“I think we may need to add some men. At least some independent contractors until we get our regulars back full time.”
“I agree. It’s either that or we scale back all operations.” Tony rubbed his face in frustration. “I’ve got two assigned full time in the L.A. area and we’re going to have to discuss delaying the opening of a new office there. It’s a shame because the income potential is huge. I’ve been turning away cases daily.”
“You got someone in mind to head up that operation? “
“I thought T might be interested, but he said he’d only take it on temporarily. He doesn’t want to leave the area. I’d hate to lose him, anyway. I’ll talk to Kurt and Jonas but I doubt either of them would want to leave. Kurt just relocated his family and Jonas is about ready to open his mixed martial arts studio. I’ll talk to the General and see if he has any good candidates for that office and about some independent contractors.”
The General was the commanding officer they had all served under. Now he was a ROAD warrior, which meant he was retired on active duty and was still called upon when the Army needed him. He was currently overseeing the special ops and private contractors that were involved in the cartel investigation. He was also a silent partner in The Club and had been since the opening almost two years ago. At the time, it wouldn’t have been politically correct for a two star active duty general to be an owner of a BDSM club. So, Master Peter was an anonymous investor but still a co-owner like Tony’s men.
“I guess we need to bring the General up to speed on these threats. With the move to San Antonio since his retirement, he’s been seen around The Club a lot more lately, and he and Joanna and the grandkids might be on this bastard’s radar as well.” Rick shook his head in frustration. “Damn, I hate this.”
“Me too, buddy. I’ve been dealing with this shit for several months now and it doesn’t make for a good night’s sleep.” Tony paced back and forth, unusually agitated. “I was planning to be on site next week to get that L.A. office up and running. The timing is bad for me to be out of town for any length of time. I don’t want to leave Meg with these threats hanging out there but the two men in L.A. are not comfortable with the business side of things. I’ve been trying to handle it long distance, but that really isn’t working out too well.”
“I bet T can get things started until we can find someone permanent.”
“I’ll talk to him about it. It wouldn’t be more than a six month assignment I think, but that leaves us without our best man on the girls.”
“Yeah, but T sounds like the best man for L.A. With all the personal security we are subsidizing through the firm, we need to add some extra revenue, quickly.” Rick gave his friend a meaningful look. Implementing 24/7 security on their subs alone would be a major hit to their bottom line but if they had to extend it to family they couldn’t sustain it for long. “Maybe it’s time to involve the SAPD or the FBI. I can make a call to the girl’s cousin on the force.”
“I’m not sure how much they’ll be able to offer with just some email threats right now but it’s worth a try.”
“It’s a damn shame too, things were going so well with operations which was good for our bottom line, now we have this shit to deal with. Eric is not going to be happy.” Rick couldn’t help chuckle as he pictured their staid, uptight CFO, Eric Dupree. Although a finance man, he was also an ex-Navy Seal, recruited to the firm by the General himself. Rick knew that in his day, the man was as fierce a soldier as the men from Tony’s unit. He brought great business acumen to the table thanks to his degree from some Ivy League school back east. At the same time, he could kick ass as well as any other member on Tony’s security team.
“I hear you man,” Tony agreed, “but he’ll get over it. Actually, he might be perfect to take over in L.A. He knows both business and operations. I could send T out to help him get things started.”
“Ha! T is gonna want your ass if you feed him that shit sandwich, man. You know those two don’t get along.”
“Yeah, something about Eric’s sister wasn’t it?” Tony looked at Rick with a wicked twinkle in his eye. T had a rep and the guys teased him about needing to install a revolving door in his bedroom because he went through subs at The Club at an alarming rate. Eric had gotten wind of a budding romance with his sister and put a quick end to it. Things had remained strained between the two men especially since Eric’s sister Emily was the receptionist at their office. Tony had to intervene a time of two between them and promised T an ass kicking if he continued messing with employees. “I’m sure they are professional enough to put their differences aside while on assignment. Plus, it should be enough to keep them on their toes and our finance guy out of our hair while we figure this all out.”
“You’re one evil bastard, Cap. But I guess it will teach T a lesson. That youngster needs to learn once and for all you don’t shit where you eat and you don’t dip your pen in company ink.”
Both men stared at each other for a moment then broke into howls of laughter. A brief reprieve from dealing with the threats that potentially involved their women was welcomed.
“While Eric’s gone I thought we could get Regan to help out.”
“I don’t know about that Cap. This is probably not a good time, she’s at loose ends these days.”
“It would give her something to occupy her time and keep her out of mischief. Plus, we wouldn’t have to worry about security for her here in the office. Besides, she’s wasting her MBA on keeping books at the bakery.
“Let me think about it.”
“Sure, no pressure, if you don’t think it’s a good time, I respect that. Speaking of Regan, I need to tell you about a little incident while you were gone.”
“Yeah, what did my naughty wife do?”
“I walked in on a temper tantrum in the bakery office. She mouthed off to Megan and said some hurtful things. I paddled her ass for you, over her jeans of course.”
Rick frowned. “She’s been pretty moody lately. How did she react?”
“It seemed to help her and she settled. You were gone a while this time and I’m sure Regan was feeling neglected. It was harder on Megan to watch, I think. Did she act this way while you were serving?”
“Not that I know of. This only started in the last couple of months but we’re working on it. Thanks for taking care of her for me, bro.”
“No worries, Chief. By the way, did I ever tell you about the benefits of maintenance spankings?”
Chapter Five
The following week Regan found herself staring at another negative pregnancy test. She was a few days late for her period and had rushed to the pharmacy to get a test. Again, she was disappointed and in defeat slid to the cold tile floor and curled into a ball of misery. She was going to have to go back to the fertility clinic. Damn, how was she going to do that? Rick had beefed up their security at home and at the bakery. He hadn’t told her why except to say that it was precautionary due to some threats they had received at work. On top of that he had assigned her a bodyguard. Now she had someone from Rossi Security shadowing her 24/7 when he wasn’t with her. Crap. She sat there brooding until she heard the garage door go up announcing Rick’s arrival.
Hurriedly, she splashed cold water on her face then used some Visine in her red, swollen eyes to remove any evidence of tears. Rick entered the bedroom as she was sweeping the evidence of the pregnancy test into the trash. His keys jangled and she knew he was emptying his pockets on their dresser. At the last second she saw the test strip still lying on the counter and quickly shoved it her jeans pocket just as he came to a stop in the bathroom doorway. Smiling, he swept her up into his arms and planted a scorching kiss on her parted lips.
“Mm, minty. You always taste so good.” He was surprised to see her still dressed in her jeans and T-shirt. “I figured you’d be getting ready for the party by now, honey. We have to leave in about an hour so I’m going to go ahead and jump in the shower.” He pressed a kiss to the top of her head then tu
rned, stripping as he moved toward the huge custom made shower. It had eight showerheads including two on the ceiling. Regan loved it. They often made love in the shower until the hot water ran out. Rick had been threatening to get a bigger water heater ever since they had the new model installed.
“Want to join me?”
“I already showered, Bear. I don’t want to get my hair wet or I’ll be all frizzy for the party. Do you mind?”
“No problem, honey. There’ll be plenty of opportunity for me to get my hands on that hot little body later this evening.” He wiggled his eyebrows at her in a lecherous manner that made her smile. “Tonight’s going to be fun.”
Regan left the bathroom and gathered her clothes and accessories for the evening. Hoping to cheer herself up a bit, she bought an emerald green dress for the annual Decadence Christmas party. It had a halter-top and she bought matching green lingerie including a convertible bra so her straps wouldn’t show. Ordinarily she would go without, but hers breasts jiggled just a little too much lately to go braless. She had been pleasantly surprised to move up to a C cup for the first time ever. At least those hormones are good for something.
Rick hadn’t said anything but he seemed fascinated with her bigger boobs. Always claiming to be an ass man, he never complained about her B cups. Now he seemed to be stroking and playing with them constantly. Where he used to grab her butt when he hugged her, now his hands would find her breasts. He had really gotten into some serious nipple play lately, too. Her sensitive nipples had seen more clamps and jewelry in the past few weeks than in all the years of their marriage combined.
She slipped into her new lingerie. The shelf bra lifted and supported her new and improved breasts. The quarter cups exposed her nipples, which became taut and aching as she adjusted herself in the risqué bra. She knew the tight peaks would be visible through her dress. The miniscule lace thong was the same emerald green color and left her rounded butt bare and open for Rick’s big hands.
Rick came out of the bathroom then, a towel wrapped around his lean hips. His bare chest glistened with beads of water that had been missed by his towel. He was looking at whatever he held in his hands, but when he looked up he stopped and whistled his appreciation at the sight of her in the sexy lingerie.
“Babe, those are some of the hottest undies I’ve ever seen.” Grinning, he lifted his hands to touch her then remembered what he held in his hands. He nodded at the empty pregnancy test box he held and raised an eyebrow rose in question. “You got something to tell me, honey?”
Megan bowed her head and tried to control her tears of frustration. “Sorry, Bear, but it was negative. I didn’t want to get your hopes up so I didn’t tell you I took one. I’m only a few days late so no big deal.”
“Maybe it’s too soon for the test to read accurately.”
“That one is supposed to be accurate even before a missed period. I’m three days late so I don’t think I’m pregnant.”
He stroked his hands up and down her bare arms, soothing and comforting her. “It’s OK, babe, we’ve got plenty of time for babies. Besides, I thought you were back on the pill since you started those antidepressants.”
Oops, she’d almost messed up. These lies were getting too much to keep up with. “Yeah, well I may have missed a couple of doses. So when I was late, I hoped that maybe…” Her voice trailed off, she was finding it hard to keep up the deception.
“I’ll try to remind you from now on. I don’t want you getting pregnant on those antidepressants, I read about the side effects in the first trimester and they’re pretty scary. We want to have a healthy baby when it’s time. We’ll just keep practicing until we can start trying again, yeah?”
She smiled faintly up at him, relieved he was letting it go with just a small lecture. “Yes, Bear. I love all the practice.”
As he kissed her thoroughly his hands began to wander over her curves. He cupped a breast in his palm and rubbed the bare nipple. When it tightened beneath his thumb he lifted his head and grinned. “Dayum sweetness, you’re smoking hot, and these...” he stroked both swollen breasts gently, “...they’re bigger I think. Whatever the cause, I’m not one to let a good thing go to waste.” Rick lifted her until her breasts were level with his mouth. As his arms wrapped around her to keep her in place, he captured one hard nipple with his warm lips and wet tongue then suckled, licked and nibbled on her hard peak.
Regan’s hands slid into his thick hair and she pulled him closer, arching her back and offering him more. “Oh Bear, your mouth feels so good on me.”
He fed hungrily on her, “I want you to get more of these bras, baby. They’re awesome. They display these beauties to perfection.” He lifted his head a fraction and admired the glistening peak for a moment before moving to the other nipple.
“You like them a lot, huh? I thought you were an ass man. “
“Tits or ass - it doesn’t matter. You have always been my thing. Now that you have more for me to love, I’m not complaining though. Whatever you have done to these babies, keep it up. I abso-fucking-lutely love them.” He punctuated each syllable with a suck, lick or bite.
Regan smiled but inside felt her self-esteem drop another notch, yet another area where she was deficient. She’d never be considered well endowed. He evidently liked big breasts, which made her wonder what had attracted him in the first place. Other men would have encouraged a boob job or a padded bra or something. Not her man.
Rick reluctantly lifted his head and let her slide to the floor. Her hard wet nipples dragging against his still damp skin made him groan loudly. The mantel clock chiming eight o’clock had him cursing under his breath. “As much as I’d like to continue this, babe, if we don’t get a move on we’ll be late.”
Kissing her tenderly he looked down into her beautiful face. “You OK, Regan? You still seem kind of down. Have you been taking your meds?”
The question rubbed her the wrong way and she got snippy. “You sound just like Tony and Megan. Everyone is constantly asking me about my meds, like I’m some damned nutcase or something. I’m fine and I wish people would quit asking.”
Gazing into her angry eyes he frowned. This was not a good way to start to a club night. “You are definitely not fine, Regan. Otherwise that kind of bitchiness wouldn’t pass those beautiful lips. You are either tired or something is bothering you. So, which is it?”
The firmness in his voice had Regan regretting her outburst and she went into damage control mode. “I’m sorry. I think I’m just hormonal. I’ve been getting this way lately before my period. Maybe it’s the new medicine. I never used to be this way and I’m really sorry.” Well, that wasn’t all a lie. She did think it was the new medicine, she just didn’t mention which one. Rick would say it was evasive or misleading and punish her for a lie of omission.
He considered her theory and seemed to accept it. She had always been a sweet, good-natured woman - lively, energetic and outgoing. But in the past few weeks if not months she had gotten moody and short tempered. “I think you may be right, babe. When is your next appointment with Doc Windham? I’d like to go with you next time and talk about your medications and the side effects you’re having.”
“But Rick, the sessions are supposed to be private.”
“I won’t intrude on your privacy, Regan. I just want to be kept informed. That’s OK isn’t it?” He posed it like a question but Regan knew it wasn’t open for discussion. Plus, Dr. Windham was BDSM friendly and Regan suspected she was a closet Domme. Although her expertise was with past trauma and PTSD, she was well equipped to deal with Megan’s depression. She said she was used to Doms butting in and asking questions.
“Remember that I love you babe and only want what’s best for you.”
“I know Bear, and I’m sorry.” She held him tightly. “I’m such a loser I don’t know how you stand me sometimes.”
Finding herself suddenly upended over a nearby wing chair and receiving several sharp, stinging slaps across her ass made her s
queal in surprise. “There’ll be no negative talk like that, Regan. I won’t have you demeaning yourself. We’ll get through this rough patch and come out the better for it.” He stated this plainly as he delivered at least a dozen swats to her behind. When done he paused and looked at her pink cheeks. “Stand up, Regan and present.” She assumed the position, hands linked behind her neck, head up, eyes down, back straight which thrust her breasts forward enticingly, and feet shoulder width apart. “I think I’ll give you a little something to remind you to behave tonight, naughty girl.”
Rick went to the armoire where their toys and implements were stored and returned holding a set of green jeweled nipple clamps connected by a light weight green beaded chain. “This bra sure makes clamping your pretty nipples much easier. You’ll wear these until I remove them later, sub.” He pinched and rolled one nipple, then the other making them stand out in hard, aching peaks. He applied a clamp to each nipple tightening them until they were just short of pain. He bent and kissed each peak in turn. “You’ll be wearing these a while so use your safeword yellow if they start getting too tight.”
“Yes Sir,” Regan replied between the deep breaths she was taking to steady herself and submit to the tight clamps. How he knew to stop at just the right point was beyond her. The clamps were tight and very stimulating but she knew the sensation would increase throughout the evening. They both loved nipple play.
“Gorgeous babe and a perfect match with your outfit, too. Now, we have twenty minutes before we have to leave so get a move on.” He landed another swat on each check then turned her toward the bathroom giving her a gentle nudge with his big hand on her naughty red bottom.
You Said Forever (Club Decadence) Page 5
