Chapter One
It had been over a year since Rachel Greene had been attacked at Club de Fleurs. It had taken a lot of work for her to get over what had been done to her and be ready to play at the club again.
Rachel was thirty years old, old enough to know better, five feet six inches, and nicely rounded at one hundred and forty pounds. With her long, red hair, sky blue eyes, and ivory skin, she was very attractive. She had curves in all the right places.
Rachel’s life had been spiraling out of control. Her mother had been sick with dementia, and Rachel was working three jobs to pay for her care in a nursing center. When Rachel wasn’t working, she was at Club de Fleurs, playing hard. The club rule was only one drink, so Rachel had started drinking before she got to the club and was usually drunk by the time she got there.
She hadn’t been smart about who she played with, and one night she got into trouble because of it. A group of eight men came into the club looking for a good time, and three of them thought they found it with Rachel. The men had taken her into a private room. After they restrained her tightly, facing a St. Andrew’s Cross, they barricaded the door and proceeded to whip her with a single tail until her back, ass, and thighs were covered with welts. Some of the strikes were so bad that they had broken the skin and she had gashes. She had screamed her safe word until a dungeon monitor finally found her, but they couldn’t get in. Finally Kyle, one of the owners of the club, had broken the observation window and they rescued her. She had been living with Craig since that day and hadn’t played since.
Her physical wounds hadn’t been too bad, but the emotional and mental ones were harder to heal. Craig had been at the club the night Rachel was attacked and was the one of the people who had rescued her. Craig had rescued Rachel in a lot of ways.
After the attack, Craig moved Rachel into his home and took care of her. Once her physical wounds had healed, he helped her find a therapist who could help her with her other issues. The same therapist who had helped a friend of theirs, Sadie, deal with her PTSD. Craig took her life over. He made her quit all but one job and took over paying for her mother’s care.
Craig had made sure no one knew how messed up Rachel was and did his best to keep her life normal. If not for his control over her, things could have gone very bad.
That was over a year ago. Now Rachel was calm, confident, and in control. Her therapist, Tina Springs, was ready to release her. Their last session was planned, and Rachel was ready to take her life back.
Craig was happy for her, but also concerned that she would not be able to handle things on her own and even more concerned he would lose her.
He had fallen in love with Rachel the first time he saw her. She was bright, witty, and amazing in every way, but that was all before the incident.
After that night, Craig made Rachel quit drinking. Once she had started seeing Tina, he could see improvement week by week. She was almost back to her old self. You might even say she was better, because she wasn’t drinking anymore and had more confidence. Time to make his move.
Chapter Two
“I really should think about moving out and getting my own place again,” Rachel told Craig one morning at breakfast. It had been great living with him, but now she was ready to be independent, ready to take her life over again.
“Why, don’t you want to be here with me anymore?” He knew this day was coming, but he didn’t want to lose her.
“Craig, you’ve been wonderful, but I need to take care of myself now.” She smiled at him. He was so sexy. If she stayed here, she knew exactly what would happen, which wouldn’t be a bad thing, but he had done so much for her, she didn’t want him thinking she was staying out of gratitude.
“Why don’t you stay a while? I want more out of our relationship, how do you feel about that?”
Relationship. They didn’t have a relationship, did they? Craig had basically taken over her life, doing all the things she couldn’t cope with while she was healing. But if he wanted more, she was willing to explore the possibilities. He was sexy, funny, and great to be with, warm and loving. Everything she was looking for. What would it hurt to stay and see what happened? If things didn’t work out, she still had the option of moving.
“Yes, I like that idea. I think we could make that work.” She smiled at him. He was so sexy, tall, and husky with dark blond hair and twinkling hazel eyes.
“Rachel, I’ve waited a long time for you to be ready for this,” he said, taking her into his arms. Leaning down, he gently brushed her lips with his, running his tongue over and over her lips until she opened for him. He broke the kiss and turned her towards the bedroom. “You need to get ready for work, we’ll talk more about this tonight. Today’s your last session with Tina. I’ll pick you up after. When you’re ready, let me know, and I’ll take you to work.”
He’d been waiting for her to be ready for more. Before the incident, they had played a few times, and he had thought about making it more serious, but hadn’t done anything. He wasn’t going to lose this opportunity or her. This time he was going to make sure everything went right.
He took her to work, then came home and called Tina. He wanted to talk to Tina for a few minutes without Rachel present to make sure he wasn’t rushing things and see what she thought of his plan to bring Rachel back into the club. She was in the club every night, watching him at the bar, but she never played and he wanted to play. He hadn’t played since she was hurt, and he was ready.
Tina made time for him before Rachel’s session and agreed with his plan. Rachel was surprised to see he was there when she arrived and even more surprised when he joined them for the first part of her time.
After they discussed what he wanted to talk about, Craig left them and went to the waiting room to let Rachel have some private time with Tina.
As soon as the door shut behind him, Tina asked, “So what do you think about what Craig proposed?”
“I’m not sure. I think I’m ready, but I don’t know what will trigger me,” Rachel answered quietly.
“Unfortunately, I can’t answer that for you. Just remember to take it slow and try not to be afraid. Remember this is Craig and all he’s done for you and how he’s been there for you. If it becomes too much, stop, and if you need to, either one of you can call me, day or night. I’m always here for you, and you both have my cell number.” They talked for a while longer, then Tina walked Rachel to the door and hugged her good-bye, reminding her to call if she needed her.
Instead of taking them home, Craig took Rachel out for a nice dinner to celebrate and so they could talk. They enjoyed their dinner and were having dessert and coffee when Craig looked at Rachel and said, “I want you.”
Rachel had just put a forkful of cheesecake in her mouth and almost choked. Swallowing, she took a quick drink of coffee to stall for a second and looked into his eyes. She could see the lust and need there. “You do?” was all she could say.
“Yes, I do. I’ve wanted you since the first time I saw you, and I’ll do whatever you need to have you,” he answered back, his voice dripping with lust.
Taking another sip of coffee, she asked him. “You will?”
“Yes I will,” he smiled at her.
“Oh,” she responded, not sure why she was so nervous. This was Craig, the man who had taken care of her for the past year. He had made sure she got to work and taken care of her mother. He had been there for every nightmare and every meltdown she had. It was Craig that found Tina and made her go, taking her and picking her up from all but the last few appointments. Craig drove her and picked her up from work until a month ago. Craig was always there. But now he wanted to change his role. He wanted more.
Before everything that had happened, Rachel would have given anything to have attention from Craig. They had played a few times in the club, but nothing serious, and Rachel had thought it didn’t mean anything, but now she wondered. Could a man be as caring and as thoughtful towards someone he didn’t care about as Craig had been to her? Maybe she was more to him than she thought.
Reaching across the table, Craig took Rachel’s hand and said, “Let’s go home. I want to make love to you. Tonight I will do more than hold you.”
Ever since the incident, Craig and Rachel had slept in the same bed, but he never did more than hold her. They both slept in sweats, and nothing had ever happened. At first Rachel had tried sleeping alone, but she had terrible nightmares and the only way to stop them was for Craig to hold her. It was torture for him to lie with her every night and know that nothing else would happen, but that was what she had needed.
Now she was better, and he could be a little selfish and see to some of his needs. The months of cold showers and using his hand were over. He had talked to Tina and told her his plan. She agreed Rachel was ready for more and thought they could negotiate their relationship on their own without her input. With her validation, Craig decided to put his plan into effect. Rachel would be his.
They finished their dessert, and Craig paid the bill. Taking her hand, he pulled her from the table and led her out of the restaurant. Helping her into his truck, he drove them back to the club, where he had a suite that they had been living in.
They walked into the club, and Craig stopped to check on the bar. Alan Rainer was working tonight. He had been helping out since he started dating the receptionist, Theresa, and it had given Craig more time with Rachel. After assuring himself that everything was going smoothly with the club, he led Rachel to their suite. Since the owners of the club had gotten married and had all moved out of the club, Craig had taken on more responsibility in the running of the club. He was considering buying a part interest in the club, but now was not the time to think about that He had plans with Rachel and nothing was going to distract him.