“Nothing and no one will bring harm to you ever again, princess. Daddy’s here now. And in a million lifetimes I will never be able to apologize enough for the pain I caused you. I thought I was doing what was best. I thought by my leaving I was keeping myself from hurting you. I realize now that I was wrong.”
I squeeze the damp fabric between her legs, taking one more piece of what is mine before I settle her skirt back down and spin her around. My arms wind around, pulling her into my chest, and we stand like that for a lifetime, my inner beast battling his own pent up need. I struggle to put him away because now is not the time.
After another minute, her arms wrap around the back of my waist, tugging me farther into her and I melt. My princess. She has come back to me.
“Princess.” I bring my hands to brush the hair from her face. Tipping her head back so I can swim in the pools of her eyes. When she’s with me I continue. “I need to know you are giving yourself to me. Right now. Because I can never go back to a life without you. I haven’t really lived since that day I left. I need to know you are not going to take this back. That you won’t wake up tomorrow and decide it doesn’t mean to you what it does to me.” I brush my thumbs over her warm cheeks, feeling her grip tighten around my back. “Daddy loves you. Daddy will never let you go again.”
“I’m right here. I’ve always been right here.”
C H A P T E R S I X
WILLOW
Pike is silently ordering the staff around the small VIP room, not saying a word, yet they jump to his every whim. Every nod of his head. Or raise of his chin they interpret and do his bidding.
The space is lush and dark, lit from above and below with golden chandeliers and silver lamps that cast glimmering light on every dark surface. It’s filled with the smells of sauces, prime rib and grilled vegetables. The warm scent of vanilla from the candles caps off the overwhelming attack on my senses.
Whitney and Adam are drooling over the buffet. Pike insisted. Something that he wanted to do for us. Even as it’s being set out before us I’m still shaking, battling the conflicting feelings that race and stomp around inside of me.
Every few seconds Pike looks over at me, confirming us. He won’t look away until I meet his eyes. My panties are soaked, my body still on a hair trigger, ready for the slightest touch that I feel from Pike would set off another orgasm.
“Did you know this was his place? I mean I knew about Lord Tower, just from stories and things I heard. But I didn’t know who he was in real life. Did you?” Murphy crosses and uncrosses her legs. She’s sitting next to me on the onyx velvet of a sofa so soft it takes an assist to get your ass back up and out. “I mean, when you were growing up, did you know? Did you realize your stepfather was part of...” She swivels her head up and all around, then her eyes comes back to my face. “...this lifestyle?”
Since we walked in the club I have been wide eyed in disbelief at the things I’ve seen. I’m not totally naïve. I know about BDSM and there’s the movie and books that everyone but me seems to have read and seen. But here, in this place, it’s unlike anything I imagined. It’s elegant. There’s a glamour and restraint about the place and the people here. It’s not the sex fest I might have expected. It’s something else.
Sure, I’ve managed to catch a glimpse of a few scenes that would have most of the Daughters of the American Revolution clutching their pearls, but it’s not tawdry. None of it feels dirty or perverse. As a matter of fact, I feel safe and at ease here.
“No.” I shake my head. “Never. Not that I ever asked.”
Pike raises his chin toward me. When we finally came back downstairs, he told me he needed to take care of a few matters after he made sure the buffet was set up and that I ate something. He also made sure I drank a bottle of water and asked about ten times about my friends, what they were doing with their lives now, where they lived and how we’d arrived.
“Well, your stepfather was hot before—“
I cut her off. “He’s not my stepfather.” My voice sounds harder than is reasonable, and I soften it before adding, “Not anymore.”
She cocks one of her elegant arched eyebrows higher, a slight smirk playing on her lips. “Okay then. Your former stepfather was always hot. But, Jesus, Willow. Do you know who he is? Lord Tower is like a legend or something in this lifestyle. Whitney’s been trying to get into this club for a year. She’s been babbling on and on ad nauseam. But she didn’t know your...” She clears her throat. “...she didn’t know Pike was Lord Tower. The story goes that he is some kind of master, but that he hasn’t engaged with or touched a woman in years. Kind of ironic. Instead he just mentors, oversees and runs this place. Doesn’t play or get involved. Not anymore. Rumor is he had his heart broken. He had a one and only, and when she left he vowed he would never touch another woman again as long a he lived. I’m not sure if it’s true or not, but makes for a damn good story. Imagine, a man like that all alone...it’s a crime.”
She raises her voice on the last word and raises a hand, wiggling her fingers in Pike’s direction, but I immediately smack them back down.
“Stop it.” I’m not sure if I’m more irritated that she’s f
lirting with him or about the little back story she’s just shared. “Don’t embarrass me.” I add, trying for some cover in case she caught the intensifying green glow in my eyes.
“Whatever.” She rolls her eyes. “I saw him on CNBC a couple weeks ago. Richards’ Holdings is about to merge with some telecom something or other. Will make a billion dollars in share price in a day, or a gazillion, or some decadent, over the top number. He’s hot as fuck, the CEO of one of the most successful equities firms in the country and a Dom who I would let turn me ass up any day. And you used to call him Daddy.” She screws up her face and I give her a little kick.
“Stop it.”
“So what did you guys talk about, anyway? You were gone for over an hour.”
“Nothing.” My face turns hot. “Just catching up. Last time I saw him was hard. I think we both needed to...”
I let it go there, my voice falling silent as Pike steps into our circle. His hand rests on my shoulder as he nods at Whitney, who immediately uncrosses her Victoria Secret legs and opens her knees an inch. I roll my eyes and look down at my flat canvas shoes, wondering if my feet would ever tolerate the five inch heels that Whitney wears everywhere but to bed.
Actually, who knows, maybe she wears them there too.
I’m a little wistful, thinking of what just happened up in Pike’s office. The things we said to one another. In hindsight it almost makes me cringe. But in the moment, it felt so right. So perfect. Like a gift you’ve waited to open for years. There was no shame, just this strange sense of belonging and peace.
And lust.