by Jan Graham
“I should throw you out because that long, sad face of yours is bringing down the mood of my club. It reminds me of the look you had the first night we met.” The two men exchanged a silent gaze across the table. “Tell me what’s wrong, and maybe I can help cheer you up by fixing the problem.”
After placing two beers on the table the pretty blonde barmaid curtsied toward Zane before silently walking away.
“I have woman trouble.” Steve saw no reason to deny Zane the truth.
“Join the club…I’m sitting in that boat as well. Care to compare notes?” Zane sipped his beer and listened to Steve talk about Rhia. He watched as Zane took in all the information, not commenting until Steve had finished speaking and he had considered the information for a short period of time.
“I don’t see the problem. Fuck her, train her as your sub, and live happily ever after.”
Steve wondered whether it would be that easy. “I can’t start something and expect that she’ll agree for me to bring her into the BDSM lifestyle, and if she’s not happy to train as a sub then she isn’t the woman I need. I can’t fuck her and risk breaking her heart by dumping her when she runs away screaming at the thought of being dominated. She’s a virgin for God’s sake, and a nun.”
“Point of order…she was a nun, now she sounds like an incredibly hot woman. And being a virgin shouldn’t enter into it. You want her…you take her.”
“Are you sure you’re not a reincarnated Viking? Or are you the only male in the modern world who hasn’t stepped away from his Neanderthal genetic code? In this day and age people don’t just take what they want. There are repercussions.”
“What can I say? I’m a Dom. I believe I rule my world and all who enter therein.” Zane smiled across the table at Steve “Well maybe a little bit of the Neanderthal-Viking genetic code rears its ugly head at times. But back to your problem, I see the conflict you face, so my next suggestion would be, wait to fuck her until after you’ve told her you’ll accept nothing less than her complete submission, then fuck her, train her, and live happily ever after. Simple.”
Steve couldn’t help but laugh. Zane had at least made good on his offer. His mood was definitely happier after talking with his friend. Maybe his problem could be solved through simple communication. He was sure once Rhia realized he was a Dom who needed a submissive woman in his life, not just someone incredibly beautiful, voluptuous and sexy as hell to fuck, she’d understand that a relationship between them wouldn’t work. And his explanation would also clear up the whole impotence issue. He could then walk away, and she could find someone more suitable to her needs. Steve’s emotions began to stir deep inside. She would find someone else…another man…with Rhia. The notion suddenly had his blood boiling.
“If only it was simple. Unfortunately I don’t think it is. Thanks for the advice anyway. I’ll mark it as number twenty-five in the book I’m compiling on how not to woo a woman.” Even as Steve joked, the thought of another man attempting to touch Rhia as he had, another man eliciting the physical reactions of this morning, was mulling around in his brain. He remembered her soft moans of pleasure and her heated response to him. He shook his head to clear the image from his mind and uncurled the fist that formed in his previously relaxed hand. The wad of tension in his stomach stayed in place.
“So now that you’ve given me the I-am-Dom-hear-me-roar answer, what does my friend think?”
Zane leant forward and rested his arms on the table. His expression became serious and thoughtful.
“I think you’re fucked, mate. I’ve never seen you like this over a woman. And no, I didn’t know Kathy, but I saw what her death did to you. You haven’t mentioned any other woman since I’ve known you with the same emotion and concern. This Rhia is under your skin, Steve, and to me…it looks like she might be a hard demon to exorcise. So I say, don’t fight it. If it works out, it works out. If not, you pick up your bruised and battered heart and move on.”
“It’s not my heart that will be left shattered.” Steve put more energy into his denial than he intended to, the words prompting a scoffing sound at the end of the sentence for added impact.
“Yes, it will. Somehow this little lady found a chink in your amour and, whether you want to admit it or not, she’s already pushing aside the stone you placed in front of your heart when Kathy died.” Steve was tempted to wipe the knowing smirk off Zane’s face with his fist. “It’s time to wake up from the dead, Lazarus. She’s calling you out of your tomb.”
The religious analogy Zane used wasn’t lost on Steve. Lazarus, a friend and brother to those who mourned him, had been brought back to life at the hands of a religious teacher and savior of the downtrodden.
Zane and Steve had often held discussions on outdated religion and where it fitted into the modern world. Zane certainly liked to confront people where they lived. More than once Steve had seen him hit the nail on the head where people’s problems were concerned, his words of wisdom often laced with references to popular culture, religion or politics. Zane was like a modern-day prophet. Not that Steve would ever tell him that. His friend didn’t need another meal to feed his overly confident ass.
“You’re so full of shit sometimes.” Steve chose to change the topic rather than face any more of Zane’s way too accurate observations. “So tell me about your woman. She must be something if she’s causing you trouble. I’ve never known a sub to deny you anything.”
“Subs never deny me. You’re correct in that observation. Trouble is, like you, my latest desire doesn’t yet know she has a need for my tender but effective discipline.” The look on Zane’s face could only be described as evil. It wasn’t a smile, a smirk or a frown, more like a combination of the three. “She will realize it soon though.”
“Who is this poor woman? I need to contact her and offer my services as a body guard.”
“She doesn’t need protection. She can do that for herself. The only response I’ve scored from her to date has been lashings from her viperous tongue, a painful clawing from the talons she calls nails and a hard-on that persists nearly twenty-four-seven. The woman will be the ruin of me, unless I win the bet I’ve made. Then I’ll have sweet and submissive relief for at least a week.”
It was only when Zane spoke about talons that Steve noticed the remnants of a scratch mark trailing from just under his friend’s ear down the side of his neck. Steve pushed Zane’s hair back and looked at the mark more closely. “I misread the signs when we were together a few days ago. What I assumed was smoldering lust in Miss M’s eyes turned out to be unrequited rage. I believe she was aiming to scratch my eyes out as I attempted to kiss her, but I took evasive action just in time. She connected with my neck instead.”
“Miss M…? Please tell me you’re not talking about Mercedes Harris-Shore?” Zane gave a firm nod but did not speak. “You want Mistress Mercedes, owner and renowned dominatrix of the city’s most infamous gentleman’s club, to be your submissive?”
“Correct. As you can see from the scratch, I’m having trouble convincing Mercedes she needs to accept my offer. But, I’m sure she’ll come around.” Zane’s words were delivered with the utmost confidence. However, an awkward shifting in his seat indicated that perhaps he wasn’t as confident as he made out.
Steve began to laugh, much to the displeasure of his friend, if the look on Zane’s face was any indication. Mercedes had been a Domme for more years than Steve cared to remember. Even as a kid, she’d never bowed down to anyone, including her parents. She was supremely confident, an accomplished business woman, and because of her connection to the Shore family, she was like a sister to Steve.
“Did you fall over recently and hit you head, Zane? What you’re talking is madness. Mercedes isn’t a sub, or has that piece of information slipped your attention?”
“I am well aware of what she currently does. I’m also very familiar with the two pale and insipid submissive so-called men who currently submit to her desires. She hasn’t yet realized what s
he needs, but when I win my wager with her, she will.”
“You’ve made a bet with her?”
“Yes, the business awards. I win Business Person of the Year and she becomes my submissive for a week. If, by some miracle, she wins, then I give her what she wants.”
Steve had all sorts of nasty thoughts running through his mind. Whatever Mercedes wanted as part of the wager would be wicked.
“I’m hoping what she wants is the same from you. I can see you chained in the corner of her dungeon ready to be flogged mercilessly when she gets home after having a bad day at work.”
“A million dollars.”
Steve’s laughter abruptly ceased. Steve stared at his friend, had he heard incorrectly? “Say that again.”
“If Mercedes wins the business awards, I pay her a million dollars. Not that she’ll win.”
“Can you afford that sort of money? And why are you so sure she’ll lose?”
“I can afford it and be left with change. It won’t break me financially. I’m sure she only made the price so high, thinking I’d pull out of the deal. The reason she won’t win is because I have more businesses, more voting connections, and never in the history of the awards has the main prize gone to an establishment involved in the sex industry.”
“You have more money than sense. In fact, both you and Mercedes are stark raving mad. I can’t believe you would enter into a wager like that.” Steve shook his head in disbelief. A million dollars for Zane and pretending to be something she wasn’t for Mercedes. The deal had lose/lose written all over it. “Why? It’s not like you can’t have any unattached sub in the city. Why take a risk like this? Mercedes isn’t submissive. She’s not even a switch. Why choose her?”
“As much as I don’t understand it, I’ve come to realize one thing. The heart wants what it wants, my friend. I’m tired of resisting my desire for her, just like you’ll eventually get tired of resisting your Rhia.” Zane spoke quietly. Emotion flickered over his hardened features, the confidence momentarily overshadowed with something Steve couldn’t define. “A million dollars is nothing compared to what I hope to gain. But I refuse to believe I’ll lose, which is exactly the attitude you should have in relation to the horny virgin you want.”
Chapter Eight
Meg, Angel and Rhia stared at the flowers. One dozen white carnations, patterned with pink stripes, in a decorative glass vase. They were beautiful.
“So what your telling me is, these are I’m not interested flowers?” Rhia couldn’t help but let her confusion show.
“Exactly,” Meg replied with a hint of disappointment.
“I thought flowers automatically meant a man was interested. I didn’t know they had specific meanings.” Angel glanced between Meg, Rhia and the flowers. “Even so, I can’t believe a man would put that much thought into picking the flowers he sends. Especially Steve. He wouldn’t pick flowers to send some kind of hidden meaning. And what about the card that came with them?”
“All it said was ‘I’m sorry I made you cry.’” Rhia sighed, “I still can’t believe you told him I got upset, Angel.”
“He needed to know, he behaved like a shithead, and I refuse to have a brother that’s a shithead.”
“So basically, Meg, the flowers and the card combine to mean what?” Rhia asked.
“Striped carnations mean refusal. You know, I’m sorry I can’t be with you sort of thing. Pink carnations mean never forgetting a woman’s love, white means innocence or purity, something sweet and lovely.” Rhia listened as her sister read out the information from the electronic tablet in her hand. “That makes the combined meaning…I’m sorry I made you cry, but I can’t be with you, even though you’re sweet and lovely, innocent and pure.”
“Maybe it means he doesn’t want to be with me because he thinks I’m too innocent. What sort of woman does he usually date?” Rhia asked despondently.
“Women who don’t illicit any sort of emotional attachment in him. And I wouldn’t call them dates. They’re more like friends with benefits.”
“I don’t even think they’re friends, more like casual acquaintances,” Meg added. “He hasn’t dated since Kathy died. Barry often tries to talk to him about it, but he just tells him he’s fine with the way things are.”
The three women went back to staring at the flowers in silence. Rhia still couldn’t believe she’d thought Steve was impotent. Maybe she was too innocent to be with Steve, or any man for that matter. After all, if she’d continued being a nun she would never have experienced sex. Did it matter if she didn’t experience it now? Just because she no longer wore a habit didn’t mean she had to let go of her morals. Maybe chastity should remain part of her life, and Steve was merely an enticement she needed to overcome. He could be a sign that she didn’t need an intimate relationship with a man. She brought up an image of him in her mind.
What are you, Steve? Are you a sign from God or a temptation from the devil?
As soon as the thought of him entered her head, the all-too-familiar ache between her legs returned. He was definitely a temptation, and her response to him wasn’t that of a woman who needed to remain chaste. The problem was she didn’t want to overcome the temptation to him. For reasons she didn’t completely understand, Rhia knew she needed him in her life, and he needed her in his. She’d come home to embrace a new life and if her physical state was anything to go by, Steve Jax was going to play a role in that life whether either of them liked it or not.
“How infuriating can one man be? Wouldn’t most men be happy with a woman who didn’t have much experience, who hadn’t been with other men? Surely, in a world of promiscuity, a virgin would be a highly sought after prize.” Rhia spoke out loud before she’d realized it.
“Men are strange beasts. They’re all hard to figure out.” Angel replied.
“Amen to that.” Meg agreed.
Rhia’s thoughts solidified and the answer suddenly became clear. She did want to experience sex. There was no reason to deny the pleasure it would bring. The only person Rhia needed to be accountable to was herself. Steve Jax had turned her into a walking hormone then refused her because she was too innocent. Well, if he didn’t want someone innocent, if he didn’t want to take her virginity, then she’d do it herself. She hadn’t spent the last thirty-five years without having sex only to be turned down by the one man her body chose to be attracted to.
“Does it make any difference what the reason is? At least he said he was sorry for making you cry. I still don’t think he’d have any idea about the color combination or the meaning of the flowers,” Angel stated.
“You’re right, it doesn’t matter what any of it means. I know Steve is attracted to me. It’s like you said the other day, Angel, he wants to have sex with me, he’s just choosing not to. So, I’m going to convince him that he should. Hidden messages or not.” Rhia stormed into the bedroom, picked up her purse and put on a pair of shoes.
When she returned to the living room, Meg and Angel were still disagreeing over Steve’s intentions. The conversation abruptly stopped when she handed them their handbags and headed for the door.
“Where are you going?” The surprise in Meg’s voice evident.
“Not me, we. Angel can drive, and you can put that internet pad thing to good use by finding us an adult toy store. I need to go shopping.”
“In an adult store? Rhia, are you sure?” Meg followed her sister with a decidedly concerned look on her face.
“Yes, I’m sure. I want sex toys, lots of them. Anything and everything that will help relieve this stupid ache between my legs.”
“When did you find out there were toys to help relieve the ache, as you so aptly put it?”
“I might have mentioned it, and you don’t need to look up where to go, Meg. I know the perfect place.” Angel was already fishing her keys out of her handbag and heading for her car.
Meg climbed into the car and buckled her seat belt, as she let out an exasperated sigh. “Why does that not surprise
me, Angel? And why do I have the terrible feeling you’re going to corrupt my sister’s morals?”
* * * *
Exactly one and a half hours later, Rhia found herself out in front of a warehouse. The sign above the rather large glass sliding doors read Tempting Delights, with the accompanying logo, Carnal Pleasures for Every Desire, Kink and Fetish. Rhia took a deep breath and followed Meg and Angel inside. The huge warehouse, so big in fact that when Rhia looked down one of the aisles, she couldn’t see the back wall, both intimidated and intrigued her. She tried to hide the mortified look on her face and camouflage the gulp of air she took in as Angel grabbed a shopping cart and led the way to the first aisle. She fought the temptation to remind Angel they weren’t buying groceries, so they didn’t require a cart. Surely one of the small purple baskets would suffice.
Rhia decided she definitely fell into the totally naïve category when it came to sex. She knew the basics, realized people all over the world did it, but had no idea it was a business. Obviously “sex sells” meant more than just an advertising philosophy. It did sell, and from the size of this warehouse, it sold well. She glanced around nervously. Thank goodness she’d bought Meg and Angel with her because this place would be far too daunting on her own.
It was only when Meg and Angel turned to look at her from a distance that she realized she was standing motionless, holding her breath. The layered aluminum shelving formed a long corridor full of shiny, colorful plastic-covered items. She glanced at the sign above the entrance. The passage was aptly named…Do-it-yourself. Rhia forced herself to breathe deeply a few times before taking a tentative step forward. It had been her idea to come to this place. She could do it. Her legs moved slowly. Yes, she could do it herself. It might not be the ideal way to lose her virginity, but when the only man to turn her on in her lifetime refused to have anything to do with her, there was no other option. Meg and Angel were debating with each other as she approached them.
“Tell me again why you need to do this?” Meg was clearly concerned. “It’s not like Steve is the only man in the world you can have sex with. You’ll meet someone else eventually.”
