Page 58 of Follow Me
Chapter Fifteen
Six Months Later…
Mal knew she didn’t need to tell Kel what today’s date was, but they hadn’t danced around the issue, either. He’d mentioned to her last week that he would be seeing Niall for a session this morning. She had a phone session scheduled with Doyle before she’d go to June’s for a class this afternoon.
For now, she still had weekly phone sessions with one of the three. Kel was still having weekly office sessions with either Niall or Doug, but she didn’t pry. Once a month they brought her in for a joint session, and they’d helped both of them.
They were both working through previously unresolved issues—Kel over his father’s untimely death and the anger and helplessness he still harbored over it—and the unhealthy coping skills he’d developed over it—and her over her parents’ deaths, and her issues stemming from her uncle’s gaslighting and overbearing control of her.
Kel had the password and login for her fitness app but he hadn’t logged in to check it in at least two weeks. He never checked it without telling her first, and standing there with her while he did it.
Which she loved, because it always brought a gorgeous smile to his face as he looked over her stats before rewarding her with a kiss.
Or, sometimes, by going down on her right there, if they were home or alone in the office.
She only weighed herself once a week now, and she’d been holding steady between one-thirty and one-thirty-five for the past three months. Much of her new weight was in muscles. Much to Kel’s delight she’d fleshed out a little around her ribcage, but she could just about crack a damn walnut with her ass and thighs thanks to the pole-dancing. Her diet was now on a normal schedule, and her body seemed to have returned to something approaching normal. She was back on the pill, and she had regular follow-ups with her doctors to keep tabs on her other medications, slight tweaks to the dosages made as necessary.
Knock on wood, everyone was in agreement they thought she’d recovered, although Doyle, Doug, and Niall cautioned her to treat it like an addiction recovery and to continually take conscious steps to maintain it like she might any other chronic medical condition.
She agreed that was wise.
Depending on their work schedule, she was at June’s studio for yoga or pole-dancing classes a minimum of two or three days a week. She’d given Kel permission to ask June as he felt he needed to if she thought Mallory was backsliding or not, because June saw her with a minimum of clothes and could give an honest evaluation.
So far, he hadn’t asked.
And Kel had installed a pole in the spare bedroom at the apartment. They’d returned to their full schedule volunteering at Venture, and they’d usually go to the apartment after closing to play and fall asleep there instead of driving home.
Or, sometimes they’d go upstairs in the middle of a work day for her to put on a private show for him before he played with her and they made love.
He had no hesitation marking her with his teeth or hands or implements, leave marks in her flesh with his ropes, but he hadn’t yet done any cutting or piercing scenes with her.
Three weeks ago, when they’d sat down for their weekly talk to check in with each other, he’d asked her if she had any special requests. She’d mentioned that she missed her piercings and cutting play.
He took it under advisement, and that’s all she’d say about it. Just like she hadn’t liked him pestering her about her recovery in the past, the Master didn’t want her to keep asking him for certain play once she’d stated it.
Mal knew he wouldn’t forget. He’d store it away, and when he felt the time was right, they’d get there.
She combed her hair out with her fingers before capturing it in a ponytail with an elastic band. She’d let it grow long again and started coloring it to get the gray out. At Kel’s request, instead of the reddish brassy color she used to favor, she went to the salon and they used lowlights close to her own color to hide the gray. He loved her natural hair color.
He had told her not to worry about planning dinner tonight, because he had plans for them.
She wouldn’t question that, either. He wasn’t home yet when she left for class at June’s studio, where she’d be doing yoga before pole-dancing. Her skills had advanced to the point June had asked her if she’d be interested in teaching beginner’s classes on the side.
It wasn’t something Mal had brought to Kel yet, because she was still deciding if she wanted to do it or not.
He was home when she arrived later. When she walked in, all the lights were off, the living room lit with a flickering glow from LED candles.
“Master?” she called out. And something smelledgood.
His head popped out of the kitchen doorway, a smile on his face. “There’s my goddess.”
He swooped in, taking her things from her and setting them aside before he pulled her into his arms and kissed her, hard, insistent, taking what he wanted.
Melting her.
He delivered a hard swat to her ass. “Quick shower, now, and then come back out here. Naked.”
“Yes, Master.”
