Chapter 25
Sutton
Jagger Langston was a hand holder. Who would’ve guessed?
I looked down at our joined hands resting on top of his thigh in the back of his Maybach as we made our way to the restaurant in bumper-to-bumper traffic. My legs were crossed at the knee, and my eyes caught on the ankle bracelet he’d bought me.
“Thank you again for the anklet,” I said. “It’s beautiful, and I love the sentiment behind it.”
He squeezed my hand. “You’re welcome. It should’ve been the first gift I gave you.”
“You made up for it with your note.” I smiled. “By the way, when did you get it? You were still in DC when it arrived, but the card looked like your handwriting.”
“I bought it the morning after you tossed my first gift at me, at a shop in DC.” He glanced over.
“To be clear, I’ve never purchased anything for anyone at that shop, and I’ve never given a piece of jewelry to a woman other than items similar to what I sent you the first time.
And those were not the carat weight of what I sent you. ”
“How did you get this one to me?”
“I had Sam drive it back home to deliver it. He’d driven me down to DC.”
“But you stayed?”
Jagger nodded. “I took a flight home when I was done so he didn’t have to come back.”
“It was very sweet of you to do all that.”
He frowned. “What did I tell you about thinking I’m sweet?”
In the last hour he’d kissed my forehead, helped me pick out what to wear to dinner, and told me I was beautiful five times. People aren’t who they tell you they are; they’re who they show you to be. Though I kept my mouth shut.
A few minutes later, Jagger’s phone buzzed. He dug it out of his pocket and looked at the screen. “Crap, it’s an Ohio area code. I need to answer this. Excuse me.”
“It’s fine. Go ahead.”
I looked out the window, but it was impossible to give him privacy while sitting in the back of a car. Even hearing only one side of the conversation, it was evident right away that something was wrong.
“Hello?”
Quiet.
He let go of my hand and adjusted to hold the cell in his newly free one. “Where are the girls?”
Uh-oh. More quiet.
“Have they ever met the family before?”
I could hear a woman speaking, but it wasn’t clear enough to make out what she was saying. Though Jagger closing his eyes hinted that the news was getting worse.
“I could be there in…” He lifted his wrist to check the time on his watch. “Probably will take me at least four hours.”
Silence again.
Jagger eventually nodded. “All right, if you’re sure the family is safe and the girls won’t be up all night crying. Because if that’s the case, I’d rather come tonight, even if it’s midnight when I arrive.”
He listened before nodding more. “That would be great. If you could do that now, I’d appreciate it. If they’re comfortable where they are, I’ll come first thing in the morning.”
Another pause, then, “Thank you. I’ll wait to hear back.”
Jagger swiped to end the call and blew out a ragged breath.
“That didn’t sound good,” I said.
He shook his head. “It’s not. My sister went in on a fifty-one-fifty hold.
It’s a seventy-two-hour involuntary psychiatric hospitalization that gives the doctors time to evaluate someone and decide if they’re a danger to themselves or others.
” Jagger leaned forward and spoke to his driver.
“Sam, can you please pull over for a few minutes? We might be heading to the airport, which is in the opposite direction. I’ll let you know momentarily. ”
“Of course, sir.”
The driver pulled the car from the flow of traffic and slowed at the curb in front of a Trader Joe’s. “I can’t park here, but we’ll keep it running and move if anyone gives us a hard time.”
Jagger leaned back into the seat. “I’m sorry.
They took Amelia and Olivia to a foster family.
I’ve worked with this case worker before, and she’s been pretty straight with me.
She thinks it’s better for me to pick the girls up in the morning, if they aren’t stressing where they are since I wouldn’t get there until the middle of the night.
She said the family has a little girl the same age as Amelia and kids generally love it there, but she’s going to call the parents now, see how my nieces are doing, and send me a text. ”
Without thinking, I reached over and took Jagger’s hand again, lacing my fingers with his. He stared down but made no attempt to pull away.
“How often does this happen?” I asked softly.
He shook his head. “Too damn often. I tried to get custody of the girls a few years back when things got bad, but the judge refused. When he gave his decision, he warned my sister that she was one more appearance away from him siding with me. That’s when Catherine up and moved back to Ohio.
I think her piece-of-shit lawyer told her it would make it more difficult for me to get her in front of the same judge if she left the state. ”
Jagger’s phone buzzed. He lifted it, scanned a text, and then let out a breath. “Olivia is sleeping already, and Amelia is painting with the daughter. The social worker wants me to leave them until morning since they’ve already had enough disruption for the day.”
I nodded. “It’s probably best they get a good night’s sleep.”
Jagger leaned forward and spoke to Sam. “You can continue to the restaurant now.”
“You got it, boss.”
Jagger swiped his phone again. “I just need to make arrangements for the morning.”
“We don’t have to go to dinner. You need your rest too, and it sounds like you’re going to have an early start tomorrow.”
He looked at me. “What I need is to take you out to dinner, then pin you to my bed and bury myself inside of you so the world stops spinning.”
That simple sentence told me so much about what made Jagger the man he was today, with his need for control and lack of long-term relationships. But it wasn’t the time to psychoanalyze him, so I smiled. “Okay. I like your plan better.”
I wanted to do whatever I could to help Jagger get through this difficult time. Being the CEO of a major company had to be stressful enough, but to have the DOJ filing an antitrust suit against Apex, and now to be responsible for two young girls seemed like enough to break a person.
I wasn’t surprised that Jagger was quiet for the rest of the ride and through appetizers at the beautiful French restaurant.
Eventually we made small talk, but the mood was heavy.
I debated sharing what was on my mind between sips of a four-hundred-dollar bottle of wine and looking at the two small lines that had formed between his brows during the car ride and never left.
“I want to help,” I finally said.
The lines in his forehead deepened. “With?”
“I babysat for years. I’m good with kids, and I know CPR and the Heimlich maneuver.”
Jagger smiled. “Thank you. But I can’t ask you to do that.”
“You didn’t. I volunteered. I’m sure you have a million extra things to do with the DOJ filing. Were you planning on going back down to DC anytime soon?”
He nodded. “Tuesday. But I’ll figure something out.”
“You saw my closet. I’m an expert at playing dress-up. Plus, if I babysit at your place, I can finally find out what’s in your nightstand drawer. My curiosity has been killing me.”
Jagger’s lip twitched. “Trust me. You’re going to find out tonight when we get to my place.”
I squirmed in my seat. “I’m being serious, though. I want to help.”
“Why?”
“Because I care about you.”
The change in Jagger’s posture made me immediately regret what I’d said. He stiffened. I could see he was about to say something, probably remind me it wasn’t a good idea to get attached, so I put my hand up. “I’m not proposing, Jagger. I care about my friends, too.”
“Is that what we are? Friends?”
I had feelings for this man, deeper than I wanted to admit to myself.
But wasn’t the basis of any good relationship a strong friendship, whether it be dating or a marriage or whatever?
So it wasn’t a lie to say I also thought we were friends.
I leaned forward in my chair and lowered my voice. “How about friends who fuck?”
Jagger’s eyes darkened. “I like hearing you talk like that.”
“Like what? Using naughty words? Do you like it when I tell you I really loved your cock in my mouth earlier?”
He reached across the table and took my hand, lifting it to his lips. I’d thought he was going to kiss the top but instead he nipped at my fingers. I yelped, which earned me a devilish smile.
“You’re playing with fire, sweetheart,” he warned. “I’m already hard under the table, and we haven’t even been served our main course yet. Hours of you teasing me won’t bode well for your ability to walk tomorrow morning.”
I bit down on my bottom lip. “I don’t mind.”
“No? Then I think it’s time we discussed what you do and don’t mind. I need to know your limitations, Sutton.”
My cheeks heated. “I’m not sure I know them myself.”
“But you’re interested in exploring what they are?”
I nodded.
“Tell me how you felt when I took over earlier, when you were sucking me.”
“I liked it. A lot.”
“It didn’t make you feel like you were being taken advantage of?”
I shook my head. “No, because I wanted it, too.”
“Do you trust that if you tell me to stop whatever I’m doing, I will?”
I didn’t even have to think about the answer. “Yes.”
He smiled. “Good. Have you considered that it might be triggering to not be able to move while I fuck you?”
My face wasn’t the only thing on fire now. My body ached for him. “Right about now, I’d probably let you tie me to this chair and do whatever you want in front of all these people. I feel that desperate for you, Jagger. But I also don’t think people are always aware of what might trigger them.”
He nodded. “We should have a safe word.”
“Okay.”
The waiter walked over to refill our wine glasses and asked if we were ready to be served dinner. Jagger nodded, and then sipped his wine and studied me over the brim until the waiter was gone.
“What word would you like to use?” he asked.
“Can’t we just use stop?”
“It’s safer to use a word that’s clear and won’t cause an emotional response. I would imagine you used that word during a time you would rather not be reminded of.”
“Oh, yeah, that makes sense.”
“Does any word come to mind that you’d like to use?”
I met his eyes. “How about pearl?”
“That’s perfect.” He smiled, and his eyes dropped to my lips. “So you’re open to having your body controlled. What about spanking?”
“I thought you said you weren’t into inflicting pain.”
“I never have been before, but the thought of my handprint on your ass…” He shook his head. “I want to leave marks.”
“The thought of being able to do something with you that you’ve never done with anyone else makes me want to pull up my skirt and bend over your knee right now.”
Jagger’s eyes bordered on predatory. “You’re lucky I feel territorial about anyone seeing you, or you’d be out of the chair already. How about toys?”
“What kind of toys?”
“Whatever kind I want.”
I laughed and lifted my wine to my lips in an attempt to cool down. “That’s a pretty big blank check you’re asking me to sign, Mr. Langston.”
He groaned. “I think I might need to forbid you from calling me that anywhere in public. It drives me crazier than your perfume.”
I felt empowered that I could turn on a man who could have virtually anyone he wanted, just by using two words or spraying on a scent. “I’ll tell you what, I’ll sign that check if you promise to go slow with what you bring into the mix.”
“Deal.” He tilted his head. “Anal?”
I blinked a few times. “Not beating around the bush anymore, are you?”
Jagger smiled. “I want you to give me every part of your body, sweetheart. But it has to be given. I won’t take anything from you, even though at times it may feel like I am. You will always have the power with me.”
“Okay.” I took a deep breath and nodded. “I’ve never done that before, but I’m open to trying with you. Again, though, I’ll ask that you go slow.”
The waiter appeared out of nowhere—or at least it seemed that way—with our dinners. He set them on the table and asked if we wanted fresh pepper, but Jagger’s eyes never left my face, not even as he waved him away.
“You have no fucking idea how hard I am right now.”
I felt a little lightheaded. “And you have no idea how wet I am.”
He groaned and pointed to my food. “Eat. Fast.”
I laughed but picked up my fork in a hurry. Jagger wasn’t the only one feeling desperate at the moment.