The White Queen (S.Rogers)

Chapter 76

She shifted on the seat of the SUV, ignoring the look of satisfaction on Steve's face, every time she did it. The idiot was more than a little pleased with himself, today. When they had been in the shower, earlier, he kept brushing his hands on her backside, humming with pride every time she flinched. Granted, she hadn't known how marked up she was, until afterwards, when she had turned to look at herself in the foggy mirror. And despite his pride, he was quick to drop to his knees and press kisses to the marks that were there, after she had indicated she was a little less than pleased.

It wasn't that she was upset with him having used the belt. She had chosen it, after all. And it had been enjoyable, for all the pain that had been involved. She had been more than willing, when it had come to the spankings. She would be the first to admit that she actively looked forward to them. There was something about seeing Steve in that dominant role. Considering how much the rest of the world saw him as this uptight, upright figure for justice and America, and all it stood for, seeing him reaching out for something she was sure a fair amount of the population would consider deviant, was thrilling, in and of itself. To have it directed towards her... well, that was reason enough to feel a spark of feminine pride.

He had been tender, after that. He had pulled out some of the lotion they used when bruised, or after a heavy spanking session, rubbing it gently into the skin of her buttocks, praising her for her strength and her ability to handle him. She had preened under his praise, turning to try to put her hand into his hair, only to earn a pinch to one of the marks, which made her whimper and look at him with shock.

"You still need to learn, Babydoll." he had informed her, going back to rubbing the soothing lotion into her skin. "As much as I like making the marks, I like it more when I don't have to."

She had whined in her throat again, before nodding. "I understand."

Another pinch made her correct herself.

"I understand, Sir."

"Good girl." He praised.

Now, as he pulled to a stop in one of the parking spots in front of Tassels, she turned to look at him, waiting.

"We are going to go in there, collect your things, and you are going to apologize to Momo for putting him in a bad spot, last night." Steve said, as he turned off the SUV. "After we pick up Juliana, we will figure out, together, how we are going to get the vehicle you drove back to the Marino's. Maybe we can just hand over the keys, and they can send someone out to pick it up. Is that agreeable to you?"

She nodded, reaching out for his hand, grasping it. "Yes. That's fine."

Nodding back, he brought her hand up to his lips, pressing a kiss to the back of her fingers. "Thank you. We'll get this done, then go pick up Jules. Maybe we can go get dinner on our way home."

"You know Kitty is going to want us to stay for dinner." She admonished, shaking her head. "She hasn't seen me for a while. Not as long as you, but still."

"That's fine." He agreed. "We can all catch up, make sure we are all on the same page. I'm getting a little tired of things being kept from me. I also want to make sure that the Russian situation is dealt with. That there wont be any nasty surprises coming from that direction."

Brooklyn blinked. "As far as I know, there is nothing to worry about. I mean, I know Kitty would not come right out and say it on the phone, but if there was an issue, she would have found some way to give me a heads up, before I came back to New York."

"Until I am satisfied that there is no reason to watch our backs, from that quarter... until I hear it from Marino himself, I'm not gonna stand down." He kissed the back of her fingers again. "If I have to pack you and your sister up, take you somewhere far away from here, to protect you, I will. I will do what I have to, to keep the two of you safe. You got me?"