Dangerous Authority (9 page)

"Listen, I'm sorry," Mary Jane said.

"You should be," he grumbled.

Anger sparked in her again.  But she didn't want to fight with him, or to harbor any negativity toward him.  She understood where he was coming from.  So she took a seat on the edge of the bed on her side and faced him.

"Dom," she said.  "I know we need to be a unified front.  And I have your back.  I admire you for the incredible boys you've raised.  But, sometimes…  You're just too rough on them.  All of them.  Children need to be able to relax sometimes."

He glared at her.  "Do they?  Have you not noticed the improvement in your own children since you moved in?  I guess I must do something right."

"My children behaved
differently
before we moved here, but they never behaved
badly
.  And your sons are wonderfully behaved, no doubt about it.  But they are craving an opportunity to be able to cut lose and be children, Dominique.  Trust me.  I know kids."

He smirked.  "And I don't?"

"That's not what I'm saying."

"Well, what are you saying then?"

She dropped her eyes to her lap.  "Just relax a little, OK?  That's all I'm asking you."

Dominique shifted onto his knees and crossed the bed to her.  He came so close she could feel the heat of his skin.  "Well," he said very quietly.  "If I have to turn into some sort of push over…  It's going to stress me out.  Make me tense.  How do you suggest I relieve that tension, Mary Jane?"

Her heart fluttered and she looked up into his eyes where he loomed above her.  "How do you want to?" she whispered.

He knelt to place his lips against her ear.  She felt his hot breath move a lock of her hair, and it tickled her.  "I want to spank you."

She shivered violently with a sudden thrill that coursed through her.  Anger had always been an emotion that closely intertwined with lust for her anyway.  And now there was intense love involved as well.  She would never have considered for a second allowing a man to strike her.

Let alone liking it.

She didn't answer him.  Her rapid breathing, trembling body, and fiery eyes were answer enough for him.  He climbed off the bed and strode to his closet where he extracted a black leather belt.  Her eyes widened.

"With a belt?" she breathed.

He bent the belt in half and snapped it, causing her to jump.  Then he nodded.  Somewhere among the swirl of conflicting emotions inside her was a blazing hot streak of arousal.  He returned to her by the bed and stepped between her legs, his chest right next to her face.  She looked up at him, and he stared down into her eyes, waiting patiently to see if she would decline.  When she did not, he grinned and took a step back.

"Undress," he said softly, his voice husky with his desire.

She stood on shaky legs and shimmied out of the leggings she wore, and then shrugged her oversized sweater off over her head.  She wore no undergarments, as he preferred most of the time when they were home together.

"I won't hurt you," he whispered.

She nodded and hugged herself as he appraised her nude body.  He seemed to study every inch of her in the familiar way he had that made her ten kinds of crazy. 

"Turn around," he instructed.  "Lay face down on the bed with your waist bent over the edge.  Spread your arms above your head."

She did as he told her.  Once in place she closed her eyes.  She heard him take a deep jagged breath and a step back.  He drew the back the belt and snapped it against her ass.

She jolted forward on the bed.  Not because it hurt; because of the shock of it.  She felt herself grow wet and muscles inside her began to convulse.  She squeezed her eyes shut as tightly as she could.  She didn't want to like this.  She told herself she shouldn't like this.

But she did.

His next blow hit right beneath her cheeks.  Mary Jane groaned.  As if they had a mind of their own, her legs spread just slightly. 

He struck her again, just a snap.  She jarred against the bed and began to squirm, her legs opening farther.

"Yes?" he asked.

"Yes!"

Dominique snapped her one more time, the sound of it ringing out over the quiet night.  She whimpered and he growled.  The belt's buckle clattered on the floor as he discarded it and then he lunged forward.  He plunged into her from behind and hammered into her deeper than she ever thought possible.  She clawed the comforter as he lifted her hips to better mold her over his throbbing cock.

"Fuck. Yes," he grunted quietly as he savagely took everything he wanted.

Chapter 13

"S
o how's shacking up with Flame?" Doris asked casually the next day at work.

Mary Jane regarded the old woman wearing an expression of tightly pursed lips and one arched eyebrow. 
Aren't you like a hundred and seven by now, you old hag?  Why the hell don't you retire already?

"Just fine, Doris thanks for asking," Mary Jane said politely with just a touch of condescension in her voice.  Doris never asked questions out of any sort of authentic concern.  Doris was nosey.  And mean.  If she inquired about a person's well-being, that person should just assume it was because she hoped he or she was miserable.

"Huh, that's surprising."

Mary Jane glared at her.  "Oh?  Why's that, pray tell?"

"Well you know he got fired from sheriff on account of pulling a gun on that other officer his wife was banging, don't you?"

Mary Jane sighed.  "I have no way of knowing if that's true or not, Doris," Mary Jane said, desperately clinging to her patience.

Doris snickered.  "Oh it's true alright, why don'tcha ask him?  I mean, he's your lo-ver and all."

"What is your point?"

Doris grinned.  She leaned closer to Mary Jane as though about to share some girlish secret.  "Well, because, what I hear is that she screwed around because he was a horrible husband and a general nut job.  Like…  Way past just a prickish cop.  We're talking-"  Doris raised a finger to her temple and twirled it in a circle, whistling through her teeth.

Mary Jane rolled her eyes.  "Gee, thanks for the info,
sweetie
," she said snidely.  She turned and walked away, resolving to go back to her strict policy of ignoring Doris.

But a shiver raced down her spine.

***

They lay in bed once again that night following an intense lovemaking session.  She nestled her face into the crook of his neck, exhaustion consuming her.  She struggled to remain awake, and contemplated just abandoning the question she had for him.  But she wanted to catch him in that particular moment, when he was most tender.

"Dominique?"

"Hmmmm?" he murmured against her hair.

"Can I ask you a question?" she asked nervously.

"Of course, love."

Mary Jane hesitated and then finally proceeded after one deep breath.  "There's been this rumor, I've heard several times over the years.  That you switched to police because you lost your job with sheriff, over a…  Tussle with another officer?"

Dominique laughed.  "Oh yeah.  I've heard that one."

Relief washed over her.  It wasn't true.  Which meant that Doris' other claim was invalid as well.  She giggled.  "I didn't think that could possibly be true."

He laughed again.  "Well of course it's true!"

Her relief dropped off a cliff and anxiety slammed back in.  It
was
true.  And he thought it was funny.

He shifted to prop on an elbow and peer down into her serious face.  "Oh come on, what's the big deal, baby?" he asked jovially.  "Everyone makes mistakes.  Heat of the moment type thing, you know."

"Because your wife was having an affair?"

His smile faded.  He didn't answer but she took his silence as consent.

Her voice was barely a whisper.  "Is that why she isn't around?  Isn't in the boys' life?  She left to be with another man?"

"She made her choice," Dominique said somberly, a spark of anger flickering in his eyes. 

Her heart broke for him right then.  According to the time that those rumors had surfaced around town, the boys would've been toddlers.  She couldn't even fathom what sort of woman she must've been, to abandon her own children.  She mentally chided herself for giving Doris' rude assumptions a second thought.  She stroked his cheek as he stared down into her eyes.  Her gentle touch brought the tenderness back to his face.  Whatever momentary darkness she'd seen in his eyes evaporated.

"Believe me, I never intended to hurt the guy," he imparted with a small smile.  "Because if I had, he'd be dead."

***

One afternoon when she arrived home before anyone else after work, Mary Jane decided to login to her email, which she rarely checked.  She had placed an order for an item on the Internet, and wanted to check the confirmation email for some sort of tracking number.

The top unread message was from an "Elisa Monroe."

She cocked her head to one side and frowned at the computer screen.  Elisa Monroe.  Why did that name sound so familiar?  She began to feel apprehensive, without understanding why this unread email was making her feel that way.  She considered deleting it without reading it.  It certainly couldn't be too important if she didn't even know who it was.  But, curiosity provoked her to click on it.

Mary Jane:

Hi, my name is Elisa Monroe.  I need you to email me back or call me at 202-555-0170.  Please make it at a time when you will have complete privacy.  It is of utmost importance that you call me, Mary Jane; I have to ask you to trust me on that.

I'm Dominique Flame's ex-wife.
 

Mary Jane clapped her hand over her mouth and grimaced at the computer screen.  She didn't even stop to think for a second before moving the cursor to the "delete" button.  Elisa Monroe. 
Of course. 
The woman who had ruined not only her life, but Dominique's and the two little boys who she now loved.  What could possess that woman to contact Mary Jane for any reason?

"Not a chance," Mary Jane muttered under her breath.

***

When another month passed, Elwood began to see the signs of an early and harsh winter.  Early November, and snow already blanketed the ground, and swirled from the sky each morning as she dragged to work.  The bad weather increased business in the diner, as people stopped taking their lunch breaks in the park, preferring the cozy heat.  But at home, tensions continued to rise as the children were unable to play outside as much.

Dominique required all the boys to participate in local sports programs and their evenings were spent shuttling four boys here there and everywhere for basketball, karate, and wrestling practices.  Any other scant moments had to be spent on homework as Dominique also demanded perfect marks in school from all the children.  And then each night Mary Jane was expected to maintain their rigorous sex life.  She didn't know how Dominique managed it all.  She was exhausted.  She dragged at work, and began to lose weight.  She often skipped makeup and prettily styled hair before work in the mornings because she was too tired to get out of bed in time for extra primping.  And days when she elected for the plain and natural look, Dominique made sure to let her know that he didn't approve.

Mary Jane began to think she'd made a big mistake, even before the first snow flew.

The approach of Thanksgiving had Mary Jane on edge.  There would only be a small gathering; her parents, and Dominique's mother.  Her parents had been over several times, and she sensed they weren't entirely pleased with Dominique.  Mary Jane just wanted them to like him and think everything was fine…  Even if it wasn't.

And his mother was the only member of his family that he had anything to do with.  From what she'd gathered through the rumor mill, he did have a father, and a sister who was married with a family that lived somewhere fairly nearby.  Yet he was estranged from them all.  His mother on the other hand, he loved dearly and spoke of often.  But she lived out of state so Mary Jane had yet to meet her.  Thanksgiving would be the first time.  Mary Jane knew Dominique would accept nothing less than perfect for the Thanksgiving dinner, and the fact that his mother would be in attendance made her an absolute nervous wreck.

When Thanksgiving finally arrived, she rose at four in the morning to begin preparing the lavish meal.  Mary Jane loved to cook, and had always been a thrifty shopper who could feed her family healthy and delicious foods while still managing to save money.  But even she had never prepared a dinner like the one Dominique demanded.  At ten a.m. when Mary Jane ran crazily around the kitchen, Dominique announced he'd be leaving to make the hour trip to the airport to pick up his mother.  She asked if he could take at least
some
of the kids with him, if not all of them, so that she wouldn't have to manage all he children while preparing the meal.  She assumed his mother would be eager to see her grandchildren, and to meet Mary Jane's as well.

Instead of agreeing he smirked, patted her on the rump and said, "I think you'll manage."

With a sigh, she watched him stroll out the back door heading for the garage.

***

Several hours later Dominique returned and all the kids gathered around the kitchen window peering out, to watch Mrs. Flame arrive.  She observed that Derek and Alex didn't seem excited in the least, which only increased her jitters.  If her own grandsons weren't happy to see her, Mary Jane could only assume she wasn't in for a pleasant evening.

She watched Dominique emerge from the detached garage arm in arm with an older, female version of himself.  She was smaller than he, and had distinguished grey hair pulled back in pin curls at the nape of her neck and covered by a black pill box hat.  She wore an old fashioned dress and black mink stole.  Mary Jane could hardly believe her eyes.  Mrs. Flame looked like a fictional character who'd just stepped out of the pages of an Agatha Christie novel.  But her face was just the same as Dominique's.  Other worldly gorgeous, and set in a stony expression.

He escorted his mother into the kitchen and Mary Jane expected some sort of enthusiastic greeting, at least for the children.  She briefly flashed back to any time her parents arrived in her home and how excited and bouncy her children would become.  And they saw their grandparents all the time.  In this case however, none of the children said a word and silence settled over the room other than the sound of boiling water on the stove.  The woman seemed to be accompanied by an uncomfortable level of tension.

Mary Jane began to feel dizzy. She just wanted the day to go smoothly, but somehow knew it wouldn't.  She didn't want to lose her chance to make a good impression on sight.  She plastered a wide smile across her face and opened her arms.  "Mrs. Flame!  So nice to finally meet you!  I'm Mary Jane!"

The woman gave an almost indiscernible tight smile and looked down her nose at Mary Jane's outstretched arms.  "Good to meet you, dear," she said with a hint of condescension.  Or perhaps Mary Jane had imagined that since the woman was apparently going to snub Mary Jane's welcoming hug.

Without a word to any of the children, Dominique and his mother passed through the kitchen, resuming whatever conversation they'd had in progress, and disappeared down the hallway.

Chapter 14

A
ll five children remained in the kitchen with Mary Jane as she cooked.  She tried to give them all jobs to let them help.  Though it was extremely hectic to attempt to prepare Thanksgiving meal with five young children under foot, she sensed that they wanted to stay away from Dominique and his mother.  It disturbed her that not even Derek and Alex cared to see their grandmother.  Frankly, Mary Jane had immediately determined she wasn't fond of the woman either.  And she wasn't about to send the children off to play and risk any of them getting in trouble for some ludicrous infraction.  So she tried to just enjoy the holiday by laughing and joking with them while she cooked.