Chapter 4

Scott - Chapter 4

Chloe wasn't sure what she was pissed off about, but she had an idea that she wasn't going to get over it anytime soon. As she tried her best to pay attention to the couple in front of her, all she could think about was that Scott had just left her there.

"He didn't do a single thing he said he would to me either." She realized her mistake the moment someone laughed. James and Jasmine had opened their home to her, and she had just embarrassed herself in front of them again. "I'm sorry. I was thinking about something."

"Scott?" She nodded and said again that she was sorry. "Don't be. I'm a little ticked off at him myself. When I asked him why he'd left in such an all fired up hurry, he said that he remembered he had things to do. Seems to me a man has a pretty mate here, he should stick around and talk to her about it."

"He's not happy with me being his mate, I don't think." James only laughed and she looked over at Jasmine. "Scott is a very handsome man. I'm sure he has plenty to do on a Friday night."

"Not like you think. He's embarrassed is all." She asked her about what. "You might want to have this conversation with him, child. He's a little upset that we even know about it. While I can understand his embarrassment, I just don't think he should be."

"You mean the sex clinic? I know that he had it. Why would that embarrass him? And for that matter, why does he even care that I know?" When James laughed again, she wanted to get up and hit him. "You are not helping right now. I'm trying to figure out what I did wrong."

"You didn't do a thing wrong. I guess, first off, that he might not know you have any idea that he worked there. I guess a lot of people do know about it, but not that our Scott owned and operated it." She thought of all the things she'd heard about the place. The kinds of things that people she knew did when they were members. It had only just occurred to her that he might be the same Calhoun that was the one who they said was the owner. "He's afraid for you to find out."

"That he owned this shop, or is there something more?" She felt her face heat up when Jasmine told her there was more. "You mean he actually teaches some of the things to people. As in he shows them how to have sex with ropes and things."

"Yes." There was so much loaded in that single word that she wanted to get up and run from it. But at the same time, she was curious as well. Not about what he did to the other people there, but how one got into such a business. Then it hit her.

"He likes...." She thought of when she asked him if he was going to manhandle her. She'd been afraid, yes, but she'd not meant it in that way. She only meant was he going to harm her, as George had. "Scott plays."

"I would guess that's what it's called, yes." She looked at Jasmine when she spoke. "I don't know a great deal about it. I mean, I love Scott to pieces, but that is something I'd rather not speak about with my grandson."

"No kidding." Chloe was trying to think of things she'd heard. What this one friend of hers had told her about the place. "He's had some trouble there. Lately I mean. Someone hurt a woman in his place, and he shut the doors for good."

"Yes. About a month ago now, I guess. This man, I don't remember his name, he came in under the guise of needing help with his underling." Chloe told her it was a sub. "Yes, that's it, his sub. But apparently he'd kidnapped her or something, and was there to use the equipment that Scott had to abuse her. There was this big fight and he decided that he'd had enough."

As they changed the subject to something less sexual, she thought of Scott. And his list. She'd been making one of her own, one that involved hurting him in different parts of his body. Standing up and helping clear when dinner was over, she thought of him talking to her. Well, he was about to get an earful about not explaining himself, and leaving her here like she wasn't smart enough to understand him. Thinking of Sterling and the way he'd lifted up George, she wondered if Scott would do that to her if she pissed him off enough.

You bastard. What the fuck do you mean by getting me all hot and bothered by stripping me down to my bra, then running off at the last fucking minute? Did you really think that I'd be…? I don't know, appalled by whatever it is that was running thought your thick head? I am so angry with you right now that I could go to your house and beat the shit out of you. She felt his laughter and that got her going more. You think this is funny? You left me here, with your grandparents to explain to me that you like to play it rough. Well, did you ever think I might like that too? Oh no, you had to run off with your tail between your legs like some little baby that got his feelings all hurt. Well, you'd better bet that I'm pissed off, you little shit.

I can hear that. There was something odd about his voice. This is Sterl. And I can tell that you are pissed off. You might have thought of the wrong little shit when you started to talk to him.

Oh my God. He laughed again. I'm so sorry. I was thinking of how you lifted that guy up by his neck, and was worried that Scott would do the same to me. I'm so sorry.

Don't be. It's nice to know that you can stand up to him, so long as it's him next time. She wanted to crawl into a deep hole and never come out. You should know two things right now. Firstly, he can't hurt you. Not that I know that much about his lifestyle when it comes to sex, but I can only assume that his sort of pain to you won't be the same.

I know nothing about it either. I have a friend that used to go to his clinic. Sterl said that his brother had a lot of clients that he helped. I heard. The second thing?

He's his wolf in the woods behind the house you're in. He has it in his head that he can protect you from a distance. She asked Sterl if he would come into the house. Not if he can help it. He's pretty sure that you're going to hate him.

She sat there for several minutes after thanking Sterl for his help. Scott was her mate. While she knew what that meant—she'd known a few shifters in her life—she wasn't really sure how it worked. They loved hard, Chloe knew that, and forever. But that was about it. Also, her friends had told her that the sex was often and incredible.

"Incredible. What is that anyway when it comes to sex?" When she realized she was talking to herself, a habit that she'd had for a long time now, she went out onto the deck that surrounding the entire house. "Can you hear me, Scott?"

She waited for a full minute before she called out again. And when he came out of the woods about a hundred yards from where she was, she stepped off the deck and into the yard. He didn't come any closer, and she was kind of glad that he didn't.

"You hurt me." He lowered his huge body to the ground but said nothing to her. "You knew that too, I think. Yet you just left me here to deal with this on my own. Is it because you hate me too? Or do you have some other reason for treating me this way?"

I don't hate you. She could hear the anger in his voice. I'm not mate material. I've some idea that once you figure out what kind of person I am, you'll think so as well. I'm an abusive person by nature.

"I'd like for you to come closer, please. I feel foolish talking to you across the lawn. Please?" She wasn't sure he was going to come up to her, but he finally did. And when he was close enough for her to touch, she smacked him as hard as she could on the nose. "That's for acting like a big baby."

That fucking hurt. She said she certainly hoped so. You hit me. You're not supposed to be able to hurt your mate.

"Well, since you've decided all on your own that you and I aren't mates, I guess that rule is now stupid. What the fuck did you think I was going to do when I figured out, with the help of your poor grandparents, that you were into bondage?" He sat down beside her when she sat on the steps to the deck. "You should have at least talked to me. Leaving me here all alone with strangers wasn't right. Not that I know you any better, but you could have at least explained to me what you thought."

And how would you have taken it, Chloe, if I had told you that I'm a Dom that likes his sex hard and rough? That the thought of tying you up not only makes me hard as stone, but it also makes my wolf hungry for you? She didn't say anything to him, not that he gave her much of a chance. And while I have you there, your body spread out before me, that I didn't let you come. That I would like more than anything in this world to put clips on your nipples until they burn with pain. I'd like to have you suck on my cock while I stood over you with a whip, hitting you with it hard enough to make welts on your body.

"Is this true or are you just going for shock value?" He said it was all true. She sat there looking out over the vast yard, the pool, and pool house, without really seeing it, but on some level knowing that they were nice. "If I was honest with you, and I'd really like to be all the time, I'd tell you that I'm turned on by the thought of you doing these things to me. But I'm also a little afraid. I don't know if I could just leap into something like this. I'm not sure how good I'd be at it, not even sure that I'd like it. But you never gave me a chance. Not even a little one."

I was wrong to do that. I'm profoundly sorry. When he put his head on her lap, she rubbed her fingers through his fur. I'd like to tell you something else. Something that I've never shared with my family, or even the few friends that I have.

"All right. But I'd like to say something first. Tell you something, I guess. I'm not like other women. I don't do shopping sprees. I don't have a lot of clothing or shoes. If I don't need it or can find several uses for something, then I don't buy it. I have money from when my dad died, but I've never spent it. I decided, a long time ago, that one day I was going to see the world, and I'm going to do it. It's why I quit my job, to take a trip that my dad and I never got to make." Stretching out her legs and letting out a long breath, she finished. "There is a house too, that was his that I still own, and it sits empty right now. A home that I doubt I'll ever live in again. There are just too many memories that hurt when I have to go there. The reason I'm telling you this is if this thing between us doesn't work out, or you decide again to just up and leave me, then I won't want anything from you. I have a way to support myself."

I can live with your habits and shopping. In fact, I think I could fall in love with you for those simple reasons alone. She nodded. That's what I wanted to share with you. I never thought I'd find a person like you in my life. Since I figured out that I had to have sex in a certain way, with a certain kind of person, I thought I was going to have to…not end my life, I think, but cheat myself to be happy. With you…with you, Chloe, I think I could be happier than I've ever been. Even if you don't care for sex the way I like it.

When the wolf moved off her legs, she thought that he was going to leave her again. It was painful to be rejected, but nearly too much when it was done by the same person twice. But before she could stand and go back into the house and then on to her own life, Scott was standing over her with his hand out.

~*~

Scott was nervous. And a little afraid. He'd hurt her…he knew that. While he'd been sulking, as his brother called it, in the woods just now, he realized that he'd not given her any kind of clue as to why he'd left. Not only that, but he'd been stupid. Sterl laughed at him for a good five minutes after telling him that Chloe had accidently contacted him and how pissed she was. Letting out a long breath, he knew that right now, this was the moment that either brought them together or tore them apart for good.

"If you take my hand in yours, I promise you that you'll never regret it. I'll take care of you, love you too. If you'll allow me, I'll teach you, slowly, how to enjoy the kind of sex that I like. And if you don't, if for any reason you decide that it's not for you, then I'll back off. I'm out of a job but have been offered one, as enforcer for my brother Trent. Which I think I'll be okay at now." She nodded at him but hadn't taken his hand. "I'm glad that you aren't the frivolous type of woman. I'm not that sort of man either. I have my home only because Trent offered me a good deal. I have money in the bank because I'm too cheap to spend it on things. When you come to my…our house, you'll see what I mean."

"You have no furniture." He nodded and told her some. And some toys. "These toys, you mean the ones that you used in your clinic and not a railroad set." The burst of laughter from him made her smile, and he grinned larger at her.

"No, not a railroad set." He wanted to explain more about it, but he didn't want to overwhelm her right now. "I have a five-bedroom house, not a home. I tried to make it a home, but as a single man, it wasn't working. I've been doing work on it, slowly and without much in the way of progress. I'm easily distracted, I guess. I should have had it done a while ago. Or perhaps I was just waiting on the right person to help me with it."

"Don't get ahead of yourself just yet. My father's home is large too. Six bedrooms with baths. In his spare time, Dad tinkered." He asked her what she meant. "Dad worked on his home, making it larger, putting in the extra baths, and enlarged some of the other rooms. He died before a few of the rooms were finished. He also liked cars. Old ones that he'd get cheap and sell large. It's what funded the house projects for so many years."

"I'm sorry about your dad. Joe—you've met her—she's looking into why his death was never solved." She said that the police had shoved it under the rug and weren't working on it at all. "No. They're not. And you're right about it being shoved away. Joe said she had to use some of her magic to even find the file. The police force has problems."

"No shit." She still hadn't taken his hand, so he took hers. It was that or beg her to take it. "I'm not sure this will work out between us, Scott. You're not honest with me and I need that. I've been lied to enough, by people that I was supposed to trust."

"I wasn't honest or very forthcoming with you. And I'm sorry for that. But I promise you that from now on, I will be. About everything." She nodded and he pulled her body to his. "I want to take you home, to our home. I've contacted my brother and Trent is going to give us an escort to our house. He thinks that Flynn and his merry men are waiting for us to get out where he can get one or both of us."

"You want me to go to your house?" He told her he did, more than anything. "All right then. But as I said, I'm making no promises that I'll stay."

"I can live with that. But know that I'm going to do everything within my power to make you want to stay with me." As they made their way across the lawn, he reached out to Trent. We're headed to my house now. Through the woods, so if you have pack on the land, can you let them know? She's jumpy enough right now, and I don't want to give her any more reasons to not trust me.

I have already. Some of them can see the two of you and have already let me know. Have the two of you worked it out? By the way, she has one hell of a temper. Scott asked him if he'd spoken to Sterl and he said that he had. Christ, I never thought of this until just now…she spoke to Sterl. I swear, Trent, the women of this family are making their own rules as they go along.

Pretty much. And to be honest with you, I don't think I'd have it any other way.

He was still laughing when they closed off the connection. As Scott helped her over the fence that bordered the two lands, he told her what Trent had said.

"Sterl told me that I couldn't hurt you. Maybe that means that we're not really mates after all." He pulled her to his body, let her feel every part of him. His cock stretched and became painful, his body hard in response to hers. "You have a wonderful body. I love how it feels against mine. But this proves nothing; you know that, don't you? It just means you want sex."

"I do want to have sex with you. No, that's not right. I want to make love to you. And I can smell you. Your scent is strong and lovely to us. My wolf, he feels you here as well." She looked up at him and reminded him about honesty. "I am being honest with you, Chloe. Nothing would satisfy me more than to take you home with me and make love to you. Then in the morning when we can move again, I'll show you my play room."

As they made their way across their yard, he pointed out things that were in progress. The pool house was in good shape but needed a paint job. The roof needed to be replaced on the barn. There were all kinds of things in the barn, including an old car that he and his granddad had started redoing a few months ago. There were places for cows or horses that he was eventually going to convert to storage units for things like holiday decorations, as well as a place to put in a sauna.

"Big plans. Do you have a plan to actually finish any of these, or are they going to be works in progress until I have to go out and do them on my own?" He laughed and said that he did have big plans, but it was getting them done that tripped him up. "I love to work with my hands. Taking things apart, seeing how they work, then putting them back together."

Taking her into his house made him nervous. He knew what it looked like. But seeing it through her eyes made him realize how much he'd undertaken and not finished. There were large rolls of wire in the living room. Panels of glass in the dining room that he was going to use to front his cabinets. Not that the house had been in bad shape when he'd purchased it from Trent, but when he'd decided to expand the living room, he'd found that the wiring wasn't up to code. From there it had spiraled out of control to the kitchen and dining room and remodeling them. He explained to her what was going on.

"I thought I'd have more time to do it now that I'm not working. But I kept getting side tracked. No, that's not true. I was feeling sorry for myself and I just didn't do it." Chloe still said nothing. "I can have someone come in and finish it now. What would you like done to it?"

"Take me to your room." He just stared at her, wondering if she meant his playroom or the bedroom. The thought of either one of them had him all tied up in knots. "Scott, did you hear me?"

"Yes. I'm trying to understand." She asked him what he meant. "I don't know, to be honest. The bedroom is down the hall. But if you mean the room the equipment is in, it's on the lower level."

He watched her face. Scott decided right then and there he'd never bet against her in a game of cards. Whatever she was thinking, however her mind was working, he couldn't see it. Yes, he could feel her turmoil, but not see it on her face. Christ, no wonder she was considered a good cop. You never knew if she was ready to kill you or not.

"I'd like for you to take me to the lower level." He nodded, still not moving. "Don't you want me there? I mean, I know I said I don't know anything about this, but if you'd rather I didn't—"

"It's not that. I want you there more than anything. I guess.... Well, I guess I'm sort of afraid now. Of what you might think. I understand that this isn't a lifestyle for a lot of people, but it's my life and I don't want you to leave me because it might be too much. Do you understand?" When she started moving toward the living room, he was sure she was leaving him. But when she asked him again where it was, he pointed to the door that led to the lower level and his play room. "Chloe, this isn't necessary. You know that, don't you?"

"I know a great many things, Scott. And one of the ways I learn things, in this case what I want or don't want, is to explore." She grinned at him, her entire body looking sexy and playful at the same time. "Do you want to explore with me, Scott?"

They made their way down and he waited while she moved around the room. A lot of things were still in the boxes they had been delivered in, but a great deal had been opened already. He'd set up a few things, the cross and the bar, because they'd been easy, but the rest he'd left alone. Looking at the room, he knew that it would take a great deal more work to get the larger pieces, the ones that he hadn't sold when he'd gotten rid of his building, put together.

"Some of these things, I know what they are. Not really sure how they are to be used, but I know their names." He nodded as she touched the bondage bed then moved to the whipping bench. With everything she touched, he felt his cock stretch more and more. When she opened the cabinet that he'd stocked up with supplies that hadn't been used at the clinic, he had to cup himself. "You have quite a selection."

"I wanted to make sure that when someone came to me with a problem, I could help them." She told him she knew that. "You mentioned to someone that you had a friend that came to see me. So you know, I don't know anyone's names nor would I tell you if I did. It's personal to them and me. But I'd like to know, did he say he learned anything from me?"

"I know that as well. Yes, my friend, he said that you helped him a great deal. Sadly, his partner didn't care for the lifestyle, I think you call it, and left him shortly afterwards. He said he was happier now; it was a sore spot for the two of them, apparently." She pulled out the smallish whip that was made of the softest leather and ran it over her cheek. "Do you want me?"

"Yes." He moved toward her slowly, not sure that he was all that steady on his feet just now. "I'm going to try my best to do this slow for you. Right now, all I can think of is taking you hard, making you suffer. But I can tell you now, you'll enjoy this all the more for it."

"I think so, and I want that too." His cock hurt. So did his head. So many images were running through his head at the moment that he could hardly sort them out. "Where do we start?"

Start? He could only think of the finish line. Her on her knees in front of him. Her backside pink from his hand. Small hurts along her breasts where he'd whipped her. Nipples pink with the release of his clips. When she said his name, he blurted out the first thing he thought of.

"Rules. You need to learn the rules." She nodded and sat down on the bench. "Christ, you're making me crazy. Rules. Okay, you need a safe word."

"It's supposed to be something that I can remember and that I'd not just say all the time, correct?" He nodded. "Ginger. I don't care for the smell of it, but love the taste in food. Ginger."

"All right." He had to keep telling himself that she was new to this. That even though she might have agreed to playing with him, she might not totally understand what she was agreeing to. "When we're in here, I'm the master. You will only speak when I give you permission. You will do what I say without question. Today will be a sort of learning curve for you, so I'm going to allow you to ask me things you might not understand. Also, and this is important, you are not to keep going when you are no longer enjoying anything that we might do in here. I don't want you hurt in that way. Okay?"

"Yes. I have questions now. If that's okay. This equipment, all of it, it's for your pleasure?" He told her it was for both of them. "I'm not sure if I understand how that is to work then. You're the one that is going to be doing all of this to me so that you can enjoy this, but all I can think of at the moment is how afraid of it I am. Is that normal?"

"Yes, it's new to you and to me with you. I didn't participate when I was teaching. Just guided. Having you in here, with all the things that I've collected, it makes me a little nervous as well. Here's how it works. I'm going to be doing all the work physically. But let me tell you, Chloe, you're going to be doing a great deal more mentally. You'll physically be challenged, but the reward for you, for us, is going to be amazing." He could tell she was still a little skeptical, but he was going to show her how what he was saying was right. "For now, we're going to start slowly."

Having her stand still, he stripped her of her blouse and pants. Leaving on her panty and bra set was difficult for him. Scott wanted to taste every inch of her. Lick parts of her that would reward him so nicely. He had to keep telling himself, slow. Don't rush. She's new to this.

When she was standing in front of him, just in the prettiest dark green underthings, he stepped back. He drew in a deep breath and regretted it immediately. She was wet and aroused.

"You're beautiful. And you're perfuming the air around you so nicely that I want to taste you." Her face reddened and he smiled at her. "Before we begin, I want to tell you something, something I meant to before. I'm truly sorry for everything. I've been…well, I guess in a funk of late. I feel like a failure on all sorts of levels, and I think I took it out on you."

"You did." He didn't know what he had expected, but it was not for her to be so honest with him. But she had warned him that she wasn't going to lie to him. Scott laughed. "Perhaps, even though I have no idea what I'm doing here, I can play with you."

Nodding, he took another step back from her. He had no idea why he was agreeing to this. It was his room, he was the Dom. But he thought that she had it right. Maybe he did need someone to play with him for a change.