“Yeah, her. I think my daughter’s going to be able to kick her ass. Someday.”
Tom chuckled, gazing out at the purple suffusing the dusk sky. “You heard it here first, folks.”
“My Grandma had a porch like this. She used to bring us out there when the thunderstorms came, the really big ones they get back east. She’d pack my sister and me out there, wrapped up in blankets, and we’d sit there for hours, ooing and ahhing at the light show.” The baby turned, the fluttering sensation making Kirsten want to giggle. “I don’t think I ever learned to be afraid of the lightning until I grew up.”
“That’s one of the reasons we bought this place — this porch.” Tom glanced back at the kitchen. “She took one look at it, and fell in love with it.”
“She doesn’t strike me as the kind of girl who always get what she wants.”
“Trust me, she got what she wanted tonight.” Tom’s lips curved, satisfaction in his gaze.
Dinner had been an utterly surreal affair. After sending Sharon up to her room to put herself back together, Tom and Keihl finished up preparing dinner, Kirsten looking on in stunned silence. Then Sharon had returned, seemingly back to normal, her slightly puffy eyes the only hint of what they’d all witnessed. Even when they’d all seen the woman’s wince and hiss as her bottom made contact with the dining room chair, they’d gone on as if the punishment had never happened. Was this normal? Her own feelings of the punishment were confusing enough; the ignoring of the elephant in the room only deepened her confusion.
“You probably didn’t come out here to talk about porch swings.”
“No, I didn’t.” Tom lowered his head, catching Kirsten’s gaze. “What did
you
come out here for?”
“What the hell happened tonight?” Kirsten inhaled, trying to keep her trembling from getting worse. “I’ve never — I’d never have known it… was like that.”
“Sharon’s never told you? I find that pretty hard to believe.”
“She’s told me
some
. But nothing like that.’
“Did what happened make you uncomfortable?” Tom’s eyes were bright in the shadows of the porch, the waning evening light seeming to pool in them in a way that Kirsten found hard not to stare at. “If it did, I’m sorry for it.”
“No,” Kirsten said, dismayed at the speed of her answer. Too eager? “I just wasn’t prepared, I guess. For all of it.”
“All of it?”
“I mean — for what I felt.” Kirsten pressed a hand to her forehead, feeling the heat there. “I’m talking like a frightened little girl.”
“You mean it turned you on.”
Kirsten’s gaze snapped back to Tom. Her mouth opened, then closed again.
How the fuck… ?
“There’s nothing wrong with that.” Tom sat forward slightly, sending the swing twisting a little. “I suspected it might. It sure has that effect on Sharon.”
“It
does
?”
Tom’s brow arched. “You were there. I think you knew what was going on.”
“Are you always so sure you’ve got people figured out?”
“Most of the time.” He smiled. “Comes with the job. Helps me figure out who might sue my ass.”
Kirsten laughed, grateful for the humor, the tension lessening ever so slightly.
“Sharon said she talked to you about your OB.”
“She did? What did she tell you?”
“That you’re not happy with the OB. That you’ve got… questions.” Tom interlinked his fingers between his legs, leaning over. “That about right?”
“You offering to help?”
“Of course.” He flashed her a grin. “Kind of hard to just offer though — without it being… “
“Weird?”
Tom nodded slowly.
“I just don’t know how I feel about it. The idea of it.” She turned to Tom, lowering her feet to the floor to stop the movement of the swing. “Wouldn’t that be weird for
everyone
?”
“You mean my wife?”
“Well, yes.”
“We’ve got a complicated marriage, Sharon and I.”
“I learned that first-hand tonight.”
Tom looked down, chuckling. “Yes, you did. But that’s only part of it. A very small part of it.”
Of course there was more to this. She could see that now. She thought she’d had it understood from talking with Sharon before. Some slap and tickle. Maybe they brought in a second woman now and then for both of them to enjoy together. A little out there, but not that unusual either. But tonight? What she’d seen tonight told her she’d been dead wrong.
She didn’t have a fucking thing figured out.
“A very small part? What does that mean?”
It probably wasn’t particularly well-advised to push this, but her curiosity was in the driver’s seat now.
“Well, if you and Keihl okayed it, I’d tell your husband to take Sharon upstairs and give her another spanking. Then a good hard fucking. She needs both.”
Kirsten felt her mouth fall open like a landed fish, a rushing sound in her ears. “You… you’re
serious
?”
“Of course.”
“Just in case it’s not clear, I wouldn’t… be okay with that. At least not now.”
She didn’t miss the little glint in Tom’s eye at the last part. He shrugged. “I assumed you wouldn’t be.”
“Then why’d you say that?”
“Because you needed some idea of what’s going on here — between my wife and me. Does that clear it up some?”
“A little.”
“It’s a start then.” There was a new weariness in his smile. “But we can talk about that later, if you want.”
“Okay, what do we talk about then?” Kirsten cleared her throat, her voice a hoarse whisper.
“Those questions of yours. Knowing what you know of us, and what we’re into, do you think I’d be able to help you with some of them?”
Kirsten still couldn’t get the image out of her head, the image that materialized immediately after Tom’s little shocker of a statement. Keihl’s fist wrapped tight in Sharon’s blonde hair, bending the moaning, still weeping woman over the foot of the bed — just as he had Kirsten, numerous times — and sinking his cock into that wet pussy, her buttocks flaming red again from another spanking. One given this time with Keihl’s own hand.
You’re not thinking about this right now, Kirsten.
“I’ll do it.” Kirsten flipped a lock of hair off of her forehead, her fingers trembling against her skin. “But there’s something else I wanted to ask. Away from Keihl.”
Tom’s eyebrow raised, but he let her talk.
“What
is
what you two have? Is it a marriage? Is this just swinging? What?”
“Sharon’s my wife. But she’s a lot more than that.”
“For instance?”
“She’s my slave.” His gaze met Kirsten’s, a frisson of unease traveling down her spine. “I
own
her. Utterly and completely.”
“Is that why you’d tell Keihl to take her upstairs and… “
“Use her?”
The term was like a slap to her face… but one that made her clit throb too.
What the fuck, Kirsten?
“Yes — use her. Why?”
“Because she gets off on it — and so do I.”
“You do?”
The idea of a man enjoying giving his wife — his slave — to another man… it just didn’t quite compute for her. She understood — at least in the sense of being submissive — how it could be a turn-on for the woman. How many women wish they could be with more than one man? It was more than a few, she had no doubt.
“Besides, she’s used to it.” He sat back on the chair, the wood creaking. “She’d do it even if she didn’t like it.”
“Why?”
“Because I told her to.”
There was so much for her to think about, to chew on she found herself almost tongue-tied, unsure what to say next. She needed to change the subject.
“There is something else. Keihl’s talked about it.”
“The Trust, right?” Tom nodded. “It’s okay — I knew there’d be a time when we’d need to talk about it.
“What… is it?”
She still wasn’t entirely convinced it wasn’t a front for organized crime or drug running. It was just too mysterious to be anything actually, well, good. But to listen to Sharon talk about it, the Trust seemed to be something the woman greatly valued. In past conversations with Sharon, as the conversation turned to kink, mention of the Dominion Trust, along with a subtle curving of the blonde woman’s lips wouldn’t be far behind.
“Easier to show you than try to explain all of it,” Tom said, standing up. “I’d love to show you two sometime, but I think you’ve had your limit of our ways for tonight.”
Our ways?
Kirsten gave him a reluctant little smile. “You’re probably right.”
It wasn’t that she didn’t want to learn about the Trust. She wanted to learn all she could, especially considering the role it seemed to play in both Tom’s and Sharon’s lives. But now, fatigue — both mental and physical — was settling over her like a veil. There’d been so much tonight, so many revelations. All of that didn’t matter much though — for what she really wanted to do was curl up in her husband’s arms, and sleep.
“The important thing right now is that you take care of yourself, and the little one.” Tom helped her to stand. “The rest can come later.”
She looked back toward the glass slider. Keihl and Sharon were having an animated conversation, Sharon gesturing with her hand, a glass of wine hanging between her fingers, Keihl rolling his eyes at her.
“Any idea what’s going on in there?”
Tom grimaced, his gaze flicking toward them. “I’m guessing she just found out Keihl’s a Seahawks fan. She thinks the Niners can do no wrong. Poor, misguided girl.”
Kirsten giggled. “After tonight, football talk’s a relief.”
Tom reached for her hand, giving it a gentle squeeze. “You did great tonight, Kirsten. It doesn’t have to be anything further — unless you want it to be.”
“I’m not saying no — I’m just saying I’m not ready. At least not right now.”
Kirsten sighed, gazing out at the night once more. She wasn’t sure she should say all that she’d been feeling, but she knew she had to tell someone.
“Tom, can I ask you something?”
“Of course.”
He shoved his hands in his pockets, the relaxed plane of his shoulders somehow putting her a little more at ease. He was comfortable around her, and in turn it helped her feel more comfortable too.
“I—I like this.”
Tom’s eyebrow arched, but he let her talk.
“I mean, I
like
being pregnant. I like that it’s Keihl’s baby.” She felt heat at her cheeks, but she plowed ahead. “This is probably insane, but being pregnant makes me feel more… submissive toward him. I don’t even understand why, exactly.”
Tom nodded, a smile playing at the corner of his mouth. “You’re not the first woman I’ve heard say something like that.”
“I’m not?”
It was a relief, and it also made her wonder just what the hell these other women were doing discussing something like that with their doctor.
You mean like you’re doing right now?
“But I’m… struggling. I have this need within me, and yet I’m — God, I sound like a fucking crazy person — feeling this incredibly strong protective urge within me too. Mama bear, right?”
“Perfectly normal.” Tom tilted his head. “Biology’s a powerful thing. Bears aren’t the only species with fearsomely protective mothers.”
“So this is just hormones then?”
Tom shrugged. “It’s part of it, but I don’t believe it’s all of it — not with women like you.”
“Women like me?”
He pursed his lips. “Submissive ones.”
“That’s what’s making this worse for me. Is it just coincidence that I’m pregnant and we’re also exploring…?”
“The Game? That’s what you guys call it, right?”
“Well, yes.” She laid a hand on her belly, the baby doing flips again. “Sometimes I think… maybe I’m a masochist or something.”
“Why?”
You need to stop here, idiot.
“Is it weird to feel almost a sort of
pride
that it’s hard? I think of the pain I’m in sometimes, and it feels like a badge of honor or something. It’s not just enduring that pain for the baby, it’s enduring it… for him. Christ, I’m messed up.”
“Nothing messed up about that in the least.” Tom stepped closer, taking her hand again. “But you need to give yourself a break, Kirsten. You think too much.”
She winced. “Not the first time I’ve heard that.” She blew out a long breath, stroking her belly. “I just… I can’t talk about these feelings with Keihl.”
Tom tipped his head toward the glass slider. “You’re afraid he’ll worry about you.”
“Or institutionalize me.”
Chapter Twenty Eight
S
he couldn’t remember the last time she’d been so nervous having her feet up in the stirrups for an exam. Of course, the circumstances of the exam weren’t exactly routine either.