Doll Parts (The Game 4)

It was the best feeling ever.

CHAPTER 10

Noa Hayles

I was gonna miss waffle breakfast.

Goddammit, whore, piss, shit-stain!

I clutched my phone, annoyed, and thought about my options. Daddy was working out in the pool, and I refused to get in the way of that. Cameron was asleep and wouldn’t be up for another hour or so. Which left me with Lucian. He was reading the paper in one of the loungers by the pool.

I was discovering that Daddy, Lucian, and I were various degrees of early risers. I’d heard both Lucian and Daddy say they loved a nice morning to sleep in every now and then, but for the most part, they were up by seven. Daddy had a rubber mat that he submerged and let sink to the bottom of the pool, and then he brought weights with him into the water. I was guessing that the mat he stood on protected the interior of the pool in case he dropped the weights, because they were quite heavy. And while he worked out, Lucian went for a run or a brisk walk.

Might as well get on with it. At least my day would only be ruined for a few hours. And ruined was a strong word—I loved my responsibilities at my internship, and I didn’t fetch as much coffee as I’d originally dreaded. Right now, I was shadowing a producer, so I had a fair bit of studio time.

Still. I would’ve preferred waffles and staying here.

Opening my overnight bag, I dug out a pair of shorts, a new tee, and my ball cap. My boss was a Penguins fan, and I couldn’t just let that fly. This was DC. Here, we rooted for the Caps. Period.

After getting dressed and pocketing my wallet and phone, I left the cabin and trailed toward the patio.

“Morning, little one.” Lucian spotted me first. “Going somewhere?”

Daddy looked over at me and cocked his head, though he didn’t say anything. He was in the middle of a set where he lifted a heavy kettlebell with his feet.

“Afraid so,” I answered. “My boss from the studio called and asked if I could come in for a few hours. An artist he’s working with is flying in today because she’s not happy with a song.”

“Oh, I see.”

“I can drive you, baby,” Daddy offered. “Give me ten minutes and—”

“Nonsense, KC.” Lucian shook his head and rose from his seat. “You need at least another hour’s training. I’ll take him. I have some errands in the city anyway.”

Yay, it worked out.

“Thank you very much, Sir.” I smiled and twisted my cap backward.

“No problem at all. I’ll go get dressed.” Because God forbid he wore sweats and a tee to drop me off.

When Lucian had left, I walked over to the edge of the pool and removed my shoes and socks before I sat down and dipped my feet into the water. Oh fuck, I wanted to swim later. It felt so nice!

“I hope I’m not ruining any important plans,” I said.

“Of course not, sweetheart.” He blew out a heavy breath and pulled one knee to his chest, hugging it to him. His exertion was clear as day. He was flushed, visibly uncomfortable, and sweat trickled from his hairline.

“What kind of exercises do you do?” I asked curiously.

He straightened and rolled his shoulders. “One hour strength training, mainly lifting weights with my feet, and then one hour cardio. I prefer to swim. Twenty minutes of stretching before and after.”

Christ, and he repeated that every single day.

“Once a week, I go to a rehab center where I have a PT too,” he said, swimming closer to the stairs. He was aiming for his water bottle on the edge. “Twice a month, I go there for a massage. Not gonna lie, those are my favorite.”

I grinned. “Hey, I can take a massage class or something. But I can’t promise I won’t grope you.”

He laughed and chugged from his water.

Well, the offer was on the table.

Now I could move on to an opportunity that was suddenly presenting itself. “If Lucian and I are gone for a few hours, could you try to get closer to Cameron?”

He smirked faintly and raised a brow.

I blew him a kiss. He knew what I meant.

“Have you talked to him about this?” he wondered.

I shrugged, then nodded. “A little. He thinks you’re hot as fuck, but he’s intimidated.”

That surprised Daddy. “Why on earth would he be intimidated by me?”

“Because most of the public play you’ve participated in out here has been cruel to us poor subs.” I snickered at a particular memory of Cameron telling me about the time Daddy and another Sadist had made a sub pee himself during an interrogation scene. Granted, he’d come hard as hell too, but that was because he got off on fear.

Something I could relate to like whoa, but not a whole lot scared me.