Page 40 of Shattered Dreams
“You mean triggers.” Max corrected. “You need to understand what triggers we have.”
“Exactly.” He slowly stood, looked from Max to Lizzie. “Are you two going to be okay? Or am I going to return to another screaming match?”
“No.” Max shook his head. “We’re going to talk this out and…hopefully, have some answers for you when you return.”
“I look forward to it.” He paused next to Max’s chair, obviously torn. “Fuck it.” He leaned down and pressed his lips to Max’s surprised ones.
Max was barely aware of Lizzie’s soft gasp as the other man consumed his mouth. It’d been years since a man had kissed him, especially as masterfully as Elliot was. Fuck, the man could kiss. It was as if he were starved, and Max was his last meal. By the time Elliot lifted his head, Max’s cock was aching inside his sweats, and he was totally confuzzled. “Wow.”
“Wow, indeed.” Elliot agreed, before crouching down next to Lizzie. He pressed a soft kiss to her lips, taking his time to explore her mouth before slowly releasing her back into her kneeling position.
The sheer enormity of what Elliot had just done, how he’d claimed both of them, in two utterly different ways, wasn’t lost on Max. He just wondered if Elliot would ever reveal why.
“Shit, I gotta go or I’ll be late.” He pressed one last kiss to Lizzie’s forehead. “Do me a favor, talk.” He gave Lizzie a pointed look. “I mean honest communication. If you two can’t be honest with one another, there isn’t a prayer in hell of you being honest with me.”
“We will.” Lizzie promised, her voice husky.
“Yeah.” Max agreed, as Elliot straightened and rose to his full height.
“Good.” Elliot nodded. “And Elizabeth?”
“Yes, Daddy?”
“I’ll deal with both of your punishments later tonight.” He cast a quick glance at Max. “A Daddy doesn’t forget.”
Max swallowed hard at the reminder as Elliot left the room. He had three or was it four infractions? With his brain addled by desire once more, he couldn’t remember. Dear Lord, was Elliot going to spank him?
Chapter Sixteen
The silence grew in the family room once Elliot left. The sound of the front door opening and closing seemed loud to Lizzie’s ears, and for once she was uncomfortable being alone with her own husband. This wasn’t a lead-up to a punishment or a scene. This was going to be brutal honesty and truthful answers even if she had to threaten her dominant with his own whip. It was time to clear the air, figure out how to fix whatever had gone wrong, and then see if there was anything left to share with Elliot.
Because, despite what the men in her life thought, Elliot wasn’t going to be the solution or the glue that held them together. It was going to be honesty, communication, emotional and physical intimacy. She deserved it. It had taken nearly five years to realize it, and she wasn’t going back to being that scared young woman. If Master and Daddy didn’t like it, they could take a short walk off a long pier, because Lizzie was done settling for pats on the head. She was going to get what she wanted.Master and Daddy.
“So, are we going to go over his stuff?” Master still held the check lists in his hand.
“Not yet.” She slowly rose to her feet.
He frowned. “Are you going somewhere?”
“No.” She shook her head. “But for this discussion, I don’t want to be your submissive, Max.” She sank onto the couch, needing to level the playing field a bit. She loved being at his feet, but she needed to be in the correct headspace. “I want to be your wife, your partner.”
His fingers clenched around the arms of the chair. “Does this mean you don’t want to submit to me anymore?”
She almost rolled her eyes at the question, but knew it came from the part of her husband that was wrapped up in appearances, and his own role as her dominant. Instead, she prayed for patience, then answered him as calmly as she could. “I will always want to submit to you, Max. You’re my dominant. But sometimes I need to be treated like an equal and not your treasured submissive.”
His lips twisted. “Like at the hospital?”
She nodded. “Exactly. I know you want to protect me. I love you for it. However, there are things that I need to be aware of. Imagine what would happen if you passed away tomorrow and I had no idea what our budget, income, or bills were?”
“I’d never do that to you. Raine has access to all that and…”
She huffed. “You’re not getting the point, you knucklehead. I need to know ‘wife’ things as well as I do my duties as your submissive.”
Finally, he nodded. “I get it.” He tilted his head. “Does that mean afterwards I get my sub back?”
She giggled. “Always, Master.”
“Okay…” He blew out a breath of air. “What do you want to talk about?”
