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“See what you do to me?”I tease.“I turn into an insatiable beast around you, Victoria.”
She licks her lips, speckled with water droplets while contemplating her next words.“Are you like this with all your submissives?”Her voice wavers slightly, revealing her nervousness.
I step forward, my palms pressing against the table, an edge to my voice.“Are you seriously asking me that?Do you think you’re just like the rest of them?”
She averts her eyes, suddenly self-conscious.“I don’t know, I guess so.”
“Victoria,” I declare, locking eyes with her, “You’re in a league of your own, far more than just a submissive in my life.”And as I say it, I realize I’m also admitting it to myself for the first time.
Her eyes lift, meeting mine.“And you’re more than my Dom, Kingsley.”
The morning unfolds in a cozy manner as we share the workspace, each engrossed in our tasks.Despite our separate responsibilities, we find comfort in working side by side.In those moments between emails, her subtle glances in my direction feel like pure bliss.
* * *
When I drop her off at her session with Dr.Diedra, and she insists I take the hour for myself.So I find myself wandering the streets, idly looking in shop windows, when a voice I know too well catches me off guard.
“Kingsley, is that you?”
I turn, and it feels like someone just drove a knife into my gut.“Jackie.”
She grins, throwing her arms around me.I can’t reciprocate.My arms hang limply at my sides as memories crash over me like violent waves—her husband Carter’s lifeless body in my arms, the stench of blood and gunpowder in Somalia.
She eventually pulls away, studying my face.I manage a forced smile, barely holding myself together.“How are you?”I choke out, even though it’s a question that neither of us wants to answer.
She shrugs.It’s been just over a year since that fateful day, and my eyes shift to the stroller she’s pushing.Her husband never met his unborn child.It’s like another knife twists, but right into my heart this time.
“I’m surviving,” she says, her voice tinged with the kind of tired you can’t sleep off.“Remy and me, we’re surviving.”
“I’m sorry I haven’t been in touch,” I mumble, my eyes unable to meet hers.
“You’ve done more than enough,” she says, a tear escaping her eye.“You don’t have to keep sending us money.”
My hand shoots up, cutting her off.“I promised Carter I’d look after you both.It’s the least I can do.”
Her eyes search mine, seeing the torment probably mirrored in her own.She touches my face lightly, her fingers tracing the stress lines etched into my skin.“It’s not your fault, Kingsley.”
I clench my fists, my jaw ticking in rhythm with my racing heart.“Stop saying that.”
“I will when you start believing it,” she whispers, her hand still on my face, forcing me to confront a reality I’ve been running from.
Just as I’m about to reply, my phone buzzes in my pocket.It’s a text from Victoria telling me her counseling session is over.But another twist unravels before I can even contemplate the strange twist of fate that brought Jackie and me together again.
“Kingsley, there you are!”Victoria’s voice calls out from down the street.As she approaches, I can’t help but notice a flicker of jealousy cross her eyes when she sees me standing close to Jackie.It’s a look I’ve never seen on her before, and oddly enough, I find it comforting.
“Victoria,” I breathe out her name like a sigh of relief.“There’s someone I want you to meet.”
Jackie turns toward Victoria, and her eyes widen in recognition.“Oh my God, you’re Viki Slate!I love your work!”
Victoria’s eyes shift from jealousy to pleasant surprise.“Thank you, that means a lot to me.And you are?”
“This is Jackie,” I say, feeling like I’m standing on a fault line between two seismic plates—my past and my present.“Jackie, meet Victoria.She’s the reason I’ve been in Montauk.I’m her bodyguard.”
Victoria extends her hand gracefully, but I see her eyes flick back to mine, still trying to read the unreadable.“It’s nice to meet you, Jackie.”
“Likewise,” Jackie replies, shaking Victoria’s hand.
The tension is still there, a taut string vibrating with unspoken words and unacknowledged feelings.But seeing the two of them together, I feel like I’m at a crossroads, and for the first time in years, either path seems bearable.
