by Haven Handel
It was quite a contrast to my husband who had the dark, handsome, serious, ‘mafia according to Cynthia’ thing going on. They were opposites. Maybe that’s how Andrew and I had become such close friends. Talking to Andrew was light and easy, whereas with Deo, things were just—heavier.
“I’m fine,” I protested, taking a sip from the unsweetened tea Andrew already had waiting for me. “Just late because I was chatting with Cynthia.”
“I didn’t see you at the partners meeting this morning.” Andrew spoke casually, swirling his spoon in his coffee. His light brow creased with worry.
“I was in the back,” I replied, airily, waving my hand as if brushing away his concern.
Raising a curious brow to me, he said, “And why do you keep shifting in your seat like that?”
I could feel the blush rise in my cheeks. I hadn’t realized I’d been squirming around. “I fell ice skating over the weekend,” I blurted out.
Chuckling, Andrew sipped at his coffee. “You and Deo?” he asked with a grin. “I just can’t picture the two of you, hand in hand, gliding across the ice, wearing your Gucci and Louis Vuitton leather trench coats. You two seem more like the vineyard type.”
“Oh yeah, cause there’s so many great vineyards in New Jersey.”
“Hey, we have a couple. I’ve heard Cava Winery has a good one.” He looked up at me, innocently. “We should check it out sometime.”
It wasn’t the first time Andrew had mentioned us seeing one another outside of our daily lunches, but I never let him get too far down that road. I will never go there again.
“Deo and I do a lot of fun things together,” I protested, taking the subject off jaunts to vineyards. True, Deo and I had never been ice skating, or skating, or done any physical activity together that required gear. Most weekends, when we were getting along, we were visiting the trendiest bars and restaurants, or spending the day together in bed. When we were fighting, I was shopping with Cynthia, with Deo locking himself in his office at home. Recently, I had practically purchased a whole new wardrobe; there had been a lot of shopping days.
“Yeah, but ice skating? It sounds so wholesome. Next you’re going to tell me that you and Deo are starring in the latest town play together.”
A deep voice with just a hint of Greece ancestry interrupted our playful banter. “Now that would depend on the production, wouldn’t it, my sweet?” Deo said, dryly. “Maybe Romeo and Juliet? Or West Side Story?” he asked, placing a territorial kiss on my cheek.
“Deo,” I said, wincing as I scooted over in the booth, making room for our unexpected guest. “What a pleasant surprise,” I mumbled, trying to mask the distress in my voice.
“I hope you don’t mind. I called the office, and your secretary told me you two would be here.”
Deo turned to Andrew who looked astonished to see the man we’d been speaking of appear in the flesh.
“According to Deborah, you and my wife frequent this establishment.” Deo’s smile did not reach his eyes as he held out his hand towards Andrew. “I don’t believe we’ve met. Deo Ambrosia. Cassandra’s husband.”
Not easily flustered, even by my Greek, mafia-esck husband, Andrew took Deo’s hand, shaking it in a friendly manner. “Andrew Turner. Pleasure to meet you, Deo.”
Deo flinched at the sound of my friend using his first name so casually. “Andrew, are you an intern for the firm?”
With a laugh, Andrew answered, “No. I’m a lawyer, sir. Have been for some years now.”
“Such a young pup,” Deo quipped, rudely, eyeing Andrew up and down. “Tell me, Andrew, do you enjoy having lunch with my wife?”
Panic flickered across Andrew’s normally confident face. Pausing momentarily, Andrew answered. “I do. She’s a brilliant woman, and funny.” Andrew’s eyes touched mine, then went back to Deo.
“And a beauty too, no?” Deo asked, his hand stroking my hair, his eyes daring Andrew to answer the question.
Gritting his teeth, Andrew replied icily, “She is, sir. But I’m sure you are well aware of that fact.”
Deo’s eyes clouded over, his menacing gaze remaining on Andrew. His hand dropped from my hair. Silently, he continued to stare at Andrew.
I shifted in my seat, now uncomfortable and embarrassed.
Looking to me, then back at Deo, Andrew stood. “I’ll let the two of you catch up. Wonderful to finally meet you, Deo.” Shooting me a worried look, he said, “Cass, I’ll see you back at the office.” With a final glance over his shoulder, Andrew left the pub.
“Tell me, Cassandra,” Deo asked, his voice dripping with disgust, “was the boy”—Deo gestured at the door Andrew had just made his hurried exit through—“the reason you thought you were leaving?”
Tense as the situation was, that I could laugh at. I gave a small, nervous chuckle. There was nothing between me and Andrew, at least for me. I was careful to keep the relationship platonic. “No, Deo.”
“Cass”—Deo’s eyes investigated mine—“do many people call you by that distasteful nickname?”
“Just Andrew,” I murmured into my tea. “And Cynthia. Maybe a few people at the office. Not everyone is as formal as you, Deo.”
“Ah. I am too formal. A cause for our fights? Another disdainful character trait you wanted to leave me over?”
I looked down at my lap, feeling ashamed of my words the evening before. “You know I didn’t mean it,” I murmured. “What I said last night was a mistake.”
“I know, sweet.” Deo’s hand reached the top of my thigh and squeezed, hard. “A big mistake.”
The pressure from his hand made me gasp. Releasing my leg, Deo leaned back casually in the booth. “So, what are these little lunches like, then? Enlighten me.”
“We talk. We eat. That’s it.”
“Chatting, laughing, sharing bits about your day? That belongs to me. Not some dog who barely knows you and is just waiting for a chance to unzip your dress.”
“It’s not like that with Andrew. We’re just friends.”
“I’m afraid your little lunches are over, Cassandra. Consider me your new friend. And lunch date. From now on.”
I looked up, trying to read Deo’s face. He had never met me for lunch. Not once. Not that I had suggested it. We just had two very different daily lives. Deo’s dark eyes softened as he gazed back at me. He reached out and delicately smoothed my hair back, tucking a piece behind my ear. “My Cassandra,” he murmured as his fingers trailed over my cheekbone, and his thumb brushed over my bottom lip. I shivered as he said, “I have not given you the attention that you crave. I do not blame you that you sought it elsewhere.”
I groaned. “He’s a friend, Deo. Don’t you have any of those? Other than Alekos?”
Deo eyed me. “Alekos is my brother. I have other, close, friends. And you shall meet them soon. But not one of them is a woman. I respect you too much to spend time alone with another woman. You disrespect me with your secret lunches, but I hold the blame for them.”
I’d never seen my lunch dates with Andrew in that light.
“I don’t care for this Andrew,” Deo said with contempt, his eyes narrowing at me. “How long have you two been… close?”
It seemed as if it pained him to say the word. Figuring he had already gotten the information from my secretary, I told him the truth. “We’ve been having lunch every day, for the past six months.”
His dark brow furrowed. “And you never thought to mention this to me?”
“No, I really didn’t think anything of it.” It wasn’t the whole truth. The thought would occasionally cross my mind that I wouldn’t love it if Deo was having lunch with other women. One thing a lawyer is great at is arguing their case. I could always talk myself out of the guilt.
“So undisciplined, my Cassandra,” Deo murmured, twisting a lock of my hair around his finger. “Not only a temper, but also dishonest.”
My face burned as the heavy gaze of Deo caressed it. The memory of lying over Deo’s lap made my face burn ho
tter. I turned to my husband to ask him the question I was dying to know the answer to. “Are you going to... punish me for the secret lunches?” I held my breath, looking at the table and waiting for his answer.
Releasing my hair, Deo said, “It was my mistake. I told you I take responsibility for this. Otherwise, yes. You may even have been bent over this table, right now.” Eyeing the patrons of the restaurant, Deo said, “I think everyone would enjoy the show.”
Of course, the waiter showed up with food just in time to catch my husband’s words. Carefully putting our plates down, the waiter eyed me curiously. If I didn’t die of sexual frustration, I would die of embarrassment.
“Hungry?” Deo asked suggestively, a fierce grin on his face, and a knowing look in his eye. “I hope you don’t mind. I ordered for us from the car.”
The smile and look told me that he knew how much I wanted him. He could probably smell it on me. Ashamed of my carnal desires, I sheepishly picked at the grilled chicken and pecan salad that was set before me, feeling like the entire restaurant was aware of my wanton frustration. It looked like Deo would be bringing a new meaning to the term, ‘hot lunch’.
“Eat,” Deo commanded. “You need your strength.”
Eating was normally one of the things we fought about. Deo always trying to get me to eat healthy, making sure I’m eating enough and taking care of myself. Instead of arguing back, I stabbed a piece of chicken with my fork and shoved it in my mouth.
“Good girl,” Deo said with a smile. “I see our little discipline session is working already.”
“Little? I still can’t sit comfortably,” I muttered, fidgeting in my seat.
“But you loved it,” Deo growled.
I wanted to give a smart remark. But my bottom was still sore, and Deo was already peeved off by Andrew. I didn’t want to risk being turned over his knee in the middle of the busy pub. He had already mentioned me bent over the very table we were having lunch on. And, he was right. I'd loved it.
“Deo, why are you here?” I asked. He was acting so differently, and this impromptu visit had caught me off guard.
The question brought a look of displeasure to Deo’s face. He raised a single eyebrow in response.
I quickly reworded my statement. “I mean, it’s not that I don’t want you here. I’m just surprised, that’s all.”
Deo took a bite of his fish, chewing carefully and contemplating his words before he spoke. “Cassandra, last night began a new life for us. When you…” Deo stopped, dabbing at his mouth with a cloth napkin, then taking a drink of water. He cleared his throat before he began to speak again. “When you—told me that you were leaving me.”
“I’m sorry Deo; it was a mistake.”
Holding his hand up to signal me to stop, Deo continued, “When you told me you were leaving me, it devastated me, Cassandra. I know we have been unhappy at times, but I always thought we were both in this for a lifetime. It crushed me to hear those words.”
I silently folded my napkin back and forth in my lap. It’s incredible how rash words can alter a chain of events, but can never be unsaid. “I didn’t mean it,” I protested softly, sounding like a broken record.
“Nonetheless, it opened my eyes. To a new way of thinking. To a realization of what you need from me. And it did other things as well, things only time will tell how they will turn out,” Deo murmured the last few words almost more to himself than to me.
Not sure what he meant by the ‘other things’ he mentioned, there was a more pressing question on my mind. “About the spanking…” I began, feeling the heat rise again in my face. I needed to know what my future held, and if I was literally going to be needing to watch my back, or my backside to be more accurate.
“Yes,” Deo said, flashing me a wicked grin. “What about it?” His face held an air of satisfaction I had not seen there before.
“Is that something new in our relationship, or was that a one-time ‘I crossed the line and you put me in check,’ kind of a thing?” I asked, tumbling the words quickly out before I lost my nerve.
Deo placed his fork across his plate. He took his napkin from his lap and tucked it beneath the edge of the dish. Turning towards me in the small booth, Deo stared intently at me. “What do you think?”
My face had to be beet red at this point. “I-I don’t know,” I managed to stammer out.
After spending a quiet moment considering me, Deo’s voice was soft as he asked, “Would you agree with me that you may need to be disciplined from time to time?”
Immaturely, I shrugged my shoulders, answering with a simple, “Maybe.”
I was headstrong; I never did as Deo suggested, though he was always looking out for my best interest. But how does a strong woman agree to be laid over her husband’s lap for a spanking? And how does she ever admit that she craves his discipline?
Swallowing my pride, I uttered words that sounded completely un-Cassandra like. “Whatever you think is best, Deo.”
Deo’s face lit up in a way I rarely saw. It was as if the clouds parted and the sun shone. His pleased expression only lasted for a brief moment before returning to his serious countenance.
Leaning towards me, his brow furrowed, he said, “Promise me, Cassandra.”
“What?”
“Promise me you will remain faithful to our vows.” His deep voice was wrought with emotion.
Involuntarily, I rolled my eyes. My husband was so intense, taking in the world as if it were a constant battle. “Why do you take these vows so seriously, Deo? It’s just tradition for crying out loud.”
Quickly and discreetly, Deo reached out and grabbed the back of my neck under my hair, pulling my ear to his mouth. “You are my wife. And our marriage is a sacred union that you will treat with respect. Or, you will be crying out loud.” Turning my face to his, Deo pressed his lips to mine. The kiss was the same punishing one from last night, bruising my lips and lighting another part of me on fire all at once. Deo released me, a look of pleasure crossing his face as he watched the flush rise in my cheeks.
I felt like a dog in heat. My bottom sore against the seat, the back of my neck tingling from his grasp, my lips abused by his love. Whatever had come over Deo was making me want him more than ever before. I was hungry to taste his power and feel his possession.
“Promise me,” he said, again, urgently.
“I promise, Deo.”
Deo analyzed my face, searching for the truth. Finally satisfied, he gave a small nod. “Finish your lunch, please.”
The conversation was over.
Chapter Two
Returning from lunch, Andrew was waiting for me in the lobby of our building. The frigid air blew in with me and ruffled Andrew’s tie. I wrapped the belt of my long coat tighter around my waist, rubbing my hands to warm them from the cold. Andrew was over to me in two long strides.
“Cassandra, are you okay? What the heck was Deo doing at Hibernia?”
My mind was racing, trying to sort out my feelings about the new dynamic in my marriage. I didn’t have time to try and hide it all from Andrew. “He just came to see me.” I tried to make my voice light, pasting a smile on my face. “Wanted to surprise me, I guess.”
“He seemed upset.” Andrew studied my face.
“I think he was just a little taken off guard that his wife was dining with another man. He can be a little archaic at times,” I said, giving a nervous laugh.
Andrew hesitated before locking gazes with me and replying, “If I had a wife like you, I’d be jealous too.”
His baby blue eyes hovered over me just a second too long, making me paranoid that there was something to what Deo had said about Andrew’s plan for the zipper of my dress.
I’d learned the hard way what can happen when you go down that road. I still carried the scars, buried within, hidden from myself as well as my husband. I would have to tread very carefully if that were the case. As I said, I never make the same mistake twice.
Clearing my throat nervously,
I brushed at the air with my hands. “He just missed me. We’ve both been super busy lately.” I walked hurriedly to the elevator. There was no way I could explain my suddenly complicated marriage to Andrew, nor did I want to.
The bell gave its polite ‘ding’, the silver doors gliding open. We stepped inside. Alone with Andrew in the elevator, he pressed for more details. “Are you guys, like, okay at home?”
I turned to Andrew. “What are you implying?”
“I mean, he wouldn’t hurt you because he was jealous, or something, would he?”
I had to chuckle to myself. Deo taking me over his knee and spanking my bare behind until I was a blubbering mess, probably wasn’t exactly what Andrew had in mind when he asked the question.
“Andrew, I appreciate your concern, but I promise, everything’s good. He just missed me.” Now probably wasn’t the time to tell my benevolent friend my husband had canceled all our future lunches, as well as our friendship.
The elevator doors opened, and I was released. As I walked away, Andrew grabbed my arm turning me towards him.
“Cass, wait.”
I looked up at the genuine concern in those innocent blue eyes.
“I care about you. Just promise me you’ll tell me if you ever need help.” His hand lingered, still holding me.
I needed to proceed with caution. “Andrew, you’re a good friend,” I said, trying to place the emphasis on the word ‘friend’, glancing down meaningfully at his grasp of my arm.
Embarrassed, Andrew awkwardly released me. “Of course,” he mumbled.
I gave him my sweetest ‘everything’s wonderful’ smile and walked quickly towards the sleek glass doors of Parker, Anderson and Roe.
Taking a deep breath, I opened the door ahead of Andrew and nodded to Debbi at reception.
She gave me the usual smile and wave. Then with a wink, she covered the receiver with one hand, whispering, “Someone’s in your office. A super hunk.”
I smiled and headed towards my desk. My two o’clock must be early. Rounding the corner, I was in view of the glass windows of my office. I was surprised to see the broad back of a tall, man with shoulder length light brown hair. Unable to see his face, his frame and the way he stood looked as if he could be a brother of Deo’s. The stranger was standing by my desk, appearing to be admiring my awards.