I kept my body in check as much as I could, which mostly just consisted of me not throwing her on top of the table and fucking her until neither of us could fucking move.
Once she was finished eating, I leaned down and lifted her up in my arms, carrying her towards the bed. “Lay down for a little while. I need to go check on some things, and then, we’re going to go somewhere, okay?”
She nodded. I handed her my laptop. “You know how to work this?” She nodded. I pressed my lips to her forehead. “There’s a movie app on here. Watch whatever you want. I’ll be a while. Sleep if you want.”
“Okay,” she whispered, surprising me with her voice. It was a bit scratchy, but I didn’t care.
She had spoken to me without being prompted.
My heart skipped a beat in my chest.
I was making progress already, and it felt fucking incredible.
~*~*~
I found James in his office. Emmaline was in his lap, munching on a granola bar. Carter was playing with a toy on the floor, gurgling happily.
“What’s up?” James asked me.
“Think I need some help,” I confessed.
James narrowed his eyes at me. “Al-fucking-ready, brother?” he demanded. “Jesus Christ. It takes you no time at all to get caught up in some bad shit.”
I laughed, dropping into one of his chairs. “No. I didn’t get into any damn trouble,” I told him. He relaxed again, his hand slipping up Emmaline’s back beneath her shirt. “I actually wanted to talk about Juliana.”
“That the girl you brought home last night?” he asked me. “Caused quite the fucking shit show over her, Darren.”
I shrugged, not giving a fuck. “Guy was being a fucking dick to her. It was clear she didn’t want to be out in the main room, and he wasn’t listening. The terms on her contract were completely ignored.” At that, both he and Emmaline gave me their undivided attention. I knew James didn’t play when it came to a submissive’s contract being violated.
“Her contract clearly states she doesn’t want any public acts of play. It was all supposed to be done behind closed doors,” I told him, pulling her contract from my jacket pocket.
I set it on his desk. “I need that contract terminated, by the way.” He leaned forward and snatched it up, glancing over it.
“She’s not vocal?” he asked in surprise.
I shook my head in answer. “No. Which is why I’m here for your advice. Not only is she not vocal, but she’s got a . . .” I trailed off, trying to think of how best to word her mentality. I didn’t want to describe it as childish because she wasn’t. She was timid, unsure, and she wanted someone to take care of her. But she wasn’t childish.
“A what?” James asked impatiently.
I frowned. “I don’t know how to describe it,” I admitted. “She wants someone to take care of her.” I leaned forward, smiling at Carter as he toddled over to me, clapping his hands to mine. “Like this morning when we were eating breakfast. She wants one of everything – an OCD kind of thing, though she doesn’t mind her food touching. I had to cut up her pancake, and she also seemed to enjoy it when I fed her eggs.”
“Sounds to me like she had some traumatic shit happen to her as a little girl,” James said with a shrug.
“She, um, she might have a daddy kink,” Emmaline told me. I snapped my eyes up to my sister-in-law in surprise, wincing when Carter grabbed a toy and smacked it against my leg.
Please, Daddy.
And she got off on the fact that I called her little girl and baby girl. Juliana fucking loved that shit.
Which meant someone – her father, most likely – hadn’t taken care of her like a parent was supposed to.
That shit fucking pissed me off.
“She probably had a bad childhood,” Emmaline quietly continued. “I did, but not so bad that I feel a need for James to do things for me. I just hate decisions being put into my hands, which is where he comes in.” James brushed a kiss to her temple. “She might also be looking for someone to take care of her because she’s tired of fighting all of the time.”
I swallowed hard at the thought of Juliana giving up.
I would never fucking allow that to happen.
“The vocal thing is what concerns me,” James spoke up as I lifted Carter onto my lap, and he clapped his hands together, squealing. “How does she provide consent to you if she doesn’t voice it?”
“I pay attention to her body language along with her nods and head shakes,” I explained. “She’s easy to read if you pay attention.”
“You collaring her?” James asked me. I looked up at him. “Only makes sense since you’ve brought her home with you. Men like us don’t drag random women into our kind of shit, brother.”
I nodded once. “I’m collaring her,” I told him, my eyes focusing on the collar around Emmaline’s neck. “But she doesn’t want one on her neck. She freaked out at the mention of it.”
Emmaline swallowed thickly. “Something tells me she had something around her neck she never wanted.”
I nodded in agreement, my blood boiling at the thought. I tamped down my temper, lifting Carter up to blow raspberries on his belly to distract my mind. It worked when he giggled. “Her collar will go around her ankle,” I told them. I looked up at my brother. “Which means it won’t always be visible, so make sure everyone gets the fucking memo that she’s mine, clear? Because I’ve already killed one son of a bitch over her. I’m not afraid to do it again.”
“I’ll spread the word,” James told me. Carter yawned, and my older brother reluctantly let his wife go so she could come get Carter from me. “Make sure you take a nap as well, little one,” James told Emmaline as she moved towards the door, most likely to go put Carter down for his nap. He shot her a pointed look. “No books, or you’ll receive a punishment.”