I was surprised she’d sat as long as she had. Ten minutes wasn’t a long time; however, for her, it probably felt like an eternity. I was sure she was running through excuses as to why she needed to leave. I was merely grateful she’d kept them to herself thus far. As far as I was concerned, we’d had enough confrontation for one night.
That didn’t mean I didn’t want to know what was going through that pretty head of hers. While I held her, I managed to refrain from launching a million questions her way. I wanted to know every little detail of her life, including what led her to an asshole like the guy who’d been beating on her. She’d shocked me when she damn near begged him not to leave her here. As soon as she’d done that, I realized she was far too dependent on that man.
I got it. I did.
The woman needed him for something. Whether she thought she loved him or merely needed him for some sense of security, Addison had believed that it would be in her best interest to deal with his shit.
And that bothered me more than anything.
Mostly because I had too much damn experience with that. My own mother had been in an abusive relationship and she’d stayed until it was too late. She had died at the hands of an abusive boyfriend and the same had nearly happened to my sister. I would not tolerate men putting their hands on women in anger.
The guy was a dickhead. It was a damn good thing Mr. Parker had stepped in when he had. Otherwise, I’d probably be in jail right about now for having killed the bastard with my bare hands. I’d been damn close. The second I saw him wielding that crop and hitting her with a force I couldn’t even fathom, I’d wanted to rip his fucking throat out.
Part of me wished Mr. Parker hadn’t stopped me, but I knew my Dom. Had we been anywhere else, he would’ve let me have a go at the guy, but when in the club, there was a protocol to be followed. Which meant, as a Dom, Mr. Parker had the right to intervene. I would’ve, too, if I hadn’t been wearing a collar. Although we generally co-topped when we came here, tonight, we hadn’t intended to play with anyone else. I’d come as Mr. Parker’s submissive. In this realm, I was what they referred to as a switch. Which was exactly what it sounded like. My needs switched from the desire to dominate to the desire to submit.
And because of my deep need to submit tonight, I’d had to adhere to the club’s rules.
Which was probably a good thing. I could be hotheaded from time to time, especially when I was faced with a situation that resonated so deeply with me. I tended to let my emotions rule in those instances.
Conversely, the man I’d long ago fallen in love with was nothing if not logical, and that made him a damn good Dom. He didn’t let his emotions guide him. In fact, he often suppressed the damn things until they came back to bite him in the ass. I knew this from personal experience, and that was the very reason it had taken us so long to get our relationship to the point that it was now. As it was, we’d only moved into this phase—the most serious this side of marriage—in the last year.
Addison sighed and I peered down at her. I did my best to keep my hands from wandering over all that sleek, smooth skin currently covered by the blanket. And damn, but she was small. Not only was she short—probably around five two, give or take—she was far too thin. About the only thing that wasn’t stick-figure thin on her was her booty. She had a seriously fine ass and I’d been tempted to tell her as much when she’d joked about it earlier.
I did love a woman with a nice, juicy ass.
Not that the whole package wasn’t beautiful. Addison Hayes was sexy as fuck, but she would stop traffic if she had some meat on her bones. Had she been my submissive, I would’ve been ensuring she ate three squares a day and indulged herself whenever she wanted.
Shit.
Thinking about her as mine was not the direction I needed to be going. For one, it was highly inappropriate considering the situation. And two, Mr. Parker and I were still getting over the fact that the last woman we’d played with ended up falling in love with our partners.
There was no denying that Mr. Parker and I had been hopeful when Luci came to work for the firm. She’d been everything we could’ve possibly wanted. Sweet, innocent, eager. But fate had intervened, and in the end, we’d had to let her find her true happiness. Jumping right in again seemed almost foolish. Regardless of what my cock thought as this woman’s sensational backside squirmed some more.
