Page 3 of Rediscovering Rubi

“Thank so much, Erika,” he said, and beside him Rubi smiled and nodded.

He took her hand in his. “Come on, babe.”

He led her down the hallway Erika had indicated and opened the door. Their room had the same rustic warmth as the rest of the lodge, with lots of wood furnishings, raw-beamed ceilings, and the big picture window had a gorgeous view of the snow-capped mountains in the distance.

He pulled Rubi in close as soon as the door closed behind them. “You okay, babe? You’re awful quiet.”

“Yes, I’m okay. This is just… a lot. I’m trying to wrap my head around the idea of being in submissive space again. It’s been so long. I sort of feel like I don’t know where to start. As if I’m seeing everything—how beautiful it is here—but it’s not quite computing. It’s so hard to get out of my own head.”

“Yeah, I get that. But, babygirl, you just need to let me lead the way.”

She smiled then, and it lit up her face, her high cheekbones going pink. “You haven’t called me that in ages, Logan.”

“Maybe it’s time I start again. I only ever used that pet name for you when we were in role; when we’re Dom and sub. To be honest, it felt pretty damn good rolling off my tongue.”

“It felt good to hear it,” she said, still smiling. “I have to admit, I’ve missed it.”

Smiling down at her, he pushed a lock of her shoulder-length auburn hair behind one ear. His wife was so beautiful. He had a hard time understanding the insecurity she’d developed about her looks. He’d truly never seen a more beautiful woman, a woman he was so attracted to—he’d said that the day he met her, and that hadn’t dimmed over the years. He hoped this trip would help her to feel better about herself. Hell, it was his job to see that she did, and he didn’t intend to fail her again the way he apparently had all these years. He would kick himself for that if he thought it would do any good.

There was a knock at the door, and he stepped back to open it, finding Dax with a luggage cart behind him.

“Hope I’m not disturbing you two,” Dax apologized.

“Not at all. Come on in.”

Together they unloaded the cart and Logan tried to give him a cash tip, but Dax held both his hands up in front of him. “All taken care of. I hope you like your room. We’re always here if you need anything. Have a good evening, you two.”

Logan thanked him and shut the door behind him, then turned back to Rubi.

“Come on, baby; let’s go sit down.”

He helped her off with her coat, removed his own, and led the way to the brown leather sofa in front of the big window, and they sat. Rubi was twisting her hands together and looking up at him, her sky-blue eyes worried.

“How can we get you to relax, baby? You’re furled tight as fence wire.”

“I know, and I’m sorry. I just can’t seem to stop my head from running a hundred different scenarios, worrying about everything. This just feels so important.”

“It is important. But look, we have three weeks here to reconnect. To rediscover who we are as a couple. And I plan to do just that. You need to find a way to let go and leave everything up to me. Just like you used to.”

She nodded, but he could still see the doubt in her eyes and the tension in her shoulders.

“Let’s do some breathing exercises. Do you remember how?”

She smiled, a spark of excitement in her eyes, and it went through him like a sharp ache that hit him right in the center of his chest.

There she is.My girl.

“Yes, I remember.”

He took both her hands in his and stared into her eyes. “Breathe with me now, babygirl.”

He took in a deep breath through his nose, then blew it out slowly through his mouth, and Rubi followed his lead.

“Good, babe. Again.”

She smiled once more as they took another breath, and it made him so damn happy.

They inhaled deeply, exhaled slowly, then repeated the exercise a few more times, until he saw her shoulders drop and the light come back into her face and stay there.

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