Page 6 of Melt For Us, Daddy
There were conversations they needed to have, things she needed to tell Ivy that she should have told her ages ago. But, selfishly, part of her hoped those conversations could wait until morning. Until she’d gotten some sleep and maybe cleared her head a bit.
Neither of them said a word as she parked in the garage attached to their building. Last year, they’d moved to a more upscale apartment complex, thanks to the promotion Cordelia had busted her ass to get and the extra money they’d banked from the online auctions they’d thought had been run by Club BDE. As it had turned out, they were being run on the side by one of Braden’s ex-employees and as soon as Braden had discovered them he’d shut the auctions down.
The money had been nice while it lasted, especially since she and Ivy enjoyed playing with others anyway. Might as well tuck some money away for a rainy day while doing something they loved, right?
But even without the auctions, they were finally able to afford a nicer place, so they’d moved into a much larger apartment on the other side of town. Three bedrooms, with one serving as a spare room for guests while the other they’d converted into an office-slash-closet to give them plenty of space for their clothes. Between their day jobs and the outfits they wore to the club, they needed the extra space.
Eventually, she wanted to buy them a house. Somewhere permanent, somewhere that was theirs in every possible way. But they were both happy with the apartment for now, though they did enjoy scrolling through the listings on various real estate apps just to see if anything caught their eye.
With the car parked and the engine off, Cordelia climbed out of the driver's side, making her way around the vehicle to let Ivy out. But instead of waiting for her, like she’d done every single day since they’d made that leap from friends to lovers, Ivy opened her own door and stepped out.
“What are you doing, little girl?”
Ivy froze, looking down at her hand still on the handle of the car door, and blinked. “I… sorry. I wasn’t thinking.”
Pity stirred in Cordelia’s chest. Her poor babygirl. “It’s all right, blossom. We had a long night, didn’t we?”
“Yeah.”
Taking Ivy’s hand, Cordelia pulled her close, burying her face in her girl’s hair. The feel of her Ivy in her arms settled her in a way nothing else could. “I’m sorry. I never wanted any of this to touch you.”
“I know.”
There was an edge to Ivy’s voice that had Cordelia biting back a sigh. She couldn’t blame Ivy for being upset, all things considered, but god she was exhausted. “We should get inside.”
“Yes, Ma’am.”
Those two little words unraveled some of the knots in Cordelia’s stomach. Taking Ivy’s hand, she led her girl inside and to their apartment. Ivy immediately moved to take Cordelia’s suit jacket, and as they went through their usual ‘after the club’ routine, the tension seemed to drain from Ivy’s body. Service was her love language, and when she was upset or stressed, nothing calmed her more than doing things for the people she loved.
That, or being brought to tears over Cordelia’s knee and then forced to come until she nearly passed out.
But tonight, she seemed to need the service, so Cordelia let her go through their routine. Standing beside the front door, she looked down as Ivy knelt at her feet to untie her boots. Affection and guilt tangled inside her, squeezing her lungs so tightly she could barely breathe as she stepped out of one boot and then the other so Ivy could set them on the shoe rack in the entryway.
Tomorrow, Ivy would take them to their closet, put them in their assigned box. She would do it without being asked, because it was her nature. It was how she loved, and just then Cordelia couldn't remember a time she’d ever felt so humbled by her girl’s service.
Jacket, boots, dress shirt, pants. Ivy undressed Cordelia, and then herself, hanging up what needed to be put away, tossing what needed to be washed in the hamper. Then she retrieved Cordelia’s favorite pajamas from the drawer and they both dressed for bed.
Sitting on the edge of the bed they’d shared for more than two years now, Cordelia beckoned to her girl, tapping her knee in silent command. Ivy hesitated, just a moment, but that moment was enough to have fear lodging in Cordelia’s throat.
But then Ivy took one slow step forward, then another, before kneeling at Cordelia’s feet, her head bowed for the final part of their bedtime routine.
“We need to talk,” Cordelia said softly, running her hand over Ivy’s dark tresses. “But not tonight. Tomorrow, after we’ve both had a good night’s sleep.”
“Yes, Ma’am.”
“I love you, Ivy Mae.”
With a quiet sigh, Ivy turned her head to rest her cheek on Cordelia’s thigh, left bare by the shorts she’d chosen to sleep in. “I love you, too. Are you… never mind.”
“You know how I feel about that, little girl. You start a question, you finish the question.”
Silence fell between them, and Cordelia let it stretch, knowing her girl would eventually come clean. Ivy didn’t need constant reminders to behave, and though she sometimes struggled to submit right away, she almost always did as she was told.
Tonight, however, was apparently one of those rare times when Ivy was not going to submit without a fight. “I’m too tired for this right now. Can we please just go to bed and talk about it tomorrow?”
Cordelia’s instinct was to push the issue. Put Ivy over her knee and spank it out of her if she had to. It had worked for them in the past and she had no doubt it would work now.
But truth be told, her girl really did sound tired. Almost as tired as Cordelia felt herself. If she pushed Ivy to talk to her when they were both so bone-tired, the odds were good one or both of them would end up saying something they regretted.
