Jeff had wanted Nathaniel to come down because there had been trouble within the group lately. Namely with two relatively new Doms. Nathaniel had been asked to help.
Now Nathaniel took my hand and we left our little corner of the garage. I was tempted to look around and try to locate the man who had been observing us. Without much thought, I decided not to. Sometimes the fantasy was better than the real thing.
He squeezed my hand. “Would you like something to drink?”
“Yes, Master.” And sometimes reality was better than fantasy.
Nathaniel and I made our way into the kitchen, greeting only a few people. Nathaniel took a bottle of water from a cooler and we walked into the living room.
He nodded to the floor and I sat at his feet while he sat on the couch. We were experimenting with different levels of protocol to see what we liked and what worked for us. Sitting at his feet was something we’d been trying lately and I was surprised to discover I liked it. In that position, I felt protected and secure.
He opened the bottle and pressed it to my lips.
“Thank you, Master,” I said when I’d had my fill.
The door to the room’s left opened and Cole and the red-headed submissive stepped out. He spoke to her softly and stroked her cheek. She left him with a smile on her face and a spring in her step.
Cole was still somewhat of an enigma to me. According to Dena, he’d broken up with his long-term girlfriend several months earlier. He usually traveled for his work, and I gathered the breakup was his reason for staying in Delaware as long as he had. He was a journalist and a good one; I’d read some of his articles. I wrote for a national news blog, and since he was a writer, I was interested in getting to know him better.
Cole spotted us and headed our way.
“Master West,” he said, shaking Nathaniel’s hand.
“Master Johnson.”
Cole inclined his head in my direction. “I haven’t been formally introduced to your Abby yet.”
I wasn’t allowed to interact with Doms at a party unless Nathaniel gave me permission, so I remained where I was.
“We must correct that.” Nathaniel smiled at me. “Come meet Master Johnson, Abigail.”
I moved to my feet and waited to be introduced.
“Master Johnson, this is my Abby.” Nathaniel lifted my hand and kissed my knuckles. “She is my everything.”
I didn’t miss the subtle lift of Cole’s eyebrows or Nathaniel’s slight nod. Granted permission to touch me, Cole held out his hand.
“Very nice to formally meet you Abby.”
I shook his hand. “The feeling is mutual, Sir.”
“I understand you’re a writer,” he said.
“I just write a blog for WNN, Sir,” I said, slightly taken aback that he knew anything about me. It wasn’t a secret, of course. It was just, he was a writer writer.
“You express yourself through written words. You’re a writer.”
“And a damn good one,” Nathaniel added.
The corner of Cole’s mouth lifted in what could only be called a devilish grin. “I know. I’ve read her blog.”
“You have?” I nearly squeaked, and then remembered where I was and composed myself. “I mean, you have, Sir?”
He chuckled. “Yes. And you shouldn’t demean it by saying it’s only a blog.”
“Thank you, Sir. I’ll try to remember that.” I wanted to return the praise. “I’m really enjoying the series of articles you’re writing based on your time in India, Sir.”
All traces of joviality left his expression, and darkness covered his face. I wasn’t sure what I had said to upset him, but now I wished I hadn’t spoken at all.
“It was a unique experience,” he finally said.
“It’s a unique country,” I said.
“Yes. There are parts that are breathtakingly beautiful and I met some incredible people. But I think—” He looked pained. “I think I won’t be going back.”
I was momentarily stunned, since his articles seemed filled with a real love for India, but fortunately I was saved from any long, awkward silences by the appearance of Jeff and Dena.
“There you guys are,” Dena said. She was holding hands with Jeff, and they both looked so happy I couldn’t help smiling along with them. I spared a quick look back at Cole, but whatever had upset him was forgotten. The devilish grin had returned.
“What’s going on?” Cole asked.
Dena spotted Daniel and Julie in the hallway and waved them over.
“What’s happening?” Daniel asked.
“I’m wondering the same thing,” Cole said.
Dena looked so excited I wouldn’t have been surprised if she started bouncing up and down. “We set a date!” she finally said.
“A date for what?” Cole asked, and Dena’s smile temporarily deflated. Nathaniel thumped him on the shoulder. “Just teasing, you guys. Congratulations!”
“I love weddings,” I said. “Tell us when it is.”
Jeff replied with a date less than two months away.
Dena held up her hands as we all started speaking at once. “I know it’s short notice, but it’ll be small. We thought about just having the justice of the peace do it, but since our collaring ceremony was private, we thought better of it.”
Jeff slipped his arm around Dena and kissed her forehead. “I was the one pushing for a private ceremony.”
“Thank goodness she didn’t go for your idea,” Daniel said. “I’ve been waiting on this day.”
“But if she had,” Jeff said, “we’d be married already.”
“There is that,” Daniel said.
Dena had stayed with us at our Hamptons estate recently. Jeff had been out of town caring for his terminally ill father, and because she’d been getting threats from a stalker, we’d offered for her to stay with us. She was a prosecutor and her father was a prominent politician, so no one was sure who was threatening her. That was all in the past now, but Dena and I had become good friends during the weeks she’d stayed with us and I knew exactly how happy she was to be marrying Jeff.
I didn’t know Jeff quite as well, but I’d actually met him first, and one of the things I picked up on was an underlying sadness about him. There was no sadness now. Only joy and, as he gazed down at the woman who wore both his collar and his engagement ring, love.
It made me a bit nostalgic for the early days of my relationship with Nathaniel when everything was so new and we couldn’t keep our hands off each other. Of course, we still didn’t want to, but it was harder to find time to ourselves. I hoped the move to Delaware would mean more time at home for him and allow us to connect more.
“Angel,” Jeff said, “didn’t you want to talk to Abby and Julie privately?”
“Yes, as long as it’s okay with Masters West and Covington.”
“Of course,” Daniel said, dropping a kiss on Julie’s cheek. “Don’t stay away too long. I have a new toy.”
The brunette’s eyes lit up. “Yes, Master.”
“I don’t have a new toy,” Nathaniel whispered in my ear. “I just want to fuck you.”
My knees almost turned to jelly. “Yes, Master.”
“Hurry back to me,” he said.
I would. I definitely would.
Dena took us up the stairs to the small bedroom that wasn’t in use. The house belonged to William Greene, a Dominant I had only met in passing. The lack of furniture and minimal decorating led me to believe he lived alone.
“I wanted to wait until Sasha was here, too,” Dena said. “But I’m not sure when all of us will be together. I’ll tell you guys and will catch up with Sasha later.”
“Everything’s okay, right?” I asked.
Her eyes lit up, and I swore she was so excited they sparkled. “Everything’s great. I’m pregnant.”
Julie’s hand flew to her mouth, and tears filled my eyes. Dena had already had one late-term miscarriage. She had told me part of her history with Jeff while she was living with
us. I had been fortunate, both my pregnancies were trouble free and full term. I could only imagine how scary a pregnancy would be following a miscarriage. At the moment, though, she didn’t look frightened. She positively glowed.
“I thought it was strange you didn’t have a corset on tonight,” Julie said, and then pulled the willowy blonde into a hug.
Dena smoothed a hand over her short skirt and cropped shirt. “Yes, this isn’t my normal party outfit by any stretch, but my corsets are going into storage for the next eight months.”
“What does Jeff think?” I asked.
“Jeff’s completely besotted,” she said. “He reads Goodnight Moon to my belly every night. I told him hearing hadn’t developed yet, but he said since no one knew exactly when it did, there was no harm in it.”
“I love watching strong men get all melty because of a baby,” I said, remembering Nathaniel with our kids.
Dena nodded. “There is nothing hotter, that’s for sure. We haven’t publicly announced anything yet, so please don’t tell anyone. I had to tell you guys, because, well, I just did.”
“How are you doing?” Julie asked.
“Scared to death,” Dena said with a tight laugh. “Trying to relax, but going crazy with each ache, pain, and cramp. Jeff’s so good. He’s a great listener and he gives the best back rubs. But I know it’s hard for him, too.”
“I imagine so,” I said.
“I don’t think I’ll completely relax until I bring this baby home.”
Julie reached for her hand. “I’m glad you told us. Now you have Jeff, Abby, and me to talk to.”
“Thanks.” Dena wiped a tear from her face. “Damn pregnancy hormones. Anyway, I also wanted to ask you guys if you’d stand with me at the wedding. I’m going to ask Sasha, too.”
“Yes!” Julie nearly shouted, and I hugged Dena and told her I’d be honored.
“Jeff wants to get married before the baby’s born. I told him that was fine, but I wasn’t walking down the aisle looking like a whale.”
“Oh, we’ll go wedding dress shopping,” Julie said. “All four of us.”
“It’ll have to be soon.” Dena looked over at me. “Can you go this weekend, Abby?”
I shook my head. “No, we’re starting the move this weekend. But don’t let me hold you up. You go without me.”
“We’ll see how it goes. I hate for you not to be there,” Dena said.
I hated to miss it. Wedding dress shopping was fun.
“What do your parents think about your wedding plans?” I asked.
“Mom wouldn’t care who I married as long as it meant there would be the potential for grandchildren in the future. But she’s taking her directions from Dad and he’s not speaking with me.”
I winced. “Sorry to hear that. Will they be at the wedding?”
“Only if I marry someone other than Jeff, but that’s okay.” I knew Dena’s father was a bit of snob and didn’t approve of Jeff’s working-class background. “I stopped needing their approval a long time ago. And to be honest, it’ll be better without them.”
“I’m so happy for you guys,” I said. “Everyone should be as happy as you two are.”
“I think we both finally realized we deserved happiness.”
If anyone deserved happiness, it was Jeff and Dena. They’d gone through so much to be together. But like with the journey Nathaniel and I were on, those hardships only served to make their relationship stronger.
“Okay,” Julie said. “I hate to cut this short, but I’m dying to see what Daniel has planned for tonight.”
We hugged good-bye and went our separate ways. Nathaniel was waiting at the foot of the stairs and crooked a finger at me when he saw me.
Oh yes, I couldn’t wait to see his plans.
Chapter Two
NATHANIEL
“I want you to go inside the suite and head to the bedroom,” I said when we pulled up to our hotel. “Kneel on the rug and while you wait, I want you to think about what I promised I’d do to you when we got home.”
Her sharp intake of breath left no doubt in my mind that she remembered, but just because I wanted to hear her say it, I asked, “What am I going to do when I get into the bedroom, Abigail?”
“You said you would fuck me properly, Master.”
“That’s my plan.”
She shifted her weight impatiently from side to side on the elevator ride and once I unlocked the door, I simply said, “Go.”
While she got ready, I sat on the couch and wrote out my observations of the group party. The first thing that concerned me was how lax security had seemed. There was one member working the door and one Dungeon Monitor on duty. One person at the door was enough, but it seemed to be asking a lot for one person to oversee the entire party as DM.
I tapped my pen on the notebook. What we needed was a place with video cameras so DMs could keep an eye on every room at once. And more acting DMs. Hard to get more DMs when the group itself only numbered around twenty regular attendees, with an additional fifteen or so casual members. And the only person whose house had cameras was Daniel, and even he didn’t have them installed inside. I couldn’t very well make a recommendation that a host house had to have cameras.
Things to think on another day and time. For tonight, I belonged to Abby and I was going to focus my attention and time on her.
She waited for me the way I’d requested, nude and kneeling in the middle of the floor. Her breathing was deep and even and her posture was relaxed, yet still at attention, so I knew she was waiting for me to speak.
There were no words to describe how I felt whenever I saw her waiting for me like this. Through the years, I’d tried to come up with them, but they somehow always fell short of capturing the emotion that swelled in my chest and the humility I felt at receiving her submission.
“You are amazing,” I said to her. “Absolute perfection.”
She didn’t say anything because I hadn’t given her permission to speak, but I saw her cheeks flush. Everything that was beautiful was captured in her. She would point to her breasts that weren’t as firm as they used to be since she’d had two children, or she’d mention her belly that wasn’t as perfectly flat, even though she worked out hard trying to make it so. I saw those things, too, and thought they made her even more beautiful because they were the markings of a body that had grown, nourished, and created the new life that was our children. To me, they were the badges of her love for me.
My need for her grew, and the group’s troubles left my mind. “On your back with your ass at the edge of the bed.”
She rose gracefully and moved to the bed. Her hips swayed seductively and the curve of her ass begged me to spank it. I’d have to do that later. She climbed onto the bed and got into position. When we’d checked in, she mentioned how much she liked the white bedding. Personally, I thought it was ironic—all that pure white bedding as a backdrop for all the wicked things I would do to her body.
“Touch yourself,” I told her. “Are you still wet after being flogged?”
I could see she was, but I wanted to see her finger herself. I unbuckled my pants and stepped out of them.
“Look at me,” I commanded. I fisted my cock and gave it a few pumps with my hand. “Are you wet?”
“Yes, Master.” Her voice was heavy with lust and need.
“Being tied up and flogged turned you on.”
The evidence of her arousal was slick against her upper thighs. I wanted to taste her, but feared that might push her over the edge. She’d been holding back her orgasm for over an hour by now. I moved to stand between her legs and slipped two fingers inside.
“Hell, yes. Feel that. How wet you are.”
Her lower body strained with the effort to remain still. Just that small movement showed how much she trusted me. She purposely held off letting herself orgasm because she trusted me to let her come when I knew it would bring her the most pleasure. Even now, holding still, she did it because it was what I expecte
d and she wanted to please me. And she knew in doing so, I would please her.