by Alice Raine
‘I … uh … well, I’ll be off. Call the number by the phone if you need anything, it’s my mum’s. She usually deals with the cottages but she was out this morning …’ His words faded off when he saw that I clearly didn’t give a fuck what he was saying, and with one more quick, embarrassed glance at Stella, he scurried off.
Letting out a long, calming breath, I licked my lips and nodded to myself. That was probably the most blatant claim over Stella I had ever made, but it had certainly done the trick. The kid’s legs could barely carry him away quick enough, and I couldn’t help but smirk as I watched his hasty retreat.
‘That was mean, Nathan,’ Stella chastised, but when I looked down I saw shared amusement in her twinkling eyes. I think she actually rather liked it when I got a bit possessive. Which was just as well, really, because it happened quite frequently.
‘It was no more than he deserved. He was actually checking for a wedding ring, did you notice?’ I asked, seeing the surprise on her face. How she could be so intelligent and yet so oblivious about her appeal to the opposite sex still completely stumped me, but I decided to let the subject drop for now. ‘Come one, let’s get you both inside. It’s freezing out here.’
As we entered the cottage, we both hummed our appreciation at the warmth radiating from the wood burner in the fireplace. It was exactly what we needed after being out in the cold day. The interior of the cottage was lovely, a nice mix of old features like exposed beams and flagstone floors, tastefully combined with modern furnishings which gave it a clean but cosy feel.
As nice as the room was though, my mind was still stuck on the events of just a few minutes ago, as one image kept revolving in my mind – that arsehole checking out Stella’s ringless hand, and the look of pleasure that had crossed his face when he’d assumed she was single. Stupid fucker. That had not been a nice thing to observe, and as I stood there cradling Will, I tried to plan how I could avoid similar occurrences in the future.
There was one obvious way, but I was still very unsure about it. Observing my parents’ fucked-up marriage as a kid had distinctly put me off ever wanting that for myself. It was this aversion to marriage, plus my history as a Dom, which had led to Stella and I instead being joined by the collar she wore around her neck, but that was a very personal statement of our commitment to each other, and not obvious to those around us unless they were in the know about that sort of lifestyle.
Pursing my lips as I followed Stella through to the kitchen, I narrowed my eyes as I tried to plan a way forward. We already shared the same surname, and now we had Will, so maybe I should get Stella a ring as a more public statement of her relationship status. It would certainly make it very clear that she was spoken for. The idea still freaked me out, so wasn’t something I needed to rush into, as my raised, slightly panicky breathing testified, but it was certainly a consideration, I suppose.
Joining Stella by the patio doors, we gazed out at a beautiful view of the valley and I supressed a laugh that was brewing my chest – wedding rings might scare the shit out of me, but one would absolutely thrill her mother.
NINE
STELLA
Rebecca had insisted that they babysit Will for the whole night, and by the time I had given in to my worries and agreed, it was just beginning to get dark. As I walked Will across the small courtyard to the cottage Rebecca and Nicholas were staying in, I couldn’t help but grin as I looked around me. This place was gorgeous. The outside was just as amazing as the finish inside the cottages, complete with cobble stone driveway, a seating area with gazebo, wishing well and fire pit, and even two swimming pools – one indoor, and one out. It really would be a great place to re-visit in the summer when we could spend more time outside, and I made a mental note to keep the business card in my diary as a reminder.
As it was, I was freezing my arse off lingering to look, so quickly bundled Will closer to my body and hurried towards Rebecca, who was waiting impatiently at the door to her cottage.
‘Come on, slowcoach. Get my nephew indoors, it’s freezing out there,’ she chided, holding out her arms for Will as I stepped inside the warmth of their hallway with a relieved sigh.
Nicholas appeared in the lounge doorway with a small smile aimed at Will, then the three of us, and Will, bundled up the stairs to their bedroom where he would be sleeping tonight. Once we were in the cosy room I turned to her with a worried frown. ‘Are you sure you’ll be OK having him overnight?’ I asked nervously, indulging myself in a quick, anxious chew on my lower lip – well, Nathan wasn’t here so he’d never know I had broken his silly rule. Besides, I had a right to express my anxiety, because this was the first time we’d left William overnight since the birth. Even though Nathan and I would literally be next door, it still felt strange.
‘Of course,’ Rebecca reassured me, smiling down lovingly at William, who was already dozing in her arms. ‘You said he’s an amazingly good sleeper, and it’s his bedtime anyway so he’ll most likely just be asleep.’
Nicholas wandered over and gently looped a finger through Will’s little fist, his hand dwarfing Will’s tiny digits. Nicholas wasn’t the most expressive of men, just like his brother, but the soft smile that lit up his face when he looked at William made my chest compress.
‘With the amount of equipment Nathan has set up here it’ll practically be like you’re in the room with him anyway,’ Nicholas observed wryly, giving me a knowing look. Although Nathan had been looking forward to us spending the night together, he had been just as worried about our separation from William as I had, and had gone to the extreme measures of setting up a wireless baby camera and speaker in the room so we would be able to see and hear Will from next door.
I think Rebecca had been a little offended at first, feeling Nathan didn’t trust her to look after her own nephew, but after a few charming words Nathan had reassured her and wrapped her around his little finger. For a once closed-off individual Nathan could certainly turn on the charm when he wanted, that was for sure.
‘OK, well, I think you have everything you need,’ I added, feeling torn by the emotions of not wanting to leave William but also wanting to get back to Nathan for a nice evening together. ‘Oh yeah, I expressed some milk earlier for his night feeds.’ Handing the little cool bag to Nicholas, I leant in to place a kiss on William’s lovely warm head and then stepped back. ‘Call if you need anything, OK?’
‘Stop fussing, Stella, we’ll be fine,’ Nicholas said firmly, guiding me towards the bedroom door.
‘Go and enjoy your evening,’ Rebecca added, with a naughty twinkle in her eye that firmly suggested that they were well aware of exactly what Nathan and I would be up to.
Flushing bright red, I flashed Rebecca a narrow-eyed glance then gave Will one last touch on the head before heading back downstairs and out into the cold of the night with tears stinging the back of my eyes. It was stupid to cry – he would be barely ten metres away from me – but I suppose it was instinctive to feel this way.
Nathan was waiting in the doorway of our cottage when I got back, his face looking marginally concerned. ‘You were gone a while. Everything, OK?’
Sniffing hard, I swallowed down my silly tears and smiled up at him, seeing my own worries reflected on his handsome face.
‘Yeah. It just felt weird leaving him so I took a while to say bye.’
Nodding his understanding, Nathan saw my glassy eyes and his expression softened as he raised his hand to gently wipe away the one stray tear that had escaped. ‘He’ll be fine. Besides, we have the monitors upstairs so it’ll be like he’s there.’
I stepped into his arms for a hug, inhaling his delicious scent and sighing happily. ‘Let’s just hope Nicholas and Rebecca wear pyjamas tonight, because I don’t fancy checking the monitors and getting an eyeful of my brother’s white arse flashing in the moonlight,’ he joked, trying to help me relax, as I gave a small giggle.
The feel of Nathan’s hard body below my fingertips started a low fizzle of excitement in m
y belly. I was actually going to get to spend the entire night with him, alone. A whole, uninterrupted night. No bleary-eyed night feeds, no stinky nappies, just the two of us, free to do whatever we wanted. It sounded like pure bliss. I was about to ask what he had planned for our evening when Nathan straightened, gently removing me from his hold, and then crossed his arms across his body, widened his stance, and gave me a dark, desire-filled look.
‘Stella, I need you to stand still and count to twenty, then go into the kitchen. Follow the instructions you find there.’ With his authoritative command issued, Nathan turned and walked calmly up the stairs, leaving me gaping at his retreating figure. Whoa … where had that come from? One second I was dropping our baby off with his aunt and uncle for the night, then I was receiving a tender hug from my equally as worried man, and suddenly, wham, dominant Nathan is in the house.
A shiver of lust flew up my spine at his commanding tone. There was no mistaking that raspy, authoritative voice. It was one I loved, the one that always promised of delicious naughtiness to come. I hadn’t heard it for a very long time, and boy, was I glad to hear it tonight.
I was so aroused and excited to see what he had in store for me that I almost couldn’t wait. Except annoyingly, I had to wait, because that had been one of his instructions and I knew Nathan would expect me to follow it to the letter.
Pressing my thighs together in anticipation, I stood on the doormat trying, and failing, not to squirm as I slowly began to count from one to twenty. I had got to six and Nathan was almost at the top of the stairs when he paused, his shoulders tensing. ‘I said, stand still.’
How the hell did he know I was moving? He hadn’t even turned around to check on me. Clearly Nathan knew me well enough to know that I was impatient and would fail on the first attempt at remaining motionless. Which I had. Damn it. Bloody man was too smart for his own good.
It was months since we’d done any scenes as Dom and sub; surely he would give me a small allowance for being a little bit giddy about the idea now? Because I was giddy with excitement at the prospect. Really frigging giddy.
As if reading my mind, Nathan turned his head, his dark gaze meeting mine as he maintained a seemingly impassive face and shook his head oh-so slowly back and forth. Uh-oh.
‘Stand still means stand still, Stella, not wriggle on the spot. You already earned yourself one punishment earlier, now this makes two. Continue to squirm if you wish for that number to increase further. Understand?’
I didn’t have a clue what he meant when he said I had already earned one punishment, but I didn’t question him on it, instead, swallowing loudly, I nodded my head. As his eyes narrowed, I winced, rapidly remembering how much Nathan hated that gesture and then quickly found my voice instead. ‘Yes, Sir,’ I whispered, deciding that this situation definitely required use of his title.
Giving me a satisfied nod, he flashed me a quick wink to reassure me that this was all just part of our scene, and then turned back to the stairs. ‘Start again, and this time do it as I asked.’
It was ridiculous just how much I wanted to please Nathan, and so I tensed my entire body until I was as stiff as a board. I’m not sure I’ve ever stood as still in my entire life. Even when he turned the corner at the top of the stairs and disappeared from view, I still remained like a stone statue, barely even daring to breathe. Arousal was thumping around my system, almost making me light-headed, but I focused my mind on the task of slowly counting from one to twenty, using it as a mantra to keep me still and calm.
Once I reached twenty, I remained unmoving for an extra few seconds, just in case I had counted too quickly, and then broke from my statue pose, giving myself a shake and drawing in a deep breath as I turned towards the kitchen.
As I entered the bright space, I looked around for the instructions Nathan had mentioned, but on first glance nothing seemed to be out of the ordinary. I’d assumed I was looking for an envelope or piece of paper, and so it took me several moments to notice the single red rose on the counter by the window. Walking towards it curiously, I saw a small paper card was attached to it, carefully pierced on one of the thorns so almost seemed to hover on the stem.
As I reached the counter, my heartrate rocketed when I saw it was one of the vouchers I had given Nathan. Wow. This was the first time he’d used one, and I felt a tingle of excited expectation stir in my belly.
Licking my lips in anticipation, I felt my cheeks heat with excitement. Leaning down slightly, my eyes widened and throat dried as I read the title of the voucher he had chosen to use, although given his earlier behaviour in the hallway, it really shouldn’t have been a surprise to me.
‘I, Stella Jackson, the giver of this voucher, will submit to your every wish and desire.’
Gulping at the images the mere words caused in my mind, I looked down and saw the date on the voucher had already been filled in with Nathan’s neat script as today’s, and where there had been a blank space for time and place to be added, I saw six simple words: ‘Our bedroom. Ready position. Right now.’
My eyes widened at the brusque instructions, but not wasting one more second, I turned to hurry up the stairs.
Let the games begin.
TEN
NATHAN
I was so excited that I could barely contain myself. I had chosen to wait in the spare bedroom, and was now eagerly listening for when Stella would move into the kitchen to find the voucher. They had been quite a surprise gift from my little temptress, a selection of naughtiness and deviancy that appealed to each and every one of my particular tastes. As soon as I’d opened them on Christmas Day, I had immediately wanted to crack the booklet open and use them, but I’d stringently made myself hold off until now, when I knew we would be undisturbed.
Expectation and eagerness swirled in my system, making my muscles taut and my head almost dizzy with thoughts of what was about to occur. It had been so long since we’d played like this, and I literally couldn’t wait. Quite apparently neither could my cock, because it was rock solid and thrusting against the zipper of my trousers – and had been ever since I’d heard Stella utter ‘Sir’ in that breathy, aroused rasp of hers.
Straining my ear against the crack in the door, I heard Stella blow out a long breath. It was followed by the creak of several floorboards as she walked into the kitchen. There was a moment of silence, presumably as she looked around, and then I grinned to myself as I heard the faint sound of a small, excited gasp. My girl loved taking part in these scenes just as much as I did.
Adjusting my painfully constricted groin – which had given a sharp twitch at her gasp – I stood away from the door so she wouldn’t see me when she climbed the stairs and entered our bedroom opposite.
Soft footsteps a few seconds later informed me that my sub was on her way. Not wanting to rush her in her preparations I drew in several long, refreshing breaths. I needed to calm the fuck down and go in with a clear head so we could both get the most from this evening, but I was so excited that I was practically ready to come in my trousers.
If ever a calming countdown was required, it was now. Leaning back on the cool stone wall behind me, I tried to relax my tense frame and closed my eyes. Counting down from five to zero I focused my mind away from how aroused I was, rolled my neck until it audibly popped, and then opened my eyes, feeling a hundred times better.
Pulling myself to my full height I opened the door to the spare room and stepped across the small landing to our dimly lit bedroom.
While Stella had been dropping William off with Rebecca, I had prepared the room by lighting some candles, setting some music playing quietly, and laying out the toys I intended to use so Stella would see them as she entered the room. I bet that would up her nerves and excitement levels to no end. Yeah, I was an evil bugger like that.
Deliberately keeping my eyes trained on the floor, I closed the door softly behind me and allowed myself a moment of anticipation – would she have recalled her ready position and be waiting for me with her h
ands linked and head bowed? Or perhaps she would surprise me? Would she be clothed or naked? On the floor or on the bed? The possibilities were endless and it was all I could do to hold myself back from impatiently spinning around on the spot and devouring her with my eyes.
When I was sure I had my body under control, I finally allowed myself to turn slowly so I could see how Stella had arranged herself.
Well, fuck me.
Forget about remaining cool and calm, my cock was pulsating in my trousers and I felt a flush of excitement rush up my neck to my cheeks as I took in the sight before me. Stella was completely naked and kneeling in the centre of the large bed. Her head was dipped to avoid my gaze, meaning that her golden hair fell around her face like a halo, and to top it all off, her hands were joined in her lap just how I liked. She’d also opted to cradle the red rose between her palms as an added extra, which I had to say was a touch I highly approved of – the red of the petals contrasted beautifully with the pale, delicate skin, making her nipples look pinker than usual in the candlelight and giving the scene a look so erotic I had to swallow down a moan of arousal.
Fuck. She was perfect.
As much as I wanted to pounce on Stella and relieve the almost unbearable throbbing in my cock, I didn’t. I made Stella wait for my touch, lingering in the corner of the room and watching her. Given how long it was since we’d played like this, her control really was rather impressive; the only real indication of her excitement was her increased breathing, which I could see in the movement of her pert breasts as they rose and fell with a quicker rhythm than usual. She was doing well waiting patiently without saying a word, but I did notice how her eyes were repeatedly flicking to the toys that I had laid out on the base of the mattress.
If I wasn’t mistaken, her curious gaze was focusing on two toys in particular. Two new toys.
‘I see you’ve noticed my new purchases, Stella,’ I commented as I prowled around the room, casually unbuttoning my shirt one button every few minutes as if I wasn’t dying to rip the thing from my shoulders and fuck her senseless.
