“I’m glad you’re prepared,” River laughed and released me. Our breakfast was here, and my stomach snarled.
Fuck yes. A big plate with waffles was set in front of me, and I unwrapped my utensils from the napkin. Daddy and River preferred the Belgian variety. I loved the thin ones the most. With whipped cream and strawberry compote, of course.
“Those look crispy and buttery.” River eyed my plate with interest.
I cut a piece for him and dragged it through the whipped cream and compote, then held up the fork for him.
He hummed around the fork and nodded in approval. “For next time. Damn, that was good.”
Daddy dug into his own waffles, topped with Nutella and whipped cream, and spoke with his mouth full. “Let me just see if I’ve got this straight. Now I can finally relax, knowing that you belong to us. We’ll go on dates, we’ll meet your family, we’ll go balls to the wall with our kink, we’ll eventually—hopefully soon—declare our insane love for one another, and then we can tackle your silly little wish to live in an apartment complex with a pool in DC. Correct?”
I coughed around a piece of waffle and stared at him incredulously.
River’s shoulders were shaking with the laughter he didn’t let slip out.
I had no words for this either. My Daddy, a strong, savage Sadist with a creative mind out of this world. But he was also cute as fuck, and sometimes he fumbled.
I couldn’t contain my grin. “I don’t know what apartment complex you’re talking about, but fuck yes to everything else.”
Especially the declaration of “insane love.”
“And we can save that topic for another time,” River told Daddy pointedly. “Seriously, Reese. We have all the time in the world.”
Well, I was kind of curious…
I mean, I remembered sending a text to River about an apartment with a pool, but did Daddy think that meant I had to stay in the DC area? Because that wasn’t the case at all. Everything had changed as my relationship with the Tenley twins had formed.
Did that mean they wanted me closer to them in the future? Because I was game!
Half an hour outside of the city was nothing anyway.
It was a little soon to discuss living arrangements and whether or not we’d live together one day—though the prospect made me sickeningly giddy about the future—but I knew one thing for certain. I wouldn’t mind leaving the city as long as I remained fairly close to it. And…well, since I was letting my thoughts stray there…maybe we should live permanently in a small cabin next to a kink mansion.
I was open-minded and honest, even with my brothers, but that didn’t mean I wanted them right there, seeing things they shouldn’t before they were old enough to make those types of choices themselves.
I filled my mouth with more delicious waffle and noticed Daddy and River’s stare-down.
It was entertaining.
Daddy intensified his stare and raised his brows. “What about our plan? We can’t even mention—”
“Reese. I swear to Christ.”
What plan? There was a plan? I wanted to hear the plan.
My phone buzzed in my pocket, and I would’ve left it there until breakfast was over if I hadn’t been expecting a text from TJ. I’d asked him to let me know if there was anything else they needed before school started.
Instead, it was a message from Ivy. She was confirming our plan to meet up for a late lunch next week. Kit and Cam were coming along too, and I had invited Isela. I was still a little irritated with her, but as my Owners had pointed out, she’d only wanted to help me. Just like they had. She deserved the chance to say her piece—and she probably deserved my forgiveness too.
“Fine,” I heard Daddy say in a bitchy tone.
I couldn’t help but chuckle, and I glanced up from my phone. “So, we’re not going to discuss your grand plan?”
“Apparently we’re going to wait,” Daddy muttered. He cut into his waffle with a bit too much force.
River smirked and wiped his mouth on a napkin. “Nothing wrong with enjoying the moment, brother.”
He had a point.
Daddy merely sighed, and then he dug out his phone and cocked a brow. He must’ve received a message too.
I took a sip of my coffee.
“KC spells his last name H-A-Y-L-E-S, right?”
River furrowed his brow. “Yeah. Why?”
Daddy slid the phone across the table to him. “Unless there’s another Noa Hayles, KC’s stepson just requested to become a member through an invitation from Cam.”
My eyebrows flew up, and I stuck another forkful of waffles into my mouth. River had told me about KC. He’d been there last night.
River kept his eyes on the screen as he spoke. “You know how we’ve always hated drama? Starting a community worked out really great for us.”
I laughed and licked some whipped cream off the corner of my mouth.
This was too funny. I had to text Cam about it right away.
Cam…? Are you starting drama in the community by inviting KC’s stepson? :-D
Daddy took back his phone with a shake of his head. “Thing is, I can’t discuss this with KC beforehand. It would violate our policy on privacy.”
And who could forget how quickly they’d assured me that, when they were researching my background, they hadn’t used any of the information I’d submitted for my membership.
Wait. Fuck. My stomach dropped. “Um, Daddy, I just texted Cam about it. I’m sorry. I didn’t think.”
I felt queasy all of a sudden.
When he asked to see the message, I showed him my phone, coincidentally at the same time as I could see Cam typing his response.
Daddy hummed. “Don’t do it again, sweetheart, but…I don’t know. Just this once, I kinda hope the news reaches KC. I want them to work this out on their own.”
The relief hit me hard enough that I felt giddy—and I couldn’t help but crack a joke. “I know how they can work things out.”
