AllFreeNovel
Share Us
"Then get on your knees to me here. In front of all of them. Now."
She sank down, his hand still in her hair. She pressed her lips to his thigh and stayed motionless, cuing the end of the scene.
The performance would be powerful because it would be real. The flogging scene would happen, and her excited reaction would be genuine. Des had read that part of the script, because it preceded a rope tying scene Julie wanted him to check out, both for his insights on its safety and improvements to make it more dramatic. Horn wasn't a rope guy, so he welcomed the expertise.
This show would likely generate more controversy than the first. Consent had been an amalgamation of talents the audience could mostly absorb with pleased fascination but the detachment of viewing a circus, a fantasy come to life. This script dealt with issues and emotions everyone experienced, kinky or vanilla. It would be impossible to stay detached and not see the connections between this power exchange in the BDSM world and the give and take in every relationship.
Julie leaned back in her chair. Des wanted to move into the row behind her, take down her hair, stroke his fingers through it, put his teeth against her throat and cup her beautiful breasts.
He had the right to do all of that as her Master, her lover, her Dom. But the man had some bridges to mend first. He wanted to wrap his arms around her, press his face against the side of hers and hold on to that still, precious moment as long as he could before the world ruined it. That had been the root of his problem, hadn't it? He wanted that perfection, nothing about his health and his life destroying it.
During those early dawn hours, he'd realized that he was going to have to accept a new definition of perfection. It was going to sometimes be messy, heartbreaking, tedious, frustrating... It was going to be everything that sharing a life with someone was and meant, like Julie had said. Glorious heaven and hell, and many other places in between.
"I missed you," she said abruptly, not turning around. "Jerk."
Of course she knew he was here. He almost smiled. Rising, he came down the aisle and moved into the row behind her, sitting down so he could cross his arms on the seatback next to her and look at her profile. She kept her eyes on the stage, though currently the actors were discussing some kind of issue with Lila, their words indiscernible as Julie and Des's conversation would be to them. Two different plays in progress.
"I missed you, too. So much it hurt."
"Good." She set her chin and he almost smiled again, except it was blocked by the ache in his chest. He trailed his knuckles down her face, then spread his fingers out, settling them over her throat. The way she responded to that, not softening yet not drawing away, sent a hard jolt of longing into heart, stomach, groin.
He felt the jump of her pulse, that awe-inspiring reaction. Initially, he'd wondered if her response to him was just a first sub experience thing. It could be, but the offering of her love wasn't a first-time experience. Either he was too selfish and fearful to let her go, or he trusted what they both seemed to feel around one another. Trust was always a harder and bigger leap for a Dom than a sub. But he'd better find the balls for it or she'd kick them into his throat. Yeah, she might let him cut her loose, but only if he was hobbling.
He did smile now. Leaning in, he spoke against her delicate ear. "I'm going to do the kidney transplant, Julie. I'm going to try really hard to make it work and last, so I can be with you. Unless you've decided I'm too much of a bastard, in which case I'll skip the whole surgery thing and just die. Not that you should feel any pressure to be with me because of that."
A quiver went through her, the initial reaction to the news, along with all the emotional debris that went with it, but he was proud of his girl, how quickly she rallied. She masked all that to give him an indifferent sidelong glance.
"How long before I have to decide one way or another? I'd prefer to be mad at you for another month or so, if you can put off dying until then."
"Oh, well, it's imminent. Any minute now, so you'll have to decide this second."
"I'm calling Betty to verify that. I'm suspicious of your motives."
"You should be," he said and tilted her head back. He rose to get the best angle at her gorgeous lips. She was resistant at first, all those tumultuous emotions coming to the forefront in the bite of her nails through his shirt, the stiffness of her body, the punch she tried to land in his midriff. He caught that, prying open her fingers and shifting his grip to her wrist to hold her while he kissed her like the desperate man he was. When her nails dug in for a different reason, her captured hand curling over his, her lips softening, he groaned into her mouth.
He destroyed her hair by tunneling his fingers in it, and kissed her even deeper. He could have dragged her over the seat, taken her then and there, but the shadows weren't deep enough and the distraction of those on stage wouldn't be prolonged enough. Plus, while the male need to steep himself in sex to heal the wounds of the past couple days was strong, she needed something different first.
Stepping over the seat, he sat down next to her and wrapped her up in his arms, pulling her onto his lap to get as much of himself around her lush, trembling body that he could. "I'm sorry I was such an asshole. I'm sorry for wanting you to be with me through all this. I'm sorry for every moment I'm going to be a jerk about this stuff. I'm going to have to learn how to stop being a fucking island fortress about it. It just feels like such a lousy gift to share with the woman I love."
"Men are so dumb," she said against his chest. "You couldn't give me a better gift than that."
"Women are bizarre." He felt her lips curve against him. He didn't want to ruin the moment, but he knew this was part of what he'd just promised. Full disclosure.
Taking a breath, he eased her back. "There's more to it. And I want you to understand something. If you don't want me to do this, I won't. I'll get on the donor list and wait for another." Even if a genetic match was likely the only chance he had. "And I can do dialysis for a while." Even though Betty said he wasn't responding as well to it as she'd hoped. "Okay?"
None of those caveats mattered. He would watch her reaction closely and, even if she tried to hide it, he wasn't going to do anything to jeopardize her relationship with the best friends she had if... Well, if he ended up meeting all expectations for a shortened life span.
"You remember that my best chance is a genetic match, which is different from most people who need a kidney, because most the time they don't need to be as specific as other organs."
"Because you're special," she said.
"Because I'm a fucking health disaster," he corrected, though he stroked a hand down her face for her staunch loyalty.
"Turns out, Thomas may be my cousin. Actually, apparently is my cousin."
Her eyes widened. "What?"
"He thought I looked familiar, and..." He gave her the details as her gaze stayed fastened to his face. He could practically see the thoughts whirling behind her eyes, digesting the impossible the way he had.
