Everything has always felt easy between us, and with Susa, too. Even this is quickly becoming easy. I don’t feel a need to cover myself like I did before.
My brain is…the only way to describe it isquiet.
For the first time in my adult life, there aren’t a million thoughts running through my mind, including a list of my own shortcomings that I’m beating myself up over.
“We’ll keep doing this, Sir?” I quietly ask when I realize that.
“Yes. Unless you decide you want me to stop doing this, and specifically tell me we’re not doing this any longer, wearegoing to keep doing this.”
After a long, slow breath, I nod. “I want to keep doing this, Sir.”
His chin rubs against the top of my head. “Good boy. So do I.”
Chapter Twenty-Two
Instead of cleaning us up, Carter has an alternate suggestion. About fifteen minutes later, he has me help him up from the floor and we head out to the pool. He shoves his shorts down and jumps in the deep end.
I follow. When I break the surface, he’s already swimming toward the shallow end, smooth strokes cutting through the water. I’m not a pretty swimmer. I always feel like a manic Labrador retriever splashing around compared to Carter’s neat, strong, disciplined strokes.
I follow him to the shallow end, where he lounges against the stairs. They’re wide, divided by a metal handrail, and he takes up one side.
“We’ll patrol the living room in a little bit,” he says with a smirk. “Clean up the splash zone.”
“Am I still allowed to ask questions, Sir?”
“Always. Unless I’ve specifically ordered you to remain silent.”
“How often will we do…this?”
“Do what? Orgasm play?”
“I mean everything.This.”
“We’re doing it now.” He tips his head back and looks at the sky through the screened pool cage. It’s a sunny day and the water’s perfectly warm, but there’s literally a cloud situated over us right now. Carter’s face is bathed in a study of soft shadows contrasted with rippled light reflected off the pool’s surface.
Much like the man himself.
“I’m going to introduce rituals and protocols to our relationship,” he says. “A few at a time. Rules. I won’t set you up for failure by dumping a bunch of stuff on you all at once and then have you beating yourself up over it.”
“Protocols?”
“Calling me ‘Sir’, for starters.” He lifts his head and meets my gaze. “In fact, even in front of Susa, I want you to call me ‘Sir’.”
Terror fills me. “But—”
“I’ve decided we are going to bring her in.”
My eyes widen. “What?”
“That’s your biggest fantasy, isn’t it? Of her dominating you?”
I swallow hard. He’s right, but still… “She hasn’t asked to be part of this. You don’t even know she’ll want to be part of this.”
Worse, what if she doesn’t want to be friends with us anymore?
“She will.”
“You can’t guarantee that.”
