Page 23 of Shattered Dreams
“So don’t stare at them. Got it,” Elliot sighed in his ear. “Aftercare, is she going to need a lot of it?”
“Depends. If she just cries, she’ll need minimal aftercare. Warm blanket and water will do the trick. If she starts sobbing, like all-over-shaking-her-body sobs, then you’re gonna be there a while. She’ll need you to hold her until she falls asleep, then to check on her through the night. Make sure Storm stays close by either way. He’s seen both scenarios and will be able to guide you through it.”
“Got it.” He exhaled loudly. “Either way I won’t abuse your trust in this. We’ll talk later.”
He closed his eyes, gratitude washing over him. “Thanks.” He was barely able to force the word out just before Storm returned.
“You okay, man?”
“Yeah. Just wishing I were there.” He wadded up the blanket covering him with his fist.
“Yeah, me too. I’ll stick around. I have a feeling this is gonna be rough. I’ll call as soon as she’s settled.”
“Thanks,” he choked out as the dial tone filled his ear. Now more than anything he wished he was out of here, that he hadn’t been shot, that he was still the man that he’d been before life showed him how mortal he actually was.
Chapter Ten
After handing the phone back to Storm, Elliot made his way across the bubble-covered floor to the woman standing, or rather fidgeting in the corner. Honestly, he’d been surprised she’d stayed as long as she had. He wasn’t her dominant, even as much as he’d longed to be – which meant she didn’t have to obey him. The fact she had was almost humbling, if he hadn’t been so irritated by the fact she’d fed him a fistful of soap. It was enough to make him want to paddle her bottom good and hard. Even with her Dom’s permission, he reminded himself that he needed to take this one step at a time, so as not to scare her. He’d feel horrible if he frightened her.
As he approached, she trembled as she huddled deeper into the corner. He cursed himself a fool as he finally noticed the goosebumps on her skin. He hadn’t thought of the fact that she was probably cold after being in the Jacuzzi, and was now standing in nothing more than a minuscule swimsuit without a cover-up or towel. It was enough to make him want to pull her into his arms.Once everything is over I can comfort her. First, we need to deal with these damned bubbles and her punishment.
After grabbing a folded bath sheet on the rack next to the sauna, he snapped it open with a flick of his wrist, then settled it over her shoulders. “Here.”
She snagged the edges in one fist with a soft “Thank you, Sir. I’m cold.”
The honorific sent a shard of awareness through him. “You’re welcome. Come out of that corner. I do believe that you and your friend have a mess to clean up before Storm and I deal with you and Raine’s bad behavior.”
She glanced over her shoulder at him in surprise. “Clean up?”
He frowned. “Unless you think that these bubbles are going to mysteriously clean themselves up.”
She chewed on her lower lip. “I just figured the cleaning staff would…”
He placed his hands on his hips. “You wanna make the cleaning staff clean up a giant mess of your creation?” He shook his head. “No. Consider it part of your punishment. You and Raine made this mess, so you both will clean it up.” He shot Storm a quick glance, hoping that he hadn’t overstepped his boundaries by including his sub in the punishment. To his relief, the other man gave a subtle nod.
“Go get the wet-dry vac from the cleaning closet, boy.” Storm gave Raine a swat on the bottom to get him moving.
“Yes, Daddy.” Raine seemed subdued, but quickly did Storm’s bidding.
“You go grab some towels.” Elliot gave Lizzie a nudge toward the stack of towels stacked next to the door.
“Yes, Sir.” She moved quickly to obey; her small form lost in the depths of the bath sheet as she scurried across the room to do his bidding.
“Good girl,” he called out after her. It couldn’t hurt to praise her for obeying, right?
Storm came up next to him. “So, clean up first?”
“Yeah.” He kept his voice low. He didn’t want to chance Lizzie overhearing. “I’m just winging it, man. This will be the first time I’ll have to discipline a sub for real. This isn’t just a pre-negotiated scene. And the fact that it’s with…”
Storm clapped a hand over his shoulder. “One of the reasons you decided to explore the lifestyle, you don’t wanna fuck it up?”
“Yeah. What I do here will make its way back to Maxwell. Either you or Elizabeth will tell him how I conducted myself today. No pressure, right?” He sighed. “In a way, I wish he were here to see this for himself.”
Storm nodded, then narrowed his eyes. “How serious are you about that?” He nodded up toward the camera focused toward the jacuzzi. “Max has remote access to those cameras on his phone.”
Elliot felt something akin to excitement build in his gut. Even if Max could only watch via camera, it would help settle his nerves. “I’ve never been more serious about anything in my life.”
Storm gave him a thoughtful look. “Supervise the cleanup and I’ll get it all set up.”
