Page 12 of Eddie (Romance & Revolutions #7)

Shelby

Best date ever and it wasn’t over yet.

“I wonder if he’s planning on staying the night?” I was talking to myself but somehow the GPS voice in my car answered me.

“Yes, he is. Turn right in one hundred feet.”

That was fun.

“Good.” Not worrying about what Not-Henry was thinking made life easier. More information was always a good thing, though, so I tried again. “Hmm…I wonder what he’s going to do to me?”

Nothing.

He was such a brat.

He was going to do something…but fucking with me about it was going to come first.

I tried asking in a few different ways as we pulled into my parking lot, but the GPS just gave the basic directions. Not-Henry had to be thoroughly enjoying himself because as he got out beside me, the wicked twinkle was back in his eyes.

“I’m glad you’re going to stay.” He probably already knew that based on my chattering to him in the car but saying it to him in person seemed like the right thing to do. “Do you have clothes?”

He hadn’t brought much into the club, so I wasn’t sure.

“Yes, but I was going to double-check with you before I brought my overnight bag out.” He shrugged as I smiled. “Just because I answered your question didn’t mean you might not have some limits.”

“I don’t.” That made him smile and he shook his head. “I’d tell you if I did.”

Crossing his arms over his chest, Not-Henry pretended to frown at me. “Give me one limit about my spending the night.”

Oh.

Um.

One limit.

I could do that.

He needed me to do that.

“Don’t eat the last of something if you need a midnight snack.

I haven’t lived with anyone in a very long time, but it’s something that drives me crazy.

I go to bed thinking I have one piece of cake left or something like that and then when I wake up it’s been snack-nabbed. ” It was very disconcerting.

“That’s understandable and a very reasonable limit.” Not-Henry’s frown got more serious. “That guy shouldn’t have needed to be told not to clean out your fridge at two in the morning, though. That was just rude.”

He was rude in general, so I probably should’ve expected it.

“I really wanted that cake.” It’d been the only thing to come out of that date and I hadn’t gotten to enjoy it.

I hadn’t gotten to come either.

“How about we go next week sometime?” Not-Henry came around the car and kissed my cheek. “You’ll get more cake and we’ll make sure that date goes better.”

“The big piece?” The restaurant was known for having gigantic pieces of cake if you asked for the monster versions. “You don’t like it when I get too much dessert.”

Not-Henry rolled his eyes. “Because you eat it all at one time and end up giving yourself a stomach ache. Every time. That entire box of cookies? That was the jumbo size and you know it.”

Ugh.

“That’s not the point. Serving sizes on boxes are always wrong. Everyone knows that. No one eats three cookies.” Taking his hand, I turned him around to make sure he knew to get his stuff out of the car. “They’re informative suggestions.”

“It was the party box that was designed to feed a family of ten for a week.” Not-Henry couldn’t seem to control his eyes or his exaggerations. “You ended up searching online doctor sites to see if overeating junk food could kill you.”

“I think those had that weird fake sugar stuff that gives everyone a stomach ache.” Regular cookies didn’t try to kill you.

“Keep telling yourself that and I’ll keep monitoring what you’re eating.” He seemed like he was getting stubborn but he distracted himself as he got a small duffel bag out of his trunk. “You think I’m watching you close now. Just wait and see.”

“The only way you can get closer is that bathroom mirror or you moving in with me.” I shrugged when he pressed his lips together so he wouldn’t laugh. “I’m not worried.”

My apartment didn’t have enough space for all his weird computer stuff and he knew it. Somehow just in his car there seemed to be extra computer gadgets in the dashboard, so I could only guess how much he had in his house.

Apartment?

“What kind of building do you live in?” Not-Henry was very private, so I was open to him telling me he wouldn’t answer yet.

“I own a house on the other side of town. Over near the park, not the warehouse district where we were earlier.” His answer made me realize I needed to look up on the map where the club was because I had no idea where we’d ended up.

“Okay.” As he closed the trunk and took my hand again, he gave me a curious look. “I was just talking to myself and realized I didn’t know if you lived in an apartment or had something else. So I was curious.”

He gave a half shrug as we started toward the building and headed inside. “Anything else you’re curious about? If I’m going to keep watching out for you and dating you, it’s reasonable that you get to ask things about me.”

That seemed like a lot of responsibility.

“I’m kind of worried that you’ll answer me if I ask something, so I’m good for the time being.” My honest response got a smile from him as we headed up the stairs. “I know lots of important stuff and I’ll figure out more as we go along.”

“Sounds reasonable.” Not-Henry let me swing his hand as we finally made it to my apartment. “It’s also reasonable to be curious, so we’re not going to overthink it.”

There was no way I was going to agree to that.

“Do you want dessert or a tour?” What was our plan? “Are we going to watch a movie and pretend to take things slow?”

Ha. I found questions that I needed to ask.

Before I could point that out to Not-Henry, he had me pinned against the door and my squeak got a wicked smirk from him as his eyes sparkled.

“I know what you’ve got in your kitchen and there’s no way you have dessert.

I also know every inch of your apartment, Shelby boy.

So I think I’m going to jump right to playing with my favorite toy. ”

Me.

Yay.

My sigh got a devilish grin from him and sent a shiver through me. “Oh, Shelby boy, were you really afraid I’d be romantic and take thing slow?”

“Kind of?” People were just really annoying. “I wasn’t sure if you’d change your mind after dinner and doing date things.”

“Typical date things, you mean?” Not-Henry looked understanding when I nodded. “We’re not typical people. I’m not going to go back and forth about what I want or make you guess what I mean. I’m not going to go hot and cold on you or tell you that you’re weird for wanting to be tied up.”

Because he was Not-Henry and he was different.

“I…I might need a few more reminders of that.” It was hard. “Not to be a pain in the ass or anything but…but I’m not used to getting what I need in a relationship.”

“They just want to ignore you until it’s time for a quicky or slow vanilla sex and then they want to put you back on the shelf until they’re ready to play again.

” Not-Henry kissed my forehead when I nodded.

“You’re not that kind of toy. You need attention and to be watched over and played with on a regular basis. ”

I didn’t think that was hard to figure out but I’d been given so much space in relationships I’d started to worry I didn’t know what that word meant.

“But…but you’ll tell me if that gets annoying?” I wasn’t sure why it drove people nuts but I knew it did.

“Most of the people I know or watch closely started dating their mate and moved in with them the same month they met.” Not-Henry shrugged when I gave a quick laugh. “So we’re actually going slow compared to what seems to be normal.”

I liked his definition of normal.

“Do you think I’m your mate?” That was true keeping-me talk right there…and old-fashioned enough that it had me wondering if there were spicy books where becoming mates was a big part of the story.

Did he believe in mates?

Most people I’d met thought the idea of there being a perfect person for everyone was ridiculous.

My parents had thought it was ludicrous too, but I remember my grandparents talking about it when I was really young.

They’d been disappointed when my parents said they wanted a stable partnership and not something silly like a mate.

My mother had said one time that would probably have required giving someone else entirely too much attention and she liked how practical my father was.

I didn’t want practical…it was worse than romantic.

Practical romance would be the worst, though. Who wanted one romantic date a year on an anniversary and then to be ignored the rest of the time?

“So you found another question to ask me, huh?” Not-Henry’s wicked smirk sent another shiver through me as he pulled me back to the present. “Next thing you know you’re going to be asking me about my views on knotting and heat sex.”

Oh.

“You…you’re going to like those.” I didn’t need to ask about either of them. “I read the articles that popped up in my emails.”

That grin was something else…something naughty.

“You’re right…and a very good boy for remembering what I sent you.” Not-Henry was so proud of me it had me flashing hot and cold as he quietly studied me for several long moments. “Good boys should be rewarded.”

Yay.

Swallowing hard, I slowly nodded as I tried to figure out where my brain had wandered off to. “And…and you need to get what you want too.”

Logically I knew he’d enjoyed taking care of me after our scene and it seemed to have given him a satisfied feeling that orgasms did for me, but I wasn’t sure that would be enough all the time. “I…I like all kinds of things while being tied up.”

“I know.” Not-Henry kissed my nose, grinning when I scrunched my face up. “Don’t worry. I’m going to thoroughly use you this time.”

“Really?” People changed their minds a lot and just decided randomly that they didn’t need to talk to you for six months. “You being happy is important to me.”

He had to need more than just watching over me to be happy.

Right?

“First of all, you make me happy just being with me in person.” Not-Henry eased back just enough to take my shirt off as I thought about how to push back on that without being pushy.

When my shirt was on the floor, he cupped my face. “Shoes off.”

Simple orders really were nice.

“Yes, Sir.” That made his lips curl up faintly, but it was an almost serious look.

“Good boy.” He kissed my jaw as I toed off my shoes. “You make me happy when you obey me and when you give yourself to me.”

“I…I like belonging to you.” He sent sparks through me when he finally got to my ear and nibbled on it, but the sensations he was flooding through me got even better when he reached for my pants. “You…you’ve always taken good care of me.”

He’d kept me safe and watched over me…he’d answered my questions and made me feel seen…he even understood how badly I wanted to be restrained without making me feel weird.

He was my Not-Henry.

“There are lots of new ways I’m going to take care of you now. More watching. More caretaking. More rules for you to try to get around.” My shrug got a chuckle from him. “Yeah, you can’t help yourself with that, but I like a challenge.”

That was really good for me.

“We’re going to work out a schedule when I can come over and bathe you and get you ready for bed since you don’t do that on time on your own.” He smiled when I sighed.

“But you turn off the internet if I don’t go to bed on time and if I do it too many times in a row dessert disappears out of my grocery order.” My only other option was to go to the store and that was a mess of angry people and rude people and people who couldn’t dress themselves for public.

Like me when I forgot to put on real clothes…or that man who kept wearing fishnet stockings when he needed sheer panty hose to match his outfits.

“Then behave and go to bed when you’re supposed to.” Not-Henry grinned when I pouted. “See? This is why I’m going to come over on a regular basis. You’ll have a job before long and then you’ll regret your ridiculous schedule.”

Oh.

Maybe.

“It’s entirely possible that it will take me weeks and weeks to get a job.” My skill set was remarkably narrow. I could pick out clothes for people and make cute outfits for video game characters and talk to nearly everyone.

That should sound like a lot of skills but it technically wasn’t.

Not-Henry barked out a laugh and grinned as I frowned at him. “Shelby boy, you just met one of the richest men in the entire world who loves clothes more than just about anything on the planet and is threatening to buy a video game just to make sure he gets the good outfits.”

“He really shouldn’t cheat.” Wait. “What?”

Not-Henry nearly giggled as he finished taking off my clothes. “He’s already figuring out where he can use your remarkable skill set because I don’t think he’s met anyone lately in the fashion world that he actually likes.”

Well, a lot of them were overly dramatic pains in the asses.

“He can’t help me.” At least, I was pretty sure he shouldn’t. “That sounds like I’m cheating.”

Not-Henry rolled his eyes. “Look at who we’re talking about. Austin cheats like he breathes.”

“He just likes being right.” Some people just couldn’t help themselves.

“Just do your best to tell him no once in a while when you start working for him.” Not-Henry really didn’t seem to be listening to me.

He cheated too.

Leaning over, he grabbed my cuffs out of the bag and smiled. “Now, it’s time to turn off that sexy brain of yours…no more clothes…no more Austin…no more job worries…no more thinking.”

Maybe I didn’t mind it when some people cheated.