“How’d that go?” Boone asks with a sly grin.
“Very well, thanks. We’re hoping to add another stick figure to the back of our minivan, so the more throw-down time we get, the better.”
“No shit! That’s awesome!” Boone reaches out and they fist bump. “Hope it doesn’t take long.”
“Hell, I’m hoping it happened this weekend. A lasting reminder of meeting your girl here.” Brock’s beaming at me and I know I’m blushing, but he’s just so damn sweet.
I interrupt them. “What’s the plan for the rest of the day?”
Boone shrugs. “I dunno. I guess … Wait. You’ve got to go to work this evening, don’t you?”
“Yeah.”
“Damn. I totally forgot. And I’m not going to ask you to take off. Did we have anything planned?”
Brock shakes his head. “Not that I’m aware of. Thought we might take all the kids to the zoo or something.”
Boone nods. “That would be good.” Then he turns to me. “Want to do that?”
“No. I mean, yes, but I don’t want to go and then you guys have to leave just for me to get back for work, so I’ll just go home. It’s okay. You should have fun.”
“It won’t be the same without you! Please, Melina, isn’t there some way?” Brock’s not kidding. He’s really sad about the idea that I can’t go.
“I don’t know what it would be. I haven’t been at that job long enough to ask off again. Just getting yesterday off was a stretch. My regular days off are Thursday and Friday, and I spent them with you guys, so that’ll have to be enough. I’m sorry.”
“I’m sorry too. The girls will be sad. They really want to spend time with you,” Brock says, and I believe him. Kara, Misti, and Gertie have been nothing but warm and welcoming to me. At no time have I felt like they didn’t like me or want me around.
“When are you guys leaving?”
“We have to go tomorrow. We took the kids out of school just to be here through today, so tomorrow is a travel day.”
“Blake too?”
Boone nods. “Yeah. They’re going in the morning. So when we leave for the zoo, that’ll be the last time they see you until the next time we’re all together.”
Now I get the distinct impression they’re upset with me. “I’m really sorry. Really. I’d rather go to the zoo. But I have to work, and this is a day that’s particularly bad because no one else wants to work on Sunday night, so I’m low man on the totem pole and somebody needed to, and I volunteered because the other employees have kids they’re getting ready for school on Monday morning, and―”
“Melina!” Boone gives me a look that says I should stop my rambling. “We get it. It’s okay. Nobody’s upset with you. We’re just upset that you won’t be with us, that’s all. Maybe someday soon you won’t have to work and you can do whatever you please.” I know what he’s talking about, and I’m not sure about that. I like having my own money and not being dependent on anybody, and I’m pretty sure that’s not going to fly when we get married.
Get married. I’m getting married. Holy hell. Melina Roberts is getting married! That’s pretty amazing right there. I’ve still got to call Dave and Brian and tell them. Won’t they be surprised?
“Melina?” My head snaps up and I stare at Boone. “Where’d you go, honey? You just zoned out on me.”
“I was just thinking about some stuff I need to do. So when are you guys going?”
“Soon as we can, I would think. It’s seven thirty now. Ten?” Boone says and looks to Brock.
“Yeah. That sounds good.”
“So you’ll be doing lunch there.” That makes me even sadder. “I should just go upstairs and get my stuff together then. I’ll go on home and―”
“You don’t have to, baby. You can stay here,” Boone offers.
“I’ve got laundry and―”
“Millie can do your laundry. She won’t mind.”
“No, that’s not fair to her. I can do my own. I’ll just go do laundry, get some reading done, maybe do a little painting. It’ll be fine.”
Boone’s face is sad. “Will you come back tonight after work?”
“I shouldn’t. Everybody’s going to have to get up early tomorrow morning to leave, and I have to be at work too. Me coming back would just wake everybody up.” I turn to go, coffee cup in hand.
“Melina?” I stop to Boone’s hand on my shoulder and I turn to face him. “Baby, I really want you in my arms tonight. After last night, I―”
“It’s fine, babe. Really. We’re good. I’m going up to take a shower.” With a light peck on the lips, I leave him standing there and make my way upstairs.
When I’m all done and my dirty clothes packed up, I wander downstairs to find them all scurrying around. Everybody’s in showers all over the house. I think the only one who isn’t is Boone. “Hey,” he says as soon as he sees me, and when he slips his arms around my waist, I don’t want to leave. “Can’t you wait and say goodbye?”
“Sure. I want to.”
“Come sit down with me for a minute.” It’s not a request; it’s an order, and I take it as such. When we’re on the sofa, he turns sideways, one leg bent and up on it so he can fully face me. “I hope I wasn’t too hard on you last night. You’re not running from me, are you?”
“God, no! I’m used to being used like that.” He starts to say something, but I hold up a hand. “Look, I get it. You were in a funk all day yesterday after Marie had her little fit. You needed to blow off some steam. That’s what I’m here for, honey, to let you do that safely instead of blowing up some other way.”
He reaches over and his hands envelope mine. “I love you, Melina. You understand me better than I understand myself sometimes. I’m really excited that we’re going to get to start a new chapter of our lives together. And now that Baker knows you and Marie knows, we can spend more time together as a threesome. I want you to be an important person in his life.”
“Yeah. The ex porn queen,” I mumble before I catch myself.
The look that flashes in his hazel eyes tells me I shouldn’t have said that out loud. “What have I told you about that?”
“Not to run myself down.”
“Exactly. You never got a chance before, but I think you’d make a great mom.” This time it’s him who stops me from talking. “I know, I know. Dad told me what you said about kids. I’m going to assume you never told me because it didn’t come up in conversation, and I know that has to be painful for you to talk about.” I want to scream, You have no idea. “I never asked you, and you never said. And that’s okay. Yeah, I might like to have another child, and I’d love for that to happen with you, but it’s not a deal breaker. I love you because of you, not for what you can give me, and that’s in the bedroom and out, Melina. Not kidding.”
Dear god, I just put my makeup on and he’s determined to make me cry it off. “I wasn’t withholding that info from you, I swear. It just never occurred to me that you might want another kid. I mean, with Baker so sick and everything, I just figured you’d always want to concentrate on him.”
“And I see why you would think that. Of course I want to concentrate on him. Matter of fact, that’s why I never pressed Marie for another kid. I was afraid another child would distract me from taking care of Baker properly, especially since she’s not that interested. The difference is that I know you’re going to help me. That’s new for me. Marie wasn’t very helpful.” He almost spits that last word. “You won’t be just my submissive or my wife. You’ll be my helper. We’ll be partners. I’ve never had that. And having a chronically ill child and no helper is hard, Melina. You have no idea.”
“No. I can’t even imagine. But yes, I will help. Like you’ll be able to work on Thursdays and Fridays because I’ll take him to dialysis. You won’t have to take off work.”
“See? That’s what I’m talking about. I need to be at the store, but he needs me more. If there were somebody …” I watch as his lower lids fill with tears, and
I’m shocked. “You get it, babe. You really do. And I can count on you. That means the world to me.”
“You can. You always can.” I hear doors opening and closing upstairs. “I should probably go.”
“No! Wait! Let them all say goodbye to you, okay? Please?” Damn it, he has these puppy dog eyes he can drag out whenever he wants, and it drives me crazy because I can’t say no to him.
Thirty minutes later, everyone’s in the den, hugging me and kissing me and telling me how much they’ll miss me.
From Kara, I get, “Thank you for being my new sister, Melina. I love you.”
“I’m so glad you’re one of us, Melina. Hope I get to see you again soon. Love you,” Misti tells me.
Brock is next. He hugs me tight and whispers in my ear, “You’re special to me, babe. I hope we all get together again soon. I’ll miss you. Love you, cupcake.”
Blake’s arms are strong and tight around me when he whispers, “I love you, Melina. You’re part of us now. Take good care of my brother and little Baker.”
“Thank you for agreeing to become one of my daughters, sweetheart. I love you and we’ll see you soon, okay?” Gertie says with a hug and a kiss on the cheek.
Last is Brannon. His big ol’ bear hug warms me head to toe. “You’re special to us, Melina. Our daughters-in-law and sons love you. We love you. Thank you for loving Boone. He loves you deeply and completely, and he’ll always take care of you as your Master and Dominant. And if he doesn’t, you just let me know and I’ll straighten his ass out!” he says with a chuckle.
The kids all tell me goodbye. The other four don’t know what to make of this because I’m new, but Baker runs straight to me. “Bye, Poopsie! I love you! When will you be back to see me?”
I look up at Boone from where I’ve squatted to hug Baker, and he smiles. “Tomorrow night. We’ll have dinner and I can read to you. Will you teach Doodle some cool stuff before I come back so we can play with him?”
“Yes! I’m going to teach him to burp. I think he can do that. I’ll see Honker Sparklepants tomorrow and I’ll tell him you said hello,” he assures me, then pats my face. “You’re so pretty, but Daddy says he doesn’t love you because you’re pretty. He loves you because you have a big heart.”
Okay. That’s going to break me if I don’t get out of here―now. “Thank you, baby. Take care of Daddy and I’ll see you tomorrow night.” I stand and look to Boone.
“Come on. I’ll walk you out.” When the door closes behind us, I feel a sense of relief. Telling all of them goodbye was one of the hardest things I’ve done in a long time. There’s silence between us and when we get to my car, he spins me and presses me back against it, his body hard against mine but his hand soft as he brushes a strand of hair out of my eyes. “I’m going to miss you, baby girl. You be careful going home and going to work and back tonight, okay?”
“I will. I promise. I love you, Boone. Anytime I’m not with you I’m missing you.” When his lips capture mine, I breathe into him and when I inhale, he breathes into me. God, he’s a good kisser, but I pull back. “I need to go. You need to go spend time with your family.”
He frowns. “Our family.”
I hope he can see the love I have for all of them in the smile I give him. “Our family.” I open my car door and bend to get in, but I stop and pivot to look at him one more time. “I love you, Master.”
“I love you too, Angel. I’ll text you when we get home from the zoo. Call when you leave work, please?”
“Will do. Bye, babe.” I’m almost sick from missing him as I drive out the little lane. I won’t see him until tomorrow night. But one look at that ring, and he’s right there with me.
Chapter Twelve
I’ve been at work for about twenty minutes when the door opens and a familiar face smiles in my direction. “Hi, Beatrice!”
“Hi, Mary!”
“What are you in the market for today?”
“Well …” She stops and grins. “I met this guy, and I’m going out with him tonight. And I need something really racy to wear, and maybe something to, I dunno, turn him on? Like maybe flavored lube or something?”
“I can fix you up.” Ever since that first day when I helped her, Beatrice comes back and we talk and laugh. “So when did this happen?”
“I met him online about a month ago, but we went out for the first time about two weeks ago.” She leans in and whispers, “I’m supposed to be at work, but I took a little time off. This is important, right?”
“Oh, yeah. Absolutely. So have you, um, done the deed?”
“Yeah. God, he’s good! I mean, I never liked sex before, but some of the things you’ve sold me and talked to me about, they’ve really opened my eyes. I’m having a good time with him. I’m still a little shy about asking for what I want or need, but I think that’ll eventually come.”
“It will. Just give it time. Okay, look at this. What do you think? We’ve got some stilettos over here that match it, and …” I go on showing her little lacy outfits, then help her with a starter pack of flavored lubes―cherry, pineapple, and coconut. When she’s finished paying, I say, “Have a good time tonight. Turn that guy on!”
“I will! Thanks, Mary! Have a good evening.”
It’s quiet after she leaves, but I always smile when I see her. She’s made my day brighter just with her warmth, and I don’t think she knows how much I appreciate that. My phone buzzes and I pull it out from under the counter to check it. There’s a picture, and I stare at it.
It’s the whole family. Everybody’s there, smiling at the camera, and then I notice something weird―Boone’s arm is crooked almost like someone had been there two seconds earlier and just vanished. Odd. I send him a text in return: Look at you guys! Beautiful faces. Wish I was there.
Tears spring to my eyes when he texts me back. Look closely. I saved a spot for you. We missed having you with us.
Wow. Thanks. You just made me cry. Then I tag a little heart emoji on the end.
You’re welcome. Call me later. XOXOX
I will. I promise. Love you.
Love you too, Angel. Talk to you later. Get to work!
That makes me laugh through my tears. Sometimes he’s silly, and that does my heart good.
The rest of the evening is boring as hell, so I take a gamble that nobody will be coming in and call Dave. “Hey, beautiful! What’s up?”
“Dave?”
“Yeah, babe?”
“Dave, I’m collared.”
“No shit! That’s awesome!”
“And I’m engaged.”
There’s silence before he says, almost reverently, “No shit?”
“No shit. At dinner with the entire family, no less. Isn’t that awesome?”
“Oh, god, babe, yes! That’s fantastic! Olivia! Come in here! Melina has something to tell you! Congratulations, honey! That’s so awesome. I’m so happy for you. Here’s Liv.”
I spend the next five minutes talking to her. She ends the conversation with, “We all need to get together. We’ll want to get to know Boone. Oh, and for the record, Brian says he’s a great guy.”
“Brian’s right. Oh! I’ve got to call him too. Love you, Olivia. Thanks for being my friend.”
“Honey, I love you too! We’ll see you soon, and text me a pic of that ring. I wanna see it!”
“Will do. Bye!”
In seconds, I’ve punched the other contact and a voice answers, “Hello?”
“Brian?”
“Yeah! What’s up, sweetie?”
“I’m collared.”
“No shit!” That seems to be a popular response. “When did this happen?”
“Last night. The whole family was there at the restaurant when he presented me with the collar. And guess what else?”
“Um, you’ll have to help me out here. I can’t imagine anything better than that.”
“We’re engaged!”
“Oh, Melina, I’m … God, girl, I’m so happy for you! That’s amazing!
Ring and everything?”
“Yep. Ring and everything. I’m so excited! Will you tell Cirilla for me?”
“No. You tell her yourself. Babe, here. Melina needs to talk to you.” I spend the next ten minutes talking to her. This is taking forever, and yet I’m glad they’re sharing in my happiness.
When we hang up, I call Trish, and I discover that Steffen and Sheila are there with her and Clint, so I get to talk to all of them.
After that call, there’s nobody else to call except … No. I can’t. But I feel like I have to. I pull out my phone, look up the number, and punch it, then let it ring. And it does. Over and over. Finally, a recording comes on. “We’re sorry, but the number you have dialed has been disconnected or is no longer in service.” Well, that’s official. I have no way to contact my family. That was my mother’s number and apparently she either changed it or got rid of it altogether.
Or she’s dead. Either way, no one would ever think to contact me. All they’ve ever thought about was themselves. I’m guessing if two of them get together, one of them says, “Hey, whatever happened to that little blond girl who used to be around here?”
And the other one says, “What little blond girl?”
Fuck ‘em. I don’t care. I have a family now.
We don’t have another customer for the rest of the night. We close at eleven, so I send Ingrid, the other girl who’s there with me, home at ten. It’s a little creepy, being there by myself. I don’t dare tell Boone. He’d be furious. As soon as I get into my car, I send him a text: In the car and rolling home.
Call me when you get there.
I walk through the door, kick off my shoes, pour a glass of wine, and strip as I walk toward the bedroom. When I get there, I slip on a long tee shirt that I wear to bed. I need to ask him for one that he’s worn so it’ll smell like him for when I’m not with him. Which I hope is never again. I want to be with him all the time.
As soon as I sit down with my glass, I send a text. Call me. My phone rings a split second later.
“Why didn’t you just call me?”
“Because I didn’t want your phone ringing and waking anybody up.”
Undeniably His: Bliss Series, Book Five Page 22
