Page 37 of Melt For Us, Daddy
It had nothing to do with wanting him for her own. Nothing at all.
Chapter 13
Jacob
“So that’s the pit. You won't be cleaning everything by yourself, as it’s a large club. But you will need to learn everything so you can help where you’re needed.”
“Yes, sir.”
Clapping a hand on Jacob’s shoulder, Braden grinned. “I know it’s a lot of information, but you’ll pick it up in no time. Do you have any questions for me before we move onto the private rooms?”
He had so many questions. But none of them seemed like the kind he should be asking. Because they had nothing to do with cleaning the equipment and everything to do with how it was used.
“Jacob?” Cordelia’s voice, that low, firm tone she so often spoke in, prompted him to turn around. A smile played on her lips as she studied him. “Braden asked you a question. Answer him, please.”
He shouldn’t enjoy being ordered around by her so much. Even if she was older and his grandfather’s wife, it still wasn’t the natural order of things.
So he tried to fight it. Meeting her steady gaze, he reached for that part of him that was supposed to exist. That male authority he’d been told all along was his birthright.
And came up empty.
“Um, no. No questions. Ma’am.”
“Told you so,” Ivy said under her breath in a sing-song way that reminded him of his sisters.
“Enough, Ivy.”
The rebuke had a flush rising to Ivy’s cheeks. But to Jacob’s shock, she didn’t immediately capitulate, the way he imagined he would have. Lifting her chin, she met her partner’s gaze with such boldness Jacob found his eyes going wide. “Or what?”
“Excuse me, little girl?”
“You heard me. What if I don’t stop? What are you gonna do about it?”
Sinking her hand into Ivy’s long, dark tresses, Cordelia pulled the smaller woman’s head back. “Obviously I didn’t spank you hard enough last night if you’re this comfortable acting the brat today. Maybe a taste of my belt will help you remember to behave.”
Spankings? Belts? Did-Did Cordelia beat her partner?
But he must have it wrong, again, because Ivy didn’t look the least bit scared. If anything, she was grinning even wider now. “You're not wearing a belt.”
“I’m sure Holden would be willing to loan me his.”
Chuckling, Holden reached for the buckle on the wide strip of leather around his waist. “You’re going to want to wrap it around your hand a few times. It’s probably longer than you’re used to.”
No, no, no. He couldn't let this happen. Back home, he’d been forced to stand by, helpless as his sisters were whipped on his behalf.
He refused to be that helpless, that useless now that he’d escaped.
Lunging forward, he threw himself between them, his arms spread wide to block Ivy from Cordelia’s path.
“No!”
Silence fell around him and it seemed as though the very air itself had frozen. Everyone was staring at him, wide-eyed, as if he was the one who had done something wrong.
“Shit,” Cordelia muttered, stepping forward, her hands outstretched, palms up. “Look at me, Jacob. Don’t look at anybody else, just me. You’re safe here, I promise.”
“You were—” He paused, swallowing hard, and forced his spine to straighten as he met her concerned gaze. “You were going to beat her.”
“I was only teasing. I would never spank Ivy in front of someone without their consent.”
