Julie stood up, her lips tight.
“Gwen, we weren’t expecting you. What can I do for you?”
The beautiful blonde had a smile that was less than genuine.
“I came to talk to my sons. I need one of them to come over and hang my new drapes. Where are they?”
“Out on the ranch, of course. You remember Abby, don’t you? And this is her sister, Noelle. She’s come to help with the wedding.”
Gwen ignored Abby and Noelle, frowning at Julie. “Lucas said they would be working near the house this afternoon.”
Noelle was busy taking in this surprise visit and didn’t hear John coming in the front door, home from school. He burst into the kitchen, dropping his backpack, grabbing a soda from the refrigerator, and coming to an abrupt halt when he saw Gwen. His face turned very red and he gazed at his shoes intently.
Gwen studied him for a moment, giving him a nod, before turning back to the women. She set her purse down on the counter, and it seemed like she might be settling in to wait. Julie looked as if she was going to have none of it.
“Gwen, does Cam know you’re here?”
For someone so beautiful, Gwen could get an ugly look on her face.
“I don’t tell my ex-husband my comings and goings, Julie. I was done doing that fifteen years ago.” Her fingers traced a line around her neck. “I don’t wear his collar anymore. He can’t tell me what to do.”
“I never could. You were defiant then, as now.”
Cam’s deep tones had Noelle turning in surprise to the back door. Cam and Colt were stomping into the kitchen, their expressions grim. Cam was not happy about seeing his ex-wife. She was surprised when he came up behind her and placed his hands on her shoulders, the warm weight reassuring.
Gwen pursed her lips and looked bored.
“I need one of the boys to come to my house and help me hang some curtains. Send Brody.”
Cam shook his head. “No. Brody is at the outskirts of the ranch right now. When he gets back, he’ll be spending time with his fiancée, Abby. Did you greet Abby, Gwen? She’s going to be your daughter-in-law.”
“I’m sure I must have.” Gwen’s eyes narrowed on Cam’s hands. “And who might this be? Your new sub? She’s…delightful, darling. But a trifle young for you, don’t you think? Are you going through a midlife crisis, Cam? So sad, you feel you need to prove your manhood in such a manner.”
Noelle started to rise and tell this bitch on wheels off. She had the temper to match her hair color. Cam’s fingers tightened just slightly, pressing her into her chair.
“I don’t need to prove anything, Gwen. I’m pretty secure these days. This is Noelle, Abby’s sister and yes, my girlfriend and sub. I’ll send Lucas to your house in the morning around nine.”
Gwen picked up her purse. “Make it ten, darling. I like to sleep in.”
John finally stopped staring at the floor. He lifted his head, and pushed his cowboy hat back on his head.
“I can go now, Cam.”
Cam started to object, but then turned to Colt, who just shrugged.
“If you want to go, son, I guess that would be okay. Gwen, are you okay with John helping?”
Gwen smiled at John and linked her arm with his. “Of course. Any big, strong man will do.”
Cam pulled a set of keys off the pegboard near the door and tossed them at John.
“Take the truck, John, and whatever tools you need from the garage. And thanks.”
Miraculously, John almost smiled. “Thanks, Uncle Cam. I’ll be careful.”
Everyone in the kitchen was silent as John and Gwen headed toward the front door. Finally, Cam spoke.
“Gwen, next time? Call first.”
* * * *
Cam placed his toothbrush back in the holder on the bathroom counter and padded back into the bedroom. Noelle was leaning back on a pile of pillows, glasses perched on her cute nose, completely engrossed in her e-reader. Her hair was in disarray, curling around her shoulders and face from her shower just minutes ago. She was wearing his favorite University of Montana T-shirt and had to admit it looked way better on her. The shirt stopped just midthigh on her shapely legs. Her toes were painted a bright red and made him want to take each one in his mouth, sucking and driving her wild while she was restrained and unable to stop him.
He loved having her in his bed. Fuck, who was he kidding? He loved having her in his life. Period. The last week had been the best he could remember. She liked to tell dirty jokes and make him laugh. They didn’t agree on politics, and she loved to debate him. She liked to cook, and dinner each night had been a festival for his taste buds. She made melt-in-the-mouth pancakes for breakfast using bacon for the smiley face. She drove her sensible sedan too fast down his dirt road, which he hated, and encouraged his sons to think about taking chances to have the future they wanted, which he liked.
Of course, the nights were their time together. Her submission was sweeter than any he had known. Just knowing how difficult it was for her made it so much more special. She had taken to a D/s relationship like a duck to water. If anything, she thought he was moving too slow. She was already trying to top from the bottom by suggesting things he might want to do to her. She was reading way too many of those erotic books with her friends.
He hadn’t used restraints on Noelle. Yet. He wanted her to be able to feel comfortable with him and be able to trust him absolutely. Submission had to be slowly earned. It couldn’t be demanded or taken by force. He hoped tonight would be the turning point for them. He was going to give his pretty little sub a safe word tonight when he tied her to the bed. He couldn’t wait to see her naked and spread eagle for his pleasure. And hers, too, of course.
He fell back on the bed with a sigh. He worked hard during the day, and slept like a rock at night. He loved working his ranch, and having the feeling of satisfaction knowing he was building a legacy for his children.
Noelle studiously avoided his eyes, keeping them trained on her reader.
“Ignoring me, Noelle, isn’t going to stop us from having the discussion we need to have. We need to talk about Gwen.”
She looked up and pulled the glasses from her nose. “We don’t have to do this. I don’t need you to explain something that happened years ago. Frankly, after meeting her today, I can’t imagine you married to her, let alone her submitting to you.”
Cam chuckled. His honest little sub never varnished the truth. “First, of all, I know I don’t have to talk to you about it. But if we’re going to be Dominant and submissive and also man and woman, we need to be honest about the things that made us who we are. My marriage to Gwen changed me. Fuck, I hope for the better. But I definitely grew up.”
Noelle smiled. “You said ‘fuck.’ Do I get to give you a spanking?”
“No, but now I get to give you one since you said ‘fuck.’ I’m proud of you, by the way. Your language has improved in the last week.”
Noelle pouted. “The Dom-sub stuff isn’t fair. You get to use bad language and I don’t.”
Cam lay back with his hands behind his head. “That’s why I like being the Dom. I like to make the rules.”
He gave her a mock frown. “As I was saying, I don’t have to tell you, but I want to. If we’re going to be in a relationship together, no matter how temporary, you’re going to need to understand my marriage, and divorce, to Gwen. Also, Gwen is a sub. Of sorts. She likes to top from the bottom. She’s also into pain. More pain than I like to dish out. It was a source of contention between us. One of many.”
Noelle frowned. “She likes pain? She wanted you to hurt her? Like bleeding or something?”
“No, not bleeding. But Gwen likes a good, hard whipping with a single tail. I don’t mind using a single tail on occasion, but it’s never been my favorite thing. I don’t like anything more than a light to medium flogging.”
Noelle rolled her eyes. “Just a flogging, huh? I’m so fu—uh, freakin’ relieved.”
“You should be, and good ca
tch, sweetheart. But, back to the subject at hand. Me and Gwen. She and I met in college. She wanted to date a football star. She was pretty and seductive, and I was just some dumb country boy who liked girls who chased him. I thought I was a real hotshot, getting a sports scholarship and having girls hanging around me all the time. But Gwen was smarter than most of those girls. She was playing for keeps.”
Noelle sat up, the frown back on her pretty face. “You were a fucking football star in college? Julie said you were a star in high school, but college is a whole different thing.”
“That’s one, little sub. You didn’t know because I don’t talk about it and also because I’m guessing you weren’t even born at the time. I was a football star at college. I never made it to the pros. Something Gwen never let me forget. I blew my knee out my senior year. I can tell when it’s going to rain now. It’ll start aching and acting up.”
“So you played football, dated Gwen, and then blew out your knee. How did you end up marrying her?”
“She was the first girl I dated that really embraced the whole Dominant-submissive thing. I had dated other girls who just played at it. They didn’t mind a little spanking or maybe tying their hands now and then, but they weren’t truly submissive. I realized they weren’t enjoying it like I did. Gwen was different. But in my inexperience, I mistook her masochism for submission. She’s slightly submissive. She wants someone to take control of sex as long as they don’t push her limits. She does want someone to hurt her. Something she pushed me to do more and more as the years passed. But in the beginning, it wasn’t too bad.”
“You’re saying it took more and more pain to make her happy?”
Cam’s jaw tightened. “More pain and less submission with each passing year. It got to the point that when we went to the club, I had another Dom use the whip on her. I couldn’t stand to hurt her that much. Later, she would taunt me for not being man enough to give her what she wanted. She needed pain to feel submissive. When I couldn’t give her the kind of pain she needed, she stopped being submissive to me.”
“So that’s why you divorced? She wouldn’t be submissive?”
Cam shook his head. “No. We divorced because I found out she was having an affair with a Dom from the club. A Dom who could give her what she needed.”
Cam watched Noelle’s face closely. Hopefully, she valued fidelity the way he did. Her eyes went wide with surprise and her mouth hung open.
“She was unfaithful? To you?”
Cam pulled her close and dropped a kiss on the top of her head. “Yes, pretty girl, she was unfaithful. To me. I’m glad to see you don’t approve of that kind of behavior.”
Noelle shook her head in disbelief. “I can’t imagine anyone being unfaithful to you. You’re the best lover I’ve ever—”
Cam put his hand over her mouth. “Stop. As much as I love hearing how hot in the sack I am, I do not want to hear about any men before me. I know there were men, but I sure as fuck don’t need to be reminded. I’m a possessive, mean Dom.”
Noelle laughed and pulled a face. “Possessive? Yes. Mean? No. Strict? Awfully. I really miss cursing.”
Noelle sighed dramatically, and Cam felt a tug in his heart. This tiny little redhead was trouble with a capital T. And damn, if he didn’t enjoy every minute of it.
“I’m not backing down on the cursing. Think of it as character building.”
Noelle rolled her eyes. “More like submission building. I may be submissive, oh Lord and Master, but I’m not dumb. I’m onto you, just so you know.”
Cam felt his cock harden. He dreamed of the day she might call him Master, but not in jest. He was already thinking about a collar around her neck. He just had to convince her he was worth it.
“I never thought any different.”
Noelle plucked at the comforter. “So, you divorced her because of the other Dom?”
“We didn’t just divorce over the infidelity, although that was a major issue. We disagreed about everything. Gwen wanted me to sell the ranch. She wanted to live in leisure, and she hated being so isolated out here. She wasn’t very maternal, either. I would have happily had more children, but she was done after the boys. I liked to curl up after a long day, and she wanted to go into town and go to the club. We just never meshed honestly. We struggled from the beginning. Frankly, the affair was just the excuse we both needed to call it quits. She may not have been Mother of the Year, but she loved the boys and wanted the best for them.”
“The boys live with you.”
Cam nodded, remembering those first years after the divorce. “Yes. As I said, Gwen wanted the best for the boys, so she agreed they should live here on the ranch with me. They visited her in town on the weekends, and we shared holidays. It was tough on the boys in the beginning. I think they thought we might get back together. Brody was ten, and Caden and Lucas were twelve. Old enough to know Gwen and I weren’t happily married, but too young to understand the dynamics of what went on. They understand now.”
“And now? Does she want you back?”
Cam barked with laughter. The thought was absurd. “Fuck, no. And I sure as hell don’t want to be wanted back. Gwen’s happy with her life. I settled a decent amount on her when we divorced. Plus she inherited money from her mother a few years back. She doesn’t need to work or anything. But when she gets bored, she likes to meddle.”
“Meddle?”
“Meddle. Cause trouble. I’m guessing she heard about you and me in town. People saw us when I took you to dinner at the diner earlier this week and we were holding hands. Someone probably told her about it. She likes to be happy, but she’s not as on board with my happiness. That’s why she showed up today. She rarely comes to the ranch unless she needs to. I make sure she never needs to. So, are we good? Is there anything else you want to know?”
Noelle snuggled against his chest, and he breathed in her special scent, nuzzling her hair.
“We’re good. I meant it when I said you didn’t have to explain yourself. But I think she’s crazy for ever letting you go.”
Cam eased his body on top of hers, feeling the softness of her curves.
“We’re better apart. Of course, she just might be crazy. I don’t see her often anymore.” Cam reached for the e-reader lying on the comforter. “What was my little sub reading? Something for your book club?”
Noelle turned a lovely shade of pink. She must be reading something really naughty.
“Just a book. But, yes, it’s for the book club.”
Cam eased his weight off of her and handed her the e-reader. “Read it to me.”
She turned from pink to red. “I can’t, Cam. I’d be too embarrassed.”
Cam gave her his best Dom look and then used his best Dom voice.
“You know how to address me, little sub. This isn’t a suggestion. Your Dom wants to hear your sweet voice reading.”
Noelle’s amber eyes grew wide, and her tongue snaked out to wet her lips. He felt the now-familiar tightening in his groin. She nodded.
“Yes, Sir. Should I start at the beginning?”
Cam shook his head and relaxed against the pillows. “No, just pick up where you left off. I love a good book before bed.”
* * * *
Noelle’s face was hot. It was times like this she cursed being a redhead. Her Dom knew she was incredibly embarrassed and he was enjoying it. He had a wicked smile playing around his well-shaped lips. She wanted to smack the top of his head with her e-reader. Such an action would get her flipped over his lap and her bottom sore and red. As it was, she had a punishment coming for dropping the F-word. A punishment she was probably going to enjoy. A lot.
He ran his hands around her generous breasts, plucking the nipples until they were hard and pointed. Before she could draw her next breath, a metal clamp was attached to her left nipple, and she cried out in surprise and pain. He watched, his face impassive, as she took deep breaths to deal with the bite on her tender flesh. When her breathing eased, he slowly pulled the
other from his pocket and held it out with a smile.
He took his time, tweaking the nipple and then opening the cruel metal jaws of the clamp before her eyes. She tried not to tense up, but felt herself start to tremble as it moved closer. She sucked in a breath as the cold metal bit into sensitive skin. Her knees gave out, and she was now kneeling before him, a supplicant to her Master.
“Ah, that’s where you belong, slave, at your Master’s feet. Kiss them, sweet slave. Show me your submission.”
She leaned forward, and the weights on the clamps pulled at her already sore nipples. She whimpered but pressed her lips to first one shiny, black boot, then the other.
Cam brushed her hard nipples, and she arched into the caress. Reading this to him was naughty and erotic, and she was flushed with arousal at the look of passion on his face.
“Would you like to be at my feet, sweet sub? I’ve never had a submissive kiss my feet, but the thought makes my cock hard as a rock.”
She was breathing as hard as the submissive in the story.
“Yes, Sir. I think I would like to be at your feet.” She grinned. “But I don’t want to be accused of topping from the bottom.”
Cam ran his fingers around the shadow of her rosy nipples through her shirt.
“Don’t worry. Topping from the bottom will not be tolerated in any form. But there’s never anything stopping you from kneeling at my feet. I don’t have any rules against it. Continue, sub.”
She kept her head down, waiting for his next command. It came in the form of his hand tugging at her hair. She pushed to her feet, but kept her eyes down. She was not to look at him without his express permission. She had already been punished once today.
He went to the cabinet, and she felt her heart race. The cabinet held all manner of torture devices, and her Master’s mind was diabolical. She felt her pussy leak with her juices at what he might do next.
His Submissive Jewel [The Martinis and Chocolate Book Club 3] (Siren Publishing Everlasting Classic) Page 8