Daddy guided me across the floor to where others were dancing, and he twirled me around before pulling me into his embrace like a pro.
I beamed up at him and slipped one hand to his neck, while he gathered the other one between us in his grasp. And there, under the romantic light of a chandelier, I got my first dance with my Daddy.
“You’re so beautiful tonight.” He dipped down and rested his forehead to mine.
“So are you.” I stole a quick kiss.
Darling, dance with me.
I’ll sweep you off your feet.
“Do you think a million people will buy our calendar?” I asked.
He chuckled. “With 150 members, that could be tough.”
Yeah, maybe. I snickered and closed my eyes.
Tate was confident many would buy it, though.
It wasn’t quite ready yet, but we’d printed a presentation of it with glimpses of what they’d see in the calendar.
Daddy and I had combined our drawing styles, his shadow work and eye for detail, and my dirty cartoon-like style, and we’d settled for twelve designs that showcased our community, from the house itself to friends in their dynamics.
I sighed contentedly and mirrored Daddy’s fluid steps.
I had the warmest feeling in my chest. This incredible sense of safety and desire and affection and comfort and, crap, I was so falling in love with him. I didn’t know how long that would take or when I would be ready to say those three words—weeks, months…didn’t care—but it had definitely started.
I’d never felt this way with Marcus. Maybe a chunk of it in the beginning…? Yeah, probably. But the feelings I was developing for Sloan were already much deeper.
“Daddy?”
“Yeah?”
“I think it’s important we fall in love with each other.”
Because I never wanted this feeling to go away.
He squeezed me tightly and kissed me on the forehead.
“Corey?”
“Yeah?”
“I think so too.”
I blinked dazedly and smiled up at him. “I’ve already started,” I admitted.
He mirrored my smile and kissed me softly. “So have I.”
Magic.
Only two men were allowed to enter our bubble, and one of them approached us two songs later.
“Mind if I cut in?” Greer’s rich voice sent a sluggish shiver down my spine, and I blinked away the untimely sleepiness.
“Not at all. I think I’ll go buy Archer a drink and see what we can bid on,” Daddy replied.
They exchanged a kiss before Greer took over, and then Daddy kissed me too.
“Find us when you’re ready.”
I nodded. “Yes, Daddy.”
As a new slow song came on, Greer gathered my hands around his neck, then dipped down and kissed me softly, lingering, slowly deepening the kiss, breathing me in, his hands stroking me right above my butt.
I shuddered and caressed his tongue with mine.
He hummed.
“I was gonna send you a wink from across the room but realized I don’t have to anymore,” he murmured. “I can just come over and kiss you silly.”
I exhaled a laugh and played with the soft hairs at the back of his neck. “That’s how you made me crush on you when I joined Mclean.”
He smiled and kissed me again, lazily, shamelessly, and deeply.
I was falling for him too, but it was different. It was like coming home to a house I’d wanted to visit for a long time, and my first visit was flooding me with excitement, hope, and…
No. That wasn’t right.
I mean, it was like that, but it was more.
In a way, I felt connected to Greer, almost as if we were part of the same person. We had three years of taking the tiniest steps toward each other. He completely owned the brat in me. He made me want to sink deeper into my submission.
At the same time, he was part of a unit, with Archie, and I needed them together as much as I needed Sloan and me to have a special forever.
“I’m confusing myself,” I mumbled.
“Yeah? How so?” He drew a deep breath and nuzzled his nose to mine.
“It’s so intense and overwhelming what I’m feeling for you, Daddy, and Archie, but it’s difficult to make heads or tails of it all.”
He cupped my cheek and brushed his thumb over my bottom lip. “Intense and overwhelming sums it up pretty well for me too. And I reckon that’s enough for now. Everything will be crystal clear soon. I promise.”
I believed him.
His eyebrows furrowed a little. “You’re tired.”
I chuckled and almost freaking yawned. “The auction will wake me up, I think.”
He sighed and tightened his hold on me, effectively burying my face against his chest, and he kissed the top of my head. “I wish I could take those nightmares away from you.”
It was my turn to hum, because I was too comfortable to speak.
The nightmares had gotten both worse and better in some strange way. Better, because I was healing and no longer blaming myself. Worse, because I had started talking to Nathan twice a week. With his involvement in kink, he’d been my obvious choice, and he wasn’t only a grief counselor. He had experience with trauma too. But yeah, he took no damn prisoners, that bondage rigger. He was examining my failed relationship with Marcus under a microscope and forcing me to rehash the past two years of my life.