Chapter 17

Tajah: Chapter 17

I sat back and smiled. I was almost there. Just a couple more chapters and the epilogue and my first book in my kink series would be done. I was feeling pretty proud of it. Now all I had to do was share it and see what others thought.

Cady was always good about reading them and giving me feedback, as well as catching typos and things. She'd read what I had so far and told me she really loved it, so that was one in the yes column. I thought about asking Carver, but I didn't see him being interested in reading romances, even if he did know about the lifestyle. I knew who I would love to read it, but I was hesitant to ask, even if it was part of our original deal. What if he hated it and thought it was rubbish? On the other hand, he was an expert and could catch anything I'd messed up. Which would hurt more? Him saying it was awful or me messing it up terribly and offending readers who lived the life?

I was debating it when arms came around me and a kiss landed on the back of my neck. I shivered. I loved his touch no matter what it was. I hadn't heard the door chime. I must've been deep in my head, which happened when I wrote.

"How's it going, babe?"

"It's going rather fast actually. What're you doing back so early? Is everything alright? No more Tessa acting up like last week?"

He let go and moved around to sit on the edge of my desk. "It's all quiet, thank God. Tessa hasn't been back since that night. Maybe she took the hint and won't. One more screw up and she's done. I can't believe she did that with Sinner and Sylvia. The staff know if she shows up, to keep an eye on her. She's being ridiculous," he grumbled.

I smiled and put my hand on his thigh to rub it. "I can understand why she's doing it."

He gave me a surprised look. "You can?"

"Yeah, she's upset she made a mistake in walking away from you. She realized she messed up and thought she could waltz back in and you'd start back up with her. You might've thought it was casual, but she obviously didn't. I think she wanted you to make her your permanent sub and girlfriend. Maybe she agreed to the breakup, thinking it would make you miss her and take that step when she came back. You said she was with other men after you two ended it. Did you ever think that was to make you jealous? If I was her and lost you, I wouldn't be happy. Which is why I can't help but wonder if she's the one calling in the complaints. I know Outlaw said he can't find proof it's her or Duncan, but then who else would have reason to do it?"

"If she thought that, it's her own delusion. It would never have been more. And you have nothing to worry about because I'll never let you go. You're stuck with me."

I smiled at him. "Well, it's a good thing I feel the same way. If you're done working, what do you wanna do?"

"I am and you know what I'd love to do, but first there's something else."

"What?"

"Why did you gloss over how the book is coming along? You never really talk about it other than to ask questions for your research. Do you let anyone read your books before you publish them or is that a no-no? I was hoping I'd get to read it."

"Are you sure you're not a mind reader? I was thinking about that very thing right before you came in. Cady usually reads them and my mom. I have a few people who're what we call beta readers who see it right before it publishes and they give me feedback and catch errors and stuff. I was nervous to see if Cady would like this one or not. She says she does so far. Mom always likes them and assures me it's not just because I'm her daughter. There's no way I'd ask Carver. He wouldn't read a romance if his life depended on it."

"And what about me? Do you think I won't read it because of the genre?"

"I don't really know actually. And even if you were willing, I'm nervous I've totally screwed up the whole thing. If you hate it and tell me it's a disaster, it'll hurt, but publishing it and having readers hate it, especially those who know about the life, would be worse. It makes me sick to my stomach to think about it."

He stood then leaned over to pull me to my feet. His arms came around me and he hugged me tight. "Dove, there's no way it's a disaster. None of your other books are. As for the content, as many notes and questions you've asked, I highly doubt you blew it and readers will hate it. If you want, I'd love to read it. I'll give you honest feedback, but if anything needs to be rewritten, I'm more than happy to help you do it."

"How do you know my other books aren't awful?"

"I've been reading them, of course. You think I'm not gonna support my woman? I have to say, I really love them and I'm not saying that because you're mine. I can't wait to see what this series has. The others are hot as hell, yet they have suspense, murder, and torture. If all romance books are like yours, I should've been reading them a long time ago."

I grabbed the back of his neck, so I could lower his head far enough to reach his mouth. I nipped at his bottom lip then licked it. He groaned, which opened his mouth a tiny bit. I took the opening and thrust my tongue inside. He growled, and it became a match to see who could control the kiss. We were both hungrily kissing each other.

When we parted to take a couple of deep breaths, I winked at him. "Well, you convinced me. I'll let you read it."

"Why don't you grab whatever you have for me to read it on and we'll go to the bedroom? I think we might find some things to expand on or even act out. You know, purely for research and realism purposes," he replied with a smirk.

I couldn't hold back my shriek then a giggle. He let go long enough for me to save what I wrote and grab my tablet. It would be easier for him to read the document on it. He didn't waste time sweeping me along with him.

It was official. I would never write another book without letting Mikhail read it and help me with the scenes, no matter whether it was a kink book or not. When he began to read it out loud and his growly voice read the male parts, I shivered. The man could make it as a narrator. He put the right spin on the words and made them come to life. I guess there was no end to his talents.

It took a while for him to finish it since we kept getting distracted but in the end, he finished it off a couple of days later. He'd given me great suggestions. Much to my excitement, he didn't say it was awful. In fact he praised how I'd done it. His feedback gave me the push to see if Mom wanted to read it. I would send it as soon as I was done writing it. It would still be a few months before I published it, so the betas wouldn't read it yet, but I liked to get it as polished as possible when I was writing it.

The weekend had been a busy one not only because of our reading adventures but the club. I'd spent part of Saturday and Sunday evening with Mikhail. I was still determined to learn as much as I could so I could support him. Thankfully, there were no big issues. Now it was Monday and I was back to working on the book. I wanted to finish it this week if I could.

In anticipation of doing that, Mikhail suggested we have a dinner party at his place the Saturday after next. He was going to invite a few of his people and he wanted me to see if Carver, Cady, and anyone else I was close to would come. He even hinted he thought I should see if my mom would. I wasn't sure if he was ready to meet her. I loved my mom, but she was a quirky person. I warned him, but all he did was laugh and tell me he could handle her.

It was his insistence that had me sitting at my desk biting my thumb nail as I placed my call. I'd already asked Cady and Carver. They both said yes. Other than them and my mom, I wasn't really that close to other people. I was more of a loner, but being with Mikhail was opening me up more.

"Hello, my darling. How're you?" Mom's breezy greeting came through the phone. I couldn't hold back the smile it put on my face. She was a little crazy but I did love her.

"Hi, Mom, I'm great. We haven't talked in a while. I have a lot to catch you up on. First though, how have your trips been? Still having fun traveling with your friends?"

Mom liked to travel and do cruises and other trips. She did it because she and Dad had always planned to travel once he retired but it never happened. I told her to do it. No need for her to sit at home missing him. It took her a couple of years to start but she loved it once she did. She'd found a core group of people she became good friends with who went on most of them with her. She was only sixty, so she potentially had a lot of years to live. I wanted her to enjoy them.

"It's always fun. I've been meaning to call you. There's something I wanted to talk to you about." Her tone got serious. I tensed up.

"Is something wrong?"

"No, nothing's wrong, but you remember Gideon, don't you?"

Gideon was one of the men in her friend group. "Yes, of course I do. Is he alright?" I asked worriedly.

"He's good. Well, I, uhm…" was her response.

Hearing her at a loss for words, I was suddenly sure I knew what she wanted to tell me. I knew she loved my dad and had mourned his loss for a long time. However, she deserved to be happy and loved. If she found someone who could give her that, then I would be happy for her. Just like I hoped she'd be the same for me when I told her about Mikhail.

"Mom, just spit it out."

"Fine, Gideon and I are dating. He asked me to be his lady friend a couple of weeks ago. Am I terrible for doing it? I loved your father so much, but I got lonely. I miss companionship and cuddling. I miss sex."

"Whoa, none of the sex talk," I teased her. We didn't have an issue talking about it unlike most moms and daughters.

She laughed. "Really, my romance author daughter doesn't want to talk about sex. I don't believe it."

"You're right, I don't mind, although I should be grossed out. I know you loved Dad and I think if you found something with Gideon then you should go for it. What did my brothers say?" as if I had to ask.

She sighed. "You know how they are. I swear I don't know how such sticks in the mud prudes are my kids. They both said I was disgusting for hooking up with another man. I should respect your dad's memory and the idea of me wanting sex is gross. They said I was terrible. I told them until they got the sticks out of their asses, I didn't want to talk to them. I'm done with them. I hated what they did to you when you and Sam divorced, and I had hoped they'd grow up, but it's not happening. At this point, I doubt it ever will."

"It's their loss, Mom. You do whatever makes you happy. I know they won't ever accept me and I don't care. They especially won't accept me now."

"Oh, really, what did you do, naughty girl?" she asked excitedly.

"Remember I told you I wanted to write a new series about the kink lifestyle and I asked Carver to help me get into a club so I could do research?"

"Yes, and you had to pester him to get him to agree. So how was it? Did you get the information you needed? When is the first book out? Oh God, I wanna read it."

"Mom, calm down. Yes, I got to do the research and I'm working on the book right now. I promise to send it as soon as I finish. It's because of all that and what happened afterward that I'm calling. I wanted to know if you would come to a dinner party the Saturday after next in Nashville. You're more than welcome to bring Gideon. It's a small, intimate one of just friends."

"Of course, I'll come! Where? Your apartment is too small for a party, honey."

"I'll send you the address. It's actually at the House of Lustz, in the owner's apartment, which is more than big enough for a party."

There was a moment or two of silence as what I had said sunk in and then she came back at me, like I knew she would. I was having fun prolonging the torture a bit. "Tajah, why in the world would you be having a party at the owner's apartment?"

"Well, it might be because he's my boyfriend."

Her shriek almost deafened me. I heard her yelling hallelujah and thanking God. I let her settle before I said anything else. "Mom, are you still with me?"

"My heart is pounding. Tell me everything! How did this happen? He's the owner? What's his name? Does he do any of the stuff people do in his club? What does he look like? How is he in bed?"

"Stop! Oh my God, you're too much. Listen. His name is Mikhail Ivanova, and yes, he owns the House of Lustz. I met him after Carver helped me join. He wasn't here initially when I did, so I didn't meet him until a few weeks later. We had a little misunderstanding about what I was trying to accomplish there and planned to write. He kicked me out at first, but then he changed his mind. When he asked me to come back, he made it a stipulation he be the one to answer my questions and show me what the club and the lifestyle entailed. It went from there. The answer to your question, does he do the stuff people do at the club, the answer is a lot of it." I paused to take a breath.

"I have to see him. Do you have a picture?"

"I do."

"Send it right now," she demanded.

Knowing she wouldn't let it go, I quickly found one I'd taken the other day when we were relaxing in the apartment and sent it to her. I knew when she saw it because she gasped. "Oh Tajah, he's gorgeous. His eyes are piercing. I see tattoos on his arms. Please tell me he's great in bed. You so need and deserve that."

"Mom, he's beyond great in bed. The things he makes me feel are incredible. I still can't believe he feels about me the way I do about him. He's amazing."

"And why shouldn't he feel the same? You're wonderful. You love him, don't you?"

"I do and he says he loves me, too. I know it's crazy fast and all, but I have never felt like this, not even when I thought I loved Sam. He's never been married. He's forty-five and says he knows what he wants and it's me and a life together, which includes kids."

She squealed again. "Oh there's no doubt I'm coming to dinner. It might kill me to wait until then. I'll see if Gideon wants to come. Do I need to bring anything? How many people are coming?"

"I'm not sure how many he's inviting. I asked you, Cady, and Carver. His best friend Reuben, who's his assistant manager, will be here I know. And one of his security guys, Hoss. They're close to him. No need to bring anything. He's having it catered so we can all relax and enjoy it. It starts at seven but you can come earlier if you like."

"Oh I will. I have to check him out to be sure he's good enough for my daughter. Tell him to get ready."

This led to us laughing about the few dates I had growing up and how my dad used to scare the crap out of the guys with his threats and Mom with her unfiltered mouth. It was a wonder I ever had more dates. We chatted for a while longer then I told her I had to get back to work. As I hung up, I heard a chuckle from behind me. I whipped around to find Mikhail standing there.

"How long have you been there?"

"Oh, since your mom asked you about how I was in bed. I couldn't resist. Are you mad at me?"

I blushed even though with what we did together, this should be the least thing to make me do it. I gave him a stern look, but then I lost it and laughed. "No, I'm not mad. As you could tell, Mom thinks you're hot. Just be ready. She'll grill you when she comes, and you'll probably want to break up with me when she gets done."

He shook his head and came over to me. He gave me a come-hither look which I immediately complied with. He picked me up, so I had no choice but to wrap my arms and legs around him. He stared deeply into my eyes. "Dove, there's nothing and no one in this world who can scare me away from you. Your mom could be Attila the Hun and I would still gladly handle her. She sounds fun and sweet. Who's Gideon?"

"He was one of her travel buddies who my mom is now dating. She was nervous to tell me, but I'm happy for her. She's been so lonely without Dad. I wish my brothers would be more supportive of it. They gave her a hard time, so she's not talking to them."

"Babe, one day you'll have to introduce me to your asshole brothers so I can set them straight. Believe me, I'd like to have them see the light even if it's while they're looking up from the flat of their backs after I lay them out. How can they be raised by the same parents as you were?"

"Honey, I love you want to do that, but they're not worth scuffing your knuckles on. I have no clue how we're related. I know Mom didn't cheat on Dad. She swears they're not adopted. They look too much like Dad to be switched in the hospital, so the only possibility is they got dropped on their heads a lot."

He snorted. "Yeah, bounced like a basketball you mean. I came over to see how you're doing. I have a couple more hours of work to do in the office. Do you need anything?"

I snuggled against him. "I'm good. I called and did my invites to our dinner, and I was planning to get back to writing. Thank you for asking. Is there anything I can get you?"

"A kiss would be great. I need it to survive," he whispered.

I gladly gave him one. Of course, it turned me on and I wanted to say the hell with working but we had to be adults. There would be time for sex later. He growled in protest when I stopped, but after a few more little pecks and explaining I'd make it up to him later, he let me down and went back to his main office. I happily sat down. I had been hit with inspiration. I knew exactly what I wanted to write next.