There was no way he would ever say that aloud. He hugged her closer and kissed her forehead. “Maybe. You know, I have a neurologist friend who owes me a favor. Would you mind if I asked her to look over Summer’s charts? You’d have to sign a consent form.”
Her brow furrowed as she considered the idea. “If she’s not in the network, then insurance won’t cover it.”
“Don’t worry about it. Like I said, she owes me.”
Surprised gratitude mixed with a deeper and more infinite emotion, and she wiped the corner of her eye. “Yeah, sure. Thank you.”
“Malcolm and Darcy are inside waiting for us. The game starts in a couple hours, so we’d better get going.” He steered her toward the apartment.
“Oh. I didn’t know they were coming.”
“Is that a problem?”
“No, but now I feel bad for keeping three people waiting.”
He chuckled as he opened the door. He’d taken her propensity for lateness into account, and she’d come with a damn good reason to boot. If she’d been early, he would have been scrambling to get Jesse and Dean out without her noticing. “It’s okay. They were early.”
The drive from Ann Arbor to Detroit was uneventful until Autumn asked Malcolm if he’d found a job. In the rearview mirror, he watched Malcolm lie smoothly. “I’m freelancing, doing some consulting work with IT.”
David came to the rescue. “He’s working for SAFE Security. There’s a vast amount of data to analyze, and I’ve hired Malcolm to help.”
Autumn brightened. “Oh, good. I was thinking that was too much work for one person. Really you should have your whole team here, though I guess the rest of them are probably out working on other cases.”
More of his team was here than she knew. Frankie was the only one not in the state. She was working a delicate negotiation on a kidnapping where the client didn’t want law enforcement involved. He tangled his fingers with hers and held her hand for the rest of the ride.
He parked, and they walked to the entrance. Autumn’s pace slowed considerably as they approached the gates. He paused to let her take in the magnificence of the entrance. “It’s impressive.”
She panned the area, taking it all in. “That’s a very large tiger statue.”
Darcy tugged at Malcolm’s arm. “Let’s get our picture with it.” She thrust her camera at Autumn. “Will you take it?”
“Sure.” Autumn waited until they were positioned, and then she clicked several photos. Then she whirled, her hand shooting out to grab the wrist of a passerby. She twisted it, putting enough pressure near the base of the thumb to cause serious pain. The boy cried out, but she lacked mercy. She twisted harder. “You sincerely don’t want to do that. My boyfriend is a mercenary, and he’s not the forgiving type.”
David wasn’t sure what she was doing, but he knew he needed to intervene. Before he could say anything, the boy reached in his pocket and handed over a wallet—David’s wallet. Too wrapped up in Autumn, he’d let down his guard. He checked to make sure nothing was gone. “Thanks.”
Autumn eased the pressure on the boy’s wrist. “This isn’t the life you want. You should think about choosing another career.” She let go, and the boy disappeared into the crowd.
Malcolm and Darcy returned, and Autumn gave Darcy her phone back.
“What happened?” Malcolm asked.
“A pickpocket tried for my wallet, and Sugar caught him.”
A light blush stole up her cheeks, probably at his public use of the nickname. “Crowds make for easy targets. You have to watch out.”
Darcy looked impressed. “It’s a good thing you were watching. I’m not that observant.” She gestured toward the tiger statue. “Your turn.”
After handing his phone to Darcy, he slung his arm around Autumn’s waist and steered her toward the statue. “I’d love it if you didn’t call me a mercenary in public. It sends the wrong message.”
“Yeah, but ‘security specialist’ just makes you sound like a mall cop. Nothing against mall cops, but they’re not big, bad, and dangerous like you.”
She made a good point, but it had holes. “That boy didn’t think I looked dangerous.”
“He was only paying attention to where you carry your wallet and whether you were distracted. Because you usually wear suits, you weren’t used to paying attention to your ass. But I am. You have a nice ass, easy on the eyes.” The posed for their picture. “If you want to put your wallet in my bag, you can. Notice that I carry it in front and above my hip. Also, it has a zipper under the floppy top.”
Darcy showed the pictures to Autumn, before sharing them with him. “You two make an adorable couple. I like this one, where he’s looking at you with the most awestruck expression. That’s a keeper.”
He showed Darcy and Malcolm how to get to the box, and then he walked Autumn around the park, showing her the history featured on the concourse. He talked a lot, opening up about his love of the sport and his childhood memories of Tiger Stadium, and she listened with rapt fascination.
“What about you?” He’d been selfish, and he finally turned the conversation to her.
“Me? I think you were closer to your dad growing up than you remember. He can’t be that bad of a guy if he kept season tickets to a sport he didn’t seem to love just because you did.” She gestured toward their seats. “He got these tickets for you because he wants back in. He’s trying, David. He’s doing the best he can. You should meet him halfway.”
David shrugged. He’d been friendly to his father so far. “I don’t think we’ll ever be close.”
“Not if you don’t try. My dad and I didn’t see eye-to-eye on everything, but I loved him for who he was. Now that he’s gone, I have many wonderful memories to comfort me when the hard days come around, like his birthday or the anniversary of his death. You’ll always regret not trying.” She slipped her arms around his neck. “One of the best decisions I ever made was to give you a chance. I like you, Sir. A lot.”
“I like you too.” He didn’t care if they were standing in the middle of the concourse. He kissed his sub.
The game was enjoyable. By the seventh inning stretch, the Tigers were up by 3 over the Royals. Having a luxurious box meant they had a nice place to escape the heat. He and Malcolm went inside to order snacks, but Autumn and Darcy stayed outside. They’d chatted throughout the game, talking about anything and everything. He noticed that Autumn often steered the conversation so that Darcy shared the majority of the anecdotes. Now they stood on the other side of the glass, laughing and chatting.
“I wonder what they’re talking about.” He held a beer loosely between two fingers.
“It’s best we don’t know.” Malcolm snagged two bottles of water from the refrigerator. “Darcy’s doing a great job of drawing Autumn out, but she’s still not saying much. It’s almost like she doesn’t have similar stories to share.”
David turned away from the window. He moved to stand on the other side of the bar from Malcolm. “That’s an interesting idea.”
“Well, even if she went by a different name, she should have I-knew-someone-who or one-time-I stories. When Darcy talked about being a mom or having a mom, Autumn listened, but she didn’t relate. When Darcy mentioned her experiences as a sub, the closest Autumn came was talking about being a pro Domme. Though she’s aware of them, she doesn’t have an opinion on political or social issues.” Malcolm twisted the lid from one water bottle and took a long drink. The temperature outside was approaching the mid-eighties.
David looked out the window, noting that Autumn’s smile was genuine. “It’s like she’s lived her whole life watching other people living theirs.”
“Either she’s looking to finally have those experiences for herself,” Malcolm paused, weighing what to say next. It didn’t take him long to arrive at a conclusion. “Or she’s a sociopath who hasn’t quite figured out how to blend in.”
David shook his head. “She’s not a sociopath. She feels things quite deeply.�
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Malcolm took the other water out to Darcy. She smiled brilliantly, her entire being lighting up just from being near her Master. They exchanged a few words, and then Malcolm came back inside.
“They’re talking about floggers. Autumn said, quite regretfully, that you hadn’t tried to flog her yet.” Mal plopped onto the plush armchair. “Subspace has helped Darcy process a lot of the pain from her past.”
David sat on the matching sofa. “We haven’t had time. Her evenings are pretty full. She visits her sister every day after work. I was planning to scene with her tonight.”
Just then, the women came inside. Autumn knelt at his feet, and Darcy knelt in front of Malcolm. He had the feeling they’d been colluding. He and Malcolm exchanged a puzzled glance.
David studied Autumn, looking for clues in her perfect posture and lowered gaze. Other than the impish gleam in her emerald eyes, he saw nothing. Of course, the gleam was enough to worry him. “What’s up, Sugar?”
“Sir, I would like to give you a blowjob.” She spoke so that her voice carried only to him.
His mind short-circuited for a second. He envisioned kicking Malcolm and Darcy out and letting her have her way. The window was tinted dark enough so that nobody would see them. His dick voted in favor of any scenario that would get him off. He exchanged another glance with Malcolm, and he realized that Darcy had made the same request.
He regarded Autumn suspiciously. “Is this a competition?”
“Yes. Darcy and I have made a friendly wager.” She knelt up and crawled forward until she was between his knees. She ran her palms up his thighs. “If you’re game?”
Across the box, Malcolm groaned. “I don’t want to know what the bet is, and I don’t care if you lose. I never turn down head.”
David nodded. “I’m game, Sugar.”
As if some silent starting gun had gone off, she tackled his fly with amazing dexterity. He lifted his butt to help her scoot his shorts out of the way. She wrapped her hand around his base and licked his growing length. Really, she only had to look at his cock and it felt the need to salute. She lifted his balls in her other hand, and he hissed when she sucked one into her mouth.
“Fuck, Sugar. That feels good.”
She had a gentle touch, and the wondrous sensations she generated made him rock hard. She took her time, licking, sucking, and stroking in ways that made him moan and groan. This definitely wasn’t a speed contest. She swirled her tongue around his sensitive crown, licking away the pearly drop at the tip before taking him in her mouth. She didn’t deep-throat him, which was fine because her hands never stopped moving. He gathered her hair in one hand and held it out of the way so he could see her face.
She bobbed up and down, an expression of submissive bliss softening her features. The competition had dropped away, and she sought to please him with her service. For David, there was no more powerful aphrodisiac. He lost himself in the pleasure she offered, and he came with a gasp and moan that was a lot louder than he’d anticipated. She sucked as he climaxed, swallowing his seed. His eyes rolled to the back of his head, and he let his head flop back. She fixed his clothes as best she could and laid her head on his thigh.
When his muscles started obeying the signals from his brain again, he stroked her cheek. “Thank you, Sugar.”
“My pleasure, Sir.” She glowed at his praise. “I think we won.”
“What was the contest?”
“Who could make their Sir shout the loudest. Malcolm was fairly quiet.”
A glance over showed Malcolm in a near catatonic state, while Darcy waited with her head on his thigh. His hand was still tangled in her hair, but he wasn’t moving. David chuckled. “If this is the mischief you two are going to cause, we’re going to have to hang around them more often.”
Autumn smiled softly. “I’m okay with that, Sir. As long as I get to be with you, everything else is just a bonus.”
Chapter Eleven
Autumn floated on a cloud of happiness that David towed in his wake. Even the game was exciting—the anticipation of waiting to see who would strike out and who would get a hit proved to be much more engrossing than her father had predicted. They cheered for the home team, though David seemed equally upset when the Royals fell behind.
Darcy was wonderful. As great as it had been yesterday to take steps to befriend the people at work, this was even more so. In Darcy, Autumn felt like she’d made a true friend. They had so much in common, being sassy submissives who were devoted to their Doms, that the connection seemed instant. Of course, after spending the afternoon with Darcy, Autumn wasn’t sure she had much more than an interest in the D/s lifestyle in common with her. But they liked one another, and she found Darcy both genuine and fun. They’d discussed the play party, and Autumn had complimented Darcy on how the games were fun icebreakers, and Darcy had shared the game ideas that hadn’t made the cut.
That had led to the blowjob contest. David was not a quiet lover, so even though she’d never given him a complete blowjob, she was confident that she could get him to make some noise.
What she hadn’t counted on was the way doing that had affected her. Giving him pleasure had made her soul sing. She’d never felt closer to another human being, not even Summer. Bowing for him when she’d emerged from the elevator and kneeling before him in the suite had touched her deeply. She’d given herself to him, and it was for real. Doing so gave her a sense of peace and purpose. If she was a black and white drawing, belonging to David had splashed color all over the place, transforming it into something wholly different.
They parted ways at the apartment, and Darcy gave her a tight hug that lasted for a long time. “When this is all over, you’re going to have to come for a girls’ night in.”
Autumn had no idea what she meant, but she responded to the sentiment. “That sounds lovely.”
As soon as the door closed, David lifted her up and spun her around. She laughed at his exuberance, and he kept going, not setting her down until they both fell on the sofa. They sat very close together. His arm draped around her shoulders, and her leg rested on top of his. He kissed her, a hard, brief press of the lips.
“Now that you’ve been to a game, what do you think?”
She snuggled into his hold. “It was a lot of fun. I liked Darcy and Malcolm. And you’re in a very good mood. Did you have fun?”
“More than I thought I would.” He situated her legs so they both draped across his lap. “So, was that your first sporting event?”
“Like I said, my dad wasn’t into sports.” He’d been into the events, though, because they usually made a good haul from picking pockets. Summer and Autumn, especially, were good at taking people unaware. Nobody expected two cute and innocent little girls to snag their wallet. Her enjoyment dimmed for a moment. Picking pockets hadn’t been something Autumn had wanted to do, but it had made her dad happy, so she hadn’t questioned it.
David stroked a thumb along her throat, jolting from the memory. “What about your mom?”
Autumn shrugged. “I never knew her. She died when I was little. Summer barely remembers her, and Dad always changed the subject if we asked about her, so we stopped asking. It sounds bad, but she was a stranger, an abstract idea, and so it didn’t matter to us if we knew anything about her.”
“Would you want to go to more games?”
Glancing at his crotch, she said, “You don’t have to take me to a baseball game to get a blowjob. You’re my Sir. Just tell me what you want. I love making you happy.”
“That’s not what I meant, but it’s good to know you’re comfortable submitting to me.” His hands moved over her skin wherever her clothes didn’t cover it. “I wondered if you had an interest in other sports, like maybe you played soccer in school, and you’d like to see a game?”
“Oh, we didn’t go to school, and Summer and I didn’t play sports.”
His roaming hand stuttered. “You didn’t go to school? Were you homeschooled?”
Hours
of lounging around, reading anything and everything, had been punctuated with lessons in safecracking, pickpocketing, blending into a crowd, evading authorities, and whatever else her father had thought relevant. Their book collection had been a combination of garage sale finds and library castoffs. Summer had taught Autumn how to sneak into school buildings and steal textbooks. In that way, they’d learned math and science, and they’d been exposed to literature and social studies. Their curriculum consisted of whatever they could find to learn.
“Sugar?”
Blushing, she realized that her mind had wandered again. “Yeah. Homeschooled. Dad didn’t trust anything the government had their hands on. He said that schools churned out robots, not people.”
“Did you have friends?”
This conversation was taking a turn for the worse. She didn’t want to think about the things she’d missed out on. Her family had been close-knit, and they’d loved one another unconditionally. “We moved around a lot. What about you? Did you play sports other than baseball?”
“Yes. I wrestled and ran cross country in middle school, and I did football and baseball in high school.” He stroked her thighs and calves. “But you’re changing the subject. We were talking about you.”
“Really? Because I thought we were talking about blowjobs and how they do or don’t relate to baseball. Baseball, you know, has some very useful terms.” She placed his palm on her breasts. “Look how easily you made it to second base.”
“You’re mistaken.” He slipped his hand under her shirt and folded the cup of her bra aside. “This is second base.”
Just having his hand on her with nothing between them made her nipple pebble. She inhaled a shaky breath. “I like second base. But we did skip first base.”
He closed his lips over hers, kissing her thoroughly and consuming her thoughts. She barely noticed how he slid her body down so that he was laying on top of her. She caressed his back and sides, ending with her fingers buried in his thick, blond hair. He teased her nipple and kneaded the globe. When he finally released her lips, she panted heavily. “I like first base, especially when you’re stealing second at the same time.”
Re/Leased (Doms of the FBI Book 5) Page 15
