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Sandra sighed and turned to Laney, “So are you and Alex ready to tie the knot, too?”
Laney felt as if she were floating in a pleasurable dream, although being at Mama’s with her two best friends was no dream. Their stories, their reckless love lives, their ups and downs, their sadness, defeats, and triumphs, were their everyday reality, and the subject of their conversations since they were together in college. And it was no different now. She could turn to them and tell them everything…whether they liked what she had to say or not didn’t matter as much as the simple acceptance they gave her. After the arguments and the ‘in your face’ opinions it was the acceptance that brought them back.
“Married? Not yet,” Laney finally answered. “We’re taking it slow…I need that now. I was diving in much too fast when I insisted on that trip to Marquis Island.”
“You finally admit that?” Sandra said wryly.
“Yes, dear, I admit that.”
“But, Alex. Is he a fixture…?”
“Oh, I think so.” She blushed and smiled, and then that smile dimmed. “But I’m being more careful. I have to be, he forces me to be careful. I think he’s more autocratic than any man I’ve ever know; he’s just more subtle about it. Sort of slips it in…”
“But you’re in love, aren’t you?” Elise observed.
“Maybe. I’m not sure.”
“Oh, c’mon, this isn’t like the assertive Laney we know,” she jibed.
“I know, but it’s the Laney I have to be right now. I was looking to find Erik when I started off to find the Marquis; that was my mistake. It was too soon and I made some foolish choices. I don’t want to be foolish about Alex. He’s very different from Erik. He’s so much more laid back and casual, off the wall, spontaneous…and he has no desire to give me to anyone else. If anything, he has a little jealous streak. Talk about getting spanked—that’s his tool for keeping my head on straight. And I love it…” she was starting to sound like the more animated Laney they knew. “Sometimes he behaves like he did on the inland—he’s brutal, almost vicious—and we come together like exploding storm fronts. He takes me down so low, to that groveling place … the other night, it was quite literal; he held my head with his boot pressed against my back while he whipped my naked ass. I’ve never come like that before…” She was obviously fixated on the scene in her mind, her eyes dreamy and disconnected. Then she looked up, coming back to the table where the three were still eating Mama’s deep-dish peach pie. “He was all smiles afterwards. We read in bed together, reading passages of our books out loud to each other, before we finally turned out the light and snuggled down under the covers.”
“Oh, you are in love,” Elise said, no doubt in her mind now.
“Maybe,” Laney said.
“You know, I have to agree with Elise, this time,” Sandra said. “And you know, it’s okay, Laney. Erik would want this for you. He always wanted your happiness. And maybe someday, you’ll allow yourself to admit that you can love Alex Greenwood as much as you loved Erik Priestly.”
Laney smiled, and bashfully covered her mouth with her left hand; her eyes were shining with happy tears.
“Thanks…thanks for everything, especially these nights…” She didn’t need to say anything more.
When both of her friends went home that night, they’d remember that moment for everything Laney hadn’t said. They’d also recall that something bothered them about the scene that at the time, they couldn’t quite identify. When they finally figured it out, they’d realize that Laney no longer wore the Marquis’ bracelet. There were no bracelets on her arm at all.
What they’d learn later was that Alex Greenwood’s rings would decorate her body, becoming a much more private, more personal statement of her loving submission to her new master. Laney would belong to Alex and no one else.
