He walked away from her, and Felicia was painfully aware that he’d turned his back on her as she’d stood there, her hands cuffed together, on the side of a road in Texas.
She could hear him talking, but he was doing it so fast she really couldn’t follow what he was saying; something about a photo shoot and gallery.
He was back at her side. He took her face in his hands and kissed her. “I’m so sorry, Fee. I have to go home.”
“I understand. Ten thousand is a lot of money.” Why did she feel like she was going to cry? He wouldn’t notice, because he’d moved to the back of the bike. “You can take me to the airport in Albuquerque first, if that’s okay, or I can take the train down.”
He’d been adjusting things in the trailer when she spoke. His head popped around the side, a shocked look on his face.
“Excuse me?”
“My car, it’s in Albuquerque.”
He’d moved beside her now. He took her hands in his and squeezed. “You’re under the impression this means the end of the trip. It’s just a detour. We can come back here the day after the showing. It’s only a five-hour drive.”
When she didn’t answer, he continued, “If you’re tired of riding bitch, I have an SUV we can bring.”
“No, I love it. It’s just…”
“Fee, this isn’t just a week of fun for me. I was hoping you felt the same.”
What were the right words here? She wasn’t sure, so she just blurted out, “I love you, Ash.” She’d said it a few times already, but for some reason it felt different now, with the chance that their time together was over.
“I love you too. I always have. I always will. This isn’t the most romantic spot in the world, with you standing there, handcuffs still around your wrists after you just jacked me off, but…will you marry me?”
He’d said those words to her once before, in a much different way, a different time, a different place. The first time, he’d barely been eighteen years old, and his voice had warbled. A few hours later he’d been in jail, his face bloodied. Now his words were sure, the look on his face confident; the only reminder of the first time was the scar on his face.
Her answer then was the same as it was now.
“Yes.” She held up her manacled wrists. “But I hope you don’t expect me to wear these the whole time we’re married.”
Ash pulled her to him, one hand on the back of her neck, the other on the small of her back. With her hands trapped between them he kissed her, harder and deeper than he ever had before. She shivered in his arms, her mind racing over what was happening.
When the kiss broke, he stepped back. He grabbed hold of the chain between her hands and wiggled it. The look on his face was pure lust. “I might give you a night off from these, depending on whether or not you’re a good girl.”
“I can be very good,” she said as he undid the cuffs.
“We’ll keep these around just in case,” he replied. He stuffed them in his pocket and then stroked her cheeks. “I want nothing more than to go and play with you down in the canyon, but…”
“Duty calls,” she finished for him. “We’ll have lots of time to play later wh—”
“When we’re married,” he finished for her.
“Yes,” she said, the words sinking into her skin, soaking into her bones.
She was going to be Mrs. Ash Chee, something she’d wanted since she was fifteen years old. All those times she’d practiced writing that name in her notebook in school was going to pay off.
* * * *
They pulled into Ash’s driveway six hours later, after stopping for dinner along the way. As the bike puttered to a stop, the front door of his adobe house opened, and his mother stepped out.
He could tell she was pissed. Her gaze raked over him and settled on Fee, who still had her arms wrapped round his waist.
“Mother.” He stepped off the bike and then helped Felicia dismount. “What are you doing here?”
“Looking for you. Where have you been?” The hateful look she shot at the woman he loved infuriated him.
“We were riding my new bike up.” He put his arm around his future bride’s shoulders. “You remember Felicia?”
She didn’t answer his prompt to greet his companion. “I’ve laid three suits on your bed. Please choose one for the gallery showing. I think for the shoot you should—”
Ash held up his hand. “Mother, I can dress myself.”
She sighed as if he’d just told her he planned to wear a dress to the event. “Please, Ash, don’t tell me you’re going to wear jeans and boots. Do you realize the people who will be there tomorrow, the amount of money you can make from commissions? This is a big event.”
Instead of answering her, he tightened his grip on Felicia’s shoulders. “You didn’t say hello to Felicia.”
There was a heavy pause before she said, “I’m sure Ms. Montrose realizes you and I have important things to discuss.”
“Felicia and I are going to get married. Monday evening. You’re invited, of course, and so is Dad.”
For a minute, he thought his mother was going to topple over. Her face turned an ashen shade of gray, and he worried that he’d sent her over the edge.
When she did speak, her voice was controlled. “I think we should discuss this.”
“There’s nothing to discuss.” Ash made sure his grip on Felicia was tight. “We love each other, and we’re tired of being apart.”
Now he could see tears leaking from his mother’s eyes. “Don’t you realize what will happen? You’re well-known now, Ash. When you announce this, the press will dig into your background. They’d find out about the arrest; they’ll learn what happened. It will be humiliating.”
“For who, Mother? Me or you?”
Another silence. When his mother spoke again, he wanted to yell. “If she truly loves you, she’ll realize what I’m saying is true. She’ll walk away.”
“It’s because I love him that I won’t,” Felicia responded. “Ash and I have already discussed all this.”
That was the only thing they’d talked about during the trip. When they’d stopped for dinner, they’d called Courtney and Doug and asked them to stand up for them. Ash was pretty sure he’d never heard Courtney scream so loud, even at the announcement of her own nuptials. After tomorrow’s showing, Ash and Felicia would ride to Shiprock where they would tell her parents and get her birth certificate so they could apply for the license. Luckily New Mexico was a no-wait state, and they could get married immediately.
But they’d decided to wait until Monday, to give family members time to come to Santa Fe if they so desired. Something told him his future father-in-law wouldn’t make it.
“Are you going to tell the people from the art magazines tomorrow?”
“No.” Ash watched for her reaction. Relief flooded her face, and he was sure his mother would try to talk him out of it before it happened. “We don’t want Felicia’s parents to hear about it from anyone but us.”
Ash hoped he hadn’t spoken too soon about Felicia’s parents. It would be just like his mother to run home and call them, try to get them to team up with the Chees to prevent this horrible event from ever taking place.
But then he decided that wouldn’t happen. If she told them now, there was the chance they would come to Santa Fe for the opening tomorrow night, and the press would hear about the upcoming wedding before she had more of a chance to quash it.
“Perhaps you’ll listen to your father when he talks to you about that woman invading your life again.”
Ash sighed. “Her name is Felicia, Mother. You should learn to say it, since she’s going to be the mother of your future grandchildren.”
In her most dramatic move yet, his mother put her hand on her chest. “Oh my God, she’s pregnant. How long has this been going on?”
“Not long enough,” Ash replied. “And she’s not pregnant. Yet.”
He waited for his mother to spew a few choice words. Instead she went back into the house. When she came out, she had her purse in her hand. “Ashkii, please select one of the suits. It will be more professional.”
She marched past them. When she was behind the wheel of her car, he turned to Felicia.
“At least she didn’t call me that white girl.” She grinned at him, and his love for her grew, which he didn’t think was possible, since he already felt more love for her than he’d ever felt for anything in his life.
“Give her time,” he said as he pulled Felicia into a hug. “She’ll pull out the race card before it’s all over.”
“So will my dad.” Her face was turned up to him, and he gently kissed her. She tasted like the road, but it was the sweetest flavor he’d ever encountered.
“Shall I give you a tour? Or shall we think about finding a house that we can make ours alone?”
She put her head against his chest. “I rather like this. It’s rustic and remote.”
“I make noise when I sculpt. When I was in town, the neighbors complained, so I bought land and built a house.” He held out his arms as if to hug the house and land. “Four bedrooms, two baths, two living areas, a dining room, one huge kitchen, a hot tub, and I’ve been considering putting in a pool.”
“That would be nice.” Her smile was brilliant. “But I would like to buy a new bed.”
“We can do that.” He took her hand, and they started to walk toward the back part of the house. “It’s not paid for, but it’s home.”
“A few more ten-thousand-dollar sculptures and it will be paid for. Unless you keep buying motorcycles.”
They were in the back now. “Only if you ride with me.”
He heard her laugh as soon as she saw the surprise he’d had set up.
“Is there always a tent back here?”
“I asked Bear to help,” he said. “I want to sleep outdoors with you tonight. Play outside, just like we’d planned, just in a different location.”
He relished the soft lilt of her voice when she asked, “Where’s the dog you mentioned?”
“Rock? I asked Bear to take him too, so we could have one last night alone. He’s on a playdate with Bear’s dogs. Rock has his own outdoor running area where he sleeps in the summer, but with me being gone so long, he’d want to stay with us tonight, and I want you to myself.”
She tapped his chest. “You owe me an orgasm.”
“Yes, I do, and I have a great plan on how to deliver it.”
“You going to let me in on it?”
“Not until I’m ready. You go inside and shower. Look around. Make yourself at home…because that’s where you are. Home.”
The full moon was the first thing Felicia noticed when she stepped out of Ash’s house. It illuminated the yard, bordered by beautiful trees on one side and Ash’s massive studio on the other. And in between them was the tent.
He’d been in there for almost an hour, setting things up, he’d said. When he’d exited, he’d elicited a promise from her that she wouldn’t go inside until he was ready. She’d made the vow, but keeping it was tough. She’d showered while he’d worked, and after he’d done the same thing they ate what little food they could find in the fridge.
“We’ll have to hit the store tomorrow,”
he’d said, but the look on his face conveyed he had more intimate things in mind. He’d taken her hand and led her outside, where they now stood. He tugged on the bottom of her blouse and told her to raise her arms.
He lifted the material over her head and then undressed her slowly until she was naked. Despite the darkness, the air was warm. Still, Felicia shivered a little as he moved behind her and wrapped his arms around her.
“I’ve been planning this for two days now.” He shifted her hair and kissed her neck. “Not quite the venue I had in mind, but it will still be perfect.”
“What is it, exactly?”
“You really think I’m going to tell you that?”
Ash stepped back from her, his hands moving to cup her buttocks. “I can’t wait until you’re ready for a good, hard spanking.”
“Spank me now.” He slapped her ass once, and she groaned as the hard smack turned into something sweetly sinful. “More. I’m ready for it.”
“Hush,” he said as he slapped her ass again. “You’re not ready for what I have in mind. It takes a while to build up to that. It’ll be a lot of fun getting you there, I promise.”
Ash slapped her ass once more before he moved in front of her. “Time for something else.”
“Tease.”
“I’m pretty good at it.” He took her hand as he led her into the tent. There was a large air mattress in the middle. Five lengths of leather were laid out on it at various places.
Felicia’s heart skipped a beat. “Um, can we go back to the spanking?”
“Lie down, faceup, with your ankles on the bottom one. I’ll adjust the others as needed.”
She stammered a little; the nervous butterflies in her stomach made it hard for her to concentrate on what she wanted to say.
“Babe, do you trust me?”
Ash had spoken those words to her before, and they’d made her feel safe then, just like now.
“Yes.”
“Then lie down,” he said gently.
As she lowered herself, Felicia was pretty certain she was going to pass out from lack of oxygen. “If I hyperventilate, I hope you have a paper bag nearby.”
“Don’t worry. I’ll revive you the old-fashioned way.” He knelt next to her and kissed her, his tongue taking over her mouth, his hands stroking her cheeks and neck. “How’s that?” he said after he’d lifted his lips from hers.
“Perfect.” She was calmer now. He kissed her one more time, harder and deeper; then his hands started to roam over her body, massaging her shoulders and breasts. He drew circles on her belly. When he got to her mound, he lowered his head and kissed her there. Felicia arched her hips in response. He parted her legs and ran his tongue up her slit.
“Stay relaxed, Fee.”
It was a fairly easy directive to follow, until she heard the first buckle clang together. She tried to move her feet, but the strap was already around them.
“Ash, I can’t…” Breathe deep, she told herself as he told her to do the same thing.
“Only five ties tonight, sweet Fee. We’ll build up to mummy state later. For now, just relax.”
Mummy state?
She wasn’t sure she liked the sound of that. Felicia wanted to ask him how many times he could say that, but instead she asked herself how many times she could hear it without knowing he wasn’t going to hurt her. He never had before, so why did she think he would start now?