VICTORIOUS (A Quantum Novel)(78)

“When we get home,” I say after a mostly silent ride, “you have five minutes to go into the bedroom, remove your clothes and present yourself for punishment.”

“H-how shall I present myself?”

“I’ll leave that up to you.” Goddamn, this is fun. To be able to have this sort of relationship with the woman I love more than my own life is my every dream come true. Except even I never could’ve dreamed the perfection that my life has become since I met Natalie.

I park the Vanquish in the garage and glance at my watch. “Five minutes starts now.”

Without another word, she gets out of the car and goes into the house.

As I watch her go, my entire body is tight with desire and anticipation and love. I love her so f*cking much, even more than I did before bringing her fully into my world and my kink. That I can have her and this, too…

Fluff’s frantic barking gets me out of the car and into the house to deal with her while Natalie prepares herself for me.

I take Fluff into the backyard so she can pee and then give her a few treats, hoping she’ll go back to sleep so we can get down to business. I crouch down and hold out my hand to her, a tiny dog biscuit sitting in the middle of my palm. A few weeks ago, she’d have taken part of my hand with the treat. Tonight, she approaches me and gently removes the biscuit from my hand and eats it while gazing at me adoringly.

“Thanks an awful lot for bringing your mom to me.” I scratch her ears. “I know we got off to a rough start, but I really am so grateful for what you did that day. I was lost until you girls found me.”

She leans into me, wanting more of the scratching that she loves so much.

“I need to go see Mommy. You go back to sleep like a good girl, okay? If you’re good, there will be more treats.”

At the word “treats,” she perks up, but she’s smart enough to know she’s gotten all she’s going to get for now. She trots over to the spot on the sofa that she’s claimed for herself and, after repeated circles, plops down. I pour a couple of fingers of Bowmore and down them in one shot before heading to the bedroom to see what my wife has planned for me.

At the doorway, I’m brought up short by the sight of her lounging on the bed in black garters, thigh-high hose, four-inch black heels and nothing else—except the red plug, which stands out in stark relief against her creamy white skin. My hand lands on my chest, perhaps to see if my heart is still where it belongs. “Holy f*cking hell, Nat. You ought to warn a guy before you do that to him.”

“And miss seeing that expression on your face? Never.”

“What’re you doing to me?”

“Just what I was told to do.”

“You’re awfully smug for a girl who has already earned one punishment tonight.”

“I’ve learned to rather appreciate your brand of punishment.”

“Perhaps I’m not doing it right, then.”

“Oh no, you’re doing it right. I’d let you know if you weren’t.”

I can’t help but laugh at her cheekiness. I love her confidence and how far she’s come from the first day when she told me she wouldn’t sleep with me, or any man, unless she was married. She was hiding then, running from her traumatic past. And now… Now she’s quite simply magnificent.

I remove my clothes, leaving them in a pile on the floor to be dealt with later. “Are you the same virtuous girl I met all those weeks ago who gave me such a run for my money?”

“I’m the new and greatly improved version of her.”

Laying my hand flat against her belly, I lean in to kiss her. “You were perfect then, and you’re perfect now.”

“I’m more perfect now that you’ve helped me to see all that I’m capable of.” She gestures to her sexy outfit. “I never would’ve been able to do this, to be this, before you. You gave me wings so I could fly.”

“You had them all along. I just helped you spread them.”

She raises a brow in a sultry, sexy look that brings me to my knees. “Are we still talking about my wings?”

Smiling, I kiss her again. I love her this way, saucy and fearless and up for anything. “Talk to me about the club.”

“I-it was very… Interesting and exciting.”

Kissing her neck and jaw, I say, “Exciting how?”

“Watching, having others watch us… All of it.”