Walk Between the Raindrops Read online

  She did, barely getting her hands on her bag while he was already running for the door.

  Proctor-Collins Medical Center was literally five minutes from the club. They parked near the emergency room entrance. Before she could reach for the door, Scrye stopped her.

  “Get your bag with your clothes.” He handed her his knife. “If you have any trouble getting out of the ropes, cut them.”

  She stared at it, the Buck pocketknife heavy in her palm and warm from being in his pocket.

  Desperately trying not to think about another Buck knife, another night, a rainy one, she nodded. “Yes, Sir,” she whispered.

  He reached out to cup her face in his hands. “I’m sorry, baby.”

  “It’s okay, Sir. I want to be here for them. They’re our friends.” She had a thought. “I wonder if they’ve called Leo and Jesse yet?”

  “I don’t know. Let’s get inside and find out.”

  It looked like Cris and Landry had managed to beat them there. And Derrick and Marcia hurried up to them from the other side of the parking lot just as they were approaching the doors. Walking in as a group with June trailing behind the other three, she kept one hand on the neck of her trench coat to make sure it didn’t gape open. When they walked in, she quickly darted toward the bathrooms even as Mark, Derrick, and Marcia peeled off and made their way over to where Landry and Cris sat with Nate and Tilly, who’d changed clothes.

  Fortunately she had the bathroom to herself. She locked herself in the handicapped-accessible stall and pulled off the trench coat, hanging it on the hook on the back side of the door.

  It took her a couple of minutes to get the hip and leg harness removed. Yes, she knew she had permission to cut the ropes, but wanted to avoid it if possible. They were here now, and that was the important part.

  She was still struggling, trying to look in the mirror and work on one of the back knots on the chest harness, complicated by the truncated belaying rope knots, when she heard the bathroom door open.

  “June?”

  Marcia.

  “In here.” She reached over and unlocked the door for Marcia to slip into the stall with her.

  “Eva’s in surgery right now. No news. I—” A strangled laugh broke free from her friend as she stared at June. June dropped the rest of the rope into the sink for now until she got everything removed. “I’m sorry, but this is funny.”

  “Under other circumstances, I’d wholeheartedly agree, but can I get a hand?”

  “Sure. That’s why I came in when I realized you weren’t with us. Turn around.”

  Marcia was able to get the knots worked free and in a couple of minutes, June pulled her sundress and panties on and then donned the trench coat before they worked to coil what they could of the rope.

  June now wished she hadn’t asked him to use red tonight.

  It reminded her too much of that night.

  Of blood.

  Marcia held out the last coil to June to stash in the bag before she zipped it closed. “Well, I guess we now know how to handle emergencies at the club.”

  “Something like this,” June said. “If someone got dropped, we wouldn’t be able to move them. We’d have to call paramedics.” Now put together, and feeling the weight of the knife in her trench coat pocket, June and Marcia returned to join the others.

  Nate and Tilly were eventually called back by a nurse. Nate’s sister Cherise and her boyfriend, Wade, arrived a minute later. Tilly had updated Wade, a county paramedic, over the phone during their drive in with the latest information so he could take over talking to people in the waiting room.

  Including Leo and Jesse when they arrived with Laurel.

  It was June who stepped in to take the little girl so the men could talk with Wade without scaring her.

  “Aunt June, is Mommy okay?”

  “The doctors are working on her, sweetie.” Mark walked over to sit with them and hug the girl in June’s arms. “They’re going to take very good care of your mommy,” he said.

  “How’s the baby, Uncle Mark?”

  “Very little,” he said. “The baby will have to go to a special hospital for a little while to make sure it gets the best care.”

  “Where’s Nate?”

  “He’s going to go with the baby to the special hospital.”

  “Did they find out if I got a brother or sister yet?” Laurel looked frustrated. “I’ve been wanting to know but they didn’t.”

  June couldn’t help but laugh. “I’m sure someone knows, but they haven’t told us yet.”

  “Oh.”

  At that moment, another nurse walked out, consulting a note in her hand. “Eva Crawford’s family?”

  They all held their hands up—over twenty of them so far with more people arriving every couple of minutes, it seemed like. They pretty much had the entire waiting room to themselves now.

  The nurse obviously looked a little surprised. “Oh. Um, well, I guess I don’t need to pull anyone aside then. I was told to please pass the word that it’s a little boy, and he’s in stable condition. He’ll be transported up to St. Pete to All Children’s Hospital’s NICU shortly, though. But the dad said to please let you all know.”

  Cheers went up through the group, Leo and Jesse hugging each other as others slapped them on the back.

  Laurel snuggled against June. “Good,” she said, nodding. “I really didn’t want a little sister right now.”

  Mark appeared to be struggling not to laugh. Only now did June realize that, at some point between Venture and the ER, he’d removed his vest with all his BDSM pins and patches from various conferences on it.

  “Why is that, sweetheart?” he asked her when it looked like he’d regained his composure.

  Laurel hooked a thumb at her chest. “Because I’m the flower girl in this group,” she said, nodding. “That’s my job.”

  * * * *

  They finally returned home a little after three a.m. with Laurel asleep in her booster seat in the back of their car. They’d volunteered to take charge of her. For tonight, they’d stopped by the family’s house with Cherise, who had a key, to get some things Laurel would need immediately.

  For the immediate future, June would take care of Laurel, getting her to school and making sure she did her homework, all while coordinating visits to the hospital to see Eva once her mom was strong enough.

  They tucked her into bed in what had been Maren’s room. At least she was used to spending the night with them already, from both Leo’s ordeal the year before, and them sometimes taking her and Laura and Rob’s daughter for a weekend here and there to give the adults a little break. They left the bedroom door ajar and the light on in the hall bathroom so she could see if she awoke in the middle of the night. Then they headed to their bedroom.

  Once inside, Scrye locked the bedroom door behind them and dropped June’s tote bag onto the bed, digging through it.

  “Well,” he said, “I guess I’ll be sorting rope and whipping ends on some really short pieces.”

  “Sorry, Daddy. I didn’t cut any taking the harness off. Marcia helped me.” She pulled her panties off and tossed them into the bathroom hamper.

  “It’s just rope.” He dropped it back into the bag and carried it to their closet. “Oh.” He turned, stopping her before she could remove her sundress. “Please go do a quick patrol of the living room. You’ll spot stuff better than I will. Make sure we’re totally child-friendly out there.”

  She winced. “Good idea.” Heading back out, she was careful to be quiet. She didn’t think there were any stray sex toys or implements lying around, but it never hurt to check.

  She did find a rattan cane propped in the corner of the living room, left over from when he’d given her ten quick strokes when he’d returned home from work the other night and she’d been horny and begging him to fuck her as soon as he’d walked in.

  He’d traded her strokes for fucking, a deal she’d been glad to take since she’d honestly wanted both.


  Win-win.

  That finished, she returned to the bedroom, where Mark had finished getting naked already. He pulled her into his arms and backed her against the bed. Before she could react, he’d shoved her back onto the bed, flipped the hem of her sundress up, and had his bearded face buried in her pussy.

  Gasping in pleasure and struggling to not make any noise that would wake Laurel, she held on to his shoulders, falling into her first orgasm when he reached for her arms and wrapped his fingers around her wrists, tightly pinning them in place.

  He lifted his lips from her clit. “Say it, my sweet little slut.” Then he went back to teasing her, trying to get her to come for him a second time.

  She licked her lips and struggled to remember the words. Sometimes he did this to her, jokingly referred to as a “skills test.”

  “I belong to Sir…mind, body, heart, soul, cunt, and ass. I-I serve Sir at His wishes—” She gasped as he sucked on her clit, hard, easing up just as she was nearly ready to climax and forcing her to focus on where she’d been and not lose her place. “A-at His whim, whenever and wherever He demands. Everything I h-have and am belongs to Sir, to give to Him when He deman—”

  He sucked on her clit again, nearly painfully, but she shot into orbit and bit down on her lower lip in an attempt not to scream with pleasure.

  She was still gasping for air when he stood, flipped her over, and fed his cock into her wet pussy, grabbing her hips and fucking her hard.

  “Such a good girl,” he softly rumbled. “My very good girl. Now let me fuck one more out of you. Play with yourself if you need to. If you don’t come before me, I’m locking you in that chastity belt you hate so much for two days.”

  She slid her right hand between her legs and played with her clit, moaning when he slowed down even as his strokes grew deeper, harder, bottoming out inside her with every thrust.

  “Make it quick, slut—”

  “Mmmph!” That cry she muffled against the bed as she came, her pussy clamping around his cock as he picked up the pace and fucked her harder. She never faked it with him.

  She never had to.

  Ever.

  And he knew as well as she did that him calling her his little slut only reinforced her subspace. It was a long-running and well-loved joke between them. He knew damn well she’d never cheat on him, much less want anyone but him.

  But she could never say no to him.

  How many times had they curled up on the couch to watch TV after the girls had gone to bed, and Mark had pulled an afghan over them while sliding his hand into June’s panties to make her come for him right there?

  Too many times to count.

  That was the extent of his “dangerous” kind of play around them, the risk of one of the girls waking up and them not being safely locked behind the master bedroom door. But they’d have plenty of warning by hearing a door open, and the afghan would easily hide their activities.

  They’d never been caught.

  But it sure did make it that much more fun, the element of danger of discovery.

  Although there was the one Thursday night Kel had given them his key to Venture so they could practice some ties for one of Mark’s rope bondage books. They’d had the place to themselves, and after completing the last tie, while she was secure in the ropes, Mark had unzipped and fucked her right there, making her come several times in the process.

  They usually never broke the club’s rules.

  However, the opportunity had been too great.

  And even Marcia had admitted to June that there were a few times after hours where she and Derrick, the club’s owners, had their own “out of bounds” fun when alone there.

  “Good…girl,” he grunted, finishing inside her, falling still, holding on to her hips and now catching his breath.

  After a moment, he pulled out and snapped his fingers. She flipped over and slid off the bed, onto her knees, hands behind her and mouth open and ready.

  “Good girl.” He held her head as she laved her tongue around his cock. She loved tasting their juices mixed together, and even tried to work her way down to his balls when he chuckled and withdrew his spent cock from her mouth. “Okay, you’re done.”

  He helped her up from the floor and leaned in, kissing her, wrapping his arms tightly around her. “Sorry about tonight, baby. I’ll make it up to you.”

  “Um, you just did, Daddy.”

  “I mean in a ropey kind of way.”

  She looked up at him, her big grizzly of a man. She could still see the boy who’d stared down at her that first night they slept together, just as tall although not nearly as beefy, clean-shaven, but the same look of love and devotion in his gorgeous green eyes.

  Her Master.

  The man she knew she wanted to spend the rest of her life with, even way back then on that most beautiful and horrific of nights.

  A night filled with pain, but also the night she knew he was hers every bit as she was his.

  A night she’d walked between the raindrops straight to him.

  A night he could never know the truth about.

  Chapter Eleven

  Then

  Mark closed the door behind June, confused and instantly horny and debating on whether or not he should question her more closely or just go with this and celebrate later.

  He loved her. He wanted to spend the rest of his life with her, even though he knew he was young and so was she.

  He didn’t care. The longer he spent with her, the more right he knew he was.

  “Are you sure?” he asked.

  It seemed like an inner furnace brightly burned inside June, even more tonight than usual. “I am. I was over at my parents’ house doing my laundry tonight and realized what an idiot I am.”

  “You’re not an idiot.”

  “I meant by not coming here earlier.” She smiled and tipped her head. “Or having you come over to my parents’ place.” She played with his shirt buttons. “We could go swimming.”

  “It’s pouring rain.”

  “Pool’s heated.” Her lower lip caught under her teeth and he thought he was at serious risk of creaming his briefs right there. “Skinny dipping.”

  “Where’s July?”

  “Home, as far as I know. She asked me not to stop by after school. She was supposed to talk to Matt this afternoon and break up with him. She also asked me to give her some time and space after. She knows I’m going to be at our parents’ house until late.”

  “Wow. She really going to do it this time?”

  “I hope so. I offered to be there with her, but she insisted she’d be okay.” She turned and dropped her purse and the windbreaker she’d been wearing onto the ottoman in front of the sofa. “I probably should call her and let her know where I am in case she tries to call me at our parents’ house.”

  “Sure.”

  She walked over to where the phone sat on a side table between the dining room and living room and picked up the cordless handset.

  “Eight and pound,” he said, heat filling his face.

  “What?”

  “Speed-dial eight, then the pound sign.” Now he felt silly. “That’s your number. Speed-dial seven is your parents’ house.”

  She walked over to him and looked up into his eyes. Despite their height difference, he always felt like she towered over him in intensity, strength. “Really?”

  “Yeah. I call you a lot. My parents don’t know how to program it, anyway.”

  She hit the buttons, smiling up at him as she put the phone to her ear. They stood close enough he could hear it ringing on the other end, and when the answering machine picked up, their father’s voice on their machine stated the generic greeting of their phone number and asking people to leave a message.

  “Hey, July? You there? July?” An expression crossed her face, but he couldn’t interpret it and didn’t try. “Okay, I guess you’re not there, or not answering, or…whatever. I hope everything’s okay. Listen, I’m over at Mark’s. It’s a little
before eight. I didn’t want you to freak out if you called me at the house and I didn’t pick up. I’ll be home later on after I get all the laundry done. If you need me, call me here. Please don’t rat me out to Mom and Dad, huh? I’ve covered enough times for you, so you owe me at least one. Thanks. Love you.”

  She hung up but stared at the phone in her hand. For a moment, he thought maybe she was going to cry but then she turned and walked back to the base to replace the handset.

  “You okay?” he asked.

  She turned, a bright smile on her face. “I’m very okay.” She waltzed over to him and rose up onto her toes to drape her arms around his neck and give him a kiss.

  “Do you need to try calling her again later? Or should we go check on her? I’ll drive you over. I don’t mind. I don’t like the thought of her being alone with him right now. Or alone period, if she’s upset.”

  In the years he’d spent in June’s orbit, he’d come to love July as a little sister. And May, who was only a few months older than him. The siblings he’d never had.

  “Nah, she’s probably in the shower or something. She knew I was going to go do laundry when I took care of Zorro. She even told me to spend the night there, if I wanted.”

  “Oh. Should she really be alone tonight?”

  “I won’t force myself on her. Who knows if she’ll even carry through with breaking up with him. She might not be answering because they’re busy screwing around. She keeps saying she’s going to break up with him, but then he sweet talks her into not dumping his sorry ass.” She stared up into his eyes. “I really don’t want to talk about Matt tonight.”

  He didn’t want to blow this opportunity, but he had to confess. “I don’t have any condoms.”

  “I don’t care. I’m on the pill.” Her gaze narrowed. “Why are you worried about condoms?”

  “I don’t want to risk you getting pregnant. That would ruin all your plans.”

  Her expression softened and she rose up on her toes to kiss him. “I don’t want to wait any longer.” Her smile looked tight, forced. “It might be a long time before we have another uninterrupted night like this together. Especially after we go to Indianapolis.”