I ran my hand down her foot and cupped her heel. “I want to discuss Friday night.”

“I should have said yellow when I panicked.”

“Yes,” I agreed. “But outside of that, I was a bit too aggressive in my plans, and I’m sorry. I should never have pushed you like that following such a lengthy punishment.”

“I thought you’d be upset with me for not safe wording,” she said.

“That, too, but the safe word wouldn’t have been necessary if I’d made better plans.”

“I don’t want to disappoint you.”

“You safe wording could never be a disappointment,” I said. “I can only push you if I trust you’ll yellow or red if you need to. And yes, I expect you to yellow even if you’re panicked and think I’m pushing you toward failure.”

“I wasn’t sure.”

“Promise me you’ll use it in the future,” I said, refusing to discuss anything further until she’d agreed.

“I promise,” she said. “I used green this weekend, didn’t I?”

I thought back to the day before, when I’d flogged her while she was bound to the cross. I’d had a submissive green on me before, and while the use of the word still gave me momentary pause, I’d not reacted the way I feared. Abby saying “green” had evoked feelings of pride and pleasure, for the most part.

“Yes,” I said. “You did. I was so pleased you felt comfortable enough to tell me what you needed.”

“I felt right on the edge of that feeling. You know the one?”

“Subspace. Not from personal experience, but yes, I know which one you’re talking about.”

“I just knew if you went faster and harder, I’d get there,” she said, her eyes drifting to a far-off bookshelf as she remembered.

“And you did?” I asked, wanting to confirm what I knew, but she didn’t answer. “Abby?”

“Huh?” Her eyes came back to mine and she smiled. “Yes, I did.” She slipped her foot from my hands and sat up. “Thank you.”

“You’re welcome, but I wasn’t finished with your foot massage.”

“I want to say ‘thank you’ with a kiss,” she said, shifting closer to me. “Proper-like.”

Her lips were near mine. I couldn’t help but look at them. “I would say, ‘No thanks are needed,’ but I really want that kiss.”

“Oh, yeah?” she asked, moving to sit in my lap.

“Mmm,” I replied as her lips grazed mine.

She initiated the kiss, and I let her lead, enjoying her tongue as it ran along the outside of my mouth. I parted my lips slightly and tasted her. Her thanks were soft and slow and long. I could have stayed with her in my lap for hours, but I knew she was still sore.

Later, I told myself. Maybe later tonight.

When we finally broke apart, she stayed in my lap, my hands stroking her hair as she leaned against my chest.

“The honeymooners return next weekend, right?” I asked.

“Yes, Friday night. Felicia said something about us coming over for lunch on Saturday the last time she called. I told her we’d see. I wasn’t sure how else to answer her.”

“No need to sequester ourselves. We could go over for an hour or two. We’re always going to have to balance our weekend time.” I rubbed her back. “If you want to go, that is.”

“I’ve missed her.”

“I know you have,” I said. “Just because it’s a weekend doesn’t mean we do nothing but stay in the playroom.”

“Though that would be fun,” she teased.

“Agreed, but I don’t want to push you.” I ran a hand down her back. “Still sore?”

“Just a little.” She shrugged. “Nothing I can’t deal with.”

“Let me know—”

“Nathaniel,” she interrupted. “I’m a big girl and I know my body. I already said I’d tell you. I’ll tell you.”

“Sorry. Just making sure.”

“You’ve already made sure.”

“Let’s change the subject,” I said. “I’ve made a grocery list for the housekeeper. It’s in the kitchen. I need you to look it over and see if you want her to pick up anything else.”

“You don’t do your own grocery shopping?”

“No,” I said, trying to remember the last time I went grocery shopping.

“Never?”

“Not anymore,” I said. “I don’t need to. Why?”

“It’s just weird. Having someone do all that.”

“You’ll get used to it,” I told her. “Besides, between my company and weekend time with you, I don’t have time to run up and down grocery aisles looking for bread and milk.”

“You say that like it’s beneath you,” she said. “You know most people do it and don’t think twice about it.”

“Are we going to argue about grocery shopping?” I asked. “Really?”

She stilled in my arms, weighing her words or actions, perhaps. “No,” she finally said. “I don’t want to argue with you.”

“Good. I don’t want to argue with you, either.” I kissed her again. “Want to go for a walk?”

“Yes,” she said, getting up and stretching. “Fresh air would be great.”

She waited for me that night in our bed, with the sheet pulled up to her neck, a sly smile on her face.

“Hiding?” I asked, crawling in beside her.

“No. Just a little surprise.”

Her shoulders were bare, so I decided it probably wasn’t new lingerie. I couldn’t imagine what else it could be. “For me?” I asked.

She nodded. “You need to unwrap it,” she said, thrusting her chest out.

“Oh, really?” I moved close to her and traced the line of her collarbone. “Well, it just so happens, I love unwrapping my surprises.” I dropped my lips to brush along the same path as my finger.

“Mmm,” she hummed. “Lower.”

“I’ll get there,” I said, swirling my tongue in the hollow of her throat. “Eventually.”

I wanted to ask if she was still sore, but knew it would probably make her angry. If she wanted me . . .

Well, I wasn’t going to argue.

I delicately lifted the sheet. “Whatever could be hiding under here?” I asked, taking a little peek underneath. “Holy f**k, Abby,” I said, momentarily stunned.

“You like them?”

Them were nipple rings, or something very similar, decorating each of her nipples. Unlike a normal ring, these were red and circled her nipple. She hadn’t had them on earlier, and she’d been at the house all afternoon and evening.

“Nathaniel?” she asked.

“Oh, yeah,” I said, tracing one. “I like them. I like them. A. Lot.”

“I thought I’d see how they were.”

“What brought this on?” I asked, my eyes still firmly locked on her chest.

“Christine’s pierced, or at least she used to be. Did you know that?” She sucked in a breath as I lowered my head to gently tongue her exposed nipple.

“No,” I said. She’d had a bra on the last time I’d seen her in the playroom, and the time before that had been years ago.

“She said it was very sexually stimulating, but suggested these first.”

“Smart woman, Christine,” I said, switching over to her other breast. “I knew introducing you was a good move.”

“Plus, I didn’t want to do something permanent like piercing if you were totally against the idea.”

My c**k grew uncomfortably hard. “Piercing?”

She nodded. “Just one nipple, maybe? I don’t know.”

Fuck.

“You were thinking about getting a piercing?” I asked.

“Yes. Do you hate the idea?”

I sighed and brought myself back up so I could look in her eyes. “I think you have a beautiful body, Abby. I’ll admit, the idea of piercing is, honestly, quite a turn-on, but I don’t want you to rush into anything.” I traced a nipple again. “Let’s start with these.”

The sly smile came back. “I have dangles, too.”

“Dangles?” I croaked.

“Mmm.” She rolled over so she straddled me. “Maybe I’ll surprise you with those tomorrow.”

Chapter Twenty

—NATHANIEL—

Something had been off all week. I couldn’t put my finger on it, and Abby and I never got into an out-and-out fight, but something was off.

In all honesty, it was a busy week. Then again, they all were. I still attended one counseling session a week, Abby and I had dinner with my family on Tuesdays, and the week prior, she had enrolled us for couples’ yoga on Monday and Wednesdays.

Friday morning Sara sent me a reservation reminder for my upcoming business trip to China.

Fuck.

I’d forgotten to mention the trip to Abby. I hoped she wouldn’t have any trouble taking off time from the library. Surely a week wouldn’t be a problem. We could leave early on a Saturday and return the next Sunday night. Maybe we could both take the following Monday and Tuesday off to relax. I’d pamper her with a spa day. She still talked about the one she’d had with Elaina and Felicia prior to the wedding.

A few hours later, I met Abby for lunch at our favorite Italian deli. She’d arrived first and sat at an outside table. I gave her a quick kiss before taking my seat.

“How’s your day?” I asked. I thoroughly enjoyed having lunch with Abby, how it broke up stressful days.

She smiled and took a sip of water. “Good,” she said. “Yours?”

“Same.”

After we ordered our lunch, we made small talk, mostly concerning Jackson and Felicia’s return home and our lunch plans with them the next day.

“I keep meaning to tell you,” I said, changing the subject. “I have a trip planned in two weeks and I was hoping you could go with me.”

“Two weeks isn’t good for me.”

“No way I can change your mind?” I wiggled my eyebrows. “I’ve heard I can be very persuasive when I need to be.”

“I have a conference in two weeks,” she said, hiding a laugh and acting completely unaffected by my wiggly eyebrows.

“That sounds horrifically boring and uneventful,” I said. “Come with me to China. Let me persuade you.”

“You’re going to China?”

“Ah, my powers of persuasion are working. Yes. China.”

“Your powers are doing no such thing,” she said. “I have to attend this conference if I hope to be in line for Martha’s job when she retires.”

“Martha’s retiring?”

“In a few years. Besides, I don’t have a passport.”

“You don’t?” I asked. How did she not have a passport? “We’ll have to take care of that. We can get you one expedited.”

“Because I’m going to be doing so much international travel?” she asked, and at once, the light mood of our lunch was replaced by the underlying tension I’d noticed all week.

“I hope you do a lot of international traveling,” I said. “With me.”

She shifted uncomfortably in her seat, but before she could say anything, the waiter returned with our lunches.

“That’ll be great,” she said, once he left. “I can’t go to China, but you’re right. I need a passport. I’ll take care of that.”

It didn’t sound too great, not by her tone of voice, but she changed the subject and I went along with her. I knew I should say something else, should ask her if something was wrong, at least try to find out what was going on in her head. But the more I thought about it, I decided to wait. After all, why have a heart-to-heart at an outside café? Besides, if something was wrong, wouldn’t she tell me?