wanted to introduce you to the lifestyle gradually, but with Casey’s collaring ceremony set for next week, we need to hurry things up a bit.”
“Hurry things up?” I ask, wondering when I lost the thread of this conversation. I thought we were just roommates. Well, I thought that was how they saw me, no matter what my imagination might have conjured in the loneliness of the night.
“That’s probably not such a good idea,” Chris says from the doorway. Casey is beside him. She looks a lot less excited than she did a few minutes ago, but she doesn’t say anything. “My sub finally mentioned something that I should have been told earlier—although I can appreciate that Karly might not wish to discuss it.” He gives me a sympathetic look and I’m suddenly glad he’s going to be my brother-in-law. He is a really nice guy. I know he’ll protect and love my sister for a very long time. “I don’t believe Karly would be comfortable watching the scene I have planned for tonight. It includes blood play.”
“Blood play?” I ask in a very small voice. Surely I couldn’t have heard that correctly. I feel both Grant and Bryce tense up when they hear my reaction. When Casey had seen the scars on my stomach a few months ago, I’d finally found the courage to explain to her the full horror of what I’d been through.
“I’m sorry, Karly. Casey didn’t know what I had planned until a few minutes ago.”
“It’s okay, Chris,” I say, trying to be brave. “You didn’t know.”
“But you’re right,” Bryce says. He sounds like he’s forcing himself to be casual, but I can hear the strain in his voice. “Thanks for warning us. We’ll skip tonight’s scene.”
“Casey?” I ask as I manage to see around Grant where my sister is standing in the doorway to her own bedroom. We probably should have taken this discussion elsewhere, but it can’t be helped now.
“I’m sorry,” she says, giving me a sad smile. “I was just really excited. I didn’t even think how you might react to seeing the type of scenes Chris and I play.”
“You let him cut you?” I ask as memories of the time I’d found her cutting her thighs with a razor slide into my mind. It had been a horribly confusing time for both of us. At nineteen, I’d had no understanding of why my fifteen-year-old sister would find such self-abuse necessary. She’d eventually stopped and we’d never spoken of it again, yet now it seems like she’s found someone who encourages her self-destructive behavior.
But Chris is so good to her. Until thirty seconds ago I would have said he was the perfect match for my sister, yet now I don’t know what to think.
“It’s what I need to be happy,” Casey says seriously. “I realize now that you’ll never really understand it, but Chris loves me. He would never abuse my trust.”
I really don’t understand it, and as Casey just said, I probably never will, but I want to love and support my sister, even if I don’t understand her.
“I believe you,” I say in an almost whisper. I move from between Grant and Bryce and wrap my arms around Casey. “You’re very lucky to have found a man who loves you exactly the way you are.”
It’s probably not an ideal solution, but it’s the best I can offer. “I’ll be your bridesmaid at the wedding and stand proudly beside you as you marry such an amazing man.” I take a deep breath, knowing I’m going to disappoint Casey, yet seeing no other solution. “But maybe it’s best if I skip your collaring ceremony. I want you to enjoy something that obviously means so much to you. Worrying about how I might react will suck the fun out of it.”
Casey laughs softly, a half sob escaping her control as she nods her understanding and hugs me harder.
* * * *
Blood play?
Hell, Bryce hadn’t even considered the type of scene Chris and Casey would play. He nodded his thanks to Chris for the timely warning, but the heavy feeling in his stomach still
“Hurry things up?” I ask, wondering when I lost the thread of this conversation. I thought we were just roommates. Well, I thought that was how they saw me, no matter what my imagination might have conjured in the loneliness of the night.
“That’s probably not such a good idea,” Chris says from the doorway. Casey is beside him. She looks a lot less excited than she did a few minutes ago, but she doesn’t say anything. “My sub finally mentioned something that I should have been told earlier—although I can appreciate that Karly might not wish to discuss it.” He gives me a sympathetic look and I’m suddenly glad he’s going to be my brother-in-law. He is a really nice guy. I know he’ll protect and love my sister for a very long time. “I don’t believe Karly would be comfortable watching the scene I have planned for tonight. It includes blood play.”
“Blood play?” I ask in a very small voice. Surely I couldn’t have heard that correctly. I feel both Grant and Bryce tense up when they hear my reaction. When Casey had seen the scars on my stomach a few months ago, I’d finally found the courage to explain to her the full horror of what I’d been through.
“I’m sorry, Karly. Casey didn’t know what I had planned until a few minutes ago.”
“It’s okay, Chris,” I say, trying to be brave. “You didn’t know.”
“But you’re right,” Bryce says. He sounds like he’s forcing himself to be casual, but I can hear the strain in his voice. “Thanks for warning us. We’ll skip tonight’s scene.”
“Casey?” I ask as I manage to see around Grant where my sister is standing in the doorway to her own bedroom. We probably should have taken this discussion elsewhere, but it can’t be helped now.
“I’m sorry,” she says, giving me a sad smile. “I was just really excited. I didn’t even think how you might react to seeing the type of scenes Chris and I play.”
“You let him cut you?” I ask as memories of the time I’d found her cutting her thighs with a razor slide into my mind. It had been a horribly confusing time for both of us. At nineteen, I’d had no understanding of why my fifteen-year-old sister would find such self-abuse necessary. She’d eventually stopped and we’d never spoken of it again, yet now it seems like she’s found someone who encourages her self-destructive behavior.
But Chris is so good to her. Until thirty seconds ago I would have said he was the perfect match for my sister, yet now I don’t know what to think.
“It’s what I need to be happy,” Casey says seriously. “I realize now that you’ll never really understand it, but Chris loves me. He would never abuse my trust.”
I really don’t understand it, and as Casey just said, I probably never will, but I want to love and support my sister, even if I don’t understand her.
“I believe you,” I say in an almost whisper. I move from between Grant and Bryce and wrap my arms around Casey. “You’re very lucky to have found a man who loves you exactly the way you are.”
It’s probably not an ideal solution, but it’s the best I can offer. “I’ll be your bridesmaid at the wedding and stand proudly beside you as you marry such an amazing man.” I take a deep breath, knowing I’m going to disappoint Casey, yet seeing no other solution. “But maybe it’s best if I skip your collaring ceremony. I want you to enjoy something that obviously means so much to you. Worrying about how I might react will suck the fun out of it.”
Casey laughs softly, a half sob escaping her control as she nods her understanding and hugs me harder.
* * * *
Blood play?
Hell, Bryce hadn’t even considered the type of scene Chris and Casey would play. He nodded his thanks to Chris for the timely warning, but the heavy feeling in his stomach still
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