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

maid comments may not have bothered her, but the rest of what Miranda said hit Emily right where she lives,” Maude says quietly.

“I know.” I kiss the back of Emily’s head again, breathing in the piña colada scent of her hair. “I’ll deal with it. Tonight was a good start. I’ll keep doing reinforcement until it sinks in.” I sigh and stretch and tuck back around her. “There’s one thing I haven’t addressed yet, but we’ll get to it.”

“Oh?”

Insidious crocheting interrogation.

I didn’t get into the issue of topping other subs because I didn’t want to open the subject in front of Javier and Ten, but Maude’s a different story. She won’t judge. Or if she does, she’ll bake me cupcakes to sweeten her judgment. I’m a sucker for cupcakes.

“Miranda told Emily that me topping other bottoms was an early sign of my faithlessness,” I tell Maude. “I have, as matter of truly inconvenient bloody timing, just agreed to top Lucy outside the club.”

“I’ve never noticed any particular connection between you and Lucy.”

“No, there isn’t. I didn’t train her. I’ve done a few scenes with her, but nothing heavy. That’s the problem. Everyone treats her like a fluffy bunny. I think there’s a deep vein of masochism in Lucy that we haven’t touched.”

Maude wrinkles her chin. “Without wishing to harp, dear, this is why we need you back as Master of Training.”

“Does harping at me make you a harpy?”

Maude chuckles. “You’re horrible. I have no idea why I’m so unreasonably fond of you.”

“My rugged good looks and boyish charm?”

“Both of which pale when you wallow in clichés. What are you going to do about this?”

“Have Emily watch, and sometimes participate, when I top Lucy, so she can see for herself there’s nothing sexual to it.”

“Ah, there’s my clever boy.”

Glad someone thinks so.

“I’ve been anything but clever. I could have sent Emmy to Syracuse for the week, or barred Miranda from the house. Instead, I invited that witch into our home, into Emily’s safe place, because I thought Mir could be a damn adult. I failed to keep Emily safe. I failed her, Maude. I have to fix this—”

“Logan.” Maude sets her hook and ribbon down in her lap. “Apologize to her and let it go.”

“Maude—”

“You heard me. You’ve punished her. You’ve corrected the balance between you. Apologize to her for being human and imperfect and then get back to the important work of building her back up and making her secure and confident in your love. Be her daddy. That’s all she needs.”

“Sage advice,” I say snarkily, but it actually is.

“Here’s a bit more, dear. Don’t be a dick.”

I bury my chuckle in Emily’s hair.

* * *

When my phone buzzes, I open my eyes and meet Javier’s amused gaze through a thicket of dark hair. Emily’s sprawled face-down across me, arms clasped around my ribs, legs loose against my hips, drooling a little onto my shoulder. This is definitely not how I fell asleep. She must have inched on top of me while I slept.

“Someone needed a hug,” Javier whispers.

I can’t help laughing, which wakes Emily. She snuffles and wipes her face and realizes she’s drooling all in the space of a second.

“Omi—gosh, sorry, Daddy!”

She tries to backpedal off me, but as soon as she moves, her punishment catches up to her. She collapses onto her side, pulling her knees to her chest with an agonized whimper.

“Hey, little girl.” I turn and draw her to me. “Easy does it.”

She huddles into me. I rub her back until she relaxes, muscle by muscle.

“What time is it?” she asks.

“Just after five. You’re not finished sleeping, my baby.”

“I’m not?” She turns the big eyes up to me. “I feel like I might be for a little while.”

“Do you feel like you might be up to walking?”

Her face screws up adorably. “Not feeling that.”

“I didn’t think so.” I kiss her forehead. “Pick a book, Daddy will read to you, then it’s back to bowbies for you.”

She gives me meltingly big eyes. I give myself a mental pat on the back for that expression, which tells me she’s in littlespace, despite the pain. That’s just where I want her. Back in her free, happy place. I retrieve her bag, help her into her nightgown, then settle her in the crook of my arm, her head on my chest, while I read her another of her favorite Maurice Sendak books, Alligators All Around. It’s more of an alphabet than a story but she likes the illustrations.

Before I even get to “U,” with the alligators usually upside down, Emily’s asleep again, her breaths puffing softly across my chest. I tuck her binkie around her shoulders, make sure she has her bunny to hug, and slide out of the bed. Javier nods to me as I head out to take a shower.

* * *

On the way to the changing rooms, I pass by the upper hall desk, where Austin has replaced Cappa on dungeon-duty. At Austin’s lifted eyebrow, a gesture that conveys a ridiculous amount of concern for the exercise of a couple of muscles, I stop and reassure him that Emily’s fine and under the watch of the club’s dragon. Austin snorts at the description but doesn’t lose his anxious air. I cave and give him permission to see Emily if he can arrange cover for the desk.

I leave him calling down the roster of house subs.

The Dom’s changing room is empty when I step in, which isn’t surprising at this time of day. Before I’ve even got my sweatpants off, a man I haven’t seen in months steps in, looks me up and down, locks the door, and leans back against it.

“Logan,” he says.

“Theo,” I return.

He doesn’t say anything, just glares at me. Knowing he’s a cop, my mind does a guilty canter around all of my possible misdeeds but comes up blank.

“You lock the door because there’s something scary in the hallway, or because you’re planning to jump me?” I ask. “If