I burst into tears again and sat down on the ground. I hated feeling so helplessly out of control. Kingston scooped me up into his arms and brought us to his car. He opened the passenger side door and sat me on the cushion.
He stroked my hair, allowing me time to calm down. “You’re stressed and burnt out, babygirl. You’re having a hard time regulating your emotions because your body has depleted itself. Let me take care of you.”
“You don’t have the time, energy, resources–”
‘I have everything you just listed. You’ve been letting your needs slack for a long time. It stops now.”
He buckled me in and I stayed quiet staring at the window for the ride to my house. If Reed surrendered to King after knowing him his whole life, I could do the same. I valued how important the two of them had become in a short amount of time. I owed it to myself.
Sixteen
Kingston
Driving Eloise home, I knew without a doubt that I’d made the right choice. When she protested and stomped her feet in the parking lot ofThe Kicking Donkey, it became apparent that she needed a break more than I realized. Reed had been much easier to convince. I helped her inside and we went straight to her room.
“Are you going to spank me, Daddy?”
“No, babygirl. Why would I spank you?”
“I was mouthy. I threw a fit. I am a horrid girl.”
If she wasn’t so serious, I would have smiled at her description. Rubbing my hand along my mouth, I shook my head. “You are not horrid. Don’t say mean things about my favorite girl. What did I say earlier? Your body is running on fumes. No wonder you’re breaking down.”
“It’s not okay!”
“I didn’t say it was okay, I said it’s understandable.”
“So, you should really let me have it. Leave me so sore I can’t sit comfortably ever again.”
Between her declaration and the harsh punishments I’d been dishing out to Reed, I swore the two of them wereseeking serious correction. They didn’t love to be punished. No, something had wormed into their brains that made them both feel like the smallest transgression needed to be dealt with immediately and in the strictest way possible. Looking up at her ceiling, I counted a few of the tiles while contemplating how to get a hold on the situation. What worked for Reed wouldn’t necessarily work for her.
“Sweetheart–”
“Or just…. cut the strings and break up with me. I’m not a good fit for the two of you. I can’t accept–”
I tugged her into my arms, spinning her around to face away from me and clapped my hand across her mouth. My little minx bit me. Instead of releasing her, I tightened my hold.Please let me play my cards right.“Am I triggering you?”
She shook her head.
“Do you want me to chase you? Catch your stubborn ass, toss you over my shoulder, pin you to your bed while I fuck you?”
Eloise licked my palm.
“Claim your pussy hard and fast and then flip you over and do the same to your other hole?”
She sagged against me, mewing underneath my hand.
“Listen very closely.”
Eloise struggled while I kept her still, my forearms flexing across the expanse of her chest. Watching her breasts heave as I held her made my mind wander. She’d slipped into a Little mindset in the parking lot, maybe it had been the first time she’d done it around someone else. To go from such a vulnerable space to a scene involving edge play and primal games made sense. She needed to feel some semblance of control, while also not having any, but while still actually holding the power. It was a mind-boggling combination. I wanted her to heal in all the ways she needed to. If we engaged in a scene, it would clear the rest ofthe obstacles in her brain so we could enjoy our vacation– or so I hoped.
“We will do this but once we are done, you and I are going to pack,” I laid out the steps in an easy-to-understand fashion. “We leave tonight. I don’t want to hear any lip about it. No arguments. Am I understood?”
Eloise stomped on my foot. I let her squirm and tug as if she could break free. Thirty seconds later she paused her struggling, panting underneath my hand.Fuck. The raw need seeping from her veins made me want to rut her like a fucking animal. I slowly dropped my hand.
“Answer me, Eloise.”
“I’m so turned on, Sir. I’m dripping….”
