Chapter Twenty #2
“No,” he shook his head firmly, “Because I don’t need to after we’re married.”
She pulled further away from his grasp, and he let her go. “Oh, yeah, I’ll be there to fulfill your needs after we say our vows.”
“What are you talking about and how did you find out?”
Cheyenne stood up. “You mean about your little trysts? Maggie kindly filled me in, in front of your whole family.” Now she walked away from him, her hurt and anger returning, her vulnerability being shielded with pride. “If she is what you wanted, why didn’t you say so?”
“Again, I ask what are you talking about? If she told you about our meetings you know it was for you.”
She huffed in derision. “Right, fulfilling your needs with another woman is always in your fiancée’s best interest. The fiancée who you refused to consummate a full physical relationship with and now I can see why. You already had those needs well handled.”
Quinn stood up. “I don’t think you know all you think you do. Tell me what you think you know.”
She pulled out her cell phone and began to dial.
“What I know, Quinlan O’Connor, is that I don’t need to be treated as second fiddle.
You can have Maggie if you like or you can make this right for me, but you can’t have us both.
You figure it out and call me. Don’t take too long.
” Her heart breaking but not acknowledging it because she needed to make him sweat, she put the phone to her ear to speak to Susan who didn’t live far from the club when Quinn growled and took the phone out of her hand, turning it off.
“What the hell are you doing? I have tried to give you options, I have tried to see things your way, but by all that is holy, I am my own woman. Not someone you can treat badly, use and then toss away. I will not now nor will I ever just sit and wait for you to find time for me or allow anyone else to share the top spot. And if you are with me, I’m the only one you are with. ”
Quinn’s eyes darkened as he pocketed her phone. “You’re very sure you want to go down this road?”
“Oh, yeah, I want to go there.” Cheyenne nodded her head vigorously, her tone full of derision.
He nodded. “Fine. Sit.”
“I’m not a dog,” she said, her contempt dripping from her lips.
“Cheyenne.”
One word, spoken hard and commanding to match his demeanor, got her attention.
She knew that tone, that look, and God help her, she was going to follow his directions.
But not to his specifications. She flung her body onto the sofa and pulled her feet under her roughly.
Quinlan stared at her militant face, her stiffly sitting body and crossed arms. Cheyenne knew she looked like she was ready to do battle and closed off to whatever he had to say.
She did not want to look vulnerable, but she worried about the outcome.
“Maggie has been meeting me here, every Thursday afternoon for the last two months. She has been my practice submissive. More like a practice dummy, if you will. I would meet her at about this time for a couple of hours so that she could be my substitute sub while I practiced more edgy play. She was into it and I needed the practice. I wanted to surprise you with it as a gift.”
Cheyenne looked past him at the strangled sound she heard and saw Maggie, hand held to her throat, in the doorway of the well-appointed locker room. Neither woman said anything to alert Quinn as he continued to speak. Cheyenne couldn’t tell if he was ignoring the sound or had not heard it.
“Maggie allowed me to play with fire and candle wax, and some new flogging techniques. She is into pain so any mistakes she was actually happy for, and she had a dom meet her here after most of our sessions to play it out with her. I did not, have not, nor would I ever have anything to do with another woman except you. I haven’t even looked at another woman for over two years. It’s you and only you.”
Cheyenne watched Maggie in the doorway take a step back before Quinn noticed or acknowledged the other person in the building. Turning around, he stared at the woman they had been discussing.
“I should have known it wasn’t a game you were playing with me. You really were doing it for her, not as a ploy to get to play with me. I should have known.”
A tortured screeching sound emitted from Maggie’s throat, and then she was gone, the door slamming behind her.
She left a hollow silence in her wake that Cheyenne was unsure what to do with.
Maggie had implied that what was going on was much more than it was, but it appeared that the woman herself thought it was more.
For a moment, she thought she should go to check on her, but heard someone gun it out of the parking lot and knew she was gone. Turning to Quinn, she simply stared.
He pulled out his phone and dialed. “Lars, this is Quinn. We have a situation here.” After giving the details to Master Lars Singstad, he hung up.
“Lars will handle it. He has been trying to work on Maggie, but she has been slippery, refusing more than one session most times. He knows her better than most.”
Cheyenne sat back down, having stood up when Maggie spoke. She shook her head and chastised him. “You should have known better, Quinn.”
He walked over to her and sat in the spot she had made for him on the sofa.
“I know. I was clear why I was asking her for assistance and Ace recommended her, so he had no idea either. Then she often had someone here to finish up with her. I thought she understood. I messed up. I’m sorry. God, Cheyenne, I am so damn sorry.”
“You’re right, you really messed up. You should have said something when she tried to make it sound like you were choosing to call her over me when you were gone a little while ago. Remember?”
“I remember and I thought you were misreading things. I wanted to present you with scenes you would love. Give you play you were interested in because I can’t share you, even for a little fun.
So, I took some specialized classes while working with the forest service and then worked with Maggie to perfect my technique.
You’ll love it, I promise. That is, if you’ll still have me.
” He gave her a tentative smile and reached for her hand. She allowed it.
“Quinn, we can’t do this again. Keep secrets this big. It’s too much.”
“You’re right. My only defense is that I only see you. I figured I was clear enough for there not to be a misunderstanding. I won’t repeat my mistake. I can’t afford to risk us.”
“No, it’s not worth it.” Cheyenne sighed before leaning on his shoulder.
“I do get to keep the honeymoon a secret though and holiday presents.” He looked over at Cheyenne expectantly and then asked, “Any secrets you need to divulge?”
“Nope.”
She did not intend to tell him about the rental house. She considered it equal to the honeymoon secret or holiday secrets. A little twinge hoped he would agree, but she didn’t care; it was her one and only secret.
He nodded. “Good. Now about the way you approached this little issue—”
“—is the best you are going to get. I was humiliated because of your lapse in judgment.” “You’re right.”
“I am? Good, now, do I get to plug you or find a tawse?” She asked with enthusiasm.
“Yeah, that is not going to happen, ever, piscín, but I don’t mind taking you to dinner after we use some of the equipment to make you feel better. Are you game?”
“Mmm, that sounds wonderful, but I have so much to do.”
“Yeah, me too but we can do a little slap and tickle before we go to dinner.” Quinn’s face was hopeful, like a little boy asking for a treat.
“I could go for that but it better be good otherwise I get to Top,” warned Cheyenne, knowing neither would enjoy that scenario.
“Yeah, like that’s ever going to happen,” he replied as he stood and put out his hand for her acceptance. As she placed her hand in his in acceptance of the play, he said gently, “I love you, Cheyenne. I am so very sorry.”
“I know. I love you too, and if you pleasure me well, all will be forgiven.” Her playful smile told him he was already forgiven.
ALEIGHA MEGAN, SEAN and Siobhan’s third granddaughter, arrived a few hours later.
Caoimhe begged her doctor to let her out before the wedding because she needed to oversee her part of the setup.
With some convincing from Andrew that his wife would be the perfect angel and not overdo it, the doctor relented.
It wasn’t her first child, and she had been in hospital for over twenty-four hours after delivery.
Before Andrew left to pick up his wife, he charged every other member of the family as care monitors.
It was to make sure Caoimhe did nothing that would overtire her.
When she started to climb a chair to adjust the wedding decoration while Cheyenne’s back was turned, Liam, who had just entered the room, did his brotherly duty.
Seeing his sister, he calmly lifted her out of the way, kissing her cheek before removing the chair as well.
“You are asking for a red backside, Caoimhe.”
His sister laughed. “You and what army?”
“Not me,” he said as he pointed toward the doorway, “him.”
Andrew gave her his best don’t you dare husbandly stare.
Cheyenne rested her hands on her hips in chastisement. “Girl, you said tweak, not climb up and reorganize.”
She sighed. “Fine.”
Several more spoiled attempts later, Caoimhe relented and directed from the easy chair with little Aleigha snuggled in her arms.