The Shepherd (The Game 6)

The pool area and patio came into view, and I was a little surprised to see that nobody was out here. Plenty of members had spent the night, and it was past noon.

I climbed up the deck and righted some chairs and tables, and I brought out the seat cushions from the storage behind the hot tubs.

Maybe some people had gone home to get ready for tonight.

But not all, I deduced, when Lucas stepped out onto the little porch of the cabin he shared with Colt and Kit.

“I thought I heard someone.” He smiled and squinted due to the sun. “Kit and I are off to get some lunch. Do you need anything?”

“Nah, I’m all set.” The only plan I had right now was to throw my ass on the couch. “Have you seen Ivy lately?” She’d been here earlier.

I’d say she was the community’s main member-recruiter and hostess. A sweet girl who loved bringing people together as much as I did. Despite that our community was geared primarily toward gay men, it was open for everyone, and she wasn’t the only straight person who’d found a second family out here.

I had good news to share with her.

“She and a few others went to Tysons,” Lucas responded. “Gretchen and Shay went with her—they claimed we don’t have enough candy for tonight.”

I snorted and jumped down from the deck again. “Shocking. A mob of brats wants more candy.” The cupboards in the kitchen were so full they could barely close.

“Candy is awesome!” I heard Kit holler right before he came running out from behind Lucas. “Okay, I’m ready to go, Daddy. Hi, Sir!”

I smiled. “Hey, pet. You excited about tonight?”

“Yes, because we’re the bosses.” He grinned and popped the imaginary collar of his tee. “Oh! Did you hear that Master Kingsley and Tate are back together?”

Well, fuck. If Kit knew, Ivy undoubtedly knew. That was the good news I wanted to share.

“I did. I spoke to Kingsley this morning.” I was happy for my friends. They’d been struggling a lot this year, but we all knew they belonged together. “On that note, I’m short a dungeon monitor for tonight.” I shifted my gaze to Lucas. “Kingsley and Tate are gonna skip the party and get some downtime at home. Do you know anyone who might be available?”

“Hmm. I can ask around,” he offered. “If we don’t find anyone, I’ll help you.”

By the look on Kit’s face, it was important I found someone else. The boy evidently had plans for his Daddy.

“We’ll work it out,” I said, starting toward my cabin. “Have a good lunch, you two. I have an important meeting with my couch.”

That made Kit giggle.

Littles. They were easily amused. Precious as hell too. I was looking forward to seeing another Little in about half an hour, because we had to talk if we were gonna continue his pain sessions. I wasn’t a Sadist for hire. There had to be something in it for me too, and I didn’t think my demands were very high for helping out. Aftercare and being able to check in with Corey was something I didn’t want to budge on.

If he wanted to strip the scenes down to nothing but receiving pain, he could seek out a FinDom in the city. I had a day job already. Which reminded me, I had to do inventory. We’d recently surpassed one hundred and fifty members again, after a drop, so the bar and supply closets needed to be stocked up almost every week.

I unlocked the door to my cabin and breathed in the scent of wood and old books.

While my other buddies had turned their cabins into vacation homes, except for River and Reese, who lived here permanently, I’d turned my place into a library. It hadn’t been my intention at first, but as the piles of books grew higher and higher, I’d installed more and more bookshelves along the slanted walls. Now they were everywhere, both down here and in the loft that served as a bedroom.

I blamed it on garage sales and clearances from bookstores going out of business. I could come home with dozens of titles in one go. Scratch that, I dumped the books here. I was never so much of a sucker as I was around books at a sale. Random children’s books, for when my nieces and nephews started having their own kids. DIY project books for my pop. Military history for Kyle—my youngest brother who was still active in the service—but not until I’d read them myself first. Memoirs for Angus, the only one who appreciated books for his birthday. Several of the others definitely liked to read, but it wasn’t something they wanted for their birthdays or Christmas. So whenever I headed up to New York to visit, I had preapproved gifts from wish lists in one bag and books in another.