Page 133 of Their Fairy Princess (Office Intrigue Duet 7)
“I’m not going to apologize,” he stated, his attention on me. “But you don’t need an apology. We all played this incorrectly. I was too selfish to see it. You tried to be the martyr.” He sighed. “And Everly and Dante got caught in the middle.”
I took a bite, chewed, tried to relax.
“We came up with the idea of sharing two women long before we ever thought those women might be submissives. Teenage fantasy. We never amended that fantasy and I don’t figure it would’ve mattered. We hadn’t figured Everly into it.”
“True.”
“It’s different with her,” he admitted.
“It is.”
He lifted his mug, held it out.
I picked mine up.
“To the two submissives who restructured our lives the way they intended them to be.”
I grinned, clinked my glass to his. “And to a new and improved sleeping quarters.”
Isaac chuckled. “Thank God for a bigger bed. You can sleep on your side.”
“With Everly,” I added.
He laughed. “Every Tuesday, Thursday, and Sunday. The rest of the time, she’s in my arms.”
Knowing he was kidding, I laughed. “Not a chance.”
We ate in silence for a little while, finishing off the sandwiches and downing the beer. I took the empty plates inside, brought out two more beers, poured them.
“I gave Dante some rules tonight.”
“Yeah?”
“You should consider giving him a few. I think it’ll help.”
I nodded. “I agree. Structure. He needs it to feel settled.”
Isaac turned to me. “He also needs to know that it’s okay he’s sleeping on his own. I think he worries it bothers us.”
I blamed myself for that. I wanted Dante in my bed, but I knew from the few instances he’d been there that it wasn’t comfortable for him. I couldn’t pretend to understand, but I would accept it because I loved him.
“What are the rules?” I asked.
“Monday mornings he’s to shower with me. No matter the situation. He has to ask for permission to go to his room. Not because I figure we’ll tell him no.”
“Because you want him to know we care how much he’s hiding in there?”
“Yeah,” Isaac agreed. “Exactly.”
“Anything else?”
Isaac set his beer down, leaned back. “I explained how hard it is to command at all times, to decide what everyone else will do. I know they want that, Dante probably more than Everly. But it’s not sustainable for us to direct his every move. He has to make the decisions on his own. Now he has to ask permission to do them.”
“That could get interesting. We supposed to stand over him and give him permission to wash his body after he shampoos?”
Isaac laughed. “Hell no. I told him he can’t ask which food to eat first. He understands.”
“Then I’ll divvy up the chores. Come up with some creative ways to spend his time.”
“That’ll be fun for you.”
It would. I was a creative guy. I was sure they’d both enjoy what I had in store for them.
I stared out at the pool, the blue lights beneath the surface. “What’ll we do when we’re out of town?”
“It can’t be helped,” he said, clearly understanding the deeper meaning to the question.
“They’ll have each other to look after. They’ve been doing it for a long time.”
“I know. I just…” I didn’t like the idea of being gone for a couple of months, not seeing them during that time.
“I think Ransom’ll understand we can’t take the longer assignments,” Isaac said. “We’ll tell him two weeks is the limit.”
It was a start.
“And you never know, they may want to kick us out from time to time.”
The thought made me smile. “You’re probably right.”
“There’s no probably about it. I am. You’ll see.”
Isaac was correct about one thing.
Only time would tell.
THIRTY-THREE
Dante
I couldn’t remember the last time I’d woken with an alarm.
Before I’d come here, I hadn’t slept enough to need one.
This morning, I was grateful I’d had the forethought. I managed to drag my ass into Isaac’s room with only a minute to spare. There, on the big bed, were Isaac, Everly, and Ian, all sleeping soundly.
Not wanting to be creepy, I decided not to watch them sleep, choosing to get on the bed and kneel between Isaac’s legs as he’d instructed. At first, I had wondered why he hadn’t wanted me to simply kneel beside the bed. When he shifted as I settled, I realized it was because it would allow him to be notified of my presence.
His eyes were hooded as he glanced over at the clock, probably verifying I was on time. The clock read six on the dot, so I was doing fine.
He dropped his head back onto his pillow, ran his hand through his hair as he came awake slowly. I kept my eyes downcast, but I couldn’t help but notice him. Aside from the shower he’d promised, I had no idea what his plan was for this weekly encounter, but I had looked forward to it all night. In fact, I’d gone over his instructions numerous times in my head, the anticipation building every time I did.
