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I shook my head, queasy at the mere thought. “No—and…it’s more than him. It’s KC and Noa too. If we remove one of us, I think it’ll all fall apart.”
Archie let out a breath and nodded. “I feel the same about our dynamic. Which I never thought I would, to be honest. I was so certain all my happiness depended on Master, and—sure, yes, he’s the love of my life, but we’ve created something that requires all four of us.”
That was exactly how I felt. I was in love with both KC and Noa, and despite how those attachments flowed differently from the overwhelming, all-consuming need I had for Lucian, it could not be more genuine.
More and more lately, I’d found myself thinking about KC as my Daddy too, because he was such a big support. He listened, we commiserated together, he held me… He made me feel cherished and heard.
“Like I told you last night, that’s partly why I wanted to come here,” I said. “You get it.”
He offered me a brief smile and nodded at my soup. “Eat, please.”
Right.
I scooped up some soup and grabbed a piece of bread.
I was probably hungrier than I thought, considering how noisy my stomach was.
“Are you sure Master Lucian can’t be reasoned with?” he asked. “Based on my limited experience—from having heard him speak at a few demos—he seems to be very concerned with his property’s well-being. He should understand that in order for you to be okay, he must be okay too.”
“You’d think,” I replied around a mouthful of food. It was admittedly delicious. It reminded me of a recipe I’d gotten from Macklin. “Lucian’s problem—my problem—is that he considers himself indestructible.” Everything was always fine, fine, fine, fine, fine. I hated that word. “Also, fuck good intentions. He’s built up a wall of defense around those. Like, he’ll say he just wants to provide for us—he wants to secure our future, so we can live comfortably. Crap like that. But, news flash, a pile of cash can’t comfort me if he’s fucking dead.”
It was possible I was sitting on suppressed anger.
“Preaching to the choir, love,” Archie agreed. “Every now and then, I’ll remind Sloan when he’s taken on too many extra hours.”
I dipped my bread in the bowl. “How does he react to that?”
He snorted softly. “He can be dismissive at first, but when I threaten to sic Master on him, he backs down.”
I grinned. How effective.
“I don’t have the puppy-dog look that Corey has, so I have to resort to threats,” he chuckled.
“Whatever works.” I shrugged.
He nodded, then peered down and dug out his phone. “Excuse me—it’s Corey.”
I waved it off and got back to eating.
“Hello, sweetheart,” Archie answered. Within a second or two, the sympathy was back in his expression. But also a pinch of amusement. “That doesn’t sound good at all. Can you drive home earlier? Your car’s in town, isn’t it? Or do you want me to call Mr. West and see if you can rest up at their house until Master gets off work?”
Ugh, I wanted to check my phone. Maybe I wasn’t ready to talk to Master yet, but I was getting desperate for an update from KC and Noa.
On the other hand, could I ever be ready to accept Lucian’s path to have a heart attack before fifty? Spending forty-eight hours away from him wouldn’t do shit. There was no getting out of slave mode that fast. He was constantly on my mind, and I was essentially programmed to cater to his every desire at this point. It was how I wanted to be conditioned—it made me the happiest.
“I understand,” Archie said. “In that case, I think you should come home. I can prepare the couch and save a bowl of soup for you. And maybe a batch of garlic knots will help?”
This time, I heard Corey’s response.
“You’re the best! I love you!”
Archie chuckled. “I love you too. Drive safe.” He ended the call a moment later, and I looked to him in question. Was something wrong? “Corey’s not feeling well. He’s experiencing pain in, uh, his abdomflixiflux.”
I felt my eyebrows crawl up to my damn hairline. Abdomwhat?
Archie smirked wryly. “Yes, it’s a completely made-up body part. It just means he doesn’t wanna stay in town—he wants to come home and be fussed over.”
Oh God, I hoped Noa never learned that “term.”
