by Lexi Blake
Shit. Well, she’d wanted her Dom back. It looked like he was in the house and he was pissed. Honesty was called for. “I wanted to get your attention.”
“Consider my attention wholly focused on you.”
She’d forgotten how intimidating he could be. He hadn’t used that dark chocolate voice of his on her in forever. He hadn’t stared at her with pure dominance on his face since he’d discovered she was pregnant. She had to take a deep breath, and not simply because she was nervous. Her pussy had tightened the minute he looked at her. This wasn’t simply her husband. This was her Dom, and she wanted him.
With shaking hands she pushed at the straps of her gown. “I love you.”
“You have an odd way of showing it.” He wasn’t giving an inch, and she couldn’t tell a thing from his eyes except that he was angry.
“You didn’t leave me a choice. If I didn’t make a stand now, how long would it take? It could be another three or four weeks before I have this baby. Sometimes first babies are late. And then it’s six weeks after that before I can have sex. I don’t want to wait another two or three months to be with my husband.”
“And rather than asking me to make love to you, you chose to take away my control.”
God, how did he manage to put things in the worst possible light. Her gown slipped down, her breasts on display now, but Stef kept his eyes on her face. She felt her skin flush with embarrassment, but she wasn’t giving up yet. She couldn’t.
She reached out and touched his leg, running her hand up the powerful muscles there. “I wanted to play. We haven’t played in so very long. I don’t know how much time we’ll have once the baby is born. I don’t want to lose this part of our lives.”
His face was like granite. “You lost it the moment you chose to put me in this position. What is in our contract, wife?”
“This is about more than a contract.” Her voice was shaky because she was losing him.
His words came out clipped and sharp. “You said you wanted to play. Our play is defined by that contract, or are we going to throw everything away because you’ve decided you want something? Is that how this works now? Our contract is meaningless because Jennifer Talbot isn’t getting what she thinks she deserves? That gives you the right to humiliate your Dom?”
“You tied me up before. I didn’t feel humiliated.”
“I asked you. Everything was consensual. Putting me in this position is not consensual. Having my friends go after me was not consensual.”
Tears blurred her eyes. She hadn’t meant to humiliate him. She’d meant to show him how much she wanted him. She’d meant to show him that she would fight for them.
But he didn’t want her. She pulled the straps of her gown up and reached for her robe. She would cover herself properly. He didn’t like her body now. She knew she should be angry, but the dull ache that filled her crowded out everything else.
“I’ll have you out in a second.” She pulled on the ties Rye had made, tugging until his feet were free. She moved to his hands, and he was out of the bonds in moments.
She wouldn’t look at him, couldn’t. She simply got up and found his robe. She laid it out on the bed. “I’m going to get dressed. Rachel and Callie have been handling the party for me. I think I’m going to go to my room. I’m very tired.”
She would wait until she made it to her room and then she would cry. She would wail. She would mourn because he didn’t want her anymore and he might not again. She could try to get her body back, but it couldn’t be the same. In a few weeks, she would be a mom and nothing could change that. She wouldn’t be Stef’s hot sub ever again.
And maybe then it would only be a matter of time before he started looking around, before he started wondering what he’d given up to marry her. He was rich and gorgeous and could have any woman he wanted.
How long would she be able to keep him? How long would she even want to keep a man who didn’t want her?
She took a deep breath. All that mattered now was getting out of this with as much dignity as she could muster. “I apologize, Stef. I thought I was being cute and spontaneous. I won’t do anything like this again. I’m going to the bathroom to get dressed. Please don’t blame Max and Rye. I asked them to help me.”
“Oh, I have plans for all of them, pet.” He was on his feet now, but he didn’t bother with the robe. “It might take years, but I’ll have my revenge. I’ll be creative, and this town will never forget what I do to those four men. I’m thinking of running Max up the town flagpole suspended only by his boxers. I won’t let him down until he cries a little. And Caleb Burke is going to get a dose of his own fucking medicine. I’m going to roofie the bastard and maybe get a tramp stamp of a butterfly tattooed above his ass. Yeah, we’ll see how he fucking likes that.”
“Stef, you can’t do that.”
“I don’t see why not.” His eyes rolled slightly. “It’s not like it would be permanent. Not that I would tell Caleb that. I have to figure out what to do to the big guy. I bet Alexei’s nasty with the revenge thing. I’ll think about it. Why are you dressed?”
She was confused. And her heart was still aching. “This was a stupid idea. I told you I’m sorry. You can’t run around plotting revenge.”
“Oh, I’ll have it. You see, I realized something in those moments right before the tranquilizer took effect. I’ve been going about this all wrong. I’ve been thinking I needed to figure out how to be a proper father to the boy. I’ve been thinking I needed to change everything about myself so I can teach our son. But our son is going to live here. So the first lesson he’s going to need to learn is how to beat the shit out of Max Harper’s kid because that rat bastard is going to have a son one of these days and I’ll be damned if our Logan doesn’t know how to handle him. They’ll be best friends. It’s important they understand how to fight. Now, I am only going to ask one more time, why is my submissive wearing clothing in our playroom?”
She sniffled and stood her ground. “You made yourself plain. I said I was sorry.”
“And now you’ll accept your punishment.” He looked down. “Oh, thank god. I thought for a minute the damn drugs were going to make this difficult. That’s a plan. I’ll sneak some Viagra into Doc and Alexei’s coffee right after I’ve made sure Holly is totally unavailable to them.”
His cock was working again, thrusting up from his nest of perfectly trimmed dark hair. “Stef?”
“I’m going to be gentle because of our child, but you should understand that you’ll take the spanking I’m about to give you. And you’ll take the fucking that’s going to come afterward, and as soon as Doc clears you for sex after the baby is born, I’m going to strap you to the St. Andrew’s Cross and you won’t come off of it until I’m satisfied. You will never, never wrest control from your Dom again. Are we understood, Jennifer?”
She couldn’t help it. Tears were still right there, leaking from her eyes. “I don’t understand anything.”
He softened, making his way across the room toward her. He stopped in front of her, his hand coming up to cup her cheek. “You’ve been heard, love. I’m sorry, too.”
“I don’t want your pity.”
His eyes hardened. “No, but you obviously want the flat of my hand on your ass. We’re going to talk this out, but we’re going to do it my way.”
He could be deeply unfair. “I’ve tried to talk to you.”
“And it didn’t work. So we’ll do it my way. Off with the clothes. Find a comfortable position, but I want your ass in the air. You wanted your Dom back, you have him. But you know what happens when you wake sleeping bears, love.”
She shuddered a little. People who woke sleeping bears tended to get eaten.
And it had been so long since he’d made a meal of her.
She pushed the robe off her shoulders.
“Show me what you’re offering. Show me how beautiful you are.” He stared down at her, a hungry look in his eyes.
And for the first time in forever, she f
elt beautiful again.
* * * *
When his wife decided to get his attention, she went all out. It made a man puff up.
Thank god he was hard. He’d woken up, seen his wife sitting there in that gossamer gown that barely contained her breasts, and he’d gotten nothing, very likely because he was still processing whatever the fuck Caleb had dosed him with.
The minute he’d seen Jennifer’s face, he’d known what a coward he’d been and that he had to get his marriage back on the proper footing. And that included his dick.
Which was working fine again. Not that he wouldn’t get his revenge on his asshole friends anyway. It was going to be a long-term labor of love.
Jennifer blushed slightly as she began to move the straps off her shoulders.
“I’m not getting any younger, love.” Now that he was here, he had to wonder why he’d been so stubborn. He craved her, and he’d been away for far too long.
“They’re so big.”
“Because they’re getting ready to feed our child.” He’d been an ass. She’d needed him and he’d retreated because of fear. She’d needed to know how beautiful she was and all he’d told her was that she was fragile. “Let me see them. I love your breasts. I love them when they’re small and fit perfectly into my hands, and I’m going to love them now that they’re ripe and overflowing.”
Her breath caught. “Will you like them when I take my bra off and milk shoots across the room? Because Rachel told me that can happen.”
Oh, she made him smile. “Yes, love. I will adore them.”
She tugged the straps down just enough to tease him with the sight of the tops of her breasts.
Yes, his cock was working fine. It was twitching now. How much discipline did she need? Because all he could think about was the fact that he was letting himself off the leash and he couldn’t wait to get inside her.
He was impatient. God, it felt good to be impatient. It felt good to want something and know he could take it.
He reached out and let his fingers glide from her cheek to her neck to the round globes of her breasts. They were so much bigger, the ivory of her skin marked with blue veins. He traced them, reveling in the changes of her body.
“I was very scared, love. When you passed out and you were bleeding, my world shifted, and I haven’t quite come back from it yet.”
Her hand reached out to touch his cheek. “It happens to a lot of pregnant women.”
“All that matters is it happened to you.” He cupped her breast gently. “Are they sore?”
She shook her head, her eyes closing in pleasure. “No. It feels so good.”
It felt good to be connected. He knew what she was saying because he felt it, too. He ran a thumb across her nipple, tweaking it lightly. This was different than rubbing her feet. He did that for her pleasure. This was mutual. This was connection. This was what they had both been missing for months.
And he’d missed talking to her. Jennifer knew him better than anyone. Jennifer had been the one to teach him it was all right to talk to her. “I had nightmares about you bleeding.”
Her hand came over his. “Babe, I didn’t know.”
“I didn’t tell you. I didn’t want you to know because in those dreams I wasn’t worried about our son. All I cared about was you. I don’t want you to think I don’t care about him. He isn’t real to me yet.”
Her face softened, those innocent eyes catching his. “Of course not. It’s all right. He doesn’t kick you in the ribs twelve times a day. He’ll be real to you soon enough. I’m not worried about your fathering skills.”
“I am.” He didn’t feel like a Dom in that moment. He felt like a man who was about to have a baby, and he had no idea what would happen.
Jennifer wrapped her arms around him, drawing him close. He had no idea how she always managed it, but she made him feel safe. She made him feel loved. When he was wrapped in her arms, he was home. “You are going to be the best dad in the world, Stefan Talbot. You’re going to teach our boy everything you know, including how to take down the Harpers. You have everything you need to be a great dad.”
Yes. He did. Because he had her. He held on, doing what he’d needed to do every day since she’d fallen over in his arms and he’d carried her to Caleb. He held her, praying he never had to let go.
He wound his hands in her hair. It had thickened during her pregnancy. When he looked at his wife now, he could see how she’d bloomed. How could he have allowed one bad moment to ruin watching her glow and grow?
“God, you’re gorgeous.” He caught her mouth against his.
Stef ate along her lips, reveling in her touch and scent. He kissed her sweetly for a moment, but that was never enough for him. He plunged his tongue inside, dominating hers as he pulled her close.
Her belly was in the way, but he didn’t avoid it now. Now he kissed her and let his hand rest there. He felt the baby kick, a strong motion against his hand.
Stef stopped, looking down in wonder. “Take it off. I want to watch.”
Jen frowned at him, but her hands were already going to the stretchy waist of her gown. “Fine, but I’m serious about sex. This better not devolve into you spending hours watching my belly jump.”
Oh, she was asking for it. He twisted slightly and was able to get a nice hard smack across her ass. Jennifer jumped, but the gasp that came out of her mouth was breathy and her nipples had perked up.
His sub had missed her Master.
He laid a quick ten gentle smacks across her ass. No matter how hard she pushed him, she wasn’t going to get what she wanted. He would make her skin sting, but it would be nothing she would feel tomorrow. Despite Caleb’s permission, he was going to be gentle with her. Well, as gentle as a spanking could be.
“God, I missed that.”
“I missed smacking your ass, too.” He ran a hand across the globes of her ass. Like the rest of her, she’d gained a little weight there. Stef loved how she’d rounded out, how luscious she was. He’d fallen for her slender frame, but he had to admit, he also loved her like this.
He simply loved her. She was the world to him.
“He’s kicking again.” Jennifer reached out and brought his hand to the swell of her stomach.
His son, the child he’d made with Jennifer, moved against his palm, something small and round. A foot or an elbow.
God, there was a baby in there, and it was a combination of him and his wife.
“Stef, it’s going to be okay.”
“I’m terrified. How can I be terrified of my own child?”
“Because you’ve seen the kids around here, babe. They’re pretty intense.” She was grinning at him.
He got to his knees and placed a kiss on her belly. They would get through it. And he wasn’t about to let Caleb shut him out of the delivery room. No matter what. He would be there for his wife.
And his kid.
But for now he would concentrate on her.
He took hold of her hand and moved them back to the bed. He adjusted the pillows so she would be comfortable. “Lay back.”
He kissed her as he helped her to the bed, settling her back so she was elevated, but he could get to that part of her he longed to taste.
“Spread your legs, love.”
“I thought you were punishing me.”
“That happens later. After the baby is born and you’re completely healthy again, I intend to take it out on your backside. That sting I gave you is nothing compared to what I intend for you in a few months. And you should enjoy all the orgasms I give you now because you’re going to have a long dry spell.”
It was a fairly empty threat. Oh, he would spank the hell out of her. He would whip that gorgeous ass, but he struggled with denying her pleasure.
Giving her pleasure was his job.
He pulled her ankles apart and settled himself between her legs. Silky skin surrounded him. The smell of her arousal made his cock tighten.
He rubbed his nose right in her labia,
loving the way her thighs tightened around him.
She was his favorite dessert. He licked her in long, loving passes, gathering the honey of her core on his tongue. He sucked and licked, laving every inch of her pussy with affection. He pulled her labia apart and fucked her with his tongue, moving into her channel with a singular purpose. Over and over he surged into her, feeling her body starting to shiver and shake. Hot moans came out of her body.
“Please, Stef. Please.”
She was pleasing Stef. Every gasp and plea loosened something deep inside him. Keeping her at arm’s length had hurt them both. He needed her close. He needed every moment he had with her.
He found her clit and sucked it into his mouth, using his tongue to send her flying.
Jennifer shouted out as she came all over his tongue.
He flipped onto his back, the soft comforter against his skin. But he didn’t want the silk of the bed covering him. He wanted his wife. “Come on, baby. Ride me.”
He stroked his cock as she moved into position, straddling him carefully. Her belly was so round, her breasts ripe, her skin glowing. She was so fucking beautiful and she was his.
Forever.
They could have a baby and he would love her. They could go through life’s ups and downs and he would love her. The whole world could change and only one thing would remain steady—he would love her. He would love her until the day he died and long after.
“Forgive me.”
She shook her head, but he could see how emotional she was. “There’s nothing to forgive. You got scared. You came back to me.”
He couldn’t help but smile. “I was drugged and dragged back.”
“And I’ll do it again, Stef, because you’re mine. You belong to me. You said I belonged to you, well, it works both ways.”
He let his hands find her hips, his cock already pressed to her pussy. “I belong to you heart and soul, love. Always.”
