Chapter 14 #2
“I’m not just your husband. I’m your owner.
” Crouching until we were at eye level, he caressed my cheek.
“And that takes a lot of trust on your part, but I do realize it’s something we’re still working on.
Your first instinct is to withhold and deceive, and I will not stop until I’ve eradicated that behavior.
You will not doubt me, nor question me, nor fear me.
You will learn to submit and serve with total trust.”
Something dark and dangerous crossed over his features. “But we aren’t there yet, are we? Even after the harsh punishment I put you through last week, you still feel the need to hide things from me.”
I shook my head with vehemence.
“The sudden onset of these questions about pregnancy are more than a little suspicious.” He pointed to where I kneeled.
“Do not move from that spot.” He hurried back into the bathroom, his stride full of purpose, and my stomach dropped.
This couldn’t be good. If he planned to search my things for birth control pills that didn’t exist…
I began to shake. He was going to find the note.
The fucking note I’d forgotten about until now.
To top it off, I was going to choke on my own vomit because I hadn’t told him about the baby. That should have been the first thing I’d done this afternoon, as soon as he came through the door.
Instead, I’d stewed and overthought it too much.
I’d worried myself into this position. If I’d only been honest, we’d be celebrating right now.
But there would be no celebration tonight.
How could I expect him to wield his power over me with caution and safety if he didn’t have all the facts?
No matter the sadistic bastard that lived inside him, I knew he would have never left me gagged, unattended for even a minute if he’d known I was suffering from morning sickness.
Calm down. Deep breaths through the nose.
Breathing deeply and purposefully staved off the nausea.
I focused on drawing air in and out of my lungs in a slow and steady rhythm as I waited for him to return.
Drawers opened and closed, cupboards squeaked then slammed shut.
The unmistakable sound of him rifling through my things filtered to where I kneeled.
Finally, he appeared in the open doorway of the bathroom, long after my knees had begun to ache from the hard floor, and my burning shoulders slumped.
Entering the bedroom again, Gage came to a stop in front of me. Dread chewed my gut as I saw what he held in his hands. Struggling to dislodge the gag—which was impossible—I whined and shimmied, begging him with my eyes to let me speak.
He took mercy on me. Leaning down, he loosened the strap and pulled the rubber ball from my mouth. But he didn’t free my wrists from the cuffs, and that bespoke of the degree of trouble I was in.
“It’s not what you think,” I hurried to explain, then winced at that particular cliched tripe.
“You’re right. It’s definitely not what I thought.” He began pacing. “I thought maybe you didn’t want another child, but you didn’t know how to tell me.” He clutched my makeup compact in a fist. “I was looking for contraceptives. Instead, I found this.”
“Gage—”
He cut me off by swiping a hand through the air. “How long have you been keeping this from me?”
“It doesn’t mean anything.”
“How long?” he demanded, opening the compact before tossing it onto the floor. He balled his fingers around the note, crushing it.
“A few weeks. I would have gotten rid of it last week, but I forgot about it.”
Shit. That was not the right thing to say. His face darkened, a storm brewing on the horizon.
“Wait, that came out wrong, Master. I meant that the note didn’t mean anything to me anymore.
I saw that he was okay. In fact, I found out he’s dating Simone, and I’m okay with it!
” I struggled to my feet, pleading with my eyes for him to understand.
“I would have mentioned it, or thrown it away, but I forgot.”
“How can you just forget something like this?”
“I don’t know! I’m sorry, but I did. A lot has happened since that day. You punishing me, starting work with you this week, and then today…”
Oh God. I’d ruined this moment for us. We’d waited so long, and I’d stupidly withheld the news from him, if only for a few hours. But it was long enough for that damn note to spring up and wreak destruction.
“What else, Kayla? What else are you hiding from me?” He towered over me, and I dropped to my knees. Kissed his feet.
“Stop groveling and just tell me.”
Lifting my head, I gazed into his eyes—blue orbs filled with anger and hurt and suspicion. “I’m scared to tell you.”
For so many reasons, the biggest of which lay wrapped in superstition and the echoes of a painful history. We’d gone down this road before, and it hadn’t ended well.
“Jesus, baby. Whatever it is, we’ll deal with it together.”
“I’m…” I swallowed hard, and maybe it was the speck of tenderness in his expression—the softening of his mouth, and the way he unclenched his hands. The crinkled piece of paper, a souvenir from a painful time that seemed eons ago, floated to the floor, forgotten.
Gage saw my fear, and instead of feeding off it in his usual sadistic way, he empathized. He showed patience and love and even anxiety for what I was about to throw his way. Again.
I’d proven that I was more than capable of letting him down, of wavering when I should stay the course. I kissed his feet once more then smiled up at him through the tears forming in my eyes.
“I’m pregnant.”