I wasn’t sure what I thought about that. But I would have to deal with those particular emotions later.
Not wanting to be late and risk punishment, I rushed up the stairs, coming to a stop in the giant bedroom. The king-sized bed with mosquito netting pulled neatly back on all four posts stood in the middle facing one wall that was made up of sliding doors that appeared to retract all the way. I could imagine being in that bed with the warm ocean breeze blowing over my skin…
Shit.
I was wasting time.
Hurrying to the bathroom, I found all my toiletries had been laid out for me. I quickly used the restroom, washed my hands, then brushed my hair. Removing my clothes was becoming second nature; however, I was concerned that there were other people in the house. What would they think if they saw me walking around with my bare ass on display?
“Doesn’t matter,” I mumbled to myself. That had been Master’s instruction and I had no choice but to obey. Because I wanted to. The thought made me smile.
Although I was comfortable with the command, I was still a little hesitant to traipse through the house naked, so I paused at the door and listened. When I heard nothing, I turned the knob and stepped out into the hallway before darting down the stairs. I wandered through the living room and found my way to the back patio.
Sir and Master were standing near a railing that overlooked the water. The moon was bright enough to light up the waves gently crashing against the shore. I noticed they had both changed out of their cold-weather attire and were now wearing shorts, which allowed a delicious view of their muscular calves and their broad backs highlighted with T-shirts.
It was a good look for them here in…
Paradise.
Yep, that’s where we were.
Master was the first to turn and his gaze met mine. He smiled, something that he seemed to be doing more of.
“Have a seat, little one,” he urged, motioning toward the table before pulling out my chair for me.
“Thank you, Master.”
When they joined me, some of my nerves eased up. It helped that I didn’t see anyone else milling about.
“Tell us about your mother and your stepfather,” Master prompted as we ate.
Although I’d never actually thought I would be having dinner with two Dominants while completely naked on a private beach, I could guarantee, if I had, it definitely wouldn’t be when having a discussion about my parents.
I stalled for a few minutes, situating the food on my plate before looking up again, my eyes darting between the two men. My gaze dropped back to my plate and I wiped my mouth with my napkin. “I’m not sure what there is to say.”
“I told you she’d say that,” Sir said, glancing over at Master.
“Since there’s plenty to say,” Master said to me, “come up with a better response.”
I stared at him.
He lifted one eyebrow, then promptly launched into a question. “You mentioned before that you don’t see them often. Are you close to them otherwise?”
I shook my head. “Not really, no. I guess I’m closer to my stepfather than my mom. He’s been a part of my life for as long as I can remember. He adopted me when I was six, but it wasn’t until I was ten that I actually understood what that meant. At first I’d been excited.”
“At first?” Master did not seem pleased by my response.
Sighing, I resigned myself to telling them the rest. “I remembered thinking that it was great that my stepfather wanted me to be his daughter. Or at least that’s what I initially thought it meant. My mother not so kindly clarified that it had been for legal reasons only. She was never the type to mince words, nor did she sugarcoat anything. Ever.”
Master and Sir glanced at each other briefly.
“Please,” I urged. “Don’t feel sorry for me. It’s not like they were abusive in any way. I simply learned early on that my mother didn’t want children. If you looked at it that way, she did the best she could, considering.”
“Ben said they went on a cruise for the holidays?” Master said when I didn’t say anything more.
Well, that explained a lot about why they’d shown up at my apartment. Apparently, Ben had taken it upon himself to talk to Landon and Langston. I briefly wondered if they did feel sorry for me and that was the reason they’d brought me here.
Apparently reading my mind, Sir reached over and touched my hand. “Don’t go making up reasons for why things happen. We invited you here because we wanted to spend time with you, Luci. The information Ben gave us simply spurred us into action faster.”
Feeling a little better, I answered honestly. “That’s what my mom does. She works hard all year long and doesn’t take any time off until the end of the year. Then they tend to travel.”
