The Perfect Couple (Last Stand #4)(38)
Author: Brenda Novak

The clamps on her br**sts were proof. They were still on–he’d left them on for ninety minutes, so long she was growing nauseous from the pain.

"Whatever I wanted," he muttered as if it wasn’t true. "Tomorrow night is when I’m going to do whatever I want." He finally removed the clamps. She hoped he’d kiss her br**sts or caress them to ease the pain he’d caused. But he simply tossed the clamps onto the nightstand and untied her wrists. "I think you should get another boob job," he said.

Now that her hands were free, she rubbed her own br**sts. "I’m not big enough?"

"Not by a long shot." His nose wrinkled in apparent disgust as his eyes swept over the rest of her. "Or maybe it’s the weight you’ve gained. It’s a turnoff."

She hadn’t gained any weight. She checked every day. "You want me to weigh less than a hundred and twenty?"

"I want you to make me come just by looking at you." Instead of untying her ankles, he shrugged and left it up to her. "You’d better hurry and get to the gym. I want an extra thirty minutes of cardio today."

She let go of her aching br**sts, but her hands trembled so badly she had difficulty untying her ankles.

When she was free, she could barely walk because the bonds had cut off the flow of blood. She wouldn’t have minded these minor injuries if the evening had gone the way it normally did. When Colin was happy, no one could be more charming. She loved it when she was able to please him.

There’d been times he’d wept on her bare stomach while telling her how much he appreciated her love and patience.

"Are you dressed yet?" he called from the shower.

"Almost."

"When you’re out today, get a choke chain for Sam, like the one we used for Rover."

Tiffany instantly forgot about her aches and pains. She’d hoped Colin wouldn’t notice that their old one had gone missing. "Where’s Rover’s?" she asked.

"I can’t find it. That’s what I was looking for last night when I decided to do the wax instead."

She had burn marks on her belly and between her thighs where he’d dripped the hot wax, but she preferred the wax to the collar. Last time he made her wear it, she’d passed out. It had scared her enough that she’d hidden it during the chaos surrounding Rover. Sometimes Colin got so excited, he didn’t know what he was doing.

"You’re planning to have some fun with her?" she asked, relieved to think they might be back on familiar ground despite his request for another collar.

"Yeah. I’m taking the two of you up to my dad’s cabin Saturday night.

We’ll spend Mother’s Day there. It’ll help us forget Rover."

"How will we get Sam out of the house?"

"The same way we did Rover. We’ll drug her, put her in a box and carry her out as if she’s part of our supplies."

"And what will we do with her once we get up there? We can’t touch her ’cause of the mono, remember?"

"We can get her high. Remember how funny Rover was when we made him smoke crack?"

Rover had provided some of their biggest laughs. "That sounds like fun." She finished tying her tennis shoes. "I’m off to the gym."

"Tiffany?"

She paused at the door. "Yeah?"

"Sorry about last night. I think I was more upset about Rover than I wanted to admit."

"I understand."

"You love me?"

Suddenly her br**sts didn’t hurt quite so much. "Of course."

"If you’d rather not have the guys over tomorrow night, that’s okay."

She didn’t like competing with Colin’s friends for his attention. But she was the one who’d let Rover escape, and after last night she wanted to prove to her husband that she could still excite him. Maybe after that big a sacrifice, he’d forget about Zoe. "It’s okay. I’ll show them such a good time they’ll be thanking you for months afterward."

"Really?" The eagerness in his voice eliminated the last of her reservations. She could get through one night. Like Colin said, she’d probably have fun, too. She always had a good time when her husband was at his best.

"Really," she replied and discovered a dozen roses waiting for her on the doorstep when she returned from the gym.

The card read:

I could never find anyone else like you. You’re perfect.

Love, Colin

Chapter 16

"I’ m going with you."

Holding the keys to the rental car, Jonathan studied the stubborn expression on Zoe’s face. She’d just hung up with Skye, but Skye hadn’t been able to talk her out of it, either. "What if we find him?"

The sleep had done her some good. Dressed in a sundress with a little white sweater over it, she looked slightly recovered–and prettier than ever.

Jonathan wished he hadn’t become so acutely aware of her attractiveness, but after last night he knew that wasn’t likely to change. He could still smell her scent, still feel the silky texture of her skin against his lips….

Next to Sheridan, Zoe was the most beautiful woman he’d ever seen.

And equally off limits.

"That’s the whole point, isn’t it?" she said. "We want to find him."

"A confrontation with him wouldn’t be easy for you."

"None of this is easy for me." She finished packing her cosmetics case and zipped her bag. "Ready?"

Blocking her path to the door, he touched her arm–which he might’ve done to get any woman’s attention. But the energy that passed between them made him very much aware that he couldn’t go back to believing she was just another client. She meant something to him, something more. And he didn’t want to see her hurt or frightened. "Zoe, trust me to handle this."

"I trust you. But you and I both know my decision has nothing to do with that."

He dropped his hand because he was afraid he’d let it slide up her arm.

"You want to confront him?"

"I have to speak to him myself, evaluate his response and draw my own conclusions in order to feel comfortable that we’ve done everything we can where he’s concerned. I can’t rely on you or anyone else to do that for me. This need…it’s instinctual…a–a mother’s prerogative. You understand, don’t you?"

Unfortunately, he did. He even saw some value in having her along.

She knew Franky, or at least she had at one time.

She smiled, but it was obviously forced because the expression in her eyes remained wary. "Besides, maybe it’ll do me good to see him from an adult’s perspective. To finally meet him on an equal footing. Maybe he won’t seem so all-powerful and threatening."

"When was the last time you saw him?"

"When I testified in court."