“You’re safe,” she whispered, clutching a pillow to her chest, she exhaled slowly.
Flicking on the beside lamp didn’t help soothe her racing thoughts.
She grabbed her phone.
So what?She was dependent on her husband.
And he was dependent on her too.He’d be lost without her.
Zee loved the idea of Club Bandit, it was his dream.
But he didn’t love all the front-facing customer service parts of running a club.
He liked looking after the equipment, teaching classes and showing her off onstage, and having a play space to use with her and for his friends, but in all the years that the club had been open it had been Ella who made the effort for the members to make the place a space they’d come back to.
She’s the one who looked after the submissives when they were in tears and trained staff to follow her in her footsteps, always there with a fuzzy blanket or a non-judgemental ear.
So she was dependent on him, so what.
That’s not the reason why she hesitated calling him.If she called him, she knew he’d come.
Because he was right across the street or around the corner, somewhere near.
He’d come and he’d hold her and she’d melt against him and she would give in.
That was the issue.
A part of her didn’t want to give in.
She wanted to fight against them.
Against what they were, what their relationship was because Zee didn’t protect her.
And she’d felt so distant from him since he took the job.
Hot tears sprang to her eyes, and she blinked them away rapidly as she tapped his number.
She called him because she needed him.
“Ella?”The joy in his voice was unmistakable.
She clutched the phone.“So…” she let the word hang in the air, hoping he’d fill in the rest.
“Tell me what you need, dear heart.”
“For you to come.Please.”
“I’m already on my way.Meet me at the door.It’s so quiet on this street.Do you think the whole island is like this?Maybe we should move here.”
Ella laughed wiping away her tears, listening to the sounds of Zee’s chatter in her ear, heard the change of air through his phone and wondered how close he was.
“I think you would be bored in a week.I thought tomorrow I’d take a walk on the beach.”
“Yeah?I hope you want some company.”His voice caught.
“What if I say no?”Ella giggled as soon as the words escaped her lips.Where had this teasing come from?
“Then I’d say, too bad, I’m standing at Nora’s backdoor.Let me in, girl.”
