Stormy Night Publications Publishers of BDSM and Kink Erotica
Chapter One
“I absolutely forbid you to go,” growled Dex.
“You what?” Mallory snarled back and then shook her head. “Dex, you’re being unreasonable. It’s only a month and Sara’s my best friend.”
“Tell her to take leave.”
“That’s not how her contract works. If she doesn’t work the entire twelve months, she doesn’t get paid.”
“That’s a stupid agreement. How is she living if they aren’t paying her?”
“They pay all her living expenses, but she doesn’t get the year’s wages until she’s completed the contract. That’s why the salary was so much. Sara said she’d be able to pay off her school loans.”
“Why would she sign something like that? If she’d still been with Ian, he never would have let her do something that ludicrous. And you’re not going to compound her foolish behavior with some of your own. You’re not going, and that’s final.”
“Oh, my freaking God! Do you hear yourself? You forbid? That’s final? Who died and put you in charge…” The words had barely passed her lips when she realized what she’d said. Tears welled in her eyes. “Oh, God, Dex… I didn’t mean…”
Mallory Lawson was a tenured professor in art history at the local university and Samuel Dexter was a sergeant in the elite division of the US Marines known as the Raiders. They were polar opposites in so many ways, but it was the contrasts in their personalities that had made their magnetic attraction to each other so profound—and so combustive—since they fell in love the night she kicked his ass in a game of pool three years earlier.
“It’s okay, Mallory. I know.”
Dex wrapped her in his arms as she clung to him. He was scheduled to ship out in the morning. His leave was supposed to have been through the end of the month, but his unit was being deployed to an unknown location to gather intelligence, train locals, and help put down a coup in some foreign country.
Mallory had planned to sit him down and tell him that she didn’t think they should continue living together. She might not have felt a need to end things if she hadn’t found the gorgeous ring in his sock drawer when she was putting away laundry. The side glances from the members of his unit at their last barbeque told her he had shared his plans with them. As usual, he had shared with them before her. Always being the last to know was only one of the things that irked her and had made her question whether or not they had a future together.
There was that… and this. His leaving for unknown periods of time doing unknown things in unknown places had really begun to rankle. Not only was she opposed to the secret nature of what he did, but not knowing if and when he would come home had become unbearable. She loved him; she just wasn’t sure if she could continue to live with him.
Perhaps time, separated by distance, would help him reconsider proposing to her and lead him to the same conclusion—they needed to bring their time together to a close. He needed to see she wasn’t cut out to be a career Marine Raider’s wife.
Then there was his whole need to dominate in the relationship. Mallory couldn’t deny that she was wildly turned on by his alpha male persona, but she wasn’t submissive. She resented it when he exerted his authority and took her to task over something. She hated being spanked and was mortified that it evoked something so deep within her that resulted in her becoming incredibly aroused.
“I keep thinking I’ll get better at this.”
“It’s okay, Mal. You just want me to come home safe and sound so I can continue to spank that pretty ass of yours and fuck you silly,” he teased.
“That’s not funny, Dex,” she said, trying to pull away.
“It won’t be if you misbehave. Keep in mind what happened the last time you played fast and loose with the rules when I was gone,” he said archly, patting her backside and smiling.
“Wipe that smile off your face, Sarge. You may have enjoyed yourself, but I sure as hell didn’t,” she snarled.
The grin grew larger. “You weren’t supposed to enjoy it. Although as I recall, it was only the spanking portion of your punishment that you objected to. You seemed rather enamored with what came after.”
Mallory recalled that night in vivid detail. She blushed at the imagery that sprang forward in her mind’s eye from the last time he’d returned home.
Mallory was waiting for him at a hanger on the base with the other family members. He swung her up in his arms, kissing her thoroughly and ensuring she could feel the hard ridge of his cock contained in his fatigues.
“I missed you,” she whispered, running her hand down between their bodies.
He chuckled. “Not half as much as I missed you. I hope you slept well last night because you’re not getting any sleep tonight.”
She giggled and they quickly said their goodbyes before getting in her MGB convertible.
As they were leaving, the MP on the gate said, “Good to see you again, Dr. Lawson. I’m sure glad all that guy did was steal your stuff and that we got it back before he robbed you blind.”
Dex said nothing, but she saw his jaw clench and knew he was angry.
“Thanks again for your help,” she said pleasantly. As they cleared the gate, she started to say something, but was interrupted.
“Were you planning to tell me about whatever happened?” he snarled.
“It really wasn’t all that important…”
“So that’s a no.”
“It wasn’t that big of a deal.”
“I got news for you Mallory… if MPs are involved it’s a big deal. What happened?”
“I was accosted.”
“You were mugged,” he said in an oddly flat tone.
“No one got hurt, and like the guy at the gate said, he didn’t get much for his trouble.” She forced what she thought sounded like a light-hearted laugh. “And he was such an incompetent idiot, he stopped to buy a gourmet latte before hitting up the ATM. By the time he was done, the MPs had him in custody. So no harm, no foul.”
“And where were you when this no-big-deal happened?”
When she didn’t answer him right away, he repeated the question.
Finally, she sighed and answered, “There was a pop-up club down in the warehouse district…”
“The area I’ve told you is off limits after dark and at any time when I’m in country?”
There was no question she’d disobeyed him. She knew it and had known it when she did it. But she’d wanted to go, and she wasn’t hurt, and her assailant had been caught before he could do much damage to her financially. She hadn’t planned to tell Dex, but the guy had been busted by the MPs when they came to extricate military personnel from the illegal club. To his credit, the guard at the gate had only been trying to be nice. He’d had no way of knowing how angry Dex would be.
Mallory reached over, placing her hand on his upper thigh and sliding it up the inside. She reached for the growing bulge inside his pants and gave it a gentle squeeze. Calmly he removed her hand and placed it in her lap. All she wanted was to get Dex naked and make mad, passionate love.
“You might want to think about what I told you before I left,” he said in that same flat tone… one she had quickly come to recognize only masked the depth of his feelings.
“Okay, I get you’re upset with me.”
“Upset? Upset would be if you banged up the car in a minor fender bender. Upset would be if you’d forgotten to pay the electric bill. Upset would be if you’d argued with your department chair again. Let me be clear, I am not upset. I am pissed. And I’m pissed on so many levels. If you think that we’re going to go home, get naked and fuck like bunnies, you are dead ass wrong. Well that’s not true. We will fuck like bunnies… right after I blister your backside and make sure you understand both the depth of my anger and how much you don’t ever want to disobey me and disregard the rules when I’m not here.”
“Dex, I think you’re over-reacting…”
He pulled the car into their assigned parking space in the basement garage before coming around the vehicle and opening her door to help her out. “And I think you’re under the mistaken impression that I’m going to shirk my responsibility to keep you safe for the sake of getting laid. Let me assure you, sweetheart, nothing could be further from the truth.”
They entered the loft and he immediately fisted her hair—his tight grasp pulled the roots, making it pinch.
Marching her into their bedroom, Dex sat down on the edge of the bed, stripped her of her jeans and panties and dragged her over his lap. Mallory knew what to expect and couldn’t keep from clenching her butt cheeks against the assault she knew was coming. Without another word, Dex raised his hand and brought it crashing down on her naked globes—the sound cracked through the silence and ensured she knew the level of his displeasure. The first swat caught her by surprise due to its intensity as he had given her no warm-up.
“What the hell is wrong with you?” he asked, obviously not expecting an answer.
“Dex, it was just…”
“I don’t give a good God damn what it was just…”
His hand continued to descend over and over, the pain increasing exponentially. Mallory hated being spanked. Not only was it painful, it was unsettling on two fronts—she hated disappointing him, which bothered her no end, and the effect it had on her libido was annoying.
“It’s bad enough that I worry about you when I’m home. Now I have to worry about the level of stupidity a woman with a PhD can descend to when I’m not around to make sure she doesn’t. You’re lucky all that happened was you got mugged. You could have been killed.”
“But nothing happened,” she said, trying to reason with him and to ward off her tears.
“Nothing? Jesus, Mallory, you got mugged.”
She bit her lip in an effort to keep from crying. When he began to target the lower curve of her buttocks and the backs of her thighs, all efforts to keep from wailing were thwarted.
“I’m sorry, Dex. I wasn’t thinking. I won’t do it again.”
His hand continued to rain pain, humiliation, and arousal over her naked ass. She was unprepared for the level of agony he seemed bent on inflicting. As her resolve crumbled, she yelped, inflaming him and increasing both the tempo and the strength of the strikes being delivered. If he didn’t have her legs pinned between his own or his free hand wasn’t holding her in position, she might have wriggled free, but he did, and she couldn’t.
Dex landed blow after blow all across her behind. Mallory knew from previous spankings that the result would be a red, swollen, and painful backside. She thrashed and struggled, but nothing seemed to faze him. Dex continued to spank her hard and thoroughly. It felt as though every inch of her bottom was being treated to his punishment. When she thought she couldn’t take any more, he moved his hand back down to catch her sit spots and the tops of her thighs. That was when the real wailing began.
“Had enough?” he asked.
She nodded, not trusting her voice to speak.
He landed another three hard swats. The heat and pain from his punishment was almost more than she could bear.
“You know better, Mallory. When you’re getting spanked and I ask you a question, I expect you to verbalize an answer. Let’s try that again—had enough?”
“Yes, Dex.”
Another swat. “Better. I want you to get up and go stick your nose in the corner.”
She started to protest, and Dex swatted her again. “Now, Mallory, or I’ll spank you until you decide that obeying me is your best option. Do you need me to go back to spanking you or would you like to be done?”
“No… I mean yes,” she stammered quietly as the tears continued to trickle down her cheeks. “I’m sorry…”
“You’re sorry I found out and you got your butt spanked. I don’t believe for a second you’re sorry you did it.” When she relaxed over his lap, he continued, “Get your nose in that corner and you don’t move it until I tell you that you can.”
He helped her off his lap but remained seated as she walked to the corner and waited.
“Hands against the wall, feet spread, ass pushed out. I want to be able to get a good look at my handiwork and see your pussy pulse with need.”
“Dex…”
“You either do what you’re told or that bright, red fanny of yours could have a few stripes added to it. Do you need me to take my belt to you before you settle down and behave?”
Having already experienced a taste of leather in a previous spanking, she put herself in position and stood without another word.
“Good girl,” he crooned. “Now you stay there until I tell you otherwise.”
He stood up and walked over to her and caressed her bottom, making her wince. Kissing the back of her neck, he left her standing there, every nerve quivering. He retrieved a cold beer and an expensive cigar before going out to stand on the balcony, enjoying both while she squirmed.
Finally, Mallory became fed up and started to move away. Somehow, before she could extricate herself from the corner, he was able to close the distance between them. His hand connected sharply with her well-punished backside several times and she yelped.
“You stay put,” he commanded.
He returned to the balcony to finish his beer.
Mallory continued to stare at the corner. “Dex?”
“Yeah, babe,” he said, his tone indicating his ire was becoming more soothed.
“Can I ask what you’re doing?”
“Partly, I’m doing what you should be doing, reflecting on what I could do differently to ensure that we don’t find ourselves in this position again.”
“What’s the other part?” she asked.
“I’m enjoying the view. You have a beautiful ass under normal circumstances, but painted red with the evidence of my loving discipline, I must say it’s never looked better.”
Mallory stomped her foot but remained where she was. She jumped when his finger trailed from between her shoulder blades down her spine and traced the cleft between her cheeks. He didn’t pause to toy with the entrance to her dark passage but cupped her backside gently. He leaned his hand, still clutching the last remnants of his cigar, against the wall. She heard him lower the zipper on his jeans moments before he put the cigar back in his mouth, grasped her hips in both hands, and kicked her legs apart. Then in a single thrust, he rammed his cock to the end of her sheath. The powerful climax that seized her at his dominant possession surprised her and renewed her arousal all at the same time.
Mallory gasped as he started to pummel her pussy with his strong, hard cock. His solid grip on her hips holding her in place to force her acceptance of his rampant lust kept her from collapsing against the wall. The shock from the jolt of pleasure that surged through her was as staggering as it was welcome.
She told herself that his dominant possession of her was all kinds of wrong, but her body disagreed. It let her know, in no uncertain terms, that it was all kinds of right. Each time he thrust deeply into her, his cock felt as though it collided with her cervix, and his pelvis made harsh contact with her punished buttocks. He chomped and chewed on his cigar in tempo with the rhythm of his hips. His engorged cock filed her completely. With incredible strength and surety, he plunged into her relentlessly. This was no tentative lover or callow youth looking to work off the lust that often accompanied the completion of a successful mission. Instead, this was Dex bent on imposing his will on her—the woman he loved—making her revel in it. Each time he drove forward, he reignited the sting that he’d spread across her backside. He continued to have a vice-like grip on her hips, forcing her to stay in the perfect position for the onslaught of his passion. Dex seemed intent on making sure she understood that he would be in charge and she would behave when he was gone.
Mallory also knew that Dex was driving home the idea that she would stay where he put her when he was making use of her. She tried not to think of it that way—that he was using her, not sharing something with her—but she couldn’t. While it was true that he was in control of their coupling, he seemed to take great enjoyment in forcing as much pleasure on her as possible. In the same way he never relented when he was spanking her until she capitulated by crying, he was relentless as he hammered her pussy. Over and over, he commanded her body to race to the pinnacle of ecstasy until he forced her over the edge and into the abyss where only feeling existed.
Mallory would no sooner achieve that sweet release than her mind and body would register that Dex continued to ravage her cunt with his strong, sure strokes. Her body responded—her inner walls shaking and quivering, her breath speeding up, and incoherent noises passing through her lips. Each orgasm seemed to approach faster than the last. His ability to completely undo her was exhilarating and terrifying. She felt as though she had no control of her own response and was certain that he knew it as well.
Her body stiffened in anticipation, and her intake of air came in uneven gulps, frightened at his mastery over her. Repeatedly he forced her to endure the roller-coaster ride of being fucked by a man whose control over his own orgasm was complete and seemingly endless. She felt his cock begin to swell as a precursor to his own climax and sighed in relief. She knew he would extract at least one more climax from her… not so much for her pleasure, but in order to feel her sheath contract all along his length as he too achieved the ultimate release. With a mighty groan, he began unloading creamy waves of his cum in her pussy.
Taking the cigar from his mouth, he shouted, “God, yes!” as he finished in her.
As much as she hated to admit it, Dex was right. She had never been happier than she was with him. He’d discovered, and helped her explore, a previously unknown need to have a dominant, alpha male in her life. Dex’s ability to tap into that had changed her life in the best and worst of ways.
She tried to pull away, even though all she wanted to do was wrap her arms around him so tight he would never go away again. Mallory loved Dex with all of her heart; she just wasn’t sure she was cut out to be with a career United States Marine, especially one in the Raiders. Each time he was deployed, the fear of whether or not he would ever return consumed her.
“Dex…”
“Don’t start, Mal. I have to go; you’re not going to go teach in some God forsaken place in the middle of a war zone. If you don’t behave yourself while I’m gone, I’ll blister your backside when I get home and use your bottom hole for my pleasure,” he said in a stern tone, all the while nuzzling and kissing her neck and face.
Her resistance against the sensual onslaught he seemed intent on creating only lasted a few moments. Her resolve to have things out with Dex was slipping away. The fact was that Sara’s request for her to cover her teaching assignment in the small island nation in the Mediterranean Sea had seemed like the perfect opportunity to break away from Dex. He was supposed to be home for a while. Mallory’s plan had been to break it off with him and then teach in Sara’s stead for a month. That way neither of them would run the risk of bumping into the other or be tempted to start things up again.
As her libido kicked into overdrive, Mallory told herself this would be the last time. She would revel in his arms tonight and let him deploy in the morning none the wiser. It felt like the coward’s way out, but she had tried, unsuccessfully, to broach the subject on several occasions; Dex had been able to deflect the discussion—whether by design or circumstance, she had never been sure.
Dex nibbled his way down the column of her neck, unbuttoning her blouse and pushing it down and off her shoulders. Mallory thought about trying to resist, but her need to feel him one more time assuaged any feelings of guilt she might have felt. Wrapping her arms back around his neck, she moaned as she rubbed her body against his.
Sliding the blouse down her arms and allowing it to fall on the floor, Dex’s hands cupped her behind and rubbed it sensually.
“You’re going to be my good girl while I’m gone, aren’t you?” he rumbled between kisses and nuzzles.
That was one of the things she was going to miss most—Dex’s ability to multi-task where her pleasure was concerned. He could whisper all the right things while running his hands over her body—squeezing, tugging, nipping, pinching. Those strong hands that could snap a man’s neck always made her feel infinitely safe and desirable, which usually led to aroused and needy.
Mallory was so lost in her own head, that she didn’t realize he’d unfastened her bra until she felt it slip down her body, his hands cupping her breasts and squeezing them gently as he murmured kisses all along her shoulders. Dex turned her in his arms, skimmed her leggings down, and helped her step out of them. He gently folded her back against his chest and she realized his shirt was missing when she felt his softly furred chest press warmly against her naked back. The fullness of her buttocks was pressed against the bulge straining against the fly of his camouflage pants.
“So soft and supple in my hands. You complete me Mal… in ways I never even knew I wasn’t whole.”
Mallory was torn between feelings of guilt—knowing this would be their last time together and that it would most likely have to sustain her for the remainder of her life. The thought of another man touching her made her shiver.
“You cold, babe? I can fix that. Come to bed, Mallory, let me stoke your fire…”
Dex swept her up in his arms. No one had ever been able to do that to her. Mallory was tall, dark-haired and had an hour-glass figure. She thought that men only swept up petite blondes with perfect hair. But then Dex was even taller than she and was built of solid, sculpted muscle. He was the epitome of tall, dark, and handsome, although not in the classical sense of the term. He was a bit rough around the edges with stern, angular features that were softened and smoothed when he smiled.
Mallory buried her face in his neck as he carried her into the bedroom in their loft—an enormous, spacious place on the third floor in a converted cotton mill.
“Dex,” she half sighed, half protested.
She would have said more, but the Marine Raiders’ squad leader was on a mission of his own—to quell her protests and bend her to his will. As he laid her out on the bed, his mouth claimed hers in a deep and passionate kiss, before trailing down her chin, throat, and sternum, laying claim to her areola and nipple. Dex tongued the outside rim of the dusky area, swirling in to latch onto her nipple and sucking it into his warm mouth.
Dex snaked his hand down the centerline of her body, combing his fingers through the dark triangular patch of hair at the apex of her legs, circling her clit with his forefinger. He only tarried there a moment before he dragged it through her wet labia and circled the opening to her core. As he penetrated her wet heat with his fingers, he rubbed her swollen nub with his thumb.
It never ceased to amaze Mallory that he could completely undo her, both physically and emotionally, with so little effort on his part. As he began to stroke her core, he ground against the top of her sheath, making her muscles stiffen in anticipation of what she knew was to come. She shook her head and made a feeble attempt to evade his skillful hands. Her murmured protests were countered with his mouth silencing her as he kissed her, his tongue sweeping into her mouth and coaxing hers to do the same.
“De…”
“Shh. Yield to me and come,” he whispered in a tone that left no doubt as to who was in control.
Dex intensified his attention to the bundle of nerves between her legs until Mallory felt herself beginning to lose control and climaxed at his command. Instead of letting her recover or allowing her to move away from him, he moved his hand back to her slit before inserting three fingers where he had once had two. He scissored them and began to caress the center of her being with strong and sure movements. Mallory realized she had lost not only the ability to resist him, but the will and desire to do so. His fingers moved more rapidly, demanding her response, calling forth her surrender. Her breathing became rapid and shallow as another orgasm approached. Mallory lost her resolve to do anything but comply. She had long become accustomed to experiencing multiple and powerful climaxes wrapped in his embrace.
“Come again for me.”
Mallory closed her eyes and let it happen. She came quietly but urgently; her pussy trembled and pulsed, telling them both she wanted and needed more. Dex moved his body and rolled her onto her belly, trailing his wet fingers up from her soaked sheath until he reached the dark rosette between her butt cheeks, and gently slipped his finger into her there as well.
“No, please, Dex.”
Dex had long ago established that being his woman meant surrendering all of her body to his care. Normally he only chose to take her bottom hole when he was making a point—either punishing her for some perceived misdeed or humbling her when she became peevish and challenged his authority. Mallory knew the only way she might persuade him not to use her in that way was if she ceased struggling and admitted her need to be fucked into oblivion. He did not remove his finger immediately but continued to stroke her back channel as it trembled involuntarily. He was gentle and she had learned the key to finding pleasure in the act was to relax and accept.
“I’m a bit worried about your fractiousness…”
“My fractiousness?”
“Yes, your fractiousness of late. You seem a bit unsettled and I’d planned to spend some time with you getting to the bottom of it, pun intended. But unfortunately, duty calls, and I need to leave in the morning. Do you think if we spend the night just enjoying each other, you can behave? Or do you need me to drive home the reasons you want to be a good girl?”
“Yes…”
“You need me to leave you with a reminder of why you want to behave?” he teased.
“No. Please, Dex,” she said, her words catching as her shame at enjoying his touch in that forbidden place washed over her.
“I tell you what, why don’t I split the difference? Get up on your knees and present your pussy to me.”
Mallory nodded, her surrender obvious. She drew her knees up under her, leaving her body flat against the mattress. Right now, she wanted nothing more than to feel him inside her, pleasuring them both.
“That’s my good girl. You’ve gotten so much better about staying where I put you.”
In that moment, her conflicting feelings of need and wanting to defy him, perhaps to pick a fight so she could justify leaving him, warred within her. But Mallory didn’t want to send him out on a dangerous mission in the wrong frame of mind. She wanted and needed one more memory of the absolute rapture he could evoke. Her hair fell forward, covering her face. Dex stroked her body, slipping his hands up to squeeze her breasts before tugging at her nipples and rolling up on his knees behind her. He removed one hand to lower the zipper on his pants, and her already amplified arousal kicked into high gear.
Dex brought his hand back to join the other and heft the weight of her breasts. He pinched both of her nipples, and she moaned in response. Bringing his hands up her sides, he placed one strong hand on the nape of her neck, pinning her upper body against the mattress. When he removed his hand, she tried to rise at least to her elbows. Dex swatted her backside before once more gently forcing her upper torso down.
“You know better. Consider that a friendly reminder. Do it again and before I fuck that hot, wet pussy of yours, I’ll spank it.”
“No, Dex,” she mewled as she relaxed her upper body in supplication.
Mallory felt the bulbous head of his cock as it probed between her legs, seeking her heated core. Once found, Dex grasped both of her hips to hold her steady and surged forward with a great groan, forcing a cry from her as she climaxed.
He chuckled. “Now that’s my very good girl. You know how much I like it when you come as I mount you.”
Dex held her fast, thrusting in and out. Mallory trembled at his touch. She tried to get up so that she was leaning on her forearms. He released her hip with one hand, then delivered another stinging blow to her rump before running that same hand up her spine and pressing against her neck.
“Get out of position again and I’ll use your bottom hole instead of your pussy to take my pleasure. Is that what you want?” he grunted in rhythm to his plunging rod.
Mallory ceased trying to put up even a token resistance to his carnal use of her as he began to pump his hips against her. Each time he bumped her with his pelvis, his cock shoved all the way to the hilt inside her. She was certain she could feel the tip touch her cervix. Dex groaned as he pummeled her core. His cock was large and filled her completely. She felt all of the textures of his staff, skimming along the walls of her heated sheath, filling and rubbing as he stroked.
Dex thrust within her, using incredible strength and power. Mallory tried to inch away from him, earning herself another hard swat before he grasped the top of her shoulder to hold her in place. She was well-aware that he was making sure she remembered who was in charge and that she would stay where he wanted when he was having his way with her. While it was true that he was in control of their coupling, he seemed to take great satisfaction in providing her with more pleasure than she had ever experienced.
He seemed intent on eliciting as many orgasms from her as he possibly could. She knew from experience he wanted her sated and sore when he left. Mallory screamed into the bedding as she climaxed again. Dex stroked her harder and faster, his cock becoming even more engorged as it filled with cum before gushing into her pussy.
“Yes!” he called triumphantly as he finished in her and she pulsed all along his length.
He remained tight up against her ass with his staff sheathed deeply within her. It took both of them a moment to catch their breath. Finally, he withdrew from her and rocked up off the bed. Mallory stayed in position, not wanting to give him an excuse to swat her again. She watched him covertly.
Dex sat on the edge of the bed, removing his boots and socks before reaching over to run his hand possessively down her back, ending with a feathery touch across the swell of her backside. He stood, dropping his jeans in a puddle on the floor. Slipping into bed, he pulled her to him before settling them both under the covers.
“I love you, Mal. Get some sleep. I’ll have need of you again before morning.” He sighed contentedly and spooned his body against hers.
Mallory was glad he couldn’t see her face. As he began to snore quietly in her ear, she knew that the decision to help Sara and teach for her in Satangi for a month would provide them both with the time and distance to end their relationship. She could remove her things and put them in storage. When he returned home, she’d be gone. Silently, she felt tears slip down her face.