Page 13 of Shattered Dreams
“At the bottom of the ocean, like this crap should be.” He pointed at the half eaten maki roll. “Why couldn’t we have just hit the drive-thru and grabbed a couple of burgers while we waited for Daddy to see his doctor?”
Lizzie shrugged, not bothered in the least by his referral to Storm as his Daddy. She’d always thought he could use a caretaker. “You don’t get out enough, and this is one of the smaller, more intimate places near the hospital. And I didn’t want to sit in the truck and eat greasy fries.”
“Instead, you brought me to a place that the only thing edible is…the spring rolls.” He picked up one and took a healthy bite out of it.
She shook her head at his antics. Despite the lightheartedness of the moment, she couldn’t help but worry about what was going to happen after they went back to retrieve Storm and dropped her off at the hospital for her visit with Master. While she itched to be at his side, instead he’d told her in no uncertain terms that she was to take her bestie out to lunch,thencome up and see him. He didn’t want her moping around the hospital.Said it wasn’t good for me. That I needed to enjoy some time out with Raine.
“Quit overthinking it.” Raine barked out, jerking her out of her thoughts.
“Damn.” She fidgeted with her own napkin. “Caught me again. I’m trying but it’s not easy.”
He gave her a pointed look. “I know you and realize how hard it is having Master in the hospital, but itisthe best place for him, even though it’s not all that good for you due to past trauma. Remember, Master understands this and doesn’t want you uncomfortable.”
“It’s still hard. Especially when I understand that he needs to go to this rehab place to have a better chance at healing, but I want him home so bad. Once you and Storm head back to the club, I’m gonna be all alone in that big house for who knows how long.”
“I know.” He patted her hand. “Which is why I’m going to talk to Daddy and see if we can go to the club during the day, and your house at night. A regular nine-to-five thing.”
“And you’ll be miserable,” she retorted, even though her heart melted a little at his offer. “You need the solace of the club, Raine. Not the constant back and forth between two places.”
Raine frowned. “But...”
“No buts, unless you want me to smack yours.” She arched a brow at him. “I may not be a top, but I don’t have an issue with giving you a swat or two if it gets my point across. The club needs you on the premises. Lord only knows what kind of mockery of BDSM is going on in your absence.”
Raine grunted, then finally spoke. “Fine. I get it.” He took another bite out of his spring roll. “Speaking of the club, did I tell you that Detective that I spoke to on the phone, called again?”
Elliot.
The mere thought of him brought a flush to her cheeks. She’d had a dream or two over the past few weeks about the man. In the beginning, they hadn’t been sexual at all. She’d been dreaming about that first night at the hospital while waiting for Master to come out of recovery. But when she lifted her head to thank him for the pain she needed, it hadn’t been Raine holding her. Instead had been the handsome older officer. She’d rationalized the reason was how unusually comfortable she’d felt in his presence when he’d taken her statement.But that doesn’t explain why in the last dream he was doing more than holding me. Or the fact that Master watched as he brought me to completion in the most recent one.
“Oh, look how someone blushes,” Raine teased. “I see the good detective made quite an impression.”
“Stop it.” She smacked at his hand. “He’s got that whole Daddy dom thing going on. I’d have to be blind not to notice.”
“You’re probably right there. When he called, he asked me a bunch of questions about d/s, then signed up for the singles dominant class. I spoke with Master Lucas afterward, and he said he’d never seen such an observant man before. Said he has all the makings of being a good dominant for the right person or persons, if he was serious about learning more.”
Lizzie’s heart jumped. It shouldn’t matter to her if Elliot Landon decided to step into the kink world. She had Master and was happy, even if their current circumstances left a lot to be desired.
“That’s good…” She wasn’t sure exactly what Raine thought she would say, but that obviously wasn’t it.
“You’ve met the guy in person. I was drifting in and out when he came in to take Daddy’s statement. What do you think of him?”
“He’s confident.” She paused for a second, then continued. “Protective. He was caring in a way that…was almost paternal, and it went way beyond an officer just taking my statement.”
“Sounds a lot like how Master Lucas described his interactions with him. Candi and Rick, volunteered to be the visiting subs for the class he attended. Lucas said he treated both with respect and had some insightful questions for them. He’s genuinely interested in power exchanges.” Raine looked over the rim of his glass. “And you have yourself to thank for that.”
“What?” Her confusion must have shown.
“He saw the way you and Master were interacting the morning he stopped for Master’s statement. It made him curious.”
“Oh…” Her cheeks flushed even more. The morning in question she’d totally been lost to subspace, and it must’ve looked rather odd to the Detective.At least enough to rouse his curiosity.
“Oh, indeed…” Raine grinned before his cell pinged. He picked it up and sighed. “Better finish up that nasty shit if you’re gonna. Daddy just texted and said he should be here in about ten minutes.”
“It’s not nasty,” she retorted but did as he suggested and tore into her remaining food. She was going to see Master!
Chapter Six
“Elliot.”
