Checklist J, K, L

Chapter 40: Epilogue

“Can I tell you what my first thought was based on what you just said?”

“Of course.” Cain leaned back on his elbows, so he was half reclined, and not looming over her in any way.

“I thought…” The laugh was rueful. “My thought was ‘oh wow, here is the only man who has ever given enough of a shit about me to make a damned plan.’”

He had no idea what to say to that.

“You turned a motorcycle into a sex toy, for me. You wanted me enough to risk something for me. I mean, yes, the lies are not acceptable, and you will never do it again…but you put in effort. You make things happen. You try…because you want me.”

Damn. Men had done this beautiful woman dirty, if her main takeaway was that he had the ability to execute a plan.

“I’ll tell you a secret.” She leaned in, despite the fact that there wasn’t a soul around here. “One of the reasons I like rope bondage, at least with the guys I’ve worked with here, is because it’s a sure thing. The things we’ve done…I’d be scared that I would just end up disappointed if I tried those with someone else. So I got into rope bondage. Got…inside my own head.” She tapped her temple while shooting him a soft smile. “I couldn’t be disappointed that way. I didn’t have to rely on my top except to tie the ropes. I convinced myself all I needed was the feeling of flying, the sense of connection within myself.”

“Your Doms deserved to know this.”

“I know they did. I told you I’m not a good submi—”

“Finish that sentence,” he growled. “I dare you.”

Vic licked her lower lip, taking it between her teeth for a moment.

“You might be pissed about all this, when you aren’t post-orgasm agreeable,” he said after a moment.

“I might.” She reached up and tucked her hair behind her ear, a nervous gesture he’d never seen her make before. “We already know my brain is a mess, so it won’t surprise you that being made to fuck a motorcycle led to some epiphanies.”

“Anything you’d like to share with the class?” He gestured around the empty room.

“Among other things, I realized I was starting to develop a crush. On you. I thought it was utterly ridiculous. Having a crush on your Dom is amateur shit.”

Cain tried not to grin like a loon. “Vic, you better not be fucking with me…”

“I’m not.”

All the tension and need he’d been suppressing finally broke the worn chains of his self control. Cain grabbed Vic, pulling her down onto his chest as he fell back. Her hair spilled around their faces, creating a veil that obscured the outside world.

“Let’s try this, see where it goes.” He slid his hands down her back, under the blanket so he could feel her soft skin.

“As Dom and sub,” Vic said firmly.

Cain nodded, though in the privacy of his mind he was picturing her in her pjs beside him on the couch eating popcorn and later pregnant with his kid.

“And I still expect to negotiate scenes and—”

“You’re mine, Vic. No conditions. No negotiating every damn thing. The minute your car comes through the gate, you. Are. Mine.”

She leaned down enough to rest her forehead on his, their noses touching as she said, “And you’re mine.”

He liked that. He liked that a lot.

Cain kissed her, soft and slow, then rolled her onto her side, tucking her hair behind her ear the way she had earlier. She tossed her leg across his then threw the blanket over both of them. It didn’t cover most of him, but he’d deal.

Cain waited until she was settled and her breathing slow. Then Cain shot his hand out, cupping her pussy, which was no longer quite so damp, but still plenty warm and plump.

She yelped as he palmed her, but after only a moment moaned.

“I think we’ve done the best parts of L.” Cain flicked her clit, and Vic hissed at him, her hand worming under the blanket to his cock. “Tomorrow we’re starting at A, and we’ll do the whole checklist.”

Epilogue

Las Palmas, Checklist Game Planning Meeting

* * *

Mikel looked across the table at his friend. They’d just finished deciding the pairing for the letter L, and Leo had been insistent that it be Cain and Victoria. It was an odd pairing, given that she was a rope- bottom, but that was what the game was about. Still, Leo and Gabriela had exchanged a few odd looks during their discussion.

Gabriela was seated beside her Master, her collar rather incongruous with the t-shirt and leggings she wore. Most members of the club would say there were three overseers. Himself, Leo and Faith, but Gabriela had an equal legal and financial stake in the club. Given that she was a submissive she preferred that she not be presented as an authority figure, but behind the scenes she had equal say, and happily disagreed with her husband and master.

She shifted, wincing a little, and Leo glanced at her and smiled. They were, after all, still in the club, and so Gabriela had been bent over the table several times throughout the course of this meeting.

“M.” Faith tapped the marker against the large sheet of poster paper taped to the wall. The room was littered with the large sheets, giving the elegant space the feel of a corporate planning retreat.

“There are quite a few items. It’s a heavy letter.”

Mikel sorted through the paperwork on the table—member files that had started out in neat stacks. Now only the files of those already assigned were stacked. novelbin

“One item in particular on this list is going to be very intense,” Mikel said after glancing at it. “We’ll need to set aside the appropriate Iron Court room for them.”

“Not necessarily, if we assign someone adventurous.” Leo shrugged.

“Then we don’t. That one should be intense.” Faith was looking over Mikel’s shoulder.

Gabriela sat forward with another wince and after a moment grabbed two folders, passing them to Leo.

He glanced at the names, raised his brows, and then passed them over. Mikel would never have considered this, but he cross-referenced their checklists while Faith looked over his shoulder. The two had enough of the items in common—among other things—to make it a viable pairing.

Mikel sat back, flipping the files closed. “Gabriela, lovely creature you may be, but also a sadist of the first order.”

Faith went to the wall and wrote down two names beside the letter M. They all took a moment to stare at the words, and Mikel felt a very brief moment of pity for the pair.

Don’t miss M is for… coming March 2021.

* * *