, possessively dragging me back from Nikolai, and I feel like my entire face is on fire from his declaration. Nikolai, Enzo, and Eavan all chuckle as Cillian drags a hand down his face.
Grabbinga plate, Nikolai winks at me with a smirk. “You’re welcome.”
ABOUT A WEEK LATER
