The Arrangement Ch. 09

The curtain pushed back further and an orderly wheeled Jesse into the tiny cubicle. Her arm was wrapped in a bandage and there was a big bump on her forehead, but otherwise she looked the same.

He released Jill and went to his daughter, "Hey, Jesse, how you feeling?"

She nodded her head and then winced, "I'm all right, Dad," she said as she climbed into the hospital bed. "But you're wrong. This was no accident. Someone pushed me."

Daniel nodded, "Sure, that's what Jill said. That someone bumped into you and you lost your balance."

The girl shook her head, "No, Dad, not just bumped into me. They shoved me. I grabbed onto the railing and thought I was going to be OK, but then they put their hands on my back and pushed harder. Maybe the first time was an accident, but pushing me twice? That's no accident."

He frowned, "Jesse, you took a pretty bad fall. You sure you remember it all correctly?"

His daughter stared at him, "I bet you wouldn't doubt anything she said," she screamed pointing at Jill.

"I didn't say I don't believe you, Jesse. It is just that sometimes when things happen fast our memories can be fuzzy."

"There was nothing fuzzy about it. He pushed me. Twice."

"He?" Daniel asked. "You saw the person?"

She shook her head, "It happened too fast. But he was tall, not as tall as you, daddy, but at least six feet. And big too, or at least his hands were when he pushed me. I tried to turn around but I lost my balance again and fell. All I saw was a grey hoodie."

Daniel sat on the bed next to his daughter. "Did you tell this to the security guard?"

She nodded, "Yeah, but he didn't believe me either."

He frowned, "I did not say that I don't believe you, Jesse. But it just doesn't make sense. Why would anyone want to hurt you?" His own mind searched for those answers as he saw his daughter and wife do the same in silence for a moment.

"I don't know maybe somebody from one of the other soccer teams? We have that big tournament coming up. And I was the team's best player," she held up her bandaged arm. "I was until this anyway."

Jill smiled weakly, "Then they messed up, sweetie, because a broke arm won't stop you from playing soccer. You don't need your arms."

The girl looked at Jill and frowned, "Maybe."

Daniel shook his head, "I know those sorts of things happen, but still."

He would prefer his daughter's explanation to his own. Had his security been compromised? It was always a possibility. If a terrorist cell or even some of the more militant war protesters discovered even one of their identities, then they and their families all became targets. It was why Operational Security was always tight, especially this close to being activated. He would check with command.

He smiled at his daughter and wife, "I left Travis and Samuel with three toddlers and a Barbie princess, so if you, ladies, will excuse me, I'm going to step out and make a quick call. Make sure that the enemy has not worn down my best men."

He could see the disappointment on his daughter's face. He bent and kissed her forehead, careful to avoid the nasty bump. "Jesse, I'll look into this. I promise you, sweetheart."

"Sure, dad, whatever," said the sulky pre-teen.

Jill stood up as he pushed back the curtain. "Wait, I'll walk with you for a bit. I need to find a loo anyway."

"A restroom," he smiled.

Jill smiled up at him. He could see tiredness and the effects of her recent illness in her face. Dark circles reflected the green depths of her eyes. He wanted to wrap her in his arms and protect her, make it all better, but he knew he could not. 'Lousy husband,' 'murderer' echoed like the refrain of bad elevator music in his mind. He forced his own smile before he turned back towards his daughter. "You sure you'll be all right by yourself?"

Her face showed that was the wrong thing to say even before she opened her smart mouth. "Yeah, I'm not Bel or the babies. I can take care of myself," she replied in a huff.

He bit his tongue to stop his own retort. So why are we sitting in a hospital, he thought. But if what she said was true, if someone had pushed her, then things could have been much worse. Her quick wits to grab the railing very likely may have saved her life or at the very least minimized the damage from her mystery assailant.

"All right, honey. One of us will be back in a couple of minutes," he smiled as they walked out of the tiny cubicle together. They had just stepped through the locked double doors when he felt Jill's hand on his arm.

"Daniel, I didn't want to say anything in front of Jesse, but do you think this could have anything to do with Heather Thomas's custody suit? I know that you won, but still maybe she thinks if something happened to one of the girls the judge might change his mind. Decide we weren't fit," she asked.

He frowned. It was another possibility that he had not even considered. "I suppose, but I doubt it. The woman is like her sister, a short attention span. I'm sure she has moved on to summers in the Hamptons," he tried to joke, " the rich ones not poor little Hampton Roads round here."

"I think it was more a publicity stunt to begin with. I don't think she ever really wanted to be saddled with four little girls to raise. Although I'm sure she wouldn't have. She would have hired a string of nannies," he blushed as he remembered his own determination to hire one. He still hated to admit it, but his mother and Simone had been right. Jill was so much more than any professional could have been to his daughters.

Of course, that did not even begin to scratch the surface on what the woman meant to him, but now was not the time to think about that. "Let me make a couple of calls. Check on the girls."

"More like check on Samuel and Trav," she smiled. "And see if your security has been compromised too, I'm sure."

His eye brows shoot up. How had she known that was the real purpose of this trip? His wife never failed to amaze him. He bent and brushed a soft kiss across her lips, "Go find your restroom, sweetheart. After the doctor comes in with his report, I'll take you home. It's my turn to take hospital duty this time, Missus Monroe."

She smiled weakly, "I'd argue the point, commander, but I think Jesse would prefer having her daddy."

He brushed his finger down her cheek and returned the smile, "You better not let her hear you call her a daddy's girl," he joked. "Besides you need your rest, you're still recovering from the food poisoning." He frowned, "You are still feeling better, right?"

She sighed, "Mostly. I haven't been sick in a couple of days, but still have pouts of the nausea."

He nodded, "You sure it's the same thing Bel had? She was over it so quickly."

Jill nodded, "Yeah, I looked it up on the Internet the other day. It said that sometimes it can take days or even weeks for it to go completely away."

"Still why don't you have the doctor look you over while we're here?"

She shook her head, "I'm fine, Daniel. Or I will be in a couple more days."

Her words hit him in the gut like a sucker punch. 'A couple more days' was all he had with his family. After almost a year grounded at home while his team went into the field and trained, he should be ecstatic about it.

Instead all he felt was reluctance. Bel had been sick, then Jill and now Jesse was injured. He wondered if this was such a good idea after all, perhaps he was pushing things. Perhaps he should give Jill and the girls a bit more time to adjust before he went back.

"Maybe I should speak to command about..."

Jill put her fingers over his lips, "No. Don't even say it. I know you want to go back on active duty. Hell, that was the whole idea behind this arrangement. So don't even mention it. I've spent most of life managing our family while David was on one deployment or another. I might be a bit rusty after five years, but I know my job. Food poisoning, broken arms, burst pipes, sprains, overdue bills, you name it. I can and will handle it. You go do what you need to do, commander. The girls and I will be fine." She held out her other hand, "You have my word on it."

Instead he wrapped his arm about her waist, "I have a better way of sealing the deal, Missus Monroe," he whispered as he bent and brushed a kiss across her lips.

The fire ignited in his gut at even the casual contact. Would he ever get enough of this woman? It was a question that haunted him day and night. He sighed and pulled away reluctantly. "Go find your restroom, sweetheart. If one of us doesn't get back in there soon, the girl will probably drive the nurses nuts."

"I'd be more worried about the looks she keeps giving the doctor if I were you, commander."

"Don't even go there," he said as he swatted her bottom. "Scoot and go play chaperone before I have to pull rank on the poor lieutenant and have a nice grey haired old man take over the case," he laughed.

"You can't keep her a child forever. She's going to start noticing boys her own age soon. Then things get way more complicated than puppy dog eyes and flirting with men she knows she can't actually have."

"That's when I remind them I know a hundred ways to kill them with my bare hands."

"A hundred?"

"More or less, yes. But don't you worry about it, I have others things in mind with you and my bare hands," he blushed as he felt his cock harden in his jeans at the image of her round bottom propped up on the pillow. His palms itched and he could not resist another playful swat at it. "Go or I swear we're going to end up in a compromising position in the janitor's closet."

Jill laughed as she walked away, "Naughty boys like you get into trouble sometimes, commander," she whispered as she walked away. "Big trouble."

He shook his head and laughed, "Promises, promises, Missus Monroe."

***

Jill paced their bedroom, listening for any sound. She had sent Daniel to check on the girls and grab a quick shower. It was their last night together for who knew how long. And she wanted to make it special, very special.

Their bed had seemed lonely last night while he slept in a chair at the hospital with Jesse. But after the one night of observation, the doctors let her come home. Of course, her arm was in a cast and she had a nasty knot on her forehead, but they were lucky once again. It could have been so much worse, Jill shivered at the thought.

Trying to put it all aside and focus upon this night, she walked over to the dresser. Jill bit her lower lip as she studied her reflection in the mirror on top of it. She sucked in her breath and held it. Mistress J stared back at her. It had been so long. Too long since the women had met.

Her bare breasts jutted from between the triangular straps that held up her black leather corset. It was laced up the back with leather straps, but four metal buckles in front added to the look. Her black lace fish net stockings were just visible above her thigh high black leather boots.

She knew that she did not have long. Daniel would be back any minute. Her heart pounded in her chest. Her mouth was dry and the palms of her hands sweaty. This was risky, very risky. But the naked freedom she had felt with her husband since their run-in at the cabin was only part of it. It was not just her body that she had feared exposing to him, but her sexual nature. This side of herself, Mistress J.

Problem was that over the past few days, the vixen had increasingly been slipping out. Demanding to come out and play. When Simone had whisked her away on Saturday afternoon for another of their 'traditions,' the special shopping trip for going away presents for their husbands, she had broken free. The leather riding crop that she had shown Simone and Trisha that afternoon was just the beginning of her purchases. Trouble was what if it was too much?

She heard the shower turn off and shook her head. "Too late now. In for an ounce, in for a pound," she assured the woman in the mirror before slipping back to the bed and running her hands under her pillow to make certain the rest of her things were tucked safely under it. Of course, she might not actually use any of them. She would wait and see her husband's reaction.

She picked up the rope that lay at the foot of the bed. Closing her eyes, she drew in a couple of cleansing breaths as she heard him padding barefoot down the hall.

***

Daniel opened the door to their room expecting another of his wife's sexy lingerie numbers. But his mouth dropped open and he forgot to breath at what he saw there.

His eyes travelled slowly up her lush body from the pointy toes of high heeled leather boots that ended mid-thigh to the fish net stockings that peeked out of the top of them. The stockings were held up by garters suspended from the most devilish thing he had ever seen. Black leather and metal encased his wife's mid-section.

He admired how the damned thing was designed to showcase her full tits. The bottom of it formed a sort of shelf bra that lifted her flesh, made him ache to hold her tits. On each side, two thin leather strips were attached with metal loops coming together at the top of her breast, connected to a larger metal loop and slightly wider piece of leather that wound round her neck holding it all up.

"Holy fuck," was all he could find to say as he took in the sight of her standing at the foot of their bed. That was when he noticed that she held a length of rope in her right hand, was slapping it lightly into her left hand.

His eyes brows lifted and his smile deepened when he saw that. His wife tied up and at his tender mercies. It was a surprise he would definitely enjoy. Some traditions were worth keeping, he thought as he dropped the towel and walked towards her.

He stopped immediately at the steely resolve when she purred, "On your knees."

His eye brows arched, "What, Jill?"

She gritted her teeth and threw back her head, her long blond hair shook about her bare shoulders. "Mistress J to you. And you need to learn some respect."

His eyes flew open at the command. He paused naked just inside their doorway. This was not what he expected, but there was no denying his bodies reaction to it. From the moment he had stepped into the room, his cock had been on full alert, but it throbbed almost painfully at this new turn of events.

"Shut the door and get on your knees," she said as she slapped the rope even harder against her palm.

Daniel considered his options. The gorgeous creature before him bore little resemblance to his normally sedate wife. But damn, did she do something to his blood. It was boiling inside of him. He drew in a deep breath and turned to close the door. Truth was he had to find out more. Had to taste this Mistress J, needed to learn this woman as he was still learning Jill. He fell to his knees at the foot of their bed. He looked up at her and waited. He felt the sting of the rope across his shoulder.

"Did I give you permission to look at me?" she asked.

He frowned. The blow had barely registered, but still if this was the way the night was going, did he want to do this? The ache in his balls answered his mind's stupid question. He lowered his eyes.

"No, Jill," his response was followed by another sting of the rope against his shoulder. He looked up again, a move that was followed by another blow.

"I did not give you permission to look at me. And you will address me at Mistress J."

His mind renewed its battle with his cock but he dropped his head at the sound of authority in her voice. His training made it almost automatic on some level, even as his brain ran through options, scenarios.

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw her kneel next to him. "Poseidon, the safe word is Poseidon," she whispered against his ear.

"Safe word?"

"These little games are only fun if we both enjoy it. If things go too far, if anything makes you uncomfortable," she chuckled, "well, really uncomfortable, all you have to do is say Poseidon and it stops. My word."

He nodded and sighed, "All right, I guess."

She brushed a light kiss across his lips, "Good boy."

His cock twitched at her words, but his heart raced and alarm bells went off in his head as he felt her hands gather his, wrapping the rope that she had been holding about his wrists. On one hand, she couldn't use the rope like a whip if it was wrapped around his wrists. He felt her tie off the knots and tested the bonds. He smiled, not bad. Not bad at all. He could get out, of course, and that was the only thing that kept him from calling an end to this little game right there and then.

When he saw her reach for the silk scarf at the foot of the bed, his apprehension increased. He tested the bonds once more as she wrapped it around his face, blocking his vision. It was not the first time that he had been bound and blind-folded. He trained regularly in such things and he knew on an intellectual level he could handle the situation. And on a sexual level? He sighed heavily. He could not deny that his body was turned on by it all.

He heard her moving about the room. Used his other senses as he had trained to locate the enemy, except this was not the enemy. It was his wife, well, sort of anyway. And that knowledge and Poseidon kept him kneeling at the foot of their bed, waiting further instructions.

He heard her get on the bed, then it was silent for several moments. "All right, commander, let's see just how good you are," she said in that deep throaty voice that twisted his guts into knots and had his balls aching for the past ten minutes. "Crawl to me. I want you to show me how much you want to fuck this sweet pussy by worshiping my body. Start with kissing my boots and work your way up. I think you know what I mean. And if you don't?" She paused, "Well, disobedience will be punished."

Daniel nodded his head and homed in on her location using the sound of her voice. With his arms tied behind his back and the blindfold, it was slow going. When he reached the bed, he could tell that his wife was laying back, her legs spread wide. He gave a half smile. It was the same position he would have used the rope to tie her into, so things could not be that bad. This order was certainly one he did not mind following.

He located a booted foot and kissed the toe. He worked his way upwards, leather was not what he wanted to taste. When he reached her lace covered upper thigh, he began to lick softly. He could feel her breathing getting faster. It was the only sign that his ministrations were having any affect on her. It was frustrating, he missed his wife's soft moans and whimpers. He sucked softly at her inner thigh, determined to get a reaction out of her.

"Not half bad, now the other foot, commander," was not the one he had been hoping for.

He tested the bounds, slipped them just a bit looser. He did though turn his attention to her right leg, repeating the process. When he reached her upper thigh once more he began to alternate, kissing, licking and sucking first one leg and then the other.

She might refuse to give into whimpers and moans, deny him that auditory satisfaction, but this time it was not only her quickened breathing that told him his efforts were pleasing his wife. Her smell filled him. As much as she might fight it, there was no denying that she wanted him.

"Do you really need to be told what to do now, commander?" she drawled.

He smiled as he nipped playfully at the tender skin of her inner thigh, "I did not want to presume. Did not want to displease you, Mistress J," he tried hard to keep the 'teasing' out of his voice.

"I heard that impudence," she barked. "Would you like to start at the soles of the boots this time, commander?"

"No, Mistress." Daniel nibbled at her other thigh, "Is that what you really want?"

"I want you to learn some manners. Try asking nicely. Please, Mistress J, can I eat your sweet pussy?"