Those were important feats all by themselves, but it was the mysterious, powerful force that had delivered Tiffany to his doorstep that the Dom thought of now as they stood holding hands, each feeling the seconds ticking by that would mark her departure. Fear gripped him that the magic bubble surrounding them would burst as soon as she drove away.
Knock it off. You’re being a total pussy, Mitchell. You have work to do today and you both need some distance to get some perspective on the last forty-eight hours. Put her in her car and watch her drive away. You’ll talk to her in a few days.
Derek stopped right in front of them, pulling up directly behind Markus’s Porsche. Markus and Bri were already loaded and ready to go, waiting on Tiff to say goodbye.
After getting out from behind the wheel, Derek stepped forward to capture Tiffany in a bear hug, squeezing her in his massive arms. He almost swallowed her up, causing Lukus to step forward.
“Hey, what the fuck man? Let go of my girl.”
Derek finally released her and stepped away, a shit-eating grin on his face. “You have no idea how much fun it is to yank your chain, do you man?”
Derek turned his attention back to Tiff. “It was great to meet you Tiffany. I’ll look forward to seeing a lot more of you around here ‘cause I have a feeling he’s gonna be a real bear to deal with when he hasn’t seen you for a few days. Don’t be a stranger.”
Tiffany looked pleased with Derek’s sentiment. “Thanks Derek. It was great to meet you and Rachel. I hope I see you both around, too.”
Lukus had had enough of the mutual love-fest. Despite wanting to haul her back upstairs to his loft, he shuffled her towards the open car door, determined to not be a pussy. She turned back to him rather than taking a seat behind the wheel. Her look was expectant, hopeful.
“So, I guess this is it. We’re gonna slow things down I know, but I really will be waiting for your call later in the week, Lukus. I mean…” Her voice trailed off. He knew she was fighting their go-slow plan in her pretty little head. He’d have to be strong for both of them.
“I promise you, Tiff, unless I get run over by a bus and am in the hospital, I’m going to call you Wednesday night and we’ll make plans to see each other again. This wasn’t a one-night stand for me. I just want to make sure you have the time you need to process all of this before we get back together again.”
“I know you think you’re slowing down for me, but I don’t need to go slow, Lukus. If you want to wait for a few days, that’s fine. We’ll wait. But don’t try to pass it off that you’re doing it for me. I just want you to be truthful with yourself is all.”
Lukus had no response. He was completely conflicted between wanting to caution her that she needed to trust his decision to know what was best for them and not wanting to have the last words he said to her before she drove away to be disciplinary. He was also realizing she might have been onto something. The closer he got to having to say goodbye, the more he knew it was going to gut him to be away from her for days.
He stood there paralyzed, weighing his options. He was no longer debating with Tiffany. The debate had turned internal. One side of him wanted to scoop her up and carry her back upstairs, to hold her hostage in his bedroom. The other side of him was ready to let her drive away because that seemed easier than taking back his earlier decision.
I’m her Dom, damn it. I make command decisions and I stick with them. We’ll wait to talk until Wednesday.
Lukus reached out to pull her into his arms, planting one last, long kiss on her beautiful lips. The emotions coursing through him were foreign, almost alarming. He’d somehow drifted into completely uncharted territory. Before he was ready, Tiff pulled away and with one last quick kiss on his cheek, turned and took her seat in the car.
The slamming of the door shut acted as an alarm clock for the Dom, jarring him awake. It was almost too late. As the car started to roll forward, he quickly knocked on her driver’s side window. Tiff put the car in park and rolled down her window.
Lukus leaned down, placing his elbows on the window jam, leaning in closer. They spent a few long seconds looking into each other’s eyes before Lukus found his words.
“Fuck slow. I’ll be at your house tonight at six with a pizza and a bottle of wine. Meet me at the door in sexy lingerie and nothing else. Can you do that, baby?”
Tiffany’s face lit up like Florida sunshine. She took her time, making him suffer before quietly responding with a simple, “Yes, Sir. I think I can.”
With a flirty wink, she managed to roll up the window and Lukus watched as his best friend and his properly punished wife led the way down the alley with Tiffany driving behind them. He stayed glued to his spot until they turned and drove out of sight. Only then did Lukus see Derek leaning against the door, watching him carefully, a hard-to-read expression on his face.
“I don’t even want to hear it.”
“What? I wasn’t gonna say a word.”
“Like hell. You can’t wait to give me shit.”
“Why would I do that? You forget. I know you better than almost anyone else and I’ve told you before. You haven’t been truly happy in years. That little girl who just drove away has lit your fire again. She’s gonna give you a run for your money and I couldn’t be happier for you, man.”
Lukus detected the truth in his friend’s words. “Be careful. She’s no little girl.”
“Yeah, I guess that’s the truth. Markus told me you guys woke him up at some point last night. Sounds like she’s all woman.”
“Hell, yeah.”
“You know what this means, don’t you?” Derek prodded him, pushing upright from the door.
“I’m afraid to even ask.”
“It means we need to have some serious discussion about what’s gonna happen around here. I’m pretty sure that little spitfire isn’t gonna take kindly to you playing with and punishing subs on stage under the guise you’re just doing your job.”
Lukus had already been thinking the same thing. “She’ll come around. I’m in charge.”
“Ha! Not with that one, you aren’t. At least not yet. Are you prepared to pack it in and close the club, because it just may come down to that with her?”
He rejected the idea of closing immediately. Lukus felt like he should have been upset at the thought of his life changing so drastically, so quickly, but he wasn’t. He was excited. “Yeah, I’ve already started thinking about it. I’m sure I’ll figure it all out. We’ll have to see how things play out.”
Derek seemed mildly surprised. “Holy shit, you’re seriously considering you might need to retire at least from the front of the house activities? Shit, I thought she was gonna have to have a few meltdowns before you’d give in that easy. She must really be something special.”
He had no doubt he would have some hard decisions coming up if he decided to continue seeing Tiffany.
Who the hell am I kidding? There is no “if.” I am going to keep seeing Tiff.
“She really is special,” Lukus finally answered softly.
“So that’s it. Just like that? Why don’t you give it a bit more time to play out?”
“I don’t need to. I know what I want and Tiffany is gonna give it to me.”