by Kate Stewart
I would do this for me. I would allow myself to be happy. I would take a chance with Rhys and I would do it afraid.
I parked on his pavers next to his sedan and flew up his steps, running my fingers through my hair.
Suddenly the door was open and there he was. My chest was rising and falling as I took in Rhys. His forearm rested against the jam and he was leaning casually as he studied me. I heard the song he sent me playing in the background and my eyes filled. God, I was gone on this man. He took me in from head to foot and I couldn’t move as he drowned me in a sea of gray.
“You’re becoming very cheesy and romantic, Sir,” I said, my voice raspy and breathless.
“What do you say we break the curse of these steps right now?” He took two steps forward and I was in his arms, his mouth covering mine with his kiss. We both moaned, desperately pulling and pushing with tongues and hands. And then I was in the air with my legs wrapped around him, holding on tight as he carried me into the house and up the stairs. As the music grew more intense, I buried my head in his neck, breathing him in. I had listened to the song at least a hundred times by now and felt every word. Soap and spice filled my nose and I moaned a hello as I welcomed it. He put me down on my feet at the top of the steps and stood back, taking off my shirt slowly. I stood with my breasts exposed and peaking for him as he slowly unbuttoned my jeans, keeping my eyes on his. My lips parted as he slid them down my legs along with my panties and removed my shoes. I waited naked before him as he perused my body. He cupped a breast and moved his hand slowly up to my face, tracing the scar under my eye with his thumb. I let a tear escape me as his thumb slid up and down my cheek gently. He moved his other hand to my face and pulled me to him, capturing my mouth, thrusting his tongue deep. My knees buckled and he caught me, hooking my legs with his arms and taking me to his bedroom. He laid me on the bed and spread my legs, eyeing my drenched middle as he pulled his shirt over his head with one hand. Moving slowly, he tugged his jeans and briefs down, and then I was covered by his sculpted chest, his broad shoulders, and the face that had ruined me for all others. He slid his fingers inside me and I heard his groan. Grazing my clit lightly, his eyes filled with lust and I mourned the loss of his fingers as he pulled his hand away to remold and shape the contours of my body. His lips traced my front half, covering every inch of skin; then he turned me over and repeated his explorations with his lips and tongue. My limbs hummed as he turned me again, pulling me under him, spreading me out and massaging my thighs as he dipped his head and licked the divot in my neck. His tip was at my entrance and I gasped at the feel of him. He put my hand over his chest.
“This is home.”
With one thrust I was gasping his name. He moved inside me, grinding his thick cock so hard I dug my nails in his shoulders roughly, wrapping my legs around him tight as I pulled him deeper. He traced the scar on my neck with his lips as he circled his hips, making love to me slowly but with so much friction, I was on edge. I ran my hands over his chest and down his arms as he lifted me with his strokes, his eyes telling me everything.
“Rhys,” I whispered as his lips hovered above mine, my whole body shaking underneath him. He kissed me deeply, capturing the gasp from my orgasm and not letting me free. When my spasms subsided and he had no more breath to steal, he tore his mouth from mine. I looked up at him with everything in me and said the words that had been on the tip of my tongue that I could no longer keep inside. “I love you.”
He closed his eyes and came.
I had exhausted her last night before we finally took a bath together, passing out just before dawn. When I opened my eyes this morning, she had stolen my breath. I traced the curve of her hip with my fingertip. The scar on her cheek had healed beautifully. If I didn’t know it was there, I might have missed it. The larger one on her neck was a beautiful shade of pink. I moved my fingers over it gently. I couldn’t stop touching her. Her tan lines had me hard again as I traced every single one. Her hair was a little lighter than it was the last time I saw her. Her breathing was sweet and even, passing through the most perfect set of lips possible on a woman. I knew she was sleeping well and had to resist with everything I had to keep from waking her. I trailed my finger around her nipple and it pulled tight for me. She moaned before her lips slowly formed a smile.
“You were faking?” I said, smiling down at her as her eyes fluttered open.
“Only for the last few minutes,” she whispered. I was instantly on her.
“You aren’t tired of me yet?” She grinned as she opened up for me, wrapping her legs around my hips, urging me to sink into her.
I looked down at her beneath me and pulled her bottom lip into my mouth as I mumbled around it. “I really hope you don’t have any other plans this weekend. Come here.”
I pushed my need away and sat with my back to the headboard and pulled her onto my lap.
I placed her between my legs, facing away from me so I cradled her. Her breath hitched as I rubbed her nipples with my fingertips, burying my head in the side of her neck, tonguing it and pulling at the skin gently.
“Rhys,” she begged as I opened her legs between mine, lifting them at the knee. I smoothed her stomach with my hands then brushed her sides gently with the backs of my fingers. She tilted her head back and moaned as she looked up at me. I took her mouth, thrusting my tongue in slowly. She kissed me more aggressively and I dipped my finger low and felt her growing wet. I grabbed her hand and brought it between her legs, tracing the tip of her clit lightly back and forth with her fingers. She gasped in my mouth then pulled away.
“Rhys, I can’t,” she said as she attempted to pull her hand from my grasp. I kissed her deeply and brought it back down, dipping her fingers inside and pulling it back up to her clit, making slow circles and pressing it tightly just where I knew it affected her the most. She gasped again and I knew she’d felt it. Her breathing picked up as her perfect breasts rose and fell with her spike of desire.
“Right there, move your fingers like this.” I circled her fingers and she dropped her head back against my shoulder and started moving them as I’d told her. Her moans increased as she was pulled in by her own touch.
“Feel that, right there. Faster,” I whispered in her ear as I guided her fingers, seeing the goose bumps form on her arms. She called out to me and I nearly lost my shit as my cock twitched. Fuck, this was perfect. I felt her legs begin to shake and let her hand go, rubbing up and down her sides and laving her neck with my tongue.
“Oh God, Rhys.” Her voice was hoarse, letting me know she was on edge. I felt her body start to break. I bit her shoulder gently and she came, by her own hand, in my arms. I gripped the side of her head with my hand, pulling her hair and trailing kisses down her neck as she shuddered. She looked up at me, her eyes dazed.
“Do it again,” I whispered to her. “For me, do it again.” She lowered her hand and licked my lips as she continued to work her pussy. I felt the flex of her thighs as she moved her fingers faster and once again came apart in my embrace.
“Now let me drink it,” I said, moving her off my lap and turning to hover above her. She looked up to me, wide-eyed.
“I told you so.” I grinned before making my way down between her thighs to lap up her handiwork. She smiled and nodded as I kissed my way down, sucking and licking her until there was nothing left while she writhed beneath me.
I sat up in bed and stretched fully, my limbs weak from two days of endless lovemaking with a side of vicious fucking.
“Good morning.” I looked to see Rhys staring up at me as he adjusted his head on the pillow to get a better look, gripping it behind him.
“Hi,” I said, leaning over to kiss his beautiful face. He pulled me to his chest and ran a hand up and down my back.
“Stay another day. Bryce is coming home in a few hours.” He held me close to his chest, caressing my face, my shoulder, and my arms.
“I want to, I do, but I need to get home, unpack. I promised my mother I would c
ome have a late Thanksgiving with her. I don’t want to interrupt your routine, either.”
“You wouldn’t be interrupting,” he whispered, taking my mouth.
“Morning breath, Rhys, jeez, doesn’t it bother you?” I covered my mouth with my hand.
“Nah, I like it dirty.” He moved my hand and plunged his tongue into my mouth as I pushed at his chest, caving to his tender kiss.
An hour later, we were at his front door, and I was having a hard time keeping my clothes on. Every time I reached for my coat, we kissed again.
“You know you want to stay,” he whispered as he brushed my hair away from my face.
“I feel like we’ve had this conversation before,” I said, pulling him closer. I couldn’t get close enough and it seemed neither could he. He smiled and reluctantly let me go.
“Be careful, and tell Pam I said hello.”
“Yes, your new best friend and my mother. I’ll make sure to let her know.” I stood there as we grinned at each other and then I remembered my conversation with her. “You told my mother about Bryce, before you told me. Why didn’t you mention that? I would have been a lot less hurt.”
“I want you to believe me, especially when I tell you something important, Violet. Me. Not anyone else.”
I nodded and turned the knob, looking back at him. “Why do I feel like if I leave the bubble will burst?”
“We had a rough start, but now we won’t let anything shake us, right?” He leaned in and pressed a quick kiss to my lips.
“Right.” I made my way down the steps, practically dancing, and gave him a wink as I turned to walk to my car. I got behind the wheel and buried my forehead on the top of the steering wheel, saying a late Thanksgiving prayer. I prayed like I was accepting an academy award. I couldn’t believe my new reality. I heard my phone ping.
RHYS: What in the hell are you doing?
I looked up and saw him watching me from the porch. I turned crimson.
VIOLET: Gathering my thoughts, Rhys. A little privacy, please.
I watched him look at the message and smile.
RHYS: Were you talking to yourself?
VIOLET: No.
RHYS: I saw you talking to yourself.
VIOLET: If you must know, I was praying.
RHYS: Praying in my driveway?
He was laughing hysterically now and I laughed with him as I replied.
VIOLET: Don’t you have anything better to do than spy on me?
RHYS: No, there’s nothing better to do than you.
VIOLET: Cute. I’m leaving.
RHYS: Bye, beautiful.
I made it to my mother’s and had the turkey and dressing I’d loved since I was a kid. It was amazing and a perfect end to my weekend. My all-knowing mother beamed at me throughout dinner, and questioned me in her roundabout way.
Thoughts of Rhys and our picnic in bed kept me warm on the drive home. Truly comfortable in my own house for the first time since my attack, I settled in that night, heart and stomach full. Right before I drifted to sleep, I got a picture.
It was of Rhys holding his sleeping son. Rhys was grinning, though he looked exhausted. Bryce had his little hands gripping his t-shirt, his eyes closed and mouth open, his long dark lashes covering half his chubby cheeks. The message attached said “Godzilla for sale.”
Caring for a woman was easy for me. I had always cared for different women for different reasons.
Loving a woman had always been quite a bit harder.
Doms don’t have to say I love you.
I got my companionship and sexual satisfaction through my relationships with my subs, but in truth, I could never really classify them as real relationships. I had heard the words I love you out of a woman’s mouth on more occasions than I’d ever cared to, mostly in bed. Making a woman come repeatedly had its disadvantages, especially if her feelings got involved and it wasn’t mutual. And up until this point, it never had been.
Often they confused sexual chemistry with love, and I would have to break it off carefully once they confessed their affections. There was a fine line. I used to think I wasn’t capable of loving a sub, until her...but when it ended the way it did with Bryce’s mother, I was sure it was just poor judgment. She fascinated me with her wicked ways and what I once thought was so intriguing became what I was most disgusted by. Three years wasted on a woman who had almost taken my son’s life before he’d had a chance. She was my past.
And that wasn’t love.
Violet was my future and had given me a clear definition of how the real thing felt, though she was not at all the definition of a sub. She was a woman who was curious, much like I had been. I’d dated numerous women in my lifetime. Well, maybe dating was not a good word. I put my destructive demons to rest when I was twenty-one, learning the art of discipline and what coupling pleasure and pain could do, how it could free you and if you weren’t careful, how it could enslave you.
I never could kick the habit of being interested in the women I brought to valleys and peaks through sexual acts. I liked learning what made them tick. I did the same things with Violet that I had with any other partner. I started off slow as I was taught, The Waltz. A little give and take, something to test the hard and soft limits, and Violet had loved every minute. I knew then I wanted her for my own. There was no way I was letting her go. And before I knew it, she had gotten under my skin and crowded my thoughts more often than I was comfortable with. I became addicted to her moans and smart mouth. I didn’t want to see her, but I suddenly needed to. When we moved on, The Tango, I tested her hard limits. She seemed to have none, which shocked me. I was sure at times I would hear the word stop pass her lips. I spent long nights thinking about how a woman who had never experienced anything like what we were doing could endure so much. It was then that I realized she loved me and I prayed for the words not to come, because I wasn’t sure where her head or heart was, or if we had a future at all.
Now those words were all I want to hear from her, and once she’d said them, I knew I had everything.
With Violet, it didn’t matter how simple her reasons were. I was more fascinated by her than any other woman I’d ever met. She had no real demons to fight, no dark secrets. She just craved it, and I understood that craving. It used to drive me. Now I had another driving force: my son. And Violet was becoming a part of it all.
I was on my way out of the life when she came barging in with her new appetite and unrealistic expectations of what a Dom should be. I was selling the club, unattached, and completely free to be the respectable father I’d hoped to be.
All I had left to do to break free was sell the club and walk away. Now I found I had something to walk toward. And for the first time in my life, I hoped I’d be enough for a woman.
I started out her master, but I had already become her slave.
Christmas shopping with my mother was a nightmare. Thankfully Molly agreed to accompany us today to distract me. Mother was insistent on getting all her shopping done in a day. I found myself looking at items for Rhys and searching through the toy aisles in the store for Bryce, but had no idea if it was even appropriate at this point.
Last week had been a dream. I had spent a few days with Rhys, getting to know his son. Though Bryce seemed a bit weary of me at first, as if I was an intruder, he warmed up to me quickly.
I couldn’t help but smile at the fact that the last time I left them Bryce’s lip quivered slightly, as if he didn’t want me to go. I refused to stay the night, though Rhys objected.
Sunday afternoon, Rhys had fallen asleep on the couch as Bryce and I played on the floor with his new Lego set. We spent the afternoon pulling out his arsenal of toys from his toy box as his father lay practically unconscious in a deep sleep he looked like he so desperately needed. When he woke, he looked up at us and shot to a sitting position, completely disoriented and started apologizing quickly.
“Rhys, we are fine,” I insisted as I nodded over at Bryce, who was telling me about his very imp
ortant plastic hammer. Rhys lay back down, watching us play, his hands on his chest with his head turned our way, looking to me then his son. His gray eyes told me he was hungry and I shook my head with a smile, giving my attention to the other new man in my life. I looked up every once in a while as he watched us play, catching his stare and smiling. I knew for the first time he was thinking what I was.
This is happy.
“Earth to Violet,” Molly said, holding up two pairs of earrings, to which I wrinkled my nose.
Buying a tie for Rhys seemed too impersonal, and though I had let the L word cross my lips, I wasn’t sure how he would receive a Christmas gift. He had a completely different way of showing his affection that didn’t involve sex. He never really vocalized his feelings and had only really opened up to me in my absence while visiting the Caymans. I had rushed into assuming he felt the same, and with each minute we spent together, I could feel his growing feelings, but couldn’t be sure. I did purchase a few toys for Bryce, leaving the mystery of gift giving between me and my new beau open ended. I was going to see him tonight after a long few days of us failing to connect. I was kept late showing houses and Bryce had caught a cold. Rhys didn’t want to chance us both getting sick. I eyed a bottle of men’s cologne on the counter, wondering what type he used.
“So what are you getting him?” I looked up to see Molly smile at my mom who was questioning me and then eyeing me with interest.
“Mom, I swear, please go read someone else’s mind. Does this ever bother Dad?”
“Are you and Rhys exchanging gifts? Are you thinking cologne? Is that his style?” Molly piped, amused at my discomfort. I looked to her with narrowed eyes. She knew more about the nature of my new relationship with Rhys due to a near full confession from me the week I got back from Grand Cayman, a confession I was regretting at that very moment. The tone in her voice mocked the manner in which her question was asked. What I heard from her was “Wouldn’t he much prefer a new whip?” Molly was a petite brunette with big blue eyes. She looked far more innocent than she was, and played it to her advantage.
