Chapter 34
Chapter Thirty-Four
Law
Moving Iris out of her place into his had been almost anticlimactic.
He’d been looking forward to meeting Noelle face to face and seeing what she was like, but she’d made herself scarce when he and the rest of Iris’ friends and family had shown up to move her stuff out.
She and Iris had been communicating solely by text, and he was pretty sure Iris preferred it that way, but he’d wanted to see the woman in person.
It was for the best that she wasn’t there. Iris was relaxed and having fun, though she kept looking around, expecting Noelle to pop up out of nowhere. The relief on Iris’ face when she didn’t see her was worth missing out on meeting the now ex-roommate.
“Hey. So, I hear you’re the man who’s going to be living in sin with my daughter.” The deep voice jolted Law out of his reverie, and he actually jumped as someone appeared at his side.
Turning, an older man, who looked an awful lot like Andrew, was standing next to him. Andrew grinned at him, clearly enjoying Law’s discomfort.
Sadist.
Iris’ father didn’t sound combative, but his words weren’t particularly encouraging. As Law met his gaze, he saw the hint of mischief in Iris’ dad’s eyes. If he didn’t know Iris as well as he did, he might have missed it, but the two of them looked very much alike at that moment.
“It’s a very respectful sin,” he responded solemnly, causing Iris’ dad to let out a burst of laughter.
“You’ll do.” He clapped Law on the shoulder with approval, then released Law’s shoulder to hold out his hand. “I’m Diego.”
“Lawrence, but everyone calls me Law.” Though he’d tried to fight it for a while, he felt more like Law than Lawrence now. “It’s nice to meet you. Iris has told me a lot about you.”
“She’s told me a little about you,” Diego said, waiting for Law’s reaction, then grinning when he didn’t get one. “Which is a lot more than she usually tells me about anyone she dates.”
“Only good things, I hope.”
“Absolutely. Andrew’s the one who says all the bad things.”
“Hey, no, I don’t,” Andrew protested, scowling at his dad, who snickered.
Law grinned. Iris’ dad was pretty much exactly how she’d described him.
“I’m going to get back to work, though I don’t think there’s much left to do,” Law said. Diego stayed by the cars they were filling up, opening the back of his van, which had all the seats down, so there was plenty of cargo space to fit extra things.
So many people had offered their vehicles, Iris hadn’t needed to rent a moving truck.
She also hadn’t had to be brave to pack her stuff while Noelle was there.
This morning, Law had brought her over to pack.
Rae, Domi, and Avery had joined them not long after, and by the time everyone else started showing up, there were boxes ready to be taken down.
Now the flow of boxes had slowed considerably, and they really had more people than they needed.
Passing Mitch and Brian on the stairs from the building to the parking lot, each carrying a box, Law nodded his head at them.
Iris
Seeing her empty room was a relief but kind of terrifying. It was crazy how quickly they’d moved everything out. She’d lived here with Noelle for almost four years, and it had only taken about four hours to remove her presence.
Things had gone a lot faster since she’d had so much help.
“I think we’re done in here,” Rae said, straightening from taping up the last box she’d packed. She looked around and grinned. “Now, we move you into Master Law’s.”
“Temporarily,” Iris said quickly. She didn’t want anyone getting the wrong ideas.
“Uh-huh, temporarily.” Rae finger-quoted the word.
“It is!” Iris narrowed her eyes. “I’m going to keep looking for a more permanent place. It’s way too soon for us to be moving in together.”
“Yeah?” Rae lowered her voice, glancing toward the bedroom door.
There was a lot of chatter from the main room, where everyone else was.
With everything pretty much finished, they were hanging out and waiting to head to Law’s, where most of Iris’ things would go in his basement.
“Wanna move in with me? I’m pretty sure Domi’s going to be moving out soon. ”
“I… oh…” Iris floundered at the unexpected offer. Her initial response was ‘no,’ although she knew it should be ‘yes.’ “Um, well, I don’t know if I want to do another friend housing share, I mean, you know… no offense.”
“None taken,” Rae smirked. “Just out of curiosity, what was your very first thought before you reached for the whole not wanting to live with a friend again?”
“Ugh, that I don’t want to leave Law’s yet.” Iris rubbed her hands over her face. “This is so going to blow up in my face, isn’t it? We haven’t even said the L-word yet. This is too soon.”
“Kind of late to realize that now.” As usual, Olivia blew into the room with a presence that was almost physical.
The Dominatrix was dressed casually in shorts and a green tank top with Stronghold’s logo across the chest. Her hair was piled on top of her head in a casual, messy bun.
Somehow, she still exuded the same authority she did when she was wearing a business suit or her leathers. It was a skill.
“For what it’s worth, I think you and Law are on the same page. You two should probably try talking to each other about what that page looks like.” Olivia walked over and picked up the box Rae had just packed, hefting it easily. “Come on, let’s go get you moved into Law’s.”
She winked and walked out of Iris’ bedroom, leaving Iris and Rae staring after her.
“I hate it when she does that,” Iris muttered.
“Does what?” Rae asked, joining Iris as they followed Olivia.
The front room was already emptying, but Law was there, standing by the front door and waiting for Iris.
“Drops the advice I want to take the least, then dashes off before I can ask her how I’m supposed to accomplish it.” She supposed it wasn’t that she didn’t know how to talk to Law. She just didn’t know how to talk to Law about her feelings.
They were supposed to be going with the flow, not making plans to move in together as a couple.
“Ready to go?” Law asked as she reached him, holding his hand out. Rae gave her a sympathetic smile before ducking out the door and leaving both of them there.
Pausing, Iris turned to look around, giving the main room one last look. Shockingly, it didn’t look all that different. Most of her stuff had been in her room, the bathroom, or the cabinets in the kitchen. Noelle’s things had taken up most of the main room.
“Yup.” Even though she wasn’t sure where this thing with Law would lead or if moving in with him even temporarily was a good idea, she knew she didn’t belong here any longer.
She put the check for the next two months of utilities on the kitchen table.
Locking the door behind her one last time, the sense of relief was profound.
She didn’t leave the key. Sadly, she wasn’t sure she trusted Noelle to return it to the manager.
Tomorrow, Iris would take it to the management office, where she’d also sign her end-of-lease paperwork preemptively and also give them her portion of the rent, which would be noted.
After that, everything would be up to Noelle.
Iris was done.
Sitting in the backseat of Mitch’s car with Law, she took out her phone and stared at it, trying to figure out what to say to Noelle that wouldn’t sound antagonistic. Finally, she settled on, I’m all moved out. Maybe I’ll see you around sometime.
Send.
Her phone quacked almost immediately with a message from Noelle. She could see Mitch glancing in the rearview mirror, and Law looked over, then away, reaching out his hand for her to hold, resting it on the middle seat between them.
Don’t think you can come crawling back when everything blows up in your face.
Ugh.
“Everything okay?” Domi asked.
Iris let the phone drop into her lap. Out of the corner of her eye, she could see Law looking over at her again.
Reaching to take his hand, her fingers entwined with his.
She didn’t have to answer Noelle right now.
She didn’t have to think about being worried Noelle was right.
Regardless of what happened with her and Law, she definitely wouldn’t be crawling back to Noelle.
Heck, she would happily move in with Rae if things soured with Law.
“It will be.”
There was a moment of silence that wasn’t exactly awkward but wasn’t not awkward, either. Then Mitch cleared his throat.
“So, who’s looking forward to Renn Fair?” he asked
“Me, me, me!” Domi’s hand shot in the air, and she was practically bouncing in her seat, which made Iris laugh.
“Me, too!” She grinned at Law as he squeezed her hand. “I haven’t been since I was a little kid. I can’t wait.” It gave her something to look forward to and think about other than her worries.
Law
With Iris’ things joining his, Law felt more at home rather than less.
He liked seeing bits of her around the house.
They’d ended up unpacking a fair amount of her stuff, though some things went in the basement.
Rewarding their friends who helped them move with pizza and beer made him feel like he was in college again.
Iris’ dad stayed for dinner, which was a lot of fun. He clearly enjoyed giving his kids a hard time, and he adored Kate. While Law wouldn’t say Diego was going to adore him anytime soon, he thought he’d made a decent first impression.
“Wow.” Iris closed the door behind her family, the last to leave, and leaned against it for a moment. With her hair up in a messy bun, wearing a t-shirt and loose shorts, she looked right at home in his house.
Law didn’t think she’d ever looked more beautiful. While it was always enjoyable to see her dressed up in fetwear, he enjoyed seeing her like this just as much. She caught his gaze and smiled at him.
“So… now what?”
Smiling back at her, Law raised his hand and crooked his finger.
Standing in the middle of the room, he waited until she stood in front of him before he cupped her chin and tilted her head back. Lowering his lips to hover just above hers, he heard her swift intake of breath when he stopped short of giving her a kiss.
“Now, we go back to the bedroom and celebrate.”
Closing the gap between them, he kissed her deeply. Other than his clavicle, most of his aches and pains had resolved during the week. He pulled her in close, feeling her body press against his. He was moving easier, and it showed.
Iris’ hands slid up his chest, gently, and over his shoulders to cling to him.
He turned, angling her in the right direction, so when he broke the kiss, he could spin her around so she was facing the hallway. Law gave her ass a short, sharp smack.
“Get moving, subbie.”
Iris’ giggles echoed down the hall as she scampered ahead of him, peeking over her shoulder to make sure he was following before giggling again and dashing ahead.
Chuckling, Law made his way after her, feeling a bit like a predator on the prowl, his erection thickening with anticipation as he paced after her.
She was waiting for him in the bedroom. Trapped by choice. Eagerly shifting back and forth on her feet, waiting for him.
“Strip, sweetheart,” he ordered. “I’m going to get a few toys to play with.”
Nothing crazy. Definitely no impact toys.
As much as he enjoyed them, he didn’t think he was quite recovered enough for that yet.
There were a few other things he could play with.
Fetching them from the drawer where he kept his favorites, he turned around to see Iris already naked and kneeling in a perfect submissive pose next to the bed.
Well.
Almost perfect.
Her knees were spread, hands resting on the tops of her thighs, palms upward, breasts thrust out… but instead of having her head down, she was watching him. Little brat. Law’s lips twitched.
She was incorrigible. Nothing but trouble, as he’d once told Patrick, but she was his trouble, and he planned to keep her.
“Naughty girl,” he said, shaking his head. “You’re supposed to be looking at the floor.” He raised his eyebrows at her.
“Sorry, Sir.” Iris lowered her gaze but didn’t sound particularly sorry.
Amused, Law took a moment to observe her, his thoughts turning over in his head. She peeked up at him before dropping her gaze again.
“Do you think I can’t punish you in my current state?” He was curious. Iris had a tendency to push playfully, but he wanted to know if part of the reason she was doing so now was she thought she was safe.
“Um, no, Sir?” There was a hint of question in her voice.
“I can assure you, sweetheart, injured or not, I can make a naughty girl regret her actions.”
Iris might be a naughty girl in the fun sense of the word, but she was also a subbie who liked a bite of pain with her sex. She’d not only been missing out on sex this week, she’d also been missing out on the pain and punishment she craved.
The flare of need in her eyes confirmed his guess that she’d needed a little something more than he’d given her. Well, that was easily remedied.
“Offer me your breasts, sweetheart.”
It was a good thing he’d already picked out the electric nipple clamps instead of the regular ones.
This was going to be fun.