Cardinal's Rule (15 page)

She knew what she was doing to him, he watched the corners of her eyes crinkle in amusement

as she slowly worked her way back up to the head again. When her hand cupped his sac, her fingers drifting lower to play with his taint, he didn’t bother holding back. He threw his head back, eyes closed, and worked his hips in time with her movements. Eventually he reached down and rested his hands on her head as he thrust, until she finally pressed a finger against his rim and he exploded.

She went deep again, staying with him until he eventually finished and softened and she freed his spent member. He stroked her head as she rested her cheek against his abs.

After a few minutes, he sighed. “Okay. I’m
definitely
homoflexible. I’ll have no problem being straight for you.”

She laughed and kissed his stomach before straddling him again. “Yeah?”

He opened his eyes and looked at her. “Yeah.”

* * * *

They took a shower, barely avoiding ending up back in bed. She enjoyed standing under the

spray, cradled in his arms, the feel of his warm flesh surrounding her as steam curled around them and water beaded on her skin. After, she called Loren and asked if they minded an addition to their dinner and found out not only did they not mind, but friends of theirs, Kim and Kylee, would be joining them as well. Tilly hoped that would keep her friend’s questions to a minimum until Loren cornered her in private later. They frequented the same restaurant, a family-owned Italian bistro on U.S. 41 they’d gone to for years. Loren wanted to quiz Tilly about her date, but she artfully avoided her questions with the 

old, “Sorry, incoming call, I’ll see you later,” line.

Dodged that bullet. Temporarily.

Their routine was to eat first, then run home, change, and meet at the private club. Sometimes Tilly brought a client, normally she didn’t. If she went alone, she usually ended up helping top other sub men, invited to play by her friends.

“We need to go bed shopping too, if we have time,” he said. “I also need to stop by the hotel and leave more money for slave and get my toy bag.”

Fear gripped her. She held up her hands, angry. “Whoa! Stop right the fuck there! You are
not
fucking topping me tonight!”

He pulled her into his arms. “Of course I’m not, love.” He kissed her. She hated that she wanted to melt right there. “It’s just to fuck with slave’s mind. I don’t plan on removing the toy bag from the trunk. I do plan on making sure he sees me taking it, as well as clothes to wear to the club.”

Relief flooded her. “Oh. Okay. Sorry.”

“No, please don’t apologize. I’m sorry. I should have clarified that comment. I didn’t mean to upset you.” He gently cupped her face in his palms. “I meant what I said. I won’t top you. I won’t try to be your Master or Dom. I do, however, want to be the best husband I can be.” He kissed her again.

“Why had you gone so long without coming?”

She reddened. “We can discuss that later,” she mumbled.

He hugged her tightly before releasing her. “Very well. Now let’s go.”

Chapter Eight

Landry didn’t want to think the word.

Love.

He barely knew her, but he loved her. She felt so sweetly vulnerable in his arms, he didn’t need to top her to want to protect her and care for her, to make her forget past hurts, heal her emotional wounds and make her smile. She was the kind of woman who wouldn’t want to be anyone’s DIY

emotional repair project, but he couldn’t help it.

Love.

They still had three hours until they’d meet with Tilly’s friends. With him driving they took her SUV and visited two different bed stores until found a queen-sized mattress they both liked. A third store, and they found a bed frame she liked that matched her existing bedroom set well enough.

Everything would be delivered the next day.

On to the hotel. He sensed her tension as they pulled into the parking lot. Before he left her house he’d called ahead and told Cris to stay in the room and get undressed. After they reached the hotel, Landry stopped by the office and paid their room tab until Monday so there wouldn’t be any problems.

He parked several doors down from their room. Even if Cris managed to look, he wouldn’t

recognize her car, which she kept in her garage and he hadn’t seen it the other day.

When he entered the room he found Cris naked and kneeling on the floor.

That made him pause. “Have you been sitting like that all afternoon?” He’d only told him to be naked, not to be formally posed.

“No, Master. I heard you unlocking the door.”

“Oh. Okay.” He reached into his wallet and pulled out five twenties and dropped them onto the dresser. “I’ll be gone all weekend. You can use this for food and expenses. You are allowed to leave the room provided you wear your formal collar. Take your cell phone with you if you leave the room. If you do not answer it, or don’t call me back immediately if you miss the call, don’t bother being here on Monday when I return. Understand?”

“Yes, Master.”

That’s when he noticed the quarters on the dresser, two dollars worth. “What’s with the

change?”

“I did the laundry, Master.”

“I didn’t leave you money for laundry.”

“I used my food money.”

Landry immediately felt guilty, which pissed him off. “How’d you eat?”

“McDonald’s.”

He swore under his breath. “Next time I leave you money for food, use it for food.”

“Yes, Master. I’m sorry.”

Fuck.
So much for his grand entrance and exit. He had difficulty shaking his guilt that Cris had been limited to fast food in lieu of doing their laundry. He walked over to the closet, pulled out the toy bag, and dropped it on the floor next to the room door, where Cris would absolutely see it.

Cris didn’t ask. He remained kneeling on the floor without looking up.

Landry rummaged through the dresser drawers, found the clothes he wanted as well as extra

regular clothes, and tucked them into the toy bag. He turned and stared at Cris. Part of him wanted to pull him to him and hug him as his heart ached for him.

He loved him. Nothing would ever change that, no matter what had happened.

Part of him wanted to beat the shit out of him for hurting Tilly. Fuck, he was falling in love with her after only a couple of days, and Cris walked away from her after being with her for years?

“I will return for you between ten and eleven Monday morning. Have all our bags packed, be

dressed in slacks and a decent shirt, your formal collar, and be kneeling on the floor just like you are now. I want to pick you up and leave immediately.

“May I ask a question, Master?”

“No.”

Cris’ body tensed, like he wanted to challenge Landry, but he remained silent.

“All right, what is it?” Landry asked.

“You took your laptop. Do you want me to check in with the office at all, or are you handling it?”

He arched an eyebrow. He’d been expecting a question about their plans. He should have

known better. He softened his tone. “No. I’m handling it. You have no responsibilities this weekend except what I just told you. Answer that phone if I call. Feel free to sightsee. If you spend all your money before Monday, you’ll go hungry until I return. Keep that in mind.”

“Yes, Master.”

He suspected Cris wouldn’t leave the room except to eat or possibly do more laundry.

He turned and picked up the toy bag. “Be a good boy for me. Don’t disappoint me. I have plans for you on Monday. It would be a shame for you to ruin them.”

He left Cris sitting there and returned to the SUV. He tucked his bag in the back hatch and slid behind the wheel again.

Tilly looked at him, her eyes hidden by sunglasses. “Well?” she softly asked.

He smiled. “He’s a good boy.” He fastened his seatbelt and backed them out of the parking

space. “I told him I’ll pick him up on Monday.”

* * * *

Tilly’s heart raced as they approached the restaurant. She spotted Ross and Loren’s car in the

parking lot and pointed it out to Landry.

He leaned in and kissed her. “We don’t have to do this tonight if you don’t want to.”

“We need to get it over with. Maybe Ross won’t blow up in public.”

He brushed his fingers along her cheek. “Do you want me to break it to them?”

She vigorously shook her head. “If I could face down that fucker at the parole hearing, I should be able to do this. They’re my best friends.” She glanced at him. “And if they come after you, I think you can hold your own against them.”

He returned her smile. “Okay.”

He got out, walked around, and opened her door for her. When she stepped out he laced his

fingers through hers and walked with her inside the restaurant.

Tilly’s nerves tightened, like coiled barbed wire inside her gut.

I can do anything I put my mind to.

Loren smiled when she spotted Tilly. Ross smiled, but she didn’t miss his slightly puzzled look.

Landry squeezed her hand and offered her a quick smile as he let her lead him across the

restaurant. Tilly made the introductions and Landry even pulled her chair out for her before sitting next to her.

She didn’t miss the odd look on Kim and Kylee’s faces. The women seemed shocked to see

Tilly arrive with a guest.

As Tilly had expected, Loren started in immediately. “So! How did you two meet?”

“Mutual acquaintance,” Tilly said, hoping Loren wouldn’t want to kill her later. “Boring story, seriously.”

They asked him about his job, appropriately impressed to find out he ran a software firm and made good money. Loren had asked that question, unashamedly stepping into her overprotective best friend role.

The waitress took their orders. When she left, Kylee leaned in. “You look really familiar. Like I’ve seen you somewhere before.”

Landry smiled. “I’ve been told I have one of those kinds of faces.”

Kylee didn’t look convinced.

Before their food arrived, Tilly had to go to the bathroom, her glass of tea already stretching her nervous bladder to the max. As she expected, Loren and Kim both jumped up to accompany her. The bathroom door was no sooner shut behind them that the two woman stood outside her bathroom stall, hounding her with questions she quickly dodged. Then they went strangely silent as Tilly heard the door open and someone else enter.

“Look, can we talk about this later? Seriously? And please don’t scare him away, I really like him.” She washed her hands and dodged out the door. Ross and Landry sat alone talking at the table.

That meant Kylee had most likely been the one to enter the bathroom. So why hadn’t she chimed in with her questions?

She pushed it out of her mind as she returned to her seat. Landry offered her a smile and a quick peck on the lips.

When she looked at Ross she didn’t miss his beaming grin. “I was just telling Landry you look really happy, and I asked him what drug he slipped you.”

She laughed.

Ross cleared his throat. “He, ah, also told me he’s sick.”

She shot a glance Landry’s way. The man shrugged. “He asked if we would be at a party next

week. I told him you were going with me to my biopsy, and that I probably wouldn’t feel like attending. I couldn’t speak for whether or not you’ll be there.” She knew Ross couldn’t see him wink at her.

She relaxed. He hadn’t spilled the beans.

Ross continued. “You would have made a great nurse, Tilly. This’ll give you a chance to kick back and relax for a while.”

Okay, maybe he
had
spilled the beans.

Landry clasped her hand. “I also told him you offered to let me stay with you during my

treatments.” He looked back at Ross. “I wouldn’t feel right about staying there if I didn’t pay my own way, and pay for her time.”

She relaxed again. Her irritation at him faded. Maybe this would be okay after all. And what the hell was taking the girls so long?

Ross looked down suddenly and pulled his BlackBerry from his belt. He thumbed it, scowled as he read a message, then his face shifted to a strange, blank expression Tilly wasn’t sure how to interpret. “Can you excuse me for just a minute?” He got up from the table and walked away.

Landry leaned in. “I’m sorry, sweetheart. It seemed easiest that way, straightforward. I didn’t tell him about getting married, or about Cris.”

“Great,” she whispered, almost a hiss. “So how the fuck am I supposed to work those little

factoids in?”

He was about to answer when Kim and Kylee returned, both of them looking…weird.

They managed to uphold a stilted conversation for a few moments until Ross and Loren

returned.

Whatever message Ross had received, he looked ready to kill and cast a murderous glance

toward Landry.

“What’s wrong?” Tilly asked him.

He shook his head, his face clearing. “Nothing. Sorry, got an issue at work I’m dealing with.”

She felt relieved. If she didn’t know any better, it was like they’d all suddenly passed an

unfavorable judgment on Landry.

The conversation felt forced from that point on but Tilly couldn’t put her finger on it. Kim and 

Kylee didn’t seem to want to talk to Landry now, and Ross barely talked to anyone. Loren had slipped into dutiful slave wife mode in that Tilly would swear she was only acting normal due to some order on Ross’ part for her to act that way.

It creeped Tilly out.

After their meal, Tilly hugged her friends and told them she’d see them in an hour at the club.

When they got into the SUV, Landry glanced at her. “I suspect your suspicions mirror mine. The text message Ross received had nothing to do with work.”

“Yeah,” she admitted. “I think you’re right.”

* * * *

They returned to her house, changed clothes, and headed out again. Tilly liked that he helped

her tighten her corset, but she felt unsettled. “We don’t have to go tonight if you don’t want to.” Truth be told, she wouldn’t mind staying home and trying to talk him into a repeat performance of that afternoon.