Page 21 of Wild Ever After
Chapter Four
“Where are you staying?” Bella asked.
She was cuddled in Harry’s arms on his lap and they were seated in the overstuffed chair that sat in the corner of the room.
She’d been pliant and warm and in need of comfort after the spanking. Her bottom was tender and she hissed with each subtle shift against the denim he wore. It was also hot enough he could feel the heat through his jeans.
He wouldn’t pretend he was sorry.
“With Riley,” he answered.
“I’m sure she was happy about that.” Bella didn’t hide the sarcasm in her words at all.
“At least I know the couch is comfortable.”
Bella laughed and the sound hit Harry like a punch to the gut. He’d missed that sound. “You should.”
The couch in question had been in his first office when he’d been elected to the South Carolina State Senate. Over the years, he’d upgraded and no longer had to sleep at the office. They had an apartment in Columbia he used when he wasn’t able to travel back home to Charleston.
“She seemed grateful.”
“I know she is.” Not many politicians raised their kids the way he and Bella had. “We did a good job with all three of them.”
“We did.”
“You know we can’t go back to the way we were, don’t you?” Her voice was soft, almost regretful, but definitely weary.
“I do. But midnight isn’t the right time to get into it.” He was doing nothing more than putting off the inevitable. He knew that and she likely did, too. He was scared and that wasn’t a feeling Harry Walker was used to experiencing.
Fear normally challenged him, pushed him.
This fear made him want to hide because he didn’t know what lay on the other side of it.
“Why not?” She pushed against his chest and sat up, putting her full weight on her tender behind. She grimaced and Harry watched as she forced herself to relax. “Midnight or nine in the morning. The time of day isn’t going to change anything.”
She was correct, but old habits die hard. “True, though it’s past your bedtime, Bella mine.”
“You can’t be serious.”
“No?”
“H —” She sighed at the near slip. “Sir, it’s been so long. I can make my own bedtime. I can and do take care of myself now.”
“I know. However, you are still my submissive. Errant and willful. Beloved, too. But still my submissive. And as such, we will discuss this tomorrow and you will go to bed.”
“Yes Sir.”
The words still rang in his head as he stood out in the hallway, listening for the locks to click into place. When they did, he pressed his head to the door and heaved a sigh.
When she left last year, those had been the hardest days of his life. Leaving her now, even for a few short hours, would be equally hard.
Any time spent away from her was hell. “So why didn’t you stay?” he muttered to himself as he walked down the hallway to the elevator. He knew why though.
She hadn’t invited him to stay and they both needed time to recover from the spanking and from simply being around each other.
It would take time to fix their marriage, but they had to start somewhere because giving up, giving her up, was not an option he could live with.
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