The Longing Within (Desire for Discipline Book 3) Read online

  He looked at the Rolex on his wrist. “You go on and get ready first. I’ve got a few things to take care of. We’ve got to get moving.”

  “Oh, we might miss our flight if we don’t hurry?” she asked.

  “Go!” he said with a laugh as he swatted her behind playfully.

  Chapter Ten

  Lyndsey had been right in her assumption that they would be flying to their destination. As it turned out, they boarded a flight to Branson shortly after arriving at the airport.

  “Branson?” she asked after they were seated comfortably in the first class section of the plane.

  “It’s beautiful this time of the year. Have you ever been?” he asked.

  “No, I haven’t. Honestly, I don’t care where we go. A week of relaxation with you is just what I need. After the wedding and all the craziness at work, I’m looking forward to a few lazy days.”

  “That’s why I chose Branson. I’ve rented a secluded cabin for us. We can go into town and take in some shows and have some romantic dinners, or we can stay in the cabin. We’ll do whatever we want, whenever we want, for an entire week.”

  “Sounds like the perfect honeymoon vacation,” she replied as she leaned over to give him a light peck on the cheek.

  “You’ll have to do better than that, but I can wait until we’re alone,” he said with a low chuckle.

  A few hours later they reached their destination and John rented a car to drive to their cabin. It was cozy, with a fireplace in the living area, which was open and also sported a dining area and small kitchen. There was one large bedroom, with a stone fireplace gracing one corner. A king-sized four poster bed was in the center and a large bathroom adjoined it. French doors led from the bedroom to a deck overlooking a lake. There were mountains around them and the view was breathtaking. A hot tub sat in one corner of the deck and there was also a grill, where John could show off his cooking skills once more.

  “I love it,” she remarked as she opened the French doors and walked out onto the deck.

  “The view is unbelievable, isn’t it?” he asked as he joined her.

  “I believe I owe you a kiss, don’t I?” she asked as she turned to him.

  He laughed as he folded her into his arms, leaning his face down to hers. His breath mingled with hers as his lips touched hers ever so gently. She responded by parting her lips, allowing his tongue to enter and play havoc with her senses.

  As the kiss grew in passion, she leaned in closer to him, taking in the masculine smell of his cologne. Her body yearned for him to take her, right there, right then. But, that was never John’s way. He always made her wait, sending her into a frenzy before finally giving her what she craved.

  He broke the kiss and said, “We should unload the car and unpack. We can go into town for lunch and pick up some supplies in case we choose to stay in.”

  “Are you always so practical?” she asked.

  He gave her a strange look. “There will be plenty of time to continue where we left off.”

  She followed him back into the cabin and out of the bedroom. Through the living area they walked and out the front door. She helped him carry in their luggage and together they unpacked their bags and put away their clothes. When he reached into one of her bags and pulled out the set of butt plugs Joanne had gifted her with, he let out a whistle. “Where did you get these?” he asked.

  She giggled. “Oh, my wonderful wedding party decided to surprise me the other night with a few choice gifts. Those are from Joanne.”

  “Joanne?” he asked in surprise.

  “That was my reaction, too. Janis and Jill, no, not a shock, but Joanne really threw me a curve ball.”

  “What did the others give you?” he asked.

  “Look in the bag and see for yourself,” she invited slyly.

  He pulled out the paddle next and laughed. “Well, well, well, it seems your friends seem to think you might have a tendency to misbehave on occasion. I wonder what infraction will earn the use of this.”

  “You may never find out,” she teased.

  “I think I will. Want to wager a bet on that one?” he asked.

  Ignoring the question, she told him to keep digging in the bag.

  He saw the handcuffs and snickered. “Fuzzy ones to boot, leave it to Jill to come up with this.”

  “There’s more,” she said as she stood back and watched him have his fun.

  The slinky teddy was retrieved next. “This you’ll model for me later.”

  She explained that there were other gifts and told him about the candles, bubble bath, wine glasses and perfume.

  “Sounds like you had a very nice party. My pals didn’t ply me with gifts, only drinks,” he said with a grin.

  She looked around the room. “I think we’re done here. I seem to recall being promised lunch.”

  “Lunch it is,” he said as he took her hand.

  They drove into town and chose a local eatery. After enjoying the fare, they walked down the street and ventured into a few of the shops. On the way back to the cabin, they stopped off at a small grocery store and stocked up on wine, coffee, sodas and food for the days they chose to stay in.

  “I think I’ll grill these steaks tonight. You don’t mind if we stay in tonight, do you?” he asked. “I thought we might take in a few of the shows later in the week.”

  “That’s fine with me. I’ll throw together a salad to go with your steaks.”

  After another fine meal and some pleasant relaxing on the deck enjoying the view, Lyndsey stood up to carry in the dishes.

  “Are you sure you don’t want to try out the hot tub before we call it a night?” he asked as they walked inside together.

  “Oh, that would be nice. Let me clean up this mess first and I’ll join you. You go on and test the waters.”

  “Only one rule,” he said as he started to walk away.

  “What’s that?” she asked absent-mindedly as she filled the sink with sudsy water.

  “No swimsuits.”

  She looked at him and burst into laughter. “That’s your rule?” she asked.

  “My hot tub rule,” he replied. “I’m sure there will be many other ones as time goes on.”

  Lyndsey finished her kitchen chores and made her way into the massive bedroom. Carefully removing all her clothing, she picked up her satin robe and slipped it around her body before joining John on the deck.

  “Come on in, the water’s fine,” he said as he held out his hand to her. He was seated comfortably in the bubbling tub.

  She slowly untied the sash on her robe and slid the satin garment off her shoulders. Letting it drop to the floor of the deck, she gingerly stuck the tip of her right foot into the water. It was warm and inviting. Her new husband watched as she lowered the rest of her body into the water and made herself comfortable seated across from him. They relaxed for several minutes, enjoying the quiet of the country.

  After what seemed like an eternity, John moved closer to her and took her chin in his hand. Gazing into her eyes as he spoke, he whispered, “I could stay like this with you forever.”

  “Buck naked in a hot tub under the stars?” she asked teasingly.

  Without replying, he kissed her and soon his hands were beginning the, by now, familiar exploration of her body. The swirl of the water, the moonlight above them and the sounds of the wild blended together with his touch to make the night seem like a dream. Lyndsey relaxed under his touch, allowing him to treat her to new and exciting delights as he touched her soft, silken skin with his hands and later with his expert tongue.

  She reached out her own hand to do some roaming of her own and when she found his hard, swollen cock under the water, she moaned. She began to massage him, gently at first, building the excitement. When neither of them could stand the suspense any longer, he quickly turned around to a sitting position and picked her up, depositing her on his lap, facing away from him, in reverse cowgirl style.

  She instinctively moved around until she was ab
le to comfortably ride him. And ride she did, hard and fast, as his hands wrapped around her body and came to rest on each of her nipples, tweaking and twisting as her hips bounced up and down on his dick. When she came, her cries echoed through the woods. When she finally moved off him, she sighed, as once again, the couple relaxed in the swirling water, their bodies sated and warm.

  “It’s starting to get chilly, we’d better head inside,” John said a little while later.

  “Yes, it’s getting late,” she agreed as she stood up and reached for two towels John had brought out earlier. She handed him one, and with the other, she began to dry her rosy body. She stepped out onto the deck to dry her legs and feet and picked up the satin robe to ward off the chill from the cool autumn night air.

  Together they went inside and got ready for bed. They lay awake for several hours under the cozy quilt in the big four-poster bed with a fire crackling in the corner fireplace. They discussed the immediate future, plans for the rest of the week, and also the distant future, the one that included a family someday. When she finally fell asleep in her favorite spot, the arms of the man she loved, Lyndsey was content. John had filled a void in her life. He had taken care of a longing she hadn’t even known existed before she had met him, in ways she never could have imagined. He was her soul mate. He was her Dom, perhaps not in the traditional manner, but nevertheless, she was truly his submissive. She would do anything he asked of her.

  The next few days were pleasant. They stayed in, relaxing, cooking meals together and making love. Toward the end of the week, they went into town to do some shopping, enjoy dinner out and take in some of the shows. It had been a perfect week, but now it was time to go home. Time to go back to their busy routines, jobs, and the many other responsibilities young couples face.

  The flight back was uneventful. All too soon, they had arrived at the Nashville Airport. They loaded the car and drove home to their condo to begin their life as Mr. and Mrs. John Gordon.

  Lyndsey pondered their life as she unpacked and started the laundry. So far, their so-called D/s lifestyle had been tame. There had been no disagreements, no punishments and although their lovemaking had taken some new turns, she still wouldn’t refer to it as kinky. Perhaps John was through with that for good. His idea of living the lifestyle with her might be different than what he’d experienced before. She was willing to try just about anything with him, but he hadn’t asked.

  “I’m going to run to the store and pick up a few things. Anything in particular you want?” John asked as he walked into the room and interrupted her thoughts.

  “I’d like some vanilla almond milk, if you don’t mind. Other than that, buy whatever looks good to you. I’ll put lasagna in the oven after I get this load of laundry folded.”

  “Sounds like a plan. Be back,” he said as he gave her a quick peck on the forehead.

  It was Friday and her goal was to finish all the chores so they could go over to Maeve’s and Bob’s to open their wedding gifts the next day and then try to organize their lives before going back to their jobs on Monday. It would be good to see her adoptive parents. She wanted to thank them once again for the lovely wedding they’d provided for her and John.

  By the time John returned, dinner was in the oven. She helped him put the groceries away and they finally sat down for the first time since they’d walked in the door from the airport hours earlier.

  “That hot tub would feel good about now, wouldn’t it?” he asked as he picked up the evening newspaper he’d bought.

  “Don’t remind me,” she said with a smile. “Can’t we just go on vacation full time?”

  “That would get a might boring after a while, don’t you think?” he asked as he buried his nose in the business section.

  And so they settled into married life. They returned to their jobs on Monday and for several weeks things were going smoothly. They were a normal, busy, young married couple, with hectic careers. There were chores to be done at home, which they shared and when all the work was done for the week, they spent their weekends enjoying their life together. It was wonderful. Lyndsey had found her niche; she had the best of both worlds, a perfect balance. She was in complete control at work forty plus hours a week, as she made decisions, delegated work, and took care of problems. The moment she walked in the door at night and kicked off her shoes, she relinquished that control. She was in John’s world from that moment on, until she stepped foot back in the office, she was pampered and free from having to make difficult decisions alone. She was content and happy. She was loved. The longing within had been silenced, fulfilled, and oftentimes she wondered how she had gotten so lucky.

  There hadn’t been many rules set down by John for her to follow. One that he had been adamant about was that once she was at home, she was not to worry about work. Once when he’d caught her on her phone checking her work email, he had smacked her bottom as a reminder that if he caught her at it again, she would feel the wooden paddle Janis had bought her across her bare ass.

  “But, sometimes it’s important,” she had said in an effort to reason with him.

  “I understand that. If it’s something very grave, you will inform me that you need some time to take care of a work related matter and I will allow it. But I don’t want to catch you sneaking peeks at your email when it’s my time. Our time together is very precious and hard to come by. Work has us for more than forty hours a week. Everyone needs to unplug occasionally, and that’s what I want our home to be, our refuge from the cruel, heartless outside world.”

  “I love you, John. That’s about the sweetest thing a husband could ever say to a wife,” she’d said as she put her arms around his neck and hugged him tightly.

  Chapter Eleven

  Lyndsey walked in to the offices of Starlight Publishing that morning, just as she’d done nearly every morning for the past eight years. She grabbed a cup of coffee and walked down the hallway to her office, where she put away her purse and sat down at her desk. The first thing she did on a normal morning was to go through the many emails in her inbox. She answered the ones she could, filed the other ones in appropriate folders to deal with later and discarded others. That task finished, she pulled up the latest manuscript from one of her favorite authors and was about to start editing when Joanne burst through the door.

  “Joanne, are you okay? No knocking on the door, just running in here like the place is on fire isn’t like you,” she remarked as she looked up from her work.

  “You haven’t heard?” the other woman asked.

  “Heard what? Apparently, I haven’t.”

  “There’s a big meeting scheduled for this afternoon. Rumor is we’re being bought out by a big pub.”

  “That’s good news, isn’t it?” Lyndsey asked.

  “I don’t know if it is or not.”

  “You and your worrying, look what happened with Alexandria Avery. You were so afraid her books would flop and she’s still a bestseller. Starlight is lucky to have her.”

  “True, she is still at the top of her game, but I have a funny feeling in the pit of my stomach over this rumor.”

  “Stop fretting. We’ll have a nice lunch together in a few hours, and when we get back, we’ll go to the meeting and find out once and for all what all the fuss is about. Mr. Starr will explain everything. The rumors may not even be true, for all we know. The meeting may be about something else entirely. Maybe we’ve signed another big name. Alexandria Avery could have brought more of her kind to us.”

  “That would be awesome if it were true. More authors of her caliber would certainly be a feather in our cap.”

  “I hate to run you off, but I really need to get started on these edits. I promised Liza I’d have them ready for her this week. She’s going on vacation and wants to wrap everything up before she leaves.”

  “Liza deserves a vacation. How many books has she put out this year?” Joanne asked as she stood up.

  “This makes ten. I don’t know how she does it, but I’m not
complaining. She’s the most disciplined author I have.”

  “Maybe because you’re her editor,” Joanne said in a complimentary tone as she opened the door to leave. “I’ll meet you in the lobby at twelve for that lunch you promised me.”

  “I’ll be there. Have a good morning and try not to worry.”

  When Joanne had gone, Lyndsey shook her head. That girl made mountains out of mole hills every time something happened. Enough about that, she had work to do if her afternoon was to be interrupted by a meeting.

  She made it through the first ten chapters before it was time to break for lunch. Saving her work first, she stood up and stretched. Grabbing a small brush from her purse, she ran it through her hair and applied fresh lip gloss before running down the hall to the lobby where Joanne was probably already waiting for her.

  Joanne was nowhere in sight, so she took a seat in the lobby to wait for her. A few of her other co-workers spoke to her as they passed her on their way to lunch.

  “See you at the meeting this afternoon?” one girl asked.

  “Of course, the email said two, right?” she replied.

  “Yep, two o’clock sharp, you know Mr. Starr doesn’t like to be kept waiting,” Sallie, the girl replied.

  Joanne joined her a few minutes later. “I’m sorry; I got tied up on a phone call. Are you ready?”

  “No problem, we have plenty of time. Let’s go to that little café down the street. It’s within walking distance and we’ll be able to get back in plenty of time before the mysterious meeting.”

  “Don’t remind me. I want to enjoy my lunch,” Joanne said in a foreboding tone.

  “Seriously, must you always be so negative?” Lyndsey replied, only half teasing.

  “When Starr calls a big meeting, I always get nervous. You never know what he’s going to announce. Granted, our last big meeting was good news. That’s not to say every meeting will be.”

  “Here we are. For the next hour, you are not to worry your pretty little head about work or meetings. We’re going to talk about pleasant things and enjoy a relaxing lunch. I wonder what the special is today.”