2. Jace

Jace sat behind his desk and scanned the three large screens that hung on the walls of the office he shared with his partner and best friend, Zane.

After one of their friends’ Littles was attacked outside of the club by a fake Daddy a few months prior, as well as an incident with a different creep in the bar a couple of months before that, Jace and Zane decided they needed to make the club a safer place for everyone, most importantly, vulnerable Littles and subs.

Now the club was even busier than usual for a Saturday night. It had been busier ever since they’d reopened after closing down for a month to make some changes. The month they’d closed down had been spent reviewing their memberships, interviewing all members who identified as a Top, whether they were a Daddy, Mommy, Dom, Domme, or anything else they identified as.

They now had more security cameras in place that played live feeds from every angle of the club except the private rooms, as well as the parking lots and streets surrounding the building. They even hired someone to sit and monitor the live feeds the entire time the club was open in the event that Jace or Zane weren’t in their office watching it themselves.

Closing the club and interviewing its members proved to be a positive experience. The men had expelled a dozen or so members they’d felt didn’t take the term safe, sane, and consensual seriously, but they’d also gotten to know a lot of their members much better, and those trusted members had seemed to start bringing in their friends to try out the club.

“Hey. Busy night,” Zane said.

Jace looked up from the screens and nodded. He hadn’t even heard his friend come into the office.

“Very busy. Everything good?” Jace asked.

Zane nodded. “Yeah. Just came to check on you. You good?”

“Yep. I’ll be out soon.”

His friend studied him for a few seconds before nodding his head and leaving the office. Slumping back in his chair, Jace ran his hand over his face. He loved the club and being in business with his best friend, but being out in the club and seeing many men whom he considered friends having a good time with their Littles was a stark reminder of what they didn’t have.

He knew Zane was lonely, too, but it didn’t seem to bother him as much as it did Jace. Of course, there were always single Littles at the club who wanted Jace and Zane to Daddy them together because that’s what they did. They always shared their women. Whether it was a one-time thing or an ongoing relationship, they shared. The few times they’d tried to be with a woman solo, it had never felt right.

Unfortunately, once the women actually experienced having two strong Daddies watching over them and realizing they had very little leeway or breathing room, the relationships never worked out. Apparently, for some women, there was such a thing as too much attention.

Fast movement on one of the screens caught his eye. Looking at the screen, Jace realized it was in the Littles area and his friend, Ian, and one of the room monitors had rushed over to a couple of Littles that were sitting at the dollhouse. Ian’s Little, Maddie, who could be quite a handful at times, seemed to be in tears while the other Little who he’d never seen before was sitting cross-legged with her arms crossed over her chest and a scowl on her face.

Standing from his chair and quickly grabbing the two-way radio that all the monitors carried with them in case they needed to reach someone else, Jace strode out of his office toward the Littles’ area.

As soon as he stepped into the giant playroom, several Littles and Tops looked at him with concerned expressions, and he immediately noticed the hush in the room. Walking toward the four people surrounding the dollhouse, he could hear Ian talking softly to Maddie.

“Come on, sweetie, let’s go find something else to play with for right now. You can come back to the dollhouse later,” Ian said.

“Yeah, go away,” the scowling Little muttered.

What the hell? Where was this little girl’s Daddy or Mommy and why were they not over there correcting her bratty behavior?

“Excuse me?” Jace asked, making both of the Littles startle.

The little girl who he didn’t know looked up at him with wide blue eyes and he practically stopped breathing. She was the cutest thing he’d ever laid eyes on. Her round face gave her an innocent look and those brilliant blue eyes were wide, making her seem almost doll-like. Her outfit had so many frills and ruffles that he couldn’t help but want to smile.

He didn’t, though. Instead, he pinned her with a stern look and waited for her to answer him.

“What did you just say, little girl?” he asked when she didn’t answer.

Something flashed in her eyes before she lowered them from his and then huffed. Ignoring him completely, she reached for the dollhouse.

“Don’t you dare touch that dollhouse. Up. On your feet, right now. Where’s your Daddy or Mommy?”

He briefly glanced at Ian who was now holding Maddie on his hip. Ian shrugged and looked around the room.

“I don’t have one,” the Little said firmly.

She didn’t have a Top? How could she not have a Top? She was the picture-perfect image of a Little that any Top would want. At least, she seemed so. Her attitude was questionable.

“Stand up. Now,” he said, pointing to the floor in front of him.

Letting out a deep sigh, the woman stood up and Jace had to hold back a groan when he noticed the top of her head didn’t even come to his shoulder. She was short and her body was probably what most people would describe as mid-size, but to him, she was absolute perfection.

Stop checking her out. She’s a brat who isn’t behaving and doesn’t have a Top. Do your job.

“What’s your name?” he asked, hooking his index finger under her chin to tilt her head back.

The defiant look in her eyes made his cock stir in his jeans and he wondered if she had any idea who he was.

“None of your business. You’re a stranger. Stranger danger is a real thing, you know.”

Oh, God, help me.

As much as he wanted to smile, he also wanted to tip this Little girl over his lap and spank her bottom, which he suspected was round and full. Not that he should be thinking about the fullness of her bottom.

“Little girl, you’re dancing on a fine line right now. So, let’s try this again. I’m Jace Shaw, one of the owners of this club. Now, what is your name?”

Her eyes widened just slightly, making him feel a bit smug knowing he rattled her at least a tiny bit.

“Ruby,” she replied quietly.

He nodded, looked over at Maddie, and then back at Ruby. “Good girl. Now we’re getting somewhere. What happened between you and Maddie?”

“She wouldn’t let me play with the dollhouse with her,” Maddie said sadly.

Raising his eyebrow at Ruby, he cupped her chin gently so she was forced to look at him again.

“Is that true?” he asked.

Her shoulders slumped but the defiance in her expression was still there.

“I was there first,” she answered.

Looking toward Maddie, Jace smiled. “I’m going to go have a chat with Ruby, so the dollhouse is all yours, sweetheart.”

Ruby gasped and then glared up at him. When she lifted her foot and stomped it onto the carpet, he couldn’t help but chuckle.

“Stomp that foot as much as you’d like, but follow me while you’re doing it.”

He half expected her not to obey but to his surprise, she followed him silently as he made his way through the club toward his office. When they walked into the room, he shut the door behind him and pointed toward the seating area.

“Sit.”

Ruby walked over to the leather couch and Jace couldn’t help but watch as her frilly dress swayed with each step. She was cute as a button, but looks could sure be deceiving. He followed and sat on the coffee table in front of her.

“Are you new here? I’ve never seen you before.”

“Shouldn’t you know if I’m new here or not since you own the place?”

Jesus, fuck.

“Watch it, little girl. You can either talk to me respectfully or I can walk you to your car and ban your membership.”

Rolling her eyes, she leaned back against the couch. Her feet dangled in the air over the edge making him inwardly groan and silently tell his cock to chill.

“It’s my first time,” she said.

Nodding his head, Jace sighed. “Well, I’m sure when you filled out the paperwork, you read all the club rules, or at least you initialed that you did on that page, otherwise you wouldn’t have been granted membership. In those rules, you would have read that all the toys are to be shared. Do you remember reading that?”

Her blue eyes studied him for a moment before she nodded her head just slightly.

“So, you decided to come here and break the rules on your first visit?” he asked.

“I just didn’t want to play with her.”

“You didn’t have to play with her, but we both know that dollhouse is big enough that you could both share it. Right?”

Another slight nod.

“Okay, so here’s what’s going to happen. Since you don’t have a Top to punish you, you’re going to go over to that corner over there and stand there for ten minutes and think about how it was rude to act like that. Then when your ten minutes are up, I’m going to take you back to the Littles’ room and you’re going to apologize to Maddie, and then if you wish to continue playing, you may. Understood?”

Her mouth fell open as she narrowed her eyes at him. “You can’t punish me!”

Tilting his head slightly, Jace studied her. Even though she was acting outraged, he didn’t miss her squeezing her legs together slightly.

“Everything is your choice, Ruby. I would never do anything without your consent. However, I also will not allow you to be a part of my club and break the rules freely. So, you either go stand in the corner, or I will escort you to your car. It’s your choice.”

When her bottom lip trembled just slightly, it took a lot of restraint not to reach out and pull her into his lap. Between him and Zane, he was the soft one. The snuggler. But he had also been a Daddy long enough to know that Littles needed structure, and being a pushover was not beneficial unless you wanted a Little to walk all over you.

“I’m sorry,” she whispered.

Standing from the table, he held out his hand for her. “I know. But you still need to stand in the corner and think about it.”

Ruby stared at his hand for a moment. He wasn’t sure if she would take it, but was pleased when she slowly reached out and placed her smaller hand in his and allowed him to lead her to one of the open corners of the office.

“Ten minutes,” he said gently before walking away toward his desk.

Ten torturous minutes of watching her backside as she stood in the corner. He wondered if he were to flip up her skirt, what he would find. Panties? A pull-up? A diaper? One thing he knew for sure; Ruby was different.