Cardinal's Rule (16 page)

“That’s all right. I don’t mind. Unless you wish to stay home?”

Part of her wanted to do just that. On the other hand, she wanted the chance to introduce him to her friends before they had to take time away from the scene for his treatments.

He carried her toy bag inside the club for her. Ross and Loren had already arrived. Tilly and Landry no sooner walked in when Loren cornered her.

“I need your help with my corset, please.”

Tilly couldn’t help but notice Loren seemed agitated. “Since when?”

“Please, Til?”

Tilly rolled her eyes and left Landry out in the dungeon playspace while she followed Loren

into the bathroom. They were alone, and Loren’s corset didn’t need tightening.

“Sweetie, I don’t know what’s going on with that guy, but please, just let him go handle his problems by himself!”

“What the fuck, Lor?”

Her face looked torn between pained and murderous. “We didn’t want to tell you this the other night.” She took a deep breath. “That guy, Kim and Kylee saw him up in Tampa at the old club we all 

used to go to. The one in Ybor.”

“So?”

“They saw him with Cristo.”

Tilly closed her eyes. Okay, so in some ways this would be easier, and some ways this would be harder.

Loren wasn’t done. “So please, just tell him no-go, you can’t help him. I’m still not sure how you met him, but—”

“He’s Cris’ Master,” Tilly quietly admitted.

Loren’s eyes widened. “What?”

Tilly nodded.

Her friend stood there, shocked. After a long moment, she finally spoke. “What?”

“You said that.”

“What the
hell
?”

“That’s different.”

“Tilly, quit fucking around! You
know
he’s with Cris?”

She leaned against the counter and folded her arms over her chest. “Yeah. I’ve already seen and spoken to Cris. He doesn’t know about Landry’s cancer returning.”

Her eyes widened even more. “What?”

Tilly took a deep breath and gave her the short version of the story, leaving out the whole

marriage and revenge plot part of the equation.

Loren stood there, stunned. “So, after what the fucker did to you, you’re just going to let him back into your life like that?”

“No, I’m helping
Landry
. He’s a nice guy, Lor. Get to know him, you’ll like him. We have a deal. It’ll let me pay off the house without having to work for a while. It’s the right thing to do.”

“It’s fucking bullshit!” That’s when she spotted the ring. She grabbed Tilly’s hand. “Holy crap, when did you buy that?”

Might as well bite the bullet.
“I didn’t,” she quietly admitted.

She frowned. “Cris?”

Tilly shook her head.

Loren’s voice dropped to a whisper. “
Landry
bought it for you?”

She closed her eyes, ready for the outburst.
So much for keeping it quiet.
“He asked me to marry him. It’ll make the bookkeeping easier.”

Loren didn’t disappoint. “What the holy fuck?” she shrieked. “Are you
crazy
?”

“Yeah, I am. But you want to know something?” she shot back. “He’s great in bed, I’m sick of being alone, and all I’m obliged to do for the next couple of years is make sure Cris can get into the hospital!”

“That Cris…Wait a second. Good in bed? Did you say good in bed?”

Tilly clenched her jaw. “Yeah. Damn good. And so far we haven’t even fucked yet.”

That was enough to shut Loren up for a moment. She stared at Tilly for a long time. “What is this going to do to you emotionally?” she quietly asked.

“I’m not the girl I was. You know that. I’m a strong, tough bitch. Helping Landry out is the right thing to do. I’m not doing it because of Cris, because he’s totally in the dark about this. He’s stuck in a hotel room right now, completely clueless.”

“Cris has a Master.” She shook her head. “I still can’t wrap my mind around that fact.”

“Oh, believe it. Landry’s a sadist, too. Makes me look like Winnie the Pooh.” She told her the story about Bob and the confrontation with Cris, and Landry volunteering to hold Cris for Bob.

“Holy fuck!”

“Yep.” She checked her make-up while trying to slow her pounding heart. “Now please, I’m

asking you as my friend, just give him a chance. He’s as upset about this…” She thought about it. “He’s upset about what happened to me, and he’s trying make amends. He’s a good man. I mean it when I say I really like him. I’ve spent the past two days with him.”

“So what happens with Cris? He moving in too?”

“I guess so.” She smiled at Loren in the mirror. “I already told Landry he’d better let me boss Cris around.”

“Oh, fuck yes! I damn sure want to watch that!”

When they returned to the dungeon, Ross looked less than happy and Kim and Kylee had

arrived. Landry stood a little away from them, leaning against the wall, waiting.

She waved him over and clasped his hand as she led him to Ross. “Ross, I need to tell you

something,” she said.

Landry looked at her but remained silent.

She told him the same story she told Loren, again leaving out the revenge part of the equation.

When she finished, Ross looked a little less murderous.

“Will you hold him for me if I want to cut his nuts off?” he asked Landry.

Landry laughed. “I would say gladly, but Tilly has already told me I’m not allowed to let his nuts or his cock be removed. I already offered to let you take a propane torch to him.” He squeezed her hand. “She’s such a spoilsport about some things.”

Ross’ face tensed before he burst out laughing. “Jesus, this is fucking nuts.” He scrubbed his face with his hands, then stepped in and hugged her. “Congratulations, sweetheart.” He turned to Landry and held out his hand. “Hurt her, and you
will
lose
your
nuts.”

Landry smiled as he shook Ross’ hand. “Believe me, I am rather fond of them and would prefer to keep them intact.”

Loren smacked her, hard, on the shoulder. “And why weren’t we invited to the wedding? More

importantly, why didn’t you ask me to do it?”

Tilly winced and rubbed her shoulder. “Okay, first of all,
ow
! Second, duh! I worried the whole

‘Loren wants Cristo dead’ issue might have caused problems.”

“No. You’ll get married at our house. I’ll perform the ceremony.”

Landry cleared his throat. “Will that be an issue, having Cris there?”

Ross frowned. “Why will he be there? I thought you said he didn’t know?”

“Well, I will admit I looked forward to him witnessing it. To rub his face in it. Show him what he threw away.”

Loren laughed. “Okay, Til? I gotta say, I like his style. Fuck yeah, if Count Craptastic is going to be humiliated, I’m definitely in!”

* * * *

They spent the evening talking and watching others play. Landry enjoyed watching Tilly top a

pain pig, the husband of another friend of hers. By the time they left, Loren had already invited several dozen of Tilly’s friends, many who knew Cris, to attend the wedding.

It was more than Landry and Tilly had planned. It was also moved to the club at seven on

Sunday night, because of parking issues and so more people could attend.

Cris’ humiliation would be total.

As they drove back to her place a little after two in the morning, he thought of something.

“What was that Loren called him? Count something?”

She smiled. “Count Craptastic. You know, Cristo, the
Count of Monte Cristo
? That’s the nicest thing she calls him. Usually, she refers to him as ‘that goddamn fucking asshole’.”

“Her husband, he is the one whose collar you wore?”

“For a while, yes.” Her voice softened. “Not for play or scening, just to help me regain my

footing again. If it hadn’t been for them I wouldn’t have made it. Cris called that one right. They picked me up, wouldn’t let me give up, wouldn’t give up on me. Thank God I had them.”

At home she kicked off her five-inch heels in the foyer. “Man, these things are murder.”

He scooped her into his arms. “Allow me, love.” He carried her to the bedroom. “I’ll rub your feet for you before we fall asleep.”

“Oh. We’re falling asleep, huh?”

He nuzzled her nose with his. “For tonight, let’s. We need to be up early in the morning for the deliveries. They promised us by ten, remember? And then we’re supposed to meet with Loren at noon to plan things.”

She groaned. “She’s taken over. Momma Loren strikes again. I should have known she would.”

He set her on the bed. “Can we elope?”

He smiled. “Too late for that.” He sat on the end of the bed and massaged her feet. “She’ll be heartbroken.”

“True.” She unfastened the front of her corset as she lay there enjoying the foot rub. “Hey, I’ve got another rule.”

He smiled. “Name it.”

“I want foot rubs on demand. Well, I mean, I won’t ask for them if you feel like crap, of course.

Only if you’re feeling okay.”

He picked up her foot, sucked her big toe into his mouth, and seductively swirled his tongue around it before removing it with a pop. His eyes never left hers. “Anytime, love. It will be my pleasure.”

Her clit pulsed and she softly moaned. He smiled, noticing her reaction. He put that foot down, switched to the other, and repeated the same action.

“Fuuuuck me. You’re too good to be true.”

“I will most assuredly fuck you Sunday night,” he promised. “I will fuck your brains out, and then some.” He gently pushed her legs apart and lay between them, then pulled her panties aside and licked her clit.

The sphere of Tilly’s universe ended with the feel of Landry between her legs. Her whole body trembled as her hands went to his head, holding him there. He slipped two fingers inside her, flicking her clit with his tongue as he did. He felt incredible inside her. She didn’t know if it was because it just felt so damn good to climax after a five year dry spell, or if he really was that good. But in another moment, she was there, crying out as she came for him.

He laughed and gently rearranged her panties before he crawled up the bed to lay beside her.

“Think you can sleep now, love?”

She rolled into him. “Uh huh.”

“You going to get undressed?”

She let out an aggravated sigh. He helped her remove her corset, her short skirt, and her garter belt and stockings. He dropped his clothes and curled behind her in bed, spooned against her back.

“You feel so good,” she mumbled.

He kissed the back of her neck. “So do you. Can I ask you that question again?”

“What question?”

“About why you didn’t make yourself come.”

She rolled to face him. He gathered her into his arms as she buried her face against his chest.

“Because he made me do it. Not like you did,” she quickly added. “I trust you. He was…evil.”

“Cris?”

“No!” She couldn’t suppress the shiver. “My step-father,” she whispered.

* * * *

Fuck!
Another wave of guilt washed over him. “Sweetie, I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to—”

“No, it’s okay. Seriously. It was different with you.” She sighed. “Cris used to do it like that with me sometimes. It’s okay if you’re right there with me, helping. If you’d ordered me to do it and just sat back and watched and not been there…” She shivered in his arms again.

He nuzzled her forehead, then kissed her. “So that really was the first orgasm you’ve had since then?”

“Yeah. I didn’t have the desire at first. Then I was on meds for a while. Anti-depressants. Those helped my mood but not my libido.”

“So how’d I do?”

She lifted her head to look at him. “You keep that up you might just find yourself married for life, mister.”

He smiled. “Promise?”

“Yeah.”

He kissed her once more, unable to get enough of the taste and feel of her lips. “I’ll hold you to that.”

Chapter Nine

Tilly had another great night of sleep while tightly snuggled in Landry’s arms. Landry helped her make breakfast and they took a shower together. He resisted her playful advances even though she left him with a raging hard-on in the process. The mattress and bed frame arrived almost at the same time. The delivery crews took the old ones away and Landry helped her make the bed up with the new sheets he’d purchased.

He stretched out on his back and held his hand out to her. “Come here, love.”

Tilly loved the playful look on his face. She climbed onto the bed, straddling him. “What? Want to break it in already? I did try to play in the shower, if you’ll recall. We have to meet Loren in an hour.”

He smiled and let his hands settle on her hips. “Tonight we can break it in properly.”

“Ooh, am I wearing you down? Maybe I can get laid tonight?”

He rolled her onto her back, under him. “Not exactly. We don’t get to do many things normally, love, but I want to do this one thing. Have our wedding night truly on our wedding night.”

She laughed. “Okay, with some BDSM, cuckolding, and humiliation thrown in.”

“Everyone should have a hobby.” He kissed her.

“You do realize there will be a lot of people there tomorrow night who’ll seriously want to take a whack at him? You and I might have to stand guard over him.”

“They can turn him into a human piñata, if they wish.”

She gently poked him in the chest. “No, they can’t.”

He swore.

“What’s wrong?”

“I need to call him and change the plans. I told him I would be back for him on Monday.” He

reached over to the bedside table for his phone. She watched as he sat up, still straddling her, and dialed. He leaned in and quickly kissed her before Cris answered.

“Very good,” Landry said. Apparently Cris answered on the first or second ring. “Change in

plans. Be ready by ten tomorrow morning. Other than that, the other instructions I gave you still apply.

Understand?…Good.” He hung up and dropped the phone to the bed. Then he slid his hands along her arms, raising them above her head and gently grasping her wrists. When he ground his hips against her, she felt his stiff cock rubbing through his khakis. “In one way, moving this to tomorrow night is better because it means one less day of a throbbing cock.”