Faithfully (Club Decadence) (10 page)

Was he nuts
?  He was going to drive with a cast on his leg?  By the time she got to the door to talk some sense into him, he was backing out of the driveway.  Damn idiot is going to kill himself.  If she did something so foolish, he’d blister her good.  She slammed the door and went to lie down in their bed and feel sorry for herself. 

It was after midnight when he returned.
  He found her asleep and felt like a real shit.  She had obviously planned to apologize for her behavior and thought it best to do so as his pleasure-slave.  She was naked except for her collar and was curled up on the big blue cushion which was placed in the corner where she usually did corner time after punishment.  The cushion was an addition a few years back; a concession to the hardwood floors in their bedroom. 

“Wake up, darlin’.  You can’t sleep on the floor.”

She awoke slowly, blinking her eyes like a kitten then stretched and groaned as she felt the stiffness set in from the cold, hard floor.  “What time is it?”

“After midnight
.  I’d carry you to bed honey, but I can’t with the leg.”  He offered her a hand up and pulled her to her feet. 

“First of all
Joanna I want you to come over here and sit on the bed with me.”  When she tentatively sat on the edge of the bed next to him, he reached over and removed her slave collar.  She was shocked. Her hand flew to her bare throat and she began to sob in great wracking cries that shook the bed.  She thought he had chosen his career over her.

“No Joanna.  It’s not what you think.” 

His words didn’t penetrate.  All she could think about was that he really didn’t want her any more.

Peter could practically hear her thoughts and cursed his handling of the situation. “Dammit Joanna, I am not leaving you.”  Forcing her head up he cupped her face in both of his large hands.  “I love you, darlin’. I always
will.  I removed your collar temporarily so we can talk as equals. Just Pete and Jo, OK.”

“You don’t want it back
then?”

“No.  It is yours for as long as you allow me to be your Master.” 

Overwhelmed with relief, she collapsed against him crying uncontrollably.

“Christ baby, you’re breaking my heart.  I’m sorry I did such a bad job with this.  What I wanted to tell you is that you’re right.  I
agree with most of what you said earlier tonight.  I have missed out on a lot and I had no idea that you were this unhappy.”

“I
’m only unhappy when you’re gone, but lately that’s most of the time.  I love our family, my volunteer work, and our friends.  But I need you, Peter Davis.  Without you I’m just a shell.  You light up my world and make me want to get up each morning.  You’ve always taken such good care of me and the kids.  You’re a great dad and my best friend.  You are playful and fun, and know when to reel me in when I’m having too much fun.”

“Like the time I came home unexpectedly and you and
your friend Melissa were high as kites after smoking two joints and trashing our living room?”

“
It took me a month to get the Doritos crumbs out of the carpet. You took a paddle to my butt until I didn’t sit for two days, if I remember correctly.  It wasn’t easy cleaning up the mess with a blistered rear end.”

“B
etter a blistering than an arrest record for possession and a stint in jail.  You were smoke-free after that while Melissa ended up in rehab.  Twice.  I consider that an effective butt busting, don’t you?”

She had nothing to say to that.  It had always been effective with her, so she just nodded.

“Ironic that you had to have the same conversation with Lexie and Callie when you caught them smoking a joint.” 

“It was
like déjà vu only I wasn’t on the receiving end.  I told them it was a good thing it wasn’t you that found them Pete, or they would have dealt with more than losing cell phone and driving privileges.

“I never had to spank either of them
, or Jace.  It was only my naughty wife that kept my hand hot all these years.”

“They were good kids. 
It hurt them terribly if their Daddy was disappointed in them.  You were their hero.  Mine too.”  She rested against him with her arms wrapped around his waist and her face pressed against his throat.  He had a scruff of a beard but she kissed him there anyway.

“That reminds me.  L
exie graduates with her master’s in nursing in a few weeks, General.  Are you going to be here for that?  It would mean so much to her. 

“Don’t call me General, I get enough of that at work. And I will be at Lexie’s graduation.  My leave isn’t up for four more weeks.”  He felt her stiffen against him and scolded, “Now don’t be getting all sassy and bitchy again, darlin’.  You didn’t hear my second point.”

“What was the first again?”

“Seriously woman, I admit that I was wrong and you forget?” 

“I must have been in such shock that you made a mistake that it fried a circuit in my brain.”  She giggled. 
"Sorry honey, next time I’ll remember to write it down.  Or take out a billboard.  It could read Major General Davis was wrong.  Or I could hire a sky writer to-,” her joking ramble was cut short by a yelp as he swatted her naked backside.

“My leg is
broken Joanna.  But there’s nothing wrong with my hands.”

“Sorry, Sir.”

“Can I get back to point two?  That’s if you’re done with your stand-up routine?”

“Yes Sir, fresh out of material.  Carry on…”

He quirked a warning brow at her, but couldn’t suppress a smile as he motioned her back on the bed.  “Let’s get comfortable for the rest of this.”

When they were lying beside each other,
his cast propped on pillows to protect Joanna more than anything, he started on point two.  

“I’ll begin the process for retirement tomorrow
, but you’ve got to be patient.  The Army doesn’t move fast on these types of things, especially when an active duty general is on a Special Forces assignment.  If anything gets done in the region, it gets done by us.”

“How long will it take do you think?”

“Six months at least.”

Joanna nodded
, but let out a heavy sigh of disappointment. 

“
The Army’s not like a job at Mickey D’s, babe.  I can’t just walk off in the middle of a shift and have someone step in my place.  They will have to select and I will have to train my replacement.”

“I understand, but that doesn’t have to mean I like it.”

“Also, things will move faster for me if I become a ROAD warrior rather than full retirement.”

“I don’t understand what that is.”

“Retired on active duty; the Army is the real deal.  You don’t ever really leave it.  Soldiers are considered assets for life and can be mobilized or recalled at any time.  It’s rare but with special skills or training the odds go up.  I won’t be free from mobilization until I turn 64 which is a general’s mandatory retirement age.  And, they can extend it to 66, but that’s rare.”

“That
really sucks.  So it could take five more years?” The utter frustration resonated in her voice.

“No, I’m just saying that if I’m semi-retired I can work stateside and not have to worry about re
-mobilization.”

“
Do people know about this?”

“If
they’re in the Army they do.” 

She noticed a little glint in his eye.  He had something up his sleeve.
  “You have an assignment in mind, don’t you?’

“
Actually, I do.  In Texas, but I can’t talk anymore about it.  How would you like to retire to Texas?”

“Well
… Jace will be assigned who knows where.  I’ll worry about him every day, but that’s another rant that I don’t think you want to hear right now.”

“Smart girl.”

“And Callie is moving to Houston, so that would be perfect.  I didn’t want to be cross country from her and my granddaughter.  And daddy is there now that he’s retired.”

“That may have played a part
in my interest in this assignment.”

“
So I guess there is nothing to keep us from going, is there?”

“Just your answer. 
San Antonio it is then?”

“Well… I hear it
’s a dry heat.” 

That classic, deadpan response had them
laughing again.  They also cuddled, kissed and snuggled; lovers to the end.  They had never gone to bed angry; it was an unwritten rule in their home.  No matter what it took, ruffled feathers were soothed; anger extinguished, and frayed nerves quieted before sleeping.  The thought of Joanna leaving him was nixed and they had a plan for his future beyond the Army.

Chapter
Six

Afghanistan,
2010

The C-12 Huron Army transport rattled as it hit a pocket of turbulence.  The men on board the
plane hardly seemed to notice as they took off on the first leg of their 15 hour flight.  Lost in their own thoughts, they thankfully left the arid heat behind in the war torn country.  The plane was a VIP transport that carried up to eight passengers.  The men inside were happy for the upgrade as they headed back to the states after an 18 month deployment. 

“Nice ride, General.  Thanks for letting us tag along.”  Impressed with the accommodations, Chief Warrant Officer
Rick Spencer was the first to speak up.  Usually reserved for VIP’s the five Green Berets on board were grateful for the upgrade.  They were lucky to be leaving for R&R at the same time their commanding officer was heading back to the states. 

“Rank has privileges, Chief.”

Two-star Major General Peter Davis looked at the men aboard his transport.  They were five highly trained men he’d had the pleasure of leading for the past nine years.  An elite A Team with a varied level of training and skill, they were a crack team of commissioned officers and high ranking non-coms and were responsible for the capture and the elimination of a good number of middle and high ranking al Qaeda operatives. They could take pride in what they had accomplished, although since most of their missions had been black ops, no one except high command and key government leaders would ever know of their heroism.   

“So
Cap, this was your last time in theater?”

“Yes Sir, Rick, Dex
, and I are all retiring.  Thirty more days and we’ll be back in civvies.”

“Jonas, too I hear.”

They looked over at the tow-headed Romeo of the group and saw he was already passed out cold in his seat.   The General raised an eyebrow in question. They had only been in the air for 15 minutes.

“Dramamine; he
gets air sick.”  Cap laughed at his best techie. He was the smallest man on the team but at 6’3” and 220 pounds, still an impressive size.  The guys teased him about both his good looks and his size, calling him pretty boy and dainty whenever he stood next to the two Tony’s who were both six and a half foot giants.  A few men had made the mistake of thinking he was an easy target.  But when they came face to face with his finely honed karate skills they learned a valuable lesson in humility and proved looks could be deceiving.  “He can take anyone of us, but when it comes to airplanes he’s incapacitated by a tummy ache.”

Rick also laughed at his friend.  “It’s better to let
the pretty boy sleep the whole way than have to listen to him hurl into a barf bag for 15 hours.” 

They
general asked the rest of the men about each other’s post military plans.  Cap telling the general that all the men had signed on to the private security firm he was opening in San Antonio.  Some of the men also had side businesses planned. Jonas intended to open a martial arts studio and Dex and Sean were going to open a nightclub.

Master
Sergeant Sean O’Brien spoke up then, “It won’t be just a night club. It’s going to be private and very exclusive.”

“A BDSM club
I’m sure.”

The men looked at their C.O.
in surprise.  “You know about the lifestyle?” Sean suddenly had a keen interest in what the general knew. 

“I know I’m old
, gentlemen, but I’m not dead.  In my day it wasn’t a lifestyle or even commonly known as BDSM.  They just called it kinky, bent and twisted.  But I’ll fill you in on something, we were doing it back then it was just done in private, or in an underground club somewhere. Now that it’s mainstream it seems everybody is doing it.”

“Thank God for the
internet,” Sean laughed.  “I bet those little blue pills help you stay on the top of your game, don’t they General?”  Cap who was sitting next to Sean smacked him hard in the back of his head.   Grabbing his abused dome he hollered, “Hey!”

“When was the last time you saw his wife, Jackass?  She looks like she’s
in her thirties even after 2 kids.”  Cap gave his C.O. a knowing grin, “Congrats on that, Sir.”

“I
’ve seen her, Sean.  Cap's right, she reminds me of Heidi Klum only shorter, curvier and hotter.”  Horrified, Rick realized he had just called his C.O.’s wife hot and before Cap could smack him upside the head as well, quickly added, “If you don’t mind my saying, Sir.” 

“Thanks, Chief.   I’ll tell her you said so.  She turned
fifty this year and she’d kill me if she knew I told any of you, but she’s starting to get sensitive about her age.”  When he thought of his beautiful Joanna, he always remembered his bride at nineteen.  “I guess you’re anxious to get back to your bride, Chief?”

“Yes S
ir.  I’m tired of having a long-distance marriage.    You and Mrs. Davis have been married about thirty years haven’t you? How have you done it all these years?”

“Love, patients and a sturdy oak paddle we lovingly call Big Bertha.”

The men laughed at that. With the exception of a clueless Lil T, they had long suspected their C.O. was a Dom and it was clear to see who wore the pants in his family.

“How about the rest of you? 
Have you got any special girls at home?”

Lil T
once again chimed in.  The youngest on the team he attracted women like a moth to the flame.  “Cap’s been mooning over the same girl for almost fifteen years.  You gonna finally tap that this time?”

Rick
who was sitting on his other side did the smacking this time.  “That’s my sister-in-law, asshole. She’s also my wife’s twin, so cut the shit and show some respect.”

“I wouldn’t mind settling down.  I’m not getting any younger after all.” 
Cap said.  Looking at T, he smirked, “I’m still too young for Viagra, just in case you’re wondering, youngster.”

Lil T who was always teased about being the youngest took the opening.  “Well, Dex and Rick aren’t far behind. You’ll all be 40 in the next few years, won’t
you?  That’s practically ancient.”

Dex who was usually very quiet spoke up then.  “I can still kick your ass, kid.” 

Lil T knew that something had happened to him on his last leave.  Their once easygoing Master Sergeant had turned into a solemn, brooding killjoy.  Not wanting to wake the sleeping bear inside him, Lil T dropped it and turned back to the general with a follow up question.

“So you spank your wife then
, General?”

“Yep, and have since the 70’s and plan to for as long as she needs it.”

The topic silenced the group and they all lapsed into silence.  They each could only imagine the many rewards the general had enjoyed over the years with his perfect, submissive, kink-friendly woman by his side.  Lost in thought, they each wondered what lay in store for their lives once they were home for good.

As quiet permeated the aircraft, Peter thought back on his long marriage and honored career.  Unlike his men, he
had already lived through the search for the perfect submissive and found it in the form of an Army brat.  Closing his eyes, he spent the rest of the trip lost in memories of those early days.  Day dreaming in memories flooded with glorious, vivid detail until the popping of his ears alerted him of the plane’s final descent and snapped him back to the present.

Joanna would
be busy packing up the house by now and tying up loose ends.  In two weeks he’d be retired, although he’d be taking on that special assignment in Texas.  Four of his top men, Tony “Cap” Rossi, Rick Spencer, Dex Russell and Jonas Mitchell would be joining him in about six months.  A few of the other men would follow gradually as their enlistments expired including Sean O’Brien when he was recovered from his injuries. 

Cap
’s plans for a private security firm were not news to him.  Over the next six months until he was officially retired, Peter would act as a silent partner in two of the men’s businesses.  His first priority was to set up the infrastructure for Rossi Security so that the company was operational when the key players were home for good.  Peter expected to rely on Joanna and her business background to help with that. 

Part of the General
’s role was to recruit talent for Rossi.  He already had contacts which included a long list of Special Forces retirees who would jump at the chance to get in on the ground floor of a lucrative new private security venture. 

Initially,
Rossi would be taking government contracts to help build their business even though their long-term goal was private security and domestic cases only.   Although not mercenaries by any means, their special training would be vital to the government who was always running special ops and black ops missions.  Black ops of course couldn’t always be kept off the radar so the Government often turned to private contract when they had a special need.  Peter had been instrumental in helping him get their contracts set up.

The
other, was a personal business venture of interest to them all.  Dex and Sean O’Brien’s night club wasn’t just going to be a private club.  It would be a place for like-minded individuals like himself, Joanna and all of his men who had the inclination to practice BDSM and the lifestyle.   A safe, exclusive club where they could be themselves and play without fear of exposure or harassment.  Not that the men minded others knowing their preferences.  But it was a business and they wanted to attract a high-end clientele who would consider privacy and anonymity essential.  Rossi would provide security of course and they intended for the membership fees to be high enough to keep out the posers, gawkers and Dom wannabes that were pervasive in the public clubs.  They also wanted to create a space that was classy and inviting to attract a more worldly membership; a thirty plus crowd with more sophistication and acumen. 

Both were a work in progress and he hoped Joanna would embrace the challenge of each unique business line.  He also hoped she would enjoy the research.  He had to recruit
workers and members for the club as well as security specialists for Rossi.  Fortunately, a lot of ex-Military enjoyed both.  They would need trainers, bartenders, entertainment professionals, and interior designers.  His research would involve visiting other clubs in the states to see what worked and what didn’t.  They wanted to be unique, not cookie cutter.  He knew his sub would balk at the idea of him researching the club scene alone, so he expected her to embrace this task and go with him. 

He
’d heard of successful clubs in Denver, Tampa and San Francisco and as members of the local club in D.C. they had some experience to build upon.  The wheels touched down and he smiled.  The next year was shaping up to be exciting.  If he thought semi-retirement was going to be boring, he had another think coming.