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Fear washed away all of my anger. Would Master Derek make me leave?
“River. What is the meaning of this?”
“I’m sorry, Master Derek. I don’t know… I didn’t mean to…”
“Young lady, you will go to your room and think about what you just did. In a half hour, I will send an escort to bring you to my office.”
My body trembled but wouldn’t move.
“Go, now!” he barked.
The sound of his order was so loud, I jumped three feet off the floor, and sobbing like I never had before, I scurried past Cade to the stairs and ran up them all the way to the safety of my room.
Chapter 4
Cade
Everything inside me screamed to follow River. Her words and the pain behind them had cut me deeper than any knife could have. But as thesourceof her pain, could I really comfort her? I hadn’t realized I had climbed a half-dozen stairs to go after her until a voice cut through my thoughts.
“That’s as far as you go, Mr. Knightly. She needs time to calm down, and if you want to stay here, we have things to discuss.”
“You’d kick me out because she hit me?” My brain was still processing everything River had said but his logic seemed shaky.
“No. But the comfort and safety of our residents is our top priority. I’ve known River for over a year and she has never caused an issue. I just met you today.” Giving me a pointed look, he turned around, opened the door, and gesturing for me to precede him out of the stairwell, added, “Let’s discuss this in my office.”
Taking this somewhere more private was probably a good idea. He held the ultimate power here, so if I wanted any chance of talking to River, I would have to follow his lead.
I’d been to Derek’s office earlier after Andy and I checked in but entering it now gave me a new perspective. This wasn’t just an office, it was the place where all the resident subs came to receive punishment.
After speaking with Erika, the woman I’d met when registering, Derek turned to me. “Take a seat.”
His firm tone set my teeth on edge. I had to remember he was just trying to look out for River.
I sat down in the butter-soft leather chair opposite his desk. How many penitent subs had come and sat here over the years? Would River be taking up the other chair before she received her punishment?
I didn’t think I could watch another man mete out justice on her sexy bottom. It didn’t matter that we hadn’t seen each other in over a year or that she obviously didn’t still consider herself my sub. At the core of my being, I believed she was still mine. I didn’t think I could ever accept that we were over.
If I was going to convince this man to let us work out our issues, I would have to share more with him than I had with my best friend.
“How much do you know about River and me?”
Derek poured two fingers of scotch into a tumbler and placed it in front of me before pouring his own. I hoped that was a good sign. I picked up the heavy glass, enjoying the weight in my hand. We both raised our glasses in silent salute and took a sip.
“When River came here a year ago, I could tell she wasn’t in a good place. Even after I convinced her to get help, she never really opened up. We all care for her but she doesn’t let people get close.”
It had taken months of dating before I’d learned much of anything about my beautiful woman. I was glad she had found a support system but ashamed that she had needed it because of me.
“That doesn’t surprise me.”
“At first, I thought she was fleeing abuse, but it soon became obvious she didn’t have the usual triggers we see in a woman who is physically afraid. But what I did see worried me even more. She strives to be so perfect it is almost painful to watch as she beats herself up trying to achieve the impossible. So, in order to rule out suffering from mental abuse, I insisted she see one of our counselors.”
“I never abused her!” The very idea sickened my stomach.
“Didn’t you? I heard most of what she said to you and while you may not have meant to, you did neglect her needs.”
And neglect was a form of abuse. I took a larger sip, tempted to down the entire thing in the hopes of washing away the bitter taste of that truth. “So what do you plan to do?”
“That depends a lot on you. Now that you’ve found her, what are your intentions?”
