Nicky wiped her eyes, and Megan got up and gave her a hug. “It’s going to be okay, I know it. And when things have settled down, maybe you guys can come out to Tennessee and stay for a while.”
Nicky grinned. “All that fresh air? I don’t know if I could take it.” Megan’s phone, still in her hand, began to vibrate, and she glanced at it. “Oh, it’s mom again.”
Megan went to Jacob, who was standing by the door, talking on his cell. When he hung up, he smiled at her. “I was arranging for the truck to be picked up. One of my drivers is going to pick up the spare keys from Mat, and take a buddy along, who can bring it back.”
“You take care of everything, don’t you, Sir,” she said, and reaching up, she kissed his cheek. “You can’t believe how glad I am that Nicky’s mom has got her act together. Nicky had it harder than me, and…”
Jacob was looking over at Nicky and frowning, and Megan swung around. From the look on Nicky’s face, something awful had happened, but Megan couldn’t think what it could be. She’d only just got off the phone from her mom a few minutes before.
The three of them waited, in silence, while Nicky’s mom was talking. When Nicky finished the call, Megan felt a stab of fear in her stomach.
Megan walked back over to her. “What is it?” she whispered.
“It’s your mom,” Nicky replied. “She’s in the hospital. My mom was so shocked at me calling, and saying I was coming home and everything, she completely blanked.”
Megan could tell Jacob had moved and was standing right behind her. “Tell me,” she said to Nicky.
“Well, mom went to visit her today; they’ve become good friends since the two of us left. Apparently, your mom suspected that Carl was fooling around, and she followed him, a couple of nights ago to a hotel on the edge of town. He met a woman there, and your mom decided to confront them. There was a big argument, management got involved, and your mom decided to leave. She had a car accident, driving back, M. The roads were wet, and she was upset, and lost control of the car.
“She’s going to be alright, but mom said that all she could talk about was you. How she’d failed you, because she hadn’t believed the things you’d said, about what an asshole Carl was.”
Jacob put his hands on Megan’s shoulders and pulled her to him until her back was resting against his chest. Then he kissed the top of her head. “Even if things happen back to back, remember? We’ll sort them out together, so let’s get going.”
Megan swung round, tears falling down her cheeks. “Thank you for being here,” she said, wiping her eyes.
“I wouldn’t want to be anywhere else, sweetheart.” He grabbed her hand, picked up Nicky’s bag, and the three of them left the apartment.
They stopped only once, to use the drive-through of a restaurant, and then ate, while they traveled. Thankfully, the traffic was good, and Jacob’s powerful car ate up the miles until, a few hours later, they finally pulled up outside Nicky’s house.
“Wow, it’s weird, being back here, isn’t it,” Nicky said as both women stared out of their windows at the familiar scenery.
Nicky sounded happy, though. This was what she wanted; to be back with her family, safe and secure. Megan, however, had left all this behind, and being back made her nervous and apprehensive somehow, like she wanted to take the wheel of the car, and drive, hell for leather, till all this familiarity was far behind her.
Nicky’s mother came rushing out of the house. She had obviously been keeping watch of the driveway after Nicky had borrowed Megan’s cell to let her know they were almost there.
Nicky got out, and after just a second’s hesitation, rushed over to her mom, and threw her arms around her.
Megan and Jacob glanced at each other and smiled.
“Looks like she’s in the right place, to me,” Jacob said, watching the two women smiling and holding each other.
Megan nodded. “Nicky’s mom put her through some really tough times, but I’ve never seen her look this good. I’d better say a quick hello.”
She got out of the car, and Jacob followed her, at a distance, not wanting to intrude. However, Nicky had different ideas. Stepping away from her mother, she grabbed Jacob’s hand and dragged him forward. “Mom, this is my savior, Jacob West. He’s Megan’s boyfriend, and if it hadn’t been for him…” Nicky’s words dried up, unlike her eyes that did the opposite.
Jacob shook hands with Nicky’s mom while Megan put her arm around her friend.
“She’s had a tough time, Mrs. Thornton, but now, the two of you can look after each other.”
“We will, Megan. Now, you should get to the hospital, and make amends with
your
mom. I know it would mean the world to her.”
* * * *
It was rush hour and the traffic had picked up. When they finally arrived at the hospital, they walked through the corridors, following the instructions Nicky’s mom had given them.
“When did you last speak to her,” Jacob asked, his hand holding Megan’s tightly.
“I gave up trying to talk to her about a month ago,” she replied, looking close to tears. “She wouldn’t believe anything I said, and she was so angry when I told her what Carl had done.”
She was pale and her hand trembled, in his. “If I’d called again, tried to talk to her…”
Jacob stopped and turned Megan to face him. “None of this is your fault, do you understand me? It wasn’t your mom’s fault, either. She was lonely, and she got sucked into this whole relationship, believing everything he told her, because, in her mind, it was better than being alone.”
He hugged his submissive, wishing he could take some of the worry from her shoulders. “Come on, let’s find the room, and then the two of you can make your peace.”
When Megan tapped on the door, there was no answer, so she tiptoed in, finding her mother fast asleep. Her face was bruised, and her arm was in plaster.
Megan sat on one of the chairs, by her bed, not knowing whether to wake her or not.
After a couple of minutes, however, her mom opened her eyes, and then they widened, when she realized who it was sitting by her bed.
She held out her good arm and took Megan’s hand in her own. “I’m so sorry, baby, I’m so, so sorry that I didn’t believe you.”
It was all Megan needed to hear, and any apprehension that had been there slipped away, as she carefully sat down on the bed and gently hugged her mom.
The two women talked for a while. Megan explained why she was in town, and how Jacob had come to hers and Nicky’s rescue, and her mom told her, in detail, what had happened with Carl, the only reassuring thing being that, when Nicky’s mom had checked on the house, the day before, Carl appeared to have moved out.
There was another knock on the door. Jacob had told Megan he’d wait outside for a while so they could talk privately, but when the door opened, it was a nurse, wanting to check on her patient.
Megan stepped out into the hall, and when she returned, Jacob was with her.
“Mom, this is Jacob West. Jacob, this is my mom, Sue.”
Jacob walked over the edge of the bed, and shook her hand. Then he took a seat, and the three of them chatted quietly. It was clear to Jacob, how pleased Megan was to have made her peace with her mom, and after a while, Sue put her hand over Jacob’s.
“You have no idea how thankful I am that Meggie has someone like you, to take care of her.” Then she smiled. “She’s always been more than a handful, but you look like someone who can handle her.”
“Oh my God, I can’t believe you would say that,” Megan spluttered, and Jacob laughed.
“Oh I agree, she’s trouble, there’s no denying it,” he said. “But I never could resist a challenge.”
“Okay, it’s obviously time to go. That concussion must be more severe than I thought,” Megan said, standing up and leaning over the bed to kiss her mother gently on her cheek.
“Can you stay, just until tomorrow? It would be so good to see you again, before you go back to Tennessee.”
Megan glanced at Jacob, who smiled, reassuringly. “Of course, and we’ll stop by your house to check everything’s secure.”
“Well, why don’t the two of you stay the night there? It makes more sense than paying for a hotel.”
Chapter Sixteen
On the drive to her old house, Megan wandered if they would take up the conversation that they’d begun at the apartment. She was
so
angry at herself for not having called him before she left. It was basic submission 101, and she had let him down.
Now everything else seemed to be taken care of, thanks to Jacob, the guilt of disappointing him gnawed at her, and at the back of her mind, she couldn’t help but worry that he might decide he didn’t want the bother of a submissive who just couldn’t follow the rules.
The house smelled a little musty, and even though it was cold outside, Megan opened a couple of windows to let in some much needed fresh air.
She jumped back when she turned around and found him standing right behind her.
“You’ve been very quiet, since we left the hospital, Megan. Are you going to tell me what’s going on in that mind of yours?” He took her wrist, and led her over to the sofa. “You thought I was going to be very angry at you, right?”
She nodded, and not able to meet his eyes, she looked across at his wide, muscular chest.
“I would be a poor excuse for a Dom if I started to yell at you, or refused to talk to you, because of a bad decision you made. Megan, I know people have let you down a lot in the past. I also know you had to depend on yourself, and make your own choices, good and bad. But you need to understand that you don’t have to do that, anymore. You. Have. Me. Now. Is that clear, once and for all?”
“Yes, Sir, it is.” But his words weren’t enough. She wanted to feel like she had when he had punished her before. Like the slate had been wiped clean, and she had his total forgiveness. It had felt like a cleansing, both inside and outside, and it meant more than she could put into words to be able to feel that way now.
He studied her face, knowing she was still keeping something back from him. “Talk to me, sub.”
It was a command, not a request.
She knew that only one thing could make it all better. “Could you do something for me, Sir?” she asked softly, raising her eyes up to his face.
“Yes, Sweetheart. What do you need?”
She trembled, when she spoke. “For you to clear my conscience, Sir.”
Saying the words out loud spurred her on, and she got up from the couch and went over to a low-backed armchair. She pulled down her jeans, and panties, and bent over the back of the chair. “Please punish me, Sir, so I know that I’m forgiven.”
Jacob was so proud as he looked at his brave little sub, bent over, ready to take whatever discipline he chose to give her so she could earn his forgiveness. Submission ran through her body like the blood in her veins.
He had intended to make her wait until they got back to Tennessee, but now was not the time for extra anxiety; she had been through enough for one day. He had an obligation, as her Dominant, to help, guide and teach her. She had shown such courage, and he would not let her down.
When he unbuckled his belt, she glanced up at him, and then her face dropped down, but not before he saw the fear there.
“You will take your punishment for me, Megan. You are a beautiful, brave submissive, and I know you can do this. Thank you for your trust; I realize the courage it must have taken to come to me.”
He folded the belt in half and took both ends in one hand. Then he walked over to his sub, admiring the way she had tipped her ass up high in the air for him.
There was a swoosh, and the belt hit her soft flesh. It was a very different sting than the one a hand left behind, and it took a second for the pain to appear. She bit her lip, determined not to cry out, but to take her punishment with grace.
The next one landed lower, covering both cheeks, and she gasped with the pain, screwing her eyes up, determined to endure whatever he gave her.
The strokes became harder, and when one came down on her thighs, she couldn’t help the cry that escaped her lips.
Her hands fisted, and she stuck them in her eyes, burying her face in the seat cushion.
“I will give you five more, and then it’ll be over, little sub.”
His deep voice gave her strength, and she braced herself for the remaining five.
Her bottom was on fire, and she could only imagine the redness and thick welts that the belt must be leaving there.
The final five were the hardest; the first two on each stinging, burning cheek, and the next two on her thighs. This time she cried, tears falling unchecked, at the pain. She moaned, knowing there was one more, and when it came, she took one fist and shoved it in her mouth, biting down on it; the cushion now wet with her tears.
Jacob stood back upright, and dropped the belt on the floor. Then he carefully helped his submissive to stand, wiping the tears from her face and tucking her hair behind her ears.
Megan knelt before her Dom, and bowed her head. “I’m sorry I didn’t call you, Sir, p…please forgive me. I promise I’ll never do anything like that again.”
It was one of the most sincere apologies he’d ever heard, and hearing her cry while she spoke, nearly broke his heart.
“You are forgiven, sub.” The words weren’t enough, though. He’d hurt his submissive, and even though she had asked him to punish her, he needed her in his arms to comfort her, so he could feel better, too.
Jacob stripped her completely and then picked her up, and carried her back over to the couch where he sat with her curled up on his lap, her head buried under his chin, and her arms tight around his neck.
He soothed her with quiet words, until her crying had stopped completely, and she sat spent in his embrace.
The room was rapidly falling into darkness, with only the streetlights outside, allowing him to see her soft curves and lush breasts, resting against him.
“You are an incredibly special woman, Megan, and I’m proud to have you as my submissive.” He paused. “I love you, Megan.”
Slowly, Megan sat up, and studied the face in front of her. “I love you, too, Sir.”