Chapter 22
Chapter Twenty-Two
Cami
I woke to gentle kisses being pressed along my jaw, different from yesterday’s wake-up call. These were messy trails of kisses that stirred need in my belly, wanting to pull him on top of me. Majesty.
“Morning, beautiful,” he murmured against my skin. “Time to get up.”
I blinked my eyes open to find him already dressed in jeans and a thick sweater. Beyond the window, I could see snow falling heavily, blanketing everything in white.
“It’s snowing,” I said, still groggy.
“Has been since 4 a.m. Pretty bad too.” He pressed another kiss to my temple. “Which means I had to change our plans. But I promise you’ll still have a good day.”
“Where’s Lex?”
“Early meeting with Derek about what classes to add to the spring schedule. He’ll be tied up most of the day.” Majesty pulled back the covers. “Come on. Get dressed warm. We’re going to brave the snow for breakfast.”
Thirty minutes later, bundled in jeans, a thick sweater, and my winter coat, I followed Majesty out into the snow. It was coming down in thick, heavy flakes, already several inches deep on the ground.
“This is beautiful,” I said, catching snowflakes on my tongue.
“It is. Also dangerous if you’re not careful.” He took my hand, keeping me steady as we made our way to the cafe.
Inside was warm and cozy, the windows already fogged from the heat. The smell of coffee and bacon made my stomach growl immediately. Several tables were occupied despite the early hour and the weather.
We were being seated when I spotted familiar faces. Reese and Arlo sat at a corner table, heads bent together in quiet conversation.
“Majesty,” I said, tugging on his sleeve. “Can we go say hi to Reese and Arlo?”
He smiled. “Of course. Lead the way.”
We detoured to their table, and Reese looked up with a warm smile. “Cami! How are you?”
“Good! Really good.” Before I addressed Arlo, I turned to Majesty. He nodded and I smiled warmly. “Hello, Master Arlo.”
“Hey, lil’ lady. How’s everything coming?”
“Really well, hopefully this week I’ll be able to get more lessons depending on the weather and if you have time.”
“Definitely. Once the snow clears,” Arlo responded.
We chatted for a few minutes about horses and the weather before Reese gestured to the window. “Looks like it’s going to be a heavy one. You two be careful out there.”
“We will,” Majesty promised.
As we turned to head to our own table, I noticed Iris sitting with her two men across the cafe. She looked miserable, her shoulders hunched, her eyes red like she’d been crying. The men were talking to each other, completely ignoring her.
“Majesty,” I said quietly. “Can I go over and talk to Iris? She looks upset.”
He followed my gaze and his expression hardened slightly. “Not alone. But I’ll take you over.”
We approached the table, and Majesty addressed the two men directly. “Excuse me. Would it be alright if Cami spoke with Iris for a moment?”
The men looked almost relieved. “Sure, yeah. Take her,” one of them said dismissively.
Majesty’s jaw tightened, but he kept his voice even. “Iris, would you like to join us at our table?”
She looked up, tears brimming in her eyes, and nodded. “Please.”
She stood and followed us back to our booth, sliding in beside me. Majesty flagged down Julie. “Julie, can I get my order in now? And whatever Iris wants is on me.”
“Of course, Majesty.” Julie pulled out her notepad.
He rattled off his order—pancakes with chocolate chips, bacon, sausage, ham, and eggs with cheese—then looked at Iris. “What do you want, sweetheart?”
“Just coffee,” she said quietly.
“And some toast,” Majesty added. “You need to eat. Babygirl, place your order.”
“Can I do it after we’re finished talking?” I asked. My mind was more on figuring out what was wrong with Iris.
“Don’t forget. Until then, she’ll have a coffee with cream and sugar,” he said to Julie.
Once Julie left, Majesty squeezed my shoulder. “I’m going to go talk to Arlo and Reese for a bit. Give you two some privacy. But I’ll be right over there if you need me.”
“Thank you, Sir,” I said.
He pressed a kiss to the top of my head and moved to the other table, pulling up a chair and immediately engaging Arlo in conversation.
I turned to Iris. “What’s wrong? What happened?”
Her lower lip trembled. “I used my safe word last night. They didn’t stop.”
My blood ran cold. “What?”
“We were in a scene, and I said yellow. Asked them to slow down. They didn’t. So I said red. Clear as day. Red.” Tears started falling. “And they just kept going. Said I was being dramatic. That I needed to toughen up.”
“Iris.” I grabbed her hand. “That’s not okay. That’s a violation of your agreement with them. Isn’t there somebody we can talk to?”
I had to admit that I didn’t know who that person would be, and that was an issue, too. Outside of our arrangement, who would I talk to if I felt violated. Shelly? Her husband Harrison? Howard? What if it was here on the Ranch? Was Derek the only person? What would happen when I did tell?
“I know. But this morning they were talking about bringing in another submissive. To show me how a ‘real sub’ acts. Like I’m the problem.”
Before I could respond, Sampson appeared at our table smiling kindly. “Hey, ladies. Mind if I join you?”
“Please,” I said.
Sampson settled in, then gestured to a woman standing near the entrance. “This is Dr. Angela Crosby. She’s Renee’s therapist and a good friend of mine. Iris, can she talk to you for a moment?”
Iris looked confused but nodded. “Okay.”
Dr. Crosby was a kind-looking woman in her forties with a streak of gray hair in the front and warm brown eyes. “Iris, would you mind stepping aside with me? Just for a quick chat?”
Iris looked at me, and I nodded encouragingly. She stood and followed Dr. Crosby toward a quiet corner of the cafe.
“How did you know?” I asked Sampson.
“Scarlett called me this morning. She’s been worried about Iris for weeks, and when she heard what happened last night, she knew it needed to be addressed. Aiden is talking to Derek right now.”
“Derek?” I asked.
“Yeah, he doesn’t tolerate safe word violations. Period.”
As if summoned, I saw Aiden approach the table where Iris’s two Dominants sat.
Derek was with him, along with some other guy.
He was tall, maybe 6’4” or 6’5”, curly black hair, wore jeans, a flannel, black hat–I think it was called a Stetson, and some gator-skin looking boots.
Even from across the cafe, I could see the barely restrained tension in their expressions.
The conversation was brief and clearly not pleasant.
Both men stood, their faces red with either anger or embarrassment.
Derek gestured toward the door, and they followed him out.
Aiden and the tall man went with them, and I watched Arlo and Majesty exchange a look before standing and following as well.
Suddenly, the cafe felt very quiet without the Dominants.
Reese came over to our table, sliding into the booth. “I’ve never seen them all that angry before. What happened?”
I looked at Renee, who nodded. “Iris’s Dominants didn’t honor her safe word.”
Reese’s eyes went wide. “Oh no. No wonder Derek looked ready to commit murder. He doesn’t play about the house rules.”
“House rules?” I asked.
“The Ranch has strict protocols. Safe word violations are grounds for immediate expulsion. No second chances.” Reese shook her head. “Those guys are done here.”
“Who was the guy with Master Derek and Aiden?” I asked Reese.
“Oh, that was our chief of security and Brooke’s Daddy, Lawson,” she said.
“He sure meant business,” I muttered.
“They all do when one of us submissives aren’t honored,” she said.
We sat in tense silence for a few minutes before Derek returned with Aiden. They approached Iris, who looked small and scared.
Derek said something to her and she stood with Dr. Crosby. As if on cue, Scarlett came rushing through the door, snow in her hair. She immediately pulled Iris into a fierce hug.
They guided Iris toward the exit, and I watched them disappear into the snow. Sampson stood. “I should go find Aiden. Cami, text me later?”
“I will.”
Majesty returned moments later, his expression dark and closed off. He slid into the booth, and without thinking, I climbed into his lap, needing to be close to him. His arms came around me immediately, and I felt some of the tension leave his body.
Reese moved back to Arlo when he returned, and we were alone again.
Julie appeared. “Ready to order, Cami?”
“Yes… french toast with fruit on top and powdered sugar, really cheesy eggs, and chicken sausage please. And milk.”
“Got it. And Majesty, your food got cold. Want me to heat it up?”
“Please.”
She disappeared, and I settled more comfortably in Majesty’s lap, my head against his shoulder.
“What happened out there?” I asked quietly.
“They’re gone. Derek kicked them off the property. They have one hour to pack and leave.” His voice was hard. “They tried to argue. Said Iris was exaggerating.”
“Whoa…”
Majesty took a deep breath. “Derek has a zero-tolerance policy. Safe word violations void every agreement, every contract. They’re blacklisted from every reputable establishment in the community.”
“Good,” I said fiercely. “They should be.”
“Yeah.” He was quiet for a moment. “Are you okay? I know Iris is your friend.”
“I’m worried about her. But she has Scarlett and Dr. Crosby. She’ll be okay.”
Julie brought our food, and I slid off Majesty’s lap to sit beside him. His pancakes looked incredible, loaded with chocolate chips and swimming in syrup. But he didn’t touch them. Just sat there, staring at his plate, his coffee cup in his hand.
“Hey,” I said softly, putting my hand on his arm. “Talk to me. What are you thinking?”
“I’m thinking about how easy it would be to fuck this up. To push too hard or not hard enough. To miss a signal, to ignore a safe word without meaning to.” He looked at me, and I saw genuine fear in his eyes. “What if I hurt you like that?”
“You won’t.”
“You don’t know that.”
“Yes, I do.” I turned his face toward me. “Because you care enough to be scared. Because you’re sitting here worrying about it instead of dismissing it. Those men didn’t care. You do. That’s the difference.”
“What if it’s not enough?”
“Then I’ll tell you. And you’ll listen. Because that’s who you are.” I squeezed his arm. “Now eat your pancakes before they get cold again, Sir.”
“I’m not hungry.”
“Majesty, Sir,” I used my firm voice. “You need to eat. And you need to decompress. So talk to me and eat, please.”
He chuckled, shook his head, and picked up his fork reluctantly, cutting a piece of pancake. “You’ll pay for that later, beautiful. What do you want to talk about?”
“Anything. Everything. Tell me about your first time teaching a class.”
He took a bite, chewing slowly. “It was a disaster. I’d prepared for weeks, had everything organized. And then the first student asked a question I hadn’t prepared for, and I completely blanked.”
“What did you do?”
“Admitted I didn’t know the answer. Said I’d research it and get back to them.” He took another bite. “Lex said that was the best thing I could have done. Showed honesty instead of trying to fake expertise.”
“He was right.”
We kept talking, and slowly I watched him relax. The tightness around his eyes eased, his shoulders dropped, and he actually started eating with appetite instead of just mechanically.
“Your turn,” he said after a while. “Tell me something I don’t know about you.”
I thought about it. “Remember when I told you I was engaged once?” After he nodded, I added, “Well, what you don’t know is that he broke it off two weeks before the wedding.”
Majesty’s fork stopped halfway to his mouth. “Two weeks?”
“Two weeks. We’d sent out invitations, booked the venue, ordered the cake. And he just... changed his mind. Said he wasn’t ready. That he didn’t think I was the one.”
“Cami.” His hand found mine under the table. “I’m so sorry.”
“It’s okay. It was two years ago. I’ve dealt with it, gone to therapy, all of that.” I shrugged. “But it made dating hard afterward. Made me question everything about myself.”
“He was an idiot.”
“Maybe. Or maybe we just weren’t right for each other and he was brave enough to say it before we made a bigger mistake.”
“Still. Two weeks before the wedding is cruel.”
“It was. But it also led me here. To you and Lex. So maybe it worked out the way it was supposed to.” I reached over and stole a piece of his bacon, swiping it through the syrup on his plate.
“Hey!” He tried to grab it back, but I was faster, popping it in my mouth.
“Mmm, bacon and syrup. You should try it.”
“I will not mix bacon and syrup. That’s a crime against breakfast.”
“You literally have chocolate chips in your pancakes. That’s also a crime.”
“That’s art.” He stole a piece of my french toast in retaliation. “See how you like it.”
I laughed, and just like that, the heavy mood lifted. We finished breakfast, stealing food from each other’s plates and arguing about proper breakfast combinations.
When we were done, Majesty helped me into my coat. “Ready for part two of our day?”
“What’s part two?”
“You’ll see.” He took my hand and led me back out into the snow.
And despite everything that had happened that morning, I felt lighter. More connected to him. Like we’d crossed another threshold together. Whatever came next, we’d handle it, together.