Page 19 of Melt For Us, Daddy
“Ow, Daddy! This isn’t fair!”
Unlike Frankie’s voice, Holden’s was too deep and low for Ivy to hear, no matter how close she got to the door.
“But—” Whatever Frankie intended to say was cut off by another round of spanks and her cries of distress.
Again, Holden spoke in those too-quiet tones for Ivy to hear, but she was able to make out Frankie’s response.
“I know. I’m just so mad for Ivy. It’s not fair.”
This time when Holden spoke, it was loud enough for Ivy to make out the words. “I know it’s not fair, baby. But Cordelia is a good Domme and she loves Ivy. You have to trust that she has Ivy’s best interests at heart, no matter what happens.”
Trust. That was what it all came back to, wasn’t it? And it wasn’t just that she felt like she couldn't trust Cordelia to be truthful. Cordelia hadn’t trusted her with her deepest, most painful secrets. They were supposed to be partners, in bed and in life. But while Ivy was expected to share everything with her Domme, to trust Cordelia with her very heart, she hadn’t been given that same trust in return.
And she wasn’t sure that was something they could ever come back from.
Chapter 7
Cordelia
Ivy hadn’t come home.
A text from Holden had let her know that Ivy was at his house getting ready for work. The knowledge that her babygirl would rather borrow clothes than come home and talk sat like a rock in her stomach.
Pulling her phone from her pocket, Cordelia once again read over the text she’d sent Ivy shortly after she’d gotten that news.
* * *
I love you, Ivy Mae. And I know I fucked up. But I love you, and I promise I’ll explain everything when we talk.
* * *
Still no response. As far as she could tell, Ivy hadn’t even bothered to open the message.
Another time, that might be grounds for a spanking. No matter how pissed either of them might be about something, they made it a point not to ignore each other. But how could she punish Ivy, knowing how badly she was hurting over something Cordelia herself had done?
She couldn’t, so she wouldn’t. They would be talking about it, however, and once they had, she planned on making it very, very clear to her babygirl that icing her out would not be tolerated again.
In the meantime, she had a job to do. With Ivy’s necklace tucked carefully in the pocket of her leather pants, Cordelia strode toward the back entrance of Club BDE.
The song of her people greeted her the second she opened the door, and she instantly relaxed. Leather striking flesh, cries and pleas for mercy, the teasing taunts of Dominants with a submissive at their mercy. All of it was a balm for her soul.
Maybe if she and Ivy could talk things out before their shift, she’d take her girl down to the pit and remind her how much she appreciated her submission. There was a newly installed whipping post Ivy had been eyeing, and the thought of flogging her girl into a sweet, subbie haze before making her come so hard she saw stars had Cordelia’s mouth practically watering.
Sliding a hand into her pocket, she wrapped her fingers around the delicate flower as she made her way to the kitchen to clock in. The routine of greeting the staff, clocking in, putting her purse in her locker, all of it settled her, bit by bit.
Her Ivy-girl wasn’t the only one who loved routine.
As if that errant thought managed to conjure her, Cordelia caught a glimpse of her dark hair, pulled high in a ponytail with the ends curled the way Frankie often wore it.
“Ivy.”
Freezing in her tracks, Ivy whipped around, her eyes wide with… Was that fear? Real fear, and not the fun, delicious kind she so often loved to see in those deep brown eyes?
Before she could ask, before she could think, Lottie was between them, her expression a mask of determination. “Ivy is not speaking to you right now.”
Narrowing her eyes, Cordelia put every ounce of Domme she could into her voice. “This doesn’t concern you, Charlotte.”
It worked, at least a little bit. Lottie’s cheeks lost a bit of color and she swallowed hard, but she didn’t move. “Ivy is my friend. You hurt my friend. So yes, it does concern me.”
