“I knew that safety clause was going to bite me in the butt.”
“Oh, honey, I wouldn’t worry about your butt being bitten. Paddled, yes.”
> “So you weren’t giving me the silent treatment before as punishment because I did something you didn’t like?”
“I will never give you the silent treatment. Doms are all about communication. No doubt you’ll get sick of the sound of my voice.”
“I’m used to listening to people.” She gave him a small smile, and that tight knot in his stomach eased.
“We need to get you home and get some ice on that ankle.”
She bit her lip, looking like she wanted to protest but then she nodded. “All right.”
He helped her settle in and then buckled her seat belt, deliberately brushing his arm across her breasts. She shivered. He turned her face to his and laid a soft kiss on her lips. “When we get home you’re going to tell me who in your life gave you the silent treatment.”
She wrinkled her nose. “Don’t you think life’s too short to bring up the past?”
“No, not when it affects your actions now.” He raised one eyebrow sternly. “I can’t have you storming off like that every time we have a small disagreement. It’s not healthy or safe. So when we get home we’re going to talk. Both of us. We need to get clear about a few things.”
Molly turned to Jake as he pulled up outside a white, clapboard house with a wrap-around porch and dark gray trim. Cheerful yellow and white flowers were planted in beds along the front of the house. “Is this your place?”
She’d thought they were going back to her apartment.
“Yep,” he replied.
They hadn’t done much talking on the drive back, but it hadn’t been an awkward silence. She’d taken the time to do some thinking and she’d realized he was right. She hadn’t acted very rationally to what she’d perceived as an action on his part. And she was generally a very rational person. But her emotions had been in overdrive. Which probably meant she needed to explain about Richard, much as she hated the thought of giving him anymore of her time. But she might not have worked through all of her issues surrounding that relationship.
“It’s gorgeous. Nice flowers.”
He looked up at the house for a moment. “It’s a house. And one of my neighbors takes care of the garden.”
She studied him for a moment. He didn’t consider it his home? In fact, he didn’t seem to have much of an attachment at all. Which was fine, she’d had no attachment to her apartment in New York, either. But she’d still called it home. It had felt like a sanctuary after getting out of that relationship.
“Stay there, I’ll come around and get you,” he told her.
She undid her seatbelt and waited for him to open the passenger door. He scooped her up into his arms again. This time she didn’t even protest. He set her down on the porch so he could unlock the front door, and she glanced over at the porch swing with longing. The house looked out onto a quiet cul-de-sac. The houses were set on large lots, so his neighbors weren’t close by, but, still, she could imagine sitting out here in the evening and waving to people as they walked past.
“Mind if I test out your porch swing?”
He glanced over at the swing as though stunned to see it there. He shrugged. “Sure. I don’t really use it. Came with the house.”
From what she’d gathered Jake did very little but work, so it shouldn’t come as a surprise to her that he didn’t sit out here and just be. She limped over and sat.
“I’ll get an ice pack and be right back,” he told her. He hesitated for a moment. “Stay there.”
She saluted him.
He gave her a stern look in reply, so she waited until he was inside to grin. Then she turned to look out, watching as a couple of kids sped past on their bikes. A sense of longing filled her. She loved kids. But even if she’d had the opportunity to have one, she knew she couldn’t risk leaving them. She knew what it was like to lose a parent. She wouldn’t do that to her own child.
She glanced up as Jake stepped onto the porch. He carried two glasses of iced tea, and an ice pack was shoved down the front of his pants. She glanced down with an arched brow. “Needed to cool yourself down?”
He grinned. “Something like that.”
She loved that she could make him smile. He didn’t do it enough and when he did . . . whew, he went from gorgeous to fucking hot.
He handed her a glass of iced tea. “Drink.” She gulped some down. She hadn’t realized how thirsty she was. He sat next to her on the swing and patted his lap. “Feet up here.”
She wrinkled her nose. “You sure? It’s been kind of hot today, and after that walk they’re probably not smelling the best.”