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“Listen, I’m not doing anything we didn’t sit down and talk about first,” Brick told him. “A spanking given as punishment to correct a behavior isn’t something I’d consider harsh. I’m not whipping her until she bleeds. She knows the rules. She agreed to them. And to be punished if she broke them. Besides, this is something she needs.”
Xavier sucked in a breath and stared down at Juliet. “Did he make you agree to this?”
“Of course not,” she said in that husky voice. “I wanted this. Brick is right. I need it. I like having boundaries and rules.”
Xavier went so pale that Brick thought he might faint. He shook his head. “Juliet, I always thought . . . I mean . . .”
He scrubbed his hand over his face, and Brick almost felt sorry for him.
“Why did you never tell me?”
“I don’t understand,” she whispered.
But he didn’t seem to hear her. “I just didn’t think you’d want that. I thought it would scare you. That you couldn’t handle it.”
“Juliet isn’t as fragile as you all seem to think,” Brick told him, not unkindly. “I’ve seen the way people treat her. Like she might break with a hard word. But she’s stronger than people give her credit. She’s resilient. She’s a fighter. She’s also a brat who doesn’t listen well.” He gave her a stern look. He pointed at the house. “Upstairs. Shower. Then it’s dinner time.”
She hesitated, looking up at Xavier.
“One,” he said in a low voice.
With a huff, she stomped her foot and glared at him. “Daddy!”
“Two.”
“Such a darn bossy-boots.”
“Th—”
Spinning, she took off.
“No running,” he barked.
She slowed then turned as they both watched her. At the door, she turned and stuck her tongue out at him. Xavier sucked in a sharp breath.
“Damn brat,” Brick said with affection as she walked inside.
“I’ve never seen her act like that.” Xavier stared over at him with something that looked like shock. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen her that sassy.”
“Like I said, she needs the boundaries and rules. They make her feel safe. Secure.”
“How did I never see any of this? How was I so blind?”
Brick wasn’t good at this sort of shit. Advice, emotional crap, he left that all to Elias.
“Maybe you didn’t want to see it,” he murmured. “Maybe you wanted to keep her in that box you assigned her. Because it was safe. It was what you both knew.”
Xavier shook his head, but Brick didn’t think it was in disagreement. “So, what you’re saying is I was a fucking coward.”
Yeah. Kind of.
Xavier sat at the table feeling kind of numb.
He’d been a complete idiot. A coward. A fool.
Even though Brick didn’t say any of those things to his face, they were all true.
How had he never known?
