Total pages in book: 99
Estimated words: 101872 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 509(@200wpm)___ 407(@250wpm)___ 340(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 101872 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 509(@200wpm)___ 407(@250wpm)___ 340(@300wpm)
Only, this time, he came with her.
And that safety settled around her like a heavy blanket, letting her rest.
42
“Nervous, Gem?”
Déjà vu struck her. The last time he’d asked her that, she hadn’t been.
This time it was a different story.
“Who me?” she countered as she glanced around the club.
He shot her a look, then slid his arm around her. “You’re nervous.”
Fuck.
He could read her far too easily.
Two months had passed since she was kidnapped and beaten.
She’d spent that time resting and recuperating.
Laken had insisted that she take time off and she’d decided to listen to her. She’d moved into Renard’s apartment and while it wasn’t perfect, she’d managed to warm it up and make it look less like a motel room.
There were now fluffy cushions on the couch, rugs on the floor, and pretty bowls sitting on the kitchen counter.
She wanted to say that she had easily recovered and gone on as normal. Unfortunately, that wasn’t true.
Her nightmares had gotten worse before they’d gotten better. And the reason they’d gotten better was due to Molly, Jake’s wife. Talking to her had helped more than she’d thought possible. Doctor Susie’s books were good, but they weren’t enough to help with her trauma.
She’d told Molly everything.
And now she felt . . . lighter.
Renard had tried to talk her out of coming here tonight. But enough was enough. She was healthy. Her head was in a good place.
It was time to play again.
And she knew that Renard needed to play. He was wound up so tight. She just wasn’t sure if he’d play with her. Not in the way that he needed.
He started to lead her toward the play area with the desk, clearly thinking she’d want to do some naughty schoolgirl, strict principal roleplay. But she refused to move, shaking her head at him as he turned to look at her.
“Not tonight.”
He raised an eyebrow. “No naughty student, strict principal?”
Opal shook her head.
“Hmm. How about naughty employee, strict boss?”
Again, she shook her head. He watched her closely.
“Daddy and baby girl?”
She sucked in a breath. Did she want that?
Not exactly.
“No, Daddy.” She managed a smile. “You’re my sexy Daddy. And I love it when you take care of me. But I need something else.”
“Hmm. Pet play?”
She shook her head and pointed over at the St. Andrews cross.
“Nope.” He folded his arms over his chest.
“You need this. I can tell. You’re wound up tight.”
“Nope.”
“You do.”
“Even if I did,” he allowed. “Doesn’t mean I’m doing it with you.”
She closed her eyes.
“Fuck. I won’t touch anyone else, I swear, baby.” He drew her close.
“No, it’s not that,” she told him, opening her eyes. “I don’t mind if you scene with someone else. As long as I’m there and you’re not touching them like you touch me.”
“Never,” he told her fiercely. “There is no one but my girl.”
“I know. And your girl needs to give you this. But I also think I might need this. And you know what you promised.”
“Opal, I don’t know if I can.”
She glanced up into his face. “Is it that different from when you paddled me two nights ago?”
His face darkened. “You hadn’t eaten all day. You deserved that punishment.”
“I skipped lunch today,” she whispered.
His eyes flared. “You did what?”
“And I didn’t drink enough water today.”
“You brat.”
“I’m strong enough for this. I promise.”
Renard cupped her face with his hands. “This isn’t about your strength. I know how fucking strong you are. I see it every day. But I don’t want to add to your nightmares. I don’t want you to feel pain and think of him and it’s me who is giving you that pain!”
She placed her hands over his. “I won’t be. All I will be thinking is that my man loves me enough to give me what I need. I don’t want a lot of pain. Just a kiss of it. Can you give me that?”
“You know I can.”
“So give me it. Please.”
He seemed to be thinking about it and she held her breath. Then he nodded. “Fine.”
Her breath eased out of her.
“But you will say your safeword immediately if you need to and I’m going to have Saxon monitor you. Also, we’re going to have a chat about you waiting until we got here to bring this up.”
Uh oh.
“Couldn’t this be considered a chat?” she asked.
“No. It couldn’t.”
Well. Hell.
Ten minutes later, she found herself secured to the St Andrews Cross with her arms and legs bound. Her wrists were loosely bound, and she knew he was remembering the bruises on her wrists from where Barney had tied her.
Barney who had been remanded without bail and would stand trial next year.
But she didn’t want to think about him right now.
She had been wearing a tight, short dress, but he’d made her take it off so all she now had on was a G-string and bra. She’d offered to take the bra off, but Renard had gotten all possessive.