You Said Forever (Club Decadence) (21 page)

Chapter
Twenty-Four

Back at home Rick and Regan spent the rest of the evening cuddling and talking in front of the fire.  Although the punishment was a path to forgiveness, he was still hurt that she would think he would actually want to live without her because she couldn’t have children.  Rick pressed Regan for an explanation of why she didn’t trust him and confide in him.

“You, your parents, my parents, everyone just talked about it all the time.  And since I turned thirty, it seems everyone has been asking me about it.”  She mimicked then, “When are you and Rick going to start a family?  Or, isn’t your biological clock ticking?”  She plucked at the open collar of his shirt, avoiding his eyes.  “It was driving me crazy.  It seemed as soon as we started to try, everywhere I went I saw pregnant women.  Then Megan got pregnant with twins of all things.  It made me feel like a failure, like I was less of a woman because I couldn’t get pregnant.  It just didn’t seem fair, to me or to you.  Pile on the depression and those mood swinging hormones… well, I guess I just wasn’t thinking straight.”  She felt the tears welling up and sniffled as she fought to hold them back.  She was tired of being a weak, sniveling mess.

“You weren’t thinking rationally at all, Regan.  Please look at me when I tell you this.”  He waited until she was looking up at him.  “I want you to know that I would never sacrifice what we have together.  I love you and am happy with things the way there are.  If it is just the two of us until the day we die, I can accept that as long as I have you.  It’s natural to want to have children but it isn’t necessary for my happiness.”  He kissed her sweet lips tenderly before landing the next blow.  “I don’t want to keep repeating this but I didn’t realize you were feeling that way, so I couldn’t help you deal.  We should be able to trust one another enough to talk about anything.  What are we going to do about that, do you think?”

“I think I’m ready to go back to see Dr. Windham.  Maybe she can help me work on my trust issues.  I’m sorry I lied, Bear.  It started out as an omission then snowballed out of control.  One little lie led to a bigger one.  I felt so guilty and I was hurting myself as well as all the people that I love the most.”  Her eyes were clear as spoke to him, she was open and honest and really talking to him for a change.  “I’m not ready to give up on a baby yet, Bear.”

“I understand that, but we need to find a qualified fertility specialist this time and see where we stand, together.”

Regan nodded her acceptance of that idea.  “Dr. Windham said no qualified professional would treat just one partner in a committed relationship.  I guess that means they’ll want you to get tested, too.  Is that OK?”

“No problem, just as long as you’re there to help me fill my little cup.”  He winked at her and gave a little laugh at her
long-suffering expression.

“Only you would be able to find a perk in this process.  I found the whole thing humiliating, especially checking my cervical mucus every day.”  

“Sorry, I missed that honey, literally.”  He wiggled his eyebrows and gave her a dirty old man leer.  “But I can help you with that from now on.”

“Whatever.”  She giggled but instantly regretted her sass as he rewarded with a light swat on her red butt before he pulled her in tight against his chest.  They held each other close for a long time. 

Rick finally broke the silence and his tone had turned more serious, “I’ve been thinking that we probably need to do some re-training.  Go back to the basics and re-learn the principles of DD again.  I think we have the D/s play perfected but we need to learn how to interact when it’s just Rick and Regan, husband and wife.  Maybe we can find a seminar or couples retreat on domestic discipline that we can attend together.”

“They have those?” Regan was surprised to hear that.

“Yeah, Tony knows a guy in Boston who holds them once or twice a year.  He’s a psychologist and speaks nationally on the common benefits of DD.”

“Will you be able to get away? You’ve been working a lot lately.”

“I’d like to wait till the case is wrapped up but it looks like this one is going to take some time.  It’s one step forward, two steps back.  We capture dealers and middlemen but they are quickly replaced with new ones.  They have a pretty extensive network in South Texas and also right her in San Antonio.  At the very least I should wait until we get enough new men trained.”  He rolled her to her back and came up on an elbow.  He was looking down on her with a serious expression when he continued.  “This is us and it’s important.  I don’t know when the sessions are held but I’ll check into it and make the time.  I’m sorry I’ve been away so much lately while you’ve been dealing with all this.”

Regan reached up and stroked his
beard-roughened cheek. “At least its days instead of weeks and months like when you were in the Army.” 

“Yeah, I’m glad you brought that up, I’ve been thinking.”

“Uh oh, now we’re in trouble” she teased him.  Shades of her lighthearted former self were returning. 

“You’re sassing again, little girl?”  He slid a strong hand to her butt and squeezed her one warm check as a gentle reminder of the punishment she had endured earlier.  “Your cute little butt still has a bedtime spanking plus ten tonight.  Don’t push it.”

“I’m sorry, Bear.  I was just teasing.”

“I know, babe, and I’ve missed your playfulness and laughter so much.  But I was making a point before I was so rudely interrupted.”   He gave her another squeeze then winked to indicate he was teasing right back.  “I think part of our problem is the domestic discipline.  You never had to live strictly by the rules while I was in the Army.  I’d come in for a week or two, a month at the most.  You’d have to behave for a while then go back to running the show alone when I left.  Anyone can toe the line for that short period of time.  Now that we are together all the time you’re struggling ceding control to me.  I want to take care of you, babe.  Let me make the hard decisions for a change.” 

“I never thought of that, Bear.  I think you may be right.  I was used to doing my own thing but it was tough being in charge of everything, school, work, and the house.  When you came in it was a great break but was more like a prolonged role-play.  When you left I was in charge again without anyone to enforce the rules or make me mind.  Does it make me weak to want you to take charge?”

“No Regan, it’s just who we are.  I like control and you like for me to take it.  It’s how we work and if others don’t like it, screw ‘em.”  The laughed together and feel silent as they held each other cozy in their own world in front of the fire. 

Regan broke the silence as she put a nagging thought into words.  “I never actually had to deal with you working either.  When you were home on leave you got to focus all your time and attention on me.  I guess I got spoiled.  Now, I have to share you with security work, missions out of town and DM duties at The Club.  I didn’t realize you would be doing so much business at The Club either.”

“The owners and a lot of the Doms work together so it’s natural to discuss work sometimes when we meet up there but we usually use the conference room.  What bothers you about that?”

“Well… I guess I need to get a handle on my jealousy when you’re dealing with the other subs, even in a DM role.  But I swear Bear, if they keep flirting with you I’m going to go off on one of them.  Especially old Tits McGee.  If she shows up in that damn spanking skirt again and starts waving her ass in your face I will lose it.  I mean it.”

Shocked and confused, Rick looked to her for an answer. “What on earth are you talking about? And who in the hell is Tits McGee?”

“Come on.  You can’t tell me you didn’t notice the bare assed, big boobed blonde in the red spanking dress a few weeks back.  You and your buddies were sure into it.”

“You mean Stephanie Beckett?” Rick’s shock turned to amusement as he broke out into peals of loud, booming laughter. “You’re jealous of Stephanie?  Oh, that’s priceless.”

“I don’t see anything funny about her flirting or rubbing her big boobs all over you while her fat, ass hangs out of her skirt.”

“Honey, stop,”  Rick was laughing so hard he was holding his stomach and gasping for breath.

“Dammit Rick!” she boldly smacked him on his arm.  “It isn’t funny.”  When that just made him howl even louder she balled up her fist and punched him in the shoulder.  That sobered him up a little bit and he gave her a warning.

“Easy, Regan.  No more hitting.” He wiped the tears from his eyes and grinned as he rolled onto his back and pulled her on top of him.  “You have no cause to be jealous, babe.  Stephanie Beckett is a lesbian.  I need to worry more about her flirting with you.  As a matter of fact, she has mentioned several times how hot she thinks you are.  She even hinted at a threesome and wondered if that’s something you’re into. Just keep in mind that you’d be the sweet cream filled center inside our hard cookie shells.”  He cracked himself up with that and started laughing again.

Regan sat there stunned.  First her mind rewound all the painful fantasies she had of the FBI agent and Rick with their future family.  She flashed on all the times she’d seen them at The Club together.  Then her mind conjured up the three of them in bed, both focusing on her as the creamy center.  No way.  Regan just didn’t swing that way.

Regan pushed up on his chest until she was in a seated position, straddling his hips and her self-doubt poked its head up from where she was trying to bury it.  “You don’t think she’s attractive?  She’s very pretty and has got a nice figure.  And her boobs… ”  She held up her hands exaggerating the other woman’s proportions.

“Oh no, I know better than to answer a loaded question like that.  I also won’t tell you if your butt looks big in anything, ever.” He looked at her askance. “Are you actually considering it?”

“What?  No, uh… eww.  I’m really not at all into women.”

“What if the third was a man?”  Rick looked up at her weighing her reaction. 

She had to stop and think about that.  Did Rick want to see her with another man?  Could she do it?  What if the third was a man, like Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson?  She’d always thought he was hot.  Like that was
going to happen.  Maybe someone they knew, like Lil T.  She always thought he looked a lot like “The Rock,” anyway.  Tall,
café au lait
skin, tons of muscles, now that would make for an awesome threesome.  She would definitely be the filling between her gorgeous husband and an equally hot Samoan ex-WWE wrestler or Lil T.  Hot damn… she had better not ever tell Rick that fantasy.  And that’s where it would stay, a fantasy.  Threesomes were a hard limit for her.  She was a one-man woman and he for damn sure better be a one-woman man.

“Wow.  What is going through your naughty head right now?  You went from practically drooling to pissed in 3.2 seconds?”

“Oh, it was nothing.” She smiled wickedly at her husband. “I was just thinking about how much I love cookies.  Especially Double Stuffed.”  It was her turn to laugh hysterically.  And his turn to frown.  She giggled again then snuggled against him chest thinking how nice it was to talk to him again. “I’m just teasing you, Bear.  I couldn’t handle more than you.  You wear me out as it is.”

“Good cause I’m not sharing, even with The Rock.”

“Uh…” She sat bolt upright again.  “How did you…?”  Giving herself away, she squealed when his hands sought revenge and created a sizzle on her still tender ass with four quick swats. 

“Stop, honey.  I’m really sore, please.  I wouldn’t have The Rock, seriously.”

He grunted in response but was obviously pleased with her answer and began rubbing her tingling ass. 

The imp inside her just couldn’t leave it alone.  “Yeah, the Rock’s got nothing on my man.  But if it was Chris Jericho or John Cena then we’d have to talk.”

She squealed as he sat up and stripped her of her nightgown.  The next minute she fond herself flat on her back and he was lifting both her legs in the air with one big hand around her ankles.  Wordlessly he started spanking her ass. 

“I’m teasing, Rick, I swear.  I don’t want any one but you.  Please… Ouch.  I’m still sore.”  After another four smacks he spread her legs and lowered his hard body between them.  H
e grinned down at her as his stiff cock slipped easily inside her drenched pussy.  His sassy, playful, fun-loving Regan was back.  He then made love to her in spectacular vanilla fashion, right there on the living room rug.   

After he brought to orgasm at least three times, he carried her to bed and roused them both to another stunning release.  As she cuddled in his arms in the afterglow, she told him how much she loved him.  She had missed her best friend and realized that he had been missing for a while too, thanks to her nutty behavior.   It seemed like clearing the air had set them back on track as best friends, lovers, husband and wife, Dom and sub, and play time Master and slave.  What an idiot she was. The truth had really set them free.

Chapter
Twenty-Five

Rick had to go out of town for a few days and he worried about leaving a still fragile Regan alone.   But they had a major lead on the case that could possibly break the network in South Texas wide open.  Regan understood and assured him she would be fine.  She also promised she wouldn’t go anywhere without her security detail.  So, he reluctantly left her, promising to check in by phone and to be back as soon as he could.

Justin was assigned to her when she went back to work on Monday.  He had only been with the agency for a couple of months but he was a former Marine and came highly recommended by the General.  Still, Regan was sorry her buddy Lil T was out in LA on business.  She had gotten used to seeing his friendly face and felt comfortable with him.  Justin obviously hadn’t heard about her troublemaking rep and she vowed to be good.  After picking her up for work, she asked if they could swing by her apartment next door to pick up a few of her things before heading downstairs to the bakery.

Justin led the way and had Regan wait in the entryway while he checked out the apartment.  She waited for several minutes wondering what was taking so long.  It was a small apartment with only two bedrooms.

“Justin.  Is it OK for me to come in?”  No response.  Something was wrong.  Regan waved her hand at the camera she knew was monitoring the stairs and door.  She flashed the numbers 9–1–1 with her fingers hoping they would understand and then pulled her phone out of her pocket.  Before she could dial, a hand reached out and grabbing her wrist yanked her forcefully into the apartment.  She fell forward onto her knees and her cheek hit and end table, hard.  Before she could react, a hot, sweaty hand clamped over her mouth and a gravely voice spoke in lightly accented Spanish by her ear.

“Don’t scream or I’ll kill you.”  He pulled her through the apartment and into the spare room with a knife pressed against her throat.  It was hard to breath with his other hand blocking her nose and mouth.  When they entered her bedroom Regan saw Justin’s body lying on the floor with a widening pool of blood seeping into the carpet beneath him.  God help him!  She tried to calm down, the apartment was monitored and Rossi men were probably on their way.  Please God, don’t let them be on break or something when she needed them.

“Tell me what you did with it, bitch!”

“Please, let me help him before he dies!”  Justin hadn’t moved since they entered the bedroom.

“I want the money.”

“I’m sorry,” Regan replied, her voice shaking with fear. “They already found the money and the drugs and turned it all over to the police.”

“There’s more and I want to know what you did with it.  Tell me now.” He pressed the flat of the knife against her cheek. “I’d hate to have to carve up this pretty face to get you to talk.

“I swear.  That’s all they found.”  He pushed her towards the closet where she was shocked to see a hidden door in the back wall.  He forced her through and down a set of stairs that led to the
teashop below.  She heard the door close behind them and wondered how the police and Rick’s men would know where to find her when they arrived.

“Please, he’s going to die if we don’t get him help.”

He ignored her and once downstairs pushed her into a chair alongside Sunny, the teashop owner who was gagged and bound in a metal folding chair.  She struggled and squealed behind the gag when she saw Regan and another man backhanded her across the face.  “Quiet,
mi amor
.”  He laughed snidely then ordered the man holding Regan to tie her to the other chair.

“OK, Hermosa,” the man smiled unpleasantly as he caressed her face, the evil looking knife just inches away from her skin.  Regan trembled and she struggled to stay still so he wouldn’t accidentally cut her. “Tell me where my money is or I carve my initials into your beautiful face.”

“Please!  All I know is they found $250,000 and some drugs under a cupboard in the kitchen.  I don’t know about any other money.  I swear.”

Both men stood up suddenly looking toward the door leading to the front of the
teashop.  They spoke frantically in rapid Spanish which far outpaced Regan’s high school instruction, and left the room.  Regan whispered to the other woman. “Sunny are you OK?”

She nodded
, but tears silently rolled down her face.  Regan pulled against the ropes, they seemed loose.  Thankfully, the first guy did a lousy job tying her and she was able to get a thumb loose and  pull her hands free.  She rushed to Sunny and removed her gag. 

“Don’t wait for me. Run
,” Sunny whispered. “They are dangerous and desperate.”

“I can’t leave you here.”  Regan was amazingly calm and clear headed.  She rushed to the only door in the room and locked it against their captors then found a wooden plank and wedged it against the door knob hoping it would slow down the two men for at least enough time to get back up to her apartment.  As she stepped away she heard a smattering of Spanish and a thud against the door.

“We gotta go.” She rushed back to Sunny and pulled her from the chair.  Fortunately she wasn’t actually tied to the chair and Regan was able to guide her up the steps to the apartment.  They hurried up the stairs, Regan letting Sunny go first since her hands were still tied behind her.  She was afraid she would lose her balance and she wanted the stay behind her just in case.   

When they go to the top Regan tried to open the door, but she couldn’t find a latch in the dark stairway.  She pressed her ear against the door and heard muffled voices.  Was that English or Spanish?  Was it the Rossi men or the two thugs from downstairs.  “What do you think, Sunny? Do we risk it?”

“Yes, there were only the two of them and I can still Diego cursing and trying to bust in the door downstairs.”

Regan began pounding on the door. “Help! We’re behind the closet.”

Silence was followed by muffled voices and some banging against the wall.  She was relieved to hear someone call her name. 

“Regan, move away from the door.  I’m going to break it down.”

Regan helped Sunny down a few steps then hollered, “OK we’re clear.”

Bang! Bang! Bang!

A black boot broke through the drywall.  Gloved hands reached in to pull away more of the crumbling sheet rock making the opening wider.  Suddenly, a dark head poked in and turned toward them.

“Thank God, Tony! 
There are two men down in the tea shop.”

He reached for her hand, “I know.  Let’s get you out of there.”

“Sunny first.  She’s still tied up.”

Tony helped the bound woman through then reached back for Regan.  Gunshots rung out from below and Regan grabbed his hand like a lifeline.  He pulled her through in one hard tug.  She wrapped her arms around his neck as he lifted her up and out of the way.  Several men rushed past them and into the closet.  Regan recognized Jonas and Jason.  More shots and shouts came from downstairs.  Then she heard a familiar voice call up “All clear.  Do you have Regan?”

“Rick?”  The sound of his voice calmed her jagged nerves.

Tony called out. “I’ve got her, bud.”

“Stay with her Cap while I take care of this trash.”

A few minutes later, a shaken Regan sat on her old couch with Tony and a trembling and sobbing Sunny.   He rushed to the couch, pulled his wife out from under Tony’s arm and held her shaking body in a crushing embrace.  Regan clung to him paying no attention to her lack of oxygen as he squeezed her tight

“You better let her breathe, Chief.”  Jonas clapped a hand on his shoulder and warned him, “Seriously man, she’s turning blue.”

Rick eased his grip but didn’t release her.  He pulled back just enough to look at her flushed face and brush the tears from her face.  His thumb gently traced her bruised and rapidly swelling cheek.  When he saw a smear of blood along her neck he frowned.

“What happened here, baby?”  He pulled his hand away from her face and she saw that it was covered in her blood.

Surprised, her hand went to her neck and also came away bloody. “He must have cut me after all.”

Rick growled just like the beast he was named after.  “One of those bastards held a knife to your throat?  What about your cheek, did he hit you?  I’ll kill him.  Which one was it?”

“Calm down, Chief.  Kurt and Jason have already turned them over to the cops. We need to get these two examined by the paramedics before go off and kick any asses.  They just arrived downstairs.”  Rick looked at Jonas who nodded toward the dark haired woman seated on the couch being assisted by Tony.  Her face was badly swollen and her lip was cut and bleeding.  She was also guarding her right side.  The paramedics quickly entered the apartment and Regan redirected them to Sunny first.

“I didn’t even feel him cut me, Bear.”  She was pressing the towel that Jonas handed her against her neck.  It was starting to burn a little but nothing major.

“It’s the adrenaline, baby. You’re not feeling the shock and pain right now, but you will.”  Rick held her close as an EMT approached to examine her.

“Sorry, Miss.  Looks like you’re going to need a stitch of two.”

“I don’t want to go to the hospital.”  Rick hushed her and moved her to a chair where he pulled her onto his lap.  It was the only way he would let the man check her vitals and bandage her wound.  He wasn’t letting her out of his sight.  Not until he was sure she was all right.  Maybe not even then.

“Woman, you are the worst patient ever.  If they say you need stitches, then you’re going to the hospital to get them.”  His words belied the emotion in his voice.  His heart he’d learned she’d been taken.  He stroked her hair back, soothing her as much as himself.  He had to touch her and hold her to convince himself she was all right.  The medic finished cleaning and bandaging the wound then called for a gurney for transport.

“No arguments, baby. I’ll be right here with you.”