Cassidy frowns in confusion, her face reflecting a bunch of emotions all at once as she slowly lifts her eyes to mine. Her cheeks pinken slightly, and for some odd reason, her discomfiture has my body tightening. Then she whispers, "You can't just do it whenever and wherever you please.”
"I can and I will."
Her jaw drops. She sputters for a moment obviously at a loss for words. Then she exclaims, "But what if I'm ill or just completely uncomfortable with the situation."
I roll my eyes slightly. “Obviously there are contingencies for being unwell, I'm not a complete monster. And at the end of the day, you'll always have your safe word."
"But are there repercussions for using the safe word?"
"Of course not," I respond patiently. "Unless it becomes clear you're using it just out of spite or in an attempt to put off the inevitable."
"Do you want to intentionally put me in uncomfortable situations?"
"I will never put you in dangerous situations, and I will always have your best interest at heart."
"Can I quote you on that?" Penny asks matter-of-factly. I glance at her to find her staring at me, her pen hovering overthe page, and when I nod, she scribbles furiously. She then turns to Cassidy, waiting for confirmation. Cassidy sighs heavily, but then nods, and Penny begins to write on the paper again. I put my hand up stopping her. "Just to be clear, these are in effect for the duration of our agreement, not just the aforementioned year."
Cassidy frowns and says, "What do you mean?"
"Even during that time period that you have allowed for us to cohabit after the birth of our child. You can't expect me to stick around like that and be a monk."
She looks to Penny, who shrugs a shoulder and shakes her head in response. "That's your call."
Cassidy turns back to me and says, "But won't that put us in an endless cycle where we basically end up stuck with each other forever?"
I think over her question for a moment before responding, “Birth control is at your discretion postpartum. And we can add in a clause giving both of us a no-fault right-of-way to end the agreement or renegotiate terms annually after the second year."
Penny, who was still scribbling on the page, stops writing, looks to Cassidy who once again nods. I sit back in my chair feeling rather proud of myself. My glance at Jack shows that he is not happy at all, but I don’t fucking care what he thinks. I glance back to Penny and I say, "Are we done here then?"
Penny nods appearing to be happy as a clam. She gathers up all of her papers and says, "I'll get this drafted up lickety-split. Have it sent over for your signature by the end of the day."
Penny rises, turns to Cassidy as she says, "Are you ready?"
"Cassidy stays." I reply sharply.
Penny glances at me, then back at Cassidy, who says, "It's all right. I'll catch up with you later."
Penny sighs then turns towards the door as I say to Jack. "You get out too."
Jack hesitates momentarily but then stands with a shrug. My hand on his forearm draws his attention back to me. "Make sure the cameras are off, the blinds are drawn."
He raises his brows at me but nods before booking it for the doorway. I wait for the door to shut, the blinds to darken the large windows, then slowly turn my attention back to Cassidy who’s eying me suspiciously. And rightly so.
“Stand,” I say gruffly, my pulse picking up as she raises her brows, shifts in her chair. But she doesn’t stand, so I clear my throat and repeat more firmly. “Stand. Up.”
Eyes narrowing, she straightens in the chair, slides her ass to the very edge. Resting her forearms on the table she leans toward me. “Why?”
I lean back in my chair, my smile predatory. “We need to seal the deal.”
“Seal the deal?” she asks slowly. “And how do you suggest we do this?”
My smile broadens. I push my chair back from the table, my gaze flitting toward my lap suggestively. Her gasp of outrage has me chuckling softly because I know I’m being a bit of a sleaze bag, and I fully expect her to tell me to go fuck myself, but still, I can’t help but push her buttons.
Raising my eyes to her face, I waggle my brows at her. “What’s it gonna be, princess?”
7
SEALING THE DEAL
