The Daddy P.I. Casefiles: The First Collection by Frost, J (great novels .txt) 📕

I turn and blink and the dark shape walking across my bedroom resolves into Logan. He smiles tightly as he joins me on the balcony.

“Pretty sure I told you to rest, sweetie.”

Another thing I can’t do right. This time I’m not drowning in littlespace, though. I can think enough to respond. “I’m sorry, Sir. Being in the dark was making me feel worse. I needed to get outside.”

He reaches out to me and I let him pull me into his arms. I twist my fingers in the soft T-shirt he’s put on and rest my forehead on his collar. “I’m really, really sorry, Sir. I know I screwed up everything. If you want, I’ll fly back from Cabo tomorrow—”

“What?”

Hearing the genuine shock in his voice makes me lift my head.

“Do you want to leave, Emmy?” He cups my face in his hand and his eyes, dark even in the bright sunlight, probe mine.

I have to bite my lip to keep it from trembling. “I thought you’d want me to.”

“Because you had a panic attack?”

“Because I screwed everything up and embarrassed you and broke your rules.” That burning tightness returns and threatens to choke me again. I swallow hard to keep forcing out my words. “I-I know I’m a terrible sub and you could have anyone, a perfect sub like Miranda or—”

Logan snorts like he’s choking back a laugh. “You, of all people, know how not-perfect Miranda is.”

Okay, he has a point there.

“I don’t want you to leave.” He traces his thumb down my cheek. “We hit a snag this afternoon. We’ll work through it. That’s what I do with my subs. As long as they don’t run away. You ran away from me twice this afternoon and I need to understand what that means and why you didn’t feel you could turn to me for comfort. Am I still your daddy?”

I nod vehemently.

“You stopped calling me Daddy.” At my nod, he asks gently, “Is there a reason for that, sweetheart?”

“I was trying to get out of littlespace. You were really angry at me and asking me questions I couldn’t answer. I needed not to be little.”

His arm slides around my back and pulls me so close I can feel every inch of him. The biggest, warmest, teddy bear hug.

“I didn’t realize that could be a problem. I was asking you to talk to me, and I could see you were struggling, but I thought you were being obstinate, not that you’d gone into a non-verbal headspace. I’ll keep that in mind for the future. But I want to make one thing absolutely clear: at no point was I really angry with you. What made you think I was?”

“I embarrassed you. I know that’s a really big deal for Doms. I saw a Dom whip his sub bloody once because she embarrassed him by peeing during their scene—”

Logan makes a strangled noise. “When was this?”

“A couple of years ago. At a dungeon party Matthew took me to.”

“Didn’t anyone stop him?”

“The dungeon monitor did but not until it was too late.”

Frowning, he shakes his head. “I’m sorry you saw that. I’m sorry Matthew took you to a place where that kind of thing could happen. That’s not kink. That’s abuse. And it’s all the worse that the top abused his bottom because she lost control of her body. It happens sometimes, particularly during extended play, and it’s never a reason to punish a bottom. It’s not even a reason for embarrassment. I would not be embarrassed if you peed accidentally during a scene and I don’t want you to ever worry about it. If I push you that far and something happens, that’s on me. You do not need to worry about embarrassing me. When did you think you even did?”

“I disrupted Master Jason’s class talking with Vashi. Master Niall said you stayed behind to apologize for me.”

“Niall said that?” Logan shakes his head. “If that’s what he thought, he got it all wrong. I stayed behind to find out what happened. I left a happy girl giggling with her friend and came back an hour later to a sad girl who ran away from me when I tried to hug her. I was afraid something had triggered you, so I asked Mr. Massage about it and he got squirrelly. I’m still not happy with his answers and if anyone owes anyone an apology, he owes you one for ruining your fun. It was bloody Cocksucking Class. You were supposed to have a good time.”

I gape at him. He wasn’t embarrassed? He wasn’t angry?

“I thought you—because you’re both Doms. I thought—”

“You thought I’d side with him? Emmy, sweetheart, I’m on your side. Always. A daddy always has his little girl’s back. I will punish you if you break my rules but talking during Cocksucking Class? Come on. I care about your happiness and it pissed me off to see you looking like someone had kicked your puppy. I was not, for one second, angry with you.”

“Bu-but you were in the bathroom.”

He rubs his hand up and down my back. “I wasn’t mad. I was frustrated because you wouldn’t talk to me, except to swear, but I wasn’t angry. Little girls break rules, they’re punished, and they’re forgiven. That’s how this dynamic works. Why did—” He kisses my forehead, then the tip of my nose, before looking closely at me. “We’re not going to talk about that right now. We will get to the why of what happened but it’s not going to be now when you’re still shaky, huh?”

Am I still shaky? I don’t feel shaky when I’m all huggled up in his arms in the bright Mexican sun. But I was very shaky when he came out.

“Yes, Daddy.”

He gives me a deep, real smile. Not his wolfy grin. Not his patient daddy smile. This is deep and warm and relieved and . . . loving.

“Did I almost blow it?” I ask, suddenly feeling very shaky, even so tight in his