Page 92 of Melt For Us, Daddy
There was no way he was giving up his women. And if loving them damned him to hell, then he’d greet the devil himself with a smile on his face.
Cordelia
* * *
She heard them before she saw them. Ivy’s giggles, Jacob’s deep voice, too deep for her to actually hear what he was saying. Sweet sounds she’d already gotten so used to hearing every day, and she wasn’t sure how she was supposed to live without them when they returned to the city.
A problem for future Cordelia, she reminded herself as they stepped into the kitchen, twin smiles on their faces. She might have been jealous of the moment they’d just shared, if it weren’t for the way both their faces lit at the sight of her.
Jesus, she could get addicted to that. To the sight of her two sweet little submissives smiling so brightly just for her.
She rewarded them with a smile of her own as she gestured to the empty chairs surrounding the small kitchen table. “Sit, so we can talk.”
Jacob immediately took a seat, but Ivy hovered. “I should make us some snacks. Maybe some coffee.”
It would help to soothe some of her girl’s nerves, so Cordelia nodded. “Coffee would be lovely, blossom. Thank you. Jacob likes his the same way I take mine if you want to make him a cup as well.”
Pure joy lit Ivy’s face. “Yes, Daddy.”
As Ivy moved around the kitchen, Cordelia shifted her gaze to Jacob’s face. But she didn’t find the worry or fear she’d expected to see there after their earlier conversation. What she found instead could only be described as resolve.
What’s going on in that brain of yours, baby boy?
“How are you feeling, Jacob?” she asked instead, letting her gaze freely roam his face.
“Much better.” A hint of pink colored his cheeks as he cleared his throat, his gaze shifting from her to Ivy and back again. “I want to apologize for earlier. I shouldn’t have gotten so… emotional.”
Temper pricked at her chest. “Apology not accepted.”
She almost felt guilty when she saw the hurt flickering in his eyes. “What?”
“We don’t accept your apology.”
Behind her, Ivy sighed, and Cordelia nearly laughed at how exasperated she sounded. “She means, we don’t accept your apology because you don’t owe us one. You never have to apologize for having feelings, Jakey. Even really big, messy ones.”
“Oh.” The corners of his lips dipped down as he thought it over. “Okay. Um, thanks.”
“Good boy.”
At her praise, he sat up a bit straighter, and his frown transformed into a smile that stretched all the way to his eyes, brightening the usually stormy gray. It was a good thing she loved giving praise, since he seemed to thrive on it just like her Ivy.
She waited for Ivy to pour their coffee and for her to join them at the table, her hands wrapped around a tall glass of ice water. When they were all settled again, Cordelia looked across the table, meeting Jacob’s pale gaze.
“Tell me about earlier. What happened while you were washing the dishes?”
Again that hint of a blush infused his cheeks as he lowered his gaze to the table. One shoulder jerked in a gesture she was sure he meant as nonchalant but in reality was nothing of the sort. “I don’t know.”
“Look at me, Jacob.”
She’d put just enough steel in her tone to let him know it wasn’t a request, but an order she expected him to obey. And obey he did, slowly raising his head so that his eyes locked with hers once more.
Leaning in slightly, she kept that eye contact even as Ivy shifted in her seat, clearly ready to jump in and defend their boy.
If she knew what was good for her, she’d stay out of it.
“If you are uncomfortable talking about something, you will tell me so. You may ask permission to table the discussion, which may or may not be granted depending on the seriousness of the issue. What you will not do, under any circumstances, is lie to me. Am I understood, boy?”
“Yes, Ma’am,” he whispered. And though his face was now an even brighter pink, to his credit he never dropped his gaze. “I’m sorry. I just… I’m not used to talking about things like this.”
