Page 2 of Santa Daddies
“Nothing. I forgot my work laptop at home on Wednesday, so I came home midday to get it and found him there with another woman.” I pressed my fingers to my eyes to remove the image of the thin brunette sprawled out on my bed.
“Did he deny it? Did he make an excuse for why she was there? Was it a misunderstanding? Or are you freaking out over nothing?”
I pressed my lips, annoyance coursing through me. “Oh, there was no denying anything. She was lying naked on my bed,” I said loudly with a humorless laugh. “But he did give me an excuse.”
Her eyes went wide, and her voice got louder. “An excuse for that? Like what, he was taking up painting and she was his model?”
I gathered a breath, emotion welling. “His excuse was...”
“What?”
I shrugged, gathering a breath, and looked away. “He wanted to have normal sex without feeling pressured to try weird shit.” I nibbled my lip, attempting to keep my tears at bay.
Madeline’s jaw dropped. “Memmy.”
“Then he said we weren’t sexually compatible.”
“Oh, my fucking god! What the actual fuck? Explain!” Her booming demand for an explanation had my gaze darting around us, checking to make sure no one overheard. But we were alone in the hallway. Madeline’s staff could be anywhere, and I didn’t need to become gossip at my sister’s workplace.
“Shh! God! Everyone will hear.”
“No one will hear anything over the music, and besides they’re so focused on hot half naked elves, the place could be on fire, and no one would notice. And so what if they did? This isn’t on you. This is one hundred percent on that bastard. You have nothing to be ashamed about.”
I shrugged. “I dunno. Maybe it is on me.”
“How?” Her sharp tone made me jump a little.
I swallowed looking around again. Once I was sure the hallway was empty, I spoke. “Last week I asked him if we couldspice things up in the bedroom.” I looked at my feet, her silence urging me to continue. “I’ve always wanted to try?—”
She cut me off. “You asked him to tie you up, spank you, pull your hair, maybe choke you?”
I closed my eyes, mortified. “Madeline! God, stop being so loud! This is embarrassing.”
“Honey, those things aren’t as weird or taboo as you think.” She shrugged. “Your brother-in-law dominates me in the bedroom all the time.”
This time her confession had my eyes flying wide. “What? Ew, don’t tell me that! Wait, he does? Sweet, accountant, number one dad, and husband extraordinaire is dominant in the bedroom? And you?” My brow crunched. “Submissive?” I almost choked on the thought. There wasn’t a submissive bone in my sister’s body.
“Yes. It makes him feel powerful and me taken care of. Gets me out of my head. You know I’m in boss mode at work all the time, and when I’m not in boss mode, I’m in mom mode. The mental load is…” She cocked her head, giving me a small secret smile. “God, Memmy, have you read a romance novel recently?”
I shook my head. “Nothing mainstream,” I replied.
“If you’ve read anything with that stuff in it, itismainstream.A lotof women like power exchange and as long as it’s consensual and safe, why the fuck not? God, watch Reels or Tik Tok, hon. They’re full of shit like that. If your douche-canoe ex doesn’t realize it, then he’s obviously not in the know when it comes to women.” Her brows rose and she rolled her eyes to the right. “Which honestly, doesn’t surprise me one bit.”
I smacked her. “Madly!”
She held up her hands in surrender. “So, what did he say?”
“He said no guy wants to do that stuff with the girl he’s going to marry. He said he didn’t want a slutty whore mothering his kids.”
“Jesus Christ. You dodged a fucking bullet. So, what did you do when you walked in on them?”
I shrugged. “I left quietly and told him to be out of my condo by the time I got home from work.”
“And was he?”
“No, but he is now. He took his time.”
“That bastard!” She shook her head looking down the hallway. “I will string him up by the balls myself.”
