Vulnerable (15 page)

Ross stood watching his woman sleep, her mother not two feet from her, also deep in dreamland. The dawn had broken with some really beautiful colors if Ross had been inclined to enjoy them. He had lain awake, waiting for Elise to return, and when she hadn’t done so, felt achingly empty and worried. He’d been an idiot, and there was no excuse. It had felt quite the right thing to do, going off to confront her ex, maybe punch his lights out or something equally grand.

Dave had then whispered a crucial bit of information to him after dinner, a meal he hadn’t tasted, information that would have been good to know before they took that little drive. Two pieces of information, actually. The Cooper clan apparently hung out in large, nasty groups and was usually armed. Christ. No wonder Elise had had a break down, and then he had tried to minimize things. His Dom persona wouldn’t do him any good this time. In fact, she might yet whip his ass. A slight sound behind him caught his attention, and he turned to see Dave entering the room. His face wore the same expression Ross had seen reflected back when he shaved that morning, kind of a cross between sheepish and worried. Dave motioned toward the kitchen, and Ross obligingly followed. The older man lowered his voice and suggested they put some breakfast together.

Dave had clearly rarely fended for himself in the kitchen, and Ross was happy to carry the brunt of the effort. His future father-in-law, he hoped, managed to put coffee on while Ross located a freshly baked loaf of bread and sliced enough for four people. He scrambled some eggs and was chopping some shallots when Elise passed through the edge of his vision and he heard the bathroom door close. Dave abandoned him and rushed to the living room. Ross could hear muted voices and tried not to eavesdrop, focusing instead on setting the table while the skillet heated. Marjorie didn’t seem to have any paper towels, and so he figured they would do without napkins. He added butter to sizzle in the pan and when it melted folded in the eggs. Dave hadn’t finished hacking up the ham, so Ross cut a few more pieces and arranged them on a plate while the bread toasted. He surveyed his efforts with pride, except he was the only one there to appreciate them. He went in search of his woman and her parents. Dave and Marjorie had disappeared, and their bedroom door was closed. He continued down the hall and found that door shut as well. He raised his hand to knock and then manned up. The knob turned under his fingertips, and he breathed a little sigh of relief, only to choke on it. Elise stood by the bed, with a scrap of lace in her hand, naked in the rays of the rising sun, all the curves and hollows of her body caressed in gold, her hair flowing around her shoulders like molten waves of that precious metal. She held out her arms, and he went to her, and was enfolded. His head felt light, but so did his heart. He was never going to let her go.

“I’m so sorry, Elise,” he began, but she pressed a finger to her lips.

“It’s done. Over. I’m not going anywhere, Ross. And you won’t be stupid again.”

He dropped his hands to her buttocks and stroked them in warning. She made a small sound of laughter, and he kissed her, relishing the feel of her against him, wishing he, too, was naked. He set her away from him and reached to pull off his shirt.

“Not likely, buddy,” she said. “I smell coffee. I’m starving, and even the thought of sex with you isn’t going to get in my way.”

Ross remembered the eggs and nearly ran back to the kitchen. The charring was fairly insignificant, and he figured Elise could pick the little pieces out. He buttered the cold, cardboard-like toast and poured her a cup of coffee. She soon came out to join him, stopping only to pull some fabric napkins from a drawer. She devoured most everything he put on her plate, and Ross figured he could take a few thousand more breakfasts like this one.

When Dave and Marjorie finally emerged, he and Elise had cleared the table and were doing the dishes together. Dave raised an eyebrow but said nothing, merely going to make more coffee and toast while Marjorie watched his efforts with a patient look on her face.

“We’re heading back today, Mom,” Elise said.

Ross controlled his start of surprise. He thought they were leaving the following day, but he didn’t say anything. Neither did Marjorie. She merely nodded, and then suggested they stop by the hardware store to say good-bye to Kathy, and would probably find Cindy at home, seeing as the girl didn’t go far these days.

“Let me know when she has the baby, Mom. Maybe we can slip back to see the little one.”

Ross wondered if he had woken up on a different planet. Something had happened while he lay awake overnight. Something that had made his woman become so casual about returning home again so soon, and Elise would be sharing that something on their drive home. And then she would take over the wheel while he had a nap. He couldn’t remember ever being so tired.

“We’ll bring pictures up to the wedding, Elise,” Marjorie promised. “I expect she’ll have delivered by then.”

They packed in companionable silence, and Ross hauled their bags out to the car while Elise took a last look around for anything they might have forgotten during their brief stay. It hadn’t escaped his notice that she hadn’t asked about her ex-husband or what had happened when he and Dave got to the station. She clearly had zero interest in Cooper, or whatever had transpired, because both he and her dad had come home unscathed. Ross felt blessed. It was probably best not to tell her that the station had been closed on account of a funeral, and that he and Dave had taken a little rest in the truck while they waited in vain for someone to return and open up. It was Marjorie’s frantic call to his cell that had jolted him awake and back to reality, and it was only Elise’s obedience in always having her cell with her and charged up that he had been able to head her off. He wouldn’t risk her arriving and then Cooper, any Cooper, showing up, because it would have happened that way. He just knew it would have. He really wished he hadn’t given her reason to worry herself half to death either.

Dave and Marjorie accompanied Elise out to the car, and he exchanged a hearty handshake and shoulder thump with Dave and a hug with Marjorie. They pulled out of the yard to waves and exhortations to drive safely. With every mile, more of his Elise returned, although with overtones of the woman he had learned about in her childhood home.

“What happened back there, honey?”

She didn’t prevaricate. “I found out how like my mom I am, and that we both take on stuff we don’t own. And I think I cleared up something between me and my dad. I also realized you own my soul, and I have to trust you not to steal it and break me forever. I needed to leave, because I can’t take anymore epiphanies right now.”

Ross drove in silence until his throat unclogged. He felt all-powerful and totally humble at the same time which shouldn’t even be possible. “I’ll take you and keep you safe, Elise. I promised before not to abuse you, assault you, or cheat on you, honey, and I’ll add to that by promising never to put you in a position where you think I deliberately put myself at risk because of you.”

Her whispered thanks made his eyes sting, and he pulled over so that she could take the wheel and he could close them against the intense emotion. The wedding was on, and the date was only three weeks away. Ross had planned a collaring ceremony at the Club, too, although not of the intense nature he had originally envisioned. He hadn’t ever touched a whip to Elise’s skin and was sadly out of practice as well. He wondered about using a flogger and made a mental note to talk with Patrick about his thoughts. Patrick could always be relied upon for clarification.

* * * *

Despite the disparity in their backgrounds, both sets of parents got along well at the little, private ceremony. Marjorie wore a simple dress of some silky material in a bronze shade that set off her coloring, and Dave wore his obviously new suit manfully, struggling out of his tie only after the first toast had been drunk.

His mother wore her favorite shade of blue and looked elegant as usual on the arm of his dad who carried off the matching blue pinstripe with aplomb. Colleen had apparently abandoned all of her reservations about Elise, due in no small part, no doubt, to his dad’s expectations. Ross knew who wore the pants in his family no matter how it looked to the rest of the world. His dad had recognized Ross’s tendencies early on, and had given him books to read and encouraged him to find positive ways to express his dominance. Bill had recognized Elise as submissive immediately, and had approved. His dad had dealt with his mom, and Ross appreciated it, because if push came to shove, he would choose Elise.

Elise looked beautiful in a form-fitting dress of pale-gold lace inset with cream at the neck and sleeves. She wore heels that put her well over six feet, and Ross revered her regal carriage and grace when she walked into the room, and on her wrist saw the sparkle of the watch he had given her. The justice of the peace conducted the brief ceremony, and Ross reflected that their deeper vows would be said with different witnesses in a week’s time. He planned to tell Elise that night.

The small wedding party shared a meal at a newly opened restaurant owned by one of Ross’s clients, and Chef Haley Chalmers herself came out to offer a special dessert of flamed pears drizzled with a spicy, yet sweet, liquor. Chef Haley had been asked to come to Austin to open the restaurant, and Ross indicated his sincere hope that she could be convinced to stay. His client had discovered a gem. She laughingly shared that she had left her heart in San Francisco, and had only come to Austin as a short-term favor. Her white coat didn’t disguise the swell of her belly, and just as Ross noted his father’s flare of interest, he recognized the name. Warren Chalmers was well-known in the financial world and in the same circles Ross moved in, both business and social. He vaguely recalled that Chalmers had been injured by some crazed restaurant patron, and that he had married his submissive once he had recovered. His dad knew a submissive from miles away. Ross also thought Chalmers and this little chef were in a ménage, and he smiled back at her. When you found happiness, you held onto it with both hands.

Elise was looking at Chef Haley’s belly, and the wistful look on her face reminded Ross that the medical procedures started in just over a week’s time. His dominant proclivities would be curtailed for a while according to what the doctor had shared, because Elise would be subjected to intrusive, if minor, surgeries. Ross caught her gaze and telegraphed his understanding, and she looked back at him with her heart in her eyes.
With both hands.

* * * *

“The Club? A scene, like the one with that huge man Jonathon and his little Lois?”

Ross didn’t miss the thread of excitement in Elise’s voice. “Like that, honey.”

They had taken a room in a hotel for their wedding night. His parents and hers were in the same building, only on a different floor, and they would meet for breakfast before they returned to their respective homes. His mother had arranged for the pictures to be sent to all the family members, and Marjorie had promised to dry Elise’s flowers, three cream roses, and mat and frame them for her.

Elise changed into a scrap of lace once they were in their room, and Ross recognized the chemise he had dressed her in that day in the lingerie store. His libido surged, and he tore the fine material of his dress shirt in his haste to get to her. Her teasing laughter echoed in his head as he struggled to get his shoes off so that he could pull his pants down. The complimentary champagne stood ignored on the table as he took her down onto the bed. The chemise gave way under his questing hands, and Elise’s arousal perfumed the room. She wrapped herself around him, and he did what most grooms probably did on their wedding night. He fucked his bride senseless and drained himself while doing it.

Ross had thought to seduce her slowly and torment her in every way he could think of, but his ungoverned response had been the best one. Elise drifted, sated, in his arms, and he allowed his possessiveness full rein. He broached the ceremony at the Club when he woke her in the middle of the night for more lovemaking.

“I’m not sure about being naked in front of people.”

“I’m not giving you that choice, Elise.”

He felt her nipples bead. Elise might protest and question, but she needed to submit to him publicly, albeit amongst friends. He took her lips to forestall any further questions and let his fingers do the talking until her thighs parted and his cock found its way home.

Elise shivered in the thin silk robe and barely recognized herself in the mirror. Her face was pale, her eyes huge. Ross kissed her deeply, and she settled against him. She knew he had spent every lunch hour that week at the Club, practicing with a supple flogger as recommended by Patrick. Pat had arranged for the reservation of the soft dungeon, and his wife, Madi, had issued the invitations. Ross’s partner from work, Jason Holden, had cried off, primarily due to their continued plan to open their own company, complete with shareholders and a board. It was an enormous amount of work on top of their usual workload, and Ross had been less than focused of late. Jason had taken up the slack without complaint, however, and Elise knew Ross really appreciated it. He was bringing the most clients, but Jason was the nuts and bolts kind of guy. They would make great partners. It was still a disappointment to him that Jason couldn’t attend, and Kennedy and Graham couldn’t come, because she was about to deliver and Graham wouldn’t leave her side. That left Emily, who would be escorted by Jordan, Jonathon and Lois, Ivone and Jamison, Patrick and Madison, and Olivia and Cameron, who had driven up specially. Ten members felt like a nice intimate gathering to Ross, but Elise was terrified. However, she acquiesced. She had met all of those people on more than one occasion and had seen some of the women doing scenes with their Doms, and the intimacy and power of those were absolutely amazing. Elise wanted that for herself, and it was time she sucked it up. If only her knees would quit knocking.