My stomach knotted, and I nearly lost my appetite right then and there. I’d sworn I’d pay for them to go to school, but goddamn, the bills were eye-watering. “Any luck?”
“Just started looking.” She faced me again, completely serious now. “I figured it would be a good idea since I’ve been talking to the kids about their plans for the next school year.”
I cringed. “Do I want to know?”
“Well, the bank account probably doesn’t…”
“Fuck. What’s the damage?”
She took a breath. “Kelsey’s really eyeballing that masters program. She was going to hold off, but she really needs it to get anywhere as a counselor.”
I exhaled. “What do you think we should do?”
“I don’t think I have much of a say in this anymore. If I were still contributing to the account, it would be different.” She grimaced. “You’re paying for it. It’s up to you.”
No pressure, right?
“I want to cover it, except Tyler is looking at a graduate program too. It wouldn’t exactly be fair to pay for one and not the other.” I rubbed the back of my neck. “But they’ll get a better education if they can focus on their studies without trying to hold down two jobs at the same time.”
She nodded but didn’t speak.
I shook my head. “We promised them an education, and I’ll find a way to make it happen.”
Karen sighed. “I just wish I could do more.”
“Don’t worry about it. I can talk to the bank about a second mortgage if I need to.” Scowling, I looked around at the house I’d been living in since we’d divorced thirteen years ago. “I could always move into someplace smaller.”
“I don’t want you to give up your house, Jon.” She folded her hands on the edge of the table. “Especially not when you’ve nearly paid the place off. Give me a few more months, and I can—”
“Karen, we’ve talked about this. Yeah, it’s tough paying for them to go to school, but if paying for it myself means you’re out from under that asshole’s thumb?” I put a hand on her arm. “Then I’ll happily pay it.”
“Thank you,” she whispered. “But they need to come first. Not me.”
“It’s not a hierarchy. We’re still family. We’ll figure it all out.”
Karen smiled halfheartedly. “Well. I should get ready for work.”
I withdrew my hand. “Yeah, me too.”
She pushed her chair back. “Sorry for ruining your good mood.”
“Don’t be.” I paused to put some milk on my cereal. “It’s expensive, but there are worse things than having to figure out how to get all three kids through good schools.”
Her eyes unfocused for a second. “Good point.”
“We’ll make it work. I promise.”
We exchanged looks, and then she headed upstairs.
Alone in the kitchen, I ate my breakfast in silence. She hadn’t ruined my good mood, but the thought of my kids’ education was sobering. Two of them wanted to go to grad school, and the third was still on the fence about it. This was going to get expensive as fuck. It was already expensive as fuck.
But I’d find a way. No way in hell was any kid of mine losing a single night of sleep over student loans. I would come up with the money.
I just wasn’t sure how.
Chapter Ten
While I waited for Rick to arrive, I went through the cabinets in my dungeon to pick out exactly what I wanted to use on him tonight. So many options. So many ways I could overload his senses.
I definitely wanted him tied. Inflicting pain was fun to a point, and sensory overload was amazing, but bondage was where my passion lay. Nothing turned me on like an immobile submissive. Anything I did to him after that was a bonus. Like different sexual positions—they all had their perks, and they all stimulated in their own ways, but whether I had him up against a wall or bent over a bed or even if he was fucking me, it was the penetration itself that inevitably got me off.
So there was no doubt in my mind that I’d have him tied up tonight. Probably bent over something at some point too, but first…tied. Question was, what to do with him once he was bound? Flogging was an option, but we both had to work tomorrow, and I already had something up my sleeve for later that guaranteed Rick wouldn’t be able to get comfortable at the office. No point in overdoing it.
We didn’t know each other well enough to indulge in his hot-wax fantasy quite yet. Some of my other toys—particularly the mechanical variety—would be fun, but why break out the big guns this early in the game? I’d save those until we’d done this a few times.
A few times.
The thought brought a grin to my face. I still couldn’t believe we were doing this, never mind that there might be more repeat performances. Assuming he enjoyed tonight enough to come back for more, that is.
I scanned my collection of implements, and when my gaze landed on a small, latched box, the grin got bigger. Oh yes. I knew how I was going to fuck with him tonight.