Chapter 84

Back in the Pyramid, we quietly return Mia to her room. She’s fast asleep in my arms. She passed out somewhere in the car, close to the hospital, and has been resting peacefully since.

Since we left, someone has come in and cleaned and sterilized Mia’s room. There is a fresh cover in her crib, and the laundry hamper has been cleared out.

Neil stays by the door as I lower Mia into her crib. For a moment, I stay there, peering down at her little sleeping body. She’s so small, so fragile. I’ve been around babies before, of course, and I know they are tougher than they look. But it’s hard not to be in awe of them.

This little girl is going to grow up to be a living, breathing, speaking, thinking adult. I almost can’t wait to see the person she turns into, though I don’t want to rush her either. Time passes too quickly already.

But… actually… I’ll only be here another month and a half. Then I’ll be gone.

I might see the Hayes’s or Mia again on TV or in the news or something, but it will never be like this again.

Even if I met her, she probably wouldn’t remember me.

That hurts more than I want it to. More than it should, probably.

How could I form such a close bond to this kid after only a month?

When Mia’s settled and I’m dealing with my own personal misery, Neil comes further into the room and stands beside me. We both look quietly down at the sleeping baby.

For one bliss-filled moment, I wonder what it would be like to have Neil as my mate. He’s strong and capable. Dedicated to a fault. He cares about Mia. He could maybe care about me too.

But no. That’s a silly little fantasy that has no basis in logic or fact.

The number one person in Neil’s life is his father. I’m pretty far down on the list. Mia’s closer to the top, but even she can’t compete with Neil’s overwhelming sense of duty.

With a small sigh, I reach for the baby monitor and click it on. Then I walk out into the hallway. Neil is right behind me.

“Goodnight, Neil,” I say, and turn for my own room.

He stops me with a hand on my waist. It’s not demanding or insistent. It’s just… sitting there, a weight on my hip. His thumb is slotted against my hipbone.

He’s behind me. I can’t see him. He tugs me backwards and I go, until my back is pressed against the line of his torso.

His other hand lifts in front of me. He hovers over my stomach, then up near my tits.

He doesn’t touch, but he’s so close I can imagine him touching. Exhaling, I arch my back, trying to find the glorious friction of his palm against my budding nipples, but he keeps his hand the same distance away, always just out of reach.

He’s not even touching me and my panties are wet. When he does finally lay his palm at the base of my throat, I have to squeeze my thighs together. His fingers curl around my hip, tips digging into the flesh and fabric.

I drop my head back onto his shoulder, giving him more access to my neck.

He stretches his wide hand across the full expanse of my neck.

My life is in his hands. He has full control over me.

I shouldn’t, but I trust him. He’s an asshole, but he won’t hurt me, not in a way I won’t enjoy.

I don’t really understand what this feeling is, this sense of giving. Or the way my head gets a little bit fuzzy as I surrender to it, like I’m lost in a bliss-filled haze.

He notches his nose under my jaw and I can feel his hot wet breath against my skin.

I bite my bottom lip to keep from moaning.

The sight of it does something to him. I feel his dick twitch against my ass. Does he enjoy watching my struggle?

He wanted to gag me with his cock before. Will he want to gag me with some kind of tie, instead, when he fucks me?

Archer wants his partners loud. Does Neil want me to try to control myself?

He has to know it’s a losing battle.

No, if he’s gagging me, maybe he’s the one who wants to control my noise.

Experimentally, I release my bite on my sore lips and dare a quiet little gasp.

“Ah.”

His hand at my throat tightens ever so slightly. It doesn’t hurt. I can breathe fine. But I feel it.

His mouth finds my ear. “Be quiet.”

A thrill shoots through me. I’m playing with fire, but I kind of want to get burned. “Make me.”

He growls.

In an instant, he’s turned us both and pressed my front into the wall. I’m boxed in now. The wall in front, him behind me. His hand moves from my hip and toward my mouth. He sticks two fingers inside and presses down on my tongue.

His other hand hasn’t moved from my throat.

Heat shoots straight down to my core. My pussy’s already soaked. Gods, he could fuck me like this and I’d thank him.

I’m moaning, but with his fingers in my mouth, it’s coming out broken off and muffled.

Annoyingly, he’s not moving anymore. He’s just holding me. Watching.

I want more.

I try to say his name. It’s broken too.

Then, too soon, his hands are gone. His body’s gone too.

For a moment, I stand still against the wall, half-expecting him to come back. Yet when I look behind me, I’m alone in the hallway.

Son of a bitch.

It’s morning, and I’m cutting the start of class to sneak to the bookstore. I have Debbie’s list of the popular BDSM series, but I don’t have to go far to find it. There’s a full display for it decorating an endcap.

Debbie recommends the entire series, but I figure I better start with just the first. After consulting the list, I pluck the first one from the top of the shelf.

Chained By My Lover’s Relentless Pleasure seems like a title that hits the nail a bit too much on the head, but who am I to judge? Still, I’m a bit embarrassed carrying it to the check out line, especially because of the chained up naked woman on the cover.

She’s moaning in pleasure though, her cheeks pink, her lips curved slightly upward. A carefully placed satin sheet covers her nipples and pussy. There’s a dude standing over her, his back to the camera. He’s not wearing a stitch of clothing. He’s got a great ass.

So dudes’ bare asses can make the cover, but not tits or vaginas. Got it.

There’s a line, so I’m standing there waiting.

I glance at what the woman in front of me is buying. She has the full set of the same series.

I’m not all that embarrassed anymore.

Apparently this is as popular as Debbie says.

I start to let myself relax. Flipping open the cover, I start to skim read and –

Oh my gods.

I close the cover again.

Okay, popular or not, I probably shouldn’t read even one page of this in public.

Her Lover’s Relentless Pleasure was an apt title after all. Guy must have the stamina of a god.

I wait another minute, then sneak another peek inside.

Thirty pages after my first sneak peek, the dude has switch positions but still going for it.

My cheeks heat up as a riding crop comes out. What’s he going to do with – Oh.

Oh.

How can that possibly feel good?

“Let me guess,” says a familiar voice. “Page 64.”

I glance at the page number. How the hell did he know that?

I look up to find Beau smirking at me. That alone would be enough to embarrass me but not mortify me. Unfortunately, Archer stands beside him.

And he looks fucking pissed.