Emergence: Bound To Be Tested Part 6

If he were perfectly honest, the idea was hot. She'd looked good enough to eat prancing around the club the other night in those f.u.c.k-me boots that reached up her thighs. The f.u.c.king skirt and bustier had covered too much of her fantastic body for his taste, but it had been appropriate attire for a woman in charge.

She'd filled out some. She wasn't as skinny as she'd been two years ago. He liked it. Her submissive wasn't hard on the eyes either. The woman was taller and leaner, but she was drop-dead gorgeous. Not like Lori, more like a movie star.

But he wasn't interested in Margaret. Even though she was stunning and attractive, she wasn't his type. He needed to wrap his mind around everything before he acted rashly.

He headed straight back to his hotel and flopped onto the double bed that was too small for his frame. It bounced as he landed. He stared at the ceiling, a smile tempting his lips for the first time in so long he couldn't remember.

Chapter Five.

Lori put the last of the dishes away and leaned against the counter to stare out the kitchen window. It was Friday night. One week ago today she'd been faced with the stunning revelation that Jude Cavanaugh was back in town. Where had he been all week after torturing her last Friday?

She figured he'd met with Jason by then. She hadn't asked, but the two had been best friends at one time. There was little doubt they'd exchanged words at some point this week. Lori was afraid to find out.

She hadn't spoken to Margaret all week. And to be honest, she'd spent more time dreaming about Jude, both awake and asleep, than the sub she'd lived with for over a year. Guilt made her curse under her breath. She nearly always went to Emergence on a Friday night, but there was no way she could do so this week. She couldn't darken the doors of that club right now.

She didn't know if she was avoiding Margaret or Jude, but either prospect made her feel the tightening stress in her chest. She didn't know what to say to Margaret yet. She'd asked for some time. And Margaret had given it to her. Lori knew Margaret had returned at some point during the week and taken more of her belongings. Her side of the closet was almost empty.

Lori swallowed back the knowledge that if she truly loved Margaret like she deserved, Lori would fight for her. Instead she pined over the memories of a long-lost relations.h.i.+p she had no idea would ever be hers again to enjoy. She never should have let that b.a.s.t.a.r.d get under her skin. Lori stomped around the room. She was wrung out. Luckily her cla.s.ses had been light this week or she'd have had a meltdown.

The doorbell rang, freezing Lori in her tracks. She took a deep breath, her heart racing, before she shook her head and regained some sense. Probably Jason. She hadn't spoken to him and he was surely tired of her silence.

Expecting to roll her eyes at the only real family she had, she whipped the door open-and froze.

He wasn't facing her at first. He'd turned around to wait for someone to come to the door. But his a.s.s was enough to make her weak in the knees, and his jeans pulled tight around his firm cheeks because he had his hands in his pockets.

When he turned, his look was one of remorse. "May I come in?"

As though she were a puppet, Lori stood back and nodded. Why the f.u.c.k was she letting him in?

Her hands shook and she fisted them at her sides as he shut the door behind him. He turned the deadbolt, because he was that controlling. Immediately she felt his gaze penetrating her from above. Why did the man have to be so tall on top of everything else?

Jude stepped farther into the living s.p.a.ce and wandered around, absorbing everything Lori owned. She felt open, almost violated. This was her s.p.a.ce, dammit. Her apartment. Nothing in it was his. She'd taken nothing from the house when she'd sold it. Not even photographs of the two of them together.

He would find nothing to remind him of the past.

This apartment belonged to Lori, and Margaret. They'd forged their way together.

"How did you two meet?" He fingered the edges of a painting on the wall, one Lori and Margaret had purchased together over the summer on vacation at the beach. They'd bought it from a street vendor. It held sweet memories.

Lori jerked her gaze from the painting to the man in front of it as he turned toward her and lifted an eyebrow. He'd asked her a question. He'd never been a patient man.

She knew who he was talking about. "At the club."

"Emergence?"

"Yes." Lori tried hard not to fidget. She'd been completely in control for so long it felt odd to be out of sorts again. He did this to her just by being in the room.

She squeezed her legs together in an attempt to keep the pulsing need that emerged in her p.u.s.s.y at bay. Thirty seconds and he had her befuddled.

And he looked f.u.c.king s.e.xier than ever with his head shaved close and his two-day-old beard. How did he manage to look like that all the time? Except for the blue smudges under his eyes that made him look ten years older, he was GQ s.e.xy.

"Sit." He pointed at the couch.

When she didn't move quick enough, he nodded at the couch, one eyebrow raised as though he didn't appreciate having to repeat himself.

Lori shuffled around to the couch, keeping her gaze locked on Jude. G.o.dd.a.m.n him.

Somehow she managed to make it to her designated spot and grasped her thighs with her hands. She struggled not to bite her lower lip. He loved it when she did that. He punished her for it, but he loved punis.h.i.+ng her. She wouldn't give him the satisfaction.

She did squeeze her knees together, though. That would get his goat.

Jude wandered, examining everything in sight. With his back to her, he made her wait.

"What are you doing here, Jude?" Lori asked, emboldened by the knowledge that he didn't own her anymore.

"I moved back." He strolled behind her.

"I see that. Are you here to stay?"

"Depends."

On me.

"I'd like to." He leaned over the back of the couch and twirled a length of Lori's hair in one hand. "Your hair is longer." He dropped the lock. "What made you try topping?" he asked as he ran a finger down Lori's neck.

She s.h.i.+vered. "It just kind of happened." And it's none of your business.

"Have you been with anyone else?"

G.o.d, he was bold. That b.a.s.t.a.r.d. She knew what he meant. The unspoken "since I left" hung in the air. "It's not really any of your business." There, she said it. "Where have you been?"

Ignoring her question, he leaned in closer to her ear. She could feel his warm breath on her skin. "Lori." He spoke the single word with authority. She wanted to slap him. She also wanted him to f.u.c.k her.

"Sir?" G.o.d, why had she said that? The word came out from habit.

"Have. You. Been. With. Anyone. Else?"

She shook her head and lowered her gaze. "Not exactly, Sir. I tried, but-"

He stood and wandered in front of her again.

Dammit. He was a.s.sessing her. She loathed him at that moment. And she wished to h.e.l.l that emotion overrode her other feelings toward him. The reality was, dead or alive, he owned her. He would for the rest of her life. Their souls were entwined. It wasn't a bond she could break even if she never saw him again. No one would ever meet the standards he met in her eyes.

"What do you mean, you tried?"

She swallowed. "I worked with several Doms at the club." None of them were you.

"I see."

Did he?

Lori squirmed. She felt uneasy about letting Jude top her so easily. It had unsettled her last week and that feeling hadn't eased.

"So let me see if I'm reading this situation correctly." Jude sat on the coffee table, his knees inches from Lori's. "You've been dabbling as a Domme in my absence because you couldn't find a man who could make you feel the way I do." He narrowed his gaze at her, but his statement wasn't meant to mock her. His expression was serious. His brow furrowed. He was truly a.s.sessing her position.

Lori's entire body shook. "I've been a Domme for over a year, Jude."

"That may be, and I think it's fabulous you've experimented with other aspects of the lifestyle. But you aren't now, are you?" He leaned into her s.p.a.ce to catch her gaze. "Your body language speaks for itself."

After a few moments he continued, "Have you enjoyed being with a woman?"

"Yes." She couldn't lie to him. It wasn't in her.

"She's very attractive, baby. You have excellent taste in women."

Lori said nothing. She lifted her gaze, her eyes taking him in.

"You've forgotten most of my rules." He stood. He towered over her when he did that. "Or simply chosen to tempt me."

Both. She was well aware she was challenging him. And he was coming through. If he called her to task, he still had it in him.

Jude stepped away, and Lori regretted his absence. She wished he had touched her, held her face.

"I like it," he declared.

What?

"But I'm not going to tolerate it, as tempting as it is. If you come home with me, you can leave your new att.i.tude at the door." He paused.

Lori's entire body shook as though she had a fever. She pulled her hands together and fisted both palms in her lap. She dropped her gaze. She couldn't decide if she was about to blow steam out of her head at his high-handed proposal or kneel at his feet and thank him.

"I want you back, Lori. I'm not going to deny that. It would be ludicrous. I won't deny I feel awful about breaking up your relations.h.i.+p. That would be insensitive."

Yep, she was going to hit him if she moved an inch. Insensitive? Like leaving her with no warning and no explanation and popping up two years later demanding he take over where they left off? That kind of insensitive?

"Don't say anything right now. I'll give you some time to think it over. How about a week? That should give you time to examine the idea and decide if you're in. I just rented a house this week. I need a few days to move in. I'll come back here at the same time next Friday and we'll discuss your decision."

Lori swallowed. She didn't move. She couldn't believe what he'd suggested. Proposed. f.u.c.king demanded. He hadn't worded anything as a question. He'd simply stated he wanted her back. On his terms. She knew those well.

"Okay then. I'll see you next week. Same time. Same place." He stepped over to the door and paused without turning around. "One more thing. Don't f.u.c.k anyone this week. No o.r.g.a.s.ms either. Ponder. But no s.e.x." And he left. Walked right out the door, shutting it behind him.

Lori flinched, nearly jumping out of her skin at the finality of that door shutting. The noise resounded in the apartment like an echo, over and over. He never did answer my question. Where the f.u.c.k has he been?

Minutes went by before Lori pulled herself up and dragged her body to the bedroom. She felt like she was stuck in quicksand. She went straight through to the master bath and turned on the tub. After sitting so stiff and tight for so long, she needed the relaxation of a hot bath.

She peeled off her clothes and reached in to touch the water to make sure it was warm enough.

She cringed at the demand placed on her not to o.r.g.a.s.m, but she stuffed it into the back of her mind. It didn't matter anyway. She hadn't had s.e.x for the past week as it was, not even with herself.

He needn't have requested that of her. There was little chance Lori would be able to Domme for Margaret this week. And not a chance in h.e.l.l she could allow another Dom to command her. She was wrung out from the crazy tornado that had blown through town, lifted the homes, and not yet set anything back down.

The water felt wonderful as she slid into the steaming tub, but how long would it take for her muscles to relax enough that she could stop shaking?

Chapter Six.

Jude set his laptop on the desk, turned it to face the chair and stepped back. It had taken him only hours to move in. He owned nothing more than what was in his truck. He'd intentionally rented this home because it was fully furnished. The owners were on sabbatical and looking for a short-term renter.

As an added bonus, it was relatively secluded, with neighboring homes s.p.a.ced far enough apart they each had plenty of privacy. And his favorite feature-hot tub on the deck.

He'd kept himself busy all week, but in his idle moments he'd worried. What were the chances Lori would turn him down? When he'd made the decision to come back here, he'd had no idea what he might find.

Lori living as a Domme with another woman wasn't on the short list. Could she give up her new lifestyle and rejoin him? He felt confident she was still a submissive at heart. She'd reacted to him the same way she'd always responded. Her body language betrayed her.

Tomorrow. One more day and he'd have his answer. The only task left on his list was a trip to the s.e.x shop to replace everything he'd owned before leaving town.

Jude had steered clear of Emergence. He couldn't think of a thing to say to Jason or Carlton. The arrangement he had proposed to Lori was between them. If Lori had taken it to Jason, that was her choice. But Jude couldn't imagine facing the man again until he had his ducks in a row.

Jason had every right to be p.i.s.sed. He thought of Lori as a daughter. He'd been her everything for many years. Her mother had never been a strong role model, and she'd moved to the West Coast years ago.

Even though Jude and Jason had been close friends, there was no excuse for the way Jude had behaved. At least none he could offer up. The only way to win his way back into Lori's life was to prove himself worthy. He'd considered leaving her alone hundreds of times over the last month, but he'd never been able to picture an existence without her.

They'd had the kind of a relations.h.i.+p that was once in a lifetime. She'd been so young and inexperienced when he'd met her, but she'd had every aspect he could ever want in a woman. They'd been inseparable for two years. Everyone a.s.sumed they were lifers. h.e.l.l, Jude had too.

And then the unthinkable had happened.

He shook the thoughts from his head. No sense dwelling on the things he couldn't change.

Returning to Lori had never been on his radar. Until recently. Visions of her had kept him alive in his absence. He had photographs too. It had taken every ounce of willpower to keep from contacting her.

But he'd stayed strong. Not wanting to do more damage than he'd already done. And then, a few weeks before his return, he'd realized he might be able to go back. Hope had lifted his spirits. Thoughts of Lori living her life had tormented him, but all he could do was pray.

And things were looking up. She was p.i.s.sed. There was no way around that. But she wanted him. That was clear. She didn't want to want him, but her body overrode her mind. Hopefully her heart would trump also.