“I need advice.”
Now she did let herself pace as she told the whole story, from Kylie walking in without her uniform to her agreeing to dinner with the two of them. Once the story was finished, she dropped into one of the visitor’s chairs and met her boss’s amused gaze. “So what do I do?”
“Well, for starters, I suggest you choose a restaurant for dinner. Connor has soft-launched his steakhouse up on the Ridge if you’re worried about too many prying eyes. We could also arrange to have dinner delivered to your apartment if you’d prefer something more… intimate.”
“Dinner isn’t the problem, Derek.” Though now that he mentioned it, she wasn’t entirely sure she wanted the entire Ranch watching their sure-to-be-disastrous date.
“Then what is the problem, Addison?”
“You know what the problem is! I’m not a Mommy and they need a Mommy.”
His expression shifted. There wasn’t sympathy in his eyes, but a deeper kind of understanding that told her he wasn’t just brushing aside her concerns. “I know why you feel that way,” he said, his tone full of that same understanding. “But you’re wrong. Just because you weren’t compatible with one Little girl doesn’t mean you’re a monster, Addison.”
“What if I am, though?” Her voice had dropped to a whisper and she hated the weakness of the tears burning the backs of her eyes. “What if I break them, Derek? What if I’m too much?”
“Have you stopped to ask yourself what if you’re exactly what they need?”
“No. Because I’m not.”
“Addison.” With a sigh that said he thought she was being too stubborn for her own good, Derek rose and rounded the desk,perching on the edge and looking down at her. “Are you a good Domme?”
Insult pricked at her. “Of course. I’m an excellent Domme.”
“What makes you excellent?”
Frowning, she considered the question. “I listen to my submissives. I always take their needs into consideration, and I try to meet them where they are, even when I’m attempting to push their limits. When they tell me they can’t do as I’ve asked, I don’t immediately move to punish them, but ask them to communicate why it’s difficult so we can hopefully find a solution together.”
“And why do you think those same characteristics won’t translate to being an excellent Mommy?”
That was easy enough to answer, since she’d had all the reasons painfully laid out for her in black and white. “I’m too strict. The rules I have, the demands, they’re too much for a Little girl. Or boy. Littles need cuddles and stuffies and someone soft to gently guide their way.”
“I see.” Derek nodded slowly. “When you punished Kylie and Dan this morning, did you refuse to cuddle them afterward?”
More insult, running its spindly little fingers up her spine. “Of course not.”
“And was it in any way uncomfortable for you to offer that comfort?”
“No.”
“All right. Next question. Have you ever had two submissives with the exact same needs? Who flourished with the exact same set of rules and expectations?”
“Well, no. Every submissive is different.”
Triumph lit his eyes. “Exactly. So why on Earth are you acting like all Littles are a monolith? You’ve seen me and Sadie in the Dungeon, so youknowsome Littles enjoy the more extreme kinds of play.”
He was right. Sheknewhe was right.
And yet, fear wrapped around her chest like a vise, threatening to squeeze every last bit of air from her lungs. “That doesn’t mean I’m cut out to be a Mommy.”
Leaning over, he gave her shoulder a comforting squeeze. And again she saw that deep understanding in his eyes. “I can’t promise you it won’t be hard, Addison. And as much as I believe in the magic of the Ranch, I can’t promise you happily ever after. But what Icanpromise you is that if you don’t take this chance, if you walk away from them without at least trying, you’ll regret it for the rest of your life.”
Kylie
“You look adorable, Ky.”
Twisting in front of the mirror in her dorm room, Kylie wrinkled her nose at her reflection. “I don’t know if I want to look adorable.”
On the bed, her best friend Eliza Bennett rolled her eyes. “Well whatdoyou want?”
