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.”