Matt grinned. “Witch. I was just hoping you hadn't found them to be too persistent with their questioning. You're the first woman I've bought to the house since Caroline died and I suspected they'd give you the third degree because of it. Particularly Gina and Paula.”
“Your sisters? They seem nice. And sure, they've been interested in learning about me, but I'd be surprised by any other reaction when you introduce them to a new woman – particularly someone you've only just met. I'm honored that you chose to invite me to your father's birthday, Matt. I certainly wouldn't do anything to embarrass you.”
Matt wrapped his arm around Emily's shoulders, drawing her close so that they were aligned, thigh to thigh. “I know you wouldn't, Em.” He leaned down and kissed her again, with a little more force than he'd used the first time. Emily sighed softly, and Matt took the opportunity to slip his tongue into her mouth. She tasted of barbeque, and lemonade and sunshine and Matt pulled her closer, wishing they were anywhere but here. He had a desperate urge to make love to her, his erection was pressing uncomfortably against the front of his jeans and he wished he could do more than kiss this beautiful young woman on his parents stoop.
“Daddy?”
Emily swiftly pulled away from him and slid across the step, creating a respectful distance between their bodies. With a frustrated growl, Matt took a deep breath and turned to face his youngest daughter, hoping she hadn't seen him and Emily kissing. “Hey, honey, what's up?”
“Cousin Pat says they've already decorated Grandpa's birthday cake, and I was supposed to get to help. I didn't get to help, because we got here late and now I've missed out on eating the candy!” There was the slightest touch of a whine to Millie's voice and she was standing on the porch with her arms crossed militantly – looking very much like a younger version of Courtney.
Matt glanced at Emily and they shared a smile. “Well, I guess we'd better go inside and see if we can't let you do a little bit of decorating, too. I'd hate for you to miss out on candy and I'm sure Grandma will want you to help out.” He got up and held his hand out to Emily, helping her to her feet before he took Millie's hand. He was quietly pleased when Millie reached out to take Emily's hand as well, and they made their way back into the house.
In the kitchen, the cake still stood in the center of the table, surrounded by the detritus of at least half a dozen children's attempts at decoration. It was a normal situation in the Pendleton family home for birthdays, a tradition started when he and his sisters had been young. The tradition had been passed on to the younger generation and Matt grinned when Millie eagerly attacked the cake with a leftover bowl of jellybeans. They were her favorite candy, so he shouldn't be surprised by her choice of decorating equipment. As he watched, Millie carefully pressed jellybeans into the shockingly red icing, her little tongue poking out between her lips as she concentrated.
Emily sat down at the table beside Millie and crossed her arms in front of her, watching the little girl in fascination. In turn, Matt watched Emily with equal fascination, his heart warming at the way she watched Millie, her bright blue eyes filled with delight as she watched his daughter and spoke with her. “Are green jellybeans your favorite?” Emily questioned, as Millie deliberately chose a handful of green ones from the bowl and started to press them into the icing.
“Nope, I like the blue ones best.”
Emily glanced up at him and he grinned, rolling his eyes. It was typical of Millie, to announce she liked blue, while she selectively chose green for the decorating.
“Are the blue ones blueberry flavor?” Emily questioned.
Millie shrugged, plucking another bean from the bowl and pressing it into the icing. “I think so. They're the yummiest ones.” She paused in her work, glancing up at Emily curiously. “What's your favorite?”
Emily grinned. “Red. They taste like strawberry.” She leaned over and grabbed a bowl of M&M's, placing them in front of Millie. “Would you like to use some M&M's, Millie?”
Millie shook her head firmly. “Nope, thank you. Harper likes M&M's, but I don't. At all.” There was a good deal of emphasis placed on the last two words.
Matt smiled when Emily pursed her lips. “You don't like M&M's? Not even the peanut ones?”
Millie repeated the headshake, and pressed another green jellybean into the icing. “Nope.”
“You know what my favorite candy is? Hershey's Kisses. They're really yummy.”
Matt made a mental note, he was certain that he would eventually want to buy Emily candy, and he would include some Hershey's Kisses. He opened the refrigerator and was about to offer Emily a soft drink when he heard Courtney's voice.
“What are you doing with Millie?” Courtney demanded. When Matt straightened up, he discovered Courtney standing by the table, glaring daggers at Emily, her entire body rigid with anger. It seemed she hadn't noticed him.
“I was just watching Millie doing some decorating on your Grandpa's cake,” Emily responded mildly. Although her voice was calm, Matt noticed that Emily had straightened uncomfortably in the chair.
“Leave her alone. Leave us alone! We don't need another mother!” Courtney hissed. “You're young enough to be my sister, what are you doing hanging around with an old guy like my Dad?”
Matt intervened, shocked by Courtney's rudeness. “Courtney Jane Pendleton – that is enough!”
Courtney rounded on him, her anger going supernova in a split-second. “No! It's not enough! She's too young for you, Dad! And how can you do this to Mom! How can you just forget about her! She's only been gone for eighteen months – didn't you love her at all? Now you're running around with this… this…”
“Courtney…” The warning in Matt's voice should have been enough to head off his daughter's rage, but she was beyond reasoning and she rounded on him. “No, no! I hate that you're seeing this bitch! She's never, ever going to replace Mom!”
Emily got to her feet, glancing from Matt to Courtney anxiously. “I'm sorry; I don't want to cause any trouble for you, Matt. I think I'll head home.”
“No, Em, don't do that,” Matt protested, but Emily shook her head firmly.
“No, really, I need to go. I don't want to make waves.”
“Yeah, get out,” Courtney shrieked. “Leave my father alone – we don't want you around here!”
Matt was ready to explode with anger, but before he could move, his Mom appeared, her face a mask of stone. She stood in front of Courtney, her eyes flashing dangerously. “Courtney, you apologize to Emily, immediately.”
“No!” While Courtney was still seething with anger, her eyes had filled with tears and Matt imagined that she was beginning to regret her outburst.
“Alright, young lady, if you won't apologize, I'd like your father to take you home. You will not be celebrating Grandpa's birthday with us, not while you're behaving so badly.”
“Why are you taking her side?” Courtney shrieked.
Clare took a deep breath. “I'm not taking Emily's side, Courtney. If you were thinking clearly, you would realize that. But I will not accept any member of this family treating a guest so rudely, no matter what the situation.” His mom took a deep breath, her own eyes awash with tears. “I'm ashamed of you, Courtney, and your mother would be, too.”
With a strangled sob, Courtney slumped into a seat at the table. Millie had been completely ignoring the tension that had exploded around her, until Courtney sat down.
“You shouldn't be so mean to Emily, Courtney. I like her. Daddy really likes her, too. I saw him kissing her, out on the front porch.”
Matt raked his fingers through his hair; he'd been thinking this situation couldn't possibly get any worse.
He'd been wrong.
* * *
Chapter Twelve
Emily slept in the following morning, after a night spent tossing and turning. She had received numerous texts from Matt, and hadn't responded to any of them, needing time to think about the situation.
Despite Matt's protest, Emily
had left the Pendleton home shortly after Courtney's outburst, thinking it would be best for everyone if she made herself scarce. The girl was distraught, tears streaking down her face when Millie had announced seeing her and Matt kiss, and Emily knew Matt needed to deal with his daughter first and foremost. Discussions regarding this fledgling relationship they had begun could wait, and Emily felt they were entirely unimportant in comparison to Courtney's unhappiness.
Pulling back the covers, Emily sat up on the side of the bed and glanced at the clock. Eleven am. She had about an hour, before she was due to meet Sally and Bud for brunch down on the bay, a tradition they'd been following for nearly the entire two years since Emily had arrived at Salacious. It was going to be an interesting meal – both Sally and Bud knew she'd gone to see Matt last night and would want a full report. Emily just didn't know what to tell them.
Perhaps it would be better to nip this in the bud, before things got any more serious. Even as she considered the option, Emily's stomach clenched with anxiety at the thought. She was falling for Matt Pendleton, hard. Even if she decided against pursuing anything with him, she knew it would take a very long time to forget him.
Emily reached for her phone, which had been buzzing regularly throughout the night. Checking the screen, she discovered eight texts waiting for her.
MATT: Emily, I am so sorry about tonight. We need to talk.
MATT: Courtney has calmed down, she's not happy about the situation, but I think we can work things out.
MATT: Please, Emily. Give me a call.
MATT: I know you think you're to blame, but it wasn't going to matter whom I introduced to the family – Courtney was going to find it difficult to adjust. Can you call me, and we can talk things through?
Emily paused after that one, thinking over the situation. Would Courtney be able to adjust to another woman taking a place in Matt's life? She doubted it. It wouldn't matter who it was, Courtney would find a new woman an intrusion. She'd been at an impressionable age when her mother died, and no doubt still struggled with her loss every day. With a sigh, Emily returned to checking her messages.
MATT: Please, Emily. At least let me know you got home okay.
Emily felt a twinge of guilt when she read that one, knowing Matt would have been worrying if she was okay. She'd been upset by the situation with Courtney and said a hurried goodbye before rushing out to her car, so she couldn't blame him for being concerned. If she was honest with herself, it was heartwarming to know that he had been worried. She quelled the thought, knowing that sort of thinking would only make things worse if this all blew up in her face. Chewing at a fingernail, she flicked through to the next message.
MATT: The kids and I are at home now, the kids are in bed. Call me.
MATT: I know you're probably upset – I promise you none of this is your fault. I don't want to give up on this thing between us. Please, give me a chance to talk to you.
MATT: It's 1am. I was worried sick, so I called Salacious. Someone there told me you'd gotten home safely. Sleep well and call me in the morning. Please.
Emily lifted her gaze from the phone and let her eyes wander over her small apartment. What should she do? On the one hand, she desperately wanted to contact Matt, wanted to see if this spark between them would develop into something tangible.
She'd been alone for two years now, and she craved companionship and love. She'd never had that with William; he'd considered her nothing more than a possession. When they'd gotten together, she'd been so young and impressionable. While she'd known she had a submissive personality almost from the time she'd become aware of her own sexuality, Emily had known little of the world of BDSM. By the time she'd realized there was a difference between a healthy Dom and sub relationship, and an abusive one, it had already been too late and she'd been in William's clutches, unable to escape.
Paul Meccelli had been her miracle. He and Mandy had been in San Francisco and visited one of the local BDSM clubs, on a night when William had taken her to the club for a 'public display'. Even now, two years later, she shivered as she remembered the way William had paraded her naked around the club, like a dog on a leash, dragging her along on her hands and knees, with the metal collar he'd padlocked around her neck the day she'd signed the contract to become his sub. Emily abhorred public displays, and making her submit was what William Collado loved most. He used these nights at the club as a way of displaying his power and control – and reinforcing his dominance over her. She'd been too naïve when she'd first entered the BDSM world to know what the rules were, and had paid the ultimate price for four long years.
Kneeling beside William's chair, shivering with humiliation as he allowed any man or woman to finger her or roughly fondle her breasts as they passed, Emily had suffered a sense of hopelessness that almost overwhelmed her. William had brutally shoved a butt plug into her ass more than eight hours before, and the pain of having the large plug in place for such a long period, was making her vision swim. She'd begged for permission to remove it, but had only earned herself the added misery of providing a blowjob to any man William decided was worthy of the experience. This was one of the worst clubs in San Francisco, and many of the clientele were not particularly fussy about the way subs were treated, nor did they seem to have much care for their own personal hygiene. Emily's only saving grace was William's own fear of STD's – as a precautionary measure, he insisted the men put on a condom before she serviced them.
William himself had fucked numerous other subs during the night, and then returned to Emily, bitching about her to anyone who would listen.
This had never been what Emily had wanted; she'd been searching for a secure and loving relationship with someone who pushed her boundaries in a safe and responsible manner. What she had gotten was something so far to the other end of the spectrum, it made her head spin.
She'd been shaking with cold and hunger when Paul and Mandy walked past the couch where William was lording it over some of his other Dom friends, and Paul had stopped a few feet away, studying Emily for long minutes. William hardly noticed, but Emily had been aware of the stranger's gaze and lowered her head to avoid the pity she saw in his grey eyes. She was nearly in tears, and knew seeing this man's compassion would push her over the edge. If she cried, in a public setting, William would use it as another reason to punish her and she couldn't bear the thought of a public beating and the humiliation William would deal out.
“Excuse me. Your sub, she appears to be cold.”
Emily jumped when she heard the deep voice, and despite her best efforts, she lifted her eyes to see if the man who spoke was the one who'd been watching her so intently. She was humiliated to discover that not only was it the same man, but his sub, a beautiful young woman with sea-green eyes and lustrous dark hair was staring down at her with a mixture of pity and compassion. While Emily was utterly naked, this sub was dressed beautifully in a red leather dress and stilettos. She wore a slender silver collar dotted with emeralds, and from the way she stood just to the side and behind her Dom, she was obviously well cared for and respected. The gentle touch of the Dom's hand on her hip, guiding her closer to his side, confirmed she was loved.
William glanced up from his conversation, completely ignoring the poor sub on her knees before him, whose mouth he was currently pumping roughly. “What the fuck business is it of yours?”
“As her Dom, it's your duty to ensure she's comfortable.”
William yanked on the young sub's hair, wrenching her away from his distended penis. “I don't know who you are, but what my sub is doing is none of your fucking business.”
The stranger's jaw tightened angrily and he didn't seem intimidated by William in the slightest. In the quick glance Emily had gotten, before she'd lowered her gaze back to the floor, he was about six feet tall, with the olive skin and dark hair that marked him as being of Mediterranean descent. He wore a smart suit, a crisp grey shirt, and a tie. Emily had no idea who he was, but it was glaringly apparent that he wasn't
a regular at this club – he was far too well dressed and polite. This place attracted the dregs of the BDSM community, with William being one of the worst.
“It is my business, if I think she's being mistreated. I've been standing up at the bar for nearly an hour now. Your sub has been shivering with cold all that time. You haven't hydrated her and you haven't checked on her well-being.”
William got to his feet, tucking his penis back into his pants and kicking the young sub out of the way when he did up his zipper. “It's none of your fucking business. She's mine, and I'll treat her any way I see fit.”
Emily cringed and shivered harder. Didn't this stranger know that by coming to her aide, he was only going to cause her more heartache in the end? William would take his fury out on her later and her back had only just healed from the last beating she'd been subjected to when he was in a rage.
“Let my sub take her to the bathroom, allow her a toilet break,” the stranger demanded quietly. “She looks unwell.”
“I don't give a fuck what you think, and no, your sub can't take her to the fucking bathroom. She goes where I tell her to, when I tell her.”
The stranger moved swiftly, popping William in the jaw with a sharp right hook. William staggered backwards, falling onto one of his sleazy friends on the couch. Two of the other Doms who had been sitting with William got to their feet, but before they could do anything, four other men joined the stranger, cracking their knuckles ominously. It was enough to stop William's cowardly friends from retaliating.
“Mandy, check on the sub, please.” The stranger requested smoothly, still keeping his eye on William, who was struggling back to his feet and cursing a blue streak. A dribble of blood ran down William's chin from a split lip, and he seemed ready to charge towards the stranger and attack him, but the sight of the other four men made him think twice. He glowered instead, and yanked on the chain attached to Emily's collar when the beautiful sub knelt to check on her.
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