Free Agent (9 page)

“I just wanted to look at you, sir.”

He crouched in front of her. Amusement lifted the corners of the lips she loved so much. “And why would you want to do that? You’ve seen me plenty of times.”

“Permission to speak frankly, sir?”

“Granted.”

“I don’t want to forget you. When this is over.”

His smile faded, and her heart dropped to her toes. They hadn’t discussed the rapidly approaching end of their contract, and clearly bringing it up had been a bad idea.

He stood, paced a few steps away, and returned to stand over her. “Do you want this to come to an end?”

“No, sir. I wish it didn’t have to. I don’t want you to go.”

“If I didn’t leave, would that make you happy?”

“Yes, sir.” She’d already walked out on the limb, might as well tell him everything. “I want to be with you…for as long as you will have me…sir.”

Silence, broken only by his slow inhale and exhale, filled the room. She wished she knew where he was getting the air. To her, it seemed as if her words had sucked all the oxygen out of the room. Her head spun, and an overwhelming urge to run out of the room, naked or not, consumed her. Nothing could be as bad as waiting for him to respond.

“We need to talk,” he said, startling her lungs into functioning again. “Stand up.”

He placed a hand beneath her elbow to help her stand. Once she was on her feet, he guided her to the platform bed and motioned for her to sit on the edge. He joined her, hunched over, his forearms braced on his thighs.

“I’d like to tear up our contract,” he said.

She froze from the inside out. Why had she told him the truth? He’d said from the beginning it couldn’t be permanent, and she had agreed to the terms. Her impulsive words were going to cost her what little time she had left with him. A lump of ice blocked her throat, froze her vocal chords, and freeze-dried her tears. She couldn’t even protest his statement!

A full-body shiver gripped her, and she shook like a dry leaf in the wind.

“Shit. You’re cold.” He jumped up, grabbed a blanket from the stack on the counter, and draped it over her shoulders. His touch was gentle, his concern for her well being a reminder of why she didn’t want him to go. “I’m sorry, babe. I thought it was warm enough in here for you.”

He rose again, this time to adjust the thermostat. Clutching the blanket around her with stiff fingers, she prayed he would get this over with quickly and leave before she shattered. Already, she could feel the cracks forming in her icy shell.

“That should help,” he said, returning to sit beside her.

He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her against his chest. Her head fit perfectly beneath his chin. Eventually, her tremors eased, and he set her away. She’d thawed enough to allow a tear to escape and slip down her cheek. He wiped it away with his thumb.

“Hey. Why are you crying?”

He wanted to tear up their contract, so basically, she was no longer his sub. She looked him in the eye, his equal. “I don’t want you to tear up the contract. Please, Todd, sir.”
Old habits die hard.

The idiot smiled, and she discovered anger could thaw a solid block of ice.

“Don’t you dare laugh at me. You’re the one who wants out, not me. We both signed that contract, so we both should have to agree to tear it up.”

“I agree,” he said, his smile growing wider. “What if I can convince you to tear it up?”

“You can’t.” She sounded like a pouting child, but she couldn’t help it. Her heart practically had a calendar pinned on it with a big red X marking the date it would break. Today was not that day. She felt cheated and…
used.
“The contract gives you rights but not that one.”

“Actually, I think it does, but that’s beside the point. Will you calm down and listen for a minute? I think I can convince you tearing up the contract is in your best interest.”

“Go ahead. Talk.”
But I don’t have to listen.

She shifted so he was looking at the back of her head. He startled her by placing his hands on her shoulders and leaning in.

His lips brushed her ear. “I’m not leaving.”

His hot breath against her skin rattled her senses. Had she heard correctly? Something that felt a little like hope blossomed in her chest and stole the air from her lungs.

“What?” she gasped.

“I’m staying right here,” he clarified.

His tongue traced the shell of her ear. She shivered again, but this time it had nothing to do with being cold.

“Tear up the contract. I don’t want an expiration date on the way I feel when I’m with you.”

Heat incinerated the sinister calendar on her heart counting down the days to self-destruct. “You’re staying?”

“I’m staying. At least five years. Longer if this thing works out with us.” He nuzzled her neck, her ear, her cheek. “I want us to have all the time in the world to see if what we have between us can last.” He turned her, pressed her flat on the mattress, and covered her with his big, hard body. “Will you tear up the contract?”

His smile was gone. She’d never seen him look so vulnerable, as if his happiness depended on her answer. There was much she didn’t know about this man, but she knew everything that counted. He was dependable and strong. He had a good heart, and though he ruled over her, he didn’t abuse his power. He gave more than he took.

“We’ll write a new one with no end date if you’re worried about the specifics, but I would never hurt you. You have to know that by now.”

She did know that about him, too. Her safety had always come first, even when she had been far less inclined to worry about such things. He’d rather stop short of his goals than harm her.

“I know.” She smiled up at him. “I know everything about you I need to know. Do you think five years will be enough?”

“I don’t think it will take that long because I think I’m falling in love with you and I don’t want any timeframe on letting that happen.”

He parted the blanket, found her hands, and brought them up over her head. He used his legs to bring her fully beneath him on the mattress and laced his fingers with hers so they were palm to palm, their bodies touching at all the key points—hands, chests, abdomen.

His erection felt like a torch burning through his pants, branding her.

“Say something,” he pleaded. “I’m dying here.”

Worry lines creased his forehead and carved a deep groove between his eyes. It was tempting to make him wait, something he was all too fond of doing to her.
I’ve wanted to say these words for so long. I can’t keep him waiting any longer.

“I’m falling in love with you, too,” she said. “If I agree to tear up the contract, will you make love to me?”

A wide smile worked like a magic wand, eliminating worry lines, and bringing a sparkle to his eyes. He rocked his hips against her, demanding entrance. She parted her legs, inviting him to take her.

As quickly as it had come, his smile disappeared, replaced by a soft determination. “I’m going to make love to you all night,” he promised.

She smiled up at the man who held her heart. “Is that paper I hear tearing?”

Todd thrust deep. Wet heat wrapped around his cock, held his flesh prisoner. He’d always understood the D/s power exchange on an intellectual level, but until he met Brooke, he hadn’t truly understood the submissive partner held as much power—perhaps more—than the dominant one. His body was enslaved to this woman, his physical pleasure contingent on hers. Yet, tied as he was to her, he’d never felt as free as he did when he was with her.

Her needs were the answer to his needs. Her desires a perfect match to his. He’d thought happiness was measured in dollars, but thanks to this special woman, he now knew it was measured in degrees of trust.

And by trusting everything she was to him, she’d made him the happiest man on Earth.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Roz Lee has been married to her best friend, and high school sweetheart, for over three decades. Even though she’s lived on both coasts, her heart lies in between, in Texas. A Texan by birth, she can trace her family back to the Republic of Texas. With roots that deep, she says, “You can’t ever really leave.”

Roz and her husband have two grown daughters they couldn’t be more proud of, and are currently raising a twelve-year-old Labrador Retriever, Betty Boop, who isn’t aware of her canine heritage.

When Roz isn’t writing, she’s reading, or traipsing around the country on one adventure or another. No trip is too small, no tourist trap too cheesy, and no road unworthy of travel.

Other Titles by Roz Lee

Mustangs Baseball series:

Inside Heat

Going Deep

Coming Soon:

Bases Loaded

Lothario Series:

The Lust Boat

Show Me the Ropes

Love Me Twice

Four of Hearts

Under the Covers

More
Titles

Still Taking Chances

Making It On Broadway

Lost Melody – by Dolores W Maroney