The little collective gasped in shock.
Jamie looked from Bear to me, and his eyes widened even more.
Robbie cleared his throat. “Shauna, what are the rules on calling yourself bad names?”
She shook her head vigorously. “Never ever, ever do it!”
“Jamie, do you think you owe someone an apology?” Mal asked his boy.
Jamie’s lip wobbled, but he quickly crawled over to me hugged my waist before I had time to do anything. “I’m so sorry, Uncle Luke,” he gasped against my stomach.
A tiny movement caught my eye, and I flicked my gaze to Bear who appeared… jealous?
“It’s okay, Jamie. You know better now.” I made eye contact with Mal over his head and got another nod. “But if your Daddy chooses to punish you for calling me names when name-calling is one of the Big Rules, then that’s not up to me.”
Jamie nodded and let go, tears still glistening in his eyes. “Okay.” His tone was so forlorn, I felt glad when Mal reached over to tug at his hair.
“How about you come sit on my lap for a bit. It’s gonna be lunchtime soon and you need to calm down before that.”
“Julie, will you take the others to play a game until lunch?”
She got to her feet and held hands out for Andy and Shauna like the babysitter she was. Then she looked at Bear who shook his head.
Shrugging, Julie took the littles away.
Bear seemed conflicted. He wanted to go with them, but for some reason wouldn’t.
“What’s up, Bear?” I reached out to touch his shoulder.
I guess I got my answer when he leaned his cheek to my hand but wouldn’t look at me. He needed comfort, too.
“Come closer.”
He moved to lean against the side of the ottoman, so I moved to the edge and pulled him against my leg instead. It was the right height for him to put his head on my knee, so I guided him to do that.
“Close your eyes and relax for a bit, Bear,” I murmured.
I started to pet his hair, and incrementally he did just that while I went back to my conversation with Robbie. Mal had a lapful of boy, and he was petting Jamie much like I was doing to Bear.
Lila called to Robbie, and he went to help her with something. People started to wander downstairs where the kitchen and dining room were. There was also a separate table for littles and another one for subs who wanted to hang out among themselves without Dominants being around to bother them. At least that was what Alyssa had once said.
There were some new faces around and some old ones as well. When Mal told Jamie to go get the littles so they could head downstairs, Bear’s hold on the seam of my jeans tightened. I made no effort to move.
One of the people I’d known longest who liked to organize events in the community, Harriet, appeared like she was bound to do.
She was a fifty-something motherly type and a total sadist. You would’ve never known just by looking at her.
She beamed at me and glanced at Bear, wisely ignoring him as she came over and perched on the edge of the couch.
“Luukas, just the man I wanted to see!”
I leaned closer to give her a one-armed hug. “Hey, Harriet. What can I do for you?”
“I was thinking, since it’s Elio’s birthday next month and it’s been three years since we lost him, could we have a little event for him?”
I hated how my heart constricted and how immediate the discomfort was. When I didn’t reply immediately, she frowned.
“Look, he was your husband and an amazing submissive. Everyone adored him. But this is your decision. If you’re not ready, then….”
