Page 16 of Rediscovering Rubi

Yes.

She knew how to do that. She remembered.

“Yes,” she whispered.

“That’s my good girl. You just give it all to me, and I will handle it. You have no worries when you’re under my hands, babygirl. You don’t have to make any decisions. All you have to do is feel.” He stroked her cheek, then leaned in to brush a kiss over it, and a warm wave of familiarity and excitement swarmed her system. “Will it make it easier if I tell you what to wear?”

She nodded, unable to find her voice as her head swam. But now they were less rambling thoughts and more of that lovely sinking sensation that came with subspace, just those very first tingling beginnings. And understanding that she could still get there was reassuring.

He stood up and went to the closet, where she’d hung the black nightie and the lingerie on padded hangers. He looked at each piece, then held out the bra and panty set made of burgundy lace.

“This’ll look beautiful with your hair,” he said as he walked it over to her. “And you can wear that black wrap-around dress with your black heels to walk down in. Now, you get dressed while I grab my bag.”

He gave her a kiss on the forehead before he left the room, and she touched the still-warm spot with a fingertip.

She was so damn lucky to have him.

She shed her robe and stepped into the lace underwear. The burgundy lace was high-waisted, covering her lower tummy, where the skin was loose from having babies, making her feel a bit better. Then she put the bra on, and the pretty underwire pushed her breasts up. They’d always been a bit larger than she liked, but she had to admit the beautiful lingerie made her feel pretty. She slipped into her wrap dress, then stepped into her high pumps and gave herself one last look in the big bathroom mirror.

She was surprised by the woman reflected back at her. Her cheeks were glowing, her blue eyes sparkled, and the push-up bra was doing wonders for her cleavage.

“Maybe I’m not so dowdy after all,” she told herself.

She touched up her lip gloss, smoothed her auburn hair, and turned to walk into the evening.

When his wife stepped into the living area of their suite, Logan had to let out a low whistle.

“Babe, you are gorgeous. I’m a proud man tonight.” He offered his arm, and she took it. “Let’s head downstairs.”

As they made their way across the lobby to the elevators, Erika was passing through with a file in her hands, but she just smiled and nodded, probably knowing better than to break their pre-scene space.

Rubi was quiet as they rode the elevator down, but he heard her soft intake of breath as they stepped into the main Dungeon area.

Just as Derek had said, there was no one else down there tonight, but he knew Rubi would feel much better in the private play room he’d reserved.

“Wow,” Rubi said, her voice low.

“Pretty spectacular, right? It’s a lot fancier than the clubs we used to go to, but given everything else we’ve seen of the Ranch, I’m not surprised. But we’re not playing here tonight. We need some privacy. This way, darlin’.”

Her heels clicked as they moved down a hallway to the room Derek had shown him earlier. He closed the door behind them.

The room was all dark red walls and black kink furniture: a spanking bench, a long padded table, a St. Andrew’s Cross, a pair of leather cuffs dangling from a spreader bar hung from a length of chain, and a chair big enough for two, with a large ottoman. The lighting was turned down low, and ambient music played. A sleek black lacquered armoire stood in one corner, its doors open to display a variety of implements and lengths of rope.

He set his bag down on a console table against one wall, then turned to Rubi. She was absolutely quiet, which he hoped was her just getting into the right headspace, but he could still see some tension in the way she held her shoulders.

He moved closer, and kissed her lips, her lip gloss tasting of strawberries, just like it used to, making him smile.

“Baby, you’re gonna need to lose that pretty dress.”

“I… what?” she asked, her eyes going wide.

“You remember how we talked about the importance of diving right in?”

She nodded, and he saw her swallow.

“That’s what’s happening tonight, darlin’. Starting now.”

She nodded, still swallowing. He knew she was going to have to work past her fears, and while he intended to be as laser-focused on her every breath, every tensing of her muscles, doing his best to read her moment by moment in order to help her through this, he also knew some of this would have to be about herchoosingto give herself over to his dominance. Power exchange had to be given on both sides, or there was no exchange. And without that, they may as well not be here.

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