by Gaines, Liza
Lee pulled Savannah against his chest, holding her tightly, as Cara stood up, crossing the room to sit on the couch next to them. As much as he had enjoyed seeing Savannah cry while he spanked her, he hated to see her cry like this, when she seemed so vulnerable. He was surprised by his own feelings of protectiveness.
Cara took Savannah’s chin in her hand, turning her head so their eyes met. “Shh, don’t cry. You’re coming out of subspace right now so you’re feeling extra emotional. But when you’ve had some time to think about it, you’ll realize being yourself, being you, is the gift. Look at you, all sweet and trembling in his lap and he looks like he’d kill anyone who even looked at you cross-eyed. He’s all puffed up and predatory. The gift is your trust and faith that he’ll take care of you. Just be yourself and he’ll take care of the rest.”
After all the ugliness that had passed between him and Cara in their former life together, Lee was surprised by her encouraging pep talk for Savannah and he was appreciative for it. He knew Savannah needed to hear it.
Savannah was wiping her eyes with the edge of Lee’s shirt when she asked, “What’s subspace?”
Paul returned to the room in time to hear Savannah’s question. As he closed the door behind him he said, “Subspace is where you go during a scene. To me it feels kind of like an out of body experience, like I’m totally detached from the scene and watching it happen more than I am a part of it. But I’ve heard other subs describe it as floating or flying. Afterward, when you’re coming back down, it’s kind of like crashing. You’re all sensitive and delicate. Mood swings, tired and weak. Sort of like being hung over or PMS, according to some of the girls.” He paused, suddenly looking anxious. “I’m sorry, Mistress, I shouldn’t have interrupted…”
Cara cut him off with a wave of her hand. “No, it’s okay. You know what Little Bird is feeling, so you can explain it to her better than either of us could.”
Paul and Lee were tucking the blanket around Savannah’s shoulders when she cocked a brow at Cara and asked, “You don’t know my name, do you?”
Cara laughed and leaned back against the arm of the couch. “I don’t. But it doesn’t matter. You don’t even like me.” Cara turned her eyes to Lee, smirking at him. “Speaking of names though, I couldn’t help but notice when you were spanking her out there and she was begging and pleading with you she kept calling you Levon.”
Lee snorted. Of course Cara had noticed. “Yeah, I have your mother to thank for that.”
Cara looked surprised. “My mother?”
“She called your Mom. She told her she’d gone to school with you but had lost track of you and wanted to get a message to you. They had quite the conversation.”
Cara rolled her eyes. “Oh lord, what did she say?”
Savannah grinned, snuggling into the blanket against Lee’s chest. “Well, she told me his name was Levon and how she always liked him. She was disappointed when you split up. And, apparently, she thinks he’s hot.”
Cara laughed. “Some people just can’t understand why a pretty face and a big cock aren’t always enough.”
Savannah was apparently warming up to Cara because she wiggled in his lap and giggled, “He does have a big cock.”
Lee coughed, choking. He had to put a stop to this conversation right now. His ex-wife and his girlfriend comparing notes on the size of his dick was not his idea of a good time. He gave Savannah a firm smack on the bottom and she huffed irritably. He guessed she wanted him to know he was spoiling her fun, but that didn’t particularly bother him.
Looking down at her with what he hoped was an appropriately stern expression, he scolded, “That’s enough, Little Bird.”
Cara opened her mouth to say something, a devilish look in her eye, when Lee cut her off, too. “Maybe we should talk about the reason we’re all here.”
Cara laughed, amused by his discomfort but she turned the conversation back to the topic at hand. “Did you find the pictures at the bank?” When Lee nodded she asked, “Recognize anyone?”
“Yes, one person. None of the others though. The government sign on this building threw us off for a bit, too.”
Cara nodded, as if that was what she had expected. “Right, the other two men, George Anders and Harry Langston, are both local businessmen. Nobody special, except for their business relationships with the Senator. As for the sign, this used to be a government building. When Geoff bought the site it tickled his perverted funny bone to leave it up.”
Lee narrowed his eyes. “So what’s Hartwell’s business with those other men?”
“Selling information to the highest bidder. Senator Hartwell has access to a lot of very important information. There may be others involved, passing information to him. I’m not sure. But he’s the one meeting George and Harry here and they take care of finding the buyer and disseminating it. They rely on the strong sense of privacy in the BDSM community. He has absolutely no connection to them outside of it so no one would ever link the three together.”
As Cara spoke, Paul knelt on the floor between them, reaching up to hold the tea cup he’d brought back with him to Savannah’s lips as she sipped. Lee felt a stab of possessiveness in his gut. He knew with absolute certainty Paul was not a threat, but another man catering to her in such an intimate manner was not something he could tolerate, regardless of the threat level. Snatching the cup from Paul, Lee said to Cara, “Can you prove any of this?”
Paul looked hurt and Cara rubbed his back consolingly as she sighed and said, “Well, I’m working on that part. I’ve gained a certain level of trust with the Senator and George. Not enough to get solid proof yet but we’re getting there.”
Lee cocked a brow. “And Harry?”
“Harry is more skeptical. It was his men that broke into your house.” She paused for a second, a look of real regret on her face. “I’m sorry about Meg, by the way.”
“You could have warned me.” Lee’s voice was harsh, accusing.
Cara shook her head, adamant. “I couldn’t actually. He told me beforehand he was going to do it. He wanted to get a reaction out of me and he wanted to know if I’d warn you. If his men had thought for even a minute that you’d been expecting them, my credibility would have been shot. I couldn’t risk it. The fact that I didn’t warn you, and that they didn’t find anything there, has put Harry at ease, at least a little about me.”
“Well, I’m glad to have served your purpose,” he snapped. Lee was still angry with her for not contacting him but, grudgingly, he could understand the position she’d been in. “What about your parents? Richmond isn’t so far away and if they were willing to come after me they may go after them, too.”
Cara nodded. “I thought of that. They left to visit my sister in Colorado this morning.”
“And you? This is a dangerous situation you’ve put yourself in.” Lee hadn’t loved Cara in a very long time but he didn’t want anything bad to happen to her. As was typical, she was chasing a story despite the personal risk. They’d been down this road together before, though this was, by far, the most dangerous.
Cara shrugged. “They don’t know where I’m staying right now. If anything, that’s what they really hoped to get from you. They don’t even know about the pictures. They aren’t going to hurt me here at the club, way too many witnesses. And if they don’t know where I’m living they can’t get to me outside the club. Just to be safe, even Paulie doesn’t know where I’m staying right now.”
“Well, it’s probably not going to help your credibility to be seen with me here tonight.”
Cara shook her head. “I don’t think Harry even knows what you look like. The guys he sent to your house were just some street thugs he paid to do the job. He doesn’t care about you; it wasn’t ever really about you. It was about trying to scare me. To be safe we’ll go back downstairs separately but I don’t anticipate any issues.”
“I see. Well, then I guess I can get going. It doesn’t sound like they’ll be coming back to my hou
se any time soon and you seem to have this under control.” Lee nudged Savannah, urging her to get up.
She was climbing out of his lap when Cara said, “Wait. I was hoping…” Lee looked at her dispassionately and she went on, her voice unsteady, “I was hoping you’d stay. I mean, come back. Hang around the club for a few weeks. All the better that you have her. You’ll just look like a new couple and no one will suspect a thing.”
Lee stood next to Savannah and he noticed her breasts were still hanging out the top of her corset. She was sleepy, leaning into his side, and didn’t seem aware of her state of undress. Dragging his gaze from her, he looked at Cara impatiently. “Why?”
For the first time, Cara sounded scared, her big, brave journalist façade cracking. “You said yourself this is a dangerous situation. I’d just feel better knowing there were two more people here who knew what was going on and were keeping an eye out. We wouldn’t have to talk at all. You two could come and play and do your own thing. But you’d be here if the shit hit the fan.”
Lee sighed. What the fuck was he supposed to do now? He didn’t want anything to happen to Cara but she was out of her mind if she expected him to bring Savannah around again while this was going on. If things went all pear–shaped, the last thing he wanted was for Savannah to be involved and in danger. He couldn’t risk her like that. He was shaking his head even before he spoke, his voice firm. “I appreciate the situation you’re in, Cara, but I won’t put Savannah in danger for you.”
They were all surprised when Savannah was the next to speak. “I don’t see what the problem is. This has been dangerous ever since I met you, but now all the sudden you’re concerned about my safety? We should do this.”
“No.” Lee was undeterred.
Savannah glared at him, her fists balled up tightly at her sides. She suddenly seemed wide-awake again, her lips forming a pretty little pout. “You’re doing your whole overbearing bastard thing and it’s pissing me off. Look, I don’t even like her but we should finish what we started, and there are no guarantees that they won’t come back to your house again just to try and push her buttons.”
“No.” Lee grabbed her upper arm, giving her a little shake. She’d just admitted she didn’t like Cara, why they hell was she so wound up about this?
“Fine, I’ll do it myself. This place doesn’t seem so scary.” Savannah glared at him, her chin set with what he knew was false bravado.
“The hell you will!” Lee dug his fingers into her arm. He had no idea what had gotten into her but she had definitely worked herself into a good tantrum over it.
“You’re not even listening to me.”
“Just because you’re not getting your way, doesn’t mean I’m not listening.” Lee shook his head, his voice full of exasperation.
Savannah’s jaw was set with determination. “Then tell me what’s changed. Why is it that up until this very moment you had no problem involving me in a dangerous situation? But now all the sudden I’m too fragile to be involved? What the fuck is that about?”
Out of the corner of his eye, Lee could see Cara leaning back into the couch, smirking as she watched them argue. Typical. Savannah clearly didn’t care that they had an audience for this little quarrel, but he did. The best thing would be to get them out of here and deal with her questions later. Lee’s voice took on a soft tone, cajoling her, as he pulled her tight into his side. “We’ll talk about it later, sweetheart.”
Savannah shook her head, pushing away from him. “Bullshit. I want to talk about it now. Tell me what’s different.”
“Goddammit. Because I love you. When Mike first brought you into this I didn’t know you, and other than a vague concern for women in general, I didn’t really give a shit. But God help me, I love you now and I’m not going to risk you for her, for anything.” Lee grabbed her arm again, shaking her. He was shouting at her, his nose about an inch from hers, and he watched with confusion as her eyes got big as saucers and then filled with tears. Fuck, she was crying again. What was so hard for her to understand? He loved her and it was perfectly natural that he wanted to keep her safe.
Wait, what was that? He loved her? Had he actually said that? Judging from the looks on Paul and Cara’s faces he had in fact said it. Where the fuck had that come from? He had totally lost control of this situation and had no idea what to do next. Until about twenty seconds ago he didn’t even realize he loved her.
Lee dipped his head, his forehead resting against hers, his hands on her hips. “Don’t cry, sweetheart. You’re killing me here. I’m sorry I yelled.”
Savannah sniffled and wiped her face on the blanket Paul had brought her. “I understand you want to keep me safe, but I’m not some delicate little flower who can’t handle a little adventure. I want to finish what we started and you can’t just lock me up to keep me safe. I could be attacked and killed by a roving pack of rabid raccoons. Anything can happen to a person, no matter how hard you try to protect them.”
Lee sighed and pulled her against his chest, wiping her tears with his thumb. “You’re afraid of rabid raccoons?” He laughed softly when she rolled her eyes and then kissed the top of her head. “All right, okay. We’ll do it.”
Chapter Ten
Although it was only a short ride from the club to Savannah’s apartment, she fell fast asleep in the car and didn’t wake when Lee carried her inside and undressed her. After tucking her into bed he went outside and sat on the steps of her building, smoking thoughtfully as he tried to figure out exactly when he’d fallen in love with her. He figured he’d only known her three days so it couldn’t be too difficult to pinpoint.
In the beginning it had been lust, pure and simple. He’d known she thought he was a jerk and that had been just fine with him. But after they had sex the first time, the inexplicable feelings of possession she’d aroused in him were already at the forefront of his mind.
When she’d asked him about his divorce, he’d surprised himself by telling her. Lee told himself he’d told her only because she asked but that wasn’t the truth, and he knew it. Plenty of people had asked and he’d never told them. Then, when she’d confided in him about Douchebag, he’d been touched that she had been willing to share it with him. It also humbled him that despite having a very good reason to kick him to the curb she’d been willing to take a chance on him.
Maybe the real turning point had been when he’d made love to her the first night. He hadn’t made love to a woman like that in a very long time. Actually, maybe he never had. Certainly in the early days of his relationship with Cara they’d made love but he didn’t remember it ever being like that. Either this was different, Savannah was different, or he was just too fucking old to remember what it had been like back then.
That wasn’t right either though. It had been before they made love. When she’d teased him and he’d come all over her stomach she’d called it an intense experience. The poor woman had no idea. If she thought it was intense she’d have probably been horrified by what was going through his mind at the time.
Initially it had been exactly what she thought. The idea of being inside her without a condom turned him on, nothing weird or unusual about that. As he’d held himself over her, though, the head of his cock pressing against the sleek wet heat of her, he’d had to remind himself repeatedly that she wasn’t on the pill in order to keep from losing control. Even then, he barely managed to do the right thing because, to his surprise, he didn’t care if she got pregnant. Or rather, he wanted to get her pregnant, which was so obviously insane it had left him questioning his mental health. Still though, that’s what he’d been thinking about when he’d come. He’d watched his semen splash over her belly while he imagined getting her pregnant and seeing that belly grow with his child. And he was so completely fucked up that he’d thought about it twice more since then while he jacked himself in the shower. Yeah, it had definitely been intense.
Truth be told, Lee was relieved Savannah fell asleep so quickly in the car. Once
she had her head about her again she’d abuse him with a battery of questions, the first of which he was certain would be did he really love her, and he wasn’t quite prepared to deal with that tonight. Plus, he’d need to have a talk with her about what had happened at the club and she probably wasn’t ready for that one yet. That could all wait for tomorrow.
When Lee finally went in and stripped off his clothes, climbing in bed with her, Savannah rolled against him in her sleep, plastering her body to his. He briefly considered waking her and fucking her, God knew he ached for her, but decided against it. Better to let her sleep and deal with her in the morning when they’d both had some rest.
Lee slept fitfully, tossing and turning in that cramped bed with her all night, eventually giving up shortly before seven o’clock. Since they’d be going back to the club tonight and again tomorrow it made sense to stay at her apartment, but he needed clothes. He was pretty sure Savannah would be sleeping late today so now seemed like a good time to run home, grab some clothes and ask Frank to feed Toby for a couple of days. He’d swap the Shelby for the Jeep, too. He wasn’t wild about leaving it parked on the street all weekend. If he hurried he could probably be back before she ever woke up but just in case, he found a piece of paper and left her a note.
The drive out of the city was easy and uneventful. This time of morning on a Friday it was the traffic into the city that was bumper to bumper as far as the eye could see. Once home, Lee packed his clothes and a few other things, tossing them into the Jeep before stopping by the barn on his way back out to ask Frank to look after the dog. He was only on the road again a few minutes when his cell phone rang. Maybe Savannah hadn’t slept so late after all. Glancing at his caller ID he was surprised to see it wasn’t her at all, it was his friend Todd Buchanan.
“Hey, Todd. Awfully early for you isn’t it?”
Todd laughed on the other end of the phone but ignored his question. “So I heard you were at Tangled last night with some new piece of ass.”