ONE playful shower and one Tate-induced orgasm when he paid a little extra attention to the area between her legs later, Chessy sat at her vanity while Tate carefully ran a comb through her towel-dried curls.
Her entire body was quivering in the aftermath of the powerful orgasm. She’d had to sit because there was no way her legs would have supported her straight out of the shower. The result was a small puddle of water on the floor where it had drained off her body and from her hair, but it was the last thing on her mind.
She smiled up at Tate in the reflection of the mirror and then closed her eyes, savoring one of her favorite things that Tate had done so often over the years. Tend to her hair. She was a total tactile person, loved being touched and loved having her hair brushed or simply played with.
She couldn’t count the times in earlier years when she and Tate would simply lie on the couch, her head in his lap as he idly ran his fingers through her strands as they watched a movie. It would always count as one of her best memories.
Her eyelids fluttered open and her smile disappeared for a brief moment. Before she could recover, Tate was already frowning back at her in the mirror, a questioning look in his eyes.
“What’s wrong, baby? Did I hurt you? Am I not being gentle enough with your hair?”
She laughed. “As if. You’re a master at combing a woman’s hair. If you ever get tired of financial advising, you can always start up a salon. You’d have women coming in droves just for those hands of yours. Which, by the way, are totally mine. I’ll chop them off before allowing another woman access!”
He looked befuddled for the briefest of seconds and then threw back his head and laughed. But then he sobered and focused his stare back on her.
“What were you frowning about then?”
She fidgeted uneasily on her vanity bench, not wanting to bring up a bad subject. But Tate wasn’t going to allow her to dodge his question. Quietly he rotated her, picking up her legs and swiveling her body until she faced him. Then he got down on one knee and cupped his hand to her face.
“Tell me.”
She sighed. “I know I shouldn’t ask. I mean, that’s not the way our relationship works, and I don’t want you to get the idea that I want our relationship to change. That I don’t want your dominance and for you to make the decisions. But …”
“Ask, baby,” he prompted gently. “I think we both know we’re at a fragile point in our relationship where the rules are temporarily changing. They have to. Because I need to know what your needs and wants are. I’d want to know that regardless of whether it’s now or two years ago. I’ve always wanted you to communicate your needs to me. How else can I fulfill them?
“Yes, it’s my job as your Dominant to often know your wants and needs before you do even, and it’s my job to provide those for you. But I’ve been a complete dumbass and as a result—and it’s painful for me to admit, but I’m man enough to own up to my failures—I am out of touch with your desires. I hate even saying that. But you’re going to have to help me until we’re back on track. That open line of communication we were just discussing in bed a while ago? That has to be in place going forward.”
She nodded her understanding, breathing out her relief. They would be okay. She could feel it. Tate was going to extraordinary lengths for a man so used to being in control of every aspect of his life. But he was right. They were in anything but control right now and it would take them both to right the ship and get back to smooth waters.
“I just wanted to know where you planned for us to have dinner tonight,” she said in a low voice. “I don’t … I don’t want to go back to where we were supposed to have dinner last night. I don’t think I could handle it. There was a lot of humiliation in last night for me. I don’t want to even remember it. I’d rather just go somewhere else and truly start over again.”
The look of love, understanding and self-recrimination all crowding into his eyes made her emotional and she had to swallow hard at the knot forming in her throat.
He leaned forward and pressed his lips to her forehead and left them there a long moment. When he pulled away, he framed her face in his hands and stared her directly in the eyes.
“I’d never do that to you, my girl. I thought we’d go to a place we’ve never been before. I’ve heard good things about it. I’ve already made a reservation. I placed one online before I got you up this morning. I want a fresh start too. It’ll be a new beginning all the way around.”
Relief and love coursed through her veins. To her dismay, a tear rolled down her cheek and collided with one of his hands. Damn it but she’d been determined not to cry. She’d done entirely too much of that the night before. As it was, it was going to take her best makeup job to disguise the shadows under her eyes before they went out to dinner. And she wanted to look her best for Tate tonight. Just as they wouldn’t be eating in the same restaurant, neither would she wear the same outfit she’d worn the night before.
But Tate seemed to understand that she wasn’t upset. His expression grew even more tender and he leaned in and kissed away the path of the single tear that had trickled onto his hand.
“I love you, Chess. Please don’t ever forget that.”
“I love you too,” she whispered. “Now shoo so I can finish getting ready. How much time do I have?”
He checked his watch and then helped her to her feet, patting her lightly on the behind. “Forty-five minutes before we need to leave, so get a move on, baby. I’ll go get dressed and meet you in the living room.”
She sent him a brilliant smile, one she could feel in the tightening of her cheeks, and she was rewarded by an answering smile from him that took her breath away. There was so much promise in that smile that she was besieged by a surge of giddiness. She all but skipped to her closet to pick out what she would wear. Her hair still needed to be blown dry, but she’d save that for after her wardrobe had been selected and then she’d do hair and makeup before dressing.