Emma slowly made her way to the french doors that separated her from whatever spiteful vitriol she would be enduring for the foreseeable future and unlocked the small gold latch so she could get on with it.
Regina was precisely where she left her, which both surprised her and made her a little proud that she hadn't used magic to untie herself. The fact that she adhered to the rules even in the face of embarrassment spoke volumes about how far she was willing to go to please Emma. With a wide smile, she crossed the room to check on the woman who had her head down against the counter.
"Sorry about that, they-"
Regina lifted her head to stare down the Savior, eyes brimming with angry upset and cheeks stained with tears. She took a shuddering breath and cried, "Apples!"
"Woah, hey, it's okay, I-"
Regina yanked on the rope that held her wrists and snapped the ring against the cabinets and yelled through fresh tears, "APPLES, EMMA!"
"Okay, okay," Emma said in a soothing voice, but quickly went to the toy drawer and pulled out the emergency seatbelt cutter and with a shaky hand, sliced through the ropes that held the woman's legs and wrists.
The relief on Regina's face gave way to shuddering sobs, and Emma did the only thing she could and wrapped herself around the Queen. "I'm sorry, Regina. I didn't lock the front door after you got here and I should have. I wasn't thinking! I'm so sorry!"
Humiliation outweighed her anger, and Regina collapsed into Emma's strong arms and let go of her upset and cried. She hadn't intended on losing control of her emotions in such a way; she intended on yelling and screaming at the carelessness of the Savior; because she'd put her trust in Emma's hands completely. She'd been stripped down out of her armor and was at the height of vulnerability when the bubble of safety had been cruelly punctured. She could do little more than feel betrayed by the indignity of it. When she watched the Savior close the doors to the kitchen, she felt trapped and unprotected which was a far cry from how she regularly felt with Emma Swan and the familiar feeling of being powerless against the morally smug Snow White gripped her, and she lost any, and all, rational thought.
Emma held tight to the shivering brunette and felt her heart break as she listened to the uncontrolled sobs of the Queen as she let loose her emotion into her chest. She considered the level of Regina's upset and figured it was more than just potentially being caught tied up and nude in the company of the Savior. Could embarrassment be the sole reason to unglue the normally stoic regal Queen?
Emma hugged the woman tighter and whispered, "I'm so sorry, Regina. I screwed up. I know, and I'm sorry. I wouldn't have let them come in here to see you. I would have broken someone's arm had they tried." She pressed her lips against the side of the brunette's head and breathed the woman in and said, "Please forgive me, precious."
The brunette shook her head as she sniffled back her runny nose and pressed her hands against Emma's chest in an attempt to pull away and Emma couldn't help but feel the rejection in that small silent action. Everything in her wanted to resist letting the woman go, but she knew better than to try and hold onto someone who didn't want to be held, and when Regina silently turned from her she felt her heartbreak.
Emma was in an urgent panic when Regina put the loose fitting blouse back on and started gathering up the rest of her clothes and felt helpless in the face of the Queen's apparent dismissal.
She was leaving. She safeworded out, and that was it. Her trust had been broken because self-important strangers felt they had the right to enter her home uninvited, and now her Queen was leaving. She was giving up on everything they have over a mistake, just as others have done. She should have locked the door. She should have double checked. She should have tacked a sign on the front lawn that read, "Keep Out!" She should have kept her Queen safe!
She let go of her pride in the face of the fear of losing this woman and grabbed Regina's arm and spun her around and demanded, "Don't go!"
Regina's red eyes pulled into confusion when she demanded, "What?"
"Don't go," Emma repeated and stepped closer to her and pleaded, "Please? I'm sorry! I had no idea anyone, let alone my parents, would just walk into my house like that! I mean seriously, who does that? I swear, I'll make it up to you. Just tell me how to fix this, please?" Emma haphazardly pulled Regina into a tight hug and breathed into the woman's dark hair, "Just don't leave! I'll do whatever you need me to in order to make this better. I can't-"
After a moment, Regina cleared her throat, and Emma realized how tightly she held her and loosened her grip with an apology. She noticed she'd started crying and tried to hide it by angrily wiping the offending tears away.
Regina pulled back from the possessive grip of her Mistress, and her hand came up and stroked the blonde's damp cheek in an intimate way she's never done before. She looked into red-rimmed green eyes and saw fear for the first time. Emma was vulnerable with her, just as much as she was and that realization reminded her that she was safe with her Mistress. Her Miss Swan.
Regina took a chance in the face of Emma's raw emotion and nodded her head in agreement.
"You'll stay?"
Regina nodded again as she looked into watery eyes and let her thumb trace down to Emma's upper lip. She circled around and grabbed her chin to pull her down into a tentative kiss. She'd never initiated kissing Emma. Emma always kissed her. So many times in the last few months. In hellos and goodbyes, in the heat of passion, in soft admiration, but Regina had never instigated this level of intimacy with Emma. When their lips touched, she felt the sudden and acute desire to be closer and wrapped her hands up into long blonde hair, pulling her into a deeper exchange.
Emma felt the urgency pouring off of her Queen and wanted to make sure that they were both on the same page. It had been an emotional night, so she pulled back and asked, "Regina?"
"I'm sorry," the brunette felt the burn of her embarrassment and attempted to look away from the scrutinizing gaze of the Savior feeling as though she'd overstepped.
Emma saw the pink in the apples of Regina's cheeks and stopped her from pulling away with a gentle, "Hey." When dark apologetic eyes were once again focused, Emma said, "Don't apologize, I'm simply checking in with you to make sure you're okay."
"I am," Regina replied and added, "now."
Emma licked her lips in anticipation and said, "I'd like to take you upstairs, would that be alright?"
"Is the door locked?"
"Deadbolted."
"Then yes, Miss Swan, you may take me, anywhere you like."
Emma permitted Regina to take a shower before they continued and returned to the kitchen to clean up the mess she had made during their scene. She picked up the pieces of shredded rope, throwing them into the garbage then gathered up the remaining supplies to bring them upstairs where they belong.
She thought about the near miss and how it could have been avoided had she done her job as Regina's Mistress and made sure the house was secure before getting her into such a compromising position. She berated herself and her ability to truly be Regina's Domme with a harshness she hadn't experienced in almost a decade. Her carelessness caused Regina to safeword out, and her regret was immeasurable. As if her self-worth haunts all came back to her at once; she doubled over in despair. With her face in her hands, she cried, remembering how frightened the brunette had looked when she'd left her. How she demanded to be let go. How she had carelessly brushed off the plea in favor of controlling the situation; choosing to stop her parents instead of giving Regina permission to use her magic to keep herself safe. Knowing the decisions she made caused true harm made her ache inside.
Once she pulled herself together enough to be able to breathe, she went into the pantry and pulled out the long velvet box that carried Regina's real collar and opened it. She looked at the detail of the jewels and imagined how it would look around the brunette's neck. Doubt had crept into her heart, and she knew she'd made a mistake by purchasing the piece so soon; before she'd actually earned it.
She wiped the stray tear away from her cheek and snapped the cover closed. Regina had been hurt and humiliated, but she still had a chance to make it up to her. She could still fix this. She could still earn her Dominance. She had to. When Regina was picking up her belongings in an attempt to flee, Emma realized how important the Mayor was to her. She knew she cared, but it wasn't until the prospect of losing her did she realize how much. Perhaps Ruby was right about the L word; however, she wasn't ready to think about that right now. The chance for rejection was far too high.
Emma made her way to her bedroom and dumped the pile of toys into one of her drawers then safely stowed away the day collar under a stack of underwear. She pushed away the feelings the piece of jewelry caused and figured if on the off chance she did earn it, at least she would have it. Otherwise, for the time being, she would forget about it entirely.
She stripped down out of her clothes, replacing her casual wear with a black undershirt and a fresh pair of underwear. She pulled out a leather harness and tugged it on over her hips. Before she could slip the dildo into its place, a soft questioning voice floated down the hall, "Miss Swan?"
Emma was up and into the hall before she answered, "Is everything alright?"
Regina's damp head poked out through the bathroom door, and she asked, "How would you like me to," -stopping mid-sentence when she saw the state of dress the Savior was in. Wide eyes strolled down the Savior's lean form and settled on the black leather harness.
Emma licked her lips as she attempted to hide her smirk at Regina's blatant ogling, "Are you still nude?"
Dark eyes flicked up and met her gaze before answering, "I'm in a towel."
"Well, I think you may be overdressed, but that will suffice."
Regina bit her bottom lip to hold back a sly grin and replied, "Okay."
"Come to the bedroom when you're finished," Emma instructed, then turned and made her way back to her room.
Emma pulled out a condom and set it next to the large blue dildo she wanted to use then looked through the few toys she'd intended on playing with earlier. She closed the drawer, tossing out her plans for the evening.
"Miss Swan?"
Emma turned around to meet the uncertain look of the Mayor standing in the towel she said she was wearing, holding a small bag of toiletries. "Where would you like my belongings?"
"Oh, over here," Emma said and went over to the wardrobe on the other side of the bed. "This is where you can keep your stuff when you are here, or stay over." Emma opened the top drawer to show her that it was empty.
"You want me to sleep in your bedroom?" Regina looked around, and Emma could see the confusion on her face and prodded, "What's wrong?"
Regina cleared her throat and said, "Nothing."
"No, I know that face, what's wrong?"
"Whenever you stayed over at my house, you slept in the guest bedroom."
"Would you feel more comfortable in the guest room here?"
"No, I-" Regina opened the doors to the wardrobe, and as she suspected, it was empty.
Emma stepped closer so she could wrap her hands around Regina's waist and gently pulled her against her. She slipped under the opening where the towel ends met, and fingers found damp skin. Pressing her nose into the cool black tendrils of Regina's hair, she whispered, "Tell me."
"Is this mine?"
"Yeah. I know how you like your stuff hung up and neat and well my closet is neat now because I just moved in, but I know myself well enough to know it won't stay that way for very long."
"So you bought me a wardrobe," Regina asked slowly. "For your room?"
"I did." Emma slipped her hand up and loosened the towel so it would drop to the floor then asked as she palmed the darker woman's breast, "Is that okay?"
Her body responded to the possessive touches, and Regina hissed a breathy, "Yes."
"Good girl," Emma replied and teased the firm nipple in her hand. After a few skillful moments, Regina was leaning hard against her, her head tossed back against her shoulder, and her hips were grinding her ass against the leather harness that surrounded Emma's pelvis.
"You're in such a state, are you, precious?" Emma cooed.
"Yes!"
"You need me, don't you?"
"Yes, Miss Swan!"
"Tell me what you need, precious."
"I want… I need…"
"Yes?"
"I need you to take me, please Miss!"
"Anything for you," Emma replied, then turned the Queen's head and kissed her hard on the mouth.