Looking over at where he’d left it, she decided it’d be best to sit and wait for their return. She picked up the Hollywood gossip magazine to keep her mind occupied.
It didn’t take long before the door flung open, Cade coming through first, loaded down with Brittney’s luggage and bags. “We’re here!” He plunked them all down, then kissed Sunni on the cheek, whispering, “Good girl. You’ll be rewarded later for staying.”
Sunni gave him a weak smile, peeking over his shoulder at his scowling daughter. “Hi, Brittney! It’s been so long, how are you?” She pulled out of Cade’s embrace, walking up to her, intending to give her a hug. But Brittney’s scowl stopped Sunni in her tracks.
“I’m fine. It’s nice that you and my father have been reunited. I hear he’s happy. Are you happy with this situation?” Brittney’s words were laced with venom and her eyes glinted with anger, her lips thinned.
Before Sunni could answer, Cade interrupted, “Brittney Leigh, we discussed this already. I told you, I’m not tolerating any sarcasm or hurtful remarks.”
Brittney, putting on an innocent face said, “All I did was ask if she was happy too? Are you, Madison?”
Cade jumped in again. “It’s Sunni, and you know it.”
“It’s okay, Cade. I’m known as Madison now. I’m not offended. And yes, Brittney, I’m very happy.” Sunni linked her arm with Cade’s and he pressed a kiss to her forehead.
“You’ll call her Sunni. I don’t care what others call her. She’s always been Sunni in this house and will continue to be.” He pointed his finger at Brittney. “We’re not off to a good start here, and depending on your attitude and behavior, things might go completely downhill in short order. I’m sure you have no problem remembering where the spanking paddle is, correct?”
Brittney’s eyes widened, her throat working. “B-but, I’m nineteen years old, Dad.”
Sunni watched Cade put his hands on his hips, the sight making her sex tighten. He frightened her when he took that stance, yet at the same time, she found it so sexy and thrilling. “It hasn’t been that long since you left home, pumpkin. You know I don’t care about your age. I
only
care about the rules and order in this house. You won’t break or disturb any of them while you’re visiting. Clear?”
“B-but—”
“Clear?”
“Yes, Sir.”
He clapped his hands together, both girls jumping in surprise. “Let’s have some pizza and wings and catch up on what’s been going on! This’ll be fun!” Cade walked out of the room, presumably to place the order.
Brittney wasted no time, whirling on Sunni. “This is fucking ridiculous. You’re
not
going to use my father as your Sugar Daddy. You obviously think this is your way to make some money and stay home all day like a fucking whore. I’ll have your relationship destroyed by the time I leave, if it’s the last thing I do.”
Shocked, Sunni took a step back, unprepared for the venom that spewed forth from the woman’s lips. “I would
never
use your father — or any man for that matter. And if you ever call me a whore again, I knock your lights out, you cock-sucking bitch. If you try to destroy us, that may
actually
be the last thing you do.”
“What does that mean? Are you threatening to kill me? You’re a criminal, aren’t you?” Brittney huffed in laughter, nodding her head in agreement with her own statement. “Why am I not surprised? You’ve been nothing but poor white trash since we were kids. Well, this will
not
be your ticket out of that miserable life you lead. Trust me.”
Cade walked into the room. “‘Trust me’ on what?”
Brittney didn’t hesitate. “I told her that the pizza is amazing at Tony’s and to trust me on that.”
His eyebrows furrowed, his gaze narrowing as he looked from one girl to the other. But when they both smiled — and weakly, at that — he grinned back at them. “Damn straight! They have the best pizza anywhere! They said it’ll be here in forty-five minutes. Let me get you both some water while we wait.”
He walked up to Sunni, brushing his knuckles over her cheek. “You okay, baby?”
“Yes, Sir.”
“Good.” He walked back out of the room and as soon as he left, both women took seats on opposite couches, arms crossed over their chests, glaring at each other. They had reached a stalemate.
And this is why you should have gone back to your apartment, paddling or not.
Chapter 16
C
ade knew the girls thought he was oblivious to the fact that there was something afoot, but he’d been a trooper for too many years to not know when there was strife or an undercurrent of deception. He’d decided to try to pry information from Sunni, knowing she hated to disobey or be devious — something true of her even as a little girl. Sunni would always quickly break down and confess, telling him what mischievous antics they’d been planning. He knew with a little pressure, she’d cave, spilling the beans — even now.
But, Brittney must have really put the screws to her, because Sunni was like a vault. She wouldn’t speak or talk about anything; her response was to consistently assure him that everything was ‘fine’ and there were no problems.
Well, he knew how to fix that.
He dressed in his uniform, putting his gun belt on, hauling his gun out of his safe. He walked into the chilly, anger-filled living room, both women looking surprised to see him dressed for work on a Saturday, especially since Brittney had just come home the day before.
“I’m sorry, girls. I have to go to work for three or four hours. I’ll be home this evening though. Maybe we can go out to eat at Tatra’s tonight? Do either of you need me to do anything before I leave, or get anything while I’m out?”
They both mumbled incoherent responses, shaking their heads. He grabbed his hat, admonishing them before he left. “Behave!”
He zipped his coat against the biting Wyoming wind, cursing, wondering again why he chose to live in a state with such harsh winters. Hopping into his truck, he started it, cranking the heat up before pulling out for work.
* * *
F
rom the window, Sunni watched Cade’s large white truck back out — and almost instantly the comments began.
“So, what kind of fucked up weird shit do you two have going on anyway?”
“What do you mean, Brittney? There’s nothing fucked up. Your father and I like each other; we enjoy each other’s company.” She tossed the magazine she’d only been pretending to read onto the coffee table, glaring at her.
“Well, it seems to me that any fooling around here has to be some sort of kinky shit. How long have you been milking money out of my Dad, Sunni?” She dragged out her name like an insult.
Sunni felt like she’d been fighting the poor white trash label most of her childhood, and she was done with trying to prove herself to someone who had decided that this was who she was. Brittney could hang onto whatever delusional opinion she wanted. Sunni knew she should’ve told Cade about Brittney’s remarks. When he did find out about what had been happening,
both
their asses would be toast.
Sunni gritted her teeth and plunged forward, knowing this was likely the beginning of an ugly fight, but she didn’t even care anymore. “Why do you feel a need to talk about your father like he doesn’t have any sense, or would do something stupid? Your father has never been anything but kind to me, and you’ve been nothing but mean for the past five years. What happened, Brittney? Did you decide that being friends with me might mean you wouldn’t be accepted into the right clique at school? Or maybe you were threatened that I was a good girl, studying and following the rules, while you slept around and found yourself punished and in detention constantly. Sluts usually end up unhappy. Too bad you brought that fate upon yourself.”
“You goddamn piece of fucking shit!” Brittney leapt up from the couch, grabbing Sunni by the hair and dragging her down to the floor. The two girls rolled around, screaming, pulling hair and slapping each other.
“You’re nothing but a cheap whore who’s going to use my father, sucking him dry, taking what little money he has.” It was like Brittney had waved a red flag in her face. Sunni swore something snapped in her at the sound of the hateful words. She growled, rolling over until she sat on Brittney’s chest. Then she started punching, pulling huge tufts of hair out of the woman’s head.
Brittney managed to reverse the positions, rolling over again until she was atop Sunni’s chest, and giving her the same treatment. The women continued screaming, clawing, and punching each other until they each had bruises and gashes, blood dripping everywhere.
Sunni had just punched Brittney’s face when she felt her body flying through the air. “Stop this fighting. Now!”
Cade! He had pulled her off the floor by the back of her jeans.
He wasn’t due home for another two or three hours. He let go of her waist, a hand on her belly forcing her to stand back, while his other hand clenched the front of Brittney’s shirt, yanking her to her feet.
“Like a bunch of feral cats! What in the name of
fuck
is going on here?”
Each woman swiped at the tears, spit, and blood on her face and arms, but neither spoke, instead choosing to focus on their injuries rather than the seething anger written all over the face of the man they both called Daddy. Dealing with the bruises and blood didn’t seem so bad with the adrenalin still rushing through their bodies, but Sunni had no doubt that once that subsided, they’d both be feeling the pain of their injuries.
And that didn’t include the almost guaranteed punishment they’d both be receiving at the hands of Daddy.
“I’m waiting. Who’s going to tell me what happened here?” Sunni didn’t think she’d ever seen him this upset. She crossed her arms, looking angrily toward Brittney. She had started the fight, and Sunni would wait to hear her confession.
“Well, I can see that Sunni has decided to not speak. What’s your decision, Brittney?”
Brittney glared right back at Sunni, then scowled at her father.
“So, are you going to side with her against me? Is this how this is going to work?” Brittney placed her hands on her hips too, and Sunni couldn’t help but think that Cade would have an issue with that sort of attitude from his daughter.
“Oh, no. You should know me better than that. You’re both going to get your asses blistered for this, count on it. The only question is how red your asses will be for making me wait to hear what happened. Anyone?” He looked from one to the other.
Sunni didn’t want extra punishment for not speaking — and she had no doubt that would be exactly what Cade would do.
“Okay. I’ll tell you.” Sunni wrung her hands, unsure how to even begin.
“Oh, of course.” Brittney rolled her eyes.
“Brittney Leigh! Enough. You could’ve spoken up, but you chose not to — which we’ll discuss later. Trust me.” His returned his focus back to Sunni, his facial expression softening. “Good girl, Madison. Tell me what happened.”
God, can I even do this?
Sunni looked over at Brittney, her courage suddenly draining from her. Wiping at the blood dripping on her lip, she smeared it between her thumb and forefinger.
“Eyes on me!” His deep voice made her whole body clench. He grasped her chin in his hand, leaning in close to her. “You
only
worry about me — my needs, wants, and desires. And I’m the one who’s in control of how easily you are going to be able to sit tonight — or tomorrow, for that matter. I would think watching my reaction is all you’d care about right now.” He raised his eyebrows at her, roughly releasing her chin before taking a step back, crossing his arms over his chest.
“Yes, Sir. “ She took a deep, shaky breath. “On the first day, Brittney said I was white trash that wanted a Sugar Daddy so I could sit at home all day living like a whore. She said she’d destroy our relationship before she left.” Cade’s jaw clenched, a muscle twitching near his ear. Self-consciously, she covered her ass with her hands. Suddenly remembering that Brittney was watching, she quickly let them drop to her sides again.
“Oh, she did, did she?” He narrowed his gaze, glaring at his daughter and when she opened her mouth, he then pointed at her. “Don’t even
think
about opening your mouth until I give you permission to speak.”
Cade nodded, silent permission for Sunni to continue. “And then this morning, as soon as your truck was in the road, she asked me again if you were my “sugar daddy” and said my goal was to take what little money you had. And she called me a poor white trash whore.”
“Tell him what you said about me!” Brittney lunged forward, but Cade covered the space between them with one long stride, wrapping his arm around her waist, spanking her ass over her leggings until Brittney was screaming. He lowered her feet to the floor, Brittney out of breath, her face red. “If you dare to speak again, I swear I’ll cane your ass, Britt. Are you listening?”
“Y-yes.” Her hands were rubbing her backside, tears tracking down her face. Sunni almost felt sorry for her.
Almost.
“All right, now that that’s out of the way, tell me what your part was in this escapade.”