Cardinal's Rule

Chapter Nineteen

Six months after Landry’s treatment started, and all the doctors felt confident he would beat the cancer. Now all they had to do was wait for the next round of blood work results to come back to see if he’d need more than one additional round of chemo. With his birthday a week away, Tilly wanted to come up with something special for him to celebrate.

Cris had to fly out to L.A. for a meeting, which he hated because he’d miss Landry’s birthday.

Landry overruled him, albeit gently. Even Tilly had to admit he handled it tactfully. He promised Cris he’d make private time for him upon his return, which mollified him a little.

Meanwhile, they’d have the house to themselves.

Skittered thoughts leading to jittery nerves took over. An idea she’d considered, briefly, off and on since this whole crazy thing started. With Cris almost constantly on hand, even though they could shut the bedroom door, she couldn’t let go of her last remnants of distrust to seriously consider it.

Letting Landry top her for real. At home, of course. Not at the club.

Just the two of them. Just once, to see what he’d do.

She took the time to prepare while Landry drove Cris to the airport the day before his birthday.

It’d give Cris a little time alone with him and she wouldn’t have to face dodging Landry’s curiosity if he saw her getting ready.

When he returned two hours later from the Sarasota airport, she’d already stashed what she’d need in the playroom, in her toy cupboard there. Landry had no reason to go in there. She stood at the counter making them a salad for lunch when he walked in and laid his keys on the counter.

“There’s my baby girl.” He wrapped his arms around her and kissed her neck. She didn’t mind the way her heart fluttered over the endearment. He ground his hips into her backside. “Are you in the mood to fool around a little after lunch, perhaps?”

“When am I ever not in the mood to fool around with you, mister?”

He nipped her neck before continuing to kiss it. “I’m so lucky.” He let her go so she could finish preparing their lunch. She was uncomfortably aware of how wet he’d made her just from that little bit of affection.

He helped her clean up the dishes later. Then he pulled her into his arms. “Still in the mood?”

She slid her hands into the back pockets of his jeans and pulled his hips against hers. “Duh.”

Landry grinned. “That response would have earned Cris a spanking.”

“That response would have been designed to earn one.” She quickly kissed him, laughing over his arched eyebrow, and turned to walk to the bedroom.

A light swat landed across the seat of her jeans, making her jump. When she turned, he wore a devilish smile and an innocent look. How he managed to successfully combine the two beat the hell out of her.

“Well, you did say so, love.”

She had originally planned to do it tomorrow night, on his birthday, but during their lunch he’d mentioned going out to eat at Ruth’s Chris steakhouse.

Why not now?

She returned to him.”Do me a favor, sit on the couch and wait for me, please?”

Up went the eyebrow again. “Why?”

“Please? It’s an early birthday surprise for you.”

He considered her for a moment, then slowly nodded. “Will I enjoy this?”

It’d been a few weeks since he’d scened with Cris. She had to trust he wouldn’t take that frustration out on her. “Pretty sure. I’ll call you when I’m ready.” When he’d sat on the couch, his back turned to the hall and unable to see where she went, she walked to Cris’ bathroom and used it before quietly heading to the playroom.

Could she do this? She’d felt full of nervous bravado and more than a little pleasant anticipation until faced with the reality.

Quickly stripping, she stashed her clothes in the closet and donned a garter belt, fishnets, stilettos she hadn’t worn in months, and a corset. She put on the smallest leather wrist cuffs she had, which were still big on her because her customers had all been men larger than her.

No locks. She couldn’t go that far today.

Her fingers hesitated as she reached for the collar, the one Ross had given her. Soft, supple cowhide with a hand-tooled floral design. Regular buckle, not lockable.

She put it on but left it a notch looser than she normally would have worn it.

She left the ankle cuffs on the floor where he could quickly grab them if he wanted to use them, panic snaps attached to them already. She laid out the crops, a cane, a couple of floggers—and her four-foot singletail. Not that she didn’t trust him, but she knew the fall and popper on hers wouldn’t cut even in his skilled hands. She put out two bottles of water and her mp3 player hooked to the small stereo, set to her favorite play list.

A set of music she hadn’t been able to listen to in years, but knew she’d need today.

Finally, the blindfold and the bow. She peeled the adhesive backing from the bow and slapped it in the middle of her ass.

Her heart thundering, she laid face-down over the kneeling bench and slid the blindfold over her eyes. Working by feel, she clipped her wrist cuffs to the eyehooks on the bench.

She had to swallow before she could speak. “Okay,” she called out.

At first she wasn’t sure he’d heard her. But then she heard the door open and his sharp intake of breath.

“Mon dieu!”

Warm shivers engulfed her. Anticipation. Need. She felt herself tipping toward subspace and he hadn’t laid a hand on her yet.

After a long moment he still hadn’t touched her and she didn’t sense him step close. Then he spoke, sounding like he stood near the gear she’d laid out for him.

“Love?” he softly asked.

She’d rehearsed the lines a thousand times in her head, but still her voice trembled as she spoke them. “This is your birthday present, from me to you. I trust you. I wanted it to only be you. Needed it to be only you and me. Not him.”

More silence. She heard a noise and suspected it was the sound of him kicking his shoes off.

When he spoke again, his lips almost beside her right ear, she startled. “I don’t need this from you, love, although I appreciate it. I can love you without this.”

“I know.” She had to force air into her lungs. “I want to give it to you. At least once. My birthday present to you.”

One hand gently caressed her hair. “I don’t know what to say, baby.”

“You don’t have to say anything.”

She felt her pussy clench in a familiar way as his fingers tightened in her hair, fisting it, possessing her, until he pulled her head up. His voice changed tone, deep, commanding. “You’re giving yourself to me today, girl?”

She’d thought long and hard about this, what she wanted to call him.

“Yes, Master.”

Another sharp intake of breath from him. He released her hair and stepped around her. She had a sense of where he was and after a moment she heard the gentle swish of fabric as he dropped his shirt to the floor. He now stood there in nothing but his jeans. In her mind she imagined his muscular chest and arms, still handsome despite the ravages of his cancer treatment.

One finger traced light, lazy patterns across her left ass cheek, then her right. He chuckled.

“Wrapped with a bow?”

“Yes, Master.”

“You know I don’t play with a safeword.”

She swallowed hard. “I know. I trust you.”

His hand disappeared again. She felt him pull the bow off. He unhooked her garter belt and removed it and her shoes and stockings.

She felt him buckle the leather cuffs around her ankles and hook them to the bench. With her ass spread and open, she was a prime target in more ways than one.

“Hmm.” One hand returned, his fingers stroking her flesh. “I honestly can say that for the first time in a long time, I have no idea where to start.” He chuckled again. “This is a wonderful dilemma.”

She tried to slow her breathing, relaxing into his touch as he dipped his fingers between her legs and slowly pushed two inside her.

“Oh, love, you are eager to give yourself to me today, aren’t you?”

“Yes, Master.”

“Part of me wants to fuck you right now, and part of me wants to turn that sweet, pretty pale ass red first. Decisions, decisions.”

Cris had always used a safeword with her, but she’d never needed it. He’d always stopped long before she wanted him to, even though she knew she didn’t come close to tolerating the level of pain he took from Landry.

His hand gently swatted her ass, not even enough to sting. “I think I’d like to spend all afternoon playing and fucking you, baby. Would you like that?”

“Yes, Master.”

She felt his fingers on the collar. “Where did this come from?”

“It’s the one Ross put on me.”

She felt him unbuckle and remove it. Then he kissed the nape of her neck. “If any collars ever go around your neck, they’ll be placed there by me.” The rumbling tone of his voice melted what few solid places remained inside her body.

For the first time, she gave serious thought to begging him to collar her.

She felt his lips on her ass, then he bit her, harder than he normally did but then again, he wasn’t worried if he left a mark there. She suspected that was his point. She moaned, squirming, wishing she’d opted to beg to go straight to the fucking portion of the afternoon.

He bit her other cheek, equally hard, almost enough to draw a gasp of pain from her. Then he rubbed the marks with his hands. “Oh, love. That looks beautiful.” She sensed him sit on the floor behind her and he alternated biting her with licking her pussy, until she begged and squirmed and cried from need and pleasant pain flowing through her. She wanted subspace with him, dammit, and he wasn’t quite putting her over the edge.

“I normally don’t do this, but I have to say this because I love you. You know how I play. Are you willing to let me take anything from you I wish to have while you are bent over this bench and under my control?”

Her stomach fluttered. “Yes, Master.”

“This is my rule. Don’t agree to it if you aren’t prepared for the circumstances. I will not stop until I feel the need to stop. This is your only chance to decline and I’ll free you and take you to bed and fuck your brains out right now.”

It was sooo tempting, but with her adrenaline cranking, she didn’t want to give this up. “I’m yours for today, Master. To play with any way you want. As long as it’s only you.”

His hands stroked her again. “Of course it’s only me.” He flicked his tongue over her clit, making her jump but not getting her off. “Very well, love. I will play with you, and I will totally own you.”

He disappeared for a moment and she heard him rummage through the toy cabinet. She couldn’t tell from the sound what he picked up, but he returned and rubbed her ass with his hands. “Are you truly ready for me, love?”

“Yes, Master.”

He swatted her ass barehanded, quickly picking up the speed and force after a few minutes until he was giving her a hard spanking, even harder than Cris had ever given her. Her tears flowed as she twisted against his hand, crying but feeling her climb resume in altitude until the endorphins kicked in and she knew she’d tipped.

If he’d keep her there, even for only a few minutes, she’d let him do whatever the hell he wanted.

He gave no quarter, spanking her until her flesh stung and felt hot and she knew if she looked in a mirror it would not only be bright red, but the clear imprint of his hand would be readily visible along with the bite marks no doubt already turning interesting shades of purple.

When he let up she gasped for breath, her face wet with tears and yet desperate for release.

“You’re beautiful, love,” he said, his tone deeper than normal but even in subspace she recognized he wasn’t giving it his all yet.

“Don’t hold back,” she gasped. “Please.”

His hand caressed her ass. “I won’t.” Then she felt something cool and wet against her rim and realized he’d drizzled lube over her.

She dimly understood what he meant to do and part of her wanted to kick and fight against him.

Part of her wanted to beg him to do it.

“I haven’t had you here yet. It’s my right to take you here, no?” He slowly probed her virgin rosebud with one gentle finger, taking his time until she moaned and twisted against his hand and begged for more. He used two, then a third. When he slipped fingers from his other hand into her pussy, she wanted to explode but he anticipated this.

“Do not come,” he ordered. “I haven’t given you permission to do that.” All his fingers disappeared and she whined, disappointed. Something else pressed against her rim then. “Push.”

She gasped, crying out as the butt plug slid home inside her ass with a burning pinch as her muscles struggled to accept it until he’d seated it all the way inside her. “Oh, god! No, it’s too big, take it out!”

“No. You can handle it. It stays until I’m ready to remove it and fuck you. I don’t want to injure you. I need you ready because I’m going to fuck you hard and fast and claim this sweet virgin ass.”

Fingers returned to her clit and within seconds he’d turned the pain into a deeply burning pleasure she struggled not to let overwhelm her.

“That’s better, now, isn’t it, baby?” he said. “You just needed me to play with your clit and make it feel good again, didn’t you?”

She whined, beyond coherent speech.

He slapped her ass. Not gently, either, but a hard, stinging slap that made her cry out. “Answer me, baby. You needed me to play with your clit, didn’t you?”

“Yes!”

“Yes, what?”

“Yes, Master!”

“Very good,” he cooed. “That’s my good girl.”

Tilly lost track of time as he used the floggers on her, then the riding crop. He kept her hovering at the brink of release, refusing to let her climax, her pain and passion fueling her frenzy. If this kept up she’d agree to almost anything if he’d just let her come.

All activity stopped. She moaned and squirmed, the butt plug still inside her, her ass hot and stinging from the riding crop and his spanking. Apparently he’d fetched something else, because she heard the toy cabinet open and close before she heard him unzip his pants and he tugged the butt plug loose. Almost immediately, he pressed his thick knob against her rim.

“Beg me for it, baby.”

She’d beg for anything at this point. “Please, please fuck my ass!”

“That wasn’t the right way to ask. You know better. Ask me the right way.”

Her mind raced. Wasn’t right? It hit her. “Master, please! Master, fuck my ass!”

“Oh, baby, that’s so good.” She heard something click on with a hum and didn’t have time to process the source. He deeply thrust his lubed cock home inside her before he reached under her and pressed the vibrator against her clit. “Come for me right now, baby.”

She screamed as her body arched off the bench and strained against her restraints, waves of pleasure washing over her. He fucked her hard, holding the vibrator tightly against her until she sobbed and squirmed and tried to get away from it. “Come again, now!” he ordered.

She vaguely realized at some point he’d switched to French and had been speaking it for a while. Her body responded, bucking against him as he fucked her and kept her coming with the vibrator. Three orgasms later, he ordered her to beg him to stop making her come before he’d turn off the vibrator. Then he grabbed her hips and thrust, his balls slapping against her ass with each stroke, the pleasure churning back to an erotic burn as his cock plunged inside her.

“Beg me to come inside you.”

She sobbed. “Please, Master! Please take me! Please come inside me!”

One last thrust and he held still. As her body spun down into a post-scene crash, she felt his jeans against the backs of her thighs, his body draped over hers on the bench as he recovered.

She lay there panting for breath and winced as he withdrew. She was vaguely aware of sounds from Cris’ bathroom as he washed himself. A moment later something wet and cool brushed against her tender ass.

“Hold still, baby,” he said, his voice gentle again. He cleaned her up with the wet washcloth before pulling the blindfold off her. He unclipped her wrists and ankles and helped her sit up. When she tried to stand she realized she had no strength in her legs.

He picked her up and carried her to their bedroom. She weakly clung to him and when he laid her on their bed he didn’t let go. He stretched out next to her and let her drape her body over him. He nuzzled his lips over her forehead, brushed them over her closed eyes.

“Do you hate me?” he softly asked.

Without opening her eyes, she smiled. “No, Master. I don’t hate you. I love you more than I can tell you.”

His heart pounded hard and fast. Hell, she could probably hear it from the way she was laying on top of him.

Master.

He could understand her saying that during the scene, which had surprised the hell out of him in the first place. But to say it now?

“You are so beautiful. I love you so much.”

She snuggled closer. “Can we take a nap?” She sounded content. He’d witnessed lots of emotions in her. He honestly couldn’t remember ever hearing her sound content before.

“We’ll do whatever my sweet baby girl wants to do.”

Her voice took on an almost little girl quality. “I want to lay here with you and take a nap, and then later I want to cuddle and watch TV.”

A mental image struck him between the eyes. Of him sitting on the couch with her curled in his lap and Cris kneeling naked at his feet, his head resting against his knee. Of the three of them content and happy in their kinky little way.

“Did I hurt you, baby?” He had no doubts when she fully recovered from subspace that the only time she’d call him “Master” would be with more than a hint of sarcasm.

She did seem a lot more relaxed than he’d ever seen her.

“Nope.”

Another thought suddenly struck him. He realized how stupid and short-sighted he’d been once again. It was worth the risk though. Hopefully, this time his failure to see the nose on his face hadn’t harmed someone.

He shifted her in his arms just a little, until he had her cradled securely against him. “You were Daddy’s very good girl, weren’t you?”

If a human being could melt, she did. It was as if all tension suddenly flowed out of her. Her voice sounded even softer. “Yes.”

He tipped her chin up to him, meeting her eyes. “My God, you are full of surprises, love.” He tenderly kissed her. “You want to be Daddy’s little girl, don’t you?”

Her eyes went wide, but she nodded.

Landry took another risk, searching for another chink in her emotional armor that he suspected lay waiting for him to discover. “Daddy’s sweet little girl, except when you want to be my sweet little slut?”

Her eyes dropped closed again. A soft moan escaped her. “Yes!”

His cock hardened inside his jeans. Holy fuck, all these months together and in some ways she was still a stranger to him.

It also explained why she wouldn’t let go of her old triggers. It wasn’t that it hurt more to get rid of them, but she couldn’t trust someone enough to let go with them and fulfill that need for her, needing that Daddy/girl dynamic to feed a part of her soul. He wondered how long she’d been with Cris before he discovered that about her.

He rolled on top of her, kissing her. “My sweet baby girl doesn’t want a harsh Master.” He kissed her and her legs spread, wrapping around his hips so she could grind against him. She looked up at him, her gaze full of wonder. “My sweet baby girl wants her Daddy to treat her like a princess, except in the bedroom. Then she wants to be his playful little slut, doesn’t she?”

She nodded, her eyes still wide.

He slid his hands up her arms, firmly gripping her wrists and holding them pinned over her head. “But only for me, correct?”

She nodded a little harder, her eyes never leaving him, her hips moving in time with his.

“Because if I take good care of my sweet little baby girl, she’ll be my playful little slut whenever I want, won’t she?”

Tilly nodded, her lower lip now caught under her teeth. Her skin flushed. He had no doubt she was already close to coming just from how he’d talked to her.

Gripping both her wrists in one hand, he reached down and unfastened his jeans with the other and pulled out his stiff cock. “My little slut wants another good fucking right now, don’t you?”

An eager nod and playful smile.

How many other secrets were locked inside her? Maybe he’d have to have a long, private talk with Cris and see if he could offer any insight. Then again, that might be crossing the boundary of respecting her privacy.

Not to mention she was no longer the girl Cris knew, even if her love life hit a stasis between Cris’ departure and his own arrival.

When he lined his cock up she tipped her hips, giving him better access. He viciously speared her, fucked her hard and fast and didn’t need to order her to come. Within a few strokes she was already crying out, her muscles contracting around his shaft, surprising him at the intensity but with that encouragement it didn’t take long for him to climax too. He rolled over, keeping her on top of him.

“So who are you now, baby?” he asked.

She squirmed against him before nipping one of his nipples. “I’m your good little slut,” she whispered.

He laughed and held her close, stilling her motions. “Then be a very good girl and let’s take a nap. You wore Daddy out.”

Tilly awoke from her nap still draped over Landry’s chest. He’d never bothered removing his jeans. She closed her eyes and silently moaned. Jesus, what would happen now? Yes, it’d felt better than great. She hadn’t counted on how safe he’d make her feel, how natural it felt slipping into old habits even if she’d never played with him before.

But ever since Cris had called her that at the hospital that afternoon, it had remained in the back of her mind.

When he nuzzled the top of her head, she knew he was awake. “Can we talk?” he asked.

She couldn’t look him in the eyes. “Okay.”

“Love, let me be what you need me to be for you. Please.”

“I don’t know what I need.”

He tipped her chin so she had to look at him. “Whatever happens is between you and me. Not

Cris. This is about us. I told you when we first started that I want to be what you need.”

She felt safe with him. He’d literally die before he left her alone.

Crossing her arms over his chest, she rested her chin on them and stared at him. “I don’t think I can scene with him in the house. Not right now, at least.”

He played with her hair. Now down to her shoulders, he loved to run his fingers through it. “Do you want Daddy and girl?”

She nodded. “Sometimes.”

He playfully smiled. She loved that about him, that she could bring out sweet and playful

Landry whereas Cris didn’t get to see that part of him very often. “Will I be lucky enough to see Daddy’s playful little slut on a regular basis?”

She laughed. “Yeah.”

He faked a relieved sigh. “Oh, good. I was afraid I might never see that chick again. She’s wild.”

Tilly poked him in the ribs until he started tickling her. They ended up with her on her back under him, being tickled. She squealed in protest, but he wouldn’t stop until she finally realized what he wanted.

“Daddy, please stop.”

He laughed and nipped the base of her throat. “You do learn fast, sweetheart.” He rolled them over again, Tilly on top, his hands resting on her ass. “Am I allowed to instigate?”

She frowned. “Huh?”

“I know I can’t top you, but am I allowed to start play like that with you or do I have to wait for your lead?”

Fear gripped her, mixed with more than a heaping dose of longing. She crossed her arms over his chest again and stared into his eyes for several minutes. He still had one more planned round of chemo to endure, then the doctors would wait and see what happened. It likely could be his last round as long as he continued to improve.

She had to be strong for him, to help him through that. Meanwhile…

“I want you to,” she softly admitted. “But I reserve the right to change my mind about that if I need to.”

“Of course.”