by January Rowe
On their first wedding anniversary, he offered her a gift of body art. The carpenter would create a Walnut tree, a promise to shelter and protect her. The design would take decades to complete. Moved and delighted, she accepted.
* * * *
Jill went up to the bedroom and stripped. She gazed in the bedroom mirror, twisting her naked body to get a look at her back. The tree brand was incomplete. Her body art was like a story without a resolution, a joke without a punch line.
Tern and Jill had both changed so much.
He was now consumed with making money. He’d transferred his dominance from her to the construction crew. She’d changed, too. She’d become a fierce mother bear protecting her cub. She no longer depended on Tern for security or advice.
Long-distance submission just didn’t make sense anymore. How could she serve a man she never talked to?
She got dressed, fighting depression. What would happen to their relationship when he finally did come home? Would she want to please him anymore?
She called CeCe. “You have time to talk?”
“Sure. I’m nursing Ruby right now. What’s up?”
“I’m just really sad. I’m lonely. I need Tern to come home and put his arm around my shoulders and be the man.”
“Isn’t he coming home soon?”
“I don’t know. He doesn’t update me. Our relationship is teetering, CeCe. I’m losing my submission, my desire to please him.”
“BDSM is about making yourself happy. Are you happy?”
“No. Not really. I’m starting to wonder if the only thing keeping us together is my habit of devotion, not true devotion.”
“Do you still love him?”
“Yes.”
“Then I suppose that’ll have to be enough. At least until he gets back and you can straighten things out.”
And when would that be?
* * * *
Tern Skyped her in the middle of December. She was getting dressed. Half-naked, she rushed downstairs to the computer, eager for contact.
“Whatcha doing?” he asked, smirking.
His eyes were alight with hunger. The moment passed. His lusty expression dimmed. Getting a glimpse of the old Tern made her loneliness nearly unbearable.
She sat down in front of the computer. “I’m getting ready for Poppy’s winter program. Her class is singing. They’re so cute. They all wear white shirts and black pants, even the girls…”
“Sounds fun,” he said without conviction. “Hey. I’m sending you a copy of Poppy’s birth certificate, in case the school needs it. I’m sorry about being out of touch for so long. I got another promotion last week. More responsibility. More pay. I’ll send some bucks your way.”
“Okay. I’ll use it for Christmas extras. I know we don’t normally celebrate that holiday, but with a kid and all, we should. I want to, anyway. I hope that’s okay with you. So I bought a little tiny Christmas tree. Even that small, I had trouble dragging it home. You know, I don’t always want to impose on Jaeger. But I’m so glad I got the thing home. It makes the whole house smell fantastic. Poppy and I are going to decorate it tonight.”
He looked bored.
His placidity irked her. She wanted to shake him up.
An idea to make him sit up and take notice took form. Her plan was manipulative. It was immature. It was worthy of Susan and Merriam and every other BDSM faker. And it would absolutely get a rise out of him.
“Tern,” she said meekly, “I’ve been thinking about getting my hair cut. Really short. It would make it a whole lot easier for me when I volunteer at the shelter. What do you think?” She stroked her long hair, pretending to primp.
Her heart went heavy at the next words out of his mouth.
“Go ahead.”
Chapter Ten
Tern studied his latest bank statement. He was building quite a nest egg. He’d saved above and beyond the worst-case scenario legal expenses. He was damn proud of his achievements in Pope. He’d put in the grunt work, done loads of overtime, and accepted every new responsibility. Now he was reaping the rewards. He had money and the respect of his crew. He got things done. The old Tern, the precise carpenter, was in the past.
Now he understood why Jaeger liked being a cop. People listened to Jaeger. Managing a construction crew wasn’t as important as enforcing the law, but he was making a hell of a lot of more money than Jaeger, and the work was far less dangerous.
Despite the perks and pride, he missed his family.
December had come and gone. In January, he devised a plan to secure his family’s financial future. He needed cash for start-up. That meant a few more months of working in North Dakota. It was now February. In another month or two, he’d return home, his head held high. He’d then tell Jill about his plans.
He sighed. He wished Jill was more supportive, less needy. Her volunteer work with the animals and caring for Poppy should have been enough to keep her happy. It wasn’t. She complained whenever he spoke to her. He just didn’t have the time to listen to her blabbering on and on about trivial household things. Skyping with her always set his stomach to cramping. He only had only so much energy, and he was using that energy for work.
He decided to call Jaeger to get the lowdown on his household so he wouldn’t have to speak to Jill. Tern hopped into his pickup and drove to the bluff. Snow had frozen the prairie. The wind howled. He left the engine on.
“Hey, bro,” Tern said. “What’s going on at the house?”
“Big happenings. Jill’s making last-minute preps for the birthday shindig.”
“Birthday? What birthday?”
“Poppy’s birthday. It’s this weekend. Didn’t you look at that birth certificate you sent Jill? I guess not. Well, she’s been planning a celebration ever since she got it. You know Jill, she wouldn’t want anyone to be left out, so every kid in Poppy’s class is invited to the party. Poppy is fit to be tied, she’s so excited.”
“Shit.” He vaguely remembered Poppy’s birth date as being in February. But it didn’t register as being significant, at least compared to the name of her father. Tern felt like a heel.
“No worries. We picked up a cake yesterday from the grocery store. It’s huge. It has to be big. Poppy picked a cake with a Dora the Explorer on it.”
“What’s Adora the Explorer?”
“Not Adora. Dora. Dora is Poppy’s favorite cartoon character. She’s a little girl with dark hair and bangs. Who explores, I guess. Anyway, I’ve got the celebration under control. I’ll be there this weekend to help out. Blow up balloons, maybe. Or provide security.” Jaeger chuckled at his cop joke. “So, how are you? Raking in the big bucks?”
“Yeah,” Tern said.
* * * *
“I have it under control.” Jaeger’s assurance bounced around Tern’s mind for the next couple of days. It made him miserable. He should be caring for his family, not his brother. Tern’s pride in earning money was wrongheaded. It didn’t make sense to lose the very family he was trying to protect.
Tern had to get back home.
He explained the situation to his supervisor, giving him his two-weeks’ notice. His supervisor, a rugged cowboy with a crew cut, told Tern to go back home to California, and not to worry about the notice.
He tossed everything he owned into his duffle, and got one of his roommates to take him to the airport in Bismarck. If he was lucky, he’d get back home in time for Poppy’s birthday.
Luckily, he managed to get a ticket for a flight to Denver and then on to San Francisco. He had a few hours to kill, so he searched the airport shops for a Dora the Explorer toy. No go. He had to settle for a little Indian doll in a beaded leather dress. He hoped she resembled Dora the Explorer with her dark hair and bangs.
When a spring storm hit DIA, his flight was cancelled. He ended up waiting for days in the Bismarck airport for a flight out. It was a good thing he hadn’t warned Jill that he was coming. He dozed, sketched out some of his plans for the house, and daydreamed about
seeing his family again.
* * * *
Three days later, on a Monday midmorning, he finally got home. He slipped into the house. The center hall was strewn with remnants of Poppy’s party. Helium-filled purple-and-pink balloons touched the ceiling, a stray paper plate rested under a chair, a tangled pink ribbon was lodged in a corner. The air smelled like strawberry soda.
He was assaulted by a longing for things missed, both in his own childhood and in Poppy’s.
He dumped his duffle in the center hall.
A clatter of dishes came from the kitchen. Jill. He headed toward the sound. A large lime-green bird sat perched on a chair in the hallway. The creature held so still he thought it might be a stuffed animal. He stopped abruptly.
“Hey, dipshit!” it screeched.
Tern was startled. The bird was alive—and rude.
“Oh, be quiet,” came Jill’s response from the kitchen.
“Screw you!” the bird replied.
Tern laughed at the exchange. His household was going nuts.
Jill ran into the hall, her eyes wide. “You’re home!”
“For good, heart.”
Shy with each other, they kept their distance. They’d been apart too many months. He drank his wife in. Even with her incredible hair hidden under an orange bandana, she was beautiful. And so hot. She wore a thin, black T-shirt and cutoff jeans. No bra. He adored her breasts, so rich and round.
He wanted her so much it was a physical ache. His chest hurt, his mind hurt, his balls hurt.
She self-consciously tugged at the ragged hem of her shorts, and begged, “Will you let me change into something sexier? A bustier? I want to look good for you, Sir.”
She didn’t need to wear a costume to arouse him. He disliked bustiers anyway. They were like armor hiding her soft and bouncy assets.
He took a step toward her
“I’ve been stuck in the airport for three days, trying to get home,” he said. “I’m not waiting for you to get fancy. And if you care anything about that shirt and shorts, you’d better take them off. Because in about five seconds I’m going to tear them right off your body.”
Her brown eyes sparkled and she grinned. “Rip them off.”
He crossed the distance between them and tore the flimsy T-shirt away. Her breasts, full and gorgeous globes, swung gently with her breathing. Just the way they should.
He tore off her shorts from the hem up. Hooking a finger in her white panties, he shredded the cotton fabric. She was now nude, sensuality hugging every curve. She trembled deliciously.
A surge of lust ripped through him. It was time to get reacquainted with his wife. Seizing her shoulders, he shoved her against the front door. He jerked her wrists high above her head, pressing them against the wood. He fell on her mouth, her soft lips tantalizing him. He bit, drawing blood.
She pressed her breasts against him, sighing softly.
He kissed her. He wanted to slow the clock down, kiss her forever. He relished Jill’s flavor, the way she bent under the weight of his mouth, and how she offered herself to him wholeheartedly.
He uncoiled his fingers from her wrists. He skinned off his jeans. She watched him, her face flushed, her eyes wild with ardor, her breathing rapid, her bandana askew.
He grabbed her around the waist. Skimming her up his body, he pressed her up against the door. He surged into her at the threshold of their home. Painful pleasure sliced through him as he felt her wet heat. Her legs wound around his waist. Her hands clutched his biceps.
Now, after so many months apart, he could finally stake his claim. He thumped into her, pulse pounding in his head, fire scorching his balls. She cried out, low and savage. He answered every sound with a deeper plunge.
The rude bird screamed something vulgar. Jill’s moans of ecstasy encouraged Tern to thrust harder and faster. They were both soaked in sweat, suffused with unquenchable lust. He continued to fuck her against the door like nothing else mattered. Heat blistered through him and his body emptied into her.
As soon as he could move again, he carried his wife upstairs to their bedroom.
“I love you,” he said, laying her on the bed.
“You were gone so long. I was so afraid I was losing my submission.” She gazed up at him with pure adoration. “But it’s like you never left.”
He could never get enough of her devotion. He could never get enough of her soft and giving nature. He hoped he’d always deserve it.
“I’ll go turn on the shower,” he said.
When the water was warm, he led her to the bathroom. He took off her bandana. Her short hair unsettled him. He vaguely recalled giving her permission to cut it. He’d allowed her freedom she didn’t even want.
He vowed to never fail her again.
“Is that what you call a pageboy cut?” he asked.
“No. It’s a pixie. You don’t like it, do you?”
“I like everything about you. Especially these right here.” Skimming his hands up her waist, he fondled her luscious breasts.
He helped her into the shower. They lingered under the hot spray, and he gave her the nurturing she’d missed. He told her how beautiful she was. He washed her breasts, her shoulders, the scarification on her back.
“I’ll add to the tree next anniversary. I promise.”
She sighed with delight as he soaped down the darkening bruises on her wrists.
He was a lucky man. His wife, so feminine, so fragile, accepted, even welcomed, his occasional brutality.
He washed her odd hair. He’d soon get used it. They toweled each other off and then lay in bed together, nude, caressing each other.
When Tern woke up it was dark. He was alone. Jill no longer lay beside him. He sat up, scrubbed his exhausted eyes, and groaned. He was hungry and thirsty and horny. As his vision cleared, he realized he wasn’t actually alone. Joey, the deaf dog, was standing on the floor, looking up at him, wagging her stub of a tail. And a gray-striped cat sat on the bed grooming her fur. It stared at him.
A cat? And a dog? And a rude bird? If he hadn’t come home, Jill would have converted the old Victorian into an animal shelter. It was his fault, too. Those vulnerable creatures filled a void in Jill’s soft heart. She needed to serve.
Jill padded into the room. The light from the hall illuminated a slice of her curvy body from behind. “I thought I heard you stir.”
“What time is it?” he asked.
“After six. Poppy’s been asking for you ever since she got home from school. She’s coloring right now. But it’s been tough keeping everybody out.”
He chuckled. “Everybody out? It’s like a zoo in here. How many more of these animals did you adopt?”
“You’ve met them all. The Amazon parrot is Salty. His dirty mouth made him unadoptable. I felt so sorry for him I took him home. And then there’s Joey, of course. And last, but not least, is Serena, the haughty Domme of the household.”
The striped cat got up and stretched gracefully on three legs. She hopped off the bed, and left the room. The dog followed.
“Alone at last.” He laughed, yanking Jill onto the bed.
She snuggled into his chest. He stroked her hair. Even though her hair was short like a man’s, the rest of her was all woman.
“While I was up in North Dakota,” he said, “I started thinking about our future. I want to make sure Poppy can go to college when the time comes. And I have a plan.”
She lifted off his chest. “Are we going to sell the house?”
“No. Kind of. What would you think about turning this place into a Victorian B&B?”
“We’d take in guests?” she asked.
“Yes.”
“Wouldn’t the remodeling cost a lot of money?”
“I’ve saved up enough to start the remodel. We wouldn’t fix up the whole house right away. One room at a time. Between your sewing and my carpentry, we’d do it right.”
“Oh, Tern, I love your idea. This house has been begging for our attention. We
can use all that antique furniture stored up in the attic. I can plant a cottage garden.”
“B&Bs have names,” he said. “What should we call it?”
“How about ‘The Cornerstone’? This house has always been our port, our solid foundation.”
“It’s a perfect name for a B&B. But I’d better get dressed so I can say hello to Poppy.” When Jill didn’t move, melting back into his chest, he gave her ass a satisfying thwack. She jumped up, laughing.
He threw on his clothes.
Poppy was waiting for him at the foot of the stairs. “You sleep too long,” she cried, her dark eyes snapping. “I’ve been waiting and waiting for you to wake up!”
“You have?” He ran down the stairs and grabbed her, lifting her high in the air. She shrieked with joy. He put her down and ruffled her dark hair. “You’re ten times taller than the last time I saw you, muffin.”
She gave him a proud smile. “I’m six now! I had a birthday party!”
“Six, huh? It just so happens I have a present for you. All the way from North Dakota.” He dug around his duffle. He found the little Indian doll he hoped looked like Dora the Explorer. Poppy grabbed the doll, and cradled it to her chest.
A strange chill ghosted through him. A premonition? Exhaustion? Guilt for being away? Whatever it was, it was gone in a few heartbeats. There was no cause for anxiety. He was certain Poppy’s adoption would be successful. She would be their daughter soon.
“I love her!” Poppy cried. “I’m going to name her Dakota ’cause she’s from North Dakota!”
They ate a late dinner. Poppy talked nonstop about her friends and frenemies, the mean gym teacher and the goddess-like science teacher, the trophy she got for Math Olympiad and how she almost made a goal in soccer, and on and on…Jill listened raptly, a dreamy smile on her face.
He’d missed Poppy’s chatter and drama more than he could ever say.
