Yes, Justin by Michele Zurlo Page A

fingertips down her side in an odd caress, avoiding her back.
    An overwhelming sense of helplessness always made her answer “Oh” when he told her he had to work late or over the weekend. Sometimes he texted her, and she didn’t even have the chance to say that much. When he did that, she responded by not texting back.
    Now, she let loose everything. Perhaps being in his arms when he was her dom wasn’t the right place to air her grievances, but she did it anyway. After all, he had asked.
    “I hate when you work late. I hate when you work all weekend. I wouldn’t mind if you had something every now and then, but right now all you do is work. If you were having an affair, I could see how you would be gone so much, but you’re not. You’re actually working, and I can’t tell if it makes me angrier to know that or not.”
    He said nothing while she spoke, but he continued holding her in his arms, and the area of his caresses widened. He trailed light tracks of fire over her back as he moved his hands there. She shivered, shuddering in his arms, and he kissed her temple.
    “The girls keep asking why you don’t come to their soccer games, and I’m getting tired of telling them you won’t be home for dinner. I’m so angry with you, Justin. I’m angry, and it hurts. I never wanted to be mad at you like this. I love you, but we can’t continue like this.”
    “No, we can’t.” He wiped some tears from her cheeks. “You can’t keep holding everything in. You were ready to go off for a weekend with a stranger rather than talking to me about what’s bothering you. If Oasis hadn’t contacted me, this would have destroyed our marriage instead of bringing us closer together. I know I can’t keep going on thinking I’m doing what’s best for our family when I’ve never asked you what you want. We take each other for granted. We’ve stopped seeing one another as people and started defining each other by function.”
    He feathered his lips across hers and cupped the base of her skull to tilt her face. He deepened the kiss, apologizing and promising without words. She wanted the words, but she didn’t feel like she could demand them. Since they were just beginning to renew their relationship, she could accept this for now. There would be time for words later. beginning to
    At last, he broke the kiss. “A few weeks ago, I took a voluntary demotion. I won’t be working evenings or weekends. Any extra time I’ve spent at work since then has actually been spent with a dom from Oasis who taught me how to give you what you want.”
    She hadn’t seen a change in his paycheck, but she couldn’t deny his skill with a whip. He hadn’t had that skill before.
    “They owed me a crapload in bonuses. I insisted on getting those now. We won’t see a change in income for another month. But you’ll have me home a lot more, and I think I’d like to keep you in instead of taking you out.”
    Completely forgetting her role, she gasped. “Justin, what do you mean you took a demotion? You worked hard to get as far in that law firm as you have.”
    He shrugged.
    She smacked her palm into his shoulder. “Don’t you think you should have discussed this with me first?”
    He seemed surprised at her reaction. “I thought this is what you wanted.”
    “I do, but I…” She didn’t want him to resent her when he failed to realize his dream of making partner in the next two years. “Damn it, Justin. This whole trust and honesty thing cuts both ways. It’s your job, but it affects our lives.”
    “I’m sorry. You’re right. I didn’t think about it in those terms. It can be temporary if that’s what you want. This is something we can discuss tomorrow, honey. Right now, I can’t get this image of you out of my head. You’re tied to the bed, spread open, waiting for me to exercise my will on you.”
    As he spoke, he moved her closer to the door to the bedroom. Through the opening, she spied the massive bed and the network