Page 89 of Winter’s Fire

“Such as?” Lucy doubted it, but she had to ask.

“With a man, the truth could be anything. I’ve known your father for nearly forty years, and he still surprises me. Men have a totally different thought process from women.” Rachel snorted. “If you can call it thinking.”

“You think I should confront him, then?”

“I think assumptions are dangerous things to make, especially when it comes to matters of the heart. Give it some thought.”

Flashbacks flooded Lucy’s mind. The restraints, the floggers… Oh lord, the demo. How on earth could she explain that and all the pleasure and peace it had given her? How she’d felt, knowing Logan’s concentration was fully devoted to her and what he was doing to her, the soaring ecstasy that sent her gladly to her knees in front of the only man ever to make her wonder if this was what forever love felt like. Her mother would never understand. “I will, although I’m not even sure it was real now.”

“It was real, love. If it wasn’t, we wouldn’t be having this conversation. Have you thought about what it’ll be like when you go back to work, seeing him every day?”

“I might not have to see him that much. He’ll move on to his next assignment, and I have training for my new job to look forward to.”

“And what then? What if you’re assigned to work with him again? Have you thought about that?”

Her mother knew all the questions to ask. “I’d be lying if I said I hadn’t, but on the other hand, it wouldn’t be very professional to allow this… episode to affect my work. It could be dangerous, too, which is why I have to put this behind me.”

“What if you have to go undercover as a couple again?”

“I don’t think it’ll happen.” Lucy couldn’t bear the thought.

“Don’t count on that. I’m not going to tell you what to do, but I do think you should give serious consideration to finding out the truth. If the situation is as you believe, then nothing changes, but if you’re wrong and you don’t do anything about it, you could be turning your back on something special. Think about it.

“And no matter how you feel right now, be honest with yourself. Don’t be afraid of the truth.”

Rachel hugged her daughter and kissed her forehead. “You see? It wasn’t so bad, was it? Now get some sleep. It’s all you can do right now anyway, but I can guarantee that by morning, you’ll know what to do for the best. Off to bed with you, now.”

She waited until the bedroom door closed behind Lucy, then headed along the hallway to return to her own bed, and her husband.

Far from being asleep as she’d told Lucy he was, Jack was sitting up in bed, engrossed in a novel, just as she’d left him—sometimes, a little white lie was necessary when in pursuit of a higher goal.

Rachel closed the door as quietly as possible, and snapped the lock into place. She toed off her slippers, stripped off her dressing gown and nightdress, and knelt in perfect presentation position at her husband’s side of the bed, content to wait until he was ready to address her, and find out if her mission had been successful.

Jack set aside his book, and without a word, picked up the soft leather play collar from the nightstand. He fastened it around Rachel’s neck, taking care to centre the D-ring, then threaded his fingers through her hair. She gave a soft sigh of pleasure.

“Did your plan work, love?” he asked as he continued to stroke her hair. “Or is she still trying to protect us from the horrible truth about Nenufar?”

“Yes and no, Master. She still hasn’t admitted anything about the nature of where she’s been, but it became abundantly clear that our girl’s a submissive, as we thought. I also believe she’s struggling to reconcile submission with strength of character.”

“What’s your impression of the situation with this Simmonds and the other woman?”

“Master, I know our daughter. I believe her confidence took a hit with her last boyfriend, and now she doubts herself. From what she said about Logan… I think there’s more to it than a simple change of allegiance to an old girlfriend, but I’m not sure what, exactly. It’s almost as if there’s something else going on. Or I could just be seeing something that isn’t there, because I don’t want her to have been rejected by the man she loves in favour of some vicious shrew.”

“You think she loves him?”

“Without a doubt. She’s torn between fighting for him and stepping back with her dignity intact and letting him have what she believes he wants—this Diana person.”

“And he’s a Dom. From what she told us about him and what we know about that place, he has to be. We don’t know the man, but my gut’s telling me he wouldn’t pull a switch like that. What if he did it to protect Lucy from the shrew?”

“Do you think that’s possible, Master?”

Her husband cupped her cheek with his hand. “I know I’d do anything to protect you. If we were in a situation like that, I’d hope you’d trust me and let me explain afterwards, but we have an advantage they don’t.”

More than three decades of love, support and understanding, and a D/s relationship that gave them both what they needed. “Do you think we might have a future son-in-law to vet?”

“If we’re right it’s entirely possible, but both of them will have to overcome her self-doubt.”

“Is there anything we can do, Master?”