Chapter 21
Chapter twenty-one
Daniel
After the first night I picked Danny up from Cara’s apartment, I drove back there and asked Cara for her phone number.
Maybe that was crossing a boundary, but I wanted another way to get in touch with Nell if she never texted me.
When I excused myself to use the restroom during Family Dinner, I’d texted Cara asking if she wanted a sleepover with Danny.
Of course, she had. I’d picked up on how softly Cara had watched Danny when we were there, and if Nell trusted her with our daughter, then so did I.
Getting Nell off in the carriage wasn’t enough. I needed to remind her how good we were together; how good we could be together.
Danny and Cara squeal and hug each other when the door opens.
They interact more like sisters than friends, sharing a special handshake and talking about what movies they want to watch first. It warms my heart to see their bond.
It rubbed me the wrong way when Danny’s own aunts completely ignored her during dinner, but the way my girls talked amongst each other and smiled made me think it wasn’t the first time.
That earlier tonight was the norm for their relationship.
It didn’t sit right with me.
As we walk the two blocks to The Club, I slide my hand into Nell’s.
She squeezes it and rests her head against my shoulder.
It had pained me earlier watching her sisters flirt shamelessly with me and watching Nell get increasingly irritated, but polite society and my upbringing meant I couldn’t call them out completely.
And I know Nell values her sisters and keeping the peace more than anything, so I bit my tongue, even when everything in me wanted to shout at them.
“So, I know you’ve been to the club, but that’s after hours.
I only want to go where you’re comfortable, okay?
The green room is where everyone mingles, and clothes mostly stay on.
The red room is usually a free for all. And then we have different themed rooms..
.” I trail off, because of course she knows that.
“And this is my payment for an awkward family dinner?” she asks, and the tease in her voice means that we’re going to be okay.
“Payment? Reward? Po-tay-to, po-tah-to?”
She gives me a small chuckle, and I squeeze her hand again.
Really, I wanted more time with her tonight.
I want to introduce her to my friends so she can see herself as a part of my world.
And I want to make her so delirious with pleasure she agrees to anything I ask.
Because I have a big question, I’m going to ask her tonight.
As we reach the doors, I hold one open for her and usher her into the foyer. I check out coats and hold the curtain open for her to enter the green room.
She stiffens, looking out at the crowd.
“What’s wrong?”
She tugs at the hem of her sweatshirt. “I think I’m underdressed,” she whispers, a pink creeping up her neck.
Oh. I’m a dick. I didn’t even let her change. I wasn’t thinking about what people normally wear to The Club.
“The most beautiful woman here, no matter what you’re wearing,” I say, tugging her to me and pressing my lips to hers. “Maybe Cass has an extra dress here you could borrow? Or I could send someone to pick one up?”
She smacks my chest; her face turning thunderous.
“Cass is a friend. A coworker. No coworkers, remember?”
Her blush deepens, and I can’t help myself. I drop chaste kisses to both of her rosy cheeks.
“What can I get you to drink?”
“Oh. I don’t know? I don’t usually drink.” She hesitates, looking at the long bars on both sides of the room. “Maybe some red wine?”
I spot our friends at our usual table. Not wanting to leave her alone, I guide us over to them.
“Guys, this is Nell. Nell, this is Declan, his fiancé Serenity, Harrison, and Cassidy,” I say, motioning to each in turn. Nell politely shakes Declan’s hand with a ‘hello’ but before she can shake Serenity’s hand, the small sprite of a woman envelopes Nell in a hug.
“I can’t believe it! You’re actually real,” Serenity says, holding Nell by her shoulders and running her gaze all over her. Feeling a little possessive, I wrap an arm around Nell’s waist and tug her back to me.
She gives Harrison and Cassidy a small wave in greeting.
“We had bets going if you were just a fever dream or a real human being,” Cassidy adds, digging into her clutch and passing Serenity a bill.
Nell chuckles. “Sorry. Real human being here,” she says, and Cassidy just shrugs.
“I’m really happy for you two,” she says, tugging Nell into the seat beside her.
Safely surrounded by my friends, I touch her shoulder and make sure it’s okay for me to leave her alone.
She gives me a soft smile and nods. Serenity and Cass are going to overwhelm her with questions, but it shouldn’t take long to fetch a few glasses of wine.
When I return to the group, however, I’m surprised to see that it’s Harrison she’s talking to.
He’s our normally introverted, silent, grumpy COO of The Envelope, but the soft way he’s smiling at Nell makes my feet falter.
I’ve never seen that look on him. Eager to figure out what she’s said to disarm our primal Dom in the time it took me to get a couple of drinks I set Nell’s down in front of her before taking the seat opposite Harrison.
“Shit on a shingle,” he says, matter-of-factly.
“Ohhh, that’s a good one. Still can’t beat buttered noodles, though.”
"Lies. At least shit on a shingle has meat in it," Harrison retorts.
Nell laughs, light and breezy. “If you can call that meat.”
Harrison smiles at her, completely enamored.
"What’s on a shingle?" I ask, loving how easy Nell feels with my friends, but also completely confused.
“Shit on a shingle,” Nell replies. “We’re comparing stretch meals we had growing up.” Nell’s hand comes to rest on my thigh like it’s the most natural thing in the world. And maybe it is. She belongs here. She belongs with me.
And tonight I’m going to prove it to her.
“Stretch meals?” I ask as she takes a sip of her wine.
“Yeah. You know, meals that are cheap to make but filling for when you have to stretch the last of a paycheck?”
“Shit on a shingle is what we called creamed chipped beef on toast,” Harrison adds. I guess I never knew that Harrison had grown up poor. His family wasn’t when I met him, but he’s never really shared anything about his past or how he got the scars on his neck.
“Huh,” is all I can say in reply. Somehow in a matter of minutes Nell got Harrison to open up and connect with her in a way we never have before.
I get why, though. Nell’s the type of person who is so open and honest, you immediately feel safe in her presence.
Like you could tell her all your darkest secrets and know they’re safe with her.
I sit back and listen as Nell and Harrison compare their early days of poverty like old friends.
I half-listen to their conversation, more than pleased that they’re getting along so well.
In my mind, though, I’m in room twelve, doing everything I’ve wanted to do to Nell since that night five years ago.
As I sip my wine and let my imagination wander, I get harder and harder in my slacks until I feel like I’m about to burst.
Finally, I stand a little too abruptly, and the chair scrapes. Harrison’s smile turns smug as he turns it towards me.
“You lasted longer than I thought,” he says, sitting back and folding his arms across his chest.
“You were testing me?” I ask, incredulous.
“You brought your Nell to the club. You reserved room twelve all night. But you lasted longer than I thought you would,” he says simply, raising his glass in my direction.
I grab Nell’s hand and tug her to standing.
“You can bring your glass,” I say, nodding towards where it sits, mainly untouched, on the table.
“Okay,” she replies, her voice small and breathy.
Hand-in-hand I lead her to room twelve before opening the door, ushering her in with my hand at the small of her back, and locking the door behind us.
She stands in the middle of the room, tense, looking at it like she’s seeing it for the first time even though she must have cleaned it dozens of times.
I run my hand down her arm, hoping to relax her some.
“We are only going to do what you want to do, babe. Okay?” I slip my hand into hers and turn her to face me.
She still looks nervous, so I step in even closer. “That night, feeding you, watching you come, watching you moan in pleasure, was the best night of my life. All I want to do tonight is show you how good it could be if you give in to this.”
Her shoulders sag, and her face falls. I know she’s fighting this, and logically, I understand why, but I won’t lie and say a part of me isn’t hurt by her resistance.
“It’s not that I don’t want this...” she trails off.
We’re getting off on the wrong track. I don’t want her sad. I don’t want us fighting. So, I lift her chin with my fingers and stare into the most beautiful green eyes I’ve ever seen.
“Here’s what I want to happen tonight. You can tell me if you want none of it, some of it, or all of it, okay?”
She nods eagerly. She’s wearing the weight of her family responsibilities, single motherhood, and navigating a new relationship, and it shows.
All I want today is to take away her load for a night.
I want her so out of her mind with pleasure she can’t worry about all the things that I know constantly plague her.
So, I’m going to take the lead and make the choice easy for her.
“I want to kiss you, feed you the chocolate-covered strawberries that are on the nightstand, strip you naked, bring you to orgasm at least three times, and then I want to take care of you afterwards. Which of those sounds good to you?”
Her eyes turn glassy and faraway as her breathing deepens.
“All of it?” she whispers, causing a smile to spread across my face.
"I was hoping you’d say that."