Chapter 11
Dane
I’m out of my mind by the time the two weeks have passed. The only thing that held me together was having Paige put those cameras up in her apartment. It allowed me to make sure she was okay and gave me a glimpse into her life. It was almost impossible not to sit and watch her every time she was at home.
She was careful about the cameras at all times. She never came out of the bathroom without being fully covered. Good girl. I wouldn’t have wanted my men to see her partially naked.
I watched her sleep. She didn’t sleep well. She was restless. Not surprising. Unlike me, she didn’t have the ability to see what I was doing.
She paced a lot. She packed her things. She filled her suitcases. She went to work and came home. She had groceries delivered once. Most of the time, she ate frozen dinners.
Every night, she sat and picked at them.
Sometimes, she glanced at the cameras, probably wondering if I was watching.
I’ve been pacing for twenty minutes, ever since she got into the fake Uber. Brant picked her up. She’ll be here any moment. He instructed her to lie in the back seat once they left her apartment so that no one would be able to see her in the back of the SUV. It’s tinted, but I didn’t want to take any chances.
My underground parking spot is next to my private elevator. Brant will call the elevator, wait for it to arrive, and then motion for Paige to get out of the SUV and hurry into the cab.
That should be any moment now. I jump when I hear the ping. I’m standing right outside the doors, and as soon as they open, Paige rushes into my arms.
I lift her off her feet and swing her around. I kiss all over her face, not giving a fuck that Brant has followed her out of the elevator with her suitcases in tow.
When I put her down, I keep her pressed against me.
Brant sets her cases inside the penthouse. “Do you want me to do anything else for now?”
I turn to face him. “No. Can you and JT be here tomorrow morning at eight? We’ll go over what to do going forward.”
“We’ll be here. I’ll let JT know.” Brant gives Paige a wave and steps back into the elevator.
I grab Paige’s hand and tug her through the penthouse, pointing out various rooms as we go. I’m moving fast, though, because I don’t give a fuck about showing her around. “Kitchen, living room, dining room, gym, office, bathroom, guest room, our bedroom.” As soon as we’re in the bedroom, I kick the door shut and lock it. I nod across the room. “Safe room.”
She’s giggling as I haul her into my arms again. “Was that supposed to be a tour?”
I grunt. “If you want a better tour, you can give yourself one tomorrow. I’m sure you’ll recognize the kitchen when you find it. I bet you know what a bathroom is, too.”
She keeps giggling. God, I missed that sound. “I’m here,” she murmurs.
“Longest fourteen days of my life.”
She slides her palms up my chest. “I bet they weren’t.”
I inhale sharply and rest my forehead against hers. “No. You’re right. They followed the longest three years of my life.”
“One night together wasn’t enough,” she says, her voice full of emotion.
“No. I want all the rest of your nights.”
“I hope I can live up to your expectations.”
I smooth my hands down to cup her ass. “Baby, don’t say shit like that. Just be you. I already love you the way you are.”
“You can’t know that for sure. What if I’m not the same woman?”
“You are.”
“I’m not, though. I’m jaded. I’ve been depressed since I had to leave. I’m not sure I remember how to smile or laugh.”
“But you’ve been smiling and laughing since you walked into the penthouse.”
She bites her lip and shrugs. She nods toward the door. “You locked the door. Is anyone else here?”
“No. I just like it locked. No one will come here who isn’t specifically invited until I’m certain Tombeck can’t get to you.”
She releases me and takes a few steps back before wandering slowly around the bedroom. “About that…” She trails her fingers along the comforter on the bed and moves toward the bathroom. She disappears inside.
I follow her and lean against the frame. “What were you going to say, baby?”
She faces me. “I don’t want you to go after him.”
I frown. “Why?”
“Because it’s too dangerous. I watched that man mow down an entire room of people. He didn’t even care that he killed his own comrade.”
“If he ever found out you were alive…”
“He won’t. I’ll be careful. I’ll keep my new identity. He thinks I’m dead. Why would he be looking for me?”
“Hardened criminals like him have ways of discovering things, Paige. He knows it’s life or death for him. There’s always a chance he saw you being taken away from that bank in an ambulance.”
“The FBI said many people were removed in ambulances. Even though they knew everyone but me was dead, they pretended to try and save six people to throw off the gunman in case he watched the news.”
“Smart, but still not foolproof.”
“It’s so unlikely, Dane.” She straightens her spine. “I don’t want you to get killed, and I don’t want his death on your conscience.”
“I wouldn’t lose a moment’s rest if I shot him in the face at point-blank range, Paige,” I tell her honestly.
She flinches. “How can you say that?”
“Because it’s the truth.” She needs to know what I’m capable of, even if it’s hard to hear.
“Have you ever killed anyone, Dane?”
I stay in the door frame. I want to go to her, but she needs some space while we have this conversation. “Baby, I was in the Army before we met. You know that.”
“Yes, but that doesn’t mean you killed people. Plenty of people who do tours overseas don’t see gunfire.”
“I did, baby,” I say gently. She doesn’t need specifics.
“Have you killed anyone since you got back?”
“I have.”
She inhales sharply. “Really?”
“Yes. No one who didn’t deserve it, though.”
“But you don’t get to decide that, Dane. The courts do.”
Apparently, she’s been stressing over this for two weeks. “I don’t go into a situation and start mowing people down in cold blood, Paige. I promise. And, if it helps, I haven’t killed anyone in the last three years who wasn’t about to shoot me first.”
She searches my face. “Okay,” she whispers. “But you don’t feel that way about Damion Tombeck, do you?”
“No. But I’ve never gone after someone who shot my girlfriend.”
She gives a tiny nod. “Can we talk about this?”
“No.”
Her shoulders drop. “Every time you go out the door, I’m going to worry that you won’t come back. That he will kill you first. Or that you’ll end up arrested.”
“None of those things will happen.”
“You don’t know that, Dane.”
“I’m better than him,” I brag, trying to lighten the somber mood with a chuckle.
She rolls her eyes. “Have you been looking for him?”
“Yes.”
“Any leads?”
“A few.” I don’t want to discuss the details with her. She doesn’t need to know about that side of my work yet.
“Will you stay home with me for a few days?”
“Yes. Definitely.”
She lets out a breath as if that idea mollifies her a bit. Finally, she cocks her head to one side. “I’ve had the most stressful two weeks of my life. Do you have any toys in the house?” She gives me a wicked grin.
I return her look with an equally evil one, though I suspect mine is more like a smirk. “Of course I have toys in the house. Were you thinking of Monopoly or maybe a game of cards?” I joke.
“Haha. I was thinking of a paddle and maybe some restraints.”
“Were you planning to be sassy? I could add a ball gag and perhaps a butt plug.”
She fidgets. The idea clearly appeals to her. “I could live with both of those as long as you also give me an orgasm and then fuck me so hard my teeth rattle.”
I laugh a little. This is the oddest negotiation I’ve ever had for a scene. She and I never hashed out our plans in this fashion. We also never did anything as hardcore as a ball gag. I have one in the house because I’m the Boy Scout of Doms, but I’ve never used it.
“That’s a lot of toys, Paige. Are you sure you want to jump in so fast?”
“Yes. I’ve been numb for three years. Numb and repressed. I want to feel , Dane. The night we reunited two weeks ago was the first time I’ve flown out of my skin like that since we were last together. I want to hurt. I want to cry. I want to scream.” She glances around. “Can I do that here? Scream?”
“Yes. Not a soul will hear you inside this apartment.”
“Then make me scream, Dane.”
I hold out a hand. “Come, baby.”
Without hesitation, she rushes over to me and sets her hand in mine.
I pull her into my arms again and cup her face. “I’ll dominate you if it’s what you need, baby.”
“It is. It’s like my skin is crawling. It has been ever since you dominated me two weeks ago. It’s like everything came back to the surface and I remembered how good it feels. I’d blocked that side of me. I had no outlet for it, so I pretended I didn’t need it.”
I take her hand. “Let me show you the safe room.”
“Do I need more of a tour tonight?”
“Oh, yes. I think you do.” I guide her back into the master bedroom and across to the opposite wall.
She looks around. “You pointed in this direction earlier, but I don’t see a room.”
“That’s the point. It wouldn’t be very safe if it had a door and a knob.” I reach the bookshelf. Normally a bookshelf would be too obvious and cliché, but not this one because it’s too short. We’ll both have to duck to get into the room.
I reach for the fourth book from the top right and pull it forward as though I’m selecting it. There’s a snick just before the shelf swings outward.
“Wow. That’s intense.”
I set my hand on the small of her back and encourage her forward. “Watch your head.”
She ducks as she enters. “Holy shit, Dane.”
I follow behind and grab the rope on the other side to pull the door closed. The automatic lights came on as soon as I opened it.
Paige stands in the small room, eyes wide. “Are you just trying to hide your massive stash of fetish equipment? Or does this room actually function as a safe room?”
I smile. “It’s both. I figure why not have it be filled with toys?” I take her shoulders and turn her. “See the rope on the back of the door we just came through?”
“Yes.”
“When you enter, pull that tight until the wall is flush. You’ll hear it click into place.” I gesture toward the enormous, reinforced bar next. “Lower the bar over the latch. No one will be able to get in from the other side.”
“Including you.”
“Including me.”
She frowns. “What if I had to come in here while you weren’t at home? How would I know you were on the other side?”
Next, I guide her to the chest of drawers and open the top drawer. “There are two burner phones in here. They’re plugged in through the back of the drawer at all times.” I point out everything else. “Flashlights. Batteries. A laptop. Protein bars. Water bottles.”
“You’re like a survivalist in the mountains.”
“The penthouse is kind of high. Does it count as a mountain?”
She chuckles. “So, I could call you.”
“Yes. You still have my number memorized, right?” I made her repeat the ten digits over and over before I sent her home two weeks ago.
“I can recite it in my sleep, Dane,” she sasses.
“Please don’t. That wouldn’t be safe,” I tease.
She looks around and takes in the rest of the room. “Multipurpose room. But how useful is it as a safe room if you bring your subs in here?”
I chuckle. “Sub, baby. Just the one. I told you you’re the only woman I’ve ever brought to my penthouse. That’s why I have the apartment at Edge. If I want to play, I do it there.”
“Why did you fill this room with so much equipment if you weren’t going to use it?”
I shrug. “I intended to use it. I thought I would eventually move on. I assumed one day I would meet someone. I just never managed to open myself up to anyone.”
She turns and wraps her arms around me. “I’m sorry. Can you forgive me?”
“Baby, there’s nothing to forgive. You’re here now. You’re never leaving.”
“Make the pain go away,” she mutters.
I lean her back and meet her gaze. I need to be sure she meant everything she requested in negotiation. “You really want a gag, a plug, a paddle, and restraints?”
“Yes, Sir.”
My cock twitches when she slides into submission.
“Take everything off, Paige. Fold your clothes and pile them by the door.”
She scrambles toward the entrance and quickly obeys. She must be desperate for the release only submission can give her.
I grab various items from the drawers and set them on the dresser. The room isn’t huge. It’s got a spanking bench in the middle and a thick mat underneath where she can easily kneel without becoming uncomfortable. There are floggers, whips, and paddles on hooks on one wall.
The opposite wall has a pegboard that works a bit like a St. Andrew’s cross without taking up as much space. The back wall has a pullout couch. On the off chance someone would find themselves stuck in here for a long time, they could comfortably sleep. I even have a bucket and a bag of kitty litter in the bottom drawer.
When I turn around, I find Paige gloriously naked and standing with her head bowed, her feet spread, and her hands clasped behind her back. She has remembered how I like her to wait for me.
I remove everything I’m wearing except my jeans before I approach and circle her. “Gorgeous.” I don’t touch her because I know it’s what she’s hoping for. I prefer to enjoy watching the way her nipples pucker in anticipation. It’s time to give my girl what she needs.