31
When she woke up the next morning the sun was already warming the surface of the river. A cool breeze settled, blowing through the partially open windows. Rachel lay on the bed feeling at peace. The countryside was tranquil and relaxing. The air was clean. It was still as busy as main Gem Hills but far quieter and she found herself thinking about tomorrow and days after tomorrow when suddenly she caught herself. Shit, what am I thinking? she thought. As soon as this charade was over she would be out of his life and back into her busy life. That’s how it’s supposed to be! There was no tomorrow for her! At least not one with Nate involved.
Maybe by then, she would have the divorce Jacob was still stalling to think about.
With that thought in mind, she climbed out of the comfortable bed and went into the bathroom where she stood for almost an hour under the cold shower. It wasn’t a cold day still she needed the shock factor of the cold water to wake her up from her stupid reverie. When she came out of the bathroom however all thoughts about life after Nathaniel Madden flew out the wind.
There he was in the room on her bed. Once again he dwarfed the room with his powerful presence. He was dressed in slacks and a long-sleeved shirt, it was a casual look yet only Nate Madden could make a casual wear look formal.
She smiled at him but he didn’t smile back though his eyes took in the sight of her in her bathrobe.
“Uhm, morning.”
“Did you sleep well?”
“Yeah, it’s hard not to with this much comfort,” she laughed. She walked into the room. He didn’t show any signs of excusing himself so she could dress up so she decided she would give him a show. Dropping the robe she went about getting ready for the day. She chose light shorts and an old college sweatshirt and set them over the back of the chair, then put her hair up. He watched her very carefully. When she applied lotion to her body he watched closely, she lured him in by rubbing the lotion silkily on her thighs. His eyes showed his hunger but he didn’t make any move. When she massaged the lotion on her breasts he watched but his reigns on his lust were tight.
Finally, when she couldn’t get him to do anything she threw her hands up with an exaggerated sigh. “Okay, you are a much different man than the Nate Madden I know.”
“You are such a little tease,” he said. “But did you expect stage 2 to be easy?”
“Well…”
“You will address me as sir or master, Rachel. I will not overlook that at this stage.”
She swallowed. There was something terrifying and deliciously wicked in his voice. His appearance and his mannerism were much different than usual. She could already feel her excitement building up. He was serious about this second stage.
“Are you hungry?” he asked suddenly.
“No, I'm not…” her stomach growled. “But I might be now.”
“Come with me.”
Without another word, he stood up and started to walk away from the room. Rachel frowned behind him but she followed. He led her downstairs to the now familiar hallways down to the kitchen. Carol wasn’t there preparing breakfast, rather there were bags of groceries on the counter.
“Did you get these this morning?”
“Yes. You didn’t eat much last night. You need to keep your strength up.”
“I don’t have a terminal illness, Nate.”
“You’re my submissive, Rachel!” he smacked his hand on the slab and she jumped. “You address me as Master or sir. I’m not going to repeat myself. I’m not going to be light with you anymore.”
“I- I’m sorry…sir.”
His face softened. “You don’t have to be scared. Being a submissive doesn’t make you a lesser person not even when you give yourself to me but then you have to do anything I say, do you hear me?”
“Yes sir.”
The look of approval in his eyes made her feel foolish and tingly inside like a schoolgirl. She watched him move to the sink to wash his hands before returning to the counter to empty the contents of the bags.
“Eggs and toast?”
“Yes, sir.”
“Sit down over there,” he pointed to one of the stools lined up along the edge of the kitchen table. Rachel went over and sat down, pulling her sweatshirt over her thighs as she watched him. He cooked methodically, each movement measured. She realized that he was like that with most things, methodic and mechanical. He moved with precision, breaking the eggs, whisking them – he had pulled his sleeves up to expose his long, strong arms and she watched his muscles move. He chopped the mushrooms and onions like a professional. It occurred to her that he had lived most of his life alone except the one time he married Vera and that had been a mistake. The smell of eggs and mushrooms filled the kitchen and she closed her eyes to sniff appreciatively. When she opened her eyes he was smiling at her.
“I have always been partial to eggs,” she confessed.
“Noted. You should have some more then.”
Instead of toasting the bread with the machine he slapped them on the surface of the pan and browned them slightly. She frowned at that but when he brought the plates to her and she took a bite she loved it. The smoky taste made it even better and the butter melting on it was heaven.
“This is lovely.”
He nodded and took a seat beside her but he didn’t take a plate with him. Instead, he poured out some orange juice for her and sat with one hand on the table and the other resting on it with his chin in his palm.
“Huh, are you going to watch me eat?”
“Don’t ask, just eat.”
Rachel looked shyly away from him before picking up her toast to eat again. She stared at the end of the wall as she took a bite, aware of his eyes on her the whole time.
“Okay, I don’t think I will be able to swallow with you watching me like this,” Rachel laughed.
“You swallowed my dick with your eyes wide open.”
She choked on her orange juice. “Not while I’m drinking my juice please,” she laughed. “And why won’t my eyes be wide open when you were trying to choke me.”
They laughed together.
The playful banter eased the tension slightly. Nate lifted his chin off his palm. He regarded her with a serious gaze.
“I have never gone as easy with anyone as I have for you. This is a first for me and I’m itching to get on to the serious stuff.”
She didn’t know what to make of that. Even though she was married for 4 years it was still surprising how little she knew about sex, let alone hardcore sex. That he had gone slower than usual for her meant a lot but she didn’t want to think too much about it.
“I want to know how hardcore you are. I’m ready," she confessed, deciding it was better to feel than think.
His chest heaved with excitement, she could tell he was just ready to show her more of himself. Suddenly he reached for a napkin and wiped the corner of her mouth.
“Eat up and I’ll show you.”
Even though she was full of apprehension, Rachel managed to eat more eggs and another toast before pushing her plates away. Nate took her plates to the sink and came back to her.
She could tell he was as anxious as she was because when he held his hand to her, his grip on her hand was tight. Then he led her upstairs to the library, the very place he had told her she couldn’t come into. Walking to the shelf he pushed on it and a click and groan later, the shelf swung outward to reveal a door without a knob. Rachel could barely conceal her surprise.
With one hand on the door and one hand holding hers Nate turned to her and asked, “Ready?”
