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“You're a good boy, Thane,” she muttered, still puzzling over the cuffs around her wrists. When did they get there? Her head did indeed rest against the covers as though obeying his gentle order, but she didn't nap. Her eyes watched him move around the bed with quiet competence, removing straps and cuffs, then popped wide when she noticed the surprise he'd been hiding in his pants. “Well, well. Someone brought me a lollipop,” she exclaimed in delight.
He blushed faintly, hastily tucking his cock back into his pants and fastening them. “No candy for you tonight, sugar.” His hand cupped the side of her face. “Eyes are starting to clear, that's good. Let me get you a bottle of water, then you can take a few minutes to regain your senses before we go back out there.”
Ugh, she didn't want to go back out into that insanity. Connie curled her lip at him, then tucked herself into a ball and rubbed her face into the covers. She listened to him moving around, following his uneven stride around the room. Should she ask about that, about the limp? Maybe that would be rude. She didn't like being rude.
“Here, Con. Need you to sit up and drink this for me.”
Until the water touched her lips, she didn't think she was thirsty. One mouthful proved her wrong, and she clutched the bottle as she drank greedily. The cold liquid shocked her out of her orgasmic high, much to her disappointment. There was a certain…freedom in not being quite herself. With a sigh, she took stock of herself as Thane left her to drink, setting the room to rights as best he could. “You don't have to do that, Thane. Someone will be in here two minutes after we leave, to change the bed and sanitize.”
“Decided to join the adults again?” he asked, tossing a smirk over his shoulder as he folded the straps over their hook in the cupboard. “I'm just making it a little easier for whoever comes in to do their job. I'm not finished with you yet.”
Oh, she was pleased to hear it. She ran her tongue around her teeth as she stared pointedly at his crotch when he turned to watch her. Slowly, she drained the water and capped the bottle, tossing it aside. “I suppose I can be persuaded to give you permission for a second round. That's some weight you're carrying around there, Thane.”
Amber eyes darkened as he shook his head slowly. “Don't need your permission, sugar. We're still in a private space, and I'm still Master Thane here.” He crossed his arms over his chest and glowered at her. “Get under the covers and put that pretty head down on a pillow, Connie.”
Cocking said head, she traced a droplet of water down her chest, over the curve of her breast. She fluttered her lashes at Thane, enjoying how he visibly fought not to grab her. “Have you considered I might not be tired anymore…Sir?”
The chains around his beast rattled. His chest expanded on a deep breath, then he gave her a worrying grin and stripped off his shirt. He ran his hand down over his stomach and the delicious outline of his abs. Lightly tanned skin, she noticed, covering those thick shoulders, biceps, and forearms. Not much hair, but the scattering he did have was dark enough to pop against his skin. However, it was the scar above his left pectoral muscle that caught her attention.
She sat upright, sure she was imagining things. “Is that a fucking bullet wound?”
“Front view's tidier than the rear,” he told her, apparently oblivious to her distress. He just rolled his shoulders, then stripped off his pants. Rather than admiring his cock, her gaze was drawn to a second, more vicious scar decimating his left thigh. “I gave you an order, Constance. I expect you to do as you're told, regardless of whether you've already had an orgasm or not. I won't repeat myself.”
“But—” Goddamn it, he couldn't just spring that on her like this. Needing to know when, why, how, she slipped off the bed, all thoughts of sass and coyness gone. A gunshot wound was serious…fuck, had someone tried to kill him? How much pain had he been in? Had he suffered alone through the experience, the rehab, or had he had someone by his side to help him survive it? “My God, Thane, how—”
He stepped forward, meeting her mid-stride. But he didn't stop, he just bent and tucked his shoulder into her stomach, and folded her in half. When she flailed, he brought his palm down on her ass sharply. “I told you I wouldn't repeat myself, Connie.” Another half-dozen swats peppered her tender cheeks, stealing what was left of her breath. “That's for using coarse language in front of your Dom.”
“Ow, goddamn it!” Connie was tempted to use hisass as an anchor as he carried her around the bed, but thought better of it when his fingers teased her crack. Instead, she trusted him to keep her safe with just an arm wrapped around her legs. He moved suddenly, making her squeak, then she was flipped backwards and falling.
Her heart plummeted.
She bounced on the mattress after what turned out to be a rather short descent. Staring up at Thane, she set aside her annoyance and went after what she believed was far more important. Hand on his wrist, she gave him a beseeching look. “I need answers, Thane. What happened to you?”
He was quiet as he settled her into bed. Once the covers were secured around her, he tapped a finger on her nose. “Yes, I got shot. A long time ago, in the line of duty, but it was just a flesh wound.” He ran his hand over the thick scarring on his leg. “My thigh took the brunt of a car accident. It hurt, it still gives me shit, but I cope. I’m fine, sugar.”
“You cope? That's it?” Perplexed, she rolled her eyes at the ceiling.
“I had surgery, then went through months of physical therapy. By myself, because that’s how we’re trained to deal with shit. We rely on our team or ourselves, and once I left the military, I headed out on my own,” he explained as he limped around the bed and climbed in next to her. “Luckily, I didn’t lose the leg, or my life, as other people who were involved in the accident did. I won’t complain for that reason alone.”
Connie slid closer to him. “What about your family?”
“My father was career military. He took enemy fire and died in the line of duty, saving three of his unit. One of the saddest days in our family history, yet one of the proudest.” His arm curled over her waist, pulling her in close. He gave a contented hum as her ass pressed against his cock, her back to his chest. “My mom remarried after about ten years. Moved to Maine with her new husband, to be close to his family. Second marriage for them both, and he had kids younger than me he needed to be involved with. It was a good choice for them.”
“Thane, I'm so—”
“Don't say you're sorry. I'm not. We stay in touch, and they visit every now and then. Mom hated Chicago, so it wasn’t often. Maybe now, she’ll feel safer when she comes to see me. The choices I made after they left for Maine led me to new places, new people. I wouldn't be here with you if she hadn't set the wheels in motion, and as much as I love my mom, I’d rather have you in my arms.” His lips pressed to her hair. “Now, shut up and take a catnap. I pushed you hard tonight and aftercare hasn't gone precisely as I imagined. We'll take thirty minutes to recharge.”
Carefully, the psychologist in her packed all the information he'd given her into a padded box and filed it away to go over at a later date. He joined the ranks of Alicia, Bodie, and Anarchy on her list of people to help. And yet, she didn't need to. He had his life organized. He was comfortable with who he was and the path he'd taken to get there.
Unlike her.
Connie frowned and held on to his arm. He was relaxed, content, and she heard his breathing transition into a slow rhythm. If he wasn't asleep, he'd certainly managed to switch his brain off for the allocated thirty minutes. She didn't possess that particular skill. Her brain was circling, dredging up flashes of memory from tonight, opening up her internal vault to study and assess her feelings.
She had submitted to him. Not just the odd bits and pieces she thought he required, but all of her. Her fingers kneaded his forearm absently, remembering the terror strangling her when he laid the blindfold over her eyes the first time. How euphoric the disbelief and relief had been as they pulsed through her veins, unleashed by his immediate reaction when she'd begged him to remove it.
She'd begged, and he'd given her a reprieve.
Evan never had, no matter how much she begged or pleaded.
