A Dom's Dilemma (25 page)

“You’re right,” she said, as another wrinkle formed on her forehead, and he suspected she wanted to argue with him, but didn’t want him thinking she was too needy. In a way, he admired her for it, but he also wanted her to realize if she needed to cling for a while, he’d be there for her.

“Of course, I am,” he said with a trace of smugness he knew would get her riled. “There shouldn’t be any doubt at all about that … ever.”

When she snorted, he bent down and wiped away her remaining tears with his thumb. “I don’t know, sugar. All this head shakin’ and snortin’ you’re doin’ makes me think you’re in need of a punishment to remind you to show your Dom respect. Now, let’s see. What should I do?”

“I believe your sending me away is punishment enough, don’t you, Sir?”

Giving his head a shake, he tapped her nose. “I do not, since I don’t consider takin’ you home as punishment at all. Perhaps I should make you wear a butt plug as a small reminder.”

She immediately shook her head and took a step back. “No. I’m fine. Really. I won’t forget again, Sir.”

Well, she wasn’t crying any more, but she was definitely hiding something. The problem was he doubted this would be an easy fix, so getting into a discussion tonight was not wise. However, he decided they would need to address this problem she had with her backside in a follow up talk very soon. “All right. I’ll let it go this time, but don’t think this issue is resolved by a long shot, darlin’. Cause it ain’t.”

She nodded. “Yes, Sir. Um, Sir, do you happen to have a couple of plastic bags you can give or lend me?”

Though he found her quick change of topic a little unusual he gave her another nod. “Of course. How many you want, doll?” he asked, going into the kitchen to fetch them for her.

“Two please. One quart, and one gallon size if you have them, Sir.”

“Comin’ right up,” he answered, pleased she’d recovered so quickly even as he wondered if she really had.

Jim left Kelly alone after that, giving her some privacy to pack and get dressed, noticing when she joined him with a soft, hesitant smile that her handbag appeared suspiciously heavier. He didn’t care. She could pocket everything he had in his bathroom, if she wanted to, though he suspected he already knew what she’d taken, and thought it kind of cute.

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

When they pulled up in front of her building, Kelly invited Jim up for a “cup of coffee,” only to face another disappointment when he declined, claiming he had work to do. She knew his job as a detective required him to read a lot of reports and case follow ups, and accepted that. However, she was still surprised when he got out of the car and opened the door for her. Kyle often treated her like a lady, but not every Dom did.

Without a word, Jim clasped her elbow and removed her cross-body leather handbag from her grasp. Recalling what she’d put in it, Kelly quickly tried to grab it back with no success.

“No, no,” he said, moving the large, black bag out of her reach and draping the strap over his shoulder. “A gentleman never allows a lady to carry somethin’ heavy, when he is practically empty-handed.”

“You’re not empty-handed. You’ve got my case.”

He lifted the small carrying case he held. “What, this thing? A mere trifle.”

“But that’s my purse,” she implored, looking longingly at the black shoulder bag hanging well out of her reach now. “Men don’t carry purses.”

“Your purse, eh?” he said walking her through her apartment door and saying hello to her night watchman. Stepping up to the elevator, he pushed the button. “I don’t know, darlin’, this bag here on my shoulder seems a lot heavier than a purse. Matter of fact, I think it’s heavier than when I carried it in on Friday.”

“No. It’s not,” she insisted, really wanting to grab her purse back now.

“No, huh?” When she shook her head, he gave her a leveling gaze and escorted her into the elevator. “You sure?” he asked with a trace of suspicion.

“Yeah. I’m sure. Can I have it back now…. Please?”

“I dunno. You sure seem awful eager to me. I’m thinkin’ I should check it out to see exactly what’s in it and possibly do a full body cavity search on you. I think you’re hidin’ somethin’.”

“A body cavity search?” she asked a little weakly. “A full one?”

“Yes, ma’am.”

“I do have certain cavities I wouldn’t mind you taking a closer look at.”

“You do, do you?” he asked, leading her out of the elevator and toward her door. “Well perhaps I ought to do that very thing after all.” She already had her keys out, so he extended his hand for them. Without thinking, she placed them into his palm.

Rewarding her with one of his toe-curling sexy grins, he opened her door and took a moment to look about. Once he was satisfied all was as it should be, he placed a firm hand at the small of her back and escorted her inside until she stood a few feet in front of her couch. She gazed up at him and his eyes remained fixed on hers when he lowered his hand, letting it slide along the curve of her buttocks before he released her. Though he didn’t give her any sort of command or signal to stay put before he turned away, Kelly knew better than to move from the spot where he’d placed her, since he wasn’t done with her yet. At least she hoped he wasn’t.

More than a little breathless, she waited as he shut her door, carefully put down her case, followed it with her purse and keys before meeting her wide-eyed expectant gaze. Just the sound of his boot heels clicking on her floor as he approached had Kelly’s insides turning to jelly. Oh, God, she really had it bad for him.

When he continued to move toward her with dubious intent gleaming in his dark brown eyes, desire and apprehension pooled in her lower regions even as she took a step in retreat. His eyes narrowed slightly, but his gaze remained focused solely on her. The sleek, masculine animal that was her Dom continued to pursue his prey until Kelly’s butt thrust up against the back of her couch, and she winced.

His expression promptly changing to one of concern, he cupped her face in his hands. “Still sore?” he asked gently.

She sort of shook her head.

“No?”

“Not really,” she answered gazing up into his dark eyes with the tiny hope that her insignificant show of pain hadn’t ruined everything. Except she could tell by the firm set of his jaw that he didn’t believe her, and the game was over.

“You need to be more honest with me, Kelly,” he scolded without heat, and she knew it was worry more than anger that prompted his stern tone. At her nod of agreement, he gave her chin a light squeeze. “Now I have some last minute instructions for you. Make sure you apply the butt cream I gave you every night for the next five days. It’ll help reduce any lingerin’ soreness you might have. Second,” he added, a bit more firmly, “No more frisky business without permission. You hear?” That order was accompanied with a warning scowl that was pure Dom.

Her returning smile had more than a trace of guilt in it. “Okay, I’ll be good and not touch anything I’m not supposed to without your permission,” she promised a little breathily.

His eyes narrowing, he gave her a grin that oozed with evil intent. “You’d better not, my lovely. Or else….” Then, without any more warning, he reached out and started to tickle her.

Kelly screamed. She was very, very ticklish, and he knew all her secret spots. She was laughing so hard she was crying when he finally stopped.

He held her for a minute as she caught her breath, then kissed her softly and sensuously for a moment, before he drew back. “Gotta go, darlin’. I’ll give you a call later in the week. All right?”

At her dazed nod, he smiled then turned and walked out of her door.

The moment Jim stood outside in the hall, he gave a sigh and adjusted himself … again. She was all right now. Laughing and smiling at him with an expression of happy joy that had banished the forlorn look of rejection her face had when he’d advised her he wasn’t staying. That had been exactly what he’d hoped to achieve, even though it did nothing to ease the perpetual erection he’d been sporting all weekend.

With a half-hour to kill, Jim took the opportunity during his drive home to give careful consideration to what was developing between him and Kelly. That she was a reluctant submissive, he had no doubt. That she wished for something more between them was also abundantly clear. Except that wasn’t what he wanted. Not right now. Not yet. Maybe not ever. At this point he wasn’t sure. So, he began to mentally list all the pluses and minuses furthering his relationship with Kelly would offer.

Even though he didn’t require or even want a 24/7 D/s relationship, Kelly was a little too relaxed with him this early in their association, which was a minus. He’d worked hard to gain her trust and he got it, which was a plus, but he expected her to at least stick to the rules they’d established on Saturday, another minus. He had totally given up on correcting her when she called him by his first name, a minus for both him and her, while noting the way she often liked to snuggle up against him whenever she did it, which was a minus that he, unfortunately, was finding to be a plus.

She wanted to kiss him, play with his hair and even slap his shoulder, which bothered the Dom in him when she did it without permission, so he had to make that a minus. Yeah, he knew she was only playing, and that he could put a quick stop to it by getting stern with her, but he didn’t want to do that either. Perhaps he should mark that down as a minus for him rather than her. Because, whenever he did scold or get stern, he watched as tear-filled clouds dulled the shine of her bright and radiant eyes. He’d almost stopped scolding altogether, giving the excuse that it clearly did no good, but the real reason was that his words of censure dimmed her happiness. Yeah, that definitely should be a minus mark for him as her Dom.

He hadn’t even been particularly sharp with her yesterday when she caved about the enema. He’d just been a trifle cool, and that had been enough to almost reduce her to tears. In a way he was pleased she was so attuned to his moods, as he sought to be with hers, but her heightened sensitivity worried him a little, too, which made that a plus with a minus. So, perhaps he was the one with the problem, not she.

He didn’t want a sub who clung to his every word and frown, yet he wanted her to gaze at him as if he was the only person in her life that mattered. Talk about confusing the poor girl. And when she tried to put up a barrier in self-defense to hide her hurt, he refused to let her build it. It was totally unfair of him to demand she be open and honest with him, then grow uncomfortable when she started to express her true feelings.

He liked so much about her, especially her bad girl sense of humor, that his feelings were beginning to interfere with his role as her Dom. He needed to decide what he wanted from her and stick to it. And even though she sought a different relationship with him than he sought to offer, he couldn’t fault her for thinking such a thing was possible. He’d practically encouraged it through his actions.

By the time he got home, Jim decided it might be best for both of them if he cooled things down a bit. Perhaps he should try to limit their interaction to the club and not stay in contact with her on the nights in between. Then he walked into his empty house and immediately felt the loss.

Calling himself an idiot, he took out some files and worked for a bit, but found himself imaging the way she wiggled her behind at him when she walked to the bathroom, or the way her eyes twinkled when she teased him. Realizing he wasn’t accomplishing anything, he strode toward the guest bedroom to strip the sheets, deciding he should do a load of laundry, considering all the towels they’d used today. But he drew up the moment he entered the room as the memory how she’d snuggled up to him when she slept, or reached out for him when she was scared, or looked so excited with the way he’d plucked their initials into her pubic hair played back in his mind. She was silly, sweet, funny, sexy, submissive and sassy all rolled into one. God help him, he thought he might be falling in love with her. And that was not at all what he wanted.

Though he went through the motions of returning things to normal by straightening up, putting a load in the washer and fixing himself dinner, everything had an empty feel. He thought he’d be happy to have her gone, but he was wrong. By ten o’clock he was actually thinking of going to bed. He could read for a bit, or watch a movie, or maybe even catch the news since neither one of them had paid much attention to it all weekend long. Stripping off his clothes, he crawled in between the clean sheets and lay there for a moment. It was so quiet that he literally jumped when the phone rang. No one from work called his home number, and he’d only given it out to a handful of people. He didn’t have caller ID on this phone, so he picked the receiver up without knowing who was on the line.

“Hello?”

“Hi,” answered a soft and breathy voice he immediately recognized.

“Kelly?” He jerked into a sitting position. “Are you all right, darlin’?”

“Sure. Why not?”

He lay back down. “So, what’s on your mind, young lady? Shouldn’t you be in bed asleep by now?”

She giggled at that. “Actually, I’m allowed to stay up as long as I want, especially since no one’s here right now to tell me otherwise.”

“You think not?”

“I’m pretty sure I’m all alone, although I wouldn’t mind company. I wouldn’t even mind if a certain stern Dom I know came over to punish me for staying up later than he ordered.”

He chuckled. “Yeah, you say that now. But if I were to put you over my knee, I know you’d be singin’ another tune pretty damn quick.”

“Maybe….” She let her voice trail off in an obvious invitation that had his cock standing at immediate attention. Not that it had far to go to be fully erect. Partial erections seemed to be a permanent condition for him lately.

“Kelly, I think we need to talk, darlin’.” Silence. “Looks like I’m continuin’ to send you mixed messages, and I don’t think that’s fair to you.”

“What do you mean?” she asked quietly.

“I mean, I’m not doin’ a proper job as your Dom. You’ve been gettin’ away with far too much for it bein’ so early in a D/s relationship.”