Page 46 of Flog Me, Sir

Chapter Sixteen

Garret

My sister texted me a happy birthday twenty-four hours too late. I told myself it didn’t matter, that I didn’t care, but the lie hissed through my brain—especially when another text dinged. She needed money.

“Of course you do,” I grumbled while staring at the words on my cell, tempted to tell her to go to hell. Tell her to get herself clean once and for all and that I was done constantly giving when she never gave anything in return.

At least she remembered your birthday.

I tossed my phone aside without answering her request, arm slung over my eyes while I took a breather from bench pressing more weight than I should while alone. Sweat soaked my upper body, but I still didn’t feel as though I’d had a good enough workout.

My brain still functioned on high, reminding me of everything I thought I had snagged—and lost.

Lissa had left me, and doing what I should—letting her go because I cared—had left me alone longer than I’d expected to be. It fucking sucked. Temptation to say fuck it all and call Brock to come get me a couple days early had me itching to grab my cell off the floor again.

Growling, I focused on the bar overhead, set my hands, and lifted the weight above my chest. I bench pressed until my muscles strained, a third set way too much, and barely managed to get the bar back in its holder.

The clank of metal on metal accompanied my curse, and I sat up, elbows on my knees.

My cell dinged again, but I ignored it and got up.

“I’m all done, Sis.” I said without glancing down. I worked my legs. My abs. My back. Still, my brain wouldn’t stop. The goddamn emotions Lissa had stirred to life in me wouldn’t relent.

I wanted her. Needed her, and I knew that wouldn’t stop anytime soon, if ever. She should laugh more, smile more. She ought to be cherished and doted upon, the daily stresses of life eased off her shoulders.

Lissa deserved to be pampered, but I also longed to fall asleep in her arms, where rest came easy, where I didn’t feel the drive to be perfect. She made me feel like I was enough exactly as I was—and I wanted to do the same for her.

My cell dinged again, and swiping sweat off my face with my forearm, I grabbed my cell off the floor. Lissa had texted me almost an hour earlier.

Like a shot of adrenaline to my heart, her words lit me up.

Luscious Lissa: Meet me in the church. I have one last birthday present for you.

Her second text had me cursing like a sailor.

Luscious Lissa: Hello? Did you get my last message?

I sprinted up the stairs, almost running into Tillie girl as I raced through a back hallway.

“Go get her, boy.” Her laughter followed me out the door and into the garden.

Soaked with sweat and stinking like a pile of dirty laundry, I stumbled up to the church’s door, my fingers shaking while punching in the code.

Lissa knelt, same as two weeks prior, her submissive pose on the floor stealing my breath. Cell in hand, she lifted her head, tear tracks lining her cheeks. “I-I thought you’d left.”

I slammed the door behind me, took the half-dozen strides between us, and yanked her up into my arms, burying my face in her neck. “I thought you didn’t want me.”

“I crave you, Garret.”

Another shot of adrenaline coursed through me.

“So much that it scares me. I-I’m afraid to be vulnerable because I might end up with a broken heart after submitting completely to you, to this, to what we both want.”

My lips found her mouth, and I drank in her breath, her sweetness coating my tongue, rolling over me like a wave. “I’m sorry I didn’t answer right away,” I said between kisses, the clutch of her small hands on my back like I was her lifeline to reality the biggest ego boost a man could experience. “I thought you were my sister asking for money, so I didn’t check my phone.”

I lifted her in my arms and held her close, relief nearly buckling my knees.

“It’s okay,” she told me the second I allowed her use of her lips. She peered up at me, the hazel of her eyes blown to hell by black pupils. “Sitting here gave me time to think of what I want beyond my lingering fear.”

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