Page 123 of The Loves We Lost
BATES
“What are you two discussing?” I ask, as Avery and Niro sit almost forehead-to-forehead while Niro draws something out on a piece of paper.
There’s a whole party going on around us to celebrate the fact we’re fucking alive, and wealthy, and happy. We might be temporarily on lockdown, we might have lost Sarah beyond the abandoned car we found, but it’s not going to stop us from embracing the exhilaration that comes from living life on your own terms. Dictating your own moral code. Existing unapologetically in the world.
Niro flips the paper face down on the clubhouse table immediately, and my daughter looks guilty as sin.
“It’s to do with sleepover club, Daddy. And you know what the first rule of sleepover club is?”
I think I know where this is going, but because she’s smiling, I play along. “What’s that, pumpkin?”
“We don’t talk about sleepover club.” She grins and high-fives Niro.
I glance to him. “You taught her a line fromFight Club?”
He shrugs. “Never too early to learn cultural references.”
I shake my head. “You got her for a while? Got something I need to do.”
“I don’t know. She can be a pain in the ass,” Niro says, looking at Avery and winking at her.
“Uncle Colton,” Avery groans and holds out her palm. “That’s another bad word.”
Niro pulls his wallet from his pocket and pulls a five-dollar bill from it.
“Thank you,” Avery says, and reaches for her cute panda backpack. When she opens it, five-dollar bills spring out, but she ruthlessly shoves them back in.
My eyes go wide. “How much do you have in there?”
“That’s number thirty-two,” she says innocently. “I’m saving for a dog.”
I try to hide the grin as I turn to Niro, but it’s impossible. “You are such a fucking enabler.”
“I think you owe her five bucks,” Niro says dryly. “Go do whatever that thing is you have to do because Ave and I have shit to do.”
Without missing a beat, he grabs another five and hands it to Avery.
“You can explain all this to Vi, and I’m not gonna save you from her.” Looking around, I try to find her but don’t see her in the bar.
First, I wander to the kitchen to see if she’s there. It’s unlikely because the club girls tend to hang out in the kitchen when the old ladies are around. It’s Gwen’s rule apparently, and given she’s engaged to our vice president and the twin sister of our president, what she says goes.
Penny is in there, but she doesn’t even acknowledge me. Smart girl finally got the message. But no sign of Vi.
I’ve been out in the garage with Clutch checking on the new car I bought Vi. As promised, it’s a red one, just like Averywanted. I’m going to give it to her after the other surprise I have for her.
Just as I decide to go check outside, I see her come out of our room. In ten quick steps, I not only reach her but put my hand over her mouth as I push her back into the room.
She doesn’t know it, but I’ve read more of her books. And given she once admitted to me that she writes what she wants to try, I’ve picked up the vibe that my woman is kinkier than she feels comfortable verbalizing. She likes it rougher. Likes being manhandled. But she needs to feel utterly safe while it’s happening.
So we discussed an ongoing safe word and a safe action for when she can’t speak, three taps on my wrist, and me having permission to do whatever I want.
Some days I want to fuck her with my knife. Some days I want her to suck me off in the shower. Other times, I wanna make to love to her while the sun comes up and the house is quiet. Or fall asleep with my cock plugging my seed deep inside her.
But today, I want to take her hard. Make it feel like she has no consent, even as we both know she does. Because tonight I want her to have both sides of me.
Her eyes go wide as I kick the door shut with my boot. “Quiet as a mouse, pretty girl. I don’t want to hear a sound from you, unless it’s your safe word. Nod if you understand.”
There’s just the right amount of excitement and fear in her eyes when she does as I say.
