Heart of River {BDSM / 18+}

9

The week had gone by in a blink of an eye. Casey would go to work and I would stay home, reading or drawing until he came back. Then we would do dinner and a movie or two while we cuddled and he would kiss me on the head before going up to bed.

He never asked for sex or made a move, and if I said I wasn't a little disappointed then I'd be lying. I know he said he wanted to take things a bit slow, but I didn't think he meant this slow. I watch him walk up the stairs with a frown, sad that tomorrow I would be leaving for a week.

I sit in the living room a little longer, watching another episode of the show I had started while he was away at work. He had smiled and called it 'trashy tv' when I mentioned I had started it, but I was so intrigued with the plot I didn't care about his joking opinion.

"Oh come on, you know she doesn't care for him." I mutter to myself, gesturing angrily at the screen. I press the power button and take my glass to the kitchen.

    I dreaded tomorrow. There was no lying to myself about it, I knew I would be sad to leave. I had come to enjoy Casey's quiet presence, he always had open arms to let me cuddle against him while we watched movie after movie.

    But I knew a bit of that sadness was because I knew I was going to a place that seemed perfect for me on paper. I was dreading how much I knew I would like settling back into my obedient role and taking orders.

    "Goodnight, River." Malik's soft voice pulls me from my thoughts.

    "Goodnight, Malik." I give a small wave. "Get home safe."

    He thanks me and locks the door after he closes it. Malik was a sweet house servant that Casey hired to do light cleaning around the house. He was one of three staff that Casey had.

    One other was Sprout, who tended the grounds and kept the vegetable garden full of life. They lived a few minutes away from the property in their own small home, with many furry creatures they had shown me pictures of the first time we had had a decent conversation.

    And lastly was Bentley, she was his organizer. She helped plan everything he needed done, made up his schedule and organized any event he had to put on. She was very adept at her job and enjoyed every second of it. Even when she looked ready to pull her hair out.

    I had come to know Malik and Sprout the most, as they were both around every few days. Bentley had only been around twice this week, and only because Casey had a big charity event to do for his work.

When he told me about the event, I was attempting to bring him lunch but he had a binder open on his desk with plastic sheaths sprawled across the available surfaces, filled with a thousand different things.

"What do you think of these colors?" He had asked, handing me three paint samples. They all looked ridiculously similar and I pointed to the darkest one.

He hummed and took it, comparing it to other paint samples and pictures of the inside of a building. He nodded his approval before giving a chaste kiss to my hand, an unofficial dismissal so he could get back to work. I had set the tray down on the edge of the desk, silently rolling my eyes once I had turned to walk out the door.

Today had been filled with more silence when he came home from work. He looked tired and disappointed.

"Are you okay, Casey?"

He barely attempted a smile, just opened his arms and I wrapped myself around him. I guided him to the couch and pulled his jacket off, laying it across the back.

And we sat there until he could lift his head from my shoulder and heave a small sigh.

"I had to fire a team today." He admitted, carding his fingers through his hair.