Chapter 19

Nineteen

MOUSE

" Y ou want to sit down?" Rhys nervously pointed to the old sofa that was one of the few things left in the flat. He and Simon had moved most of their gear up to Tulip Cottage a month ago.

"Come here and give me a hug." I couldn't stand to see Rhys looking so unsure. He was my best friend, and I hated that I'd put him in a position where he felt I was in danger.

Rhys just about threw himself at me, and thankfully I was ready. "I thought you were going to be so pissed with me, but I was so damn worried," he cried against my shoulder.

Rhys was crying, and it was my fault. "I'm not angry with you."

Rhys looked up and snorted. "You suck at lying."

"Okay, I was a little bit pissed, but not really at you. You're my best friend." I hugged him tighter.

He gave me a wobbly smile. "I got us some snacks, and I've got some cans of pop in the fridge. I'm not supposed to drink fizzy drinks during the week, but we deserve it."

I laughed, letting Rhys go and following him into the small kitchen.

"Won't you get in trouble for breaking Simon's rules?" Now I had my own rule-loving Daddy, I was intrigued to see how Rhys handled it.

"Yeah, but sometimes it's good to be a little bit naughty. And it's not like I'm going to be getting pissed. It's just one soft drink," Rhys shrugged, pulling two cans from the fridge, handing one to me. "So, you and Cal then. Don't hold out on me. I need details."

I smirked, taking a sip of Coke. "I'm not giving you all the details. Wouldn't want to shock your innocent ears."

"If you knew what your brother and I did last night, you wouldn't be so quick to call me innocent." Rhys grinned and wiggled his cute arse before motioning me to follow him through to the sitting room.

"Yeah, I'll pass on that, thanks." I dropped down onto the sofa alongside Rhys and winced when the largest of the wounds on my back pulled uncomfortably. One look at Rhys told me he'd seen my reaction.

"Did Ziggy hurt you bad?" Rhys's blue eyes were wide with concern.

"He tried to, but Cal got to me in time. It could have been a lot fucking worse. Cal punched Zig square in the nose. Sent him flying."

Rhys clapped his hands to his cheeks, his mouth open in a cute O. "Holy shit."

"Yeah, it was pretty fucking hot. If I hadn't been ready to pass out from the shit Ziggy had done, I probably would have come in my pants. "

Rhys blushed and giggled. He was still such a sweetheart. "So, you're really together then?"

"Yeah. He's been amazing with me. I told him about all the fucked-up shit in my head and he didn't run. He just held me, and promised he'd be there with me."

Rhys's eyes grew wide. "That's so cool. What about the other stuff? You're not going to keep going to that place, are you?"

Shaking my head, I smiled. "Daddy said he can give me the pain I need, and he doesn't think it's fucked up, only he'll know if I'm asking for the wrong reasons."

Rhys gave me a confused smile. "What does that mean?"

"Pain can help calm me down, can settle the nettles in my head and that sort of thing. Daddy will help me with it. But if I'm looking to punish myself for what happened to Mum—you know, the crash—then we're going to sit and talk." I rolled my eyes and Rhys hooted with laughter.

"Daddies sure love the sound of their own voices. Is Cal really your Daddy now?" He was almost bouncing in his seat with excitement.

"Yeah, he is, we—well, we also found out I really like my Middle time."

Rhys clapped his hands together, smiling like he'd just won an award. "Knew it! I knew it was something like that," Rhys crowed, very pleased with himself.

"Nuh-uh, you did not," I countered, caught up in his giggles.

"Did too. Bet you love being able to be bratty and getting your arse paddled." Rhys smirked, hopping up from the sofa and wandering back into the kitchen before I could answer him. "I forgot to bring our sandwiches. Back in a minute."

I snorted out a laugh. I was used to Rhys doing this sort of thing. I waited for him to come back into the room. It didn't take long before he was back with two plates filled with yummy sandwiches and two bags of crisps.

"I got my arse spanked on the weekend. I was rude to Daddy." I grabbed a crisp and Rhys did the same.

"Did it hurt lots?" Rhys asked.

I nodded, picking up my sandwich. "It made me feel sad that I made Daddy cross. It's not like when I want pain. It was different, and it sure as hell made me behave after. I swear my bum is still bright red."

Rhys nodded, his blond curls bouncing. "Daddy always said there are different types of punishment. Sometimes it can be fun and sexy, and other times I wail like a baby and hate it, but I feel a lot better afterwards."

I took a bite of my sandwich. Chunky bits of crab and prawn, lots of mayo, and avocado, just how I loved them. Rhys must have gone to the café beforehand.

"Yeah, you're right. I didn't enjoy the spanking, but it really cleared my head. Daddy said I was acting out because I needed to know what his limits were." I shifted, feeling the slight ache that was still there. "I like feeling it later, kind of like a reminder that he cares."

Rhys nodded vigorously, sending sandwich crumbs flying. "Yes, like he's there with you even if he's not." He looked down at his plate, then back up shyly. "Did you want to have play dates sometimes? I mean you can say no, and I'd understand. You probably don't want to play with my baby toys. "

"I'd love to. You could come to mine and we could colour and do stuff. It would be fun." I answered, loving the idea of proper play dates with Rhys.

"Maybe on the weekend I can get Daddy to take me to yours. He and Cal can go do Daddy stuff and we can hang out. Otherwise, I can get him to just to drop me at yours. I know it might be a bit weird, your brother seeing you in your space."

I loved how Rhys always looked out for others, wanting to make sure everyone felt comfortable and safe.

"Nah, he can come. It's not like it's anything he's not seen before and I'm not ashamed of being a Middle, or that Cal's my Daddy."

Rhys took a long drink from his Coke and let out a burp that had us both giggling. Not to be outdone, I gulped mine down and burped as loud as I could. Then we spent the next half hour seeing who could burp the loudest while stuffing our faces with sandwiches.

"Is he a good Daddy?" Rhys asked out of the blue as we were cleaning up our mess before heading back to our respective jobs.

"Yeah, he is. He's learning about the Daddy stuff too, but we're taking it at our own pace and doing what feels right." I screwed up the paper bags the sandwiches had come in and chucked them into a rubbish bag I'd take down to the bins by the shop, effectively hiding Rhys's sneaky sodas.

"I'm so happy for you, Mouse. I was so worried you were going to hate me for telling them where you'd gone."

"Rhee, I could never hate you. And because you did tell them, I'm safe, and I have Cal." I grinned at him. "I heard you read him the riot act, by the way. Go you."

Rhys let out a loud breath. "I should never be allowed to drink punch, and the spanking I got the next morning was epic, but totally worth it."

I pulled Rhys into a one-armed hug and kissed the top of his curls, much to his disgust.

"Come on. We should head back before they send out a search party."

"Or," Rhys started with a grin, "we could bunk off for the day and go to the winter sideshows on the shore. There are hot doughnuts."

"That is seriously tempting, but I kind of want to pull off a day where I don't get my arse spanked. Besides, I'm in for some pretty awesome rewards if I get all my stuff finished at the shop today."

"Oh!" Rhys's grin widened. "Sexy rewards?"

"Yes, and I don't want to miss out on them."

Holy cow. Look at me being all responsible and shit.

"Fine, but let's bunk off tomorrow afternoon," Rhys countered with a smile.

"Rhee, it's not bunking off if you already have the day off, is it?"

"I can pretend I'm being naughty," he said, laughing as we left the flat.

"Alright. I'll double-check with Cal, but I reckon I can bunk off with you tomorrow afternoon."

"Yayayay!" Rhys cheered loudly as we clattered down the stairs.

Daddy was standing at the bottom of the stairs, smiling. "I was just coming to see if you two were finishing up."

"Yeah, I need to get back to the surgery before Doc sneaks out and starts another row with Perry." Rhys sighed, looking at a message on his phone.

"Good luck with that." I said as I cuddled against Cal's side.

"I'm going to sit them down and give them a good old talking to, I swear," Rhys muttered, stalking off.

"Having been on the receiving end of one of our Rhys's lectures, I don't envy Doc and Perry in the slightest." Daddy laughed, leading me back towards the shop. But before we came round the front, he gently pushed me back against the wall, his hands coming to rest on my hips. He kissed me none too gently, the pleasure shooting straight to my caged cock. It was both the most arousing and frustrating feeling ever.

"Did you have fun with Rhys?" he asked when he'd finally finished kissing me senseless.

"It was great. We had a good talk and ate some sandwiches." I wasn't going to tell him we'd also had a can of pop, because I wasn't sure if there was some sort of Daddy code where Cal would tell on Rhys. "Missed you, though. That's weird, right?" I asked as I ran my hands down Cal's shirt.

"Nope, not weird. I missed you too. The weekend was pretty intense, and we dove into this kind of fast."

"You're not regretting it?"

"Fuck no." Cal pressed a quick kiss to my lips. "I'm excited about the future. About us together."

I hummed happily. "Rhys wants to go to the sideshows tomorrow afternoon. The end of Winter Carnival is still going. "

"Sounds fun. Do you have any clients booked for the afternoon?" Cal's fingers slipped under my hoodie and traced the bare skin of my belly.

"I've got a couple of piercings booked in for the morning after my appointment with Declan, and a forearm tattoo around twelve, but after that's done, I'm free unless I have a walk-in." I gasped as Cal's fingers dipped lower into my jeans.

"You've been working your arse off since before Christmas. You deserve to have some fun. Once you've finished your bookings you can take off with Rhys. Simon and I can cover any walk-ins for the afternoon."

"Thank you, Daddy." It felt so liberating to be able to call him that.

"Very welcome, lamb. Next question, how are you feeling about this?" Callum tapped my caged cock through my jeans and smiled slightly.

"At first it was kind of annoying. It felt weird, it just being there, and trying to take a piss with it?" I gave Cal a flat look. "But the longer it's been on, the more it's started to feel good. I don't know how to explain it, but I feel kind of grounded."

"You don't want me to take it off?" Cal kept touching me softly, not in an effort to turn me on, but just touching for touching's sake, and I really loved it.

"You do and I'll make you wish you hadn't."

"Brat." Cal gave me a ridiculously fond smile and shook his head.

I leaned forwards and kissed his cheek. "You knew what you were signing up for. "

"I did, and I'm not regretting it yet." Oh, I could kiss that cocky smile off his face.

I ducked out of his arms and danced a few steps ahead of him. "Don't get too complacent, Daddy, I've been taking it easy on you."

"Same, little Mouse. Now get that sexy arse back in the shop before I decide to drag you back up to the flat and fuck you over the kitchen counter."

"Playing dirty, Daddy, saying things like that when my poor cock is all tied up in purgatory."

"Terrible, isn't it?" The grin Daddy gave me told me just how much he was enjoying this. And I had to admit, I was too.