Chapter 8 #4
“Okay, sir, I will. But we’re definitely getting to the fucking tonight, right? I mean, I’ve earned sex privileges?”
That earnest face. Like she’s really concerned she hasn’t earned the fucking I’m absolutely dying to give her.
“You have. And if you can still walk tomorrow, I’ll come to your kickboxing class and pound on your ass some more.”
Her sweet laugh breaks out. “Okay, sir.”
“That better, girl?”
“Yes, sir. Much.”
“Good. I’m pleased you used your emotional safe word.
That earns you big points. I’ll head back with Logan to get out of your hair, but I can be back here in fifteen minutes if you need anything.
And I mean anything. If you need a hug, I’ll come and give you a hug.
If you need someone to run down the block and get you a fancy coffee, I’ll come and fetch you coffee.
It’s not often you get a Dom at your beck and call, so take advantage of me. ”
Her grin chases back the shadows in her eyes. “I will, sir.”
“When do you finish today?”
“Six, sir.”
“If I pick you up at seven, does that give you enough time to get ready?”
She nods. “That would be great. Thank you so much for this, sir.”
I drop a kiss onto her mouth, gentle until the end when I nip her lower lip to feel her shiver and hear her laugh.
Manny’s wife’s cousin makes quick work of the live wires and promises to be back to board over the broken sign until a new one can be made.
He joins us in the office, to speak with Brenna’s insurance broker while Bren’s got her on speaker phone.
They get into a wrangle about payment and, as Brenna’s frown gets deeper and deeper, I’m tempted to throw in my two cents to resolve it.
As I lean forward and open my mouth, she throws me a look that says unequivocally that my opinion is unwanted.
I sit back in the folding chair which serves as a “guest” chair in the tiny office and shut my mouth.
Message received, loud and clear. We might be doing something close to twenty-four-seven in private, she might appreciate and even need my emotional support, but when it comes to her business, there’s nothing submissive about my bold girl.
When they finish the call, Brenna shakes the electrician’s hand and closes the door behind him. She comes to stand in front of me and, after a long moment, leans her hip on the edge of her desk, making it clear she’s not going to kneel.
“Thank you for not intervening, sir. I could tell you wanted to set them straight.”
I did, but I’m glad I restrained myself.
I meant it when I said I’d be flexible. I don’t need to insert myself into her business to have the kind of control I want, and I like that we’re feeling out the contours of something that could work for us both.
I particularly like that she calls me sir even when she’s in business-mode.
“You’re welcome, sweetheart. I could tell their bureaucratic pissing match was starting to stress you out. But they got there eventually.” I stretch my legs and grimace when my knee bumps her desk. This space really is too small for me. “Anything I can do for you before I head out?”
“Logan wants to look through the CCTV footage before he goes, but please don’t feel like you have to hang around for that.”
I shrug. The only thing on my agenda today before our date tonight is working out with Logan. I’m not used to being at loose ends. I don’t like the feeling, but I’d probably better get used to it.
“I’ll stick around for that, girl. Another pair of eyes is always useful. Then I’ll get out of your hair.”
She gives me a ghost of her sassy grin. “I kinda like you being in my hair, sir. Especially today. Thank you for being here.”
“You’re welcome.”
We both look up at a knock on the door. It opens after just a beat and Logan walks through, trailing Emily. He takes the other folding guest chair and draws Emily down into his lap.
“We could have been naked,” I point out.
Logan smirks. “Nothing I haven’t seen before.” He props a tablet on the desk beside Brenna’s hip and taps it.
“Here’s the CCTV footage. Two little fuckers are clear as day, but I don’t think it’s going to do us much good.”
As the slightly grainy, black-and-white video rolls, I see what he means.
The two figures who approach the shop are covered from head to toe.
Black ski masks, sweatshirts, sweatpants, even their boots.
I can see that they’re white from their hands and the small amount of skin showing around their eyes.
At a guess, they’re male by their builds, but they could be very buff women.
“Wait,” Brenna breathes. “Go back.”
Logan taps the tablet to back up the video. Bren leans over and peers at the grainy image.
“That motherfucker,” she hisses. She pauses the video and enlarges the image, but it dissolves into black and white splotches.
“It’s hard to see but I’m pretty sure it’s the same skinhead from the other day.
PatriotWarrior, the fucker who put the one-star review on Google.
He had ‘move on’ tattooed on his knuckles. It’s hard to see but I think it’s him.”
“Good spot,” Logan says. “Also, language in front of my little.”
Brenna screws up her face at him. “You just said fucker.”
“Don’t set a bad example for my baby girl. Mac’ll smack your ass.”
I nod. “I will.”
Brenna rolls her eyes.
“Oh, that just bought you pain,” I tell her.
She rolls her eyes again.
“So much pain.”
“I hate both of you,” she says. “How do we find this guy?”
“First, we report it to the cops,” Logan says. “Then, I ask Max if he can find a physical address for PatriotWarrior from the Google post he took down.”
It probably says a great deal about my experiences in the Navy that I have more faith in Max than I do the police. “D’you think a little fear will help or hurt the situation?” I ask.
“What do you mean by ‘a little fear’?” Logan asks. “Are we talking nitro in the head levels of fear or reactor scram levels of fear?”
I chuckle, remembering those respective pranks. “Let’s start with nitro. We mockup an image of the dickhead’s tattoo and plaster it all over the neighborhood on ‘have you seen this tattoo?’ posters. Bet that gets him shitting bricks.”
Logan’s grin is a fearsome thing. “Bren, can you draw a picture of the tattoo and email it to me? I’ll get the posters done this afternoon and Mac and I’ll canvass the neighborhood tomorrow.”
Her echoing grin sends a rush of blood to my dick. “I can do that, sir.”
“Good. You want me to call Theo before I go?”
Her smile fades. “Theo?”
“He’ll pay more attention to this than some random beat cop the desk sergeant assigns your call to. Besides, he owes me one,” Logan says.
I make a mental note to ask Logan later why Theo owes him.
And Brenna’s sour expression doesn’t escape my notice.
She might have been happy to have Theo top her, but she’s not at all happy about dealing with him in an official capacity.
Since he surely has more to lose than she does if their club connection comes to light, her reluctance makes my curiosity bone twitch.
“Okay. I’ll work on that sketch and get it to you by the end of my lunch break.” She wraps her arms around herself. “Thank you, sir.”
Logan nods as he pulls out his phone.
While he makes his call, I cock my finger at Brenna and when she moves toward me, I take her hand and lead her out into the hallway, closing the door behind us.
“I don’t like that a skinhead has it out for you, sweetheart,” I say, brushing her cheek with my knuckles. “Can I convince you to stay at Logan’s for the foreseeable future?”
She leans into me but wrinkles her chin. “I like my own space, sir.”
“Can I wangle an invite into your space? I’m hoping he’s just a punk who was pissed off you wouldn’t do that swastika, but if he’s actually Aryan Nation, those are some very bad guys. I don’t want you to be alone.”
She grins up at me. “You can definitely wangle an invite into my space, sir. My apartment’s upstairs.” She tips her chin at the ceiling.
“Alrighty-then, girl. I’ll pack a bag while I’m at Logan’s and plan on staying tonight at least. You tell me if you get sick of me invading your space.”
“Okay, sir.” She wriggles a little closer. “Can I have a kiss before you go?”
“That’s a big affirmative.” I reel her in and claim her mouth. She melts against me and I can’t keep my hands from straying down to that smackable ass, perfectly encased in warm leather. When the door opens, I release her, but not before I give that ass a good, hard, very satisfying squeeze.
Bren moves back with a little squeak and rubs her butt. “Ouch, sir. I think I might be sick of you invading my space already.”
“Sure, girl. See you at seven. Call me if you need anything.”
“Yes, sir.”
I leave her grinning.