12. Seth

SETH

I walk down the street,bottle of wine in my grip, a hand shoved in my coat pocket.

I have never felt so tall as I have the past week.

Since my first scene with Bridget, I have felt unstoppable.

Now, instead of haunted by thoughts of Bridget, I am invigorated by them.

I have been more productive this past week at work than I've been in the past year, and certainly the last couple of months, what with mounting tensions between Bridget and me.

After our first encounter, we laid in bed for a long time, discussing her training plan and what the next couple of months will look like as we try her limits and get her to a place where she feels she has reached her zone.

I want her to see me as the perfect Dom for her because she is my perfect sub.

And because she has agreed to be mine with such whole heart, I feel like this must be a dream.

If it is, I never want to wake up.

Since then, though, there's been no contact, other than a few run ins and the club. I told her that my schedule might be uncomfortable at first. I also laid a few ground rules because that's my role as her Dom.

She agreed to it all. Said she trusts me.

My chest puffs with the reminder.

I reach the family townhouse and take it in.

First family dinner since everything has changed.

I shake myself off and sigh.

It's going to be interesting, to say the least. Could be a make or break it moment.

The danger in putting distance between myself and Bridget so early on her training is the possibility she changes her mind. Of course, she can change her mind whenever, but this period is the most fragile. Early enough that the investment is low. Early enough to get cold feet.

If Bridget got cold feet and backed out of our arrangement now, it might kill me. But I'm not going to think about that right now.

Besides, I'm the man who took her virginity. The one she was waiting for. Surely, she wouldn't change her mind now, right?

I take a deep breath, straighten out my coat, and head inside.

The townhouse is old-fashioned compared to my penthouse in Manhattan. Been in the Vance family for generations, apparently, and it looks it. But it's quaint and charming and worth way more than you'd think despite the narrow hallways and low ceilings. Not to mention the grandma-style furniture.

Mom's Siamese cat, Darla, slinks in from the sunroom to get a look at me.

"Hey, Darla."

She winds through my feet but eludes my attempt at petting her. Typical.

"Seth? Is that you?" Mom calls out from the sunroom.

I poke my head in.

Mom and Solomon are sitting across from one another on the floor, working on a puzzle with too many pieces splayed out on the coffee table.

"Wild Friday night, huh?" I smirk.

Solomon lifts his head and beams at me. "You know it!"

I get a pit in my stomach, unable to think any thought but, "I fucked your daughter," over and over again.

"I was going to make chicken piccata." Mom pushes herself up to standing and waltzing over to me. "But we got caught up in the puzzle and we ordered Chinese instead. Is that all right with you?"

I shrug. "Don't know if chianti goes as well with orange chicken, but–"

"Goes best with liver and fava beans, actually," Solomon says.

Mom rolls her eyes. "Ugh, enough with The Silence of the Lambs," she says, then wiggles under my arm and gives me a fond hug.

"Enough? Has there been more than one Hannibal Lecter joke today?" I ask.

"I don't want to talk about it."

Solomon gets a shit-eating grin, then gets up too, groaning with a hand on his back. "I can't sit on the floor like that anymore, Mimi."

I gnaw on my lower lip and look around the room one more time as if Bridget will somehow appear out of nowhere. I don't want to ask where she is for fear of rousing suspicion.

The doorbell rings, and Mom jumps. "Oh, that must be the food!"

"I got it." I disentangle myself from my mom's embrace and turn back into the hallway.

I run right into Bridget, my chest colliding with her shoulder, throwing both of us off balance.

Bridget screeches, grabs onto me, dragging us both down.

Darla hisses and scrambles out of the way before the two of us fall right up against the wall of the thin hallway.

Effectively, I have Bridget pinned up against the wall, my body pressed to hers.

My entire body.

Her chest heaves against mine, her green eyes wide.

One of her hands clings to my bicep, tight and needy.

She's clearly put on makeup, her lips slick and glossy, lashes long and fluttery. And her long, dark hair waves down her shoulders.

I've missed having her face so close.

And the blue ribbon around her neck…

Fuck, I'm getting hard.

"Hi, Seth," she squeaks.

"H-hi."

"You two okay?" Solomon asks from over my shoulder.

I straighten up as quick as I can.

We lingered way too long in a precarious position.

"Great, I just pressed this," I say in a dry voice to add a tinge of realism to the interaction. After all, the way my mom and Solomon know us is tension-filled and constantly bickering.

"Sorry about that," Bridget says, avoiding my eyes.

I have to bite back a smile.

That's the way a docile sub should be. And from what I gather, Bridget wants the full experience. Which means she will always be at the mercy of my domination, even when we're around others.

"Bridget, you don't have to apologize for something like that, my goodness," my mom huffs, patting Bridget on the shoulder. "He's just a grump. I don't know where he gets it from."

Neither my mom nor my dad were the prickly type. I guess Mom should take it up with my trauma.

The doorbell rings again, and it's Solomon who goes to the door to collect the Chinese food from the hapless delivery person who has been waiting for the Vance-Carlton family to get their shit together and come to the door already.

"Sorry about the wait," my mom says, shuffling up to join Solomon in the doorway. "Tip him really well, Sol."

With their backs turn, Bridget and I have a moment to ourselves.

My mouth feels hot and my hands itchy. I want to grab her and pull her into my arms, kiss her with all my might. However, this is a moment where restraint is a must, especially since I'm supposed to be in control. Not to mention the whole parent and stepparent thing right in front of us.

I settle for a subtle glance at the collar of her shirt which dips down just enough to give a peek at the swells of her breasts. I lick my lower lip.

"Can I take this and open it for you?" Bridget gestures toward the bottle of wine in my hand.

She's so eager to please. To serve. "Sure. Pour yourself a glass too."

It is hard to explain, but Bridget's body exudes submission as she takes the bottle from me, clutches it to her chest, and almost bows her head before rushing off.

She has been waiting for me to return to her. I can tell now I've been away too long. She needs my affection, my attention. She wants to do a good job, of course, but everything she knows other than what I taught her a week ago is guesswork.

I grin. Training her is going to be so fun.

Bridget disappears into the kitchen in the back, and we all follow shortly after, bags of Chinese in tow.

Dinner is enjoyable for once. Outward tensions are low, but inside they are set to snap.

Bridget avoids eye contact with me unless I call her attention toward me. Her jerking look reminds me of how things used to be. How scared she used to be of me.

I'm worried she's still scared, but only for a moment. Because when she rises to take her plate to the sink, she comes around and takes all the dirty dishes, including mine.

She hesitates before grabbing it. "Are you done, Seth? Or would you like more?"

"I'm done. Thank you, Bridget."

I swear her cheeks flush at that.

Such a good fucking sub.

Once dinner is cleared, Solomon claps. "Okay. Puzzle time!"

"You are not going to work on that puzzle before dinner is cleaned up," Mom snaps in a playful tone.

"I'll clean up," Bridget says, retrieving the last of the dishes. "You go enjoy."

I stare at her for a moment as she places the dishes in a stack at the side of the sink, then turns on the hot water and squirts some soap into the basin.

"Bridget, no, we'll help," Mom says and starts to get up to join Bridget at the sink.

I seize my moment. "I'll help."

My mom looks at me like I'm mad. "You'llhelp?"

"Yeah, is that so shocking?"

"Well, I just–" Mom cuts herself off with a nervous laugh, then glances at Solomon. "Leaving you two alone makes me worry only one will come out alive."

Solomon scoffs. "They're adults, Mimi."

"I know, but they fight like cats and dogs," she says under her breath, but not at all quiet enough for Bridget and me not to hear.

I touch my mom's shoulder. "We'll be good."

Bridget's shoulder tense. So microscopic of a movement only I would notice. Because my body, even after one night, is attuned to her like instruments in the same orchestra.

"Promise," I add with a smile.

"See, he promises." Solomon gets out of his chair and flocking to my mom's side. "And if I know one thing, Seth would never break a promise to you, my love."

He's right. My mom and I have been through too much for me to fuck with her. And she knows it by now. After my father died, we only had each other. I would never do anything to cross my mother.

Except maybe…with Bridget…

I cast the thought out of my mind and usher my mom and stepfather out of the room. "Now, go on. Puzzle isn't going to solve itself."

"You heard the boy! Puzzle time!" Solomon calls out.

Mom can't resist a laugh at that. She smiles over her shoulder at me as she goes as if to say, "Be good."

Well, I'll be good in the way she wants me to be good. My mom doesn't even know what kind of behavior she needs to anticipate now. Nor will she.

Not if I can help it.

Bridget has already started scrubbing the dishes, the sink full to the brim with suds and water.

I wait a moment to see if she'll look back at me. She doesn't.

So, I sneak in beside her. "I'll dry." I take a dish rag off the counter.

"You don't have to do that." She finishes scrubbing the most recent dish.

I swoop in and grab the plate before she can keep me from helping, then run the rag around the dish until it is warm and dry to the touch.

We go through the process of washing and drying. Over and over. Neither of us speaking.

Each moment that passes, I grow harder. Watching her pale hands growing red with the heat of the water, eyeing her neck covered by her dark hair where I want to lay a thousand marks with my teeth, wishing I could kiss her plump, pink lips.

When Bridget holds out the last dish to me, she smiles, a gentle and shy smile.

Fuck it.

I ignore the plate and grab her wrist instead, causing her to drop the plate back into the soapy water. Then, with my other hand on her slim waist, I press her up against the counter, kissing her fiercely.

Bridget squeaks into my mouth.

I pour my weight into her, make her feel my hardness, and relish the exhale from her nose as she kisses me back and wraps her hand around the back of my head, begging for more.

God, I adore her.

I rip my lips from her mouth, my forehead remaining pressed to hers thanks to her tight grip on the back of my head. "Fuck, you're such a good girl."

Bridget trembles beneath me.

I put my hands on the sink, framing her hips. "I would take you right fucking here if I–"

"You can't." Her eyes grow wide.

I chuckle low. "Don't be scared. I'm not going to. Not here." I lean into her, snag her ear lobe between my teeth and pull.

Bridget clings to my back, nails digging into my shoulders, repressing a moan in her throat.

I cup the front of her throat, running my thumb across the thin blue choker.

Bridget's face flushes, her mouth parts in awe. Remembering.

"Come to the club," I say. "Tonight."

Bridget blinks. "Tonight?"

"Is there an echo in here?" I tease, quirking my eyebrow and looking away.

"Seth…"

I laugh at my own stupid joke, then cock my head to the side. "You're a good girl, right?"

"I…am."

"Then you'll come see me tonight. In the Underground. I'll have our room ready."

Bridget's eyes alight at the mention of "our room."

I place a finger into the ridge of her clavicle where both bones meet. "I love that you are wearing your collar tonight, pet."

Her eyes shut.

I take her head in both my hands, kiss her forehead with finality. "I'll be waiting for you."

I leave her in the kitchen, say my goodbyes to my mom and Solomon under the guise of having an emergency at work, and head out to get ready for Bridget's next training session.