Page 119 of Shadow

“I’ve got a car waiting for us out back. What the hell have you gotten yourself into, Boomer?”

“His name is Ripley,” Olivia snapped as the elevator opened.

Samuel’s eyes darted between her and Ripley. “I’m sorry?”

“It’s fine, Samuel.”

To Olivia, he said, “Don’t be rude.”

“I’m not being rude. I’m just pointing out that you hate being called Boomer, but people insist on doing it anyway. It pisses me off.”

Samuel chuckled. “Everything OK, Miss Olivia? You seem a little tense.”

Then it hit Ripley. He knew exactly what was happening. She was experiencing sub drop. And when Liv dropped after a scene like the one they had at Serendipity, she got emotional and sometimes angry. The adrenaline of having to sneak out of their hotel in the middle of the night was probably making it worse. His options were to help her drop slowly and make sure she was grounded in reality or try to push her back into a submissive headspace for a little while. Since their reality was a little fucked up right now, he opted for the latter and prayed it didn’t backfire.

Putting his hand at the back of her neck, he squeezed hard and used his most dominant voice. “Apologize to Samuel, right now.”

She didn’t say anything, just glared.

“Now, Olivia. Or I’m spanking you in the car.”

Her eyes flew to his, and he felt her relax into his dominance. Finally, she said, “I’m sorry, Samuel. I don’t know what got into me.”

He nodded and squeezed her shoulder. “We all have our moments. But I do hear you about calling him Boomer. We’re assholes, I apologize, too.”

When they were downstairs and in the car, Ripley pulled her close. “You’re dropping, aren’t you?”

She blinked back tears and nodded. “A fine time for it to happen.”

Ripley kissed her temple. “Just try to keep it together for a little longer for me, baby.”

“I hate this. Why can’t I just enjoy kinky sex without the emotional drop after it’s over?”

He chuckled. “I think actually having me here to help you deal with it will make it less intense. It must have been even worse when I was leaving town all the time.”

Olivia sniffed and wiped at her eyes with the back of her hand. “You have no idea.”

“Where are we going?” she asked a minute later.

Samuel, who was riding in the front passenger seat, turned around to look at her. “For now, we’re just going to check into a different hotel an hour away and go from there. I have to take care of business so I can get back to Erin, but I’ll make sure you two are safe before I leave.”

Ripley’s phone rang.

“Hello.”

“It’s Lance. You were right about them not being police. But one of them is definitely CIA. Or maybe former CIA. His record is a little spotty. I’m sending you pictures now.”

His phone beeped, and he pulled it away from his face to open the message.

The images were grainy, but he zoomed in on the faces.

“I don’t recognize either of these people.”

Olivia leaned in to look at his screen.

“I’ve seen that guy before.” She pointed to the man on the right.

He frowned. “Where?”

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