Mastering Lexie (Stronghold Book 4) (41 page)

"Hey
man," Patrick said softly, keeping his voice low enough that the others
wouldn't notice.  "You okay?"

"I broke
up with Marissa."  Jared's voice, unlike Patrick, was loud and
monotone.  It sliced through the laughter and teasing like a knife,
Marissa's name dropping into a sudden abrupt silence.  "I don't want
to hear it.  I feel like a piece of shit, but it's over and done with and
I don't want to talk about it."

He didn't need
to say anything more.  While they might all feel like celebrating the end
of the toxic relationship, he obviously didn't, and none of them were going to
rub it in.  It was better to just let him come to terms with it on his
own.  They all saw Marissa's manipulations for what they were, and even
though Jared had managed to actually break up with her this time, not one of
them doubted that she'd laid a hell of a guilt trip on him.  On the other
hand, this was the first time that he'd successfully ended the relationship.

All that and
more, an agreement to keep their mouths shut about Marissa while Jared was
around, was relayed in quick glances around the room.  They'd all been
friends for so long, none of them needed to ask what the others were
thinking. 

"I'm
sorry it didn't work out with her the way you wanted," Patrick said, which
was true enough.  He laid his hand on Jared's shoulder and gave it a short
squeeze, before letting it fall away.  "Let me know if you need
anything.  I'm here for you, man."

Standing up,
he moved away as the others came over to echo the sentiments, each in their own
way.  Patrick started his own stretches, leading the way into getting
things back to normal.  By the time they were all done, Jared looked a lot
more relaxed.  Maybe he'd been expecting the entire room the break out
into happy dances the way Olivia had, but if she'd seen Jared looking like
this, she wouldn't have indulged.  None of them would.  They
respected that he was broken up about the end of the relationship, even if the
rest of them were internally jumping for joy.

Conversation
resumed, a bit more subdued, as they all stretched out and warmed up. 
Chris was definitely receiving the brunt of Liam's attention, but he deserved
it for all the classes he'd missed.

"How are
things with you and Lexie?" asked Adam, as he went through a series of
increasingly complex arm stretches.

"We're
going to her parents’ for dinner tomorrow."

"Uh oh,
sounds serious," Chris teased, and then groaned as Liam pushed him down.
 "What, I can't even talk?"

"Nope,
concentrate on your stretches," Liam said sternly.  "They can
talk because every single one of them is in better shape than you.  It was
a stupid observation anyway.  Of course it's serious, it's Patrick and
Lexie."

"Paxie? 
Lextrick?"  Andrew mused.  Patrick glared at him.

"I will
end you."

"What?  You
have to admit, it's kind of cute."

"You
didn't do it with anyone else, you're not doing it with us," Patrick said
firmly.  He hated that stupid trend.

"Aw, come
on, everyone else was too hard," Andrew protested.  "I mean come
on," he pointed at Justin and Chris, "there's three of them in that
relationship and it's practically impossible to come up with something
pronounceable.  Lilary and Hiam just doesn't sound right at all. 
Angel and Adam are even more impossible and so are Rick and Maria."

"He's got
a point - ow!"  Chris clenched his jaw and leaned farther over his
leg, until Liam made a satisfied noise.

"I like
Paxie," said Jared, with the first glimmer of a smile that they'd seen so
far.

"No."
 Patrick pointed his finger at him.  He didn't care if Jared was
feeling shitty, no one was combining his and Lexie's names.  His finger
moved to each of his friends in turn.  "No, no, no, no, no. 
Just no.  And don't you dare mention it to your girlfriends.  I'll
put you all on Dungeon Monitor duty every night for the next month."
 Which would mean no scening.  They all knew he wasn't serious. 
Probably.  But no one wanted to risk it.

Liam stepped
in, a slight smile of amusement on his face.  "It's time to start
anyway.  Form lines."

Thank
god.  For the next hour, Patrick lost himself in the forms.  For him,
it was almost like meditating, because his mind was able to focus completely on
his body, and he wasn't thinking about anything in particular.  This was
why he tried to make it to the dojo at least once a month, if not more, although
he worked out at home as well.  Being part of the class, studying himself
in the mirror, knowing that Liam was watching them, all helped him to find a
kind of inner peace that he didn't get doing anything else.

However,
unlike his usual times at the dojo, as soon as they were done, he started
packing up.

"You're
not going to stay and spar?" Adam asked, looking surprised as Patrick
started putting his shoes back on.

"No, I
need to get home."

Justin glanced
up at the clock on the wall.  "You know that she's not going to be
home yet, right?  The whole "hour" part of Happy Hour is a
joke.  They end up just sitting around talking."

Sure enough,
checking his phone, Patrick could see that he'd gotten a text from Lexie saying
that Happy Hour was running long, and she was going to be home later than she'd
thought.  Which, he'd already known from the other guys was usually the
case.  Pleasure coursed through him that she was doing exactly what she
was supposed to and letting him know.

"I
know," he said, texting Lexie back to let her know that he'd gotten her
text and appreciated it.  "I have a scene at home to set up."

Shaking his
head, Adam sighed.  "Part of me wants to high five you, and the other
part of me can't forget exactly who you're setting the scene up for."

Patrick
laughed, too lighthearted to be bothered.  "You'll get used to
it."

Happy Hour had
dragged into Happy Hours.  Lexie had only had one more drink though,
following the rules of the contract to the letter.  But she had finally
given in and had that second drink after she realized they were - as usual -
going to be there a lot longer than they'd planned.  She didn't know why
she always thought that this time they weren't going to do that; she should
really just plan ahead that girl time was going to run long.  

Knocking on
Patrick's door, she tried not to feel guilty for being so much later than she'd
planned.  She'd texted him, of course, to let him know, and they'd spent
the last two nights together, but she was still shifting restlessly. 
Although, that might be because of the plug that was still in her butt. 
She didn't even have the panties to help hold it in.  The past two days
she'd taken them off in the car so that he couldn't punish her for having them
on before she had a chance to take them off.  She didn't know what she was
going to do when it got way too cold for skirts without stockings.  Her
legs were already a little cold even though she’d gotten inside as quickly as
she could.

Not that she
minded the spankings, since she knew he wouldn't actually be upset with her for
breaking that particular rule, but she'd gotten a lot of amusement out of his
disappointment when he'd checked and found her uncovered.  Followed
quickly by a lot of enjoyment as he'd taken advantage of her bared state. 
Even if they hadn't had sex yet, she was having more orgasms than she'd ever
had with any other boyfriend.  Patrick literally couldn't keep his hands
off of her.  Or his mouth, for that matter.

She really was
kind of greedy, when she thought about it.

She was also
feeling high on happiness and love, after time with the girls.  Yeah, the
reality of this new relationship, and possibly the last relationship she'd ever
have in her life, was kind of huge and overwhelming when she thought of the
whole picture, but it was also really fulfilling.  Exciting.  Joyful.

The door
opened, and she beamed up at him as he smiled down at her.  

"I know I
need to get you a key," he said, as he leaned down to kiss her.
 "But I have to admit that I really love opening my door and seeing
you standing there."

There was no
chance to respond before his lips were on hers, but that didn't matter. 
He actually hadn't mentioned getting her a key before, and her heart did little
tripping leaps and twirls that he was already thinking that.  He really
did want her to move in, didn't he?  Not that she was going to. 
Lexie was taking a page from Angel's book with that one... she was happy to
spend her nights here and probably move some of her stuff over, but she was
keeping her own place.  At least for a little bit.  Adam had dealt
with it, and so could Patrick.  As much as she loved him and wanted to
jump into the relationship wholeheartedly, holding on to her own place seemed
like something she needed to do.  A small part of control over her own
life that she needed to hold on to, just for now.  Especially since
Patrick's condo was... Patrick's.  He'd had it for years, and she didn't
know how he would feel about her stuff invading it.  

Honestly, if
they moved in together, she'd rather they pick out a place together that was
theirs.  Not just her moving into his space.  With Adam and Angel, it
was more understandable because Adam already had a house.  A really
awesome house.  She didn't know if Patrick planned to live in a condo for
the rest of his life, but she really didn't see where in it there was room for
her stuff.  It felt like his place.

So she was
going to keep her place, for a little while at least.  She'd probably get
him a key to it too, even though she knew he hated her mattress.  

Leaning into
the kiss, she still couldn't believe that this was actually her life now. 
Coming to Patrick's every night.  Kissing Patrick.  Sleeping in
Patrick's bed.  Patrick's hands coming down to grope her ass...

Yeah. 
This was the good life.

Lifting his
head, he smiled down at her, and then they both jumped a bit as one of the
other doors in the hall started to open.  Swiftly, he pulled her out of
the doorway and into his condo, so that his neighbors couldn't see him groping
her.  Lexie giggled helplessly as she ended up pinned between his hard
body and the wall.  No complaints about that. 

"Did you
have fun at happy hour?"

"Yes,"
she said, going up on tiptoes for another soft kiss.  He smelled
good.  Freshly showered.

Their lips parted
by just an inch, his hovering over hers in between kisses.

"Did you
drink more than two drinks?"

"No."

Kiss.

"Did you
wait an hour after drinking the second one before driving?"

"Yes."

Kiss.

"Pixie,
Pixie... how am I supposed to punish you if you're always being good?"
 He murmured.

Kiss.

"I'm sure
you'll make up a reason."

Dropping her
purse to the floor she wound her arms around his neck, and jumped up, wrapping
her legs around his waist.  Unfortunately, there were two things she
didn't consider when doing so.  The first was that she didn't have any panties
on.  The second thing was that she'd somehow managed to forget about the
plug.

It made a
thumping sound as it hit the floor.

Even with his
hands on her ass, holding her against him, Patrick burst out laughing as red
flames seemed to explode in her cheeks.  She couldn't believe that had
just happened.  When she'd jumped, her legs had spread and so had her ass
cheeks, and she hadn't been concentrating on keeping it inside of her and the slender
thing had just slipped out.

"Oh my
god..." she mumbled, completely mortified, as she pressed her forehead
against his shoulder.  He was practically vibrating with laughter,
although she could tell that he was trying not to laugh too hard, for her
sake.  The slick emptiness of her rear channel clenched, a little too
late.  "I think that is the most unsexy thing that's ever happened to
me."

Still
chuckling, Patrick set her down, and she leaned down to gingerly pick up the
plug by its base, still shiny with lube.  

"I'll
wipe up the floor," he told her already heading to the kitchen, probably
to get paper towels or something.  "Go ahead and take that to the
bathroom to get it cleaned off and then come meet me in the bedroom."

Talk about
spoiling the mood.  On the other hand, she had a good enough sense of
humor that she knew she would find this hysterical later.  Probably when
she was telling the others about it.  BDSM mishaps were hilarious, as long
as they weren't painful.  Actually, some of those could be kind of funny
too, eventually.  As long as no one was seriously injured.

"Welcome
to reality," she said to herself in the mirror as she got the toy cleaner
he kept in the cabinet.  Sex just wasn't always sexy.  On the other
hand, she'd much rather have a guy that she could laugh with about it with,
rather than one who always took things too seriously.  Or was disgusted by
something like a plug unintentionally falling onto his neat-freak floor. 
Much better to have a man like Patrick who would laugh about it and then still
want to meet her in the bedroom.

Now if only
she could convince her body that she didn't need to be embarrassed.  Her
cheeks were still bright red. 

"Flames...
flames on the side of my face," she said, quoting Mrs. White from
Clue.

"Are you
talking to yourself in there?" Patrick called.  She could tell from
the direction of his voice that he was already in his bedroom.

"Maybe,"
she yelled back, quickly rinsing the bubbly cleaner from the plug and setting
it upright on its base on the side of the sink so that it could dry.  

A quick wash
of her hands, and then she was hurrying into his bedroom.  What she saw in
there stopped her dead in her tracks.

Candles were
everywhere, covering every surface.  Something that could have been
incredibly dangerous if Patrick wasn't so OCD about keeping everything
clean.  Although, she did notice with a distant part of her mind, all of
the candles were in holders with walls high enough that the flames were
completely contained.  The result was a soft, flickering glow that dusted
the room in a hazy, dreamy light.  Warm.  Romantic.

In the middle
of the bed, with the covers all pulled down to the foot, was Patrick. 
Lounging, for want of a better word, with both of his hands propped behind his
head.  It should have look contrived, or even silly, but he just looked
relaxed and seriously sexy.  As he looked at her, his cock jerked and
slowly started to fill.  Heat and lust rushed through her, not just
because of how hot he was all naked and lickable, but also from seeing his very
visceral reaction to her presence.  What woman wouldn't get off on knowing
the very sight of her made a man like Patrick hard?

"Strip,
Pixie.  Slowly, so I can enjoy it."  The heated anticipation in
his voice made fuzzy tendrils curl inside of her stomach, like something was
stroking her insides.  

Damn but she
liked a bossy man who knew what he wanted.

Despite the
romantic atmosphere that he'd created, there was no doubt that Patrick was a
kinky, authoritative Dom who would put her over his knee given the slightest
provocation.  Which, of course, was what made her own knees feel so weak.
 

Curving her
lips into a smile, she pressed her hands against her thighs and slowly ran them
up her body.  Cupping her breasts, she slid her palms to the center of her
chest and undid the first button on her shirt.  Patrick's eyes were glued
to her fingers, his cock jerking slightly in obvious enjoyment of her seductive
movements.

"You
know," she said conversationally as she slid her fingers into her shirt
for just a moment before moving on to the next button.  "I'd just
gotten around to accepting waiting until you were ready for sex."

"It's
traditional to wait for the third date," he said, in a low, husky voice,
still watching her fingers as she played with the edges of her shirt.

The movement
stilled as she processed what he'd just said.

"This
counts as a date?"

"Well,
our third night together."

"Fourth."

"Third
night that you're in my bed."  There was no wavering, no hesitation,
just satisfaction.  Patrick apparently had his own way of counting, and
that was all that mattered.

She resisted
rolling her eyes as she resumed unbuttoning her shirt.  The front was
starting to gape so that the lacy black bra was showcased nicely against her
pale skin and the pearly grey of her shirt.  

"Well if
I'd known, I would have insisted we sleep here Sunday night," she teased,
shrugging out of the shirt and letting it slide down her arms till it dropped
to the floor.  Reaching up behind her, she thrust her breasts out as she
undid the clasp on her bra, making sure the fabric stayed in place once the
clasp snapped open.  

Moving her
arms in front of her, she crossed them over her chest, so that she was hiding
her breasts as her hands slipped the straps off of the opposite arm.  

"It wouldn't
have mattered.  We would have stayed at your place anyway, you needed the
sleep."  His voice wasn't as stern as it normally was.  Nice to
know that, like any other red-blooded male, Patrick could be distracted with a
striptease.

"Mmm,"
was all she said back, as she let the bra drop, turning at the same time, so
that he got a mere glimpse of her breasts.

Smiling at the
growling noise he made, and the shifting sound of him moving on the bed, she
reached behind herself to unzip the back of her skirt.  Holding on to the
waistband, so it couldn't just fall off, she slowly let the fabric slide down
her legs, bending over so that he could enjoy the view of her ass as she
stepped out of the skirt.

She wasn't
entirely surprised when his hands grabbed at her waist, and she found herself
being pulled over his lap.  Her upper body was resting on the bed, her
legs dangling down over the side, and his hand was already squeezing one butt
cheek while his cock dug into her side.  Spreading her legs a little wider,
she shuddered as his hand moved lower, fingers brushing over her pussy. 

******

Little
tease.  He'd asked for it of course, but he hadn't been prepared for just
how good Lexie would be at a striptease.  Wondering exactly who else had
seen her do something like this had made him impatient to get his hands on her,
to touch her and claim her.  Possessiveness over her wasn't anything new,
but it was definitely worse now that he could truly consider her to be his.
 

Running his
hand over the pale cream of her ass, he dipped his fingers down to find that
her pussy was already wet.  Lexie moaned a little, squirming as he teased
her pussy lips with soft touches.  

"You have
such a gorgeous ass," he said, rubbing his hand in a circular motion over
her cheeks.  "But it's even prettier when it's pink."