by Jamie Begley
She tensed when she felt the paddle follow the line of her spine, then go down her arm to be laid down on the bed beside her hand.
She watched as his hand went to the other items on the bed, licking dry lips when she saw what he chose.
“Spread your legs wider apart,” he ordered as he placed one manacle on her ankle then latched the other end of it to one of the bedposts. Taking another manacle off the bed, he placed it on her opposite leg.
“Now, isn’t that a pretty sight.”
Feeling him take the length of her hair into one hand, she tried fruitlessly not to turn around to see what he was doing.
The palm of his hand landed on her bottom. The warmth from the smack sent a matching warmth between her thighs.
“Eyes forward.”
Shade continued to do what he had been doing with her hair. She finally figured out he was braiding her long hair with something he had taken from the bed.
Concentrating, she felt the thin strip of leather being entwined in her hair. When he ran out of hair, Shade ran the leather strip under her body, crisscrossing each breast until they were tightly encased in a circle of leather.
As he leaned over her, she could feel his breath fanning across her back, each of her nipples prickling in arousal in response. Shade traveled his hand farther down her body and between her thighs, wrapping each of her thighs.
Shade was harnessing her, using the long leather cord to restrain movement.
She jumped, startled when he laid the other end of the cord over her shoulder. Glancing down, she saw that the end had slender tassels.
Shade rested his palm on her naked backside, squeezing a cheek before giving it a gentle tap. His hands became rougher as he positioned her exactly the way he wanted her.
“Don’t move,” he growled when she started shaking as he moved his fingers from her mound to stroke her clit. She was unable to prevent her moans when he speared her opening with one finger at the same time that he lifted up on the harness that had been looped over her breasts like a bra. Her breasts felt as if they fire as he tugged on it while he finger-fucked her.
Just as she was beginning to enjoy it, he released the harness and removed his finger.
“Do it again.”
A sharp smack on her bottom was her penalty for talking.
“I have something better.”
Lily was trembling so hard she could barely hold herself up on her hands, wanting to sink onto the bed. The feel of his cock surging inside had her nails curling into the blanket.
Once seated fully inside of her, Shade reached for the other end of the leather rope, sensually dragging it off her shoulder, down her back, to hold it teasingly over her ass.
Each movement of the leather tugged at her thighs, breasts, and hair. The cascading sensations with Shade’s cock inside her had her wanting to fervently beg him to go faster instead of the slow pace he had set for them.
She wanted to move passionately back on him, but every time she did, he would hit her with the tassels, sending stinging pain that made her want to do it again so he would do it more. Over and over, she raised her hips just to felt the sting of the leather.
She was so lost in what he was doing that he had to repeat his question twice.
“If you could fuck anyplace you wanted to, where would it be?”
When she couldn’t think fast enough, he pulled the leather tighter, using it swat her other butt cheek.
“Mick’s bar.”
“You enjoyed it the other night?”
“Yes,” she whimpered.
“So it was worth the money I spent on it?”
“Oh, yes! Can we do it again next Valentine’s Day?”
“Not if Bubba bankrupts me before then. The way he’s going, I won’t be able to afford college for one kid, much less three.”
Her gurgle of laughter was cut off by another swat on her butt.
“It wasn’t funny.”
“No, Sir.” Meekly, she attempted to soothe him, more interested in what he was doing to her than Bubba. She would worry about him getting fired after Shade let her come, if he ever would.
Shade prolonged the exquisite agony of tightening and releasing the leather strap until he had her unable to hold back her pleas.
“Please, Shade….”
“Are you sorry you stole my keys?”
“So sorry…,” she apologized, giving a scream of frustration when he stopped moving inside her.
“I don’t believe you.”
“I’m sorry. I’ll never touch your keys again!”
He started moving his cock again, tightening the strap in his hand and sending her head rearing back at the same as her breasts were pushed upward.
“Did you put the panties back?”
“Yes, right after I washed them.”
“How did you when it was locked? Let me guess, you took them when I was in the shower?”
“Yes, Sir.”
“You do know that will be the last time I shower alone?”
“Yes, Sir.” She didn’t tell him that was a punishment she could live with.
Shade pressed his chest to her back, enfolding her in his arms and bringing his hands to cover her abdomen.
“Thank you for giving me another child.”
Lily had to blink through the sudden shimmer of tears. “You’re welcome.”
She felt the harness loosen, giving her free range of movement.
Shade raised his body off her to roll her over and stare down into her face as he positioned himself back inside her. His thrusts quickened as he hooked one of her thighs over his as they laid side by side on the bed.
He gripped her butt cheek to move her closer to him, their pelvises grinding together to find the fulfillment that was just out of reach. She broke first, her pussy constricting him as he impaled her as deeply as he could, sending her soaring into oblivion and taking him with her.
The euphoria that Shade had given her finally dimmed enough that she could raise her lashes to look at him.
“You take my breath away,” he murmured, staring down at her.
Winding her arms around his neck, she slid her lips along his jaw. “That’s the way I feel every time you tell me you love me.”
Kissing her, he rolled farther onto her until her back was on the mattress.
Wrapping both of her thighs around his hips, she felt him getting hard again. She was about to joke that she needed to regain her breath when she heard the front door slam and running footsteps in the living room.
Both her and Shade’s eyes darted to the open bedroom door.
“You didn’t lock the door?” he whispered, jumping off the bed.
Frantic, Lily didn’t bother answering, trying to dive off the bed, sending Shade’s toys flying. Horrified that one or both of the boys would come into the bedroom, she brushed her hair out of her face to see Shade leaning naked against the closed door.
He looked at her as if she was as looney as Bubba. “You should have gone for the door, too! What if I didn’t make it in time?”
Lily plumped up a pillow, shoving it behind her back while pushing a wooden paddle off the bed with her foot. “There was no way you were going to let the boys see your toys.” Lily used a pink fingernail to twitch a turquoise plastic toy away from her hip. “What is that?” she asked curiously. “I haven’t seen that one before.”
Shade locked the door, treading toward her with silent feet. “Let me show you—”
“Mom!” John yelled out from the opposite side of the door. “Clint spilled Noah’s Kool-Aid on his shirt.”
“Go in the bathroom. I’ll be there in a second,” Lily called back, flipping the blanket off her.
“Stay put. I’ll take….” Shade gave her an anticipatory grin, eyeing the toy. He looked like John when he had gotten his Xbox for Christmas.
“Mom!”
“What!” Shade yelled in frustration, trying to pull on his jeans over his hard cock.
“He spilled som
e on me, too!”
“John!”
“I know, go to the bathroom.”
Lily waited until the boys were moving away from the door before looking at Shade questioningly. “Would you like me to put the toys back for you?”
“No, I’m going to get them in their pajamas before sending them back to Razer. Then I’m going to text him and make sure he keeps them there this time, no matter how many cups of Kool-Aid Clint spills.”
“What then?” she asked breathlessly, seeing he was still having trouble getting his jeans zipped.
“Then, Angel, I’m going to show you exactly how that toy works.”
CHASING RAINBOWS
CHAPTER 1
“Have you seen Ice?”
Grace turned as her brother Dax entered the formal dining room of her father’s new home. “No. The last time I saw him was this morning when he left to get his tux. I’ve been helping Willa and Ginny set up for the reception.”
Dax frowned. “The photographer wants to get started taking pictures of Dad’s groomsmen.
“I’ll text him and see where he is—”
“Just call; it’ll be quicker.”
“I left my phone in the kitchen.” Conscious of her brother following her, she kept her expression neutral as they headed toward the kitchen. If she told her brother she didn’t want to talk to her husband, it would raise alarms in both him and their father. Although, neither of them had missed the growing coldness between her and Ice.
For the last year, they had subtly tried to find the reason for it, but she had been keeping them in the dark, evading their questions as much as possible when she could. When she couldn’t, she would use a variety of excuses that pointed away from the real reason her marriage was falling apart.
Giving Willa and Ginny quick smiles, she reached for her phone on the counter, then nervously pressed Ice’s number. They fought that morning when they woke up. When Ice hadn’t been willing to end the argument, she stormed into their private bathroom and slammed the door on him. If they had been in their own home, he would have never let her get away with it. But because they were in her father’s home, he left, slamming the bedroom door on his way out. She sat on the side of the bathtub and cried at the sound.
He was furious and, truthfully, she couldn’t blame him. She had created this problem in their marriage, and she wasn’t willing to give in. She couldn’t.
When her call went unanswered, she felt a crushing dread that Ice was so angry with her that he returned to Queen City without telling her.
“He didn’t answer,” she was forced to admit to Dax, self-conscious that Willa and Ginny were listening. “He’ll probably be here any minute. Tell Peyton to start taking pictures, and I’ll text you as soon as I hear from him.”
Sensing her embarrassment from having the two other women in the room, Dax nodded. “Just send him on to the church when you hear from him. That’s where Peyton is waiting for us.”
“I will.” She started texting Ice to tell him as Dax left the kitchen, leaving her with a worried glance. Before she could finish the text, though, Ice’s name flashed across the screen.
Accepting the call, she started walking to the bedroom that T.A. had given them during their stay. Grace walked inside the room that was situated off from the kitchen, closing the door behind her.
“What did you need?”
She clenched the phone at the abrupt way he had answered it. “Killyama’s mother wants the groomsmen for pictures at the church.”
“I’m already here.”
Grace licked her dry bottom lip. “I’m sorry I yelled at you this morning.”
“I was over the fighting a couple of months ago. I’m sorry just doesn’t cut it anymore, Grace.”
Walking toward the bed, she sank down onto the mattress to keep from collapsing on her shaky legs. “Are you saying you want a divorce?”
“No, I don’t want a fucking divorce,” he hissed from the other end of the phone. “What I want is for the fighting to stop.”
“I do, too,” she said achingly. “This fighting is tearing me apart.”
“I’m not the one that starts them.”
“I know,” she admitted then heard his sigh of frustration when that was all she was willing to concede.
“Grace, Dax is coming in the door. I have to go.”
Her hand holding the phone dropped to her lap when the phone went dead.
Their fights were escalating to the point that, if they didn’t stop, the marriage was going to be irreparable. If it wasn’t already.
Grace stared blankly at the wall in front of the bed. She hated herself for being the one who was sparking their disagreements, but unless Ice was willing to give in to her pleas, she couldn’t see their arguments ending. Divorce might be the only option left for her if Ice wasn’t willing to walk away from Desmond Beck.
Desmond was the owner of Beck Industries. Wealthy, handsome, and charming, the man was a favorite bachelor in Queen City’s society. But behind closed doors, he was ruthless, cunning, and formidable at the power he held.
The truly frightening part to her was when she had found out that her husband was the one who enforced Desmond’s power.
She had turned a blind eye to the strip club that he protected by placing Jackal and Buzzard inside as bouncers. What she couldn’t turn away from, though, was him placing his life on the line every time a deal went down by making sure the agreement was met without the fear of the buyers or the sellers being double-crossed, all the while making sure that Desmond received his cut of the transaction.
Of course, the affluent friends he had accumulated not only provided a smokescreen but were another layer of protection Desmond used to surround himself. He was able to stay safe and warm in his mansion, hiding behind the façade of being a legitimate businessman, while Ice did whatever dirty work he was ordered to perform.
Naively, she hadn’t asked too many questions, and those she did, she had accepted the ambiguous answers he had come up with. She had told herself repeatedly that he would get tired of the job and move on like normal men did as they grew older and wanted to start a family. Except, Ice had no intention of changing his job, whether they started a family or not.
That fact had finally registered to her when she became pregnant two months after her mother’s death. She had looked at the baby as a bright spot in the grief she had been dealing with, happily planning to turn one of the guest rooms into a nursery. That was the same time their arguments began.
Dealing with the overwhelming grief of losing her mother, it occurred to her: What if something happened to Ice? No one could do anything if misfortune happened, such as an accident, but the job Ice did was laced with danger that could be prevented.
That was when the truth about her husband finally hit home: he had no intention of changing, regardless of how many children they had.
Each time they fought, his only response was the exact same—she had known what type man he was before they had married. And she had.
Another blow to their marriage had been when she suffered a miscarriage. During that year, Ice had been supportive and loving. Everything a woman could need from her husband was there, except for what she needed the most. She needed Ice to pick her and the child she hoped to have in their future over being Desmond’s henchman.
That was over three years ago, and they were no closer to a solution that would make them both happy.
To make matters worse, she had no one she could confide in. She didn’t want her father and Dax to know what Ice did, nor could she talk to Penni, who was her best friend. Penni was married to Jackal, who was Ice’s sergeant-at-arms in the Predators. He was right beside Ice when the deals went down.
It didn’t seem to bother Penni that her husband took risks, or that he worked at the Purple Pussycat, protecting the women during encounters with their customers. Penni’s brother, Shade, belonged to The Last Riders motorcycle club, so she was used to turning a blind eye to the jobs the
men in her life carried out.
Rising from the bed, Grace smoothed down the dress she was wearing. The knee-length, rose-colored chiffon skimmed her body lovingly.
Catching sight of her reflection in the bureau mirror, she was tempted to throw something at it, to break the image that was staring back at her.
She might look the same as when she married Ice, but she changed. Losing her mother and the child she wanted had altered something inside of her. Now something was missing, and unless she discovered what that void was, Grace was deathly afraid that it was going to swallow her whole.
Ice had said he didn’t want a divorce, but she didn’t know how much longer she would be able to say the same if what she suspected was true.
Tucking a stray wisp of hair back into her chignon, she took a deep breath to steady herself. Today was Valentine’s Day, she reminded herself, and her father was getting remarried in a few hours.
Both his and T.A.’s happiness glowed on their faces whenever they were in a room together, highlighting just how unhappy she and Ice must appear.
Valentine’s Day was supposed to be filled with love. So far, hers was totally sucking. The only bright spot she was looking forward to was the wedding. As much as she was anticipating the wedding, she dreaded the oncoming evening when she and Ice would be left alone.
After the reception, her father and T.A. were flying to Florida to retrieve a motorcycle he had left with a friend. She and Ice would stay the night then fly back to Queen City in the morning.
She wasn’t under any delusions that they wouldn’t spend the night arguing, despite the romantic nature of the holiday. No pink cardboard heart was going to be able to heal the rift between them. It was going to take something that Grace was beginning to doubt Ice still felt for her.
Love.
CHAPTER 2
Grace stared down at the wedding ring on her left hand as T.A.’s and her father’s guests mingled while waiting for the newly married couple to arrive from the church.
