Page 40 of Forever His Brat

“Daddy will be happy we’re making friends because he really wants us to stay here for good. He’s tired of moving around—so am I actually.” Katie shrugged and settled back in her seat. She pulled her seatbelt into place, belatedly. “Besides, it’s all in how you ask.”

Charlie could see that Katie wasverygood at finding trouble. Her end goal, as she’d hinted the other day, was not to avoid being punished, but just to delay it so she could have some fun first. It shocked Charlie how different their dynamic was.

It was another reminder that she was relatively inexperienced with the wider kink world. She read a lot. They’d both read a lot when they were younger and trying to figure out how to make relationships like this work. But she’d never realized how much complexity and diversity there could be.

“If you say so. Sam is going to kill me.” Charlie muttered the last part under her breath.

And shewasworried about facing those consequences, especially since their scene ‘date’ would be the day after the trip to the city. Her ass wouldn’t be too happy if they got caught.

But another part of her was really having fun deliberately doing something bad. It caused all kinds of tummy flutters to think about Sam finding out. Sometimes when she sassed him on purpose to get him riled, she felt something similar, but it was so much milder than this.

Over lunch they had hashed out the details and what they would say. Keeping their plans secret was made more complicated by the fact that their men could compare details. They needed to be clear on the story.

She practically trembled with excited nerves every time she thought about what they were going to do. When she asked Sam if it was okay, she’d been sure he would notice something was off and start quizzing her. It was a relief that he’d simply okayed it and they’d moved on with the night.

She was terrible at sneaking around. If he’d asked her anything pointed, she probably would have blurted out the whole plan. But he didn’t.

By the time Friday rolled around Katie and Charlie had hotel reservations set up, and everything they needed for the short trip was packed and ready to go.

They had secured new outfits during their trip to town; nothing that screamed fetish gear, of course. Their small-town shops didn’t cater to that kind of clothing. But Katie assured her they would fit right in with what they’d found. They just had to pair it with the right accessories.

Charlie had planned on wearing her favorite tight black jeans. They were picked out with little rhinestones all up the front of the legs and covering the back pockets. She loved how they caught the light and sparkled, but she fell in love with a skirt in the last store and couldn’t resist grabbing it.

It was black and knee-length, with three tiers of chiffon ruffles, which made it look like she was floating as she moved. It paired perfectly with the corset top she’d picked up. The corset had actually come from the lingerie store, but the red satin trim and flouncy sleeves covered enough to pass as dress-up clothes. A black choker finished the look and hinted at submission.

Katie had found a deep sapphire dress with a flirty hem that stopped a few inches above her knees. She paired it with knee high black suede boots and was pleased with the effect. She wore a chain collar with it, one Nick had given her. The little silver tag in front proclaimed her as ‘owned’.

Best of all none of it would stand out if the suitcases were checked before they left. Katie often wore her collar tucked under her shirt anyway and the outfits could easily have passed for dinner wear.

They had planned so carefully. Like spies behind enemy lines, they’d considered every possible trap that would slip them up. They had several clandestine meetings filled with whispering and plotting. It was surprisingly fun, Charlie found.

It turned out to be overkill. No one checked their suitcases. No one interrogated them on the real reason they wanted to go to the city alone. Charlie was almost disappointed that Sam had simply kissed her on the forehead and reminded her to be careful.

Nick, she gathered, was a little more overprotective. He pulled Katie aside for a quick lecture on behaving and reminded her of several rules before he’d let her get in the car. And he, at least, did seem to be a little suspicious—but not enough to stop them.

Or … maybe he was just giving Katie enough room to really dig a hole. The latter was definitely a possibility and Charlie had more than one bout of misgivings on the way to the city.

Katie didn’t seem the least bit worried. She flipped on the music and sang along, enjoying herself. And she was so bubbly that she managed to jog Charlie out of her thoughts and concerns too.

It turned out to be a fun day. They had plenty of time before they could check into the hotel, so they went shopping and then found a nice place to have lunch.

Charlie would have been okay skipping the club, in spite of all the planning. She was enjoying herself and it had been a long time since she’d had fun with anyone but Sam. She felt herself relaxing and opening up in a way she couldn’t with someone who was both her fiancé and her Dom.

A woman needed friends. A woman needed other women around to chat with and relax. Her therapist had told her that more than once, but Charlie hadn’t realized how much she’d missed it until Katie had come into her life.

Back in school she’d had plenty of friends. She’d had a heavy course load to balance and hadn’t always been able to go to the parties and trips they’d planned, but there was usually someone to call if she got bored and wanted to go out.

Returning home had been lifechanging. Most of those changes had been great—but the isolation hadn’t been good for her. This, here and now, was exactly what she’d needed.

“You know, we could just have a fun night in the city. We don’t have to go to the club,” she said after the waiter left with their order.

Katie shook her head, grinning. “Stop worrying so much. It’s going to be fun and if it’s not we’ll leave. Don’t you think you should see a real BDSM club at least once?”

Put like that, Charlie had to agree. And it was something she’d been curious about for a long time. “Yeah, I just always pictured doing it with Sam, I guess.”

Pictured might not have been the right word. She’dfantasizedabout going to places like this with him. Maybe even playing with him in public. The timing had just never worked to be able to manage it.

“Someday you will. For now, we’re just looking so you can see what it’s like. It’s my duty to expand your world, Charlie,” Katie said firmly.

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