Chapter 86: Long Awaited

-Molly-

“I never thought you couldn’t. But it’s my job to take care of you, Molls, and make sure you don’t have to,” he reminded me suddenly serious. “You just need to trust me and let me do that.”
My heart ached for the sincerity of his words. But I couldn’t help shying away from them at the same time. I wanted to trust him to care for me, but there had been too many times when he had let me down. I wasn’t sure I could let that go and give in to what he wanted.
“Scott… I want to… but… I can’t,” I sputtered out. “Too much has happened… I don’t know if I can ever return to how things were.”
Scott’s face darkened a bit before he took my hand. “I think it’s time you and I had a long overdue talk.”
I allowed Scott to steer me through the crowd toward a side door I knew opened up to an alleyway. It was not the most romantic of settings, but it was one of the few private areas at the club. Obviously, Scott wanted privacy more than he cared about the surroundings. Me, on the other hand, could smell the raunchy, rotten garbage as well as other smells I did not want to take time to classify.
"Can't this wait until we ride home?" I asked, trying not to breathe too deeply.
"This is not a conversation you're gonna wanna have around Becca," Scott replied as he continued to lead me toward the back.
"Shit!" I snapped, covering my mouth. "Becca! I need to make sure she's okay!"
"I asked the bartender to keep an eye on her as soon as she left the dance floor. He'll call me if there's a problem," Scott reassured me.
I nibbled on my bottom lip anxiously."I'm not sure if I should abandon her. She's not doing well and..."
Scott stopped and turned to me, gripping my chin. "Molls, she'll be fine for a few minutes. This won't take long. But we have been interrupted way too many times, and I'm not going to let anything else get in the way."
I wasn't completely convinced, but I allowed my curiosity to get the best of me, and I continued to follow Scott.
Just before he got to the door, he took a sharp turn to the left and headed up a set of stairs that led to the second floor.
I had always known that the club had a second floor, but it had always been off-limits. Everyone always assumed it was just storage or living quarters. Normally, the door to the stairwell was closed and locked. But Scott had walked through it like it was not even there.
The stairwell was oddly bright compared to the darkened club. I blinked against the sudden light, trying to readjust my eyesight. At the top of the stairs was another thick door with a sign that read: Trespassers will be tied up and whipped.
I looked up at Scott for clarification, but he just gave a mischievous smile and opened the door. The small ray of light illuminated only a sliver of the room as I stepped in, and nothing I saw helped unravel the mystery.
But when Scott reached around and flipped on the light, my jaw dropped. It was wall-to-wall BDSM equipment, and the bright light left nothing hidden. Unlike the club in Paris, I could see every piece of equipment and toy stored there.
"Wow," I breathed out in awe. "I had no idea this was up here."
"That's kind of the point," Scott replied, laughing. "This place is even more exclusive than the place in Paris, and it's never in use when the club has its all-ages nights."
I turned and gave Scott a suspicious look. "Then how do YoU know about it? And get us up here?"
"Eric bought this place when he was here. Laurent and Esme will be here next week to help get it up and running again. They're gonna move the all-ages club down the road and reinstate the no-alcohol policy Eric has in Paris," Scott explained.
I had a million questions for him and was dying to find out the plans for the club. But Scott seemed too bound and determined to not be deterred this time.
"Sit," he ordered me, pointing to the couch.
"Scott, we really should--"
"We are in a playroom, baby girl," Scott interrupted me. "What do you call me when we're in a playroom?"
My body grew warm at his tone. It was little more than a gentle reminder, but combined with his favorite pet name melted the facade I had been trying to cultivate to keep him at arm's length. Of course, standing in a literal BDSM dungeon surrounded by intriguing, erotic toys and their accompanying equipment was wrecking hell on my imagination. Whenever my eyes landed on a new piece of equipment, my mind would immediately play through all the ways it could be used. More specifically, how Scott would use it with me.
"Molly," Scott pulled me out of my thoughts.
"Yes, Master," I replied instantly, without thought.
"Good girl," he praised as he waved toward the couch again. "Now, sit."
The couch looked relatively normal until I got closer and noticed a few conspicuously placed metal loops. Perfect for several different types of bondage plays. I sat down as for from any loops that I could. I didn't want to give Scott or me, frankly, any temptation.
Scott took the spot right next to me, making the couch seem to shrink in size. I swallowed hard and gave myself a silent pep talk on controlling my suddenly overly active libido.
"So, what did you want to discuss, Master?" I asked, trying to get my mind on something other than how good Scott smelled.
"Us," Scott answered simply. "We need to discuss our future."
I sucked in a harsh breath, unable to believe what I was hearing. So often, I had dreamt of Scott saying those words to me. But I had never truly believed that he would.
"What about us?" I forced out passed the lump in my throat.
"I need you in my life, Molly," Scott admitted in his husky tone. "I know we've had some rough times, and I've screwed up. But I want to start again. I need you, baby girl."
I couldn't speak for the life of me. There was no way this was real, I thought in shock. There was no way Scott was saying what I thought he was. I had to be sure before I dared to allow myself to hope.
"What are you trying to say?" I asked quietly.
Scott moved closer and grabbed my hands, squeezing them tightly. His eyes glowed with such affectionate warmth that it made my heart warm, then stutter as I recognized that look. I had seen it in my own eyes often enough when I would catch sight of myself as I mooned over Scott.
Love.
That look was filled with love.
No way. My mind immediately denied it. After all the times of hoping he would look at me like that, there was no way he could love... me.
Scott pulled me into his arms, holding me tightly against his chest. He wrapped an arm around my waist and cupped my cheek softly.
"What I'm trying to say, my beautiful baby girl, is that I love you," Scott whispered.
Scott's lips swallowed the soul-deep gasp of shock as he sealed his proclamation with a kiss that set the world on fire.