Adored: A Masters and Mercenaries Novella (1001 Dark Nights)

by Lexi Blake

  But now she had to wonder if that meant she loved him. She didn’t even know him. Not the real Mitch. She wasn’t sure he let anyone know the real him. He was a man who believed in contracts and exchanges.

  Marriage was a contract, but not one he put a lot of faith in. But there was another type he did believe in.

  “I think we should get married, Laurel.”

  What if she could get to know him? What if she could find some way inside the puzzle that was Mitch Bradford? It scared her, but her optimism was starting to return. Didn’t she owe it to her child? She had to find out where his head really was on this subject.

  “I don’t have to have the baby, Mitch. There’s a simple solution to all of this.”

  He went white. Like sheet white. “I don’t want that. I can’t stop you, but I don’t want that. I know I’ve been a shit husband before and if I’d had my way, I wouldn’t have had kids. But…Laurel, I don’t want that. I don’t want to get rid of anything that’s a part of you.”

  And just like that she knew she was going to try and she knew she was going to give her all, and not only for the baby. She was going to try for her, too. She was going to try because the universe was giving her another shot and she was going to take it. “Good because I don’t want that either. I’m pregnant and I think I should have the baby, but I don’t think that’s reason enough to get married.”

  “I think the baby…our baby might disagree. I grew up without a father.”

  “So did I. I’m not trying to cut you out, Mitch. If you want to be a part of this baby’s life, I think that’s great, but have you considered that you could be a part of his or her life and not be a part of mine? You were adamant about not having a relationship with me. I’m the one who pushed it.”

  “Laurel, I don’t think I’m good for you. I’m too old and honestly, I’m tired of the whole marriage thing. I’m not any good at it. But I’m willing to try because I think if we’re going to have a baby then we should try to be the best we can be. Can we try?”

  Trying was what she’d always wanted to do, but she couldn’t end up being another one of his ex-wives.

  Maybe there was something else they could try. Something she’d always wanted to try.

  “I don’t like that look on your face, Laurel.”

  She smiled because he probably wasn’t going to like her plan either.

  But she’d definitely gotten her appetite back. She dug in and planned her next step.

  Chapter Five

  Mitch looked down at the document he’d drafted. It was a contract. He drafted those every day. It was what he did. He wasn’t usually the one who signed them though. And he’d never thought he’d be writing this one.

  “Is it ready?” Laurel walked in carrying a mug.

  “I don’t think you’re supposed to be drinking coffee. Are pregnant women supposed to drink coffee?” He’d read that somewhere.

  Her eyes narrowed.

  “Or you could drink whatever you want,” he amended. Maybe he should have written a food and drink clause into the contract.

  The D/s contract he wasn’t completely sure he should sign with her.

  Her lips curled up and she sank onto the couch in front of him. “Good. And because you asked, no, this isn’t coffee. It’s hot tea. I carry some bags in my purse. I have a couple of herbals that help with things like tension and anxiety.”

  She was anxious? “We don’t have to do this tonight. We can go to bed and talk about it again in the morning.”

  “I’m not anxious about the contract. I’m just tense. It’s been a rough day. I have a lot to think about, you know. I need to figure out what I’m going to do about my job. I talked to Lyle. He’s the head of the paralegals. He gave me the afternoon off, but he’s not going to be happy to find out that I’ll need maternity leave so soon. Oh, and I also had to drink tea because you have nothing but sports drinks and beer. And there is nothing in your fridge. What do you eat?”

  She always asked him multiple questions at a time. It threw him off. He’d thought on more than one occasion that was her intention.

  “Tomorrow, we’ll go buy groceries and I’ll get rid of the beer.”

  “Why?”

  “It doesn’t seem fair that I can drink and you can’t. Besides, I lean on it too often at times, and I won’t do that when I have a submissive in my home. As for your job, you don’t have to have one or you can come back and work for me. I never actually did the paperwork to let you go. Technically, you’re still my employee.”

  “Why didn’t you do the paperwork?”

  Because he hadn’t wanted to let her go. Because it had seemed so permanent. “I’m lazy and Sharon gets confused about using the computer for anything but sending her grandkids e-mails.”

  “Sharon is still there. I’m impressed.”

  “Don’t be. I fired her twice. She keeps showing back up.”

  A wide smile crossed her face. “I told her working for you would require tenacity. It’s good to know someone listens. I like my new job, Mitch. I like what we do. My only problem is my insurance doesn’t kick in for another couple of weeks.”

  She would never have to worry about money. “We’ll pay out of pocket until then.”

  “Okay.” Once he agreed to sign a D/s contract with her, she’d become quite amenable. She hadn’t fought him when he’d taken her to his home instead of her own. Lisa was dropping off a bag after she finished up her night class and tomorrow he’d take her to her place after work and figure out what she needed for a long-term stay. “So should we sign the contract? I filled out the list of places you can put stuff in.”

  Ah, the hard and soft limits questionnaire. “It’s called my penis. Let’s not call it stuff.”

  She shrugged. “I thought you played around with vibrators and those glass things. Why glass by the way?”

  “Dildos, and the glass is for play. It can be heated up or chilled for the sensation. Don’t forget butt plugs, sweetheart. If you sign this, you’ll get familiar with those. I like anal sex. I’ll want you to try it.” It wasn’t a hard limit for her. She’d put it down as something she was curious about. “And you’re right, you have had a hard day. Take your time and read this contract. It’s got everything we talked about in it.”

  She picked it up. “Anything new in there? You throwing me any curve balls, like I have to greet you at the door each night naked and kiss your feet?”

  He liked the naked part. His feet were actually surprisingly sensitive. “No. I did write a specific clause that’s catered to our unique position and that goes on past the terms of the original contract.”

  Her brows rose and she picked up the contract, flipping to the back. She knew him pretty well, it seemed. She knew exactly where he would put it.

  “A pregnancy clause? Interesting. You know for a man who said he didn’t want kids, you sure want to be there for everything.” Her eyes moved over the words, taking them in before she set it back down. Her eyes were soft as she looked at him. “You know I would never lock you out. I agree to all the terms of the clause and I’ll sign it, but I want you to know I wouldn’t block you even if we didn’t have a contract.”

  The clause stated plainly that he would accompany her to all prenatal visits, all parenting and childbirth classes, and be in the delivery room and welcome at the hospital. It also stated that both parties would work out a child custody agreement no later than a month before the anticipated birth of the Bradford-Daley child in the event the parties were no longer living together.

  “Were you going to tell me?” He wondered. He believed her when she said the hospital was the first time she truly knew she was pregnant, but she had to have had a clue.

  “Yes. I would have told you. I might have taken a day or two, but trust me, I would have shown up on your doorstep, Mitch. I’m not a ‘suffer in silence’ kind of girl.” Her lips quirked up and so did his dick. She was here. She was sitting on his crappy couch with her shoes off, relaxed and accepting
.

  If she signed that contract tonight, he was going to have her. He was going to have her every fucking night he could until the day she woke up and realized it was all a mistake.

  “Laurel, do you need time to read the rest of the contract? I’m a bit more hardcore than your brother. You should think about this. I need control outside of the bedroom. I’m not picking your clothes or telling you what to eat, but I’ll want a nightly routine. I’ll want you here with me at night. If you do go out with your girlfriends, I’ll want to know where you’re going and I’ll likely want to drop you off and pick you up. I’ll be obnoxious about your safety and god, Laurel, don’t ignore phone calls because I will never ignore yours.”

  She started looking through the bulk of the contract. “And what happens if I’m working or can’t answer at that particular time.”

  “I’ve set up protocols.”

  She nodded. “Yes, I can see that.”

  He was going to lose her. She was going to see all the crap he would put her through and walk away to find one of those “I only want control in the bedroom” Doms.

  She picked up a pen and scratched through what seemed to be a paragraph. “I’m not doing that, Mitch. The no talking about our relationship thing is never going to happen, and anyone who tells you they’ll honor it is lying. I’ve got two sisters. I’m going to talk to them.”

  “I simply think it’s best that we keep our relationship private.” Maybe he shouldn’t have sent her for her paralegal certification. He doubted the sweet office manager would have boldly marked out his clauses.

  “Babe, there’s no such thing. Maybe if we were having an affair that we intended to keep brief and unemotional we could, but I’m going to give this thing a go. I want to see if we can make it work, and that means I’ll talk to my sisters and my friends and you should definitely talk to yours. You don’t have to be an island, Mitch.”

  It was one clause and they were negotiating. “All right. I’ll agree to lose that requirement. Do you agree to the communication protocols?”

  “Yes, I will text you if I’m going to be out of pocket for more than thirty minutes. I will make every attempt to return your call within an hour and will allow you to track my phone because you’re a paranoid weirdo.”

  “That’s five smacks. Did you not read the clause where you’re forbidden from calling me a paranoid weirdo?”

  She started combing through the contract. “No. I didn’t see that.”

  He chuckled. “I was kidding, Laurel. I can joke, too. I need the comfort of routine, but I’m not so insecure I can’t handle your smart mouth. All big decisions that concern both of us have to be discussed. I’ve got a schedule that we can also discuss and agree upon. If it helps, you can track my phone, too. I’ll leave you a list of my passwords.”

  “I already have those. I was your office manager for six months. I take it when you say decisions that concern both of us, you’re talking about me making changes to the house. Because I already want to do that.”

  She always wanted to change things. “No. I’m not moving on that. This is my house. Maybe if we get married we can discuss certain renovations to rooms that are yours, but I think it’s best we have our own spaces.”

  “You don’t want to sleep with me?”

  That was not going to happen. “What? No. That’s totally in there. We share a bedroom. We sleep together and you can’t kick me out without good cause. I was talking about my office and my media room. I like them the way they are. You can have the living room and the kitchen and the guestroom. If we get married. I don’t know. We’ll have to negotiate again.”

  Laurel huffed, an irritated sound, and then signed the document. “Fine. Here is your contract. I can see we have a lot of negotiating to do. I want a pretty collar. One I can wear during the day. I’ll wear a more pronounced one when we’re at Sanctum, but I want pretty and delicate for daywear.”

  She placed the contract on the table between them. She was demanding a collar. Of course, he’d covered that in the contract. He’d actually stated that she was to wear any collar he deemed fit for her, but shouldn’t she like it? He wanted to please her.

  “I’ll let you pick your day collar. I get to pick your club collar and all your clothes for Sanctum.”

  “Agreed.”

  Fuck, he was hard. The idea that she was going to be with him at Sanctum made his cock pulse against his slacks. She would wear his collar, live in his home, let him take care of her.

  She would devastate him when she left.

  He shoved that thought aside. The truth was he couldn’t push her away. They were having a baby and that baby would be a more permanent tie than any contract. He wasn’t going to walk out on his kid. He wasn’t going to toss money the kid’s way and hope Laurel took care of him.

  “How much have you learned?” He had to get out of that dangerous headspace. Thoughts like that could send him into dark places, and he wasn’t going there with her. She was his responsibility now and he had the paperwork to prove it. He had to be in the moment with her. That was what he would do. He would live in the here and now and not worry about the future or brood over the past. Now was truly all the time they had anyway.

  “About D/s? I’ve been reading a lot. Mostly Bridget’s and Serena’s and Chris’s books, but they’re all in the lifestyle.”

  “Yes, but they write a highly romanticized version of the lifestyle. How much real training have you had?”

  “I’ve been to the classes Eve and Grace teach to new submissives and I’ve done some work with the married Doms, but nothing serious since someone decided he didn’t want me working with Master T.”

  What the hell had Tag been thinking? The idea of her working with that dangerous Southerner…no. He wasn’t going there. He was being in the present. “So most of what you know is intellectual.”

  “Yes.”

  “Why don’t you show me how the submissives in Bridget’s books greet their Doms. I think it would be a nice ritual after being apart for long periods. Something for me to look forward to.”

  “You would, wouldn’t you? You would look forward to me greeting you at the end of the day.”

  Maybe that made him a pervert, but it was true. It would be the best part of his day. “Yes.”

  She stood up, setting the contract down beside her mug. She moved from behind the coffee table and sank down to her knees, her head dropping forward. Her knees spread and she placed her palms flat on her thighs. “Welcome home, Sir.”

  That wouldn’t do. “I hardly think that’s how Bridget wrote it. I know Will allows her to run wild, but he has his rules, too, and he would never allow Bridget to greet him like that.”

  Her head came up. “This is exactly how…” She turned a sweet shade of pink. “You’re talking about the fact that I’m dressed. You want me to greet you naked. Mitch, you know that might not be possible with a kid.”

  “The kid is in utero. He doesn’t care and can’t be embarrassed at this point, so I’ll have my naked time with his mom. He’s just renting. According to that contract, I own.” He owned her body. That gorgeous form was his to please, to hold, to lick and suck and fuck as he liked. He was plain about that in the contract.

  He hadn’t actually seen her naked. They’d made a baby, but he didn’t know what her breasts looked like. It had been so quick, and now he wanted to take his time. They had months before they were going to become parents, before they had to figure everything out. He was going to use that time to memorize her body, to teach her to expect pleasure from him. He wanted her to associate him with long nights in bed spent worshipping her body.

  She took a deep breath and seemed to come to some kind of decision.

  Before she could rise, he held out a hand.

  She looked up at him. “I thought you were a hardcore Dom. Shouldn’t I rise gracefully at your command?”

  “I’m the Dom who wants to make sure you’re safe, Laurel. I’m the Dom who will never watch as you str
uggle without lending you a hand. I like ritual, but I like being there for you more, so when you get up, I will always be there to help you.”

  “You know sometimes you’re really good at this.” She placed her hand in his.

  “Remember it because there will also be times I’m really bad at it. Laurel, I’m not very romantic. I forget things. I try to remember, but they slip away and I get caught up in work. I’m going to try to hold up my end of the bargain.”

  “Can you sum up your end of the bargain for me, counselor? In layman’s terms, please.”

  “To make sure you’re safe and happy and taken care of.”

  “That is a very good deal for me.” There was a sheen of tears to her eyes, but he was pretty sure she wasn’t sad because she moved toward him, placing her hands on his waist as she looked up at him. “And I’ll do the same.”

  She went on her toes and lightly kissed his cheek before stepping back. Her hands worked the back of her skirt.

  He sat back down because this was his time. He was the Dom and his sub was undressing for him. She needed to understand that she had his complete and undivided attention.

  Her skirt slipped to the floor and she started on the buttons of her blouse, undoing each with care and precision and possibly the knowledge that she was driving him insane. It was a good insane. Or maybe she was like him. Maybe she wanted to slow down this time and make it last in a way it hadn’t before. This time they’d set down the ground rules.

  This time it could work.

  “Take off the bra,” he commanded after she’d divested herself of the blouse and was standing there in her white cotton underwear. It wasn’t plain though. She had something on her panties. “Are those flamingos?”

  She winced. “I probably would have worn something pretty if I’d realized I was going to get hauled to the hospital and then undress for my Dom. You should know that most of my underwear has cute stuff on it.”

  Then he would be buying her a whole lot of new underwear. He wasn’t a Dom who wanted her to toss out the underwear completely. He liked unwrapping his present, but he wanted her in something that fit her beauty. She should be in silk and satin and lace. He was pretty sure the flamingos were wearing party hats. “Take those off, too. They’re distracting.”