He blinked, needing a moment to process she’d just safeworded on him. And, for a moment, he couldn’t answer her, because he was still trying to sort it out in his head.
“I don’t know,” he finally said. “I guess I’m still processing the trip to Georgia a while back. Seeing Rom and Colton at the club last weekend made me think of it again. Ireallywanted to punch his parents that day. How could they discardtwosons?”
Loren turned and sat on the end of the bed, her expression gentling. “I spent a few minutes talking to them. Rommy said Clay’s doing well in school and doing a lot better now. They’re just waiting for the adoption paperwork to go through.”
Ross had a…contentious relationship with his own father, but had reconciled with him somewhat before the man’s death. And contentious for far different reasons than Colton and his little brother, Clay, with their parents.
Still, knowing what a gentle sweetheart Colton was—having been at their wedding because they were friends and because Loren officiated it for them—and then seeing how heartbroken Colton’s little brother Clay had been at first when he’d arrived, it was still a gut-punch in some ways.
“Clay was thirteen fucking years old,” Ross said, “andthey lied to him his whole life and told him Colton wasdead. They had no right to do that.”
Loren arched an eyebrow at him. “Would you like for us to drive back to Georgia tomorrow and ask them yourself, Master?”
He snorted. “No. Because the adoption paperwork isn’t finalized yet. Maybe once it is.”
“The scary thing is, I know you’re not kidding.”
“No, I’m not kidding. Those fucks should be in jail for throwing Clay out. That’s child endangerment. He could’ve been hurt or killed hitchhiking all the way here from fucking Georgia.”
He sat next to her and ran a hand through his hair. “Thisis why I didn’t go into family law. The shitty things people can do to each other.”
“And the money’s better in IP law.”
“Well, yeah, duh. But Ed’s a better man than I am. I don’t understand people using kids as pawns like that.”
She cupped his cheek with her hand and kissed him. “I’mokay, Ross,” she said. “I’m at peace with this. Hey, we get to be the cool adopted aunt and uncle to how many kids?” She smiled. “Then we can sugar them up and turn them loose on their parents.”
He finally smiled, but then it faded again. “I’m sorry I couldn’t give you that one thing, sweetheart.”
“I know. But I am happy with you.” She poked him in the stomach. “Even when you’re an asshole, Master.” Her playful smirk was an attempt to lighten the mood and pull him back from the dark cloud he’d never evicted from his soul no matter how hard and often he’d tried.
Then she stood, turned, and bent over again, wiggling her ass at him. “May I please have my five strokes, Master? Because you kind of have me all horny and wanting my fucking now because I’m staring at that damn Hitachi.”
“That was my point, sweetheart.” He stood and stepped into position. “Ten it is.”
“Wait, it was five.”
He grinned. “That’s before you called me an asshole again.”
“Goddammit,” she muttered. “Tease the sadist, they said. It’ll be fun, they said.”
“Yes, itisfun,” he said. “Forme. I’ll even be nice and won’t make you count.”
“Thankyou, Master.”
“An extra five for the snark, then?” he asked.
She laughed. “Sure, why not?”
He quickly delivered fifteen strokes that were barely enough to sting, except for the last two, which made her yelp and were meant to remind her that fun and funishment weren’t always fluffy-bunny.
Then he immediately wrapped his cock in a condom and slid home inside her ass, making both of them moan.
He reached for the Hitachi vibrator and pressed it between her legs. “Enjoy, love.” He switched it on and her back rounded immediately as she moaned her way through the first orgasm. Her ass fisted and massaged his cock through every wave of pleasure rolling through her.
With the sound of her moans sweetly ringing in his ears, he felt no need to rush. He occasionally took a few strokes, which only made her moan louder. When she finally raised a hand and started waving it, indicating she was close to calling ayellow, he really started fucking her, driving his cock deep inside her and pulling one more orgasm from her before he finally shut off the vibrator.
She limply sprawled against the bed. “I think I need a shower and a nap now.”