Doll Parts (The Game 4)

I grinned carefully and pinched my lip. “Cameron and I should move in with you so I can be there for you and he can be there for Lucian.”

To my instant worry, Daddy let out a breathy laugh and teared up a little. “Don’t think I haven’t thought of it, baby. This week has been rough,” he admitted. “I’ve hated being away from you. My wildest dreams are coming true, and I’m supposed to pace myself?”

I swallowed hard. It dawned on me that KC and I were more alike than I’d ever imagined. He was instinctual and a bit wild too. But unlike me, he’d lived a life like he was the opposite. So much structure, so many lies, so little freedom. From an early age, hiding who he was. Married to my mother, suppressing his nature. Guiding me into adulthood, denying his developing attraction.

His only outlet had been activities that gave him a small rush. Like skiing, like driving fast, like rock-climbing. And now he couldn’t do much of that either.

Well. Actually. Oh, I had to talk to Lucian. I didn’t wanna assume; maybe Daddy had found alternative ways, like for athletes with disabilities, to participate in certain sports. But if he hadn’t, I wanted to do that with him.

KC might don a nice suit during the day and kick ass in a courtroom every now and then, but he wasn’t the average businessman or Suit with a capital S. Outside of his Daddy Dom nature, his fetishes revealed a savage who didn’t want to abide by social standards or rules.

Just like me, he needed his organized chaos.

And just like him, I didn’t know how to pace myself. What was there to figure out? If we were compatible? If all this was just a silly crush? If we’d get bored with each other? Fat chance. I’d been with my boyfriend for a year and knew I wanted to spend the rest of my life with him. I’d loved KC for longer than I probably was aware of, and three years apart from him hadn’t so much as doused the fire a little. We weren’t strangers.

Lucian returned to the apartment, oblivious to the silence he walked into, maybe because he was letting us know that he’d helped a nice old lady into the building with her grocery bags, and now we’d all been invited over for tea sometime.

He’d most likely encountered Mrs. Wozniak. She invited everybody over for tea—and the best sugary, buttery cookies in the world. As a side dish, you got tales of what ingredients they’d rationed in Poland after the war.

I cleared my throat and went to Lucian. “Can I help Daddy with the braces? I wanna learn.”

“Of course.” He handed them to me, two stretchy yet sturdy pieces of thick fabric. “I’ll go see if I can help Cam with anything in the kitchen.”

Have fun in the war zone, Sir…

I walked over to the alcove and sat down on the foot of the bed. The braces were stuck together because of wide Velcro strips, so I had to pull them apart first. Otherwise, it was pretty straightforward. You just wrapped them around the leg and attached the Velcro. They were black like Daddy’s pants.

“Sorry if this is a dumb question. Do you use them over or under your pants?”

“That’s not a dumb question, freckles,” he answered. “If I’m preparing for a day where I’m going to stand up more, I’ll use them under. But for the most part, I strap them on for extra support in the evenings when my legs are tired already.” He stepped closer to me so I could wrap the braces around his legs. “Just make sure they go over the knee—and as tight as you can.”

I could do that.

“Are there any situations at work where you have to stand?” I wondered. I reached around his left leg and started pulling the ends together as tightly as I could muster.

“No, not really. It’s only a preference when I’m speaking at meetings,” he said. “I made partner at the firm last year, and I have staff meetings most of the day every Friday, so—”

“I didn’t know that. That’s huge, KC.” I grunted and attached the Velcro before I peered up at him. “You’re fucking awesome.”

He smiled crookedly and touched my cheek. “The best part is less work and fewer court dates, something I never thought I’d say.”

That made me even happier, and it made perfect sense to me. A few years ago, he didn’t need to exercise several hours a day just to be able to walk for ten minutes. His daily routine had become longer and much more demanding. It had to be exhausting at times.

“A lot has changed,” I commented. “You’re working fewer hours, and you’ve replaced your candy stash in the car with…broccoli.”