AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Desi stretched, carefully testing her limbs. She winced a little as she rolled her shoulders, and Joel noticed the movement.
"Come on, let's get you out of here and back to someplace where I can give those muscles a rub and you can have a nice relaxing bath." Joel frowned as he looked around him. "There sure isn't anywhere to do it here. I don't think they even have separate aftercare rooms."
He helped her to her feet and saw she was still a little wobbly.
"Here, sit yourself down, while I fetch your clothes."
Joel helped her dress and insisted she eat a little more chocolate and finish the bottle of water, then he took her hand and led her back downstairs, hugging her close to his side and supporting her through the crowd.
He beckoned to Jake as they headed for the exit.
"I'm taking Desi home," he informed his cousin. "I'll stay with her for the weekend."
Jake nodded his approval, but Desi raised her eyebrow in query.
"No arguments!" Jake and Joel both exclaimed together.
Desi raised her hands in supplication. "I never said a word!" she mumbled, and Jake grinned.
"Good girl." He winked, patting her cheek and slapping Joel on the back. "I'll see you both on Monday."
Joel settled Desi into his luxury rental car and set off in the direction of her apartment. It was after two am and the streets were quiet in the upscale area where she lived on the edge of the city.
"You don't have to stay," Desi said quietly as he pulled up in the secure private parking facility underneath her building.
"Well, I can't leave you," he replied, and Desi stiffened, suddenly feeling uncomfortable as the words he chose made her feel more like an obligation or a chore.
Joel didn't wait for a response; he jumped out of the car, rounding the hood and opening Desi's door.
Once they were inside, he followed to her bedroom, checking out the en suite and starting the water running in the large tub to which he added a generous handful of the scented bath salts he found in her cabinet.
Returning to her bedroom, he once again helped her with the laces on her corset, but this time, his fingers were all business.
Desi felt ridiculously shy as she undressed in front of him and had to curb the urge to cover up. Why on earth did things suddenly seem so awkward?
She dropped onto the bed with a little bounce, bringing her legs close together and folding her arms into her lap, trying to cover up as much skin as possible without being obvious about it.
Joel turned to look at her and noticed how lost Desi looked. Crouching in front of her, he crooked a finger under her chin and lifted her head up. "Come on, let's get you into that bath and start those muscles soaking before they knot up."
Desi softened at his gentle tone. "Will you join me?" she asked almost shyly.
Joel dropped his hand and stood abruptly. "I thought I'd go and raid your kitchen and find us something to eat."
Desi lowered her eyes again and accepted the brush off with a small nod, her face carefully blank.
Damn it, he wasn't handling this well. At this rate, he'd be pushing her into sub-drop, instead of preventing it. He didn't mean to deliberately push her away. It was just that, for some reason, the little intimacies were scaring the hell out of him, since he was finding that he couldn't seem to approach them with the usual degree of separation with which he normally regarded his subs.
He took a breath and raised his face to the ceiling. Screwing up his eyes, he exhaled and finally looked at Desi, who hadn't moved, but who had a worryingly vacant look about her. He tried again. "You need something warm and nutritious inside you, sweetheart, and so do I."
Joel took Desi's hand and pulled her up, leading her gently into the bathroom and checking the temperature of the water before he settled her in.
Desi sighed audibly as she submerged beneath the water, immersing her entire head, then pushing her shoulders back out as she drew up one leg and rested her foot next to the tap.
Joel gritted his teeth as his cock went back on alert at the sight of her dripping body and the breathy noises she made. "I'll be right back." he choked, backing out of the room before he threw cation to the wind and sank himself into that lush, wet heat…and he sure as hell wasn't thinking of the bath.
Desi closed her eyes and mentally cursed as Joel hightailed it out of the door. How would they ever manage to get through this weekend when they were both tiptoeing on eggshells around each other? Joel clearly wasn't comfortable, and every time his discomfort showed, Desi felt defensive and withdrew, which made Joel feel guilty enough to try harder and then the cycle started all over again.
Desi had never experienced sub-drop before, where coming off of the high caused by subspace had the same kind of effects as a hangover coupled with the type of downer experienced by drug addicts—exhaustion, depression and extreme emotions while the body and mind rebalanced themselves. The key to combatting sub-drop, which usually occurred after more intense scenes, was good aftercare.
