“Yes, sir.”
Don’t leave her. Hold on to her.
The only thing that kept him from scooping her up in his arms was the sliver of a chance his actions might bring her back for one more night. Instead, he reached over and took her chin in his hand. “Whatever happens, however you push me away or slander me, I’ll be waiting for you to come to me. If that makes me sick, so be it.” He let go of her chin and gripped his hardness through his pants. “For now, though, look at your punishment, Caroline. You’ve displeased your master.”
A quiet sob fell from her mouth, rending him in two. She pulled her legs up to her chest and wrapped her arms around them tightly. God, it almost killed him seeing her hurt, but there was another, darker part of him that needed her to be affected by him this way.
“Good-bye, Caroline.”
Shutting the door behind him and walking toward Serve, away from the glimpse of heaven she would give him if he let her, felt like a prison march.
Chapter Eleven
Caroline groaned at the ceiling of Oliver’s car as yet another slow, bass-heavy song began pumping through the expensive stereo of his Jaguar. Normally, her brother’s musical choices didn’t bother her, but today, everything he played reminded her of Serve. Of the brooding music played within its walls. Of Jonah.
She glanced at Oliver, wondering if the dark tone of the music reflected her brother’s mood. It was Saturday, hence their prescheduled road trip to their father’s house on Long Island for brunch. Her brother hadn’t yet brought up the article, and she was dreading the moment he would. On top of everything that had transpired with Jonah, she didn’t think she could handle Oliver’s disappointment.
Jonah. Just thinking his name made her want to squirm. They hadn’t parted ways on the best of terms, to put it mildly, but dammit if her desire to see him again didn’t increase with each passing hour. Until he had soothed her with the lotion, her bottom had felt distinctly tender. She should’ve been pleased that the reminder of her transformation into a submissive had faded, but instead, she’d felt an odd sense of loss. As if something were missing. Frankly, it disconcerted the hell out of her. The only thing that had calmed her was the garter she slid up her thigh each morning.
Look at your punishment, Caroline. You’ve displeased your master.
Oliver briefly tore his gaze from the road. “You going to tell me what’s up?”
“It’s nothing.” She played with the window controls. Was it possible to feel bereft of someone you’d known such a short amount of time? Or did this restless gloom come part and parcel with the knowledge that her world would never be rocked quite so handily ever again?
“I’m just wondering how many of my brain cells this music will kill before we reach Long Island.”
“Ah, come on. You’ve got a few to spare.”
“Are you asking for a donation?”
He sent her an affronted look, but his eyes were full of humor as he tossed the iPhone onto her lap. “All right, put on your bubble-gum pop music. I won’t tell anyone.”
She scrolled through the selections on Oliver’s iPhone, fingers freezing when she landed on Radiohead. Memories bombarded her. Jonah kissing her furiously; his mouth, hot and possessive; his sure touch delving between her legs while bass pumped from some invisible source. That first night, he’d put one of their songs on repeat, but she had no idea which one. Why was she tempted to put the band on shuffle, hoping it came on? It would accomplish nothing, except possibly make her hot and bothered two feet from her brother.
Yuck.
“The iPhone doesn’t operate under mind control, Ro,” Oliver said. “You operate it manually. Archaic, I know.”
“Sorry,” Caroline said, quickly selecting Lady Gaga and placing the iPhone back in the cupholder. “So…are you still seeing Holly?”
“Holly?” He rubbed a hand over his jaw. “Oh, Holly. No, no. We only went on a couple of dates, but then she bought the cat.”
“Getting a cat was a reason to stop seeing her?”
“She attached an engagement ring to his collar and had him delivered to my office. Along with a written marriage proposal.”
“O-kay. Sayonara, Holly.”
Oliver grinned, but it didn’t reach his eyes. “That’s what I get for breaking my one-date rule. Anyway, I have a date with Nina the ballerina tonight. Just the one date.”
Caroline smiled out the passenger window. “You’ve always been a sucker for rhymes. Didn’t you date Sally O’Malley in high school?”
“Sure I did.” She caught his wink reflected in the glass. “Often, too.”