Chapter 40
The next day started way too early for Becca’s liking. She’d spent a restless night after watching the sex worker’s informative and wildly arousing video. Not only was the content focused explicitly on oral sex, but it also touched on several everyday situations, scenes, and suggestions for a D/s couple.
This prompted her to text Jamie, which only led to him giving her a guided video tour of his wow-chicka-wow-wow manhood that ended with an explicit masturbation interlude.
What did she learn from all this? A lot.
A lot, a lot—including how important a firm grip is.
She also discovered how hot it was watching her smoke-show boyfriend jerk off.
And now here she was, bleary-eyed and horny as hell—facing a busy day at work.
“Coffee. Stat. And maybe a donut. Sugar is the way,” she mumbled to her haggard reflection in the bathroom mirror.
“But first, moisturizer and sunscreen.”
It required minimal effort to make herself presentable. Most days, a clean face, brushed teeth and combed hair secured with an elastic were enough.
“I’m the female equivalent of Old McDonald and don’t think the horses give a crap what I look like.”
Wearing a grey sports bra advertised as moisture-wicking—a must on a warm summer day—and practical cotton panties, she marched into her bedroom to pull a pair of serviceable but old jeans from the dresser, along with a tank top that was a size too big, and put both on.
Stuffing a clean pair of socks into her back pocket, she made a quiet exit, treading softly down the hallway to pause and listen at Kori’s bedroom door to see if she was awake.
Hearing no movement, she continued into the kitchen and opened the blinds, flooding the space with morning light.
A cotton plaid shirt with sleeves that were easy to roll back hung on a coat hook by the back door. Her work boots sat on the floor next to a wooden chair. She laid the socks on the chair and turned her attention to making coffee.
Needing the day’s first caffeine jolt to be dark and bold, she perused a pull-out tray filled with coffee pods and chose Dark Highway, a limited edition available exclusively from Bendover’s Exton Mercantile.
She went through the steps for her coffee machine and opened a cabinet to grab a mug. Her hand automatically reached for the tall one decorated to resemble the Tardis from Dr. Who.
Two uninspiring grocery store donuts zapped for a few seconds in the microwave went down easily with the heavily sweetened coffee.
Now that she felt almost human, facing the day wasn’t so daunting.
Knowing regret would haunt her later if she only fueled up on sugar and carbs, she took out a cast iron pan, heated it on the stovetop, and filled it with sausage links. Kori’s breakfast of choice involved a whole wheat tortilla filled with scrambled eggs, sausage, and cheese. Hand-held food was every teenager’s favorite.
While the sausage sizzled in the pan, she finished the coffee and reached for her phone. She had a habit of avoiding the damn thing until her head was at least partially on straight.
She found a bunch of the usual notifications—nothing too urgent. As she scrolled, she saw a message from the official account for the Villa de Valleja-Marquez addressed to her and Kori.
Becca’s calm quickly morphed into apprehension. Now what?
Opening the message, she found a lovely note from Meghan extending an invitation to dine al fresco with her, Alex, and the twins tonight.
She’d barely picked her chin off the floor when she read on to the part where something akin to panic grabbed hold. Was the unexpected invitation because Alex was concerned about her and Jamie as a couple and wanted to see how things were with Kori present?
It seemed likely.
Leaning her elbows on the table, she dropped her face into her hands. “ Ergh.”
How was Jamie going to react to a command performance?
Was she being over dramatic and reading something into nothing?
“This is why I need to eat better in the morning. Caffeine and sugar make me crazy.”
After she finished making the sausage, she whipped up a mound of fluffy eggs and scrambled them the way Kori liked them. She heard her phone ding as she transferred the hot food to a warming plate.
Who in the world was texting her so early?
She frowned as she picked up her phone, but her scowl turned into a smile when she found a message from Jamie.
Jamie: Good morning, pretty lady. Did you behave last night?
A firebolt of unfulfilled lust exploded in her core. She’d been wildly turned on by their late-night sexting. Watching him masturbate made areas on her body tingle and throb.
The knowing alpha Dom had expressly forbade her from getting off without him.
“No touching. No toys. Nothing, Rebecca. Understand?”
She promised to behave as he put it.
Now, in the real world, there was not a damn thing stopping her from reaching into her bedside stand for the vibrating wonder toy she kept fully charged. After all, he would never know.
What stopped her was that she would know, and a sub did not disobey her Dom—not on purpose.
As time went on and she found her way, Becca discovered that embracing her fantasies and exploring a committed D/s relationship was essential to her being.
She and Jamie were an official couple—partners. She was also Jamie Hunter’s submissive. For the first time in her adult life, being with someone made sense.
The video she intently studied contained a lot of practical information that went way beyond oral sex. She had her eyes opened about the dynamics in play and now understood more fully what her role was.
Yes, Jamie. I did as you commanded. No touching. No toys. Nothing.
Jamie: Good girl
Thank you
She paused for a few seconds before addressing the elephant in the room.
Have you heard from Meghan?
Jamie: Yes. We’re having dinner on the patio. I’ll be the one sweating bullets and hoping Alex doesn’t rip my balls off.
She chuckled.
I didn’t have the Major on my bingo card as a surrogate dad for Kori. We best behave!
Jamie: I’m happy to show them how awesome we are. Can’t wait to see Kori now that you and I have declared our relationship. I like your kid, and I think she likes me, too. Obviously, she and I need to talk.
Do you mean that?
Jamie: Of course. This is real, Rebecca, but I understand why you need reassurance, and I will do everything I can to support you. And Kori.
The puzzle in her mind shifted. Some pieces were removed—others were replaced.
Things that previously had not made sense came into sharper focus.
No one but Jamie called her Rebecca. For a long time, he referred to her —often caustically—as Mrs. Tate. The tone was deliberate on his part. Kori mentioned that she thought things were thawing out with Jamie around the first of the year. She wasn’t sure, but it seemed plausible that their détente was when he began using her first name.
More puzzle pieces shifted.
Jamie’s sometimes formal and painstakingly precise language—so different from the witty raconteur she knew him to be—came out when he slipped into dominant mode. Calling her Rebecca was a signal.
The video she watched discussed the give-and-take of a modern D/s relationship and drilled deep into the shifting nature every couple has to navigate.
His formality forced her to pay attention. All of her senses went on alert. So much made sense now that she’d put it together. Her submission did not happen by accident. She knew what the hell she was doing when his tone or wording changed.
Another aspect of the D/s mystery was whether submission was just a polite version of subservience. Shuddering at the thought of unquestioning obedience, she knew without question that she didn’t have it in her to be docile. Weak did not describe her fiery spirit.
This was where the consent part of things took center stage.
She consented to this dynamic because it felt right, more right than anything she’d ever known besides motherhood.
Her consent was based on trust, and trust was where the rubber met the road.
Nibbling her lower lip, she stared at the phone, herthumbs at the ready, but nothing came. How did she adequately express her certainty about them?
As I stand here, I keep thinking that I never knew a single minute of support from Kori’s father. The judging and criticism literally started in the hospital. I know how to be a solo parent. It’s a lonely, frightening place.
Jamie: You’re doing a great job. Fuck that piece of shit.
His validation felt good.
That’s not all. It’s one thing to be a hyper-critical asshole, but what really sucks is he just never cared about Kori. Never interested. They have no bond whatsoever. How does that happen? I worry how his apathy will affect her—in the long run.
Pouring her heart out in a text message was probably dumb, but it made her feel better.
Jamie: Kori’s a great kid. She’s clever, funny, smart, and compassionate. I’ll repeat my comment from earlier. Fuck that piece of shit.
A slow smile crept onto her face.
She heard Kori approaching.
I’m doing breakfast so I have to go.
Jamie: Call me later, and we’ll coordinate our visit to the Villa.
Kori burst into the kitchen. “Morning!” She saw the phone in Becca’s hand. “Who are you talking to?”
“Jamie,” she replied.
“Tell him I said Hi!”
Kori says Hi. TTYL
Jamie: Tell her I said Hi back.
He added a grinning emoji, and their morning text message ended.
“We’ve been invited to the Villa for dinner,” she told Kori mid-way through breakfast when a lull in the conversation gave her a chance.
“Really? Why?”
“Well, here’s the thing,” she began.
“There’s a thing? Whoa, boy,” her daughter cut in. “Did I do a stupid?”
“Oh god, no. Quite the opposite.” Becca sighed and sat back heavily in her chair at the kitchen table. “I’m the one called to the principal’s office.”
Kori’s brows rose, and she looked shocked. “You? Mom! What did you do?”
As a grown woman with an almost-teenager, Becca considered herself thick-skinned. Nothing shocked her anymore, but discussing her love life with her daughter was nerve-wracking.
Embarrassed heat crept up her neck.
“Jamie will be there too. We’ve been invited as a unit—the three of us.”
Kori’s mind moved incredibly fast. “Wow. By unit, do you mean family unit?”
Nervousness claimed her voice, and she cleared her throat. “Here’s the actual thing, Kori. Jamie and me being together, well, what I’m trying to say is,” she muttered. “Alex feels a certain way about you and needs to know you’re okay with what this all means.”
“Oh.”
The mother in her noted her daughter’s surprised, emotional response. Kori and the Major shared a bond, and it dawned on her that it filled the empty spot that Darryl Tate’s odious indifference left.
Where once there had been no male influence in Kori’s life, there was now an abundance of good, decent men with caring hearts in every corner of her world.
Everything was going to be just fine.
“There’s a reason people call him Big Daddy.” Becca smiled.
Kori chuckled. “He has it on a coffee mug.” She brightened. “The twins are so lucky. He’s a great dad.”
“You’re awfully calm about all this. Are you sure that…”
“Oh, pfft, Mom! I told you to get a life! I think Jamie is great. Stop worrying, okay?”
“I’ve never,” she mumbled as a statement about being alone gathered on her tongue.
Her wise, thoughtful daughter—mature beyond her years—cut her off.
“I know, Mom. You haven’t dated or shown interest in guys. I’ve been here, remember? You’re not a bad mom because you finally found someone who will treat you right. I’m here for you, and Jamie, so relax.”