Page 1 of Dirty Discipline, Vol. 2

The Daddy Rumor by Stella Moore

Chapter One

If he hadn’t just walked through a very chic, immaculately decorated living room, Ethan Clarke would have never believed he was in the heart of suburbia. This was his third time to this particular private play space, but he still hadn’t quite gotten used to the dichotomy of the gleaming wood and leather buried beneath the charming brick home with the picket fence.

“There’s the birthday boy!” The owner of the pretty, cheerful house as well as the play space beneath it slipped an arm through his and stood on her tiptoes to press a kiss to his cheek. “I’m so glad you could make it!”

“Wouldn’t miss it for the world.” Because it was the truth, he returned the cheek-kiss. “Is Mike around?”

“He’s upstairs, getting ready. We were, um, a bit delayed.”

It didn’t take his stellar policing skills to figure out the reason for the delay, especially with the sparkle in his host’s eyes. Lucy Roland was a well-known brat and her husband enjoyed every opportunity she gave him to turn her ass red.

“By the way,” she said, dropping her voice to a purr and leaning close to him, “your present should be here any minute.”

Every instinct he had was instantly on alert. “What did you do, Lucille?”

Her nose crinkled up, like she’d just caught a whiff of something particularly unpleasant. “You know I hate it when you call me that. It makes me feel like I’ve done something wrong.”

Looking down at her, he raised an eyebrow. “Have you?”

Her brilliant smile returned. She leaned up on her tiptoes to press another kiss to his cheek. “You’ll just have to wait and see.”

Leaving him scowling at her retreating back, Lucy made her way through the small crowd, stopping to chat with each guest.

A gasp from behind alerted him to a newcomer. “Oh my gosh! This is incredible!”

Ethan froze at the familiar voice. His gaze landed on Lucy, who was watching him with a grin that threatened to split her face. With a wave and an air-kiss, she turned back to her current conversation partner.

Fighting back a wave of irrational anger, he turned in search of the owner of the voice. Isabella Taylor looked as out of place as a fish in a sandbox, but it didn’t seem to be dulling her excitement any, if the gleam in her whiskey-colored eyes was any indication.

Those eyes went wide when she spotted him, and her perfect, plump lips formed a small ‘O’ before she forced them back into a polite smile. “Sheriff Clarke. Fancy meeting you here.”

“What are you doing, Isabella?” The anger he wasn’t successfully holding back colored his tone more than he’d meant for it to. Oh, well. Maybe if he pissed her off enough, she’d leave before anyone put their hands on her.

Including, and especially, him.

Hurt flashed in her eyes, and she tilted her chin up in that defiant way she’d had for as long as he could remember. “I was invited.”

Wrapping his hand around her arm, he pulled her out of the way and pushed her onto a stool by the bar. “Sit. Don’t move.”

“Or what?”

Adrenaline pumped through him, and he let his lips curve, making sure she saw exactly the type of man she was dealing with. “I can assure you, Isabella, I know how to use every implement you see on that wall. And I have quite the reputation when it comes to brats just like you. Stay.”

It was impossible to miss the way her pupils widened, and her cute little tongue darted out to wet her lips. Ignoring the stiffening of his cock, he turned and stalked toward their host for the evening.

“Sorry to interrupt,” he growled, nudging her away from the group she’d been entertaining. “I need a moment with Lucille.”

“You got your present, I see,” she said with a wide grin, right before he backed her into a corner, caging her in with his arms.

“What the hell are you playing at, Lucille?”

“What?” Her bottom lip moved into a perfect pout. “Don’t you like her?”

A man would have to be blind not to be attracted to Isabella Taylor, but that wasn’t the point. She had no business stepping foot in a place like this. “How do you even know her?”

His palm physically itched when she rolled her eyes. “Have you forgotten her sister and brother-in-law are members of our little group? Marisa brought her as a guest to one of our socials a few weeks back. After getting to know her, I invited her tonight. My gift to you, for your birthday.”

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