Page 101 of Worthy

She didn’t know how long they lay there, wrapped in each other, but eventually a quiet knock interrupted their reverie.

“Hey guys,” a male voice she couldn’t quite place called out. “Sorry to interrupt, but we’ll need the room soon.”

“Five minutes,” Austin called back.

“Fine. But not a second more,” the voice shot back with obvious amusement.

“Wait here.” Rolling off the couch, Austin bent and picked something up off the floor before returning to her.

“What are you doing?” she asked as he popped the top off the marker and dragged the cold, wet tip across her belly.

“You’ll see.”

The felt tickled her skin, which already felt impossibly sensitive, and she giggled. “Stop, it tickles!”

“Almost there, kitten.”

Two more letters, from what she could tell, and he was done. “What does it say?”

Instead of answering, he climbed off the couch and pulled her to her feet, then placed her neat pile of clothes in her arms. “Go get cleaned up and meet me by the lockers. But no shower, you can do that at home.”

“You want me to walk through the club naked?”

“Yes.”

Could a person’s whole body blush? Because if it could, she was certain hers was doing exactly that. “Can’t I get dressed in here, sir?”

“You could. But is that what I asked you to do?”

“No, sir.”

He dropped a kiss on her forehead, then turned her and sent her hurrying toward the side door with a sharp swat to her aching bottom. With one quick glare over her shoulder, she scooted out the door and made a beeline for the bathroom.

A wall of mirrors caught her attention when she burst through the doors and she slowed, curiosity edging out over the need to cover herself. Setting the clothes aside, she faced the mirrors and stared at her reflection.

Another round of tears filled her eyes, slipping silently down her cheeks as she lifted a hand and gently followed the outline of each letter with the tip of a trembling finger. The sound of the door swinging open jolted her out of her trance just as she finished the last letter. Snatching up her clothes, she ran for a stall and hurried into the body suit and heels, too impatient to fiddle with the stockings.

When she was done, she left out the side door and found her Sir waiting for her, with the Cartwright-Davidsons by his side. Ignoring them, she walked straight to him, wrapped a hand around the back of his neck, and yanked him to her for a hot, desperate kiss.

“Thank you,” she said when they broke apart, pressing a hand to her stomach.

“I didn’t say anything that wasn’t true, kitten.”

The sound of someone clearing their throat drew her attention to the trio beside him. Jaxson’s smile was indulgent as he stepped forward and placed his hands on her shoulders. “That was a stunning scene, Ms. Callahan. It was a pleasure to watch.”

“Ah, thank you, sir.” Pleasure and embarrassment had heat rising to her cheeks at the compliment.

“You’re welcome. If either of you need anything from us, please don’t hesitate to call.”

“Oh, I’m sure that won’t be necessary, sir. But thank you.”

Chase nudged his husband aside, openly ignoring the dangerous narrowing of Jaxson’s eyes. “Look, sweetheart, you’ll actually be doing us a favor. Dragging Jaxson away from work for more than five minutes pretty much takes an act of Congress these days, and we don’t spend nearly enough time on the East Coast. So, help Emma and me out and call, okay?”

Laughing, she nodded. “Okay, okay. We’ll call.”

“My turn!” Emma pushed forward, throwing her arms around Kit’s neck. “You were amazing! That caning looked like it hurt. How’s your butt look?”

“I haven’t checked yet but it hurts like hell.”

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