“Which means another three to six months. Damned effed up system,” she grumbled.
“Dex’s father is a doctor in Austin and has recommended an excellent trauma group in San Antonio with neurology, neurosurgeons, orthopedists, a vascular specialist and outpatient therapies. They’re supposed to be one of the best treatment centers in the country.”
“Perfect. When do we leave?”
“Whoa. We need to talk about this some. Are you okay with packing up and moving west? You’ve lived here all your life.”
“Only out of habit. I don’t have anything keeping me here except you.”
“What about your job?”
“I’m sure there are hospitals in need of nurses in San Antonio. I’ve been at the same job for over six years, so I’m rather excited about a change. Regardless, we need to do this for you. I think you’ll find different and more innovative options in the private health care system and not have to deal with all the Army red tape. Once I’m employed, you’ll be covered under my insurance and—”
Slipping both hands behind her head, he swooped in for a kiss. “I love that you’d uproot your life to do this for me.”
“I love you, Sean. I don’t mind being the little woman who follows her man west. Honest. Though it does sound like a Lifetime movie plot, doesn’t it?”
He tucked Mara under his arm and guided them toward the exit. “Let’s get out of here. I’ve got calls to make. First, to my senior commander to tell him the news and tell him to proceed with the regular discharge. Second, to Cap to tell him I’m coming on board with Rossi Security, ASAP.”
“But I thought he wouldn’t be home for a few more months.”
“He told me he’s hiring a consultant to help with the startup, offices, initial contracts and such. I can be a part of that, which means I’ll have insurance right away. It also means you can take your time and find a job you want, Mara, not jump at the first offer with benefits. Next, will be a call to Dr. Russell in Austin to get myself a referral to the specialist group. Oh, and a real estate agent to find us a place to live.”
While he continued with his long to-do list, they walked arm in arm to the parking lot. At a crosswalk while they waited for traffic to pass, she slipped her other arm around his waist and gave him a side hug. “Are you okay with this, babe?”
He shrugged. “It rubs against the grain a bit because the decision isn’t really mine.”
“It’s a control thing, isn’t it?”
He grinned down at her before guiding her off the curb as the last in the line of cars passed. “You know me so well. I’m looking forward to working with Cap. It will keep me challenged and best of all, I’ll be doing it from home and will get to wake up next to you every day. So the answer is yes, I’m okay with it. In fact, I think our best days are ahead of us.”
Chapter Nine
As she surveyed her cozy living room all decked out for Christmas, she smiled at how perfect it was. Furnished, with art on the walls and not a cardboard box in sight, she marveled at how quickly it had all come about. Six weeks ago, almost to the day, Sean had arrived at Walter Reed on a stretcher. Now, they were in their own home in San Antonio. If not for Sean moving small mountains to make it happen, they’d be spending the holiday in D.C.
Instead, they were hosting a small Christmas party tonight. Mara was nervous since this was a first for her. She’d never hosted more than two or three people for dinner, let alone a houseful of Sean’s friends. That they were all BDSM practitioners had her freaked a bit. Sean had called it a casual party: part housewarming, part meet and greet Mara, and part play party for those who wanted to partake of the small dungeon he had set up downstairs.
Yes, a freakin’ dungeon in the basement.
When the equipment arrived last week, she’d been stunned. Thinking it a mistake, she’d called Sean before signing for the huge boxes and tarp draped equipment.
“So soon?” he’d commented when she’d told him of the delivery. “I wasn’t expecting it until next week.”
“You ordered dungeon furniture?” Through the phone, her incredulity must have resonated because he immediately moved to soothe her.
“It’s for Decadence, baby. I found this great vendor of custom-built dungeon furniture. Get the name, “Master’s Crafts”. Love it. Anyway, when I contacted him, he told me he’d send some prototypes over for us to try out before we buy. We don’t close on the property for another three weeks, so I had him send them to our house.”
“Did you forget to tell me?”
“No, you’ve been so busy with the move, putting the house in order, and job hunting, I thought I’d wait until you had a few things settled before piling on more. Sorry, baby. Surprise!”
The way he’d said it, so matter of fact, as if he had an eight foot tall St. Andrew’s cross arrive on the doorstep every day, made her snicker. How could it not?
“All right, babe, but what do I do with the stuff that doesn’t fit? Should I move my car out of the garage?”
“What won’t fit?”
“Several large items, but I can’t say for sure. I wouldn’t let the driver take off the tarps. They’re on a flatbed in the driveway.
There was a pause. “Hell. I’ll be right home.”
The vendor, wanting to impress had gone overboard and sent more than he’d told Sean to expect. She could laugh about it now, remembering how she’d gawked as the deliverymen hauled it all in, but at the time she’d been stunned.
He’d been right about her feeling stressed. She’d been running a mile a minute since they’d made the decision to move to San Antonio. If he’d mentioned setting up a fully equipped sex dungeon in their basement, it could have very well pushed her over the edge. Even now, it was weird, but she’d accepted his explanation and went along with storing it in the basement, out of sight.
It hadn’t stayed out of mind, however. When he started to assemble and set up the temporary dungeon, she’d become curious and wandered down, in the end lending a hand by passing him tools or holding parts while he bolted them together. She’d also helped him place the equipment around the room and fine-tune some of the adjustable pieces. This required Mara being bent over the spanking bench while he adjusted the height and restraints to the cross so he could mount the cuffs at the proper level. While there, one thing had led to another and needless to say, the trying it out part hadn’t been difficult, especially when he strapped her to the free standing bondage frame and proved its stability by flipping her heels over head for an inverted sixty-nine.
It wasn’t until after it was all set up and given the Master Sean seal of approval that he suggested a party, inviting his co-owners over to try it all out. At that point, her anxiety started to build again until here it was, a few hours before the guests were due to arrive and she was nearing a full-blown melt down.
They had visited The Gilded Cage twice more before leaving D.C. and she had enjoyed it, quite a bit. This was different. At The Cage, she had anonymity. Even if she had decided to ditch her mask, she didn’t know anyone there outside the club. Here it was Sean’s close friends, which was the real reason for her freak out. She’d been to some of their homes, seen them casually over dinner, and only last week she’d gone shopping with Rick’s wife, Regan. Sean had tried to calm her fears telling her these were friends and a play party was always less formal than a club scene and much more laid back. That hadn’t helped.
“You’re fretting again, Mara.”
His baritone suddenly pervading the quietness of the room made her jump. Turning, she found Sean leaning in the doorway between the great room, which was a combination living room, den and dining room, and the large, modern kitchen.
“I thought we’d settled your nerves. Obviously, you’re stressed over something.”
“I can’t help it. There are so many things to worry about.”
“Like what? The food is catered. It will be delivered and set up for us so no worries there. We’re serving beer and wine only
so that’s not an issue. With a two-drink limit, there are no worries about making a beer run in the middle of the party. You’ve got the house all in order. The tree is beautiful. What else is there?”
“I’m a little nervous about the play part.”
“Why? It will only be you and me in a session, as always.”
“But the others… Is Cap coming? And Dex?”
His brow creased at her question, but he answered without pause. “Yes. I saw them earlier and they’re looking forward to it. You’ll like Dex’s sub, Elena, and Rick will be here with Regan. You need to have some friends in town and these girls are great. Plus, they’re in the lifestyle and will be a good resource for you, especially when our club opens in a few months.”
“I feel rather awkward playing in front of people I know.”
“You didn’t have a problem at The Cage.”
“I didn’t know those people, Sean, and we wore masks.”
He studied her intently for a moment. “You’ve got a need to hide your naughty side behind a mask, don’t you, Mara?”
Her eyes flicked to his briefly before cutting to the window and the view beyond. She hardly noticed it, thinking how right he was. Her life with him was like a mask, concealing the very ugly side of herself. Hell, ugly didn’t begin to cover it. Depraved, immoral and criminal didn’t do it justice either.
He pushed off from the wall, moving toward her.
“What we do is nothing to be ashamed of. We’re adults who find pleasure in each other’s body, which is a beautiful thing. That we’ve found a perfect partner who meets the need for D/s in each other, makes it all the better.”
In her stocking feet while working on the house, when he stopped in front of her, almost touching, she had to drop her head way back to see his face. As always with Sean, when he laid out everything in his calm, matter of fact manner, it made sense. It was when she was alone with her thoughts that it became skewed somehow or turned dirty, and reminders of her time with Victor began to creep in. Mentally, she tried to squash those insidious memories. It wasn’t easy.
“Everyone invited tonight has either found or is searching for the same thing. They are not going to judge, I promise. Like the first time, we’ll go slowly.”
Her head dipped. Looking down, she noticed her hands were nervously twisting the hem of her top into a wrinkled mess. Hopelessly, she tried to smooth them away. “I imagine being with a newbie is a real pain in the patoot, huh?”
“I don’t mind teaching you, nightingale. In fact, I rather enjoy it.” He stilled her fingers, taking her hands in his own. “Look at me, baby.”
Her eyes tipped up, moving up his chest, over his dark scruff of beard and finding his lips curved softly, they lingered there.
“Eyes, Mara.”
They shifted up, meeting his vibrant blue gaze.
“Remember, we call this play for a reason. I don’t ever want you to do something you don’t want to do or that makes you uncomfortable, although I’d like for you to try new things. It’s kind of like broccoli. It looks odd and doesn’t smell quite right, but after you try it, you find it’s not as bad as you thought and after a while, you really quite like it.”
“I hate broccoli.”
“Mara.”
“Sorry, that was childish.” She leaned into him and sighed. “I get what you’re saying. I’ll never know or grow unless I try.”
“Yes, and trying, exploring, pushing yourself and your limits is half the fun of this kind of play, baby. The other half is that I love you and want to make it good for you.” He ran a forefinger down her cheek in a slow caress, then spread his fingers and threaded them through the hair at her temple. He angled her head back, while meeting her gaze. “You mentioned Cap and Dex, don’t let them intimidate.”
He read her so well. “But Sean, they’re… well, they’re Cap and Dex.” She said that as if it was explanation enough.
“Oh, baby,” he burst out with a laugh, “if you’d seen them in the some of the situations I have over the years, you’d know they’re only men. Like me, they’re ex-soldiers who are a bit jaded from seeing more of the harsher side of life than we’d care to recall. They can be a bit intense at times, but they’re both good, loyal men. As with Jonas, Rick and Lil T, they’d give the shirt of their back if you needed it and protect you with their life. I trust them, Mara, and you can too.”
“I’m glad you have that. To a loner like me, well, it’s hard to fathom.” She paused for a moment, considering all he’d said. “When you were injured this last time, Cap was there when I needed him. And Dex obviously cares for you a great deal.”
“We all do. We’re like brothers, although don’t say that out loud. It might tarnish our badass image.” He was joking, trying to put her at ease. She wasn’t there yet.
“Cap told me on the phone after you were injured this last time that you were family.”
“He did? Huh!” Sean was genuinely surprised. “He must be getting soft in his old age.”
“I don’t think he’s afraid to admit how much he cares. I’m not sure that helped with all this. It makes it seem more awkward to be doing stuff in front of your former commanding officer, your friend and your brother.”
“You’re overthinking again.”
“I know.” She dropped her head against his chest and tried to breathe. He held her, his big hand gliding up and down her spine, silently supportive. “Fine. If you trust them,” she concluded, “then I will too. I’ll also try not to be so uptight about it all.”
“That’s my girl. Trust me to take care of you, always.” He tugged her hair, gently pulling her head back. His lips came down, pausing a hairsbreadth from her mouth. Rather than the kiss she expected, his tongue swept out and licked along her lower lip. “You’re surprisingly shy sometimes, but aren’t you the same girl who dared me to join the mile high club with her on the flight in from D.C?”
Her lips parted in surprise. He’d never mentioned a word after it happened. “That was different,” she defended when her brain reset. “We were under the blankets in a half empty first class cabin and everyone else was asleep. Besides, I don’t think a hand job and fingering me to orgasm qualifies for full membership.”
“What about the blow job you gave me on the ride down from Austin? We had the sunroof open and gave a few truckers quite a show. Again, you’re idea, beautiful.”
“You spanked me for it when we got home as I recall.”
“Hell yeah, that was dangerous. I was doing 70 down I-35. Your lips wrapped around my cock had me swerving all over the road. The same trucker honked a few times when we veered too close to his lane, remember?”
“Gee, and here I thought he was cheering us on.”
“Mara.”
“I don’t remember hearing you complain at the time.”
“You have a very agile tongue. It was all I could do to keep four wheels on the pavement.” Suddenly serious, he frowned down at her. “You’re more nervous than I expected you to be. What’s this really about?”
Her gaze darted away, unable to tell him the truth. That she didn’t want to be thought of as the whore and slut as she’d once been, as some of the men had called her, as Victor always did. Somehow doing those things with Sean, who loved her, who made her desire a man—no, not any man, only him—like never before, made it all okay. In a group of people she knew, with everyone observing, possibly judging or condemning as if they knew who and what she really was, it seemed overwhelming and frankly, scary. When she glanced up to find him waiting for an answer, she told him as near to the truth as possible. “I want your friends to like me, Lucky. They’re important to you.”
“And you don’t think they will if they see us playing? Mara, they’re all experienced dominants and submissives, and have been playing for years. Elena was collared by Dex a while ago and Rick collared Regan before they were married. The other guys will have experienced submissives with them who are familiar with the club scene and a play party. Nothing
you and I do will be surprising to any of them, I promise. They won’t lose respect for you because you’re playing. Will you respect Cap less if he flogs his sub on the cross? Will watching Dex use his whip on Elena keep you from going to the mall with her to shop?”
“A whip?”
“Mm-hm, he’s an expert with a single-tail, although you won’t see it tonight. There isn’t enough room downstairs.” His arm around her waist pulled her hips against his, where the proof of his interest was unmistakable. “The point is these are like-minded people who enjoy the kinky play as much as we do. They also live normal lives, taking out the trash once a week, going to work each day and paying their taxes. If you’re too uncomfortable, we don’t have stay long, but I’d really like you to at least try.”
“So this is normal for you guys. Playing in front of each other and seeing each other’s girlfriends and wives?”
“I don’t know about normal, but it is common, especially with club play.”
“Do you ever, um… share, like in a threesome?”
“Groups and ménage aren’t unusual either, but that’s an individual choice.”
“Have you ever—?”
“We aren’t going there, remember?”
“You’re right. I shouldn’t have brought it up.” She shouldn’t have, but she had a burning desire to know, even if it crushed her.
Listening as he inhaled a deep breath before blowing it out, she knew he was battling for patience.
“Without getting into specifics, yes, I’ve participated in a ménage and group play.”
The next question naturally followed, though she asked it of his chin, uncertain she’d like the answer. “Is it something you’d want to do with me, to add a third or,” she swallowed, “play in a group?”
“That is something you sit down and discuss at length, Mara. Not on the fly an hour before our guests are due to arrive.”
She stiffened. If it had been a firm no, he would have said it right off, which was answer enough.
“You’re more than enough for me. If that’s something you want to try in the future, we’ll discuss it in detail. As far as tonight goes, say the word and we’ll slip upstairs just the two of us.”
Second Time Lucky (Club Decadence Book 5) Page 12