He places his hand over mine, “Have I told you today that I love you?”
I blush. “I don’t think you have.”
“I love you,” he tells me softly.
“I love you, too.”
“What do you say we have some White Castle, just like our first little date? Then we can head back to my place and watch some movies. We can wake up and I can make us breakfast before work.” He suggests.
I smile and nod. It sounds perfect.
I wake up the next morning to River climbing out of bed. He’d promised to wake up and make breakfast this morning. I guess he’d planned on just letting me sleep and waking me when it was finished. I roll over, stretch and smile.
“Good morning.”
“Morning,” I say sleepily as I yawn. “What time is it?”
“Eight-thirty.” He tells me, “I slept longer than I planned. I wanted to have breakfast ready for you by now.”
“It’s alright, I can get dressed and help you.” I tell him, tossing the blankets off me.
He gives his head a shake. “You, can get dressed and sit at the bar and have some juice.”
I laugh softly as I slide out of bed and head to the dresser to pull out some of my clothes. I glance in the mirror as I slip into my jeans. Luckily my bath from last night didn’t destroy my hair too badly. I can brush it, then straighten it the way River likes it.
“It’s cold out, baby, you may want a long sleeve shirt,” he tells me, donning on a long sleeve tee shirt himself.
I nod and yank one of my plain long sleeved shirts from the closet. Seeing the deep V-neck makes me sad. Why'd I have to break my day collar? River hasn’t mentioned it to me since I broke it and I probably destroyed the chain anyway. I feel naked and exposed without it to be honest. I let out a sigh and bring my hand up to my neck. It’s strange to have such a profound connection with an inanimate object. But my collar sort of…completes me. I’m sad that I can’t just wear my play collar for now.
“Do you miss it?” River says, pulling me from my thoughts.
I let out a little breath and nod. “I felt safer in my collar. Like it was some reminder that I’m Yours and you'd take care of me. I’m sorry that I ruined it.”
He quietly opens the dresser drawer and retrieves something large and black. He walks up to me smiling. “The collar is important. It’s good that you feel so connected with it. It’s an important symbol for us. It bonds us. It says you’re Mine.”
I pout, “And I broke it.”
“You were upset, but our bond is being repaired,” he tells me, “we’re fixing what I broke. So, I thought it only right to fix…this.” He opens the box and presents my day collar to me. The small place I snapped it in two has been carefully repaired.
I gasp. “Oh…River…” I feel my eyes filling with tears.
“Did you really think I'd just forget about you needing a day collar?” He smiles, “you’re Mine Lola, and this shows it.”
“We hadn’t talked about it and I didn’t know what would happen after I broke it.”
“I took it and had it fixed right away. I told her there had been an accident and it snapped off your neck.”
“That’s why you just had my lock on your wrist.”
He gives me a little nod. “I knew that I needed you back. I couldn’t stand it without you.”
“Do I get to wear it again?”
“Well, that all depends,” he smirks.
“On…?” I l at him with a strange confusion.
“Will you accept it again?”
I launch myself at him and throw my arms around his neck.
He laughs, “So that’s a “yes”?”
I laugh as a few tears roll down my cheeks. “Yes, yes!”
He pulls away. “Then let me get this thing on you before you change your mind on me.”
I laugh and hold up my hair as he unlocks the lock and removes it from its hook. He drapes it around my neck, feeds the locking end through the loop, and snaps the lock shut. I let out a sigh and bring my hand up to touch it. Now, I feel complete. River and I are no questions asked, back together. He’s my Dom and I’m his sub. I’m his girlfriend and he’s my boyfriend. No matter how I put it or look at it, I’m His and He’s mine.
“Let’s get in that kitchen,” he tells me, “I have some fresh squeezed juice for you and then, I can get some breakfast going.”
I don’t argue, I give him a little nod and follow him out of the bedroom. He leads me into the kitchen and instructs me to have a seat on one of the wooden stools at the bar. He pours me a glass of orange juice and sets it in front of me. I waste no time taking a large drink. I sigh with pleasure.
“Maybe when we have time we can take a little vacation together. Relax a little.” He tells me as he starts digging in his refrigerator.
“As soon as I hire a couple more hands in the shop that shouldn’t be a problem,” I say, having another drink of my juice.
“How do blueberry pancakes and sausage sound?”
“Mmm…yes, please.”
He laughs softly and begins mixing the batter in the bowl, pouring in a cup of fresh blueberries. Watching him makes my stomach start to growl even more. I reach for my juice glass and finish it in a few big gulps.
He licks a small amount of the batter off his thumb as he looks at my glass. “You want some more baby?”
I give my head a shake. “Not till the pancakes are ready but thank you.”
“You look really happy right now, baby.” He smiles, pouring some of the batter into the pan.
“I am. I have my Daddy back. Of course, I’m happy.”
River’s cheeks seem to turn a light shade of pink underneath his stubble. It’s adorable on him to be completely honest. He looks so happy right now. The dark circles are beginning to fade at the bottom of his eyes and you can tell that not only is he sleeping regularly now, but eating as well. I let out a little sigh and smile as I open my mouth to speak, but the loud knock at the door interrupts us. River grumbles and starts for the door.
I shake my head, “I’ve got it. You just work on those pancakes that smell amazing, I'm starving.” I hop from my stool and head to the front door. When I open it, I’m shocked to see Kade. His eyes are lined with dark circles and his normally clean-shaven face is buried under thick scruff. He looks like hell and completely unlike the Kade I once knew. I step back and my mouth hangs open. I do the only thing that I know to do. “River…”
Kade laughs and shakes his head, “Really? That’s the greeting I get? Knowing that my worthless, piece of shit brother is who you run to?” He growls, stepping towards me. “He’s sucked you into his sick, twisted, and delusional world, hasn’t he?”
I don’t even know what to say. I step back again as I try to speak, but no words come out. Kade reaches for my newly repaired day collar.
“Do you really think that this is normal, Lola?” He snaps, “River treating you like some fucking pet? Like you’re some fucking dog?”
“It’s not like that, Kade,” I defend, “There’s a lot more to it than you think.” I reach for his hand to pull it away from my collar.
He shakes his head. “You're fucking stupid.”
Before I can say another word Kade yanks my day collar, ripping it from my neck. It snaps into two pieces and he tosses it to the ground. He grabs my shoulders in a painful grip and then smacks me across the face before shoving me to the ground. My head bounces off the hardwood floor as I land painfully. River rushes past me and grabs Kade. “Lola, go in the bedroom!”
I can hardly think. My cheek is on fire. My head is pounding. My day collar is broken. I reach up to my bare neck as I begin shaking. I move to my knees and reach for my broken collar. I want to cry, but instead my mouth drops open and I start to pant as my bottom lips quivers. My collar is broken again.
Just in front of me River has Kade by his shirt and is driving his fist into Kade’s face. Bedroom. River told me to go in the bedroom, my legs feel numb, I can’
t even pull myself off the floor. All I can do is look at my broken collar.
Kade groans loudly as River literally tosses him out the front door. He slams the door shut and locks it behind him. He starts for the hallway but stops suddenly when he sees that I’m still on the floor.
“Lola!” He rushes over, squatting next to me. “Baby, are you alright?” His fingertips gingerly graze the spot on my cheek where Kade smacked me.
“It’s broken…”
“What’s broken baby?” He asks softly.
“My collar…it’s broken…Kade broke it…” I can feel the tears in my eyes as my voice shakes. River lifts me off the floor and guides me to his couch. “River, it’s broken.” I can’t even describe how I feel right now. It’s awful, as though Kade broke our bond again…it’s as though he broke us.
“Shh…” I hear River shush me softly as he sits on the couch with me and pulls me into his arms. “It’s okay baby, we are perfect. Daddy can fix it.”
I press my face into his chest. “But, it’s broken, Daddy. It’s broken again.”
He runs his fingers through my hair. “I promise Daddy can fix it, princess. I can fix it.”
“But…” My voice trails as I try to ease through the emotion.
“Shh…” he says again. “I’ve got you. Let me see it.”
I extend my hand with the broken collar and he eases it out of my fingers. He inspects it carefully and finally makes a little noise.
“Oh baby, I can have this fixed,” he tells me, “it’s really alright. It can be fixed.”
“But, Daddy, I need my collar.” I whimper. I can’t even explain what’s wrong with me other than I feel distraught over the fact that my collar has been broken. This time unintentionally.
“I can fix that too,” he tells me, “give me your hand.”
I nod and place my left hand in his, he takes off his father's watch and puts it on my wrist. “It's not your day collar, but it can work until we have yours fixed.”
I feel my body relax as I feel a little better having something of His on me.
“That’s my good girl,” he breathes into my hair, kissing the top of my head. “Feel a little better?”
“Mhm,” I pull away to look at him. “I’m so sorry, I don’t know what happened to me.”
He swiftly interrupts. “It’s alright baby, I understand. Your collar was broken, it can be very emotional, even if it was unintentional.” He reaches for my hand. “But you have Daddy’s watch to wear. You’re still my good girl. I just want you to relax for me.” He says, brushing the hair from my eyes. How are you feeling? Does anything hurt? Did he hurt you?”
I try to think about what just happened. Kade just smacked the hell out of me. I was so torn up over my collar that I hadn’t even thought about it. I bring a hand up to my face. He honestly put all of his might into that smack. I bring a hand up and can feel where it has started to swell up.
“Here, let me look,” River tells, sitting me up just enough to see my face. He lifts my chin with his fingers and begins inspecting my cheek. When he makes a pitiful face, I can only imagine how bad it actually looks. He runs his fingers tenderly over the sore spot and shakes his head. “Oh, baby. I should have gotten the door. This is my fault.”
“We didn’t know it was Kade,” I tell him. “It’s not your fault.”
“Here. You sit right here. I’ll be right back.”
I grab onto him and push myself into his body. I really don’t want him to move. I feel off and still a hot mess over the day collar.
River immediately shushes me again, “Daddy is here baby, I’m just going to get you some ice for your face.”
I finally give him a little nod and scoot myself into the corner of his couch as he gets up and makes his way into the kitchen. I look down at his watch. I run my finger tenderly over the polished black metal. I know how precious it is to him. It’s the only thing he has left of his father. I feel both honored and terrified that he'd trust me with something so priceless. I’d die if anything happened to it while I had it.
“Do you like it?” He asks, joining me on the couch upon his return.
“It’s beautiful,” I tell him softly, “but you don’t have to let me wear it. I know what it means to you.”
He tenderly places an ice pack on my cheek, “hold this right here for a minute baby. It’ll probably bruise, but we can at least keep swelling down.” I obey as he opens a bottle of water and pours a few ibuprofen into my hand. “My baby needed a day collar. My watch will work until I can have yours fixed. Sometimes the repairs can take a while.”
I give him a little nod as I take the pills and swallow both of them with one gulp. “I’m just worried that I’ll break it.”
“You won’t,” he tells me, “I trust you. If I didn’t, I would never give it to you to wear.”
“River, what happens from here?” I ask. “We can’t worry about Kade on a daily basis, but honestly, where can we go from here?”
“I won’t have him hurting you like this,” River tells me, moving my ice bag to look at my face. “I could have killed the kid just now and had no regrets about it.”
“You can’t go to jail,” I say, as he lays the ice back on my cheek and gently moves me to where I'm laying with my head in his lap. “I didn’t think he would ever…” I let out a sigh and give my head a shake. “Breaking my day collar was bad, I…I can’t even explain how that crushed me. But smacking me was on a whole new level.”
“You trust me, right?”
“Of course I do, but you can’t just kill him, River.”
He lets out a little chuckle running his fingers through my hair. “I’m not going to kill him, I’m going to talk to him.”
I move the ice pack and turn my cheek towards him. “Be honest, how bad does it look?”
“It will bruise, baby. The ice is helping the swelling. Probably feels good too.”
I give him a little nod.
“I have to talk to him, Lola, I know you’re worried right now, but you have to trust me.”
“Wouldn’t it be easier to just file charges against him?”
“Even if we filed charges against him with our seriously fucked up system, nothing would be done. We could try for a protection order, but a judge might argue that it’s not stalking until we’ve told him to leave us alone on several occasions and he has persisted every time after that.”
“But, he just smacked the fucking hell out of me,” I pout.
“I know, baby,” River says softly, “I know, which is why I have to talk to him.”
I close my eyes and think for a moment. It’s not that I’m scared of Kade. I’m just worried. He just smacked the ever loving shit out of me and didn’t even flinch. I called him my friend for years. Not just my friend, my absolute best friend and I trusted him. What would happen if I turned him and River loose alone? River has always managed to stay level-headed, but would he really be able to keep his cool after this? Then again, after this, even if I told him “no” River would still go talk to him. I probably don’t have much of a choice. All I want right now is to get our life back in order, see where River and I are going and see how Skin Deep will progress for the remainder of this year. I let out a little groan and finally nod. Now all I can do is hope that River doesn’t kill him.
Have you ever been so fucking mad, that you feel like your entire body could explode? That’s me right now. I’ve always been a non-violent person, it’s not like I go to bars to get into brawls, but since Kade hit Lola last night I feel like I’m out for blood. He crossed the line that night in his apartment by pinning her beneath him on his couch. This time he didn’t just cross the line, he blew the bastard up. Not only did he traumatize her and rip her day collar off her, but he smacked her so hard that she ended up with a nasty little bruise on her cheekbone. She was so torn up over her broken day collar that the pain from her cheek took a while to register. Watching her tell Cas and Archer today was heartbreaking. She didn’t even know how
to tell them. They were infuriated. Asked me if I needed any help beating his ass. To be honest with you I wasn’t exactly gentle with him when I was kicking him out of my house and I’d love to know that I hurt him a little. I feel like something in me snaps when it comes to Lola. I’ve never had a sub like her. Granted I haven’t had a lot of subs, but when you meet a person who is the right fit for you, you just know. And I feel like Lola is the better half of me. Which is why I’d do anything to protect her. She’s Mine. It’s that fucking simple and Kade can’t seem to wrap his head around that.
I lean in and give Lola one last kiss. Archer has agreed to pick up some extra hours and stay in the shop with her while I go talk to Kade. Archer seems to think I’m just going to go kick the life out of him. As much as I want to do that, I really will try to talk to the little asshole. If Lola was really his friend why go rogue on her after all of these years? Is it because of me? And why hit a lady? Greg never hit my mom…well, that I knew of and while the bastard abused me and beat me on a daily basis it wasn’t as though he was preaching to knock the hell out of women. Maybe deep down Kade has been an asshole all this time. Whatever the fuck his reasoning is, I plan to get to the fucking bottom of it and be done with all of this shit today. Lola gives me a tight hug and whispers for me to be careful. I tell her not to worry and that I will call her as soon as I leave Kade’s apartment. She gives me a nod as I leave her to her paperwork and paying the bills for Skin Deep. Archer is working with a customer, looking at flashes, and explaining what he can do about a small fairy on her foot when I walk onto the main shop floor. He gives me a nod in passing as I head out the door to my truck.
I know Kade was babied when we were kids. Greg and my mom doted on that little asshole every chance they got. But maybe watching me get beaten every day fucked him up in the head. I seriously resented my mom for how she let Greg treat me. She never said a fucking word. Never asked him to stop. She didn’t even try to protect me. She just treated Kade like a little prince, while her first born son was shoved around until he couldn’t take it anymore. When I actually left, Kade was only sixteen, but it caused a huge fight. Greg tried beating me again with a wrench and it was the first time I fought back. My mother told me that if I left she would disown me. Kade begged to come along with me. Funny for a kid who was eating from a silver fucking spoon. It was just an all-around bad fucking situation.
Skin Deep Page 24
