Disclaimer - All recognisable characters belong to their original owners. I do not make a profit from writing this; I simply do it for my own amusement. No copyright infringement intended.

Chapter Twenty-Seven: Aftercare

Rose lay in a boneless pile, a content smile curved across her face as Emmett removed the blindfold from her eyes, enabling her to look at his handsome face. A brilliant smile pulled at his lips as he undid the cuffs from around her wrists and ankles, soft fingers gently massaging at her skin, sending tingles of an entirely different kind through her body. He murmured words of praise, telling her how good she was, how good she did, how much she had pleased him. Silently, he walked over to one of the kitchen drawers and pulled out a tub of lotion. Deftly, his fingers undid the lid and he scooped a generous amount into his palms before slathering it over her skin.

A sigh of relief left Rose as the cooling cream soothed her heated flesh, Emmett's fingers working fucking magic into her body.

As he massaged her skin, the sweet words from his mouth never ceased, never stopped. They left Rose feeling warm and bashful—despite what they'd just done. She could have preened under his compliments. She was so fucking proud of herself. Another hurdle overcome, another experience under her belt. Proof that she could do this. That this lifestyle was for her. That she wasn't damaged or broken. Proof she was healing.

Pulling her out of her thoughts, Emmett placed his lips at her temple before gently pulling her into a sitting position. Playfully, the tip of his nose rubbed against hers, eyes staring deeply into hers as the corner of his mouth turned upwards into a smile. He reached behind him, pulling his plaid shirt from the dining room chair and helping Rose into it, the soft cotton caressing her skin.

Immediately, butterflies wove across her stomach as Rose bit her lip and looked away, pulling her hair from underneath the collar before she combed her fingers through it, aware of just how brazen she must look.

With care, Emmett buttoned up the shirt, giving Rose a contented smile. "Usually I'm taking your clothes off," he rumbled in his deep voice.

Rose just giggled, a squeal slipping from her lips when Emmett suddenly slipped his hands under her body and carried her from the kitchen.

"Emmett!" Rose wrapped all of her limbs around him and clung to his strong body for dear life.

A chuckle simply reverberated through his chest.

He placed her on the couch. "I'll make you some breakfast."

Rose smiled, her eyes on his delicious naked backside as he casually sauntered out of the room. The girlish urge to call her friends and tell them what happened was in the back of her mind, but to be honest, Rose didn't want to disrupt the bubble she felt in. So at peace. And content. It was wonderful. She hadn't felt this way for a very long time… probably not since her training. Marcus and Didyme had been so careful with her, so understanding. They'd eased her into the lifestyle, taking everything one step at a time, teaching her best practice and showing her exactly what a good BDSM relationship should be like. She'd seen it then firsthand. Seen the way that Marcus adored Didyme, worshipped her body, and cherished every simple act of submission. And Didyme had trusted Marcus implicitly, doing whatever he asked without a doubt. The strength of their relationship was clear and obvious, their love and trust in each other unwavering.

And that was what Rose was starting to have with Emmett–trust. Of course in the beginning there had been nerves and worry and fear. But now? Now that all took a backseat. When she was with him, Rose was in the moment, ready for her Dom and whatever he had planned. Trust didn't just happen overnight. It was a fragile thing. It took years to be built but could be shattered in an instant. Marcus had earned Didyme's trust–as had all the Doms she knew. And Emmett was doing exactly that: leading her gently into this new unfamiliar land. Because it was unfamiliar. She hadn't scened for a long time and certainly not with someone who had wanted more. She was following Emmett. Trusting him. There was still anxiety; what else would there be after everything she'd gone through? It was there, hidden in the corners of her mind, threatening to jump out at her and make her sabotage this wonderful thing. But now it was quiet. It wasn't raging like it normally did. No. It was tolerable. And when Emmett held her? Kissed her? Fucked her? It went away.

Hera wandered over from where she had been lying in the hallway and put her head in Rose's lap, brown eyes staring up at her. Rose ran her fingers over her snout and up in between her eyes, massaging her fingers into Hera's ears as the dog blew out a breath.

"How much of that did you hear?" she asked, a slight blush covering her face. Thank God animals couldn't talk—the human population would be ruined! The secrets they could tell…

In response to her question, Bruce grunted from his place on the floor near the toy box.

A giggle pulled itself from Rose's chest as she continued to tickle Hera's eyes until Emmett came in a few minutes later with a tray, sweats now concealing the lower half of his body. There was a glass of vibrant orange juice on it, a plate with two slices of toast… and the red apple.

Placing the tray on the coffee table in front of her, Emmett took over stroking Hera as Rose ate her belated breakfast. After she had finished and sat back against the couch, Emmett turned to face her.

"How did you feel during that scene?" His blue eyes were kind and soft, making Rose want to melt into his arms.

"Safe," Rose immediately said. "Secure." She felt untouchable when she was with Emmett, like all the crap she had endured was in the past, unable to hurt her, break the shell she had crafted so hard around her heart and mind. The past was just that, the past.

Emmett smiled at her.

"Wet," Rose added for good measure, watching as Emmett chuckled, shaking his head.

"Did you feel like I was pushing you at all?" His large hand came up and brushed a stray tendril of hair out of her face, his thumb tenderly stroking across her cheek.

Rose thought about it. Pushing her? Being pushed didn't have to be a bad thing. Arguably, her friends had pushed her toward Emmett but it wasn't bad. No. Sometimes you needed to be pushed out of your comfort zone. Humans got too used to things and craved the familiar. Occasionally, the unfamiliar was needed.

After mulling it over, Rose shook her head. Because no, he hadn't pushed her. At no point had Rose felt like she didn't have a choice, like she was backed into a corner with no way out. "No." Her voice was strong, sure. She'd wanted more. Shamelessly, she had wanted so much more. More of Emmett. More of his fingers, his mouth, his cock. All of him. Everywhere.

"Would you have changed anything about it?" Emmett's eyes were so open and kind.

Her heart skipped a beat quite literally. Because this—this was what a real BDSM relationship was about. Consent. Trust. Communication. Emmett was giving her an opening, a chance to let him know how she felt. And God did she appreciate it. It just showed how well her last relationship had gone. In the beginning, they'd spoken about the scenes afterwards, and then slowly it faded out. Rose had assumed that was normal. Rachel had told her she and Paul didn't always talk about scenes anymore. Rose now knew the difference. Paul and Rachel didn't talk about scenes afterwards because they didn't need to. Paul knew Rachel's body better than he knew his own. If for even a split second, Rachel wanted to talk, Paul would. Royce hadn't want to talk because he didn't care. He didn't care how Rose felt or what she wanted. He wanted control. All the time. No matter what it took to get it. Her opinion didn't matter. She didn't matter. Her consent didn't matter.

Emmett was different. He understood that consent was important. That Rose was giving him her submission. That she could take it away at any point. He valued that. He valued her.

Biting her lip, Rose thought for a moment. "Just one thing."

Cocking his head to the side, Emmett nodded for Rose to continue. She could see that he was genuinely interested in what she had to say.

"Next time… I'd like your cock inside me once I've sucked it."

The delight in Emmett's eyes was palpable, and the laugh that reverberated from his chest ricocheted around the room.

Leaning across, he pressed a quick but searing kiss to her lips. "Eat your apple, you dirty little minx." His voice rumbled, eyes dark with want and an erection quickly rising beneath his sweats.

Rose bit into the side of the red fruit, the crunch satisfying as juice dribbled down her chin. "Yes, Sir."

For those of you still around, thank you. I have to say a huge thank you to Mel for just picking right up when I asked her to. She truly is amazing and I'm so lucky to have her for this story! She's like an angel to the world of fanfic.