Mina's Heart (16 page)

He lined the bottom of the trunk with a blanket. The first layer consisted of canes and crops, implements he’d kept hidden in closets and drawers. Another blanket went in next, separating the floggers and ropes. Next he packed various dildos and vibrators into clean plastic bags. Lastly he added the restraints and blindfolds he’d been using on her.

At last he closed the lid, promising himself that it wasn’t a final act. One day, he and Mina would open that trunk, and together, they’d explore the contents.

Chapter Six

Pale timber rose from the ground, stretching upward in a dizzying design that seemed both larger and smaller than it had on the plans. The rough frame for Everett’s house was nearly complete. With a loan from his parents, he was making his dream come true ahead of schedule. Mina could make out the bones of the massive great room, and she could appreciate how it flowed into the dining area and kitchen.

It was vacant today, a barren structure that seemed to have been abandoned before it could reach its full potential. Much like her career aspirations.

In the distance, she could hear the sounds of men working on Wilder’s house. It was a few days further along, courtesy of Ever’s generous heart. They were using the same workers, and Ever had agreed to let them finish framing Wild’s house first.

It amazed her how different the two houses would be. Wild had chosen an A-frame model that would feature a lot of wood and stone. Ever, with her blessing, had gone a more contemporary route. The house would be spacious but modern. No elk heads would ever grace the walls, not that they would at Wild’s place either. Well, unless they were photographs. Wilder had an amazing skill with a camera.

Arms slipped around her waist. “It’ll be finished next summer. Will that be enough time?” Ever strung a line of kisses along her neck.

She leaned into his embrace and closed her eyes to enjoy the tingles that shot down her spine. “Mmmm. Time for what?”

“Time for you to move in with me.”

Those tingles turned a little cold. She couldn’t afford even half of a place like this. She had no job and no fucking prospects for one.

Ever didn’t seem to notice. He continued explaining. “I figure that would be enough time for your mother to be comfortable with us moving forward in our relationship. I want you to meet with the designer and start choosing the paint colors and furniture.”

Mina wanted nothing more than to stay where they were in their relationship. It was a good place. They loved each other. They spent a lot of time together, even traveling for weekend getaways. They made love frequently. But they didn’t talk about settling down or anything serious like that.

At times, though, it seemed like Ever was hiding something. After the first night he’d made love to her, things had altered. He no longer tied her up or blindfolded her when they played.

She couldn’t complain about the quality of his lovemaking. He was sweet and generous, always making sure she had an orgasm. Sometimes when she was about to climax, she would catch him with a certain look on his face, as if he was fighting an internal battle. But the expression would disappear quickly. He’d do something incredible with his lips or his fingers or his dick, and she would forget everything but the way he made her feel.

Other times he seemed to want to say something to her, but he didn’t. She didn’t know why he was guarding his feelings, but since she was also hiding stuff from him, she didn’t pry. If she did, then she might find herself explaining about things she’d rather not discuss. Like the concept of moving in with him.

“Okay.” It was easier to agree than to explain why she didn’t want to meet with a designer. Ever always demanded answers. He wanted to know how her job search was going, if she was looking at all, if she had decided against engineering, and why she refused to talk about her father.

He didn’t interrogate her or push for responses. Instead, he peppered casual questions into other conversations.
You look lovely in that dress you made. You could be a fashion designer.
Behind every comment, she heard the underlying questions he never voiced, but that he must surely be thinking.
You graduated five months ago. Why aren’t you employed?

She inhaled deeply, letting the crispness of the early fall weather fill her lungs, and then she let it out slowly, trying to exhale away the stress.

Was he looking for a housewife? He never indicated what he wanted one way or the other. Knowing him, he would probably love it if she stayed at home to take care of his house and children. He’d come home every night to a hot meal, spend the evening talking or making love, and not worry about whether his laundry was clean.

“What’s wrong?”

She should have expected the question. Ever seemed to spend all his free time studying her, analyzing her actions and reactions. She frequently felt self-conscious, though she knew he didn’t intend to make her feel that way. It was just that when he focused on her with that laser-like intensity, she had the feeling he could see into her head and her heart.

“Nothing’s wrong.”

Convincing him of the truth of that statement would be nearly impossible. He was too perceptive.

“Mina, my love, you’re getting tense, and you didn’t answer my question.”

“I said I’d meet with your designer.”

Given the way his apartment looked, Mina had been under the impression that Ever had good taste in decor and furnishings. Then he’d blown her assumption to shreds when he’d laughingly told her that his mother and older sister had handled all those details.

“You didn’t say whether you’d want to live here.”

She had begun taking for granted that he wanted her to live there with him. Otherwise, why ask her to approve the blueprints and work with a designer?

“Is your hesitation related to your job search? Have you heard back from anybody?” He turned her to face him, and he held her captive with his penetrating green stare. His expression was gentle, inquisitive, and entirely too probing.

After applying for over one hundred jobs, she had hit a wall. A week ago, she’d stopped sending out résumés. She shook her head, not wanting to talk about her failure. He’d only found out about her fruitless efforts at finding a job by accident. He’d shown up unexpectedly one afternoon when she’d been on the phone doing a long-distance interview with a company near Santa Monica that she really wanted to work for. They’d offered her a position, but not one that would enable her to stay in Vermont and work from home. She hadn’t accepted, because it would take her three thousand miles from Ever.

She’d fibbed and told him that she was waiting for a callback about a second interview. She’d refused to tell him the name or location of the company, but he was smart enough to know it wasn’t local. He’d spent much of the evening frowning or lost in thought.

The last thing she needed was to let him think about that topic again. Not only would it just upset him; it was none of his business. She loved him desperately, and that scared the crap out of her. Her father had been controlling, and although Ever wasn’t, she still had a hard time trusting him. She did not want to end up stuck like her mother had been.

Rolling her eyes angrily, she broke his hold and headed toward his Jeep. She didn’t really want to answer either question.

Ever followed, making his presence known as he reached around her for the door handle. He insisted on opening doors for her all the time. Her mother thought it was courteous.

Instead of opening her door, he caged her against the car. “That was exceptionally rude. I don’t deserve to be treated like that.”

“Then stop being so nosy. If I had news, I’d tell you.” She pushed as much disgust and condescension into her tone as would fit.

“I’m not so sure about that. You’re touchy about certain subjects. You keep me locked out, Mina, and I don’t like the distance it puts between us.”

Right then, she hit her limit for dealing with him. She tried to whirl, to face him head-on and make him back down, but he kept her locked in his cage, immobile. She braced her hands against his truck and pushed back as hard as she could. That move got her nowhere. “I’m not going to put up with this shit today.”

“Mina.” He growled the warning. “That’s not fair. I asked you to move in with me. If that’s not what you want, then you just need to say so.”

As if he wouldn’t push.

Actually, he probably wouldn’t, and that realization deflated her ire. He wasn’t the same man who’d bought her two baskets of flowers even after she’d told him not to. He wasn’t the man who’d kissed her on the first date, turning her rules around so that he followed the letter of them instead of the spirit—and she’d loved it.

She missed that man. She’d fallen in love with him, and then he’d disappeared.

She elbowed him sharply in the ribs. From the way he exhaled, she knew she’d landed her blow in a prime spot. “I want to know what happened to you. I want to know why you’ve changed.”

He stepped back, releasing her. She turned to find his gaze averted, his emerald eyes clouded with something that looked a lot like shame.

“I haven’t changed.”

Now that she had the upper hand, she wasn’t going to let it go. “You have. There’s at least one time every day when you look at me and you don’t say what you’re thinking. Sometimes when we talk or argue, you stop and weigh your words first. You used to just talk to me.”

“Mina.” It was a plea.

She’d never heard him sound so upset. Lifting her arms, she moved forward to comfort him, but he moved away. “Ever, don’t be upset. I just… You used to tie me up and blindfold me, and…I miss that. I miss…”

She didn’t miss everything. Some of the high-handed ways he’d handled her had been too reminiscent of her father. That was another taboo topic.

He stared at her, appraising her with a calculating look she hadn’t seen in far too long. A shiver of apprehension ran through her. She hadn’t realized how much she’d missed the thrill of not knowing what he was going to do, but knowing that she would come out of it writhing with pleasures she’d never imagined.

“You’re saying you want me to tie you up and blindfold you?” For once, he stood totally still.

She nodded once. In the back of her mind, she congratulated herself for successfully changing the topic.

“And that you want me to stop censoring my thoughts and actions?”

“Yes.” Well, that might not have been the absolute truth, but she wasn’t going to qualify it right now. The timing was wrong.

“Then I have to tell you, Mina, that I’d like to know why you refused to answer my question. Do you want to move in with me when the house is finished or not?”

Her temper exploded, mostly because her tactic hadn’t worked. “Damn it! Why do you have to be so pushy? Why can’t you and your fucking one-track mind follow a simple conversation?”

He stepped closer, caging her against the car once again. “As I recall, you asked me to stop censoring my thoughts and actions.”

She snorted and pounded on his chest with her fists. “Move it, you fucking Neanderthal.”

A shutter dropped over his expression, rendering it stony and hard to read. “There are consequences for this kind of disrespect.”

She shivered at his implication, but she didn’t know whether it indicated nerves or anticipation. It had been so long since he’d behaved this way. He’d never spanked her. Part of her, the reckless part, wanted him to just do it. Perhaps it would break the power he had over her and she would be able to think clearly when he was around. Perhaps she could better evaluate the offer from the California company that wanted to send her a plane ticket.

But other than those first few times, he hadn’t used that threat again. She had no idea what consequences he meant. Would he take her home and deny her the pleasure of his company? Would he break up with her?

He waited several long seconds, and she knew he was gauging her reaction. She didn’t really have one. She wasn’t afraid he would hurt her physically, and if he wanted to be childish, then she wasn’t going to hang around for it.

When enough time had passed, and she didn’t know how he decided on that, he opened the door and helped her up into his vehicle. They made it to his apartment. He locked the door, threw the mail he’d grabbed on the way up onto his dining room table, and regarded her with his hands on his hips.

“Strip.”

Without bothering to see if she was going to comply, he snagged a dining room chair and dragged it into his bedroom. Curious, she followed him to see what he planned to do with it.

He kicked aside his clothes from the night before and placed the chair near the foot of his bed. Turning, he lifted his eyebrows expectantly. “Remove your clothes.”

Used to him being more romantic, or at least kissing her first, Mina shrugged out of her shirt and shorts. Her panties and bra followed, landing in the heap he’d created when he’d pushed his clothes out of the middle of the floor.

He watched without revealing the level of interest he usually displayed. She could have been rearranging his throw pillows for all he cared. Once she finished, he spread his hand toward the chair. “Sit.”

From the steamer trunk on the other side of the room, he extracted a length of rope. In less than five minutes, he had tied her to the chair, securing the normal places like her wrists and ankles, but also wrapping it around her waist and shoulders. The coating on the wooden chair grew sticky against her back, and she couldn’t lean forward to find a more comfortable position.

Her legs, of course, were spread, exposing her pussy the way he liked.

“No blindfold.”

Since she had no idea what he planned, she had no idea if that was the consequence of rolling her eyes, calling him names, and elbowing him in the ribs. If so, she could live with that paltry punishment. While she liked being blindfolded, she was used to going without it.

“What’s the safe word?” The tone he used sent a chill down her spine. She didn’t know if he meant to be imposing, but the fun, easygoing lover she’d come to know had vanished. For the first time in months, Ever made her uneasy.