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“You’re cool with me spanking your sister?”
“You’ve done it before.” He sighed. “I don’t like seeing her like this. All caught up in her head.”
“I don’t either.”
“Stay as long as you need to. I’ll catch up with Tia later.” Tatum clapped me on the shoulder. “If anyone can get her to open up about what’s really going on in her head, it’s you and Jesse.”
He was right. Jesse and I had reigned in her sassy brat throughout college. If the two of us hadn’t been keeping an eye out, she might not have graduated. “I appreciate that.”
Tatum waved before leaving the kitchen, and I heard the front door shut and lock behind him. I pulled out my phone and texted my boyfriend, Dane. If he wasn’t all right with the scenario, nothing would happen. We were pretty open-minded when it came to certain things, but I wanted to confirm.
Do you care if I sort out Tiana Steele?
Didn’t know she was home. I guess so.
Sighing, I pressed the call button, and he answered on the second ring. “Talk to me.”
“It’s not the thought of you spanking her or anything else, for that matter. But I’m pretty certain if you sort out Tia that she’s going to fall in love with you. Then you’ll be carrying that little ball of sass home. Next, I’ll have to convince her to fall in love with me, too.”
“Don’t talk like that,” I said, chuckling. I hoped my tone eased some of the tension mounting between us. “Is that your only hesitation?”
“It’s not really a hesitation.” Dane cleared his throat as if he had wanted to say more and stopped himself. “You’ve told me how close the two of you used to be. You’ve shared details about the missed opportunity to be together. If you start down that road, those feelings are going to come back to the surface.”
“Something is really eating her up. I’ve never seen her look so defeated.” Glancing up at the ceiling and down again, I closed my eyes. “I’d never do anything to make you uncomfortable.”
“Uh-huh. I had to attend all my meetings standing up today. Your statement isn’t entirely correct.”
“I’m glad the punishment I delivered to your ass lasted. It will remind you what happens when you throw your attitude around. Anyhow, I was referring to something bigger.”
“I’ll show you something bigger.”
“Your ego needs its own zip code,” I teased gently. “Listen, this is up to you. If you don’t want me to…”
“I apologize for the interruption, Sir. I’m simply thinking of where this could lead. You have never given me a reason to believe that you would act without reason.”
I wanted to reach through the phone and hug him. We had dated a few people together but had yet to find balance with another partner. He fell harder than I did when it came to relationships, and I understood the caution.
“One good spanking isn’t going to cement Tia to me.”
“You seem to think so,” he said sarcastically. “When’s the last time you took her over your knee?”
“Before she left for California.” I blew out a breath. “I’ll tell her the specifics. This will be to get her to open up, process her shit, and nothing more.”
“And then she’ll be moving in,” Dane grumbled. “It will start out innocently enough and then she’s on her knees calling me Daddy. I’ve never held that title and I don’t want it.”
I believed if anyone could benefit from a daddy right now, it was Tiana. I lived for being a daddy in all the ways the word implied, but Dane had little experience with the dynamic before our relationship. “Have you been crushing on her?”
“Tiana was my friend in high school. She was the only person who remembered to call me by my middle name instead of the monstrosity my parents gave me.” He paused, letting a few moments of silence hang between us. I gave him the time to gather his thoughts. “She was such a brat then, and I’d imagine she’s gotten sassier.”
“So, youhavebeen crushing on her all these years?”
“I’m not trying to skate around your question, Sir.” Dane sucked in a breath. “I left for Europe as soon as I opened the gifts at my graduation party. My mother ushered me away without so much as a slice of cake. I didn’t return to Falcon Creek until Tiana was long gone. We didn’t talk much after I left and we weren’t heading toward a relationship while I was overseas.”
“Keep going. You might as well tell me everything.”
“I have a soft spot because she made high school tolerable. If she’s having a problem now, go ahead and sort her out. Just don’t come crying to me when she falls hard for you.”
“Can you say that last bit again, Legend?” I seldom used his first name unless he was flying dangerously close to a punishment.
