7. Zane

Shit.

Watching that naughty Little girl leave his office with Jace was more difficult than it should have been. It was ridiculous. He didn’t even know the woman but those pigtails, the ridiculously fluffy dress, and her big blue eyes seemed to pull at something he wasn’t used to feeling. His cock also hadn’t been soft since the second he’d laid eyes on her.

He’d tried to make it clear to her that they wanted to see her back at The Playground, but for what? If she came and played with another man besides Jace or him, he wouldn’t be able to stand it. Just the thought of another man touching her made his jealousy surge to the surface.

It was silly, really. He’d been sharing women with his best friend for years and never felt an ounce of jealousy about not having a woman to himself. Hell, he had never even felt any kind of jealousy over any other woman at all. But with Ruby, everything seemed to be different.

And what did that mean exactly? She was a lot younger than them and she seemed to brat quite a bit, which wasn’t something they were usually attracted to. Sure, they loved to take a Little over their knee for a good spanking when she deserved it, but Littles who were constantly bratting weren’t usually their thing. There was just something about Ruby that made him think her naughtiness came from something else. Her eyes seemed sad. Even when she was being sassy and calling him Zaddy.

What the hell did that even mean? Sure, his name started with Z, but Jace found it funny, so he wondered if there was a deeper meaning to the word Zaddy. He would need to look it up.

As soon as Jace walked back into the room, Zane sat back in his chair, resting his chin on his hand.

“You have that look on your face,” Zane said.

Jace looked confused as he walked to his desk and sat down. “What look?”

“The longing look. You like her.”

His friend shrugged. “There’s something about her, but you know I won’t do anything unless both of us are on board. We’re a package deal.”

Yeah, they were, and for some reason when he closed his eyes to picture a woman between them, the little pixie of a woman they’d just met was who came to mind.

“She’s different. There’s something about her I can’t put my finger on,” Zane said.

“I felt that, too. A sadness or something. But when I walked her to her car, it was a Mercedes G-Class. Do you know how much those fucking cars cost? Obviously, she’s not living a life of struggle.”

Zane stared at his best friend and frowned. “Just because someone might have money doesn’t mean they don’t have struggles. And something about Ruby tells me she’s struggling with something, but what can we do? She’s a member of the club. It’s not like we got her contact information from her so we can check on her, and we can’t just very well pull her member application to get it.”

Jace smiled and shrugged. “No, but I gave her our card and told her to text one of us or call the club when she gets home safely.”

A rush of relief coursed through Zane. Thank God his friend was so smart. But even if she did text them, it wasn’t like she would be interested in them. They were a lot to take, and Ruby wouldn’t get away with anything under their watch.

The sound of Jace’s phone chime going off made Zane sit up a little straighter as his friend read the message on his phone.

“She’s home,” Jace said.

Nodding his head, Zane sighed and scrubbed his hand over his face. Why was he so worried about this Little girl after just one night of spending time with her? They both just needed to forget that she’d ever been in their office and move on with their lives. He just hoped by the next day, he’d be able to look over to that corner of the room without picturing her standing there.

“We need to get back out there and make rounds. We still have an hour before closing,” Zane said as he stood up.

Jace studied him for a long moment before nodding his head and following him out of the office.

“Has Ruby texted you at all?” Zane asked as he poured a cup of coffee.

Jace sat at the kitchen island with his laptop, drinking his own cup of coffee.

“Nope.”

It had been three days since they’d sent her on her way, and it seemed like they were just existing. They went to the club every night just like they always did and made sure everything was running smoothly, but even while they were working, Zane felt like he was constantly scanning the room hoping to see Ruby.

Jace had been extra quiet, too. His normally funny, upbeat friend seemed as though he was in a fog every time they talked, and every morning when Zane came to get his coffee and asked if Jace had heard from her, his friend always responded with a quiet ‘Nope’.

“I think we should reach out to her,” Jace said.

“We should call her,” Zane said at the same time.

Both men smiled. It was one of the reasons they were best friends. Even though they had different personalities, they often thought alike, especially about the things that mattered.

“What should we say? I mean, what’s our plan? Do you just want to hook up with her?” Jace asked.

Zane narrowed his eyes at his friend. “I think you know damn well I don’t want to just hook up with her. Fuck, I haven’t stopped worrying about her since the other night.”

Jace nodded. “I haven’t either.”

“Call her on speaker.”

Picking up his phone, Jace tapped on the screen for several seconds and then set it on the counter as the line started ringing.

“Hello?” Ruby’s sleepy voice answered.

Fuck. It wasn’t even eight in the morning. They woke her up. Poor little thing.

“It’s Jace and Zane. We want to see you,” Zane said bluntly.

Jace rolled his eyes and shook his head, but he was smiling. Yeah, Zane knew he had no fluff. He didn’t need fluff. That’s what Jace was for.

“Is that Zaddy talking?” she asked.

“Little girl,” Zane said warningly.

Ruby giggled, making every ounce of sternness melt away. If she always giggled like that for him, she could call him whatever the fuck she wanted.

“Can you meet us at the club at noon? Or can we pick you up?” Jace asked.

Both men smiled at each other when they heard her yawn through the phone. If she was theirs, she would have a strictly enforced sleep schedule.

Slow down. You don’t even know if she’s single.

“I can meet you there.”

Jace nodded. “Good girl. We’ll see you then.”

“Drive safely and wear your seatbelt,” Zane added.

She giggled again. “Yes, Zaddy.”