by Marie Force
“Uh-huh.”
“Wow, that’s amazing.”
“Wait until you see her in action. Suffice to say that none of us would dare fuck with her when she’s wielding a whip.” He returns to his seat next to me, and tops off both our wineglasses. “One more thing I want to add to our personal contract. May I?”
Still processing what I’ve learned about my new friend, Marlowe Sloane, I slide the pages across the bar to him.
He takes the pen from me and begins to write on the back of the second page. When he’s finished, he pushes it over to me so I can see what he’s written. It is, I realize, the first time I’ve seen his distinct handwriting. “That could be a font. The Flynn Godfrey font. It would be a huge bestseller.”
“Just read it,” he says, laughing.
The passage he has added says, This contract between Flynn and Natalie Godfrey is binding for the purposes of enhancing their already spectacular sexual relationship. If, at any time, Flynn or Natalie should choose to end this contract, it shall have no bearing whatsoever on their life contract as best friends, lovers, husband and wife or parents to their future children. Flynn and Natalie’s marriage vows take precedence over all other contracts and agreements set forth here.
“That means,” he says softly, looking at me as he speaks, “that you can get out of this at any time without endangering other more important agreements already in place between us.”
“Thank you for that. It’s incredibly sweet of you to know I’d need that assurance.”
“You always have an out, sweetheart, whether it’s through safe words or deciding the whole thing isn’t for you or that your limits have changed. Despite how it may appear, you’re the one who’s actually in charge here.”
“I like that,” I say, giving him a sassy grin.
His low growl makes me laugh. “I’m going to like paddling that sweet ass when you get mouthy with me.”
“Maybe I’ll get mouthy with you just so you’ll paddle my ass.”
“Fuck, Nat,” he says, the breath escaping from him on a long hiss. “You have no idea what you do to me when you say things like that, when you play along with me. You’re my perfect match in every possible way.” He reaches for me and brings me close enough to kiss. “I have a feeling you’re going to make for a spectacular sub.”
“I want to be the best sub you’ve ever had.”
“You already are, my love. Just by talking to me about this, by reading the contract and considering all of it without judging me or deciding something has to be wrong with me to want this stuff... You’re perfect.”
I sign my name on the line Flynn has drawn for me under the paragraph he added. It is the first time I write the words Natalie Godfrey, and it gives me a thrill to see my new name in black and white.
Judging by his wide smile, Flynn likes it, too.
“So what happens now?” I ask him, tingling with anticipation.
“Now, I want to talk about your job and what we’re going to do about it.”
Chapter 5
I can tell I’ve taken her by surprise with my reply. She thought I’d want to get right down to business now that we’ve hammered out the details. There’s another detail that has to be seen to before we play, but I’ll address that after we talk about her job.
“I thought you’d want to… you know, now that we’ve agreed to everything…”
“Are you in a rush?” I ask with a teasing smile intended to put her at ease.
“No, well… I’m curious, I guess.”
Her curiosity is a huge turn-on for me. That she’s interested and willing to try… I can’t think about that right now when other decisions need to be made. “We’ll get there, but we have other things to talk about, such as your job and your visit with Candace. How was it to see her again after all these years?”
“It was like no time had gone by. We picked up right where we left off. And then Livvy FaceTimed us, so we all got to be together.” Her eyes sparkle with joy as she talks about her long-lost sisters. “They’re so grown up and fun and beautiful.”
“Of course they are. They’re related to you, aren’t they?”
She smiles at the compliment. “I missed so much with both of them, but we’ve promised to stay in close touch from now on. Livvy says she can visit next month when she has a long weekend.”
“We’ll set that up. You’ll see her soon.”
“We had fun at the hotel.”
“I hope you ran up a big room-service tab.”
“We sure did. Candace said if you were making us stay there and paying the bill, we ought to take full advantage.”
Laughing, I say, “I can see I need to be concerned about these new sisters-in-law of mine. They sound like characters.”
“They’re great girls, and they’re looking forward to meeting you. You’ll love them.”
“I have no doubt.” I take her by the hand. “Let’s go get comfy.” We carry our wineglasses and the nearly empty bottle to the sofa. When we’re snuggled under a warm blanket and Natalie is curled up in my arms, I rub my lips over her hair. “Talk to me about the job, Nat.”
She leads with a deep sigh. “I’d love to go back to my class and finish out the school year, but I don’t think I can.”
“Why do you say that?”
“The school announced that they’d offered my job back, and now my apartment, your place, the school… We’re overrun, and there’s a freaking blizzard going on. And they’re still staked out. For a while, when we were waiting to hear what would happen, I really thought I could go back if they asked me to and things would return to normal. But after the interview with Carolyn and the SAG Awards, I realized my normal has changed, and there’s no going back to who I was before I became your wife.”
Her words are like a spike to my heart, reminding me that while my life has changed for the better since we met, hers has been tipped upside down. “I’m so sorry, sweetheart.”
“Please don’t be sorry. It’s not your fault. I knew what I was getting into when I took you on. Well, I mostly knew…”
A laugh rumbles through me. I’m glad she can joke about the thing that nearly ruined us. I started this day wondering if I’d ever see her again, and now anything is possible.
“I’m mostly afraid that if I go back, things will get crazy again with the paparazzi surrounding the school, and the board will regret asking me back. If that happens and I have to leave again… I can’t do that to my kids, as much as I miss them and want to be with them. I can’t jerk them around like that.”
“I wish you could have everything you want and have me, too. Remember when we first met, and I tried to describe the downside to celebrity? This is it.”
“There’s something else…”
“What’s that?”
“The foundation. Ever since you asked me to be part of that, it’s all I seem to think about when I’m not thinking about you and everything that’s happened with us. I’m so excited to be involved with such a worthwhile cause, and as much as I wish I could return to my classroom, being part of the effort to address childhood hunger in this country is so exciting.”
“You have no idea how happy it makes me to hear you say that. I knew I was asking the right person to head up this effort. You should also know that my management team has been overrun with inquiries as to whether you’re interested in modeling, acting and a wide variety of other offers, including interview requests from every major name you can think of.”
“No way.”
“Yes way. I told you you’d be in hot demand after the interview with Carolyn.”
“Wow. They really want me to model? What do I know about that?”
“They love your look, and I can’t say I blame them. I do, too. I can have my manager, Danielle, send over the most interesting offers, and you can take a look.”
“I don’t know about that, Flynn. Show business is your thing, not mine.”
I shrug. “It can be your business, too, if that’s what you wan
t. You don’t have to decide anything right away. Focus on the foundation for now, and see what happens.”
“I suppose I could do that. It’s so weird that people know who I am and are interested in me. That’s going to take some getting used to.”
“You’ve got the rest of your life to get used to it. Take all the time you need.” I kiss her forehead and then her cheek. “Is it okay to say that I’m thrilled and relieved that we won’t be spending any time on opposite coasts?”
“It’s okay to say that,” she says with a smile. “I’m relieved, too.”
“So you’re going to tell the school you’re declining their offer to return?”
Nodding, she says, “I’ll write to each of my students and explain why I’m not coming back and give them our address so they can write to me. That would be okay, wouldn’t it?”
“We can’t give out our actual address, but I have a PO box you can use.”
“That’ll work.” She eyes me with excitement and anticipation. “So does this mean I’m officially moving to LA?”
“Eventually. In case you haven’t noticed, we’re somewhat snowed in for the time being.” I nod to the windows, where the driving snow is highlighted by the orange glow of security lights from an adjacent building. “We’re not going anywhere for the next day or two.”
She runs her finger up the inside of my thigh, sparking an immediate reaction. “Whatever will we do with all that time?”
“Well, I’ve got that drawer full of movies and the tub you love so much.”
Turning so she can see me, she takes a good long look to gauge whether I’m serious. “I’ll admit to being confused.”
“I’ll admit to being incredibly aroused by the fact that you’re so eager to proceed with our plans. I can’t fucking wait to play with you. But before we do that, we need to talk to someone about whether it’s a good idea in light of what you’ve been through in the past.”
“I’m fine, Flynn. I talked to Doctor Bancroft last week.”
This is news to me. “You didn’t know the full picture last week.”
“But still, we talked about sex… and everything.”
I would give everything I have to know how that conversation went down. “You talked about dominance and submission and everything that goes with those things?”
“Well, no, but—”
“No buts, sweetheart. We have to be certain it won’t set you back before we try it. I have to be certain of that. We need to see your Doctor Bancroft or someone else who specializes in PTSD and sexual assault counseling.”
“He does both those things, which is why the court sent me to him.”
“You’re already familiar with him, so I’d be fine with talking to him.”
She glances up at me, seeming to gauge my sincerity. “You’re very… private… about this part of your life, so private you didn’t even tell me. You’re really willing to talk to a stranger about it?”
“If it means being confident that you can truly handle what we’re considering, then yes, I’ll do it in a heartbeat. We’ve got to figure that we’ve met our quota of disreputable professionals for this lifetime with Rogers.”
“True. I know Curt very well. We can trust him. He saved my life, Flynn. There’s no way I’d be sitting here talking to you, capable of this relationship, without him.”
“Then I owe him a tremendous debt of gratitude. Will you reach out to him and set up a time when we can talk to him?”
“Yes, I will, and thank you for being so concerned about me.”
“I’m very concerned about you.”
“I’ll text Curt now and see if he can talk to us tomorrow.”
I love that she wants to get on with our plans, that she’s curious and interested rather than turned off and appalled. That makes her as different from my first wife as it’s possible to get, but I already knew Natalie is made of much stronger stuff than Valerie could dream of being. Valerie… I need to do something about the trouble she caused between Natalie and me. I’ll take care of that when I get back to LA. In the meantime, I take advantage of Natalie going to get her phone to look at mine for the first time in a while.
A message from Liza catches my attention. Pictures of Natalie arriving at LaGuardia cropping up online. You won’t like them. Will send pics in next message if you want to see.
“Son of a bitch,” I whisper as I scroll through the pictures of her looking cornered, frightened and very small next to the hulking men on either side of her. I begin to wonder how I’ll ever let her out of my sight again. The thought of my precious love being afraid or surrounded makes me twitchy.
“What’s wrong?” she asks when she rejoins me on the sofa, pulling the blanket back up over us.
Because I’ve learned there’s no point in trying to hide anything from her, I hand her my phone and watch her closely as she studies the three photos Liza sent. “What’re you thinking?”
“I look like I did during Oren’s trial.”
“I hate that you look so afraid.”
“I wasn’t really. Josh and Seth were right by my side, and they moved fast to get me out of there. I was never in any danger. I think I was surprised more than anything. It happened so quickly.”
“This is why I always want someone with you going forward. If I can’t be there, then someone else needs to be to make sure you’re never hurt or overwhelmed. I’d lose my mind if anything ever happened to you because you had the poor sense to marry me.”
She puts down the phone and climbs into my lap, straddling me.
Pleasantly surprised by her assertiveness, I cup her ass and pull her in tight against my instant erection.
“Marrying you was the best thing I’ve ever done. I don’t expect to ever regret it.”
“Did you regret it yesterday?”
Shaking her head, she runs her fingers through my hair, arranging it to her liking. “Not for one second. The time we’ve spent together has felt like a fairy tale. No matter what else happens, it will always feel like that to me.”
“It’s been like a fairy tale for me, too. After you left yesterday, I was out of my mind. I threw a vase through a window, and then the doorbell rang. I thought it was you, but it was that FBI agent. I wanted to kill him for not being you.”
“Wait, why was he there, and why haven’t you told me?”
I sweep away her concerns with my hand. “He was following up on Rogers’s wife telling him Rogers had felt threatened by me. I assured Vickers the only way I threatened Rogers was legally. Why in the world would I kill him when I could’ve had the pleasure of watching him twist in the wind for years because of what he did to you?”
“Did you say that to Vickers?”
“Yep. I told him I was disappointed that Rogers had been murdered, because I’d been looking forward to making his life a living hell.”
“So where did you leave it with him?”
“That I need to remain available for follow-up questions, which I said was fine. Neither of us has anything to hide where Rogers is concerned.”
“I have nothing at all to hide, thanks to him,” she says bitterly.
“I hate him for what he did to you, Nat, but in a way, I’m grateful that we have no more secrets between us.”
She lays her head on my shoulder. “So am I.”
“I hated keeping things from you. It felt wrong to me from the very beginning. You’ll never know how badly I wanted to either tell you the truth or leave you to spare you from having to deal with something I didn’t know if you could ever understand. We all know how successful my attempts to leave you were.”
“You can’t leave me after all this. I was able to move on from everything that happened to me before, but something tells me I’d never get over losing you.”
I tighten my arms around her. “That’s one thing you’ll never have to worry about.”
She rolls her hips suggestively over my cock. “Can we go to bed? Please?”
As if I’ll ever say
no to that question coming from her. “Anything you want, sweetheart.”
Chapter 6
We arrange to have Fluff taken outside, but she refuses to pee in the snowstorm. I hope we don’t awake to a mess, but Flynn tells me not to worry about it. He says he wouldn’t pee outside in this shit either.
In the bedroom, Flynn unties the robe I’ve lounged around in all day and pushes it off my shoulders, leaving me bare as his heated gaze travels from my face to my toes and back up again. He drops his shorts and raises the covers for me to get into bed ahead of him.
I’m freezing until he wraps his warm body around mine, pulling me in tight against him.
“You know what the worst part of yesterday was?” I ask him.
“What’s that?”
“Sleeping without you last night. I hated that.”
“I never went to bed at all, because I couldn’t bear to sleep without you.”
“You must be so tired.”
“I am.” His hand moves from my belly to land between my breasts. The hard column of his erection is pressed between my buttocks.
Despite his obvious arousal, despite my never-ending desire for him, neither of us is compelled to move. This is all about comfort and security. The feel of his skin against mine is all I need to release the deep breath I’ve been holding since I left LA yesterday, not knowing when or if I’d see him again.
In the last couple of weeks, my whole world has been turned on end by this relationship. Now, settled in his arms, with no secrets between us, and decisions made about our future, I feel ready for this next step we’re planning to take. I’m excited. Of course, I’m also nervous, but I’m more excited than nervous.
I trust Flynn to make whatever we do together amazing for me, because that’s what he’s done from the beginning. I want to make it amazing for him, too. I want to give him everything he’s ever wanted in a lover. I want to be perfect for him in every way.
Thinking about all the things I agreed to try, I drift off to sleep wondering how long he’ll make me wait before our contract becomes a reality. I dream of things I’d much rather forget—the horrific weekend with Oren Stone that claimed my innocence and changed my life forever. I watch the scene unfold as an observer in my dream. I get a front-row view of my own assault, every lurid detail played out before my horrified eyes.
