He held his water glass up in a toast, and they clinked them together. He waited until she took another sip to add, “But feel free to literally bust slave’s balls as much and as hard as you’d like.”
Both of them laughing, he helped her mop up the puddle of water she sprayed over her side of the table.
She helped him find a parking space at the county courthouse. Her breath caught when they walked in.
I’m really going through with this crazy plan.
As they stood in line, she glanced at her left hand. The ring had to be expensive. Landry gently took her right hand and laced his fingers through hers. She looked up at him. Shorter than Cris by a couple of inches, but still taller than her. “Second thoughts?” he asked.
“Too late for that by about five dozen.”
“I see you’re not running away.”
She sighed. “No, I’m going to do this. It’ll be a nice change of pace. Besides, nursing and being a Domme are pretty similar.”
When he smiled, his eyes crinkled again. She loved that she could lift his spirits. He normally wore a sad expression and looked like he felt as heartsick as she once had.
The line moved forward. Four couples waited in front of them. “I just thought of another rule,” she said.
“Do I need to take notes?”
“Asshole. No.” She tugged his hand. He leaned in close and she lowered her voice. “No matter what happens or how bad it gets, you can’t kill yourself. Seriously. Okay? Promise me.”
His expression turned solemn. He stroked her cheek and she hated that part of her felt so starved for the contact that she desperately wanted to lean into his touch. How long since someone had touched her like that?
Well, besides Bob.
“I promise. If you’re willing to fight by my side, I’ll give it everything I’ve got.”
She nodded. Then, without considering it, she rose up on her toes and brushed a quick kiss across his lips. “Okay.” She poked him in the ribs. “I’ll hold you to it.”
He wasn’t prepared for the wave of emotion that nearly swamped him. He almost wanted to turn around and call it off. She would go through with it, totally. Wanted to stand beside him, right or wrong. Not out of love, not even out of like because they barely knew each other. Not even totally for the money, he suspected.
Because she felt it was the right thing to do.
He didn’t deserve it.
When she kissed him, it nearly took his breath away despite not seriously lusting after a woman in…well, a long time.
The raw honesty in that simple kiss.
She squeezed his hand and nudged him forward as another couple finished at the clerk’s window. They were next.
He didn’t deserve her.
How the fuck had Cris walked away from her?
In their time together the night before, Landry realized how much they had in common. He could see why Cris loved her.
He’d never admit to feeling a little nervous about performing as required on their wedding night. The thought of having Cris there strung up and helpless, ironically, would be a helpful boost for him.
It’s good to be a sadist.
Their turn. He produced his information, she produced hers, and they filled out the forms.
Fifteen minutes later they were one step closer to being married.
It felt natural to hold her hand on the walk to the car.
“How do we get to the beach from here?” he asked.
“Why?”
“I’d like to see it. Am I not allowed to go for a walk along the beach with my fiancée?”
He liked that he could make her smile. “Okay. Turn here.”
They drove across the John Ringling Causeway, through St. Armands Circle again, and twenty minutes later, they were on Lido Key at a public park. She left her jacket in the car, kicked off her shoes and locked her purse in his trunk. He removed his shoes too, and together they walked across the white sugar sand to the Gulf of Mexico.
Beautiful. Even prettier than California, and he’d thought those to be some of the most beautiful beaches in the world.
She let him hold her hand and they walked for nearly an hour in one direction as they talked. At one point they stopped to rest, sitting in dry sand away from the water so they didn’t get wet.
“Do you still love him?” she quietly asked.
“Absolutely. Part of me wishes I didn’t. It’d make life a lot easier for me in some ways. I could be a cold-hearted bastard and kick him out.” He slipped his arm around her shoulders. It felt natural, comfortable to cuddle her close. He’d been lacking in affection since the revelation, missed that contact with Cris. He pressed a kiss to the top of her head, noting the sweet scent of her shampoo. “Do you still love him? Honestly?”
She let her head rest against his shoulder, relaxing into him. “Yeah,” she admitted. “I wish I didn’t. What kind of pitiful freak does that make me? That after what he did, I do still love him.”
“It doesn’t make us pitiful. It makes us human.” He nuzzled his chin against the top of her head.
“Thank you, Tilly. I know I said it before, but I mean it. I guess I should have warned you I’m a really crappy patient.”
“Don’t thank me yet. I’m a pretty bossy bitch.” She looked up at him with a smile on her face.
He wanted to kiss her again, so he did.
She didn’t want to stop kissing him. He was a damn good kisser.
Why the fuck’s he got to be gay? Just my luck.
Why’s he got to be Cris’ Master?
She didn’t want him to leave. Despite the weird, whacked-out situation, she wanted to spend more time with him.
The thought of spending her evening alone after such a nice day with Landry made her heart throb in a bad way. Back in the car, she turned in her seat to watch him while he drove. “What do you have planned for tonight?”
He shrugged. “Back to the room, eat dinner, torture slave. The usual.”
Tilly smiled. “We going to keep him in the dark until it happens?”
He nodded. “I want to. He knows something’s going on but he doesn’t dare ask. Not when he knows how upset I am.”
She took a leap of faith. “Why don’t you spend the night with me?”
“I thought you wanted to do that on our wedding night.”
“I meant to talk.” She picked at her fingernails. “I mean, unless you don’t want to.”
He reached over and patted her thigh. “I’d love it. We need to make a quick stop first.”
They pulled into the hotel parking lot a little after four. She nervously looked around for any sign of Cris but didn’t see him. Landry parked several doors down from their room. “I’ll be right back.
I need to leave him money for dinner. He didn’t have lunch and not much for breakfast.”
She stifled another sympathetic pang for Cris as Landry climbed out, walked down to his room and disappeared inside. Yes, she’d been Cris’ slave, but he never controlled her like that. She’d never felt restricted, could spend money as she needed without asking first.
A few moments later Landry returned, smiling and carrying both a rolling carry-on bag and a laptop case. He put them in the back seat before climbing behind the wheel.
“Was he there?”
“Oh, absolutely. If he wasn’t he knew he’d better not come back at all.”
“What’s so funny?”
“The look on his face when I handed him the twenty and told him he’d better answer the room phone whenever I called. He’s dying of curiosity and knows damn well he can’t ask what’s going on.”