
A Dark Eden Press Publication
www.darkedenpress.com
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
Play for Me Copyright© 2008 Terri Pray
Edited by Colleen Simpson
Cover art by Renee Rocco
Electronic book Publication: March 1, 2008
This book may not be reproduced or used in whole or in part by any means existing without written permission from the publisher, Dark Eden Press, Inc.® 629 Lisa St., Burleson, TX 76028
This book is a work of fiction and any resemblance to persons, living or dead, or places, events or locales is purely coincidental. The characters are productions of the authors' imagination and used fictitiously.
Warning: This book may contain themes that could be considered controversial or offensive to some. Views expressed here do not necessarily reflect those of the Publisher. Dark Eden Press is not responsible for any action that a reader may take against another person. Publisher does not endorse or encourage readers to live out any particular fantasy.
Play for Me
Terri Pray
"Don't look at me that way!" Tyler Jackson snarled, and pulled the large cushion from the edge of the bed. Long strands of dark hair half covered his eyes, his full lips turned upwards into a sneer, his knuckles whitened with the grip on the edge of the cushion in the moment before he threw it. "You never listen to me!"
Before Naomi had the chance to stop him, he'd flung it across the room with more force than she had thought he could muster. He missed her, but the dark blue cushion hit the end table and knocked her new coffee cup onto the floor. Her hands tightened, jaw clenching as she saw the cup shatter. It wasn't often she treated herself to something new, and now -- now he'd broken it in a fit of anger.
"I can't stand that damn pitying look in your eyes. You don't think that I can see how you look at me now! Why else would you be curled up with a blasted thing like that cushion?" Tyler nodded towards the cushion she cuddled most nights. "I know what's going. I know how you feel towards me now. You pity me! I disgust you now. I'm not the man you married and you can't stand that." Her husband rocked forward in the wheelchair only to curse as it caught on the edge of a loose rug. "Look at me. I can't even move across this bloody room without help! I'm a waste of time and space."
Coffee seeped out across the carpet, adding to the stains she had tried hard to clean up over the last few months of explosive tempers. His moods switched from one extreme to the next, often with little or no warning, something she had struggled to come to accept without lashing out with her own anger or self pity.
It was a part of what he'd been through, the shock of it all, she knew that, understood that. It just didn't make things any easier for them to deal with. Not when it meant she didn't want to come home most nights. When she cried herself to sleep nine times out of ten. This wasn't the life she had planned for, hoped for with him.
Neither of them had planned for this one.
Naomi took a deep breath, and tried to keep calm as she spoke. "It's not you I pity, love. It's me. I know that's selfish of me. I just wanted to remember for a short while what it was like before..."
"Before I screwed up, you mean! Before I turned our world upside down?" Tyler snapped, his knuckles white as he gripped the arms of the chair. "Go on, say it. I know you're thinking it. I say it to myself often enough. I know just how big a screw up I am."
The growl made her back up quickly and the fury within his eyes was almost too much to stand. She could see it lash across his face, the way his lips narrowed, the tightening of a dozen lines around his eyes, the furrowing of his brow. Even if she hadn't heard the fury in his voice she would have known how he felt just by looking at him.
How much longer would it be before he learned to control the temper?
No, not learned. Relearned. He had once been so patient. All those hours he'd spent teaching her, showing her the way through the confusion of her own thoughts and desires. Now -- now she barely recognized him.
She barely recognized herself anymore.
"I -- I destroyed everything we had, everything we ever wanted." She watched as Tyler shook his head, heard the hiccup of what might have been a half-swallowed sob. "We had a life, a real life and it's over. No wonder you pity me, hate me and count the days for when you finally come home to find me dead in this blasted chair."
"You're being too hard on yourself. You're still the man I love. The outside has changed, not your heart, not your mind. You're still my Tyler. I just wish you could see that. Everything you were is just hidden for now. It's not gone. We just have to find a way to..."
"That's not fair. I'm not the same man." Her husband looked away from her, refusing to meet her gaze. "Don't lie to me. Don't pretend that I'm the same when we both know I'm not. It's not fair to either of us. I'm trying to get this under control, the temper I mean. It's just not working. I'm not strong enough to fix things. Not on my own. I'm never going to be the same man you fell in love with. Not where it counts. Never where it counts."
No, that wasn't fair. The outbursts had grown fewer with each passing month, but they still erupted with little or no warning. Just what had set this one off she didn't know, but even with the thrown cushion she could see that it hadn't reached the height that some of the others had. There hadn't been any foul words tossed in her direction, neither had he thrown something that could have hurt her. But that still didn't stop her wanting to rescue the cushion from the floor, to clean it off and hug it tight to her chest.
"Where it counts? Can't you see that I don't care what you look like? That wasn't what drew me to you, Tyler. You know that."
"Do I look stupid to you?"
"No, of course..." she began to protest.
"Then why do you think I would believe that. I'm trapped in this chair, in this useless body. I'm not the man you married anymore." One hand formed into a tight fist as it slammed down onto the edge of his chair. "I know what has been taken from us. I know what I did to us, Naomi! Don't try and patronize me."
"It hasn't... we could... I mean there has to be a way we can work things out. I'm not going to give up on us."
"Get out! Just get out of my sight and leave me the hell alone! I don't want to talk to you. I don't even want to look at you!"
"No." Naomi shook her head. Even now that had to be one of the hardest words to say to him.
His words. God, she'd never heard anything so harsh from him before. They'd stabbed into her heart. She had to push through this, focus, do what was best to help him. To save what they had together. "I've told you before. I won't walk out on you. Not even when you are like this. Rant and rave at me all you want, but it's not going to happen." Every inch of her body had tensed to run, even though she knew it would be the wrong thing to do. Even leaving the room might help feed those self doubts that she had seen, more than once, running rampant within his gaze.
"Why... why do you stay with me?" His voice cracked. "You have other choices, there are men who could take care of you, who could feed your every desire and you choose to stay with me. I don't understand it. There are so many men out there who would welcome you with open arms. You're beautiful, unlike me."
"Why do you think, love? For better or worse, remember? We both took that vow. We both meant it." With the fury easing, she risked moving to him, resting her hand on his shoulder. "I love you. What has happened hasn't damaged the love I feel towards you. If I have to keep on telling you that a hundred times a day I will."
Protect, encourage and support him. How many times had they told her those were the gifts he would need from her? Those were the keys to helping him grow back into the man he had been. Love only fed that drive to help him, and the hope that a part of him, that side of his nature that she needed more than she wanted to admit, would return soon.
She didn't know how much longer she could hold onto the need within her. Naomi closed her eyes and took a deep breath, seeking some measure of calm. She couldn't give into those desires, not until he was ready to face them again. Tears built behind her closed lids, forcing her to open them and blink the unwanted wetness away.
"I don't deserve you in my life, love. I've known that for a long time. Even with the vow you could of walked out, perhaps you should have left me when I first threw something at you." His hand reached for her and pulled her close. "You could have left, found someone else, yet you still stay with me. Through all of this, all the thrown cups, cushions, tears and rages. I don't know why you do it for me." He almost chuckled as he spoke. "I know more than a few would love to have you within their lives, at their feet. You should have found someone else to be with."
Heat claimed her face. Did he know? Had he somehow found out how close she had come to betraying him? Did he know she was meeting another for coffee in just a few hours time? No, he'd have said. He'd have thrown it in her face in a fit of temper. Or he'd have lost control of himself and sobbed.
It was still a secret. For now at least. How much longer could she keep it a secret? She'd made a mistake, and there was only one way out of this. She had to make a choice, a real choice, on what she was going to do. Perhaps the hardest one of her life.
"It's not just for that side of things, though I could never leave you," she murmured against his neck, trying to hold back the tears. No, leaving him wasn't an option, but other choices had been offered, were still offered. He'd now made it clear. She was free to explore her options. It didn't make it right though. No, she knew it wasn't right. "I stay for us. I love you. I need you. I don't even want to imagine life without you."
"You've stood by me through all of this and I don't deserve you. Not after some of the things I've thrown at you. God, I could have hurt you. I still could. If I throw something at you and it hits you -- I couldn't live with myself."
"The words were the hardest thing to cope with. I can dodge cushions, pillows, even cups, but some of what you've said to me they -- they hurt, deeply." Naomi leaned into his touch and closed her eyes.
She could wipe away the scars on his face, the chair, all the hurt, just as long as she didn't look at him.
No, that wasn't right. She had to learn to accept him, all of him, how he was now. Not how he had been before the accident.
"I thought you'd leave me."
"And that gave you the right to call me a bitch?"
"I was trying to drive you away before you left of your own accord. I thought that maybe you'd be better off with someone else. I was afraid of losing you slowly and just figured it would be easier on us both if we ended it quickly."
"You want to be rid of me?"
"No, never. I just -- I don't know what I was thinking. Half the time when I lose control of my temper I'm not thinking at all. It's as though I'm lost and can't find my way back to you." Tyler shook as he spoke.
Hadn't she already lost a part of him though? His strength had become buried, the man she had married was now gone and a shadow sat in his place.
"I don't want to leave you. Not now, not ever," she murmured. "I've been trying so hard to shut out the hurt, to think about how you've been coping with the pain, the changes. You should have seen some of the research I did in the first couple of months. All those books I brought home, I was trying to find the best way of helping you recover."
"I'm never going to fully recover from this. We both know that. It's time we accepted it and found a way to..."
"Yes, but we could find a balance. A way that we reclaim some of what we've lost," Naomi pressed. "Together we can find a way. We just have to work on it."
"I shouldn't have snapped at you," he continued, holding her close, his body trembling as he spoke. "I just... I have an idea, if you are up to it. Tonight?"
"Tonight? What about it?" Her thoughts returned to their conversation. "What are you talking about?"
"I want you to prepare, like you used to. A bath, shave, scent, everything we used to do." His voice shook. "I know it won't be the same, but will you give it a chance? Please, for us? If you're serious about this, I mean."
A chance? Would it be worth the risk, the tears she would lock up if it failed for that slim hope he had come up with something? Was their relationship worth the risk? Yes, the simple answer was yes. She'd risk anything for him, for them. Even if it meant tearing her heart in two.
She glanced towards the clock as discreetly as she could. The last thing she needed would be for Tyler to see her attention was elsewhere, if even for a moment. But she knew that there was someone waiting for her. God, what sort of wife had she turned into? Here she was, in his arms, with her husband asking her to agree to a night together and she was thinking of another man? And just moments ago she'd been telling him how hard she had searched to find a way to help them live a semi-normal life again.
Heat flushed through her cheeks. Whatever Tyler wanted, she'd agree to it. He deserved that much from her.
"Say you'll try it for me, love. Please. I know with how I've been acting of late I'd deserve it if you just told me to go to hell, but just one night. It could be like it was before between us."
Telling him no would be more than he could take. Hadn't the doctors warned her just how much work encouraging him would take? They'd explained it all very clearly to her. How she would have to explain things to him, support him, put her heart on the line if she wanted him to take a step into living fully again.
It was more than that, though. Even with her doubts, a part of her wanted to try. She needed to know if the man she'd married really did exist somewhere within him. He had to be there. He was a strong man. She'd seen that first hand with him. All the joy they had shared, they could have it again if they could only find a way.
A flicker of hope soared into life. Memories of just what they had shared, how it could be that way again. There would be some changes of course. She knew that, accepted it, but she was willing to work for it.
Not just for her, but for them both, for the love they still shared.
But what if it backfired?
"Yes, I'll do it." She didn't know exactly what she was agreeing to, but the old routine was one she recalled fondly. The bath, shaving and soft scent he liked her to wear had been the start of many a wonderful evening between them. Those small, familiar steps that she'd taken before she'd come to him, to kneel at his feet and submit to him again and again.
It could be that way again. In her heart she knew that, accepted it, even if she feared the amount of work it would take to get there.
"Thank you. I know it can't be easy for you. It isn't for me. I don't even know if it will work. I know you're afraid that I'll lose control again, start shouting, ranting at you, throw something, or worse, but I promise you it won't be that way." Tyler shifted in the chair, his voice quieter now, calmer than it had been before.
Good, whatever he had in mind had eased his temper. Helped him to shift his focus once more.
Naomi smiled. Maybe he really had come up with something that would work for them. Even if he could only offer something small, a few swats, or tight grasp in her hair at the right moment it would be a thread to hold onto whilst he regained his strength. If he could learn some new ways of feeding their shared need it might be enough to stop her from cracking.
Or going elsewhere.
If they couldn't find an answer then she would be left with the choice of ignoring the desires within her or taking that dangerous step into another relationship with someone who might be able to answer her need.
She shouldn't have agreed to this meeting. Even as she sat in the coffee shop, her hands folded onto her lap, she knew this had been a mistake. Naomi glanced toward the door, then back at the man on the other side of the table. Leaving now wouldn't work either. Bad manners. She had to work things out, explain it to him. To herself. She didn't need to be labeled as a troublemaker at the local group and, if she just walked out, she'd have to deal with the aftermath.
No. She had enough to deal with right now without making matters a hundred times worse.
"You don't have to keep holding on like this, Naomi. I can see what the strain has done to you. You're a shadow of your old self. You're ready to crack, and I don't blame you. I doubt you've had a moment to relax since the accident. You don't have to be this way around me." Jake Winter spoke calmly as the waitress set down the two large mugs of coffee. "I've seen how you've spent nearly every moment with him. I don't think anyone at the club expected you to go on this long with him, without seeking some sort of help, but you've not even hired a nurse or tried to get him into a center. You're going to burn yourself out."
He reached out for his drink, pulling it closer before he leaned back in the chair.
Naomi smiled. He looked immaculate. Blond hair, deep blue eyes, a crisp-cut lightweight shirt and beige pants, Jake was every inch the perfect man on the outside. More than one set of female eyes had lit up when he'd walked into the coffee shop. Each one had followed his path between the tables, only to frown when he sat down at Naomi's table.
He wanted her, not them, not some woman from the street or a bar, or a singles club, but a woman who knew how to bend, how to writhe against the cruel hold of a frame, or St. Andrew's cross.
A woman who was also submissive.
Strong but with the ability to kneel.
Except it wasn't Jake she wanted to kneel to. She didn't belong to him. So why did a part of her, a large part of her, still want to see if she could do it? If she could submit to him?
"It's been hard since the accident, I admit that. And playing has been out of the question. He just doesn't have the physical control any more. Not yet at least. It will return in time." Naomi slowly tore a corner off the paper napkin. Hard didn't even begin to describe it. A living nightmare pierced by shreds of hope.
"And until it does, what will you do? How will you control it? You can't shut it down, you know that and I know you've tried."
"I don't know. I'll cope with it, I guess. I don't know what else I can do. Not and be fair to him." Tonight, Tyler had promised. There'd be something special for them tonight. Would he be able to take part, or was it just going to be another hope that would crash and burn into the side of a building?
No, that wasn't right. He hadn't deliberately had the accident. No one had planned it. Black ice, sleet, an idiot ahead of him that had turned into the lane without warning, those had been the factors that had led to the accident. The road too slick, the speed too much, his reactions not quite enough to save the day. The only thing he could have done in order to avoid being hurt was not be on the road at that time.
"You can come and submit to me."
The background noise of the coffee shop did little to mask his words. An offer she had longed to hear, but not from his lips. Still it remained a chance to unleash the need within her that had gone without hope in too long. Who else had heard his words though? The waitress who hurried past now, her cheeks turning a heated red, that glance backwards at their table with eyes filled with a mix of horror and wonderment.
Perhaps the young couple, who sat at the neighboring table?
Or the older man in the corner?
No, she didn't dare think about that. Not right now. She had enough to deal with, thanks to Jake's offer.
"Think of it, that feel of the leather caressing your back. That silence as I pull the flogger away before it strikes on your bare skin. That shock of pain and pleasure mingling as you rise onto your toes, arching to the blow, whimpering in your need for more." Jake reached out and lifted her chin, meeting her gaze calmly. "You know what it feels like, you crave that touch again and you're imagining what it feels like even now."
More than one gaze seemed to pull towards the table as she shifted on the chair, her thighs pressing tightly together. God, what was he doing here? What if someone spoke out, or knew Tyler?
"Perhaps clamps on those tight nipples of yours? A gag between your teeth, sight claimed with a simple piece of folded black silk." His voice lulled her into the dangerous image he wove. "Stretched out, helpless, ready for my touch, ready for whatever delights I wish to play across your body. You know I have the skill to do this to you. All those toys you've seen. The things I could do to you. The way you'll arch for me and plead, cry. Those sweet, sweet tears you'll be able to release for me. Just think about it, for a moment at least. Remember what it can feel like."
Her inner walls rippled at the thought. Yes, she remembered all too well, in intimate, beautiful detail. This wasn't what she needed to deal with right now.
"Don't... please." Her voice was almost a whimper. "This isn't the time or place to discuss such things, Jake. People might hear you."
"I don't care about them. I care about you. I care about what you need. You remember what I can do to you. With you. How it felt to be so helpless. I can do that all again, and then, when you think your body can take no more, I'll lift you higher and grant you what you really crave. I'll allow you so many releases as you squirm beneath me that you won't know where one ends and another begins," Jake continued on, regardless of her plea. "You know how that can feel. You remember that, don't you? All that pleasure, the pain, the knowledge that submission, that sub space you crave, would be just around the corner."
Her cunt tightened, shame and desire rising in equal amounts, even as her mind screamed the reality of what he was saying. More than just domination, more than a flogging, the control, the mixture of pain and pleasure she missed, he wanted her in all ways.
An offer to become his lover and slave all rolled into one.
One that tempted her in a way she knew it shouldn't. A way she knew was wrong. Finding a Dom was one thing, betraying Tyler and becoming Jake's lover was another.
She looked away from him and closed her eyes, trying to shut out the temptations his words brought to life. All those times she had enjoyed with Tyler, the events they had attended together and the private moments when they returned home. She missed that, far more than she had ever dared to admit to her husband, and now -- now Jake offered her a way to experience that sense of peace again.
"You know you want to." Jake reached out across the table and softly brushed his fingers over hers. "How long has it been now, Naomi, a year, eighteen months, two years? How much longer will you be able to keep that drive under control, before something finally gives out? Before you finally snap?"
"It's been almost two years." It had been two long and terrible years that had passed without a single touch of the flogger against her back. Twenty-four months spent missing the feel of Tyler's fingers in her hair, as he pulled her to her knees at his feet. Tears pricked at her eyes and she blinked them back. This wasn't the place to burst into tears. He'd only use that, build on it, and she had to be able to think clearly.
"It doesn't have to be this way, you know that," he whispered. "You could have it all again. All you have to do is take my hand."
"You're asking me to cheat on him." Naomi shook her head. "I wasn't expecting to hear that. Not from you. Not after everything you know we've been through."
"No, I'm telling you that you don't have to keep cheating on yourself. You've denied a part of who you are, for a man who might never be able to even hold you fully, let alone put you on your stomach again. You're young, you're healthy and you don't deserve to spend the rest of your life with your submissive side buried deep. He wouldn't want you to hurt yourself like this."
Tyler had brought that to life in her. He'd held her. He'd shown her the way into that soft, submissive state and he didn't deserve to be tossed aside just because of a stupid accident.
"Think about it, Naomi."
"I am. I just don't think it would be fair to Tyler. Not after everything he's been through." Not with the way she still loved him. Still needed him. He wasn't a bad man. Even in his rages, the tempers he worked through, he still loved her. She'd seen that in his eyes. It had been a life line she'd clung to through the darkest of nights.
She couldn't betray that now. Not when she'd held on so long and hard to that line, to the hope that there was some way they could be themselves again.
She watched Jake's jaw tightened. "You're not thinking this through. If Tyler loves you, he wouldn't want you to spend the rest of your life being nothing more than a nursemaid to him. He'll accept this is for the best, when it's the right time to tell him of course."
Her stomach knotted. Her skin felt slimy where he'd touched her.
It had been a mistake to agree to meet him for coffee. Even before the conversation had turned to this, she had felt the knot of guilt in the pit of her stomach, that nagging voice of doubt gaining life, the whispers of, 'What would happen if Tyler found out?'
Jake, why would he offer such a thing? Didn't he know how hurt Tyler would be, if he found out? He and Tyler had been friends, once. Perhaps her husband still thought him one, with the frequent visits he made to check on Tyler's well being. Foolish, they'd both been foolish to believe those looks cast her way were nothing more than the ones of a concerned friend.
"Well?" he pressed, tapping her ring finger. "Is that going to be the only collar you will ever wear again?"
"It's not a collar." The protest died on her lips.
"Yes it is, and you know it. That's how you're acting -- as if you owe him your obedience, your submission. What has he got left to offer you? When was the last time you actually came with a man, or for a man, Naomi? Tell the truth. Not just to me, but to yourself."
The words tugged at her, fed her doubts and hinted at a fix to the cravings that had gone unanswered. She'd stopped even playing with herself in the last few months, almost afraid he would discover and think himself even less of a man. What would he have thought about her self-pleasure? She wanted to believe that he'd have been all right with it, but the voice of doubt said otherwise. It whispered how he would have been hurt by the discovery.
If only she'd had the courage to talk to him about it.
Too late now.
"He'd never know until you were ready to tell him. You could take a shopping trip with the girls from work, a night out with friends, or even a visit to your Mom's, if you wanted to be away for a little longer. So you'd need to bring your cell phone with you, but I'm sure we can figure out a way of making this work, and you know how well stocked my basement is."
Oh, she knew only too well.
They'd been there, before things had changed. She'd writhed in those leather cuffs, heard the chains rattle above her. It wouldn't take much and she would be able to close her eyes, smell the leather, the sweat, the desire, all mingling on her own skin.
Tyler had been there.
He'd guided her through the play, the scenes that had left her screaming in pain and delight combined. He'd helped her come through on the other side of sub space. Oh, to say that she craved that again was an understatement. Just not this way.
It didn't stop her body from reacting to his words.
Her sex tightened and liquid heat coated her inner walls. She could almost feel his touch again. All those small caresses, the way he had held her tight against the bed as she squirmed in the bonds. The feel of the flogger over her back, the way each strike had sent a wave of pain, pleasure and desire through her body.
They'd shared so many wonderful nights in Jake's basement, exploring the toys and her boundaries, and had opened up an entire new world for the, then, newly-wed couple. Jake had been a part of that, there was no denying what had happened between them, but even then Jake had never taken it beyond the bounds of the scene.
There had been no sex. No oral submission to him. Not even any form of insertion play. That part of her body, her life, had belonged to Tyler.
"Say yes." He rested his hand on hers. "You know you want to. You know you need it. Say it and we can explore that need together."
"I can't." It hurt to refuse him. She needed what he offered, but he wasn't Tyler. No matter what toys he had, the dungeon she had seen first hand, or the skill he had shown during those shared play sessions, she still knew the answer had to be no. "It wouldn't be right. Not after everything he and I have been through. I can't do that to him. I just -- it would be wrong."
"Is it right to deny what you are?" His grip on her hand tightened. "You can't believe that you have to shut down who you are for the rest of your life. You know better than that. There's no way to switch it off. So why torture yourself?"
"I'm his." Such a simple declaration, but her heart sang at the words.
How often had she been told that it was wrong to poach the submissive or dominant of another? Hadn't Jake even tried to get one man banned from the local group for such a thing?
She shifted in the chair, her stomach knotting, unraveling only to knot once again.
"You can't seriously think I would do this to him, Jake? Don't you remember how you reacted when that Simon tried to persuade Lisa to come and scene with him behind her Dom's back? Didn't you raise hell over that? And have him blacklisted from the group. Not just our group, but every single group within a five hundred mile radius?"
He sat back up, pulling his hand away from hers, dark eyes narrowing. "That was different. What I'm offering you is nothing like that."
"How?" Was he insane? It was the same, from everything she had seen so far. Cheating, betraying a Dom, trying to tempt someone away from the man, or woman, they belonged with.
"She had an active Dom, one who could provide what she needed. She was sworn to him and..."
"And she belonged to him. Jake, can't you see that it's no different with me? How do you think Tyler would react if he knew about this? He'd be devastated. I just can't do it to him."
Jake didn't see it that way, though. The look in his eyes made it very clear. "Look, if I thought this was anything like stealing another's submissive I wouldn't even approach you. You know me better than that. I'm hurt you would label me in the same way as that piece of scum." The outrage sounded real enough, but she couldn't help wondering if some of it was aimed at himself? "I would never approach you if Tyler was able to give you what you needed. This is not the same thing at all. You're free and trapped at the same time. I can't stand to see you like this. In so much pain. In need. And then, when I offer you something to help you, you then attack me?"
"I'm not labeling you. Or attacking you, but can't you see how wrong it would be. I couldn't do that to him, going behind his back like that." How long would it be before the offer he held out to her became the only life line she could see? "What about discussing this with him? If there's truly nothing wrong with this idea, then why can't we go to Tyler and be up-front with this? If he agreed, then it would be different."
She watched as Jake pushed away from the table and leaned in the chair, fixing her with a cold look. "Are you out of your mind? As volatile as his temper has been, you want me to go and talk with my best friend and say 'hey, mind if I flog your wife as you can't do it anymore'? Have you any idea how he would react? Do you really want me to risk losing my best friend, just so you and I can scene together? You're not thinking this through at all. I thought better of you. You're not showing the intelligence I've seen in you before. Can't you see how he'd lash out at me?"
"At you?" Naomi flinched. He didn't care how Tyler would react to her, only to him. The shadows were stripped from her mind at his words. All the things she had shut out about him, the small hints over the years, the way he had seldom held on to a submissive for more than a few months, the way he hung around the newcomers in that 'oh so helpful' way of his. He wasn't thinking about helping her out, about giving her the chance to enjoy that time as a submissive. The only person Jake cared about -- was Jake.
God. What a fool she had been. She'd put everything at risk for a man who didn't care about her and never would. She took a deep breath and tried to focus. Soft trembles ran through her body as she looked at him and finally spoke.
"No, Jake. I'm not sure what I expected, but it certainly isn't you risking your friendship with my husband." Her chair scraped back across the floor as she rose. Could she stay calm doing this? She hoped so. "I did, however, at least hope that you'd be able to accept that I don't want to sneak around behind my husband's back. I think this is over. I'm going home. Now."
"What? Are you out of your mind?" He blinked. "Where are you going? Sit back down. Don't you want to work through some options for meeting? This isn't over Naomi. You can't just walk out on me like this. I won't put up with this. Sit your ass back down and finish this conversation."
"No, Jake. I'm going back to my husband, where I belong. I should never have agreed to meet you like this in the first place. And I don't belong to you, so giving me orders isn't going to work either. So don't even try it."
"If you walk out on me now you'll regret it," Jake snarled. "I'll make it so you can never walk back into the group again. I'll spin this around so it makes it look like you came crawling to me on your hands and knees, and I refused you out of the need to protect Tyler. By the time I'm done with you, there will be so many calls from those within the scene that you'll never be able to go back to an event in this town again. So you can either sit your damn ass back down now, or you can go home and wait for those calls to begin."
Her skin crawled. Nothing she had seen of him before now had prepared her for this side of him. Her stomach rolled. Cold sweat coated her flesh and she tried to keep her fear from gaining full control of her body.
So, she'd be taking a risk if she went to the group and brought this up. Since Tyler's accident, they'd barely attended more than a handful of functions, Munches, a few dinners, but nothing more than that. If it wasn't for the fact that she knew there was still a core group left from her regular sessions at the clubs, then she wouldn't have been affected by his words.
But she did still have friends there. They both did. And friends, since Tyler's accident, had become a rare commodity.
"Are you threatening me?" She stopped, fixing him with a look far colder than she had known she could be capable of. "If you are, I suggest you think very carefully about that. Just this conversation alone would have you black balled from the local group. And don't think I won't do it."
"Oh I know you won't. Women like you don't have the guts to stand up against anyone with a dominant bone in their body. Oh, you like to think that it's a power exchange, but that's politically-correct crap. No, what you want is a man to tell you what to do and how to do it. The sooner you realize just how pathetic you are, and how deeply you need me, the better it will be for you."
Her anger flared, every pain, every bitten back word she had struggled to keep locked up in the months with Tyler, finally gained life. She wanted to slap that smug smile from his face, and make him realize that she held the power right now.
"You really think just because a woman is submissive, that they'll bend to any man who can bluster their way into their life?"
"Shit yes, why else would you have submitted to a weak-assed man like Tyler in the first place? He has no idea of just what it takes to control a woman. You two spent time playing around with the idea, and now look at you. He's crippled, and you're ready to squirm beneath the first man who walks into your life, just like you'll wriggle beneath me tomorrow afternoon. I won't wait any longer than that. You'll be in my basement tomorrow, by two, or face the consequences. And you don't want to know just how I'll ruin what's left your pathetic little life if you try to disobey me."
"Like hell I will." Her voice never rose above a soft whisper. "There's no way I am coming to your place ever again."
How the hell had she ever looked at this man as a friend? Or more? Had she been walking around with a pair of blinders on? What an idiot she'd been. Well, it was time to end that. He wasn't going to push her around any longer.
"You've got no choice. It's your word against mine, even if you do try to fight me on this. You've got no proof..."
"Yes I do, Jake." She smiled, enjoying the moment as the color faded from his face. "I've kept a journal every day of my married life. Every phone call, every hint from you, is recorded in that journal, right down to the arrangement to meet you for coffee today. Yes, it might turn Tyler against me, but I'll be damned if I will let you brow beat or blackmail me into submitting to you." She reached across the table, grabbing his still full cup. In a slow, deliberate act of what she knew to be petty rebellion, she tipped the coffee out over his head, at that point no longer caring if the liquid was still hot or had cooled off.
As a stunned silence settled over the room, Naomi turned and stalked out of the coffee shop without another word.
She'd done it. She'd actually done it. Naomi shook as she walked down the street toward her car. Of all the men she'd thought she could trust, Jake had been the only one she'd been able to turn to since the crash. Now, god, now she'd seen him for the jerk he really was.
More than a jerk, a dangerous man who had used her situation as a way to try and maneuver her into doing something that would have destroyed her relationship with her husband. How many other women had he done this to? Had he used weak points as a way to creep into their lives?
The thought left her stomach knotted.
She fumbled for her cell phone, then stopped. Who would she call? No, she needed to take a minute to think this through. She really did have her diary and, if she truly had to, then she could show it to others to prove what had happened. The progression of events to this moment, were all laid out, in intimate detail, on those pages. If Jake did try and confront Tyler, then at least she'd have the proof to back up her words.
Take a breath, calm, focus and go home. Seemed easy, but it could all backfire on her so easily that it left her shaking. If Tyler found out from Jake, then it would all be over.
The answer was simple enough. Get home, now, before Jake called Tyler, and see if she could head any situation off at the pass. Or that was the theory.
Naomi slipped into the driver's seat and locked the car door. Everything had changed in the past couple of years. Not just the way Tyler had been injured, or the way they had tried to adapt after the accident, but her outlook on life. As his submissive she'd leaned on him, heavily but, then again, they had only just begun their journey together as dominant and submissive.
Since the accident she'd been the strength for them both.
The balance that she'd heard of, dreamed of, and craved, had to be found for them both. It was the only hope they had, if they wanted this to work.
Tyler would be waiting for her, but there were a few items she needed to pick up before she returned home, especially if she wanted to make this time together special, in any way, for them both. She had the memories of what they had shared, and knew how to turn this around, or at least work on it from her side. If she put the effort in, then it would help. It would show him she was serious about this.
About them.
\*\*\*\*\*
"I wasn't sure you'd be back in time." Tyler's voice greeted her, before she'd even closed the front door behind her. "I was beginning to be a little worried. Is everything all right?"
"I'm sorry. I took a little time to pick up a few things on the way home." She lifted up the small plastic bag. "Just some nice bubble bath and a small bottle of the scent you prefer. I just had an idea that it might help add to whatever you have planned for the night."
Tyler smiled and leaned back in his chair. The small tension lines about his eyes faded as he looked at the bag. "I thought it was something like that."
"I should have called, though," Naomi admitted, and hung her coat up before she walked fully into the living room. "Did you still want to go through with tonight? I mean, if you've changed your mind..."
"Oh god. Yes love, of course I want to do this. You've no idea just how much I've been looking forward to this. I should have thought about trying this, months ago. I just guess, I thought you'd not want to do anything with me. Not with how I look now." Tears glittered in his deep brown eyes. "You don't deserve me, or this. You should have left me a year ago. I keep asking myself what I've done to deserve you in my life."
Her heart skipped a beat, and she cleared the room to kneel at his side. "Tyler, please don't think that. You've no idea how much I have missed our evenings together." She settled down close to his chair, her thighs pressed tightly together as she settled back on her heels.
"You never mentioned that. I had nothing to go on." Tyler shook his head. "We've both been left to swim in the dark."
"Tyler, can't you see that I've been afraid to bring it up? What if you weren't ready to try, or what if discussing the past had brought up some bad memories for you? I wasn't sure what to do, except be here for you when you needed me." She leaned into his touch and, for the first time in two years, didn't cringe from the touch of his crippled hand.
"We both needed to remember how to communicate with each other again." He tried to brush his hand across her face, then pulled back. "I'm sorry, love. Maybe I'm not ready for this after all. Not if I've forgotten how to even talk to you. I could hurt you. I've already hurt us both."
"What's wrong?" She looked up at him and reached for a tissue from her pocket. "You're crying, Tyler. Talk to me, please. We can work this out between us. You just have to trust in yourself."
"I can't feel you. I can reach out, touch you, make my hand move in the general direction of your face, your body but, even though I know I'm touching your skin, I can't feel it." He sobbed the words, shaking his hand, and then slumping a little in his chair. "What good am I if I can't feel you? If I can't even enjoy the sensation of my hand touching your body?"
Naomi reached for his hand and pulled it against her breasts. "I can feel it, though. I know you're there, touching me, wanting to hold me. Don't you know how much that means to me? I know it's hard for you, but I'm begging you, Tyler. Please try. We can do this, I know we can. Just believe in yourself. Believe in us."
Tyler shuddered as he took a deep breath.
Would her words be enough to convince him? She had to hope they would be. This was the last chance they had. She could hear that in his voice, see it in his tears, feel it in her heart. They had to do this, before they both chickened out.
How close had she come to ruining everything, to destroying any hope Tyler might have been able to muster. Just one night, one scene with Jake, and it would have been over. What a fool she had been. No, a coward. She'd known the answer for a long time, and been too afraid to take that step.
The time for fear was over.
The time for risks, leaps of faith, was now.
"I know you're afraid of this going wrong but, if we both try, then it can work. You have to believe that." She left his hand against her breasts and reached out, touching the side of his face with her fingers. "I love you. I trust you. And I believe in you. I'm just asking you to have faith in yourself."
"I know."
"Then we do this."
"All right. Yes, you're right. If I don't -- no, if we don't try this now, then there will be always something else that comes up, that stops us." Tyler nodded and pulled his hand back away from her body. "Thank you. For everything."
"I'll go run my bath." Naomi stood up slowly. "Do you need any help? I can stay and help you first if you need me to."
"No, I can do this myself. That's part of the challenge isn't it?" A glimmer of pride shimmered in his eyes. "Part of trying to return to normal?"
"Yes, it is. But there's nothing wrong in me giving you a helping hand."
"Naomi, if I'm going to do this, then I'm going to do this the right way." His voice calm for the first time in months.
"Then we both have things we need to take care of." Hope bloomed, taking root deep within.
"Yes we do. Enjoy your bath, love. I'll be waiting in the bedroom when you're ready." Tyler closed the door on the bathroom, and left Naomi to her preparations. That had always been a part of their routine. She'd spend an hour in the bathroom, relaxing, centering her thoughts on service, submission, clearing away the stress of the day so she could serve him within whatever the scene dictated. Just what he did with his time, prior to the scene, she didn't know. She'd never asked and he had never volunteered the information. That had always been one of those little hidden things about him, something that added to his presence as a dominant.
Naomi leaned against the sink and stared into the mirror. Her eyes were still touched by traces of red, and she knew full well that Tyler must have seen the signs of her tears, but he still hadn't asked what had happened.
Perhaps it was just as well. The last thing they needed today would be going over Jake's attempt to blackmail her. How had she been that stupid? To risk her marriage and -- no, she had stopped it before it had ever reached that point, but she'd still thought about it. Debated betraying Tyler just so she could try and recapture that feeling of joy, the mixture of floating, fear and ecstasy all rolled one that she had come to know during the scenes she had enjoyed prior to the accident.
She shook her head and turned away from the sink. There were other things she needed to think about right now, and they didn't include Jake. Or her foolish near mistake.
The water lapped along her legs as she slipped into the bath, soft bubbles caressing her skin, teasing a sigh from her lips. What a fool she had been. How close she had come to committing an error that would have destroyed everything she and Tyler had struggled through, and all because she had nearly given in to temptation. Worse, it would have been with a man who cared nothing for what she felt, except to see those needs, those emotions, as way to twist her to his current interests.
Abusive, that was the first thing that came to mind now when she thought about the man she had thought to be a friend. He was just using women like that, taking advantage of their desire to submit, to explore those cravings. It wasn't being a dominant, not in the way she had come to believe they were supposed to be. How often had she heard the warnings about trolling dominants? They slimed their way across the internet and real life, the dangerous ones being those who you never realized were like that until you'd been stung by them.
It explained so much about those odd looks people used to give them when Tyler spoke about being friends with Jake. A user, nothing but a user, and she had almost willingly become another one of his victims.
Almost, but not quite. If Tyler hadn't offered her this evening together, if she hadn't already had some doubts before going to meet Jake for coffee, if she ...
There were a hundred what ifs that she didn't have to face right now. No, thinking about Jake did no good, not when her husband would be waiting for her within their bedroom. She'd already let Jake cause far too many problems for Tyler and herself, and it was time to focus on the important things in life. Her eyes drifted closed, as she finally relaxed into the welcoming warmth of the bath.
The silken water caressed her body, as she felt the tension begin to ease from her body.
How many times had she prepared for a night with Tyler this way?
A hundred? A thousand? She couldn't recall off hand, but the information would be in her journal, if she really wanted to be certain. And each scene had been different. In some small way special -- a touch of scent added, the drop of candle wax on her body at an unexpected moment or a slap of his fingertips against the side of her breasts.
Naomi squirmed in the water and opened her eyes.
Her nipples crinkled and peeked out through the soft white mess of bubbles that covered the surface of the bath. He never entered the bathroom during her preparation time, just as she didn't try to sneak a look at his ritual. It had been the only secret between them until today.
A cold hand wrapped about her heart.
Lying, hiding, keeping secrets, how many times had she told newcomers to the Munches, the non play events that so many groups held, that the fastest way of ruining a D/s relationship involved making those mistakes?
Stupid little slut. I nearly ruined everything, and for what, so I could feel a man between my legs again?
She glanced at the closed door.
Tyler deserved to know the truth. But not until after tonight. Whatever he had set up, he had gone to great lengths to plan, and he deserved the chance to enjoy this time without her destroying everything in one fell swoop.
But after that, even if it meant he never wanted to speak to her again, she needed to tell him the truth.
No secrets, no lies, and the only way she could be sure of that would be by clearing her chest of everything that had been going on.
Candles flickered on the bedside tables, the only source of light within their room, just as it had been that first night together fifteen years ago. There were memories, both good and bad, that lived within this room. The pain and pleasure they had shared during those wonderful nights. The feel of his hand cracking against her bare ass when they had begun to walk within the realms of dominance and submission. The trust she had given him, slowly at first, when she had surrendered to the bonds he had wrapped about her body.
Naomi shivered and wrapped her arms about her body. The thin, cream, silken robe clung to her still-damp form, as she looked around the room.
Despite the chair, Tyler had done everything possible to set the bedroom up in the same way he'd always done before when they'd played, before the accident. Memories surged into life only to return to silence at the sound of his voice. Warmth seeped into her heart. Yes, this was what she had missed, or a part of it at least. The first step. The first of many.
"There's something I need to say, before we go any further. Something I need to get off my chest." Tyler moved across the room in the chair. The soft motor of the chair little more than a hum in the background, but it served as a reminder of the small things that had been changed in the room. The rug's had been removed, leaving the highly-polished hardwood floor. "You might change your mind about tonight, when you hear what I have to say, but we said no secrets between us."
Her heart sank into the pit of her stomach.
"What is it?" She turned and met his gaze.
"Jake isn't welcome in this house again."
"You know about him." Her heart skipped and beat and threatened to plummet into the pit of her stomach. "Oh, god."
"I know he's been making moves on you, yes." Tyler nodded. "I've known Jake for a long time. I'm surprised he waited as long as he did, but I knew it would come sooner or later. You're vulnerable, and that's how he likes his women. God, I was a fool to ever trust him, even for a moment. I should have warned you, protected you, but I didn't have the strength to look after you."
"I never did anything with him, I swear." She wanted to move to him, but her legs wouldn't work. "I never..."
"I know. And you never will. Not after what you pulled on him today. Dumping a cup of coffee in his lap? Nice, very nice indeed. He deserved it. I just wish I had been there to see it happen."
"How did you know what he was doing -- or what happened earlier?" How much else did he know? Had he been aware of this from the very beginning?
Tyler chuckled and ducked his head. "He called to tell me what had happened."
"That's why you were upset." Everything fell into place. Jake had called him. How much had he told Tyler? "Oh god. Why didn't you say something earlier? I'm so very sorry. I should have come to you, talked to you about this. I just -- just don't understand why you didn't say something to me sooner. When I first came home. I thought - I don't know what I thought, anymore."
"I needed to get my thoughts in place. You weren't to blame for what he tried to do and, at the end of it, you dumped hot coffee onto his lap and walked away from him. And, for that, I want to say thank you."
She blinked, and took a step back. "You want to thank me? I don't understand."
"Yes, thank you. For staying with me. For not leaving me. For not going with Jake or someone else. Thank you isn't enough. Not after what I've put you through. You would have had every right to walk out on me. On us. On everything, after the things I've called you."
"The accident wasn't your fault. You shouldn't think it was. There was nothing you could have done to prevent it."
"I know that now. It took me a while to accept, but I know that now."
Her body finally co-operated, releasing the death grip on her legs, and allowed her to move to his chair. Without a word she sank to her knees and pressed her head against his lap. "I'm sorry. For what I did, what I almost did, I'm sorry."
"You've nothing to be sorry for. It's over. Done with. He won't be allowed in the house. We both learn from our mistakes." Naomi tried to interrupt, but he gave a curt wave. "It's over with. Done. Forgotten. I won't mention it again and neither will you, is that clear?"
"Yes, very." Her heart skipped a beat. This was the man she remembered. Her Tyler, her husband, had finally returned.
He leaned close, and wrapped his arms about her. "We move forward from here, Naomi. Remember. I still have one good hand and I know where the paddles are. I will use them if I have to."
She glanced up, just to be certain that she'd heard a smile in his voice. A smile had claimed his lips and eyes alike, and she sighed. He truly was back.
"Now, relax, take a deep breath and try to recall all the times we enjoyed in this room. Everything else, the world outside, it doesn't matter. It's gone. There's just you and I now."
Naomi took a long slow breath and tried to shut out the mistake she had almost made. There was only her husband, Tyler, and herself in the house. Nothing else mattered.
"The bed, the candles, the smell of the perfume you're wearing. Let it all wash over you. Breathe slowly, deeply. Focus on this room, on us. Nothing else matters. Not the weather, news, work, the laundry. That's all in the past. It's gone. It doesn't exist now."
She nodded, and focused on his words, on the softness of his voice, the hope he offered, and the memories he brought to life.
It didn't take much for her to close her eyes and remember what it felt like to be held against the cross that now remained in pieces, in the bottom of the closet. He'd made it himself, spent weeks working on the design so it could be taken apart and put together for when he wished to strap her against the wood. He'd designed it so that family, during the rare visits from cousins, nephews and others, would be less likely to stumble onto the wonderful dark secret that had brought so much delight into their lives.
Would they ever use it again?
The paddles. He'd sanded them down himself, smoothing them before boring small holes into one so it would whistle through the air before biting into her skin. That pain and heat that would blossom across her ass, that growl of delight she would hear in response to her soft cry of pain.
Her sex rippled at the memory.
Now the collar remained, untouched, in the locked bottom drawer of her bedside cabinet, the cross was gathering dust and the paddles had been put away in the far corner of the same closet. Just the thought of them no longer being used had been enough to send her into a crying fit, only a few days ago.
A single night had changed all that they had enjoyed. Destroyed? No, not destroyed, but called a halt, to the life they had begun together. Rebuilding meant you had a starting point to work from, a structure, a small thread to start with. Shouldn't it have been easier than beginning a relationship from scratch?
So why had it been so much harder?
Had they both been that afraid of trying?
Steps, baby steps had been taken, those small building blocks that had been scattered frequently only to be patiently gathered back together and the work begun again. A marriage is a work in progress. That was what she had been taught by her own parents, and that had been one of the driving factors that had prevented her from walking out. Sometimes, even when you loved someone, it wasn't enough, but you had to have the drive, the need to try and pull through.
Now it was time for another step. Another brick for the foundations they needed. Something that had come from him finding her curled on their bed, sobbing from the depths of her heart, her fingers tight on the large cushion she had sat on in the evening at his feet. Such a simple thing to miss, but that cushion had been the final straw, finding it pushed away under the bed, forgotten, unused, the way she had come to believe her submission to him had been treated.
Now she was grateful for the fight that the cushion had caused.
The love was there. They'd pushed through so much together, that she knew that love and belief had allowed them to continue. Even with the temper fits, the pushing of people away from him, she had continued to love him. He'd needed her, cried for her in the middle of the night, but she was a submissive, his submissive, and she craved the Master she had come to rely on.
"Are you sure about this, love?" she asked, meeting his gaze. No matter how much she wanted to do this, Naomi had to be sure this was something he wanted, that it wouldn't hurt him. Just the smallest hint of doubt from him would have been all it would take for her to call a halt to the night.
"Very." The corners of his full lips turned further upwards, into a deep smile that crinkled the lines about his chocolate-colored eyes. "A year ago I wouldn't have had the courage to ask you to do this, but now I want you to. I want to see you do this. I need to start back down this path with you. I'm not sure it's going to work out, but I have to try. No, we need to try."
A year ago they had almost parted, when the anger he had shown had almost become too much for her to cope with. That terrible, unthinking rage had burned without warning. He'd lashed out at everyone during that time, but he had needed to adjust to what had happened. She'd stayed, though, refused to leave him, even when he had thrown things at her, screamed that he wanted to be left alone.
How many times had she been asked why she had chosen to stay with him, why she had put up with the mood swings of that first year, year and a half since the car had skidded on the ice. No, she had to stop that line of thought in its tracks.
She could feel the path of his gaze moving across her body. Every small move he made, she was hyper aware of. If those demons returned to his eyes, she'd stop.
"Naomi, just relax... let me enjoy this the way I used to." Tyler smiled as he spoke. The man, the dominant figure she remembered had returned for the night. "I want to see your hands play across your body, teasing at your breasts, between your thighs, into that delicious cunt of yours. I want to be able to taste your desire on the air. Play for me, Naomi."
Nerves slipped away, giving leave for the need to please him to gain life. She pushed easily back to her feet and took a handful of steps backwards. The soft robe slid down from her shoulders, pooling on the floor about her ankles, leaving her standing naked before him. The sound of his breath catching in the back of his throat brought a soft blush to her cheeks. She'd taken to hiding her body from him of late, keeping herself covered from neck nearly to ankle. Baggy clothes, loose robes, dresses, sweats, anything that would prevent him from feeling bad, but who was it she had tried to protect?
Now she could see the passion within his gaze. That delicious stone-wrapped-in-satin look that had her knees feeling weak, her pussy tightening as her thighs pressed tightly together.
A shyness rose within her, a moment where she fought the desire to press her hands about her body, to shield herself from his gaze. Instead, something else took control of the path of her fingers, preventing them from moving to block across her breasts as they cupped those still semi-firm mounds, lifting them upwards, weighing them in the palms of her hands. She wasn't a young thing any more. Neither of them were, neither had she turned into an old woman, but they both now bordered on middle age and with that came other problems.
Her body showed the subtle signs of wear and tear. Her breasts were no longer the pert things she saw on the models of the day, or the augmented tautness of actresses. That didn't matter to him. It never had. Oh, he'd teased, in the years prior to the accident, about trading her in for a better model, but that glint in his eyes had always made it clear that it was just that, a joke.
A joke she had joined in on, when the mood had hit her. It hadn't taken much to repay his teasing in kind, just hinting about a strange, young, mysterious, and handsome dominant, that might one day enter her life to sweep her off her feet, had normally been enough.
It had been something she had not even dared to mention in passing, since that day she had seen him in the hospital bed. No matter how badly she had wanted to find someone to curl up against, to find one person she could lean on, over the stressful months that had followed, she'd stopped herself, if only barely today, by holding onto the hope that the dominant she loved would return to blaze within his gaze.
She'd almost blown it today.
No, she had to stop thinking that way. Tyler still wanted her.
She whimpered as her dark-tipped nipples hardened under the touch of her own fingers. Her tapered nails scraped at sensitive skin and urged them into twin points.
"That's it..." he urged, his voice taking on a low husky tone. "Slowly, my Naomi, until you can't bear it any more. Touch, tease your body until you want to scream for release. And then beg me to let you come."
She was still his Naomi, his wife, and his slave, even if she no longer wore a visible collar. The need to submit to him remained. It didn't matter any longer that the drive had often hidden within a self-made box, buried deep for two years. Not now at least. That simple sentence released that drive, letting it run free, if only for one night.
That he wanted her to beg again, to plead with him for permission to come, meant more to her than all the diamonds, gold and silver in the world. He'd never know just how many times she'd dreamed about hearing those words again from him.
Naomi edged back against the bed, lay down and parted her thighs wide as he watched, opened the box she had picked up from the bedside cabinet and taking out the slender vibrator. For now, it remained on the bed when her hands returned to trace over her skin, light prickles following the path of her nails. Goose bumps lifted along her body in the wake of those self-inflicted touches.
He didn't offer any more words, but watched her movements closely. Each soft shift she made was followed by the intense look in his eyes.
Could he see how her thighs tightened? Or the way a slick heat now coated the lips of her sex and glistened from the firm and now-throbbing nub that her clit had become? She hadn't even begun to brush between her thighs, and already she ached to delve within her body, to feel those tight walls clench on her fingers, to writhe on the dildo he had bought for her.
Her bottom lip caught between her teeth as she tried to lift her hips higher, to offer him a better view of her self torment. Her fingers splayed over her stomach and edged across smooth skin towards the soft patch of down between her thighs. The need built with each creeping inch her fingers took towards her tightening pussy.
She glanced back up at him. He still watched her closely. The support and love within his gaze never faltered.
At a slight nod from him, she rested back on the bed and edged backwards just enough that she could rest her heels on the rim of the frame. With her feet firmly planted, Naomi lifted her hips upwards.
Could he see how wet she had become, or how quickly her body had responded to the silent command he had given? Or had he wondered if she had forgotten the signals they had once used?
A smile tugged at the corners of her lips. She'd never forget those signals, not if she lived to be a hundred years old.
Her clit throbbed, demanding attention and, for a moment, she almost gave in to temptation.
No, it wasn't time to touch that low on her body yet. He wanted her to take her time. Her bottom lip caught between her teeth as she forced her hands to move back over her stomach, cupping her breasts, teasing around her nipples, only to pinch them, watching his reactions between the spread of her waiting thighs.
His gaze was intense and, with her nails caught on her nipples, he let loose a low groan that grew as she tugged those taut nubs upwards, stretching them until pain mixed with pleasure to burn an unseen path into her sex. That groan, that familiar growling sound of pleasure, urged her onwards.
With a soft cry, her back arched, her nail scraping over her clit. Just that small touch had her ready to beg for more. She wanted to dance on her back for him, to scream her need under his watchful gaze. The deep throb in her clit grew, her nail whispering over its glistening surface, her thighs parting wider, only to clench as her fingers slipped down between slip lower lips.
"Delve into that hot little cunt I own."
Had Tyler really said that, or had her own mind replayed a scene from the past? It didn't really matter. Her fingers pressed within her pussy, a cry torn from her lips as delight surged through her body. Under his gaze, her hips lifted further from the bed, raised as far as she could, her eyes drifted closed letting her mind flee into the pleasure her fingers played over her body, the pleasure he desired from her.
Small rapid circles danced over her clit, two fingers pressed deep into her sex, her hips rocked, arching upwards, pressing back down onto her hands, the toy un-needed this time around, though it rolled on the bed to slap lightly against her thigh.
"Faster, mine." His growled words echoed in her ears.
Did he know what that word did to her? The memories it brought back?
His, always his!
Wicked fingers pinched at her clit, twisting only to then circle about it, tapping against the taut skin. Her pussy rippled, heated inner flesh that danced on her fingers in delight. Need burned, grew rapidly to the point of no control, under his gaze. His harsh breath mixed with her gulps for air. Perspiration beaded across her body, leaving small pearls on her dusky skin.
"Please." The plea escaped her lips in a low gasp.
"Please what, mine?" he growled, his voice so close to her, almost close enough to reach out and touch him.
"I need to -- god!" She couldn't say it. Her body craved more and begged for release. Pressure rippled through her body, her breath burned in the back of her throat, her heart pounded and her blood surged through her veins. Her toes curled, each band of muscle in her legs tightened, until she gasped for air.
"Say it." That steel she had missed so much had returned to his voice.
"I need to come." She sobbed the desire out, her cunt clenching with each rapid heart beat.
"Beg." A single word that carried the weight of her hopes, wrapped in firm control. A deep drive to rock on her fingers, her thumb tapping on her clit, her stomach knotting with each rock, as her thighs grew slicker with each breath.
She couldn't do that. Not this time. It had been too long. God, he couldn't truly want that from her!
Pressure wrapped about her hips, controlling her body, her mind and her very soul.
"Say it!"
"Master, please. Your slave begs to come!" Naomi screamed.
"Come!"
Her heart jumped, breath catching in the back of her throat, as she heard his words. Her hips pushed upwards, the tightness in her cunt growing to a point where she thought her body would lock. Heat, passion, fear, it all combined in one violent rush of sensation through her body. The pain, that exquisite moment of pain before release, surged through her, only to crash hard and fast. Time lost meaning. All she knew were the rolling waves within her body, as liquid heat washed over her fingers, leaving her barely even aware that her hips remained lifted from the bed.
Flickering ripples tightened on her fingers, even as she slipped them from her trembling body. It had been such a small thing, so why did she now feel as though she had run a marathon only to find she had come first?
"Mine." The pride in his voice urged a blush to her cheeks.
Her body didn't want to move right now. There was a need to curl up for a moment and just relax on the bed, but something else drove her to roll from the soft comfort it offered.
With a low whimper, she moved to the floor, arching her back as she looked up at him from beneath a veil of dark hair. Her fingers curled against the floor, thighs parting as the polished wood left patterns pressed into her bare knees.
"You look so delicious on your hands and knees, my Naomi." His voice remained husky. "So alive after you've come. I'd forgotten how truly beautiful you are."
She trembled, as she crawled to him, and pressed her head against his thigh, before she rose slowly onto her knees. His one good hand moved to tangle in her hair, his grip tight, sure and, yes, strong enough to pull her against his chest. The brakes locked tight on the wheelchair, preventing her weight from moving it across the floor. The scars that marked the left-hand side of his face ceased to exist in her eyes, the chair wasn't there, and it didn't matter that his left hand lay limp in his own lap. "Yours, Master. I've always been yours."
Tears slipped without shame down his cheeks to spill onto her upturned face. "Yes, you're mine. I just had to be reminded of that."
Calm. She'd never felt so calm in her life. Not even when she had first knelt to Tyler and accepted what was between them. Last night had changed everything between them, but in a good way. They'd walked through the fire together and come out on the other side of it, stronger than she'd ever thought possible.
He still slept. She knew that. She'd checked in on him only a few moments ago. How long he would sleep she didn't know, but Naomi planned on having everything ready by the time he woke up. His breakfast, just the way she had always served him the morning after a scene. It meant dashing out for some groceries, but she'd covered that aspect by leaving him a brief note to explain she was going shopping. That way, if he woke up before she returned, he'd know where she had vanished to.
Small things. Open lines of communication. The tiny steps they had forgotten about, after the accident. Now they were falling back into place, as if they had never been forgotten.
Naomi pulled on her coat and headed for the door, closing it behind her carefully. She didn't need the car, as the store was only two blocks away and the walk would do her good. Again, it was a part of the ritual they had established between them after a scene. The fresh air, the walk, the small things she'd need for a good breakfast for him, she'd missed all of this.
The air was crisp and clear as she walked down the street, her low-heeled boots making a soft clicking sound on the path. She hadn't seen Tyler so relaxed in a long time. No bad dreams to disturb his night. No cries, or whimpers. Just a deep, peaceful sleep.
He deserved that night, and many more to come.
They both did.
They hadn't slept together. He had a special bed now, more like a chair, that he could shift in and out of without too many problems. But, perhaps, in time, that would also change as he healed. He was a little stronger each day. He would never be able to walk on his own, they knew that. But there were improvements and there would be more.
They just had to keep working together and that was something they were both now prepared to do.
Her cell phone rang, jolting her out of her thoughts. Tension built instantly, then faded as she recognized the name.
"Sharon?"
"Hey there, been hearing some interesting rumors about you and Tyler. Thought it was best if I checked with the source."
"Rumors?" Jake. It had to be. If she didn't deal with the rumors soon, then the problems would double, and Tyler didn't need that. "What rumors?"
"About you and Jake. He turned up at the club last night with some pictures. They looked a bit iffy, but they were enough to set tongues wagging. He's claiming that you both had something going behind Tyler's back."
Naomi nearly dropped the phone, her knees weak as she tried to control what she felt. To find a way to bring it back under control. "Oh, god."
"Look, can I meet you? The coffee shop? The one in the grocery store?"
"Yes." At least she was half way there now. "I'm on my way to the store now. Have some things to pick up. I'll be there in five."
"On my way." The phone went dead at the other end.
God, she'd not expected Jake to do this. Not yet, at least. She'd hoped for some time, but she had no idea what Jake and Tyler had said to each other. What threats, or comments were made. Whatever had happened, she had to find out exactly what Jake had been saying to people. What lies he'd been saying.
She had to get to the bottom of this, and fast. At least it had been Sharon who had come to her with this. They'd been friends long enough that Sharon hadn't jumped to the wrong conclusion, which was a starting point. If the rumors had spread fully, then she'd have some serious damage control to do.
Naomi hurried into the grocery store, debating for a moment whether or not to do the shopping now, or wait until after she had spoken to Sharon first. She didn't want to risk missing Sharon, so she grabbed a coffee and settled down. It didn't take long before Sharon strolled in, her clear blue gaze fixing instantly on Naomi.
"All right, just what's going on?" The younger woman didn't even hesitate, or wait to set her coffee cup on the table, before she spoke.
"I think you'd better start from the beginning so I know what I'm dealing with." Naomi forced her nerves under control, or at least she tried to. "You mentioned Jake and some pictures?"
"He turned up last night at Danny's club."
"Well, he is a member." Would it be best to act as if she didn't know what the man was doing? Or come outright and tell Sharon just what that man was doing? "What's this about photos?"
"He's not a member. Danny won't let him become one. He doesn't trust him and, after last night, I can see why." Sharon took a sip of her coffee and closed her eyes, taking a moment before she continued. "He's dangerous, Naomi."
"What did he do? I need to know what happened."
"He threw a pile of photographs onto the main table and told them you'd been involved with him as his submissive for the last year. It was a mess. Even though Danny knew it wasn't real, he still stared at those pictures. They had to be fake. We all knew that, but the doubt was clear in everyone's eyes. Danny knew you'd spent some time with Jake, but thought that had been done with Tyler, except he wasn't in any of the pictures."
"I don't understand that. I really don't." The scenes had been done with Tyler there, Tyler in charge. He should have been in the pictures. "Jake and I have never been alone in his dungeon. Not once. Those pictures shouldn't be possible." Had she forgotten something? A time she had spent with Jake without Tyler around? Not that she could recall. There wasn't even a hint of doubt in her mind about that.
"Does he have a digital camera?" Sharon murmured.
"Yes."
"And a good computer? I mean a pretty up to date one?"
"I guess. I never took much notice of that. Why?" Where was Sharon going with all of this?
"Then he altered them. Somehow he changed them. He either did this himself, or he got someone else to Photoshop them."
"Do what?" What the hell was she talking about?
"Photoshop, it's a program on the computer, there are others like it, but they can be used to change photographs and artwork. I think he might have done that. Without looking at them closely, or getting a friend of mine to check them, I can't say if I'm right or not, but that would be my guess."
Naomi stared at Sharon, her throat dry. Could it be that simple? "How do I deal with this? I can't just sit back and let this happen. He could ruin Tyler's reputation."
"And yours?"
"Mine I can deal with. Tyler is another matter. He's been through too much already." She had to protect him, to find a way to shelter him from this.
"What if he already knows?"
No, that couldn't have happened. She hadn't been gone that long, and wouldn't he have called her? "He would have called me."
"Not if he was still on the phone with someone else." Sharon rubbed her temples. "I think Danny was going to get hold of him."
"Oh, god." Was it that simple? Was he on the phone still, and getting all the gory details laid out for him, even as she sat over a cup of coffee? "Then he's dealing with this on his own."
"No, he's not. He's doing the same thing you are. Talking to a friend about it. I mean, he and Danny have been friends for years, haven't they?"
True enough. They'd met because of Danny. "Sorry, I wasn't thinking. I just wanted to get home for a minute and..."
"And do what? Defend yourself?"
"No. I haven't done anything wrong. He knows that."
"Then take a breath and calm down." Sharon reached across the table and squeezed her hand gently. "He won't think any less of you for not running back to the house."
"I should be there, with him."
"You will be. Once you've finished what you came to do. Shopping wasn't it?" Sharon finished off her cup of coffee, and set it down on the table. "Well, if that's the case, then maybe you should do that first, and take the time to calm down before you go home. Being upset won't help matters, it might feed into whatever Jake is trying to do."
That made sense, and she'd let herself be ruled by fear once before. It wasn't going to happen now. "Right, panic is what Jake wants. He wants the doubt and fear to take control, I can't, no, I won't, let that happen. If I can keep my head and Tyler can keep his we'll stop Jake from winning."
Sharon grinned. "That's the spirit."
Naomi looked down into her coffee cup, then closed her eyes. Every instinct screamed at her to return home and to do so now, but Tyler was the dominant, not her. If she didn't want to undermine the confidence that had begun to return the night before, then she had to act as if she trusted Tyler's strength.
And she did trust him.
"Then it's time I got the shopping done, isn't it."
\*\*\*\*\*
By the time she returned home, Naomi had calmed down. Picking up the last bits and pieces she needed for the breakfast had been easy enough. Still, it didn't stop her heart from pounding as she opened the door and walked back into her home. Silence greeted her, though she knew Tyler was still home. He rarely left the house without her help, or the help of someone else.
"Tyler?"
"Living room," he called out, and Naomi sighed in relief.
"Sorry I was so long, I met up with Sharon. She had some things to tell me."
"I can well imagine, if it had anything to do with the call I had from Danny." Tyler sounded calm enough. "We need to decide what we're going to do about this."
Naomi set the bags down and sat down opposite him. "Yes, I understand that. Sharon told me about some pictures Jake brought to the club."
"That matches with what Danny told me."
"Sharon thinks he Photoshopped them." Naomi rubbed her hands over her jeans to wipe the sweat off them and looked at him. "I'm sorry it's come to this, love."
"I'm not. This had to be way sooner or later. He's not the sort of man who will let this slide. He's arrogant, and a thief. He's determined to have you, one way or the other."
That part she had begun to realize the day before. What other man would ever go to such lengths to split her from her husband? Just why was he doing this? There were other submissives, ones who were single and who he could have made a play for instead of trying to destroy what she had with Tyler.
"We will find a way past this, I have faith in you and in us." Tyler spoke calmly and softly. "We have pulled through worse than this, so we can do this if we work together."
His words brought a warmth to her heart. He loved her. That part had never been in doubt, but the fact he believed in them both, that was something that she clung to and could use as a hope in the dark times. "So, what do we do?"
"We face our accuser. That's what Danny is arranging even as we speak." Tyler lifted his damaged hand. "If we hide in the shadows, it will never go away."
"So we face him where?"
"At Danny's club."
The club? Were they ready for such a public outing? "When?"
"Tonight."
"So soon?"
"We have to deal with this now." Tyler sat up in his chair, lifting his chin. "If we don't, it will only get worse. We both know that. It's how men like him work."
"But the club, the others, you've been keeping away from them for so long now, I just thought you didn't want to spend time with them. This isn't going to be easy for you." For either of them, with the way they would be looked at, the accusations in the eyes of the ones who would believe Jake's words.
"We'll do it and face them together." He reached out for her, holding out his damaged hand. "We were always stronger together. You know that."
Yes, she did. "We will be able to do this. I'm not saying I'll enjoy it though."
"Not saying I will either." He nodded, his gnarled fingers tightening on her hand. "It won't be easy. Standing up to other people seldom is."
Naomi closed her eyes, taking a deep breath. The thought of facing everyone she had known before the accident was almost more than she could cope with, but she had to trust Tyler and do this. He was right, the longer they left it to fester the worse it would be when they eventually faced the others at the club.
Jake would be there.
The pictures would be there.
But she wouldn't be alone. Neither of them would be.
The club hadn't changed much in the months since she'd last set foot in it, except for one thing, the atmosphere. From the moment she walked into the club she'd felt it. The looks, the way they stared at both her and Tyler. Her skin crawled.
"You're with me. Remember that." His voice reached out to her as they moved through the club, Tyler in his chair, she at his side. "They won't hurt you. I won't let them."
"Even if Tyler wasn't here, I am, and this is my club." Danny walked over to meet them, smiling. "You're both welcome here. Not just tonight, but any night you want to be here."
"Thank you for that." Tyler smiled, and reached out his hand in greeting. "The place looks busy."
"It's grown that way over the last few months. Come on. We've got a booth set to one side for you. I've been looking forward to seeing you again."
"I've spent too long hiding in the shadows. It was time to change that. I'm just sorry it took something like this to..."
"We'll be ready when he arrives but, for now, let's get you all settled." Danny turned and led the way through to the booth on the far side of the club. "I've got some coffee ready. I thought we could all do with a clear head when he arrives."
Naomi kept silent as she settled into the booth next to Tyler's chair. This was her fault, she knew that, and now, as she saw the looks being shot her way by the others in the club, she knew just what people felt about her. How they viewed her. It was her fault. In their eyes, she'd betrayed Tyler, and they were all here to watch as she was humiliated.
"Naomi, you're looking beautiful as always." Danny reached out for her hand, waiting until Tyler gave a nod of permission before he placed a soft kiss on the back of her knuckles. "And I respect the courage you've shown in coming here tonight."
"Courage?"
"Yes, I'm no fool, and neither is Tyler. We both know how hard it was for you to walk into this club with all the rumors. So, please, relax whilst you can and know that when he arrives you won't be facing this alone. Those at this booth know very well that you did nothing wrong and did not betray Tyler. We know what Jake is like and what lengths he will go to."
Was he telling the truth? She peered into his eyes, searching for some sign that this was a game, even though she knew the doubt was unfair. "Thank you."
They spoke of other things over the next hour, from how to make toys, to movies that had caught the interest of both men at the booth and, for the most part, Naomi kept silent, falling into her old habit at such events of speaking only when spoken to. In the early days of their exploration into the realms of D/s, Tyler had developed a protocol for events like this.
Despite the time away, it was easier to fall back into those habits and listen to what was going on, waiting for when Tyler wished her input on something.
"He's here." Danny slipped out of the booth and stood up. "Just keep your calm."
Easier said than done, but Naomi slipped her hand into Tyler's, and waited to see what would happen.
Jake walked over to the booth, a package in his hand, one that she assumed would hold copies of the photographs that had been flashed around the club the night before. Her heart clenched. If Tyler saw those and didn't believe they were fake, then everything they had started to work toward would be destroyed.
"Hello, Danny, good to see you again."
"I'd say the same, but lies leave a nasty taste in my mouth." Danny flashed a smile his way. One that didn't touch his eyes. "There's only one reason you're welcome here right now, and that's to put an end to these rumors once and for all."
Jake tapped the package. "I think I'll stand for now."
"You'll sit, or you'll leave. My club, my rules."
For a moment Jake stood there, his weight shifting slightly from one foot to the other before he finally pulled a chair over and sat down. "Fine."
"The pictures." Tyler didn't hesitate.
"Eager aren't you?" Jake smirked.
"I just want this over and done with." Tyler spoke calmly, his gaze fixed on Jake. "I wish to see the photographs, now."
"She photograph's well. Pretty little slut that woman of yours. The way she appeared on the cross for me, how she writhed, they were pretty sights to see. I enjoyed her screams as she came for me."
"And just when was this supposed to have happened?" Tyler kept his calm.
"A few months ago, now. You were asleep, and she came to me, searching for a way out of the sense of loss she felt. What could I do? I couldn't turn her away and leave her in pain. I thought, however, that you had given her permission to seek me out. When I learned the truth, I just had to come to those in the community. What other choice was there?"
"An interesting story, and I suppose she managed to hide the marks from me?"
"Marks?"
"Yes, from your little scene with my property."
"Ah, but I didn't flog her."
"Then just what did you do with Naomi? You claimed you had her screaming in pleasure so what steps did you take to bring her to that moment of delight?" Tyler pressed for information as he looked across the table. "I'm sure you had to do something or she wouldn't have had to come to you."
Jake smirked. "Well of course I did. I tied her to the cross."
"And?"
"Well I used clamps..."
"And left no marks, interesting..."
"I'm skilled enough to make sure there are no marks on her body."
"No, I don't think so." Tyler shook his head, his smile never fading. "I've seen how you look after submissives. Your after care is, shall we say, lacking, and there are many here who would agree. This is where your little story begins to fall apart. You're not the type of man who can look after his -- well -- toys without someone else walking him through it. Now, those photographs. I want to take a look at them and get this farce over with."
Jake faltered, his grip on the package tightening then, with a snarl, he pushed them across the table. "Take a look for yourself. The pictures speak clearly."
Naomi flinched. She knew she was innocent, but it didn't help how she felt right now. Doubt and fear struggled for control within her heart, her stomach knotted, churned and threatened to strip the color from her face and she couldn't look away from Tyler or the package of pictures.
A hundred what if's ran through her mind.
None of them good.
The smirk on Jake's face didn't help either.
God, she hadn't done anything wrong, so why was she now shaking like a leaf?
Tyler didn't say a word as he opened the package and spread the pictures out across the table. There she was, in all her glorious nakedness on the cross. A whipping post. A bed?
A bed? What the fuck? They'd never been on a bed together.
"Interesting, don't you think, love?" Tyler looked over at her, his smile warming her heart. "Especially the one's on the bed."
What had Tyler so interested in those pictures? What was she missing? Naomi reached across the table and pulled one closer to her, scanning it for something she was missing. "This -- this isn't me."
"Yes it is, you can deny it all you want, but..."
"Jake," she tapped the picture, then looked at him calmly, "I have a scar on my left thigh. Everyone knows that, yet it's not here in this picture. And the woman in this picture, she has tan lines, faint but I can see them. She's bigger than I am too, around the breasts."
"You're just trying to cover your betrayal. The woman in the picture is you. It just didn't pick up the scar."
"That's impossible, well, unlikely at least. You see, that scar stands out. Looks like you cobbled this one together so quickly you forgot about the scar. And anyone can see that the woman in the picture has bigger breasts than I do. You made a hash of this one. Some of the others -- there are shadows in the pictures where there shouldn't be, unless you'd removed the source of the shadow. And here, this one, you can see the edge of my Master's knee next to the cross. You didn't quite clip him all out." The more she looked at the pictures the more the problems seemed to leap out at her from the glossy sheets.
"Here as well," Tyler added, "there's a problem, this picture, the woman on this bed has her nipple pierced, but you can only just see the glint of metal. Unless I've missed something about the woman I live with, the woman I love, she's never had a piercing there. Or anywhere else except her ears."
Jake coughed, and snatched the photograph back, before he began to grab for the rest of them. It didn't work. Both Danny and Tyler grabbed for them.
"Give them back," Jake snarled.
"No, I think not. You've used these to hurt and frame a woman who has stood by her master through some of the hardest of times. If you think I'm going to let you walk out with them..."
"Keep them. I have copies on my computer," he snapped, standing up as he took a step back away from the booth.
"And if I find out you're showing them to anyone, claiming they are proof of an affair, or anything else that is untrue, then I'll chase you down and sue you for everything you have," Tyler growled, his gaze narrowed, jaw clenched.
"You and what money?"
"Mine." Danny stood up slowly, rolling out his shoulders. "And you're banned. Lifetime ban. I'll be sending copies of these pictures along with the statement that they were faked, photoshopped, whatever the right term is for it, to every club and munch group I can find within a three state radius."
"You can't..."
"Yes, I can and I will." Danny didn't even flinch. "Get out. Now."
"You asked me here. You told me you wanted to talk about this." Jake folded his arms across his chest.
"And now I'm telling you to leave. Get out, Jake. Before I have to call the bouncers and have you escorted out."
For a moment no one moved, then Jake lowered his arms, turned, and walked, stiffly, out of sight.
"It's over." Tyler sighed and leaned back in his chair.
"No, it's a beginning, not an ending." Danny slipped back into the booth, looking at both of them. "I've sat back and watched you two try and remove yourself from the world over the last eighteen months. I understand you went through something terrible. I can see that, not just in the way Tyler is stuck in that chair, but the way you look at each other. You've let your fears get the better of you. That has to end, now. I think you both know that, don't you?"
For a moment Naomi feared the worst when she saw Tyler flinch, a flash of anger flying across his face. Then it faded. He closed his eyes and nodded, trembling slightly.
"We've made some mistakes. No, that isn't fair. I've made some mistakes and Naomi has been forced to live through them."
"No, oh please, don't think of it in that way. I've made some nasty mistakes as well. Leaning on Jake was one of them. I should have come to you, Danny, or turned to Tyler instead. But I have to accept I made a mistake and move on from that. Just as Tyler has chosen to move on from his mistakes as well. We have to be strong now, and we can be. It's not going to be easy, we both know that I think."
Tyler nodded. "Naomi's right. And, for what it's worth, I'm sorry your club was brought into the middle of this, Danny. We're both grateful for the help you've given us here. I couldn't ask for a better friend than you. Neither of us could. I need to ask one thing of you though."
"Ask away." Danny nodded. "You know I will help where I can."
"Be there, when we need a friend. I'm going to make mistakes, we both are, in the coming months, but I know we can't pull through this on our own now. I made that mistake once before and I'm not going to again. She's worth swallowing my pride for. I should have learned that before the accident, but I'm grateful I've been given a second chance with her."
Naomi looked at him, smiling. She'd never felt as proud of him as she did in this moment. How many outside of the lifestyle would have known that part of being a Master was having the strength to admit when something had gone wrong? Not many. Hell, there were too many in the scene who refused to accept that part either. People like Jake proved that one over and over again.
She was lucky.
It had taken Jake and an accident to show her just how lucky she truly was, but from this point on she wasn't about to take their love for granted. Not any more.
The End

