The Dom’s Submission: Complete Series by Ellis O. Day
CHAPTER 29: Maggie
Maggie stretched out her arm, searching for the large, warm, male body, but her hand found nothing but bedding. She sat up, shoving her hair out of her face. Terry’s side of the bed was empty.
The bathroom door was open but no light was on. She hopped out of bed, a slight ache between her thighs reminding her of all the wonderful things they’d done last night. She peeked out the window. It was dawn. Saturday. She had no kids and no work. She could stay here all day and make love with Terry.
She stopped at the bathroom door. That’s what it was too, at least for her. She had no idea when it’d happened but sometime between when he’d saved her from being raped to when he’d taken care of her and her kids, she’d fallen for him. She shouldn’t have. She’d just gotten divorced. Terry should be her rebound lover, but he was far from that.
She went into the bathroom washed her face, brushed her teeth, using his toothbrush, and combed her hair. It was a mess, all tangled and knotty from his hands running through it, tugging on it, making her bend to his will and desires.
When she finished in the bathroom, she was disappointed to see that he still hadn’t returned to the bedroom—the bed to be more precise. She’d hoped he would’ve realized she was awake and would’ve come to make love again. She hesitated at the door. Her shirt was ruined. She could put on her skirt or underwear but with nothing on top, she felt even more exposed. She grabbed his shirt from the floor, inhaling his scent. A needy ache throbbed between her legs. She was a wanton. Just the thought of him made her want to jump him. She pulled the shirt on over her head and grabbed her underwear before smiling and tossing them aside. He’d be surprised when he realized she’d decided to go commando.
She stepped into the living room and stopped. Terry was on the couch, petting Beast and staring at nothing.
Her stomach fluttered. Something was wrong. “Is everything okay?” She walked toward him. His eyes met hers and her heart stuttered. The look on his face was…She couldn’t quite place it—sad, unhappy, haunted. She sat next to him. “Did something happen to someone?”
“Yes. No.” He stood, crossing the room. Terry staying away from her wasn’t good.
“Tell me what’s wrong.” As far as she remembered, they’d had a great time last night, but maybe he was regretting it already.
“I’m sorry, Maggie, but I can’t. I can’t do this.”
It felt like every cell in her body died but she stood. “Oh. Okay. I-I guess, I should go.”
“Of course, you’ll go. That’s the problem.” He turned toward her. “That’s what I can’t handle.”
“Terry, I’m not…I can’t play games right now.” She was barely keeping it together. “Do you want me to leave or not?”
“I don’t want you to ever leave,” he said softly.
“What?” She took a step toward him, hope flaring in her chest. “What did you say?”
He took a deep breath. “My wife, ex-wife, left me and took our children.”
“I thought you saw your kids?”
“I did but I didn’t live with them. I didn’t see them every night. Tuck them in. Read them stories.” His eyes were bright with tears. “Help them with schoolwork. I only got to see them every other weekend and on Tuesdays after school.” He ran his hand through his hair. “I hated that. It hurt to lose my wife, my home, my business but it almost killed me to lose my kids.”
“I’m sorry.” She wanted to hug him and ease the sorrow in this large and powerful man.
“I can’t do it again. I can’t.” He looked up, blinking back tears.
“I don’t understand what you’re saying.” Her feet took a step toward him, unable to stop herself. “I thought you wanted this to be an arrangement—you and me. Nights and weekends without the kids.” Her heart was racing, praying he wanted more.
“I did but I can’t do that either.” He took a step toward her. “I need to see you more. I’m addicted to you. I want to sleep with you at night, every night and wake with you in my arms.”
“I have three kids, remember? You don’t want to deal with them.” She took another step toward him.
“I love kids, especially yours.” He took a step and they were now only inches away. “You have no idea how I missed them and you when I came home after you were sick. And then again after you and the kids left here. This place was like a crypt without you—cold, quiet and lifeless.”
“Are you saying we should move in together?” This was more than she’d ever hoped.
“I-I don’t know.” He raised his hand as if to touch her cheek and then dropped his arm. “I don’t know what to do. I can’t let you move in because I don’t know if I’d survive when you left me but I can’t stay away from you either.”
“Oh, Terry.” She bit her lip and smiled.
“It’s not funny.”
“I know.” She reached up and cupped his cheek. “I’m scared too.”
“You are?”
“Yes. I’m newly divorced. I’m not supposed to fall in love with the first guy I date.”
“You love me?” He looked so nervous and scared, that her heart became a happy pile of mush.
She stood on tiptoe, wrapping her arms around his neck. “Yes. Definitely, yes.” She kissed him but he broke away too soon.
“You know, I’m bossy and like to be in control.” His hand wandered to her ass. “Not just in the bedroom.”
“I know that.”
His eyes gleamed as his other hand slipped under the shirt she was wearing. “Naughty girl. You seem to have forgotten your panties.”
“Oh, no.” She touched her lips. “Does that mean Sir has to punish me?”
He grinned. “Yes, it does.” He pulled her against his growing erection.
“I think I need to be punished a lot, Sir.”
His smile faded. “First, we need to talk.”
“That’s a cruel punishment.”
He laughed. “Yes, it is, but seriously, you know you’re going to have to let me take care of you. It’s what I do. What makes me happy.”
She dropped down to her feet, her body sliding along his. “I can’t.”
“You have to.”
“I will but not completely.”
“Explain.” His eyes narrowed and his hand tightened on her ass.
“I’m afraid too and I can’t let myself completely rely on anyone anymore. I can’t find myself in the position I was in until you helped me with David’s lies.” She kissed his chin. “I’m working for Annie now. I’m going to make desserts for her business and I’m signing up for classes on baking and business.”
“You don’t have to do that. You can stay home with the kids. I have enough money—”
“This isn’t about your money or my money. This is about me being able to survive on my own.”
“But you don’t have to be on your own, ever.”
“I love you, Terry, but I have to do this for me. Please try and understand.” She touched his cheek. “This has nothing to do with me not trusting you. I want to know that I’m with you because I want to be and not because I need to be. I want, no need, to be able to support myself, just in case.”
“Maggie, please don’t do this.” He rested his chin on the top of her head. “Let me take care of you.”
“You can.” She put her cheek on his chest. “You can listen to me when I come home. Taste my desserts. Help me with the kids. You can massage my feet after a long day and you can take care of me by being in my life.”
“What if that’s not enough?”
“It will be.” She looked up at him and he was terrified. “Terry, I don’t stop loving people. They stop loving me.”
“Me too.” He skimmed his thumb over her cheek.
“Then, I think we’ll be stuck with each other forever.”
“I hope so.”
“Me too.” She pressed against him a little more, feeling his growing need.
“However…” He grinned.
“Yes.” She knew that gleam in his eyes. He was going to be naughty again and she couldn’t wait.
“I will need you to make some clit cakes or titty treats. It’s a deal breaker if you don’t, because I intend to feast on your body every night for the rest of my life.”
Her face heated. “Actually, I already did some research on that.”
“You did?”
“Yep. I should have something for you to try soon.”
“How about this weekend?” He lifted her by her ass. “We’ll go to the store later and get all the ingredients. Honey. We definitely need honey.”
She wrapped her arms around his neck. “You got it and I think we’ll put some on you too.” She smiled against his lips. “I love honey.”
