by Ivy Nelson
something soon.
Chapter 7
“Miss Kent, thank you for coming back in.”
“It didn’t sound like we had much of a choice,” Michael growled from his place next to Adara.
Tabitha Kelly, her attorney, placed a hand on his arm as if to silence him. It worked. It
hadn’t taken long for Homeland to call back and schedule a second interview. This time, they
were prepared with a court order for a DNA sample. Thankfully, Adara was already prepared
for this. After Agent Miller asked a bunch of questions, ones Michael was certain Adara had
already answered, someone came in and swabbed Adara’s cheek and then told her she was
free to go.
“If they suspect me of being involved in terrorism, why aren’t they detaining me? If they
don’t suspect me of that why are they going through all this trouble with me?” Michael
gripped her hand as they left the federal building that housed Homeland Security. “All good questions Angel. I’m honestly not sure. We’re going to find out though. For
now, let’s go get your dog.”
After checking with the hotel, Michael had arranged to meet Leslie and pick up Hamilton. “Thank you for helping me get him and for being here for all of this,” Adara said quietly.
“I’m sorry to be such a burden. I wish I could have just disappeared.”
Michael growled when she said that. “Why would you think of yourself as a burden? I
don’t like you thinking that. You’re someone I care about. I’m not going to just abandon you
to deal with this shit on your own. And there is no way in hell I would ever let you
disappear.”
He watched her exhale the breath she had been holding. “I just feel like I’m causing
everyone to have to bend over backwards to help me. I’ve always been independent.” “You’ve been living with this hanging over your head for eight years, your whole life
even. But you’ve let this secret control you for eight years. It’s time for you to let someone
else take care of you so you can get control of your life back.”
They were pulling up to the park where they were meeting Leslie. Before letting her get
out of the car, Michael gripped her hand. “Hey, you don’t have to do any of this alone
anymore Adara. The sooner you realize that, the easier all of this will be.”
“Thank you,” she said. But her words were terse, and she still looked tense. Michael got out of the car and settled onto a picnic bench to watch Adara reunite with her
dog. It was perhaps the most animated he had seen her recently. She got down on his level
and hugged him tightly while he tried to lick her face. It frustrated him to know she had
struggled on her own for so long, never feeling safe enough to tell anyone what was going on.
His cell phone rang, and he pulled it from his pocket. The face on the screen was Darci’s, and
he smiled.
“Hey sweetheart. How’s Italy?”
“It’s Amazing. I can’t believe we come home in two days. Carrie called me last night.
How’s Adara?”
Keeping one eye on Adara, he filled Darci in on what had been happening since she left
town.
“Should we come home sooner?” she asked when he finished.
“No. Enjoy your honeymoon. We’ll see you in a couple days. The DNA won’t come back
for at least a week. I’m going to try to get Adara out of her own head for a few days. If she’ll
cooperate.” He had been forming a plan. Now he just had to put it into action and hope it
worked to help Adara center herself.
“Bradley says she’s more stubborn than I am. So good luck with that.”
He threw his head back and laughed. “Get back to your husband. I’ll see you when you
get home.”
Adara was approaching with her dog. “Ready?” he asked.
They loaded the dog and all of his things into the back of the car they had called. When they were settled he said, “I want to ask you to do something with me tonight.” “Sure,” she said running her hand up and down Hamilton’s back.
“Come back to Exposure with me tonight. Just like before, we don’t have to do anything.
Just hang out with friends and take our minds off all of this shit for a few hours.” Her eyes wandered and stared out the car window as she continued stroking the dogs fur.
“I guess I did kind of ruin things last time,” she murmured.
“You didn’t ruin anything, Angel.”
“I appreciate you saying that, but I feel like I did. Yes, I’ll go with you.” Well, phase one of the plan worked. “Thank you. Let’s go get this fur ball settled into his
new digs,” he said, ruffling the dogs hair. Hamilton barked in response and lifted his head
enough to lick him in the face.
“I think he’s warming to you.”
“It’s about damn time,” he said as he wiped the slobber from his cheek. Adara giggled. It
was such a lovely sound. He wanted to hear it more often. There were some other noises he
wouldn’t mind hearing again too.
He shifted, trying to adjust his jeans which had become tight in certain places. Thank god
Adara didn’t notice. Score one for Hamilton being in the way.
Back at the hotel, they spent some time letting the dog walk around and sniff everything.
They ordered room service for dinner. For the most part, Adara stayed quiet. As it grew
closer to time for them to leave for Exposure, he noticed her becoming tense, maybe even
nervous. He needed to try and center her, get her out of her own head. Not something that
was easy to do with her he had found.
“Angel, come here.”
She crossed the room to the chair he sat in. He smiled up at her. “Thank you. Tell me
what’s wrong.”
“Nothing,” her eyes drifted away from his.
“Bullshit.” He tugged her hand downward trying to get her to sit. She perched on the arm
of his chair. “I don’t buy it Adara. I can see apprehension on your face. What’s wrong?” “I’m just nervous about going back to the club. I know it’s dumb, but that is kind of
where all of this started. I was enjoying it even though the guy with the whip was
overwhelming me a bit.”
Michael chuckled. Whips were fun, but he was more fond of floggers and paddles. She
didn’t need to know that yet. “That was Gary and Sarah I think I told you that night. She’s a
masochist so sometimes their scenes get intense.” He stroked the back of her hand. “Your
feelings aren’t dumb. They make perfect sense. And just like last time, we can leave
whenever you’re ready.”
“I don’t see how anyone could enjoy being hit like that. But…” She trailed off and shook
her head.
“Finish that thought. But what?” he prodded.
A blush crept up her neck and colored her cheeks as she shook her head again. “Angel.” He put on his stern face and used a voice that he knew made most submissives
squirm. He couldn’t be sure how she would react, but he had his suspicions. She dropped her head. “Nothing. It’s dumb.”
Sliding a finger under her chin, he tilted it upwards, forcing her to look at him. “Stop
saying that. Your feelings are never going to be dumb to me. Now out with it, Angel.” “It’s just obvious that the women I was watching were enjoying the things happening to
them and I… I was enjoying watching. It’s confusing. I don’t think I could ever enjoy some
of those things.”
“I would be willing to bet you’re wrong.”
Her expression changed as did her
demeanor. Sitting straighter, she said, “OK. What do
you want to bet?”
“What?”
“You said you would be willing to bet me. So what do you want to bet?” “Are you serious right now? It’s just an expression.”
“I’m serious. I can’t believe I didn’t think of this before, actually. I’ve been trying to
come up with a way to figure this out. I’m an academic. I like experiments. I’m also
competitive as fuck. So let’s make a bet.”
A grin lit his face as he shook his head. He couldn’t believe what he was hearing. “OK Angel. Let’s discuss this. We need parameters for a bet like this. Nothing to broad.” “Absolutely,” she said. Her voice held excitement. She was really getting into this.
Michael still couldn’t believe they were having this conversation.
“What were you watching that you didn’t think you would enjoy?” he asked. “Spanking, whipping, that sort of thing.”
“OK. The broader term for that is impact play. Whips can be a little more advanced, so
we’ll leave that off the table for now.”
Her head bobbed. She seemed calmer now, less apprehensive. Nerves still showed in her
actions but it was a different kind of nervous. A kind that was fun to play with. Michael grinned. “So, Miss Kent, what exactly are you trying to bet me?” “That I won’t enjoy these things.”
“If you’re so adamant that you won’t enjoy it why are you willing to make this bet?” “Because I’ve watched other women enjoying it and now, I’m curious enough to find out
for myself.”
“Fair enough Angel. What is the prize for this bet?”
A hand lifted to her chin and her gaze grew thoughtful. “I’m not sure. If I’m right, I want
a spa day. The full works. You know, to recover from whatever mean things you’ve done to
me.”
Laughter shook him. “I think that can be arranged. And what if I’m right?” “What do you want?”
“That’s easy Angel. I want you. More specifically, I want your complete submission for a
week.”
“A week? That seems a bit long.”
“Not at all. A week. We’ll negotiate the specifics. I won’t break past any limits you set.
But once I show you how much you’ll enjoy this, I want you to agree to let me take you
deeper.”
“OK. I agree to those terms. When do we start our wager?”
“You’re controlling this one Angel. Let’s go to the club and whenever you’re ready,
you’ll tell me.”
“OK.”
Michael shook his head. Never in a million years would he have imagined having this
conversation with her.
“Do you make a habit of making bets like this Angel?”
She chuckled. “Not specifically. But when I lived in Arizona, I went to Vegas quite
regularly. If I didn’t go into politics, I use to joke that I would join the professional poker
circuit.”
Michael just stared at her in disbelief. Was she pulling his leg? It was hard to imagine
prim and proper Adara playing poker in Vegas. She seemed quite serious though. They changed clothes for the club, both donning dark jeans. He chose a white button
down and she pulled on a black sweater. Adara locked Hamilton in her room and together
they rode the elevator down. Peter was picking them up.
Carrie was sitting in the front seat but she didn’t say anything when they got into the car.
Peter said hello to them and then turned to his wife.
“Carrie here thought it would be a good idea to tell me to fuck off, so she’s not allowed to
speak right now. I’m sure once I take care of her little indiscretion at the club she’ll want to
say hello.” He flashed a wicked grin at the petite blonde. Carrie just glared at him. Feeling a
bit feisty today, apparently.
Michael filled them in on what has happening. When Michael got to the part about the
DNA test, Carrie turned, intent on saying something.
“Not a word Carrie. You can talk about this with them later.”
She slumped in the front seat. “And stop pouting. You know I don’t appreciate that. You
brought this on yourself.”
Michael felt Adara shift uncomfortable beside him. He slipped his arm around her, leaned
close and whispered, “You OK?”
She nodded.
Once they got into the club, he pulled her to a couch in a secluded corner. “Talk to me. Was that uncomfortable for you?”
Her shoulders lifted in a shrug. “A little. I just don’t understand how Carrie could enjoy
that type of dynamic. I would have to fight theurge to kick you if you told me I wasn’t
allowed to speak.”
Michael chuckled. “I understand why that might seem a little extreme to you. But you
would be surprised how enjoyable that dynamic can be. Look,” he said turning her head so
she could see across the dungeon.
Peter had Carrie spread out over a spanking bench and she was already in the throws of
an orgasm.
“That type of back-and-forth turns them both on. Even if Carrie really was pissed at Peter
for not letting her talk, she knew it was going to lead to this and that made it enjoyable.” Adara stared. “I just don’t think I like the whole punishment thing in a relationship.” “And that’s OK. I’ll never actually try to change your mind about that. I don’t like to
think of it as punishment though.”
She leaned closer to him, curious. “So what would you call it?”
“Guidance, correction, a reminder that each person in the relationship has a role. If you
stray from your role, you might need a less than gentle reminder of what your role is.” “So what happens when the dom strays from his role?”
Pride filled him. He loved that she asked questions like this. “Excellent question. In that
case, the sub is perfectly within his or her rights to remind the dom of that. It’s better if you
do it in a way that falls in the parameters of your role, but you should absolutely bring it to
the doms attention. That’s part of why it’s so important to negotiate. You want both parties to
know what their roles are.”
It was starting to click for her, he thought as she nodded in understanding. To say that
pleased him would be an understatement.
“How are you feeling now?”
“Better. Thank you.”
“For what? Talking through these things is important. I wouldn’t be doing my job if I
weren’t making sure you were comfortable, and that you understood everything going on.” “I know. I just appreciate it.”
He brushed her hair away from her face. “I want to kiss you right now but I don’t know
how you would feel about that.”
He had barely touched her, let alone kissed her since rescuing her from the airport nearly
a week ago. Since she had technically broken up with him, he didn’t want to push her. To his surprise, she wrapped her arms around his neck. “I would be fine with that. In fact,
I think I would be disappointed if you didn’t.”
Relief and desire flooded through him as he leaned in to kiss her. Their lips met and the
memory of her taste, the way she felt beneath him, came rushing back. Fisting his hand into
her hair, he deepened the kiss. The scent of her shampoo, the taste of her lips, it was enough
to undo him. He wanted to strip her down and make love to her here on the couch. The club
allowed it, but he doubted she was ready for something like that. Instead, he settled for
pulling her closer and sliding his tongue into her mouth. A s
mall gasp escaped her throat
when he tugged slightly on her hair. Then, she bit down on his bottom lip and tightened her
hold on him. Soon, he tasted his own blood. It wasn’t that he actually cared, it was hot, but he
decided to seize the moment to make her squirm. Breaking the kiss, he said, “Naughty girl.
You bit me.”
“You liked it and you know it.” The retort was quick and sassy.
“Biting and sassing me?” His eyebrow quirked upward. “That would earn you a spanking
if you were mine.” A devilish grin spread across his face when she squirmed in his arms.
Success.
Too bad I’m not yours,” she said, the sass still in her tone. She was clearly enjoying this. “Don’t push your luck, Angel.” She giggled and moved away from him. “No you don’t,”
he said, grabbing her arm and pulling her back to him. “I’m not done with you yet.” His
fingers tangled in her hair on either side of her face and he leaned in for another kiss. This
time, he nipped her bottom lip hard enough to sting but not draw blood. The moan she let out
warmed his insides.
A whip cracked nearby and Adara jumped, breaking the kiss and the tension. “Damn it Gary,” Michael growled just loud enough for Adara to here. She rewarded him with another giggle. Then, to his surprise, she turned to watch Gary as he drew his arm back and flicked the whip across Sarah’s back again. Harder this time. Sarah jerked in her
restraints. But the look on her face was one of pure bliss.
Adara settled back onto the couch still watching the couple.
Turning to him she asked, “How do we decide who wins our bet?”
“I would think that’s pretty simple. If you enjoy it, I win. If you hate it, you win.” “What does it mean for me to enjoy it though?”
“Angel, only you can determine that.”
“So you’re just going to take my word for it?”
She didn’t seem content with that.
“I have to trust you. And you have to trust me. Trust is important to this type of
relationship. But, if you want some kind of quantifiable way to measure, orgasms always
work.”
“So if you can make me come you win? That doesn’t seem fair. We already know you
know how to make me come.”
“If I can make you come while spanking you then. That’s the thing you think can’t
