chair, suddenly shy to share details. “Um... I’m not sure where to start.”
“Let me guess, then. You’ve been hanging out with Luke, who’s been hanging out with the Brothers. He took you to bed, shocking you with his dominant ways and taboo demands?”
I ask, “How did you know?”
The bread arrives. Charlotte waits until we’re alone again before answering me. She gives me a sidelong glance, whispering, “I’m married to a Bachman. And I’ve seen Luke in action at work—he’s totally dominant. Men like that have... tendencies.”
“Such as?” I ask, a dampening in my panties.
She gives me a naughty smile. “The desire to be in control. To spoil the woman he likes, and, when she’s been very, very bad...”
Her words trail off, waiting from me to fill in the blanks. I ask the words I so dread saying out loud. “He... spanks them?”
She smirks. “You got it.”
There’s a trembling between my thighs, a wet, pulsing hunger brought on by her coy words. I tear off a hunk of bread, chewing nervously. I ask, “Why did you never tell me this before?”
She laughs. “It’s not a secret. How have you not picked up on their ways, working for the family for four years?”
I think back to my time at Bachman’s Jewelers. Often, the men and women come in without their partners, purchasing gifts for one another. But when a married couple did come into the store...
I think of the way the men always press their hand flat into the lower back of their woman, guiding them around the store.
I remember one time in particular. It was years ago, when Bronson, the then leader of the Village brought his little wife Paige in. She said something snappy to him. He took her by the arm, whispered something in her ear that made her blush, then led her from the store.
And when Rockland came in once, something funny happened. Bronson was in that day and I remember the two of them talking. I heard Rockland say to Bronson, “If she doesn’t get that attitude in check, her ass is going to be the same color as her hair.”
Tess is a redhead.
I chalked the conversation up to poor hearing and an overactive imagination. But I lay in bed that night picturing Tess’s lovely body stretched over Rockland’s hard thighs. Him spanking the milky skin of her bottom until it was as red as a cherry.
I’ve heard rumor about the couples, but who hasn’t? The Bachmans are constantly the topic of discussion in the city, but I never really thought the scandalous gossip was true.
Shaking my stream of thoughts from my head, I admit to Charlotte, “There may have been some signs. But the whole thing, it’s just so unbelievable.”
She says, “Is it though? A power exchange is common amongst couples. It keeps the peace, leaves one partner feeling like a protector, in charge and responsible, and the other feeling loved and adored. It works for me.”
Our food arrives, giving me a moment to collect my thoughts.
Pushing my food around with my fork, I murmur, “Sounds nice. Almost too good to be true.”
She shrugs as she says, “Well, there are drawbacks.”
The pasta she’s ordered for us is delicious. Slurping up the end of a noodle, I ask, “Such as?”
“Such as when you can’t sit down on a hard chair without your ass aching. Or when your man cuts off your wine intake, or makes you go to bed on time. Sometimes you don’t want to submit, but you have to.”
I sigh, “I would love someone to take care of me like that.”
She smiles. “It is wonderful. And it sounds like you might have a man interested in you.”
I shake my head, saying, “But he’s not a Bachman.”
Her tone is soft. “You have your heart set on being a Beauty, don’t you?”
“Yes,” I answer honestly.
She puts her hand over mine. “I’ll be honest, my heart is set on it too. I’d love you to be one of us. But I don’t want to see you pass up a good guy because he’s not a Bachman. And who knows, maybe one day he will be one. I know he’s close with a lot of the guys.”
We chat of other things, a light flow of conversation running between us as we eat. When our bowls are empty, I know our time is almost up. I feel the conversation coming to a close, but I haven’t yet addressed my most pressing issue.
I force myself to bring it up. “Charlotte, there’s