Dangerous Authority (8 page)

However, he was unfazed by her bedroom eyes.  "No," he insisted.  "It's already too late.  I don't deal well with grouchy moods, so they all need to go to bed.  Now."

She frowned slightly and agreed grudgingly.  She gently lifted Jessie's sleeping form into her arms.  "Come on boys, I'll tuck you in," Mary Jane said.

After she put Jessie down in her new room, she went to her twins.  She could hear Dominique making the rounds saying goodnight to his sons, and then he joined her in the twins' room. 

He watched her pass between their beds and kiss their faces before speaking himself.  "Goodnight boys, thanks for all your help today," he said.  It was a kind statement made in a businesslike tone.  Her sons looked at him coldly.  He seemed not to care.

Ignoring him, they turned their attention back to her.  "Mommy," Jason said.  "We're scared.  We want to sleep with you."

Again she stole a glance at Dominique, who didn't hesitate to answer for her.  "No, no boys.  In this house, everyone stays in their own bed."  His voice wasn't unkind, but it was firm, something they weren't used to.  She had always been too lenient about letting her kids sleep in her bed.  She knew they should stay in their own beds and she was glad he was willing to be firm at times she would normally be a pushover.  But at the same time, it saddened her.  The boys began to cry, and Dominique walked out of the room, leaving her to soothe them alone.

Chapter 12

T
he first night she spent in her new home was the first time that Dominique handcuffed her.

Once all the children were finally asleep, she asked him if she could grab a quick shower.  He snickered.  "Mary Jane, this is your home now.  You don't have to ask to bathe."  Again she failed to read into his statement, though if she'd thought about it she would've wondered if that meant that there
were
some things that she needed to ask permission for.

She undressed in the opulent master bathroom that adjoined their bedroom and stepped into the claw footed tub under the hot stream of water.  It soothed her sore muscles and she could feel the stress of a day of hard work begin to melt away. 

When he drew back the shower curtain and stepped in, it nearly scared her to death.  She gasped and jumped back.

Dominique gave a low laugh and grinned darkly at her.  "Did I scare you?"

Her heart raced, but she immediately stepped back to him, eager to press her wet body against his.  "Yes, I didn't know you'd be joining."

He did not apologize for startling her.  But he did insert his fingers into her and begin banging her in the shower.

Moments later they tumbled soaking wet and tangled together onto his black silk bedspread.  It crossed her mind that she didn't think he'd care for anyone messing up his bed in any other circumstance but this.

Dominique reached for his nightstand as he kissed her.  Lost in the moment, she shut her eyes and absorbed all the sensations the man could arouse in her.  He dragged her arms above her head and her eyes popped open when she realized the feel of cold metal on her wrists.

Craning her head back, she saw that while she'd been lost in his kiss, he'd deftly handcuffed her to the head board.  She turned wide eyes back to him, her heart speeding up even more.

He gave her that small smile that she loved.  Questions danced on her lips but she didn't speak.  She trusted him.  Sexual control was his ecstasy.  Pleasing him was hers.  She was willing to give him anything.  Heat pooled in her abdomen and she squirmed slightly as he began to drift kisses down her body.  At her nipples he kissed and licked first.  Then he nipped, and finally he bit.  Hard enough to make her yelp, and the growing heat within her turned to fire.

Dominique raised his body off of her and then produced a silk scarf from his night stand drawer.  Looming over her, he reached down to tie it over her eyes.  She suddenly wondered if this had happened to other women in the bed where she was now restrained.  She told herself the items in the drawer had been placed there specifically for her.

The blindfold shut out the dim light in the room and everything became blissfully dark.  He enjoyed lovemaking with lights on.  It made her feel exposed.  She thought of the blindfold as him allowing her to have it her way, while he had his way too.

She felt him gently turn her body over so that she was on her belly.  She shivered deliciously at the feeling of his hard hands on her, and the sensation of having no idea what he would do next in her blindness.  Her imagination began running wild, but she only had to wonder for a few short seconds.

He placed his hands under her, lifting up her hips so that her ass was in the air while she rested on her elbows.  She felt him placing some sort of cuff around her ankle and her body quaked.  He ran a hand down her back when the tremor ran through her, as if to reassure her.

She felt his hands between her thighs then and he spread them, placing her knees far apart on the bed.  Impossibly far, almost painful in a delicious way.  She felt herself spread wide open and shivered again.  Then he was strapping another cuff on her other ankle.

Reflexively she tried to move her legs and realized that whatever he'd attached to her ankles had some sort of bar between it that prevented her from moving.  She was spread unbelievably far and she couldn't do a thing about it.  She began to tremble.  She struggled with embarrassment over what he might be seeing just then.  Again, he stroked her back.

"Don't be afraid," he whispered.

"I'm not afraid," she replied in a shaking voice.

He began using both hands to massage her back, then reaching around the front of her, he massaged her breasts.  She felt his erection caress her in different erogenous zones as he moved to rub her body and her aching muscles.  "You're shaking.  That seems like fear to me," he commented quietly as he touched her.

"I'm nervous," she admitted quietly, unable to be anything but honest with Dominique.

He placed several soft kisses down her spine.  "Don't be nervous," he said in a sultry deep voice.  "All you have to do is come, and come again."

She moaned then as she felt his tongue begin to swirl on her clit.

***

Living with Dominique was a different world entirely than any she'd ever known.  He was tidy to a fault, where nothing about her life had ever been organized or neat.  He was strict where she was free and easy.  His relationship with his sons was cool and reserved while she was emotional and loving to extremes at times with her children.  Jessie clung to Dominique, eager to have a fatherly presence in her world, and though Dominique accepted her affection, Mary Jane sometimes thought it made him uncomfortable.  Sometimes it seemed as though he was forcing himself to be kind to Jessie.  Meanwhile, her sons fought him at every turn and completely opposed all the new changes.  Dominique had zero patience with any sign of a lack of respect and a growing level of tension mounted in the home.

She kept telling herself they all just needed time to adjust.  It would get better.

Dominique's sexual appetite was demanding as well.  Though she enjoyed every moment of their love making, his requirements were so demanding she could scarcely keep up.  And she would find herself sore and bruised from their exploits for days on end.

After a month living in the Flame house, one Sunday morning after a particularly vigorous night, Jessie padded into their room before the sun rose.  She knew better than to climb into bed, as she had once been welcome to do in another life…  But she tip toed to Mary Jane's side of the bed.  "Mommy, I had bad dream," she whispered.

Just as Mary Jane opened her eyes and mouth to respond to her daughter, Dominique groaned and lurched from the bed.  "Goddamn it," he snarled.

Jessie began to cry on the spot.  Mary Jane swung her legs over the edge of the bed and reached to pull her little girl onto her lap.  She shot Dominique an angry glare.

"Hey, chill out, would you?" she snapped as he stalked angrily toward the bathroom. 

He stopped short, and his back straightened rigidly.  He wore nothing but black pajama pants and the muscles rippled across his back as he clenched and unclenched his fists.  He turned slowly to face her.  "Excuse me?" he asked through gritting teeth.  He regarded her through narrow eyes.

Mary Jane's heart rate quickened.  She immediately regretted her snide tone.  "I…  Uh, I'm sorry.  You just…  You scared her, baby," she said much softer.

Dominique stared at her a moment longer then turned to once again approach the bathroom.  Once inside, he slammed the door so hard it seemed to shake the whole house.

She took Jessie to her bedroom, laid her down, and climbed in bed with her daughter.  "Everybody's still tired sweet pea," Mary Jane cooed, holding Jessie and placing delicate kisses on her eyelids.  "Let's just get a little more sleep so everyone can be in happy moods, OK?"

Soon Jessie was fast asleep in her mother's arms.

***

When the house rose that morning, Mary Jane closely observed Dominique with his sons.  Closer than she had yet.  It had thrilled Mary Jane how easily and well Derek and Alex had accepted her.  Almost immediately upon her arrival in the house, they'd begun deferring to her for everything in favor of their father.  If there was an option between the two adults for their care, outings, homework, play, or any sort of interaction, they always picked Mary Jane.  She'd felt they really loved her and everyone had hit it off grandly.

But after the uncomfortable feeling the morning's tiff had left in her, she started to see it a little differently.  Maybe the Flame boys were simply craving love and affection from a new mother.  Maybe they wanted someone who wouldn't be so damn hard on them all the time. 

Maybe they were seeking protection.

She sipped her coffee at the dining room table, peering into the living room.  Dominique didn't allow anyone to drink in the living room.  So, she was afforded an excuse to observe from afar without being noticed. 

Without her in the room, the boys seemed nervous and on edge.  Her own children seemed unhappy as well.  All five kids sat extraordinarily quietly in front of a television program that none of them appeared to have much interest in. 
So why are they watching it,
she asked herself.

Being truthful with herself inside the privacy of her own mind, she admitted the answer to her own question. 
Because they know they'll get in trouble if they're noisy.

Mary Jane sighed.  Somehow she hadn't fully or consciously noticed it happening.  The changes in her children.  They had become so quiet and withdrawn.  Worse even than when they'd first learned of their own father's death.  She'd allowed herself to chalk it up to other things.  But it was because they got in trouble constantly.

They'd become exceptionally mannerly children.  In just one short month, their manners and personalities had come to mirror those of the Flame boys.  Her twins' grades in school were better than ever before.  Though they were only in first grade, their performance was impressive.  They all kept their rooms neat and tidy, and back talk had become a thing of the past.

Truthfully, the changes were wonderful.  They were things any mother would find thrilling to see her children learn.  Exemplary behavior was nothing a mother should complain about.  But for the first time that morning, Mary Jane asked herself why exactly had all these changes in her children transpired.  Was it because Dominique was a better father figure than Zander had been?  More disciplined.  Responsible.  More involved with the child rearing?

Or was it something else…  The authority complex she'd once kidded him about.  Discipline was great.  But she sat there feeling slightly sick to her stomach thinking that it could easily go too far.  Were all these changes coming at way too high cost?

Just as a line of thinking she'd been trying to avoid began to unravel in her head, Jason turned to look at Dominique.  "Can we play a game?" he asked quietly.  He asked politely, but he'd obviously grown tired of trying to pay attention to the boring television show.

"No," Dominique said, keeping his eyes trained on the TV.

Jason glanced into the dining room.  "Mom?  Please?" he asked.

Dominique's eyes shot up to hers, anger flashing on his face.  There was no doubt that Dominique expected her to back him up.

She lifted out of her seat and began to approach the children.  "Sure, honey," she answered.  "I'll play with you guys."

"NO!" Dominique thundered.  Everyone in the room flinched.

She turned her attention to him, stepping in front of the entire group of children.  "Dominique," she said calmly.  "Is it really such a big deal if these kids enjoy themselves a little bit on their one day not at school or a babysitter?  We can take it upstairs, and I'll play with them and keep the noise level down.  OK?"  She kept her voice cheerful, thinking certain that he would see that he was being silly.

Dominique crossed his arms across his chest and stared at her with his stony expression and piercing eyes.  "I.  Said.  No."

She sighed in frustration, becoming angry.  She was angry with herself for not seeing this and nipping it in the bud from day one.  She would stand her ground, for her children.  And for his as well.  She looked down at them.  "Jason, go pick the game and take it up to your room.  The rest of us will meet you up there."

Her son grinned as he leapt up to fetch a board game from the hall closet.  Derek Flame slipped a hand into hers and her heart warmed.  Without giving Dominique a second glance, she led all the children upstairs.

He did not follow them, nor did he attempt to carry on the argument.  For the rest of the day they kept their distance.

***

After Mary Jane made the bedtime rounds that night and wandered to her own bedroom, she found Dominique already in bed propped on pillows.  He sat with his arms crossed across his chest, much the same way he had that morning except this time he was minus a shirt.  It crossed her mind that even stubborn and angry, the man was gorgeous.