Page 20 of Road Runner's Ride
Chapter Eighteen
Do you trust me
“I’m telling you, that bitch needs to be pounded in the worse way.” Goose’s words were solidly firm, no give in them at all, and Road Runner couldn’t find it in himself to disagree. “There is absolutely no excuse for what she did that night.”
They were seated in his kitchen, coffee cups resting on the table. Goose had leaned forward, elbows resting on the surface, while Road Runner angled back, arm hooked over the back of his chair. Goose had texted when he was on his way over, and Road Runner had risen from bed, leaving Aurelie asleep, brushing a kiss against her temple as he’d tucked the covers in around her.
“I’m not arguing, brother.” Road Runner shook his head, lifting his cup to sip at the steaming drink. “And you don’t have the full story.” Not that he was a hundred percent certain he did, but at least he had the parts he pried from Aurelie last night. “You need to know the history.”
“Then enlighten me, motherfucker, because I’m in a mood to fuckin’ deal out some pain.” Mouth twisting to one side, Goose scrubbed along his jaw with one hand. “Fuck, I’m in a shitty state of mind, brother. Ignore me. I heard Worm took Francine to a party last night. Got heavy handed with her. He’s a real bastard. Not saying anything else until I get a chance to talk to her. That motherfucker is gonna learn. Another bastard who needs to be beat.”
Road Runner knew who Francine was, of course. Goose had talked about her often enough over the past few months. She worked as a waitress at a diner the club owned in Fort Wayne. Goose had met her about the same time she’d met one of the Rebel prospects, Worm, and had backed off when she seemed interested in the younger man. Since then every slight to the woman, no matter how small, would set him off.
“You decide it’s finally time to wade in and take her, I’ve got your back, brother.” Road Runner told him, catching Goose’s gaze and giving him a chin lift. “I got you, man.”
“I know, brother. Don’t know why that little girl’s under my skin like she is, but fuck if I can get her outta my head.” Goose drained his cup, setting it solidly on the table. “Not why I’m here, though. Tell me whatever history you think I need to know before I call Sid and we walk through what needs to happen.”
“I know the Domme. At least, I think I do.” With that opening, Road Runner talked through his relationship with Joselyn, and then Aurelie. Feeling sick to his stomach, he extrapolated what he thought had probably happened after he had left Paris to come home. “So then, Aurelie gets to Chicago, my hometown, but she doesn’t run into me, she runs into Jos instead, someone who already had a hard-on for her. I’m pretty certain the bitch recognized me last night, which means she’s going to be gunning for Aurelie again if I don’t shut it down before it gets a chance to start.”
“Then we got work to do. She studied in France, same as you, right?” Goose thumped the tabletop with the tip of a finger. “If she’s a chef, it should be easy to find her.”
“Looked in all the right places, but I still can’t find any mention of her at a Chicago restaurant. Granted, she could be anywhere. The Fox River valley has several places worthy of a Le Cordon Bleu-trained chef, and there’s all of Milwaukee. I’m not sure finding her via profession is going to work.” Road Runner shook his head. “I hate the idea of taking Aurelie back into the club without being 100 percent certain I can control the situation.”
“Then we bulletproof your Paris, make it so she isn’t vulnerable to that bullshit. What if you tailored a scene to her? Pull out all the stops to make it something memorable from your time back then? Would she follow the idea of that back to now, and see you’re a good fit? Give her confidence that you’ll catch her, every time? Then it wouldn’t matter what this Jos bitch did.” Tipping his head to one side, Goose waited for a response.
“Maybe.” He considered Goose’s words. “I don’t know. Aurelie’s favorite was always consensual nonconsent. Might be too much like what she endured in that private hellhole to be comforting.” Road Runner stared down at his hands for a moment, fingers flexing with the memories. “One of the things that Aurelie always did was take care of the restraints. I was such a newbie, she had to guide me every step of the way. I could work that in so she would have the reality of control, and the scene would be a clear illusion. It might be less satisfying for her that way, but it would center her, keep her from panicking.”
“Sounds like a plan. What do you need from me?” Road Runner lifted his head quickly, the roll returning to his gut and Goose’s head shook back and forth at whatever he saw. “No, brother. I know this gal isn’t a tag team subbie for you. I’m not expecting to get in on the scene that way. I mean what do you need from me where this bitchy Domme is concerned?”
“I think she’ll need to observe, which means she might need to be baited over. Sid will give me a room, and I think Aurelie will do well isolated like that. Since she’ll know the windows are a barrier that not only keeps her in but keeps every else out, I think it will soothe a lot of her fears.” He chuckled. “I’ll just have to play on the ones I want, and avoid the ones I don’t.” He shrugged. “Easy peasy, right?”
With a snort, Goose grinned at him.
***
As he changed clothes in the club’s facilities, Kevin again mused about how the ritual allowed him to slough off the person he was outside the BDSM world, putting on his Dom like a second skin.I’m both, he thought,and they each require a certain amount of posturing. An image of his chef’s hat flashed through his head, and he laughed quietly.I’m all three, and there are aspects of each which are similar.
Today, sauntering through what he thought of ashis roomof diners, Chef Kevin’s hands had been held clasped in front of him to accept the words of praise from patrons who had spent hundreds of dollars to be there. That entire pageantry was not much different from Road Runner’s stance behind Mason’s chair in a meet with another club. The manner in which he stalked the club, the same, each of them was a promise that he always, always delivered on.
Zipping up his bag, he smoothed his shirt a final time, tucking it into the waistband of his tight jeans.
Duffle returned to his locker, he quickly verified his reservation and then strolled to the main room. Gaze skimming the crowd, he marked Aurelie and Kris’ positions and then continued to look around. Sid stood near the spanking bench area, and he stared at Kevin with narrowed eyes. Letting the Domme return to the club for one final night hadn’t sat well with him. Sid had only done so with the understanding he had complete power over terminating that access, regardless of where Kevin was in whatever scene he’d crafted for his sub.
Kevin returned his attention to Aurelie. She was dressed as he requested, having told her specifically what to wear without explanation, as was his right within these walls. After much consideration, he’d settled on a scene without chance of failure for Aurelie, but one that would provide the lesson the Domme so badly needed.
Aurelie wore a beautiful summer dress, the full skirt swirled with swaths of pastel watercolors, feet nearly bare, clad in low sandals. Her hair was carefully braided, with only the barest brush of makeup on her gorgeous features. This was the Aurelie he had lived with so long ago, the woman unafraid of femininity and very aware of the power she held over a much younger Kevin.The power she still holds. The idea of Aurelie blossoming back into that woman gave him a warm feeling, and his mouth slid sideways in a grin.
He turned from where she stood near Kris and walked to the room with the reserved sign, stepping inside to see a near enough replica of his living room at home. Adjusting the privacy lighting, he set it so the room would be fully visible from outside, but the glass would appear opaque from within the scene, unless you were near the surface. He wanted Aurelie immersed in the scene, undistracted by anything, but needed her trust on full display for everyone.
Back out into the main room, staying out of Aurelie’s direct range of sight, he slowly circled the area, coming to stand behind her. Even without being able to see the entrance, he would have known when the Domme came into the room, because every line of Aurelie’s body tightened. Her hands, already gripped behind her back in a presentation pose, grasped tighter, fingers turning white with the pressure. Stepping close behind Aurelie, close enough she would feel the heat from his body, he murmured her name. Nothing more, just one word, “Aurelie,” and was rewarded by her immediate inrush of breath, the clutching twitch of her clasped fingers as they brushed innocently against his groin.
Kevin didn’t touch her, knowing she was fully aware of his body so near hers. He gently breathed out in a path along her shoulder, seeing a rolling wave of gooseflesh in its wake. “My Aurelie, are you ready to play?” Her chin dipped, and he watched as her eyes closed in anticipation.
“Yes, Sir.”
He waited, but nothing else was forthcoming, and Kevin hid his disappointment in a chuckle, his voice dipping an octave as he said, “That will do for now.” Gliding his fingers from her elbow to wrist, he untwined her fingers from each other and replaced the grip with his own. Gentle, soft, but allowing no room for resistance, he lifted her hand and tucked it between his body and arm. Wrapping her fingers in a grip around the bend of his elbow, he used the tip of one finger to stroke her skin. Aurelie’s head lifted, and she raised her gaze to his throat. He paused waiting, but she didn’t say anything. Silent assent, granting him her trust so easily, while still withholding what he wanted most.Stubborn wench.
Leading her, he took one step, two, and was already fighting the drag of her body as she instinctively tried to move behind him. Without his order, she still tried to assume the accustomed position for walking through the club with a Dom.Not this time, baby. “Keep up,” he told her brightly, keeping any sense of scolding from his voice. “it wouldn’t do for my little one to stumble.”
