Total pages in book: 248
Estimated words: 236036 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 1180(@200wpm)___ 944(@250wpm)___ 787(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 236036 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 1180(@200wpm)___ 944(@250wpm)___ 787(@300wpm)
Convincing Carter of that would be impossible though, so she changed the subject. “Why did you even go to all the trouble of…” She waved a hand at the plates, the flowers. “It’s obvious you’ve been waiting to yell at me all day.” It wasn’t meant to sound so snarky, but she could hear the tone as the words poured out. “Just tell me I’m a fuck-up so I can go to bed. Please?”
He surged to his feet and was around the table before she could react, pulling her up from her seat and marching her across the room to an empty corner.
It wasn’t empty for long, because he planted her in it, with her nose to the wall. Just like the good old days. It had been so long since he’d gone into Dom mode that it was a shock. But there was almost a feeling of relief that he was finally taking over.
She slumped against the wall, letting her forehead rest against the cold paint. “I’m sorry,” she said, after a few moments had passed. She hadn’t been put in the corner for a long time—nearly a year maybe, but she knew the routine.
The expected lecture didn’t come. Instead, there was a long sigh, and then, “No, I’m sorry.”
It was off script. She twisted her head enough to sneak a quick look in his direction. “You … are?”
“I should have noticed what was going on sooner. It should never have gotten this far, but we’re going to fix this.”
If he was taking the blame … maybe she wasn’t actually in trouble. “Does that mean I can get out of the corner?” Her feet were tired and honestly, she was out of practice at being punished.
He snorted. “No. You stay right where you are. Maybe you can use the time to think about what you’ve been doing.” It was phrased like a suggestion but the steel in his voice made it clear that it was an order.
She felt him move away, heard the soft clatter of dishes as he began to clear the table. Her tired feet ached and she shifted her weight from one to the other as she waited.
Corner time wasn’t just punishment. It was also supposed to be a quiet time to reflect on whatever she’d done wrong. She was meant to be thinking about her behavior, and how to explain herself, which almost never actually happened, especially not tonight. All she could think about now was how tired she was, and how much her feet hurt.
It didn’t take him long to clean up. He’d always been the ‘clean as he went’ type and when she heard the dishwasher start, she knew she was running out of time to decide what she wanted to say. Finally, her mind turned to the issues.
Lying and hiding things, that’s what he’d be most upset about. But she also knew he was going to have a lot to say about the lack of self-care. She was mad at herself for digging such a deep hole. It hadn’t seemed so—
“Well?”
She jumped, head smacking the wall with a thump. “Ouch!” she blurted, as she quickly straightened.
“I have a feeling you’re going to be saying that a lot tonight.” There was the slightest hint of amusement in his tone.
Despite the ominous threat, it helped. If he was amused, he couldn’t be that mad. At least, that’s what she hoped.
“Have a seat on the couch, Allegra. We’ve got a lot to talk about.”
She sighed heavily as she turned away from the wall. “Maybe we could talk about it tomorrow, Carter? I’m just… it’s been a really long day.” She looked up through her lashes, checking his expression, trying to read him.
“It’s been a really long week, month, and year too, Allegra, but no, we’ve put this conversation off long enough. Couch. Now.” He took her by the arm and sent her toward the living room, with a hard swat to her backside to get her moving.
Well, she’d tried. Apparently tonight was the night it was all going to come out and, to be honest, she was relieved. She was so tired of pretending everything was okay. It wasn’t and hadn’t been for a while.
As she flopped onto the overstuffed sofa, she did have one question though. “Why now?”
He frowned, head tilted as he looked down at her. “What do you mean? Why are we having this conversation now? I told you why. The texts.”
“No, I mean…” She trailed off with a sigh. He was her Dom and that came with certain prerogatives, but it had been a long time since he’d exercised them. “Why are you doing the Dom thing all of a sudden. I thought we’d dropped all that.”
“Ah.” He took a seat. Not on the sofa next to her, but in the chair across so she could see the conflict on his face. “I guess I have been letting things slide for a while.”