by Quinn, Sadey
He must know all the regulars.
“When you’re living with me, you’ll have some rules you’ll obey,” he says. He starts the ignition and easily backs out of a rather tight parking spot.
“Rules?”
“Rules.”
“Like what?”
“I’ll make you a list. But, for example, I’ll expect a phone call from you if you’re running late from work.”
That’s reasonable, I think to myself.
“You’ll help with your share of the housework. You’ll be on time if we’re meeting somewhere. And, when I tell you to do something, you’ll do it.”
The last thing doesn’t feel right to me. “What if you tell me to do something bad? I can’t just obey without thinking.”
“I won’t tell you to do anything bad.”
“But—”
“Rachel, I’ll be patient as you adjust to having a dominant figure in your life. But, that said, I won’t coddle you. It is up to you to decide if you want my influence. If you don’t, then we shouldn’t be talking about living together or dating.”
“It’s either all or nothing?”
He pulls to a stop at a light and he’s looking forward, his expression intense. He takes a deep breath. “I don’t know. Like I said, I think I’m falling for you. I don’t know if we could make it work without the dynamic I want, though. I just… I can’t change who I am.”
“But what if this isn’t who I am?”
“We’ll find out soon enough.” He turns and smiles at me. “It can be a relief, you know. For someone like you.”
“I know,” I whisper. I’d already been feeling that relief. It comes in waves. When he spanks me, I feel it. When he’s stern with me, I feel it. At work, there is so much pressure on me to handle my team and my clients. The fact that I don’t have to be David’s boss, that he’s actually in charge of me, well, it’s strangely comforting.
He puts his hand on my thigh and gives me a loving squeeze. “We’ll take it slow. Promise.”
“OK.”
We’re at my apartment sooner than I’d like. I have an early meeting and as much as I want him to stay with me I know I need some sleep. And I know I need time to think things over.
He walks me to my door, though, and gives me a long lingering kiss that makes my knees knock together like I’m a silly teenager in love. That’s what I feel like, though. I’m not falling in love with him, I’ve already fallen hard.
“Friday,” he whispers, resting his forehead on mine and looking into my eyes. “Want me to help you pack some things in the afternoon?”
“No. I’ll be fine.”
“When can I expect you?”
“Not sure. Late afternoon.”
“All right. I’ll e-mail you with some details.” He kisses me again and I can tell he doesn’t want to let me go. When he finally backs away from the embrace it’s like he’s forcing himself away from me. “See you soon, sweetie,” he says with a small smile. Then he’s gone.
I pour myself another glass of wine, knowing I’ll need it to knock myself out. My mind is so full and my feelings for David are so strong that I’m actually scared. For the first time in my entire life, I’m scared of committing. Why wasn’t I frightened before any of my other relationships?
Then it hits me. I want this one to last.
I open my laptop and write a quick note to David.
David,
I’d appreciate a description of the rules you were talking about. Curiosity is killing me.
Rachel
I know he’s still driving so I won’t get a quick response. I call Samantha who is thrilled that I’m confiding in her.
“Moving in?!” she squeals. “You’ve known him for, like, five minutes!”
“I know. It’s crazy, right? Too soon?”
“Um, no. Not too soon. Rachel, you have never even considered doing something this nuts in your entire life. Everything you do is planned so far in advance it makes me worried that you’ll never have any fun. The fact that you are debating saying yes—”
“I already kinda said yes,” I say, interrupting her.
“Rachel Lynn! Holy shit!”
“Yeah. Holy shit.”
“Well, keep your apartment. You can always move back.”
“I know.”
“When are you moving?”
“Friday.”
“I want dinner at your new place this weekend, then.”
My new place. Was it really mine if he was in charge? “All right. Either day work for you?”
“I’ll keep my schedule open. You tell me when, ‘K?”
“Sure. I’ll call you.” I see a new message on my computer. It’s from David. “Hey, I’m gonna go. I have an early day.”
“OK. Hey… thanks for calling,” Samantha says sincerely. I feel a twinge of guilt about the way I treated her just a month before. Before I met David.
“Thanks for answering,” I reply, clicking off my phone and opening David’s message at the same time.
Rachel:
I’ll be in touch.
I miss you already.
Be good.
David
I miss him too. My body aches to feel his arms around me and I’m kicking myself for not inviting him to spend the night. Then, I resolve to be strong. I am an independent woman, until Friday at least, and I can go a few nights without him. And work is important. I must remember that. I’ve seen other women fall behind at the office just because of a new crush or an upcoming date. I’m sure men are the same, but for some reason I’m more critical of it when I see women doing it.
For now, I will focus at the office and get through the week.
This strategy of mine proves quite beneficial. I dive headfirst into all my paperwork at the office and I’m calling clients left and right and by Thursday, I’ve landed our firm two new projects. My boss is pleased and adds a few extra vacation days to my calendar for the year.
I’m reminded of the beach and wonder if I’ll spend my vacation days with David.
Thursday afternoon, he’s finally responded to my e-mail about the rules and I read through them, semi-stunned.
Rachel:
Preliminary rules are below. Above all, being respectful of my decisions is the most important. I don’t expect you’ll have any trouble following these, and I don’t expect you’ll require punishment often.
Discipline, on the other hand… ;)
See you tomorrow, late afternoon.
David
Rules:
1. Show respect for my decisions
2. Obey all traffic laws when driving
3. Exercise good personal hygiene
4. Consider your safety and the safety of others in every action that you take
5. Do not get inebriated unless you are with me
6. Maintain your personal relationships with friends and family
7. Keep yourself in good health by exercising and eating healthfully
8. Learn a new skill once a month
9. Help with your share of housework
10. Ask me my opinion and advice before making any big life decisions
I read the rules three times before clicking ‘reply’.
David,
Those seem reasonable. Thank you for elaborating. Until tomorrow.
Rachel
I’m being honest with myself now and I can feel something changing inside of me. While I’m still resistant to these ‘rules’, I can’t really say that they aren’t things I wouldn’t follow anyway. I’m worried about the discipline sessions that he’ll want us to do, but I do feel trust for him. And there is something very intimate about submitting to a spanking from him. It’s unlike anything I’ve done with a lover before.
Packing up my things is overwhelming but I diligently begin.
I cannot wait until tomorrow.
~10~
David
After I send Rachel the rules I wait anxiously for her response. I had them ready
on Wednesday but I was too damned nervous to send them along. Would she reject them and resist the idea of submitting to me? I can’t bear the thought.
When I open her response I suck in a breath and sigh in relief. She agrees. And she’ll be here tomorrow.
My concrete guy is coming in the morning. I’m building a small office and discipline room behind my home so I can still receive clients when Rachel is around. I’ve been meaning to do it for years and have always felt that my professional practices are inappropriate for my home environment. I take a walk outside, surveying the plot of land I’ve chosen once again, and nod to myself, satisfied. It will be a good space.
Sparky agrees and is thrilled that the construction project means more time outside to play with me. I throw a frisbee for him a few times, but he quickly tires. He’s getting old.
Marilyn is coming for dinner, so I shower and fire up the grill. I haven’t told her about Rachel moving in and I’m anxious about her response. She’s always brutally honest with me, to the point of hurting my feelings, so I’m not exactly looking forward to telling her the news.
On time, as always, Marilyn raps on my door three times before letting herself in.
“Brother, I hope you’re cooking something good tonight,” she says, giving me a big hug. “I’m fucking starving.”
I chuckle. “Sister, you got it.”
She grabs two beers from my refrigerator and hands me one. “Want to sit outside? It’s nice out.”
“Absolutely. Bring this out,” I reply, giving her back my beer. I grab a couple of potatoes to throw on the grill and make sure the steaks are defrosted before following her out.
“Did you know Ryan dislocated his shoulder yesterday?” she asks. “Playing volleyball with some of his buddies at a sports bar. He said it’s the worst pain he’s ever felt in his life.”
Ryan is our youngest brother and quite accident prone. I can’t even keep track of how many bones he’s broken. “I should give him a call,” I say, feeling bad that he didn’t call me and let me know.
“If you want. He’s fine now.” She plops herself down in a chair and cracks open her beer. “So, what’s the thing you wanted to talk to me about?”
“Well, it’s about that woman I introduced to you.” I open my beer and take a long sip.
“Rachel?”
“Yeah. I’m kind of falling for her.”
“That’s great, David! I’m happy for you.”
“Thanks.”
“That’s not what you wanted to talk about, though.”
I look at her and she’s staring at me knowingly. “Very astute of you, Marilyn.”
“I know. I can read you like a book. What’s up?”
“She’s moving in,” I blurt out quickly before I lose my nerve.
Marilyn looks stunned, like she’s fallen and the wind has been knocked out of her. “Seriously?”
“Yeah.”
She nods, slowly, like she’s thinking very hard. She brings her beer to her lips, but before taking a sip, says “Wow.”
I go inside for the steaks, not wanting her to see my face. I need her to tell me this is all right. Marilyn is my kid sister, but since a few years ago, when our mother went through treatment for breast cancer, we’ve operated as peers. During the long weeks of chemotherapy, Marilyn was the strong one of the family. She made sure everyone took care of themselves while she took care of Mom. Her maturity impressed all of us, but me the most. While in the past, Marilyn had been the one to lean on me for advice and help during rough times, after Mom's battle with cancer I’ve found myself leaning on her when I need a hand.
I take a few deep breaths before going back out to face her.
She’s at the grill, turning the potatoes and texting on her phone. I roll my eyes. I hate it when she texts while I’m trying to speak with her. But when she looks up at me her eyes are sparkling and she is smiling.
“I can’t believe it,” she says. “None of us ever thought it would happen.”
“Us?”
“Ryan. Mitchell. Mom and Dad. Ryan says congratulations, by the way.” She waves her phone in the air. “I won the bet.”
“What bet?”
“The bet about how long it would take you to settle down. Ryan thought you’d be close to fifty by the time you welcomed a lady-friend into this huge house of yours.”
I glare at her and push her out of the way so I can put the steaks on. “Thanks a lot. Betting on my happiness.”
“A friendly bet, David.” She goes back to her chair and sits down, sighing happily. “So this is all kind of sudden, isn’t it?”
“Yeah. Very sudden.”
“I’m surprised she went for it.”
“She’s keeping her apartment.”
“Good.”
“I think it’s the right thing to do.”
Marilyn can’t wipe the silly smile off her face. She looks positively ecstatic. Her mood is contagious and I realize I’m pretty damn ecstatic, too.
We eat and chat and she gives me a giant hug before she leaves, saying, “I can’t wait to come over here and get to know her!” I tell her to drive safe, she rolls her eyes, and then I go back to work preparing for Rachel’s arrival.
I want her to have space to put things so I clean up my closet, making sure there are hangers just for her. Same thing for the bathroom; I put my stuff to the side so there is ample room for whatever she wants to add to the mix. I don’t own that many things, so there isn’t so much a space issue as much as a matter of organization.
Time is moving slowly, as if the universe is trying to torture me by making the wait for her arrival as long as possible. When I finally fall asleep it’s almost one in the morning, so when dawn comes, waking me, I’m a little groggy.
Checking in with my e-mail, I see an emergency request from a woman named Lily. She’s young, a student at the local community college, and I provide her with punishments when she receives bad grades or doesn’t complete assignments. Evidently she got a C minus on her latest chemistry exam.
Usually I work my schedule to accommodate emergency requests, but today I’ve got the cement truck coming and I want to focus most of my energy on Rachel. I write her a quick note back saying I can’t work her in, and I include stern words about how disappointed I am in her. I check her class schedule and put her down for Monday morning.
That will be better for Lily in some ways. She can have the weekend to anticipate her spanking.
Pouring the cement goes well and it’s nice to see some progress made. It’s also nice to have a distraction because time is slower than molasses. I so badly want her here with me, in my arms.
I’m pacing around my house and Sparky knows something is up. He’s following me excitedly and he barks whenever I pause. Finally, around four, earlier than expected, I hear a car pull into the driveway. I run to the front door and it’s her.
And she’s getting out fast, and running to me, a huge grin on her face. She throws herself into my arms and I catch her and hold her tight.
“You’re here,” I say. My relief is so intense and I never want to let her go.
“I couldn’t wait,” she says, breathless. “I left work early. David…”
“What, baby?”
“I’m so glad to be here.”
“I’m glad you’re here, too.” I pat her bottom and she hugs me harder.
“I love you,” she whispers.
My heart skips a beat but I don’t hesitate with my response. “I love you too.”
<<<<>>>>
A note from the author, Sadey Quinn
Hello, Reader!
Thanks so much for reading Under His Roof. I really hoped you enjoyed this novella. I'm planning on writing a sequel to it, where we'll see Rachel and David's relationship develop even more.
Please, if you liked or hated this book, let me know! I'm always open to feedback, and love to get reviews on Amazon and Goodreads. Interacting with readers is one of my favorite things about being an aut
hor.
I post news about books, personal anecdotes, and other random stuff on my blog—almost daily. Check it out if you're interested: http://sadeyquinn.wordpress.com
xoxo!
Sadey
Also By Sadey Quinn
Under Order
Social Service
Slaves on Pertz
Spanktastic
Odyssey for Passion (Spring 2012)
Table of Contents
Disclaimer
~1~
Rachel
~2~
David
~3~
Rachel
~4~
David
~5~
Rachel
~6~
David
~7~
Rachel
~8~
David
~9~
Rachel
~10~
David
A note from the author, Sadey Quinn
Also By Sadey Quinn