The Rules (19 page)

My ass burned, but the cool sheets soothed.

He stared for a long time at my front, up and down, lingering over my breasts, my belly, the spread of my thighs. “Luckiest man alive.”

I bit my lip.

He finally met my gaze. “We have to get a move on. I’m sorry, but I got some calls. I need to go into the office this afternoon.”

“On a Sunday?”

“Yep.”

“You do that often?”

“No. But sometimes it can’t be helped.” He lifted me to sitting and then stood. “I’m gonna start the shower. You meet me there.”

“Yes, Sir.”

He narrowed his gaze. “Two minutes, baby.”

“Yes, Sir.”

“Not going to spank you again for punishment.”

“Yes, Sir,” I repeated.

“You like the idea of time outs?”

I shook my head. Not even close. I sobered. Standing naked in a corner with my nose to the wall was not an inviting idea. I craved contact, even if it was negative like a spanking. Being ignored was not going to do it for me. I lifted myself off the bed fast and beat him to the bathroom, turning on the shower myself.

Cade chuckled as he stepped behind me and hooked me with one arm. He kissed my shoulder. “I have currency.”

I shivered. “What does that mean?”

“Means I’ve found something that will actually work as a disciplinary measure. Something you truly find distasteful.”

“Oh, Lord.” I hoped he didn’t need to use it.

Chapter Fifteen

By one o’clock we were back at Cade’s house, and Arthur had set our bags inside the front door, far more of them than we’d left Atlanta with. Cade had provided me with another short sundress, which I now wore with no bra or panties. It was a little revealing, but we hadn’t gone anywhere but the limo, so I’d relented when he pleaded with me about the bra.

When we’d entered the Mercedes, Cade had raised the shield between Arthur and the back section, yanked the dress off me, and proceeded to settle on his knees between my legs. I was moaning so loud before we pulled out of Nashville, there was no way my noises hadn’t reached the front seat. When he finished, Cade licked his lips. “Couldn’t resist the smooth skin.”

I cringed. I didn’t need the reminder of him shaving me. The shower had been completely awesome. He carefully washed my entire body from head to toe and even let me return the favor. But when we stepped out, he sat me on the counter, grabbed a razor, spread my legs, and proceeded to ensure I was as bare as he preferred.

After that, he’d dropped me on my wobbly legs and rushed us out the door.

I was still needy and shaking when we got in the car, and thus glad for his decision to go down on me.

After I came twice against his insistent mouth, all the while gripping the edge of the seat with my fists, Cade finally came up for air. He licked his lips and moaned. “Never get enough of that, baby. Love the way you scream when you come.”

“I do
not
scream.”

He grinned big. “Oh, baby. That’s precious.” He kissed my naked belly and held me to his cheek.

I glanced toward the front of the car. “Do I?” she whispered.

He chuckled.

He pulled himself onto the seat beside me, and I switched with him, slipping to the ground and popping the button on his jeans. “It’s only fair.”

“Not going to argue with you.”

I lowered the zipper, and Cade lifted his hips while I tugged his jeans down enough to let him free.

I touched him with my fingers first, watching the way he bobbed when I stroked his skin.

Cade sucked in a breath, and I lifted my face. “Another first. I might screw it up.”

“Baby.” His hands threaded into my hair. “You have no chance. Any time your mouth is anywhere near my cock, I’ll be a happy man. Only one rule. No teeth. Otherwise, you can’t fail.”

I inhaled sharply and tried not to let my face reveal the intense desire for murder I felt toward that fucking bitch of a fiancée his best friend had. I didn’t even know her name, and I wanted to kill her.

Luckily, Cade’s eyes drifted closed at that moment, and I lowered my face to his cock. The last thing I wanted to do was ruin this for him by letting that bitch into the car.

As soon as I wrapped my lips around his length and heard him moan while his fingers dug into the sides of my head, I let that woman loose and enjoyed my first blow job. It was heady. Powerful. I brought Cade to orgasm fast, swallowing his come deep.

By the time I had finished and Cade pulled me into his lap, we were both chuckling. We’d only made it to the outskirts of Nashville. It was going to be a long drive.

Now that we were home, Cade was scurrying around trying to get back out the door.

“I’ll go back to my place and clean up a bit while you work.”

“You’ll do no such thing.” He paused and took my face in his hands. “You’ll stay right here. Watch TV. Rest. Nose around if you want. Do not leave this house. I want to know you’re here waiting for me when I finish up.”

I nodded, swallowing the lump in my throat.

Cade released me and stuffed items into his briefcase. “Besides, you couldn’t possibly get your apartment cleaned by the time I finish working.” He gave me a pointed glance. “Gonna have to work on that, baby. I’m a neat freak.”

I looked around. “I see that.”

“Yeah, well, remember that time out idea?”

I curled up my nose. “You wouldn’t.”

“Hey, when kids don’t clean their rooms, they get punished by their parents. Right?”

I didn’t answer.

He kissed me on the lips again as he stuffed his phone in his pocket. “Act like a kid, get treated like one, baby.” He wasn’t kidding.

I didn’t respond. I wondered how on earth I would ever be able to fill that goal of his. I was either going to have to get a lobotomy to alter my personality or spend a great deal of time enjoying the feel of the cold wall against my nipples. I cringed.

Cade didn’t notice my plight. He pointed at the items scattered on the floor by the door instead. “Start with that mess.” He smiled at me. And then he snapped his fingers. “Wait.” He dropped his briefcase next to the door and rustled through the bags until he found what he wanted. He pulled the last box from the pile, the one last gift I had yet to open. The one from the jewelry store.

I stayed very still while he brought it to me. “I want you to have this.”

He’d said I had to earn all three boxes before he made love to me. He’d broken that vow, but only by twelve hours.

“What is it?”

“Open it.”

I tore open the wrapping paper on the oblong box and lifted the lid. A necklace shined up at me. Silver. Gorgeous. A figure eight adorned the front.

“It’s an infinity necklace. I’m sure you’ve seen them. Many people have them. But for me it symbolizes something more.”

I lifted my gaze.

“I want you to wear it as a commitment to me. As my submissive. A symbol of what we have.”

I fought a tear in the corner of my eye. That sounded so intense.

Cade smiled. “I know you don’t quite get it, but this is huge for me. I’ve never made a permanent pact with any woman before. If you wear this for me, it tells me you’re committed to serving me, in a manner of speaking. You put your trust in me as a Dominant to take care of your needs and see to your happiness.”

The tear broke free.

Cade wiped it away with his thumb. “You aren’t supposed to cry.”

I sobbed out a response. “You can’t tell me how to feel.” I tried to smile through my emotion.

He pulled me to his chest and rocked my body, the necklace pressing between us in the box. When he released me, he reached into the box and pulled out the thin gold chain. “Some subs wear a collar. Sometimes they wear it everywhere they go. Sometimes they only wear it when they’re at play or at a club. This is more subtle. No one will suspect what it means unless they happen to be in the community and know that we are also.” He held it up. “Will you wear it?”

I nodded, fighting more tears.

Cade unclasped the lock and circled behind me to lift it over my head. I brushed my hair to one side and tried to rein in my emotions while he hooked it.

It was dainty, but the second it hit my skin I felt the weight of its meaning.

Cade’s fingers stroked around to my throat and fondled the infinity symbol. He pulled my back into his front. “You’re mine, baby.” He kissed my neck.

When he circled to face me, I was a mess. “You need to get to work,” I said. If he left now, I could break down in tears of joy without him wigging out.

He didn’t heed my advice. He pulled me into his chest, my tears soaking his shirt. Now he would need to change. He kissed the top of my head and held me through my mini breakdown. When I finally sucked in a last sob, he held me out and met my gaze. “I better invest in tissue stock if I ever plan to marry you.”

Oh. My. God
. Was he serious? My legs threatened to buckle.

Cade just stood there smirking.

I punched his chest. “Don’t do that, you idiot.”

He buckled in a mock show of injury. “What did I do?” he teased.

“You can’t say things like that.”

“Why not?”

“Because we’ve only been…whatever we are…for like a week, that’s why.”

He chuckled. “I know when I have a good thing. There’s no sense beating around the bush.”

I rolled my eyes and changed the subject. “You need to change shirts.” I plucked at his shirt where I’d soaked it with my tears.

He shook his head. “It’ll dry.”

I couldn’t believe him. He might think I was a mess, but he was coming down a notch too. I was sure in another life he never would have walked out the door leaving that mess by the entrance. In this new life, Cade Alexander was going into the office with tears on his shirt and bags strewed around the foyer.

I smiled through my secret elation.

Cade kissed me soundly one last time and left me to contemplate my fate. Clean up all these bags or spend the evening naked in a corner.

I hastily went to work.

Chapter Sixteen

A half an hour after Cade left, I had everything put away. The various items he’d purchased for me sat in a pile on his kitchen table. I figured I would take them home whenever that occurred. I couldn’t spend the night because I didn’t have anything to wear to work the next day.

A sudden knock at the door made me flinch. Should I get it? I wasn’t expecting anyone of course, but it could be Arthur or some other staff member. Cade hadn’t mentioned such a thing, but he could have forgotten.

I padded to the front door, aware that my dress was only marginally appropriate for company.

When I opened the door, I found a woman standing there, a small child hugging her leg tightly. I glanced past her to see if Arthur had returned. His car wasn’t there. He was probably waiting at the office for Cade. I certainly had no plans to leave the house.

The only vehicle I spotted was an older Honda Accord that must have belonged to this woman.

“Can I help you?” I asked politely.

“Who the fuck are you?”

I was taken aback. Apparently the child was too. She flinched and hid farther behind her mother. I knew this was her mother. They had the same long blonde hair, and I’d noticed the same features until the child of about four hid. Who talked that way in front of a kid?

“Um, excuse me?”

“You heard me. Who the fuck are you?”

I didn’t know how to respond to that. The woman’s gaze traveled up and down my body, making me feel self-conscious. She had the same hoity attitude as the women I’d met the previous night, though she didn’t appear to fit into their world, judging by her state of dress and the age of her vehicle.

The woman’s gaze landed on my neck and stayed there. She reached out a hand and grasped my necklace before I knew what she was about. “He give this to you?”

I struggled to free myself from her clutches.

She yanked. The necklace broke free. She tossed it to the ground behind her.

“Are you mute, bitch?”

I stepped back. I should have slammed the door. Maybe called the cops. But this crazy woman pushed her way into the house, lugging the child behind her by the arm as though the little girl were nothing more than an annoyance. I felt sorry for the kid.

“Start talking,” she said as she roamed into the house farther, shaking the little girl off her leg and giving her a stern look. “Wait here. Don’t move.”

“What are you doing?” I finally found my voice. “If you’re looking for Mr. Alexander, he isn’t here. You’ll have to come back later.”
Please come back later
.

The woman laughed manically, tipping her head back like she was deranged. She set her purse on the island, having worked her way into the kitchen. She looked around and then pulled some papers out of her enormous bag. She held them up. “Not that I should have to explain myself to you, but I’m Cade’s wife, bitch. And that’s his daughter. So I suggest you get the fuck out of my house and don’t look back.”

I gasped. I didn’t reach for the papers.

She held them in my face, forcing me to glace at the top one. It was indeed a marriage certificate. I took it from her and stared at the information. She wasn’t lying. Olivia Grantham Alexander and Cade Michael Alexander had married six years ago. I flipped to the other page. And the little girl in the foyer was indeed Cade’s child, born almost four years ago. My fingers shook as I held the papers out for her to take back. “I see.”

“I hope you do.” She stuffed them back in her purse. “I’m going to take Libby to get an ice cream. While I’m gone, you get the fuck gone too. Got it?”

I nodded.

The woman stomped past me. She held her head high again like the women I’d met last night. She even walked like she was from money, but this bitch had hit hard times.

She grabbed her daughter roughly by the arm and dragged her back out the door, slamming it behind them.

I jumped at the finality in the silence of Cade’s kitchen.

I glanced around, unsure for a moment what to do. My head was swimming. I couldn’t wrap my mind around anything. Too much information slammed into me at once.

Cade had a wife.

He also had a daughter.