Page 9

Sadie held her breath as she waited for Jagger to unlock the door to his apartment upstairs. The way he was fumbling with his keys tipped her off that she wasn't the only one who was a bundle of nerves.

When Jagger managed to swing the door open and gesture for Sadie to move into the space, she tossed her jacket onto the chair beside the bed before taking a seat. As her weight fell onto the bed, the mattress groaned, the springs giving a small resistance to the girl on top of it.

Jagger locked the door behind them before turning to face Sadie, who was casually lounging on the edge of his bed, looking like a picture of perfect sin - still dressed in all black, a flush still on her cheeks from her orgasm downstairs in the bar. He hadn't meant it to go quite like that, but he was definitely not complaining about how it ended.

Sadie certainly was not, either.

Jagger plopped down into the chair beside the bed, putting his jacket with hers. As he reached down to remove his boots, he muttered, "As much as I love you in those clothes, I'm not going to be able to focus on a movie if you're next to me like that."

Sadie leaned back and balanced on her elbows, trying to look inviting.

"Should I take them off then?" The tantalizing way her words shook him made him look up from his task.

Jagger cursed as he threw the boots against the wall and charged to his dresser.

"Like that's much better," he whined, almost pitifully. Settling on a white T-shirt and red plaid pajamas that should work for Sadie and grabbing the gray sweatpants he was wearing the other day for himself, he presented her with the clothing. "Here."

Sadie pouted and sat up to grab them from his outstretched hand. She wouldn't admit it, but she was excited to get into something comfortable after the long day they had, even if it was barely 7:00 p.m. now. She started to lift her shirt over her head, and Jagger spun around to give her some privacy. It was a surprising and kind gesture, considering that he had literally shoved a vibrator down her jeans while she was working tonight.

Jagger knew better than to watch her get undressed, not trusting himself to keep his hands off of her. He could hear her shifting on the bed and the rustle of fabric, her shirt hitting the ground, and the pull of her zipper. He swallowed and quickly shed his own clothes before pulling on his sweatpants.

Clearing his throat but needing to break the tension, he asked, "So, what do you want to watch?"

"Anything is fine, I'm just excited to lay down," Sadie said honestly, the promise of relaxation looming.

Jagger turned around, confident he had given her enough time to change and crawled onto the bed to join her after grabbing the remote. She still looked far too good, even in his baggy shirt, the rest of her body under his covers. Jagger wrapped an arm around her as she snuggled up and settled beside him, her arm across his bare stomach. They had done this a dozen times, and even though they had shared some intimate moments the past week, nothing felt more comforting than being close to her best friend.

They were silent as Jagger clicked through some Netflix suggestions before putting on Django Unchained, Sadie's favorite Tarantino film. He felt her smile against his chest as it started playing, and her breath tickled him as she asked, "Are you ready to talk about your 'red room of pain', Mr. Gray?" Sadie teased.

Jagger's arm tightened around her shoulders, and his head fell against his modest wooden headboard. "Can't we just enjoy the movie?" he pleaded.

Sadie giggled, and it had a dangerous quality that made Jagger nervous.

"Oh, please. We've both seen this movie a dozen times. However, I have never seen a playroom before, and I am dying to know what my best friend has been doing there."

"I don't know," he admitted honestly. "It was just something that interested me. I guess I spent my life obeying orders and wanted to see what it was like on the other side. The feeling of control and having someone submit to you completely is exhilarating."

"Have you done a lot?" She asked gently, trying not to be too jealous at the thought of Jagger and this other side of him she didn't know until tonight.

"I've had a few submissives," he answered carefully. "Nothing long-term, and more for the learning process and knowledge that needed to be addressed. They were fully aware that I was starting out and offered to help."

"So, like, they let you practice on them?" She asked, looking to understand.

Jagger sighed. "Yeah."

A hand threaded through his hair as he willed himself to calm down, the topic of choice with the person he'd wanted to build that room for in his arms asking about it making him nervous. "In a sense, we kind of helped each other. They were new to being a sub as well. We experimented and tested boundaries and researched."

"It sounds more like work than sex." Sadie wrinkled her nose.

Jagger laughed, and Sadie raised her head and shifted to look up at him. "In the beginning, it is," he admitted. "If you want to learn how to be safe about it. It's not like you can jump into this stuff blindly; you need to put in the work to get good at it. Like anything in life."

"Are you," Sadie paused to bite her lower lip. "Are you good at it now?"

Jagger dared to look down at Sadie, who was looking at him with lust and curiosity, and his Adam's apple bobbed as he found his voice. "I think I'm pretty decent."

With a nod, she acknowledged that information and snuggled back into her place on his chest. "Will you teach me?" She asked after a pause, her voice so quiet he wasn't sure what he heard her say at first.

Jagger exhaled with a hiss. "It's not so much about teaching when it comes to submission. It's about trust. You'd have to trust me, Sweets. You'd have to completely trust me with your body and mind."

Sadie let out a little yawn, her eyelids heavy. The peace of being in Jagger's arms was causing her to feel heavy with exhaustion.

"But I already do trust you," she whispered, and her fingers traced the snake on his hip.

"I know, baby." Jagger kissed her forehead, brushing her hair out of her face with a gentle swipe of his fingers. "You better after that time I saved your ass when we went hiking."

Sadie's laughter shook her shoulders as she tried to defend herself. "I did not need saving! I merely slipped!" She kicked his leg lightly as she pulled herself closer to him.

Jagger rolled his eyes, and then his strong fingers were on her side, tickling her until she was peeling with laughter.

"Stop!" Sadie pleaded with tears streaming down her face from the onslaught of his attack. "Jag!"

Jagger's smile was warm when he let up and pulled her back onto his chest, her laughter quieting.

"I hate hiking," he admitted, seemingly out of nowhere.

Sadie sounded confused when she spoke. "But you always went hiking with me during college."

Jagger shrugged, slumping down the headboard so he was almost lying down with Sadie on the bed. "You liked it, and I didn't want you going on those trails by yourself. I know what's out there and how easily men want to eat you up. Besides, it gave me an excuse to touch you often when you lost your balance every ten minutes."

"Doesn't seem like you need much of an excuse lately." Sadie teased.

"You're right."

"I know."

"Good."

"Well, I feel like today has certainly been enlightening."

You have no idea , Jagger's mind whispered, thinking back to finding that stupid app on her phone.

"About my lifestyle and that room-" Jagger took a deep breath. "It's not something I expected you to know about until much later. I'm sure some of the stuff there might have surprised you."

"Not really," she admitted. "I was more turned on imagining myself in there. Tied up to the wall with those restraints you had hanging -"

Jagger covered her mouth gently with a deep groan ripping from his throat. "You're going to kill me." He removed his hand and rested it on her bicep before kissing her head again.

"We can talk about it more another time. You're exhausted, and my self-control is lacking when you're around on the best of days, let alone after making you cum in those tight jeans.”

Sadie let out a tired laugh and smiled. "Fine. Mind if I crash here tonight? I'll have to leave early to get to The Upside Scoop tomorrow and meet my mom anyway."

"I wasn't letting you go home. It's been too long since we've had time together like this, and I'm going to be greedy."

Sadie couldn't see his grin but heard it in his voice.

"I like it when you're greedy," she sighed and was out moments later.

Jagger watched as Sadie fell asleep on his chest and played with her thick golden hair, gently combing his fingers through it. He wanted to tell her he knew it was her from the app, but with her new knowledge of his playroom, he decided against it. They would be apart for the next few days while she worked with her mom during the week, and it would give him time to figure out their changing dynamic.

The sound of gunshots from the screen startled him, and he clicked the television off to succumb to the pull of sleep with his Sadie wrapped around him.