Total pages in book: 99
Estimated words: 101872 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 509(@200wpm)___ 407(@250wpm)___ 340(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 101872 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 509(@200wpm)___ 407(@250wpm)___ 340(@300wpm)
“That sounds nice.”
“It is,” Lex said wistfully. “Not everyone is as good as him.”
She nodded. Good to know.
“You’re really brave to talk to him like that. The rest of us are scared of him,” he whispered.
She leaned in. “He’s really a big teddy bear under all that gruff.”
“Enough, Opal,” Renard snarled. “You’ve both had enough time to chat. Bye.”
Lex ran off.
“A big teddy bear?” he repeated. “You’ll be lucky if you get to come now.”
Drat.
That sucked. But it was the truth.
“Will you do it?” she asked, turning to look at him.
“Do what?” he asked.
“Use the whip on Lex?”
He studied her closely. “You want me to do that?”
“I . . . yeah. I want to watch and see what you do.” She frowned. “Will you have to touch him?”
“A bit. But you know it would be nothing sexual and I’d have to give aftercare.”
“Cuddling?”
“Nah. Doubt that.”
“Then yeah, I want you to do it. And I want to watch.”
26
Opal watched as Renard got Lex set up on the St. Andrews Cross. Renard had moved a chair over so she could sit on it and she still had a blanket wrapped around her.
Renard had had a chat with Lex who’d said he only needed minimal aftercare and that a short session was absolutely fine.
In fact, she could already see that he looked more relaxed just from being secured to the cross.
“Opal, are you sure you’re all right with this?”
She glanced over in surprise as Saxon crouched next to her.
“I suggested he do it, Master Saxon.”
“I know, honey. That’s what I heard.”
He’d heard?
It had only happened ten minutes ago.
“Do you have listening devices everywhere?” she asked suspiciously. “Or spies?”
The whip cracked as Renard warmed up and she jumped.
“You’re sure you are all right?” Saxon asked.
“Yep. I’m good.” Maybe.
“You can’t interrupt the scene if you decide you don’t like it,” he warned.
Ahh. So that’s what he was worried about.
“I know the rules.”
“Yes, I know you do. But that doesn’t mean that you will stick to them.”
She had to grin. “How do you know me so well?”
“Opal,” he warned. “You interrupt a scene and there will have to be public punishment.”
She swallowed. “Got it, Sir.”
“Think I’ll just stay and observe as well.”
Awesome.
“Named your kid yet?” she asked.
He shot her a stern look. Ahh, right.
“Named your kid yet, Sir?”
A sigh escaped him. “No.”
“Jeez, how old is she now?”
“Old enough to need a name.” He stood but kept close. Probably to grab her if she moved.
But she wouldn’t.
She leaned forward as Renard stepped into place. Lex had stripped off so all he wore was a black leather G-string and a black harness around his chest.
That left a lot of bare skin. The whip flew through the air and landed on his back. She jumped at the same time Lex did.
She expected to see blood. To see his skin open. Nausea bubbled. She couldn’t take that sort of pain.
But while a red streak appeared on his pale skin, there was no blood.
“He really is very good at this,” Saxon told her. “The pain stings, then it burns.”
“That’s what Renard said. You’ve had it done to you before?”
“Of course,” Saxon replied calmly as Renard let loose again.
He moved the whip down his back then to his buttocks. Opal found herself captivated by the look on Lex’s face. At first, he’d appeared to be in pain. But now his face was relaxed. He almost looked like he was asleep.
“He’s really enjoying this.”
“He’s reached subspace,” Saxon agreed.
Shoot. She’d almost forgotten that he was there.
“Yeah, I guess so. He looks blissful.” She watched as Renard helped get him down, taking most of his weight as he led him over to a leather couch.
“Think it’s something you’d want to try?” Saxon asked.
She wasn’t sure.
Or was she?
“Maybe.” One thing she knew was that she wasn’t jealous as Renard wrapped a blanket around Lex and helped him drink some water. And that was because he looked rather blank as he did it. Not in a mean way, he still cared about Lex.
But not the same way he cared about her.
She got the soft Renard. That wicked smile. The tenderness.
Lex got none of that.
So, yeah. She was okay with this.
“But even if I can’t do it, I can give him this,” she said quietly.
“Yeah?”
“Yes, Sir. If he needs it, I want to give it to him. It’s what you do for people you care about.”
“Yeah, honey. It is.”
Renard turned to her and there it was. The tenderness. The care.
She took that look in, capturing it like a photograph in her mind. Because she never wanted to forget.
27
Opal stepped back and looked at the pots filled with marigolds and zinnias.
“Perfection,” she said, ripping off her gloves.
It was late Saturday afternoon. Renard was at work, but he was going to come to her house after he finished. When he slept here, she didn’t seem to have as many nightmares.