OBEDIENTLY EVER AFTER II Read online

  Why had she done this? Come here and made a whore of herself. She had ruined her life, her marriage, and for what? Enslavement to a crude, pimp of a real estate manager?

  "We're going back all the way. Deep throat it, cunt. Take it just like you need it," he pushed the tip of his erection between her lips.

  Miranda closed her eyes, ready to yield.

  Jeff was getting ready to punch himself deep inside her mouth when the knock came at the door.

  All too quickly it turned to pounding.

  "Why the fuck is this door locked? Miranda are you in there?"

  Miranda felt a charge of emotion through her body, an indescribable mix of relief and terror.

  Rob was here. He would find out what she was doing and he would come after her. Or maybe he didn't know and was just guessing. It sure wouldn't take a rocket scientist to figure out.

  Jeff pushed her away from him as if she was poison. "Christ," he croaked. "Who's that?"

  "My husband," she whispered fiercely.

  "Fuck," Jeff hissed. "Fuck and double fuck." It didn't take more than a second for him to turn on Miranda. "This is all your fault, bitch. You brought this shit on me."

  Miranda cowered under the desk. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean it."

  "Just make like you're not here," Jeff told her. "Let me handle it all."

  "But what will I do under here?"

  "You'll hide, like the little cheating slut you are."

  "Miranda?" Rob called out. "Wright? Somebody better open this fucking door, or I'll kick it down, I swear!"

  Miranda couldn't believe Rob was talking this way. He had never seemed so forceful before, so masculine.

  "Hold your horses," Jeff called back. "I'm coming."

  Miranda winced a little at his choice of words. A few more minutes and he would have been coming, right inside her mouth – and she was going to have to swallow it, or face the paddle.

  How dare he presume such a thing. No man had the right to do that to her.

  Except maybe her husband.

  "Where's my wife?" Rob demanded as soon as the door opened.

  "She's not here," she heard Jeff trying to sound casual. "I don't know where she is."

  "That's bullshit," her husband accused. "Your secretary said she came in here, then you locked the door. You better tell me what's going on, and you better do it fast."

  "I'm telling you, man, I don't know. I wouldn't lie to you," Jeff weaseled. "I swear it."

  "You're hiding her, aren't you?" said Rob. "In the closet? Or the bathroom?"

  "No, she's not. Check for yourself if you don't believe me."

  "Miranda," he called out. "Are you in here?"

  Miranda huddled herself more tightly, as if that could make her invisible. What could she do? He was bound to look under the desk. Or would Jeff be able to get rid of him before he found her? She couldn't tell where he was at the moment. It sounded like they were in the doorway.

  Rob's next move caught her off guard. "Miranda, I'm not playing games with you. I know you're here, but I'm not going to look for you. I want you to show yourself. Of your own accord."

  Her heart slammed in her chest. He wanted her to make the move. To expose herself to his certain wrath. Didn't he know that was too much to ask?

  Jeff took full advantage of the silence to prove his point. "There you have it. Your wife isn't here. I think you better go before I call the police."

  "I'm not leaving without her," Rob declared. "Miranda, I know you can hear me. I want your little fanny out here, front and center. Now."

  Miranda felt a hot, deep squirming between her legs.

  Rob had definitely never talked like this before. He was actually giving her an order, telling her to do something, with every expectation that it would be done simply because it was his will. His right.

  Miranda felt her limbs moving of their own accord. Before she knew fully what she was doing, she found herself crawling out from under the desk. Something in his tone of voice told her she had no choice. It wasn't fear making her move.

  She knew Rob would never really hurt her.

  But she also knew he wasn't fooling around. It was hard to put into words. Disobeying was not an option, not in her mind, not at this moment. She might as well have stopped herself from breathing as she could keep herself from coming out from under the desk.

  Hair tousled, her lips puffy, guilt written all over her face. "Rob, I can explain."

  "Leave it," he cut off her attempts to straighten her clothes and smooth out her hair. "You'll stay just as you are."

  She hung her head. "Yes, Rob," she whispered.

  "What were you doing in here, Miranda?"

  He sounded so cold, so hard. He was ten feet away at the doorway but it felt like a million miles. "I was ... we were..."

  "Spit it out, Miranda."

  His words were like a whip, striking her nervous system. "It was something sexual," she confessed.

  "Something sexual?" he repeated with disdain. "Come on, Miranda. I think you can do better than that. I think you owe me a little more detail, don't you?"

  Miranda was staring at her feet. She felt so ashamed, but at the same time something was happening inside her. Something amazing, as if the more power her husband took, and the more he shamed her and made her weaker, the freer she was feeling.

  But that wasn't right. She couldn't lose her self will. She was angry at this man. He had cheated, too. First, as a matter of fact. Or why else was she doing this except to get back at him?

  "It was oral sex," she told him.

  "Look at me," said Rob.

  Miranda's eyes moved to his, moist, full of complex emotions.

  "You'll have to spell it out for me, Miranda. Oral sex is such a nicety as terms go."

  "For god's sake, man," interjected Jeff. "Do you have to drag this out?"

  Rob gave him a look. "Yes," he said. "I do. And you are going to listen." Rob pointed to the sofa. "Have a seat, and if I were you I would keep my mouth shut unless I ask for your input, got it?"

  Jeff muttered something, but he did as he was told.

  Miranda got quite wet, watching her husband take command from her boss. Where had this new side of him come from? His time with Mark? Or Erin?

  "All right, Miranda," said Rob. "Let's try this again, with a whole lot more specifics. When I knocked on the door, what was happening in here?"

  Miranda tried to keep her voice from cracking. "I was ... I was under Jeff's desk."

  "Did I say you could stop looking at me?"

  Her eyes came back up off the floor, with tears in them. "No."

  "Start again," he commanded.

  "I was under Jeff's desk. His hand was in my hair. His pants were open, his cock was out." The words were spilling, in an instinctive, knee jerk attempt to defend herself. "He kept telling me to–"

  "You keep talking about what he said, Miranda. I want to know what you were doing, what you were thinking."

  This was it, the point of real sin. "I wasn't thinking anything. He didn't let me."

  Rob frowned. "Are you telling me this man forced you under his desk? Were you being raped?"

  Miranda's answer was a jumble of half finished sentences. Everything was mixed up in her head. She hated Rob. She was ashamed of herself. She was desperate for his love, his revenge. And maybe some of her own, too. "Not ... not exactly. But just before we ... that is to say..."

  Rob held up his hand. "It was a yes or no question. I asked if you were being raped."

  "No," Miranda admitted.

  "Because I need to be sure. If you were being raped, if this man dragged you in here, if he coerced you in any way, threatened your job or anything, than he will answer to me and the authorities in that order."

  She tried to imagine Rob going after him. He was a strong enough man, athletic from his squash games. She had just never thought of him quite that way, as the sort of man who would fight another. Or impose his will on his wife.

  Was her husba
nd bluffing?

  For his part, Jeff seemed pretty convinced. "Miranda, for pity's sake," he pleaded. "Tell him the truth. Tell him I didn't make you do a fucking thing."

  Rob honed in with eagle eyes. His face was expressionless. "Miranda?"

  Miranda's heart was thumping like a rabbit. She was feeling trapped. She needed space to breathe. "You ... you had your hand in my hair," she accused Jeff. "You made me..."

  "Lying cunt!" Jeff snarled.

  Rob flashed him a warning glance.

  "No offense, buddy," he held up his hands. "But your wife is playing you. Okay, I pulled her hair, but the whole thing was consensual."

  "That's a convenient defense, Wright," said Rob. "I should know, I'm a lawyer. Not that that will stop me from breaking your neck if I find out you hurt Miranda."

  Miranda couldn't let this go on. "Rob, please, that's enough. Jeff is telling the truth. I wasn't forced to do anything."

  Rob's brow furrowed. "None of it? Not even the hair pulling?"

  "No. I asked him to do that."

  "I told you," Jeff cried in triumph.

  Rob narrowed his gaze. "I told you to be quiet. When I want to hear from you, I will ask."

  "You can't hold me prisoner. And you can't occupy my office," he said.

  "No, but I can stay, as your guest. Unless you want to make an enemy of me, and that I don't advise, given my connections. Not to mention the number of secrets you appear to be hiding around here."

  Jeff scowled.

  "Miranda," Rob said. "We're back to you. The details, if you please."

  Miranda felt stripped down, off base. Standing in the presence of these two men, looking like a total tramp with her hair a mess, her lipstick askew and her clothes wrinkled and sweaty was worse than being naked. "It all started when I came into Jeff's office," she said, no longer having the strength to lie or protect her honor. "I told him I wanted to work as one of his special agents."

  "Special agents? What the hell does that mean?"

  Miranda explained about how Cammie and the others sold their houses.

  "You have no proof," Jeff interjected.

  "I was there, with Cammie," she countered.

  "Enough, both of you," Rob said. "The part I care about is that Miranda came in here thinking she could sell her body in exchange for commissions. Isn't that right, Miranda?"

  "Yes, Rob." She was choking back tears.

  "And Wright here told you, what? That the job involved servicing him, too?"

  She nodded, sniffling.

  "So you just went along with his demands?"

  She nodded again.

  "He wanted oral sex, apparently."

  "Yes..." She whispered.

  "Which you gave him."

  "I did, yes."

  "You took his cock in your mouth."

  Miranda sobbed.

  Rob was relentless. "Say it. I want to hear you say it."

  "I took ... his cock ... in my mouth." The words came in short stabs, along with her breaths.

  "You committed adultery. You sodomized another man."

  "Yes, Rob. But you and I both know why..."

  "We do? I certainly don't. Or does it have something to do with these?" He took the panties from his pocket and tossed them on the floor.

  They were her panties. From the night before.

  Oh, god, he had found them in the trash can.

  "Do those look familiar, Miranda?"

  "Rob, it's not what it looks like..."

  "I asked you what they are, and I want an answer."

  "They're my panties." She flashed a glance at Jeff. How could Rob be so cruel as to do this in front of another man?

  "And where do you suppose I found them?"

  "In the trash can."

  "What's on them?"

  He was making her angry. "Rob, you know what's on them. Why are you acting this way?"

  "Acting what way, Miranda? I'm just asking you a question. It's not like this is something private between us. Because that certainly isn't my semen on that underwear."

  "It's a client's," she declared. "Are you happy? I've been fucking them left and right. Every chance I get."

  "Your attitude is not helpful," he said. "I would expect a bit more contrition."

  She hated how calm he was, how totally in control. "Sorry," she spat sarcastically. "I guess I must have learned too well from you."

  He seemed genuinely not to catch the reference. "What do you mean, Miranda?"

  "Do I have to spell it out? Fine, I will, since we're airing our dirty laundry. Jeff, I'd like you to know that my fine and moral husband here has been having an affair. With his boss' wife."

  "What are you talking about, Miranda?" demanded Rob. "Have you lost your mind?"

  "No, actually I found it. And now I know the truth, about you and Erin. You're fucking Erin Wyatt."

  "That's absurd. I most certainly am not," he contorted his face. "Not that Mark didn't give me the chance."

  Miranda cocked her head. He wasn't acting like a man with something to hide. Something didn't add up here. "But the photos ... in the trash..."

  Rob reared back, laughing out loud. It was about the last reaction in the world she expected. "I don't see any fucking joke here."

  "Well, you're about to. Mark gave me those photos. In a sealed envelope. I didn't know what they were until I got home. I tore them up and threw them out immediately."

  "Why would Mark give you naked pictures of his wife?"

  "They're kinky like that. She lives as the man's slave. He shows off her body, gives her out to men as he pleases. He wanted me to fuck her, thought it would make more of a man out of me."

  "I don't believe you."

  Actually, it was just ridiculous enough to be true, given the things she already suspected about how Mark treated Erin.

  "With all due respect, Miranda, I don't care what you believe. You are the one who's guilty. Blatantly so, I might add."

  "It's not that bad, though. I didn't mean it about sleeping with a lot of men," she hastened. "I never slept with any. I never did a thing with another man until yesterday."

  "And what happened yesterday?" he asked skeptically.

  "Cammie took me to see a house, and a man was there, waiting to fuck her. I watched. He wanted me to take my clothes off. I masturbated for him. Then he took my underwear and wiped come on it. That was all, I promise you. I forgot about the panties until I got home, and I was scared so I quickly buried them. That's when I found the pictures. Oh, my god, Rob, I thought you were cheating on me with Erin. I was so lost. I didn't know what to do. So I came here and told Jeff I would do what he asked me to, and sell houses the way Cammie did. Next thing I knew I was under his desk and he ... oh, god," she broke down. "It was so horrible. "Rob, I'm so, so sorry."

  Rob took her in his arms. "Sweetheart, it's all right."

  "Please," she cried. "Tell me you won't leave me. Tell me you won't divorce me even though I deserve it for doubting you, and for cheating, and ... and everything."

  Rob took her face in his hands. "Listen to me," he told her fiercely. "You are my wife. My woman. And that will never change. Is that clear?"

  "Yes," she laughed through her tears. "Oh, god, yes. I love you, honey, so much, and I've missed you."

  "I know you have. I haven't been there, baby. This has to fall back on me. You were abandoned by me. Of course you started to flounder. Darling Miranda, can you forgive me?"

  "Oh, Rob," she whispered, her lips tremoring with love. "Of course I can."

  "I was wrong," he declared. "So very wrong and foolish. I nearly lost you. I don't want to make that mistake again."

  "You won't. We'll be together, always."

  "Thank you for your faith in me, Miranda, it means the world to me. But I have to stop making you drive the ship of our marriage. You weren't cut out for it and we both know it."

  "I just want to make you happy..."

  "I know, sweetheart. I will give you every opportunity, and I wi
ll make you happy, too."

  She sensed resolution in him, the beginnings of some plan for their life. "Rob, I will do what you tell me. I'm not afraid to go where you say."

  "It can't be the same, Miranda. We have to change things."

  "Yes, darling."

  "We have to change everything."

  She hugged him tight, her head against his chest. She could hear his beating heart, so strong. "If I'm with you, I don't care. I want to live for you. I want to orbit you, Rob, like a planet around the sun."

  Rob stroked her hair. They were in their own world again, just for two. Like in the beginning, except even better – more purposeful somehow.

  "You'll need to quit this place, baby," he murmured in her ear. "You'll be at home full-time."

  Miranda melted against him.

  Thank god ... he's taking the reigns.

  "We're going to start a family, finally. No more pushing things off for my career."

  "Oh, yes, I want that, Rob."

  "There's more, though..."

  She sensed the slight edge in his voice. The tiny shot of exhilaration accompanied by a stiffening of his prick. Miranda responded with fresh moisture, hot openness.

  "I know," she said huskily. "The magazine..."

  His full blown erection pointed firmly at her. "Are you ready for that?"

  "I have to be," she said honestly. "It's our destiny."

  "But do you want it?"

  The blood pounded in her ears. She never wanted him to let go. She wanted to be against him like this, captive by his strength, pulled deeper into his magnetism. Her gut told her this journey would take a lifetime ... of chains and ropes, of discipline and control.

  "Yes, I want it, my husband."

  "Then you will have it ... my wife."

  CHAPTER SIX

  Miranda was all over Rob as soon as they got in the car. "Darling," she said huskily. "Let me suck you."

  "Not yet. We have to make a stop first." He pulled out his cell phone and dialed Mark. "I did it," he told his mentor simply.

  "Good man," Mark approved. "So I assume you'll be taking me up on my offer of a day off?"