He pulled back and gave me a last quick kiss on the lips. “Better stop for a while. I’m not as young as I used to be.”
“You couldn’t be in better shape, Master.” He certainly had the stamina of a teenager.
His forehead crinkled a bit as he smiled. “Thank you, my lovely.”
I ran a hand down his chest, frowning slightly when I realized he still had his shirt on. “Of course, I could get a much better look and make a more accurate observation if you’d take your shirt off.”
“You do it.”
I looked around for a clock. “How long do we have the room, Master?”
“For as long as we want.”
“Good.” I kissed his neck. “Then I can take my time.”
He let my hands wander down his chest and I caressed him through the material. Teasing him. It wasn’t often when I wore his collar that I had free rein to touch him any way I wanted. The shirt he had on was a light blue dress one. I started at the top and unbuttoned the first button, leaning in to lick the skin it exposed.
“You taste good, Master.”
“Probably taste like salt.”
“Whatever it is, I could taste it every day and not grow tired of it.”
He chuckled lightly, but sucked in a breath when I undid the second button and nipped the skin. “Fuck, Abigail.”
“We did that already, Master.”
“Keep that up and we’ll be doing it again. Sooner rather than later.”
I kept my mouth to myself while I undid the rest of his buttons. I found, however, that once he was all unbuttoned, I couldn’t stop myself. I dropped my head and inhaled the scent of him, reminding me of oak and cedar.
He let out his breath in a low hiss. “Your breath is so warm.”
“Are you cold, Master?”
“Not with you in my lap. It’s only when you take a deep breath like that, it’s all hot and I imagine it lower.”
“I can go lower.”
He cocked an eyebrow. “I know you can.”
And since I had his collar on, if he wanted me to, he’d tell me. But for whatever reason, he seemed content with the way things were, so I stayed in his lap. With one fingertip, I traced one of his nipples, watching as gooseflesh pebbled his skin. He still didn’t tell me to stop, so I lowered my head and licked along the path my finger had taken. Then I sucked as much as I could into my mouth and bit him lightly.
He shifted in his seat but didn’t move.
“What are you thinking, Master?” It was a question he asked me often in the middle of a scene.
“Thinking about how much longer I’m going to sit here and let you play with me.”
“What have you decided?” I asked, nibbling along his neck once more.
“I’m not sure. I’m certainly enjoying your hands on me at the moment.”
And for the rest of our time in the private room, we stayed like that. Me in his lap, simply enjoying being close to each other and letting our fingers tease and touch. A simple way to pass the time and yet one we didn’t take advantage of often enough.
I wasn’t sure how long we stayed on the balcony, but by the time we left, the night had grown darker and most of the partygoers below had left. And though we hadn’t done anything public, I felt satisfied and blissful.
Chapter Eight
ABBY
A few days after the tri-state meeting, I’d just sat down at my laptop to do research on an upcoming blog post when my phone rang. It was a New York number I didn’t recognize. I glanced at the clock—just after two. Both kids would probably sleep for at least another thirty minutes.
“Hello,” I said.
“Abby?” The voice was friendly, but I didn’t recognize it any more than I did the phone number.
“Yes.”
“This is Lynne. How are you doing?”
“Oh, Lynne, hey. I didn’t recognize your voice. How are you?” Lynne belonged to our New York BDSM group. We weren’t what I would call close friends, but we were more than passing acquaintances. Before the move, some months ago, her Dom, Simon, had participated in a scene Nathaniel set up in Wilmington.
“To tell you the truth, I’ve been better,” she said with a sigh. “That’s why I’m calling.”
Her reply made me curious about why she called. “What can I do to help?”
“You remember I worked as an admin for a legal firm, right?” she asked.
“Yes, sure,” I said. The firm wasn’t one of the largest in the city, but it was well known and had an impressive staff.
“They’ve had a rough few months and have decided to cut jobs. I’ve been let go as of last Friday.”
“Oh, Lynne, I’m so sorry to hear that.” Already my mind was spinning with how I’d be able to help. Nathaniel was my first thought. Surely with a corporation as large as his, he’d be able to find something for her to do.
“I’ve actually decided it’s the kick in the pants I needed to push me to do what I’ve been wanting to do.”
“Oh? What’s that?”
“I’ve always dreamed of being a teacher, but I never did anything about it. Now I’m thinking that maybe I should. I can’t right now, obviously. I mean, I don’t even have a job and I don’t have the money saved for school. But I heard you were looking for a nanny.”
It took my brain a few seconds to catch up with her words. “Yes,” I finally said. “Yes, we are.”
“If you haven’t found anyone, I’d appreciate the opportunity to interview for the position.”
“The position is still available.” We had yet to find someone we connected with who also connected with Elizabeth and Henry. “You know we’re living part-time in Wilmington, Delaware, now?”
“Yes, I have family about twenty miles from there. So I’m familiar with the area.”
The more I thought about it, the more and more I liked the idea of Lynne working for us as a nanny. I’d always liked her, and having someone in the lifestyle would make many things easier for us. “Are you free this weekend?” I asked. “Would you be willing to come to Delaware to meet with me and Nathaniel and be introduced to Elizabeth and Henry?”
“This weekend would be perfect!” Her voice nearly hummed with relief.
“Great! Let me confirm a time with Nathaniel and I’ll e-mail you details.” No sooner had I spoken the words than a thought hit me. “What will Simon think about you being in Wilmington?”
She didn’t answer and the silence was so absolute I looked at the phone to make sure she hadn’t hung up.
“Simon broke up with me,” she finally said.
“Oh, Lynne, I’m so sorry to hear that.”
“I know we were only together for a little while, but I really liked him. We tried playing a bit, but he said I wasn’t ready. He thought I wasn’t really a submissive.”
I didn’t know Simon very well, but it didn’t sound like him to break up with her so suddenly. Something else must’ve been going on with them—or at least with him.
She sighed. “I don’t know what I did wrong. And then when I asked him about it, he wouldn’t talk.”
“That really doesn’t sound like Simon. Something’s going on. I’ll have to talk with Nathaniel.” Nathaniel knew him better than I did, so I hoped he might be able to find out what was going on.
“Oh no, don’t do that. I don’t want Simon to know I was talking about him.”
“He won’t know. I’ll just ask Nathaniel if he knows what’s going on.” She didn’t say anything, so I continued, “I promise Simon won’t know you were talking about him.”
“Thank you.”
“No problem.” The monitor at my desk crackled with Henry’s babbles. “I have to go, kids are up. I’ll be in touch.”
I jogged up the stairs, elated because I was willing to bet I’d just found our nanny.