“What if I don’t consent? What if I refuse to be part of your club?”
He turned, giving me a grave and thoughtful look. “You saw the men in there, you know who they are. How long do you think it would be before they would begin to watch you, keep tabs on you, and try to keep you quiet?”
My heart fell to my knees. “What have you gotten me involved with, Garrett?”
“I told you this wasn’t about your book anymore. I asked you how far you were willing to go. I warned you there could be consequences.”
“Consequences? I thought you were joking. This is the kind of stuff that ends up on the nightly news, not in the middle of my life.”
“Welcome to my world, Lexie. No matter what you decide, your life has changed for good.”
My life had changed, but not for the reasons Garrett had mentioned. He was the reason everything was different. I shrank into my black leather seat, clutching my shawl. I entertained the possibilities of becoming his, handing myself over to his demands, and joining his club. Then I thought of Heather, and what had happened to her when Colin had grown bored with her. Would my fate be the same if Garrett and I ended? Would I be expected to find another Dom, or would they let me walk away? Somehow, I suspected walking away from the De Sade Club wasn’t going to be so easy.
Garrett maneuvered the car along St. Charles Avenue and eventually on to the interstate. A light sprinkle started falling, and by the time we pulled in front of my subdivided house, the rain was coming down in big droplets. I waited for Garrett to turn off the engine, and became curious when he stayed in his driver’s seat, staring into his rearview mirror.
“We have a visitor,” he commented, never taking his eyes off the mirror.
“What are you talking about?” I glanced out the back window.
“Colin followed us from the club. I noticed his car when we got on the interstate.”
“Colin?” I tried to see through the rain covering the back window. “Are you sure?”
“I know his car.” Garrett placed his hand on my arm. “When I go around and open your door, don’t look back at him.”
Garrett opened his door and jumped into the rain. After he collected me, we jogged up the walkway to the front doors. As I fumbled for my keys, I saw him glancing to a black Mercedes-Benz parked two cars back behind his BMW. The engine was running, and the headlights had been turned off.
“What do we do?” I implored, opening the doors.
“We make it look good. I’ll stay until he leaves. That should convince him.”
After entering my apartment, Garrett removed his tuxedo jacket and dropped it on my antique sofa.
“You might be here a while. Do you want scotch or coffee?” I asked, walking past him.
I was heading toward the kitchen when he came up behind me and enveloped me in his arms. “I don’t want anything to drink.” His hand then reached for the zipper on the back of my dress. “The whole time we were watching that couple, I kept waiting for you to move, cry out, or stand up. I’m glad you never did.”
“You told me not to be surprised by anything.”
He unclasped the diamond collar and dropped it to the floor. Kissing the back of my neck, he murmured, “Were you turned on?”
My groin exploded with white heat while his kisses tempted my skin. I tried to spin around, hungry to taste his lips, but he held me firm.
“You have experienced my punishment when you do not obey me.” He tugged at the zipper. “Tonight, you will experience my reward for following my directions.” He let me go and hooked his fingers beneath the straps of my dress. Slowly, he eased the gown over my shoulders and pushed the fabric down my body. Letting it fall to the floor, he lifted me out of the material and into his arms.
Garrett carried me to my bedroom. I was flushed with excitement of what was to come. Finally, he was going to take me, and I was eager for it. Gently putting me down on the bed, he then pulled my hips to the edge, as he stood over me. I tried to reach for his shirt buttons. He shook his head, stopping me.
“Tonight is about you, Lexie; all about you.” Kneeling at the edge of the bed, he lowered the black silk underwear I had put on hoping for just such an outcome. “I plan on pleasing you, over and over again.”
After he tossed my underwear aside, he lifted my hips closer to him. I closed my eyes and leaned back against the bed as his lips kissed the inside of my right thigh. God, I was going to explode with longing for him. When his mouth closed over my clit, I almost screamed out loud.
His tongue drew circles, his teeth teased, and he sucked so hard that I arched against the bed and cried out his name. Reaching for my blue bedspread, I held on while my body quivered when that powerful tingling rose from my loins. As the first wave of my orgasm hit, I slammed back against my bed, my body bucking uncontrollably. Somewhere in the distance, I thought I heard someone scream. As my head cleared, I realized it had been me. I was gasping for breath, pulsating with satisfaction, and totally drained.
“Garrett,” I gasped. That was….” I tried to catch my breath.
“That was only the beginning.” Kissing my inner right thigh and nipping at my flesh, his lips traveled downward. I moaned when his mouth settled over me, and then he began tasting me all over again.
I lost count of how many times he made me come. When he finally climbed onto the bed next to me, I was covered in sweat and unable to move.
“You earned that.” He kissed my cheek.
I pulled at his tuxedo shirt. “I want to feel you next to me.”
His arms went around me. “Let me just hold you for now.”
Sighing with contentment, I closed my eyes and cuddled against him. I had never been so satisfied with any man before, making me question if I would ever feel that way again. Or would Garrett take all my happiness with him when he eventually moved on? I was not stupid enough to believe that we would last, but I did want to enjoy what we had for as long as time would allow.
Day 10
I opened my eyes to discover that the pale light of morning was peeking through my bedroom windows. When I sat up, there was no sign of Garrett next to me. Tossing the covers aside, I immediately went to my dimly lit living room, but he was not there. My green dress was no longer on the floor—neither was the diamond collar. The gown had been neatly draped over the length of the sofa. I was about to reach for the dress when the light from my open laptop caught my attention. Approaching my desk, I spotted the screen open to the last page of my unfinished manuscript. Knowing I had turned off the computer before getting ready for the party, I guessed he had read my book while I was sleeping. Running my fingers over the keyboard, I pictured his long, fine hands dashing across the keys. I went to close my laptop when I saw something written well below the last sentence of my book.
This is better than I could have imagined. You’re a great writer.
G
I read his note several times and finally saved it, wanting to keep it for future inspiration. Smiling as I reflected back on our night, especially the moments in my bedroom, I knew things had changed between us…or at least they had changed for me. If he ever asked me again to submit to him, I would not refuse. I was in too deep, and though the book still mattered to me, the man I was writing about was starting to matter more. It would seem that truth had surpassed my fiction.
* * *
After a long hot shower and a cup of black coffee, I returned to my laptop for a day of writing. With the events of the party fresh in my head, I wanted to get as many of the details down as possible. Images of Colin, Heather, Mabel, and Garrett rushed across my mind while my fingers flew across the keyboard, anxious to incorporate everything into the book. As I typed, I thought about the things I had learned the night before about the club, Colin, and my fate if I chose to be claimed by Garrett. Could I live a life like that?
Putting the matter aside, I concentrated on my story. Before decisions had to be made about relationships, before ceremonies were planned, I had to d
eal with Ralph and Elise. I had to end their tale before I could even think of beginning mine.
As the morning session of writing dragged into early afternoon, I began to check my cell phone for any word from Garrett. At first, I didn’t mind not hearing from him. It gave me the opportunity to write undisturbed. However, by the time the late afternoon sun cast its long fingers across my living room floor, I was fretting over why my phone had remained silent.
An unexpected knock on my apartment door distracted me from my worry. I had not heard the buzzer from the downstairs entrance and when I went to the door, I hesitated before stretching for the doorknob.
“Who is it?”
“Lexie, it’s Colin.”
Colin? I almost shouted out his name with disbelief. What in the hell was he doing here? Turning back the deadbolt, I opened the door.
“How did you get in?”
He thumbed back to the stairs. “Your neighbor let me in.”
Dressed in an impeccable gray suit and elegant black and silver silk tie, he appeared fresh from a day at the office. On closer inspection, the light smattering of fatigue circling his blue eyes and the touch of stubble around his jaw made him seem slightly haggard.
His lips stretched into a devious grin. “Can I come in?”
Wary of letting him in my apartment, I stood in the doorway. “What do you want, Colin?”
He slipped his hands in his trouser pockets. “All right, if you want to do this in the hallway…I want to talk to you about claiming you, making you my sub.”
I shook my head, waving him into my apartment. The last thing I needed was my neighbors to overhear talk of subs, ceremonies, and bondage. They already thought I was the weirdo writer.
Once inside, he avidly took in my eclectic décor, his eyes honing in on my antique furniture. “Nice place. Small, but nice.” He turned to me. “I could get you something nicer.”
I shut my front door. “If I let you claim me, is that it?”
“Garrett has made no move to claim you in the club. He has to do so soon; otherwise, another Dom could do it…another Dom like me.”
I stayed close to the door, in case I needed to make a hasty retreat. “I’m not interested, Colin. Garrett is my Dom. I don’t want another.”
“You can’t remain in the club without being claimed.”
“Maybe I don’t want to stay in the club.”
He laughed, folding his arms over his chest. “Then I guess you got all the information you needed for your book.”
My insides turned to ice. “What are you talking about?”
He came closer to me. “You told me you were a romance writer that day we met at Woldenberg Park. Later, when Garrett told me your full name, I checked you out. I know about your books, your ex, even about your mother. Nowhere did I find any info about your interest in bondage.”
“I’m new to the art,” I said, my nerves on edge. “Garrett has been training me.”
“Training?” he snickered, not sounding very convinced. “Then why did he show up at that bar with you? I even asked him that night why he didn’t bring you to the club straightaway. He said he wanted to break you in slowly.” He wiped his hand across his mouth while shaking his head. “I know now, he never had any intention of making you his sub. If you were a true sub, you would have never said the things you did to me at the club. When he came back here with you last night, I knew he had never had you. No man would leave your bed in the middle of the night.”
I leaned back against my front door, contemplating my options. “What do you want, Colin?”
He nodded, stopping right in front of me. “Good girl. You’re smarter than I thought.” He paused, his eyes wantonly roaming over my body. “What I want is this…you become mine. I claim you in the ceremony at the club. I say nothing to my mother, or any other members, about you and Garrett, and the book I have no doubt you’re writing.”
“Why should I go along with that?”
“Because if you don’t, I’ll have Garrett kicked out of the club, his business shut down, and he’ll go back to Dallas with his tail between his legs. I’ll make sure he never to sets foot in New Orleans again.”
I glared into his icy blue eyes. “Why do you hate him so much?”
“I don’t hate him,” he said, astonished. “I want you. I’ve always wanted you since the day we met. I could tell you were no sub, but Garrett refused to see it.” He eased his lips closer to me. “Just think of all the fun we will have, and how I will switch you from a Dom to a sub.”
The term came back to me. Garrett had told me once the greatest lure for any Dom was turning one of their own into a sub. Suddenly, Colin’s aspirations became crystal clear.
“Why should I care what you do to Garrett? Even if you hurt him, you can’t force me to do what you want.”
“That’s true” he agreed. “I can’t force you. Nonetheless, wouldn’t it be better to submit to me rather than watch Garrett suffer, and watch your friends and mother get squeezed by my connections at city hall? I know a lot of people in this town, Lexie. You can either submit to me and live like a queen, or refuse me and chance losing everything you have.”
“That’s blackmail,” I hissed.
“No, it’s an incentive.”
“Get out, Colin.” I opened the door. “Come back here, and I’ll call the cops.”
“I know them too, Lexie.” He arched over me, trying to appear menacing. “You need time to think about this. I understand. It’s a big decision.” Reaching for a tendril of my hair hanging from my ponytail, he held it between his fingers. “I’ll be in touch.”
After he sauntered down the heavy staircase, I quietly shut my door. My mind was reeling with questions about what to do. If I called Garrett, he would go after Colin, and possibly make things worse. I had to think this through. I had to find a way to spare Garrett and me from Colin’s desires. There had to be a way out of this.
Returning to my desk, I flopped down in my chair. Leaning my head back, I went over and over a list of possibilities. No matter how I evaluated the situation, only one solution presented itself. I had to submit to Garrett. I had to go through with the collaring ceremony, to protect both of us from Colin. Short of running away, I did not see how I had any other choice. If I had to be claimed, I wanted it to be with Garrett and no one else.
Closing my eyes, I visualized him throwing me over that red velvet chaise and taking me from behind. The eyes of all those around us quickly came into view, and I became queasy as hell. Shaking off the images, I tried to return to my book. I consumed my mind with Elise and Ralph, making their story my own.
As the late afternoon turned into evening, I became acutely aware that I had not heard from Garrett. Had something happened to him, or had he grown tired of me? I was used to hearing from him every day. The sudden silence was confounding. Perhaps I should call him and tell him of Colin’s visit. I feared his reaction, and decided I needed to wait for him to call me.
By 10 P.M., I was pacing my living room floor and staring at my cell phone, willing it to ring, so I could hear Garrett’s voice on the other end of the line. By 11 P.M., I had stopped pacing, and my anger had kicked in. I was cursing his name and wishing we had never met. Between Colin’s threats and Garrett’s obvious brush off, I was beside myself. I even went so far as debating on whether or not to delete my manuscript, symbolically deleting both men from my life. It did not take me long to decide that erasing my work was a bad idea. I had to eat.
Finally, worn out with worry, self-recrimination, anger, and disbelief, I climbed into my bed, determined to get some answers in the morning. I would have to talk to Garrett. I was still unsure if he should know of Colin’s plans. More importantly, I needed to know why, after a night of intense passion, he had never bothered to call me. So I planned my strategy. I would call him and say I had some questions for the book…and then, I would casually bring up my concerns. Yeah, that would work. It had to.
I laughed at my dilemma. I coul
dn’t write this crap even if I tired. That was the problem with being a storyteller; sometimes a story took on a life of its own.
Day 11
After a restless night’s sleep, I got up that Monday morning and chose not to confront Garrett over the phone. The things I needed to say had to be done in person. A quick search on my computer located the address of his office on Camp Street. After donning a respectable pair of blue slacks and a white button-down shirt¸ I grabbed my leather purse and headed out the door.
In my car on the way to Garrett’s office, I practiced different explanations for why I had showed up unannounced. With each scenario, I tried to anticipate his response, and how I would react when I saw him again. No matter how hard I tried to convince myself that I would be able to take the anger he would most certainly hurl at me, the thought of seeing him again was rather daunting.
When I found his modest red-bricked two-story renovated warehouse, I was underwhelmed. I didn’t know what I was expecting…maybe a larger building that matched the personality of the man who ran it. The quaint structure had a black awning over a glass front entrance, and a second floor façade covered with long, old-fashioned windows. Written in red over the top of the awning, was the name Parr and Associates.
Parking across the street, I struggled for a few moments at the parking meter, trying to get the correct change to cover one hour. Peering up once more at the building, I took in a deep breath and headed across the street.
As I stepped in the front door, I was greeted by an older, blue-eyed receptionist who had silver wire-rimmed glasses and wore her blonde hair up in a bun. Her friendly smile complimented the congenial beige décor of the reception area. Along the walls were assorted pictures of homes. I assumed they had been designed by Garrett or some member of his company.
“Welcome to Parr and Associates,” the blonde declared. “Can I help you?”
Pulling my purse closer, I dropped my eyes to her semi-circular light oak desk. “I would like to see Mr. Garrett Hughes.”
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