Expecting it All (Punishment Pit #7) - Livia Grant Page 0,27

to the test tonight.

His cock swelled just thinking about spending time alone with Rachel. It had been months since they'd really played. He couldn't wait to reclaim the deep intimacy of his marriage.

Chapter Six

Rachel

"Oh, this is so beautiful! I can't wait to show Lukus." Rachel watched her friend Tiffany lift a handmade quilt from the box she'd just finished unwrapping before glancing down at her watch.

She was restless. The luncheon was taking longer than she'd expected, and she was missing her boys. She'd never thought of her Daddy as a 'boy' before. So many things were changing. It could easily freak her out if she let it.

Tiffany was holding the large quilt up for all to see, giving the partygoers a chance to admire just one of the gifts her future mother-in-law, Nora Mitchell, had given her.

Not for the first time, Rachel wished she could have the spiked punch. It might help her relax, but since she was still breastfeeding, that was out. As it was, she felt totally conspicuous sitting at the 'racy table'. She knew she was just being paranoid, because no one else but Brianna and Tiffany knew that all of the women at her table were members of The Punishment Pit.

Mistress Martha and Violet Greyson were in a quiet conversation to her left, while her friend Mary Chambers was checking her phone for messages.

Mary leaned in close. She looked conflicted. "I'm not sure if I should tell you this or not."

Rachel and Mary didn't know each other well. Mary and her husband James were close friends with Master Lukus and Markus from back in college, but the couple rarely came to the club since they had had their own set of twin boys six years before.

Rachel couldn't think about what Mary might be getting at. "What's up?" she prodded.

"You promise you won't panic?"

"Why would I need to panic?" Rachel questioned.

"James got a call from Derek asking for help."

Rachel's heart thumped in her chest. "Oh, my God. Is Michael sick? Do they need to go to the hospital?"

Mary looked apologetic. "Oh goodness, no. He didn't call James as a doctor. He called for parenting advice."

A bit of Rachel's panic receded. "Parenting advice about what?"

Mary grinned. "I guess your little one had quite a crying jag, and Derek couldn't get him to stop. He somehow conned Lukus and Markus into going over to try to help. God, I'd pay good money to watch the three of them trying to soothe a crying baby." She grinned, a faraway look on her face, as if she were imagining it.

Rachel was too worried to care. "So do I need to leave? Is Michael okay?"

Mary looked apologetic for dragging it out. "Oh, he's fine. He just had a bit of gas. Once he burped, he was fine."

Rachel prodded her friend, "Why wouldn't Derek just call me if he needed help?"

Mary leaned in closer and glanced around them to make sure they had some privacy. "It's gonna be hard for Derek for a while."

"What do you mean? It's no harder for him than it is for me," Rachel said.

Her friend shook her head. "Not really. We're not married to normal men. They're Doms. They are used to being in control. He's in control at The Punishment Pit. In control at the office all day. And until we had children, they were in complete control of us, their submissives. Now, not only does he need to adjust to how you have to change to be a good mom, he has to get used to the fact that infants can't be controlled. He can't just give Michael an order and expect him to stop crying."

Renewed insecurities that Rachel had tried hard not to examine in the six weeks since the baby had been born bubbled up within her. She tried telling herself she was just hormonal whenever tears threatened, but her fear kept sneaking up on her. "What if he can't adjust and decides fatherhood isn't for him?" she asked.

Mary's indulgent grin felt patronizing, yet her words helped Rachel immeasurably. "Derek is an honorable man who adores you. There is a better chance of him cutting off his own dick than there is of him turning his back on you and his son. Trust me on this, Rachel."

Rachel let go the breath she’d been holding. "So, what should I do? I hate seeing him so unsure of himself."

"Give him time, and try to fit in times at night after you put Michael down when you