Honey, Honey by Rebel Carter

Chapter Sixteen

HONEY

Law’s room was sparse.It was nice, every bit of the luxury the Cairn was known for but it was lacking the more indulgent comforts my suite featured. I didn’t miss an opportunity to let him know that Zeus gave me swankier accommodations.

“I’ve got a nicer suite than this.”

My arms were crossed and I faced away from him, staring at a painting to the right of his door. If I turned my head I’d see the only other thing that really demanded attention in the room. His bed. It was a massive affair of well formed dark wood and what looked like tons of fluffy, pristine white pillows and comforters. If a cloud could be turned into a bed, it would be this bed.

It was so at odds with the rest of the room, the darkness of everything else seemingly working to frame the bed as a bright spot to be focused on. It drew the eye easily and I wasn’t too keen on giving my attention to it when the man at my back made me horny beyond belief. He made me as horny as he did angry and annoyed, and just...well, I had almost cried over him again, and I had spent the better part of the last night crying over him. Staring at his bed really didn’t seem to be the move needing to be made after running into my stalker ex boyfriend.

“Like what you see?”

He’d known the answer to that question before he’d even asked me. He had to have, even if we hadn’t so much as had a single conversation on my limits and preferences. I hadn’t made a secret of how interested I was in the couple on stage. It wasn’t so much that I was interested in them, but the act. The Dominant had handled the flogger with precision, the leather of it kissing the thighs and flank of the submissive, turning her skin a lovely shadow of pink with each bite of the leather. She’d taken each strike with pleasure, eyes closing, head tipped back and a smile pulling at her lips. It hadn’t been a stretch for me to imagine that it was Law and me on stage. That it was me with my hands cuffed at my sides while he circled me, a flogger in his strong and capable hands.

In my version he was shirtless, the light of the dungeon moving over him and turning him into a work of art. All hard angles and muscle, the shadows and light playing over him until he resembled an avenging angel. The kiss of the leather against my heated skin capable of bringing me to my knees. I would promise anything to have him keep going, to have his mark in the form of red skin and bruises delivered via the flogger he held, because it was him.

What my angel decided to give me I would take gladly.

Or demon,the voice in my head whispered to me. I turned, looking back at Law who was standing in front of the door with his hands at his sides, fingers curled into fists. He was glaring. The man did not look happy. He was also avoiding looking in the direction of the bed, which meant he was staring straight ahead at the door that I was assuming was his bathroom.

When he didn’t respond to my comment on the room I continued on, because if I didn’t fill the space with something I was going to pop. “I’ve got a huge bed and fireplace, and you know, actual furniture. My bathroom is just about as big as this room,” I said, waving a hand at his room.

“Strip.”

I blinked, my mouth dropping open. “What?”

“Get in the shower. Now.” He pointed a hand at the bathroom. “You need to sober up. A shower will do it. I’ll get the water running while you get undressed. There’s a robe in the closet,” he said, nodding at the door behind me.

“I don’t need a shower,” I told him.

He didn’t stop on his way to the bathroom. “You do. You need to relax.”

“I’m fine,” I said quickly.

“You’re not fine. That shithead has you wound up, we need to bring you down again. I want you to have time to sober up too. I don’t know what the shit that was, with Connie letting you drink tonight, but that does not fly with me.”

I blushed hot because I knew why he was saying what he was. Drunk or tipsy submissives were never up for grabs, not when it came to play partners. I’d come here wanting to find a partner to play with, but Connie had insisted I drink. Why?

“I’m not drunk,” I said.

“You were spilling your damn drink all over yourself,” he shot back, pausing in the doorway to the bathroom.

I started towards him but he backed up a step and my mouth fell open at the movement. Did he think I was going to throw myself at him or something? “I was nervous, okay? I knew Christian was going to be here tonight and then Connie was teasing this big reveal at who she was going to have me with tonight, and then there you were,” I threw out my hands, glaring in his direction. “What the hell was I supposed to do?”

“Not spill your damn drink.”

I rolled my eyes, looking away from him and stalked over to the closet, because I knew he wasn’t going to let this go. If I didn’t get into the robe and let him force me into the shower we were going to argue all night. Besides, getting out of my shoes wasn’t a bad idea, my feet were killing me. “Whatever.”

“Get in the robe,” Law snapped, disappearing into the bathroom.

“Yeah, I know, I know, bossy pants.” I heard Law chuckle from inside the bathroom and I tried to ignore the warm feeling of pleasure that sound gave me. He’d said that I brought people into my shit, he’d gotten pissed about having to ‘babysit me’, and he had walked out on me 24 hours earlier. I did not need to be noticing his chuckle, or thinking about how nice that sound made me feel. I needed to be mad at him. I needed to be just as annoyed as he was with me, and that was that.

I leaned down, undoing the straps of my heels, and stepped out of them with a grateful sigh. I was pulling the straps of my dress down my shoulders when I heard Law clear his throat. I looked over to see that he was standing with his back to me, hands clasped behind his back and staring at the painting that I had just been making a study of.

“Let me know when you’re ready.” Was all he said before he fell silent and went about staring ahead.

“You’re really killing this bodyguard vibe,” I told him, slipping out of the dress and hanging it up on a hanger.

“I should, was one of the things I did once upon a time.”

That was...interesting. Both the fact that he’d done it and the fact that he’d shared it with me. I hadn’t really thought he would give me that much of his background, not with what he’d given me so far, which was nothing. Well, he’d given me tears and an orgasm, but I couldn’t use either of those to get to know the man.

“Cool,” I said quietly, because what else was I supposed to say to that? I didn’t know, since I’d never met a bodyguard. All I knew about them was from movies or television. But straight back, the focused way Law was staring at the painting as if it were the only thing that existed while I knew damn sure he was aware of where I was made me feel protected. Not to mention the way he’d swept me out of the room and kept the others away. I’d played at not noticing all the attention, but it was hard not to look at Law, and each time I did I saw where he was looking and was met with another pair of hungry eyes.

I thought I would know what to do with the spotlight Connie had decided to send my way, but I was wrong. I hadn’t known. In fact, it had almost been too much.

“I’m going in,” I said, wrapping the robe around myself and padding towards the bathroom.

Law gave a grunt, but I watched his shoulders relax slightly. He turned so that he was in profile but his eyes were now on the wall to the left of me, still not on me. “I’ll get you something to eat and drink. Take your time.”

I opened my mouth to tell him I didn’t need him to get me anything, but I stopped. Even if I was mad at him I liked knowing he was getting those things for me. After the unexpectedly intense night, knowing that anyone was getting those things for me—taking care of me—was a heavenly comfort.

“Thank you,” I said instead.

Again, he grunted in reply, and when he didn’t move, I set off for the bathroom. I closed the door and was taking off my robe before I heard his footsteps sound in the other room. I blew out a sigh and looked at myself in the mirror. The makeup I’d put on earlier had held up despite the night, and my hair? Still piled high and looking absolutely amazing, but me?

Not so much on either account.

My eyes looked tired. Worried. I could see that beneath the makeup I was pale and my shoulders were hunched up. No wonder he had wanted to get me in the shower. I sighed, hating that he was right, and approached the walk in shower. I held my hand out under the spray and found that it was a delightfully warm temperature. It was going to do wonders for the way my muscles were bunched. Of course Law had picked the right temperature, just like he was doing the right thing in the other room by making sure I had food and drink.

As far as babysitters went, he wasn’t a terrible one. I stepped into the shower and sighed in relief at the first warm spray of water. I closed my eyes and stood there, letting the water clear my mind of the worry over Christian and the anxiety brought on from being the focus of so many club members. I was used to blending in more at the club, I was noticed, but only when I wanted.

Tonight had been an entirely different animal. Attention had come fast and unbidden, as easily as breathing, and I didn’t know what to do with what felt like an overabundance of energy that was currently coursing through my body. I took in a deep breath and held it for a second before I let it go in a deep exhale. Again, I took in another breath and let it out, and then another and another until I felt myself start to mellow. Down the drain went my fear and anxiety, and by the time I reached to turn off the shower I had lost track of how much time had passed. I turned off the shower and stepped out, breathing in deeply once more while I dried off and pulled on the robe. This time the fluffy softness of it felt good, really good. I hadn’t registered it the first time and I smoothed my hands over it with an appreciative sigh.

I paused in front of the steamed up mirror and thought about swiping a hand over it to see what I looked like but I didn’t let myself. If I did that I would get in my head again. I patted at my hair which was still up and pushed the damp tendrils that had come loose away from my face before I opened the door. The cool air of the room was sudden and it made the warm air at my back all the more appealing. I hesitated on the threshold, not really wanting to walk forward and leave the warm comfort of the bathroom, but also desperately wanting to see what Law had gotten me. I could see the telltale cart beside the bed and swallowed hard when I caught sight of him lounging in the one and only chair in the room. It was leather and high backed, angled towards the bed and sitting just off to the side of it. His big body was taking up every inch of the chair and he had a mug in his hand.

Was he drinking tea?

“Hey,” I said quietly from where I stood.

“Come on out, Honey.”

“But it’s cold in here,” I told him.

He frowned and glanced towards the door where a blinking thermostat was on the wall and stood. “I’ll turn on the heat. Get in the bed, it’ll be warmer there.”

My feet were moving before I could think. “Yeah, okay, but where…” my voice trailed off and I looked at him again, “where are you going to sleep?”

“In the chair,” he said, as if that were obvious. He was already at the thermostat and was punching buttons to kick on the heat. “There, that should do it. I don’t want you getting cold. In the bed. Now.”

“Bossy,” I muttered, but did as I was told.

“Seems to be the only thing you respond to,” he countered, and I smiled even if I didn’t want to.

“Fair point,” I said, pulling back the covers and getting into the bed. It was cold now but I knew the sheets would warm within a few minutes. “Are you drinking tea?” I asked, looking at the mug he had set on the cart.

“Yes, we both are.”

“Are we now?”

“We will be as soon as you tell me how you like yours.” He came to stand beside the cart and gave me an expectant look.

I bit my bottom lip and then, because I did love tea and the cloying smells of jasmine and bergamot were too much to resist, I said, “I’d like a splash of cream, that’s it.”

Law didn’t say anything, but that seemed to be his default setting. I watched his hands while he worked. They were inked, the tattoos I’d seen before, the ones that had pulled my attention in the first place that morning in the coffee shop had my attention once again. The bold black lines of the ink were pretty...in a savage way. Just like Law.

“Here you are,” he said, holding the cup out to me.

“Thanks.” I took the cup and inhaled deeply, letting the familiar smells of the tea calm me further. This had been exactly what I’d needed. I sipped the tea and nodded at him. “Thank you. I mean that.”

“It’s my job,” he said and I felt my chest get tight. I didn’t want him to say that. I wanted him to want to be here with me. But that Law didn’t exist. He pulled the dome lid from the tray on the cart back to reveal fruit and cake. The cake was chocolate with thick luscious looking frosting over the top of it. I focused on the fudge dripping down the sides, preferring to think of the cake than dwell on the fact that the Law I wanted, the one I wished was real, wasn't.

Why did I want a man that didn’t want me? What was wrong with me?

Different man, same old song and dance.

“What’s wrong?” He asked, squatting down so that he was looking up at me instead of standing above me.

“Nothing’s wrong,” I lied. “This looks great. Can I have the cake?”

“Not until you tell me why you’ve got that look on your face.”

“What look? I don’t have a look.” I hid behind my tea mug and avoided his eyes. “Hey, do you think that’s a real painting, like an original? Or is it a print? I thought it looked like something famous, but I didn’t really pay the most attention in school.” I was looking at the painting now and rambling, but it was the best I could do given my current situation.

“Honey…”

“It looks like it could be an original, but they make fakes all the time that have the brushstrokes and crap like that, so you never know.”

“Look at me, Honey.”

“The Cairn would have a million dollar painting in one of these suites. They just would,” I insisted, while I did everything but what Law asked. I kept my eyes fixed on the painting while Law shifted closer to the bed.

“Honey.” Law put a hand on the bed, not touching me but close enough that I had to pay attention. “What is wrong? I can’t help if you don’t tell me, princess.”

The tightness in my chest spread. Princess. I had told him not to call me that, but it was a lie. I liked it when he called me that. I’d felt proud as hell that people had heard him call me princess. And now here he was again, saying it, but it was all wrong. It was all wrong because Law didn’t want me to be his princess.

It was just a name.

“Nothing’s wrong,” I lied again. That was two times, and I wasn’t getting any better at it. I could tell by the heavy sigh Law let out. He flattened his palm against the bed and then moved, sitting on the edge of it so that he was blocking the damn painting I’d been fixated on.

“I know you’re lying,” he told me, shifting his body so that it was angled towards me. “I don’t know why though.”

I let out a dry laugh. “Oh, Law, come on.”

He shrugged. “I’m not a mind reader, Honey.”

“I’m lying because you have made it abundantly clear you don’t want to be here with me, which is,” my voice tightened, coming out strained against the lump that was fast growing in my throat, “that is perfectly fine, because you don’t need to want to be here with me. It doesn’t matter if you don’t want to be here with me.”

“I didn’t say I didn’t want to be here with you.” I frowned and forced my eyes down into the depths of my tea. Far easier than meeting Law’s piercing blue gaze. I wasn’t quite ready for that. No matter what my heart wanted. When I said nothing Law sighed, and went on. “You have to understand that I don’t like it when things are out of my control. Connie made it a lose-lose situation for me. For us, tonight. This isn’t about you.”

I bit my lip and turned my tea mug in my hands. He had a point.

“I don’t understand why she did it.”

“I think I might,” Law said, surprising me. I looked at him then and saw he was staring at me, his handsome face no longer hard or cold. He was again the man that had laid me out on my dining table, the one that had claimed me in front of a shop full of strangers.

I knew this Law. I liked him far better than the man I’d spent most of tonight with.

“What is it?” I pressed, leaning forward, elbows to my thighs beneath the thick comforter.

“She was up to something. We both knew that from the get go, but we didn’t know what. Connie likes to pretend things just ‘happen’,” he made air quotes with his fingers, “and when they do she takes advantage of a situation that was no one’s fault. That way she can’t be blamed or pegged for making shit go down that no one but her wanted.”

“Or Zeus,” I interjected, “she does whatever he wants.”

Law inclined his head. “Very good point, Honey. She does exactly what her invisible master tells her to. Tonight it was focused on you, focused on me. I haven’t figured out that part yet, but Connie is making more sense.”

“I’m glad it’s making sense to you, because it isn’t to me.”

“She got you drunk to make sure no one played with you. It’s against the rules to play with a sub that’s under the influence.”

I rolled my eyes at him for what felt like the 100th time that night. “I already told you I wasn’t drunk. I’m not drunk. Haven’t been all night. I was nervous.”

Law snorted but he kept talking. “She knew your ex was coming before you got here. Probably knew long before you made your reservation.”

I nodded. “I didn’t make one. I just decided to do it.”

He rubbed a hand along his jaw. “Then that just ‘happened,’ and she ran with it.”

“I guess so.” I sipped from my mug, and then asked, “Did you make a reservation?”

He nodded. “I did. Couple days back.”

“So she knew you were coming ahead of time. Not me.”

“She must have made the decision then to have me with you. The other thing that happened was we already knew one another. Zeus couldn’t have known that.”

I shivered. “I wouldn't put it past him. The things he knows, or what I hear he’s capable of. He’s got his fingers in everything.”

“And why would he want to saddle me with a traveling barista?”

A wave of embarrassment hit me. Traveling barista. Why did it feel like something I should be ashamed of? I’d never cared what other people thought of my job, because it paid the bills and I enjoyed it. It was honest work, which meant there was no reason to feel...like this. I swallowed hard, cheeks hot from his words. Aside from my embarrassment, I had no idea why that would be a move Zeus wanted to play.

“I don’t know,” I whispered, fingers drumming against the ceramic of my mug. “Matching us up doesn’t make a lot of sense when you say it like that.”

I felt the energy in the room shift. I knew Law was still as a statue and mostly likely focused on me with that unnerving stare he had.

“Honey, I didn’t mean it like that.”

I smiled brightly and looked up at him with fake cheer. “No, I know.”

His lips pressed into a thin line. “If there’s one rule we are agreeing on tonight it’s no more lying. That’s over, do you understand?”

My mouth fell open. “What?”

Law put a hand beside my thigh and moved forward until he was leaning towards me, lips only inches away from my face. “You are done lying to me, Honey. Do you understand me?”

“Yes,” I whispered before I could think better of it. “I understand.”

“Good girl.”

“I shouldn’t like it... but I really, really like it when you say that to me.”

He smirked, eyes dropping to my mouth before he looked back up at me. “I know.”

A finger of pleasure sparked in me and slowly, but surely, I felt my lust start to wake up. “What do you want from me, Law?”

“I want to know why they want us together.”

I shook my head. “I don’t know why. Same as you,” I told him, softly.

“Then I want to stick close to you until I figure it out.” He held out his hand to me, palm up, fingers open and waiting for me to touch him if I wanted. “What do you want?” he asked.

I stared down at his hand, the mug of tea in my hands suddenly feeling ice cold from the heat that was now rising to the surface of my skin. I was heating up, every part of me on fire and that was all from Law giving me his hand. What would I do when he had his hands on me? My heart skipped a beat, because I already knew the answer to that. I would fall apart, piece by piece, part by part, letting each and every fracture fall into his waiting hands.

There was no world in which I would not fall to pieces under Lawson Sokolov’s hands.

“I want that too,” I told him, slipping my hand into his.