Chapter 26
CHAPTER 26
RUBY
S he was fairly certain the only reason he’d picked the restaurant he had was to give him more time to torture her. There were plenty of great burger places much closer to her apartment, and even a few out where he lived.
But no. Here there were, half an hour from town on some deserted back road headed to a town she’d only ever heard of in passing and sure as hell had never actually been to.
“You’re sulking.”
It wasn’t delivered as a rebuke, but she sat up straighter anyway, deliberately smoothing out her expression. “I am not.”
“You are, and it’s adorable.” Glancing over, he flashed that devastatingly charming smile at her again, the one that had gotten her hooked on him in the first place when they’d just been two people flirting across her bar. “I suppose you’re entitled to a bit of a sulk, all things considered.”
“I am not sulking. I’m just… tired.”
Whoops. Wrong thing to say. She saw the moment his Daddy radar went off as they pulled into the parking lot of the most honky honky-tonk she’d ever seen. “Did you not get enough sleep?”
“I’m fine, really. Can we talk about this inside? I’m starving.”
He hesitated, and for a moment she was certain he was about to tell her they were turning around so he could take her home and put her to bed. But then he nodded, and killed the engine. “Sure. Wait there.”
Ever the gentleman, he climbed out of the driver’s seat and made his way around the car to help her out. She deliberately ignored the butterflies fluttering in her tummy at the gesture.
After all, opening her door might have been romantic, but the location for their ‘date’ was anything but.
Because it’s not a date. It’s just two kinky friends enjoying a meal together. Nothing more.
Right, because friends often shoved a plug up one another’s asses before going out to dinner.
The situation was further confused in her mind when he took her hand lightly in his, giving it a little swing between them as they made their way to the front door of The Honk.
“Is it actually called ‘The Honk’, or is part of their sign just missing?”
Beckett laughed. “Local lore says it used to be called ‘The HonkyTonk Bar and Grille’ but a hurricane knocked out part of the sign and… well. You’ll see when we get inside.”
She only had a moment to be confused before they stepped through the front door—and she stopped dead in her tracks, her brain refusing for a moment to recognize what she was seeing.
Geese. Everywhere. From paintings on the walls, to little knickknacks on nearly every surface, to giant ‘porch geese’ dressed in varying outfits, there were so many geese she couldn’t even take them all in.
“Oh. My. God. This place is amazing .”
“Thanks!” A perky redhead bounced up to them, a wide grin stretched across her face. “We’ve put a lot of work into tormenting Shane, and it’s nice to be appreciated.”
“Who’s Shane?” Ruby asked, her delight with the strange place growing by the second.
Mischief danced in the other woman’s eyes as she grabbed two menus and silverware for them. “Our owner. Is it just two tonight?”
“Yes, ma’am.” Beckett’s tone was filled with amusement, and to Ruby’s fascination, his southern drawl had grown noticeably thicker. He always had a hint of southern gentleman in his voice, but now he sounded like he could be from this small town just as easily as the woman leading them to their table.
“Perfect. So, Shane, the owner of this fine establishment, has tried to fix the sign outside twice now. It used to say The HonkyTonk Bar and Grille, but a hurricane knocked out the second half of the name. Well, the first time anyway.”
“First time?” Sliding into the booth the hostess led them to, Ruby found herself completely absorbed in the story.
“Yes. So when that happened, people started bringing in the geese.” Glancing around, she lowered her voice and leaned in. “And by people, I mean me. Wasn’t long before the rest of the town caught on, though. Shane fixed the sign, and for a couple of days all was right with the world again, as far as he was concerned. But then some enterprising person went and fixed it again. Back to just ‘The Honk’. Shane tried once more after that to fix the sign, but after that he just gave up and accepted his fate.”
Something about the way she told the story made Ruby think she was the one behind the ‘fixing’ of the sign, and she thought she might actually be falling a little bit in love with the perky redhead. “That’s… amazing. I think I might be a little obsessed with this place.”
“Oh if you think our lore is good, just wait until you try our food. I highly recommend the sassburger.” Reaching into her apron, she pulled out a pad of paper and a pen. “I’m Kessily, by the way, and I’ll be your server tonight. Can I get y’all started with some drinks?”
“Coke, please.”
“Same.” Beckett sent Kessily one of those dazzling smiles of his. “And water for both of us.”
“You got it. Be right back with those drinks, and you folks take all the time you need to look over the menu.”
“What if I don’t want water?” Ruby asked when Kessily had sauntered away.
From across the table, Beckett pinned her with a look that was so Daddy it made her insides clench. “You’ll drink it anyway. Because you’re a good girl, aren’t you, Ruby?”
That submissive side of her, the side he tapped into so easily, wanted to give in. Especially when she shifted on the bench seat, and despite the comfortable cushion beneath her, she was reminded of the heavy plug nestled firmly inside her ass.
But there was another side of her. The side that needed to poke, and prod. The side that needed to know where the lines were, and what happened when she crossed them. This was new territory for them, which meant new boundaries to be discovered. “But what if I don’t want to?”
Glancing up from his menu, Beckett raised an eyebrow, slowly leaning in. And when he spoke, his voice was low but firm. “You will drink your water, Ruby. And you will not order anything else to drink until that first glass has been finished. If you disobey, you will not be allowed to come when Daddy fucks that tight little asshole of yours tonight. Am I understood, little girl?”
Heat flooded her cheeks, not just at the deliciously sexy threat, but at the shame of having been put so thoroughly in her place right out in the open. Not that anyone could hear him, but still. She knew she’d just been called out for her behavior in public, and the embarrassment of it threatened to swallow her whole. “Yes, Sir. I understand.”
“Good girl.” Reaching across the table, he thread his fingers through hers, the gesture grounding her and easing some of her humiliation. “I don’t want to punish you tonight, Ruby. But you agreed to submit, and if you’re going to test me, I will push back even harder. Got it?”
“Yes, Sir.”
“That’s my girl.”
Beckett
Ruby was a delightful study in contradictions. She wanted to be a brat, to push the envelope and test boundaries, but the way she blushed so prettily when he put his foot down was such a lovely contradiction to her usual bold, bratty persona.
It reminded him of how she’d been when he’d put her on restriction at the club, and he wondered how many more ways he could find to tap into that sweet, submissive side of her.
His mind went to work on the problem while they selected their meals and placed their orders. With the distraction of the menus gone, he folded his hands on the table and turned all of his attention to the woman across from him.
“Do you have your phone with you?”
Ruby blinked, her confusion clear on her face. “Um, yes. Why?”
“Because you’re going to need it. But before I tell you why you’re going to need it, I want to be very clear that you can safeword out of the order I’m about to give you if it’s outside your limits. Are we clear, Ruby?”
“Yes, Sir.”
“All right.” He’d already scanned the restaurant, noting that it was relatively empty and there was nobody seated at the tables closest to them, so he felt comfortable he wouldn’t be overheard especially if he kept his voice low. “Here’s what I want from you, Ruby Red. Go into the bathroom, lock yourself in a stall, and pull your jeans and panties down. Then I want you to touch yourself. I want you to stroke that pretty little pussy, until you’re ready to come. And then I want you to stop. You are to take yourself to the edge five times, but you are not allowed to come.”
As he’d been giving her his instructions, her eyes had slowly grown wider and wider, the pupils blowing out with a mixture of fear and desire he found more intoxicating than the finest wine. “What if someone hears me?”
“It’s your responsibility to make sure you aren’t discovered.”
The blush he was coming to crave like a drug crept into her cheeks as she shifted on her seat. “Why do I need my phone?”
“I’m glad you asked.” Leaning in, he let a smile curve his lips. “You’re going to record yourself doing this. Each time you get to the edge and pull yourself back, you will count for me. ‘One, Sir. Two, Sir.’ So on and so forth. Once you’ve reached five, you may get dressed and send me the video.”
“You’re not going to watch it here, right? And you won’t share it with anyone?”
“No, baby. This is all for your Daddy’s pleasure. Nobody else’s.”
“Okay.” Nibbling on her bottom lip, she seemed to get lost in thought. “What if I refuse?”
“That depends. If you refuse because what I’ve asked you is well outside your limits and you need to safeword, we’ll table the idea and enjoy a nice meal together, as planned.”
“And if I refuse because I’m a brat and I like to see that muscle in your jaw jump when I tell you ‘No’?”
Ah, so he had a tell of his own. Good to know. “Then when we get home, I will tie you to my bed, and I will be the one to take you right to the edge without letting you come. And I promise you, I won’t stop at five.”
“Oh.”
He waited, one heartbeat, then two, watching her struggle with whether to obey. “So what’s it going to be, Ruby Red? Are you going to be a good girl and send Daddy that video? Or will I have to get mean?”
Another long silence stretched between them before she nodded. “I’ll do it.”
“Good girl. Go now. And don’t forget your phone.”