Taming Me

by Alexandrea Weis

  The house instantly appealed to me. It was modern in design with a façade of three interconnected squares made of large windows, with a recessed entrance on the lower floor and a jutting balcony on the second floor. It was a home you would see set on a ridge along a forest or on the shoreline of an ocean. It was a house I could live in.

  Smiling, I put the drawing down and went to the bed. Slipping on the robe, I questioned why the best piece of furniture in the house was the bed. He didn’t even have a nightstand for the white ceramic lamp sitting on the floor next to it. I thought it typical. A woman would worry about furnishing the living room and kitchen to entertain guests; a man would only worry about the bed to entertain himself.

  When I emerged in the vast living room, the aroma of brewing coffee called to me. Garrett was behind the curved breakfast bar, filling two black mugs with the steaming liquid. Approaching the kitchen, I marveled at the way he painstakingly poured the coffee, making sure he did not spill a drop onto the white granite countertop. His kitchen was meticulously clean, without a single dirty dish in the sink or a crumb on the countertop. In fact, the entire penthouse was spotless.

  “Do you even live in this place?” I asked, taking a chrome stool in front of the bar.

  He set a black mug of coffee before me. “What are you talking about? Of course I live here.”

  I curled my hand around the mug. “No, really live here; like stay here, throw your dirty underwear on the floor, or let the dishes pile up in your sink?” I motioned to the stainless sink behind him. “Either your maid just came today, or you really don’t spend a lot of time at home.”

  “I don’t have a maid, and yes, I don’t spend a great deal of time here.” He drank from his black coffee mug. “Most of the day, I’m at the office or meeting with clients. In the evening, I’m meeting with more clients or contractors or going to job sites and checking on problems. Other than showering and sleeping here, I don’t spend a lot of time in this apartment.”

  “What about your furniture? Do you actually plan on buying more?”

  He put his mug down on the bar before me. “I have a house full of furniture in Dallas. I didn’t think I should move too much here at first, because I wanted to see how the firm did.” He leaned his elbows on the bar. “If things stay busy, I’ll have to start hunting for a house in New Orleans and sell my old home in Dallas.”

  “Why not build?” I rolled my coffee cup in my hands. “I, ah, saw that drawing on your desk of that house. Why not build that?”

  He came around the bar and pulled out a stool next to me. “Were you snooping around my desk?”

  I nodded, not wanting to lie to him. I figured there was no point. “Yes, I was. I wanted to dig up some dirt on you.”

  “And what did you learn?” He sat down next to me.

  I took a quick sip of coffee and shook my head. “Nothing more than I already knew.”

  He leaned to the side, resting his left elbow on the bar. His eyes took in my damp hair, yellow robe, and bare feet curled under my stool. “I think it’s time you and I talked about boundaries.”

  I put my coffee down on the bar. “What? Stay out of your desk?”

  “No.” He reached out for the seat of my stool and pulled me and the stool closer to him. “We need to discuss limits. It’s what I do with a sub when I start a new arrangement. You need it for your book.”

  “Arrangement? Is that what you call it?” I reached for my coffee, needing a distraction from his probing eyes. “Have you ever had a relationship with a woman? Like in the vanilla way?” I stole another gulp of coffee.

  He took a moment to think, staring off to the side. “Not completely vanilla, but yes, I’ve had relationships.”

  “When exactly was the last time you were in a relationship?”

  “I thought the deal was to tell you about the women I have dominated, not the ones I have had relationships with. Isn’t that what you want for your book?”

  I slapped my mug down on the countertop. “This isn’t about the book anymore, Garrett. It’s about you and me.”

  “Master…and it’s about research.”

  I tried to stand from my stool. “Really? I thought fending off Colin and claiming me was about more than research.” I fidgeted to get around him.

  He grasped my arms. “We never finished the ceremony, Lexie.”

  I sank down on my stool, feeling his hands on me. “What difference does any of that make now?”

  He let me go and stood from his stool. “It makes a great deal of difference to me.”

  Garrett turned and was about to walk away when I placed my hand on his arm. “There is something I need to know.”

  He gazed down at my hand. “What is it?”

  “Would you have gone through with that ceremony? Would you have taken me in front of all of those people?”

  Leaning in closer to me, he whispered, “Despite what you think of me, I am not a monster.”

  “What I think of you?” I stood from my stool. “What has that got to do with any of this?”

  He paused for a moment, as if trying to fathom my thoughts. “You honestly think I would have forced you to submit to me when you were so terrified?” He backed away. “I had no intention of consummating that ceremony. I spoke with Mabel before I came to get you. I told her I planned on putting the collar about your neck, and that was all.”

  “She went along with that?” I balked. “I find that hard to believe.”

  “Mabel may seem hard for running that club, but she is also a loving grandmother of four who does not tolerate cruelty in her home. She had every intention of going along with my plan.”

  “Why didn’t you say anything to me?”

  “You needed to appear as if you knew nothing. To make it less likely the other members would blame you. I was simply trying to protect you.” He headed across the living room, leaving me standing by the bar, my mouth slightly open.

  I did not know how to take what he had just told me. I was furious with him for not saying anything and thought of the anguish I could have been spared. I was also grateful he had wanted to protect me. After he slipped into the hallway that led to his bedroom, I took off across the living room to interrogate him further.

  “You could have just told me, you know,” I blurted out when I walked into his bedroom. “I could have pretended to be afraid on that platform.”

  He went to his bed and lifted the light red bedspread. “You’re not that good an actress, Lexie.”

  “Like hell I’m not.” I came around to his side while he removed a pillow from the bed. “I’m a very good actress.” He stuffed the pillow under his arm. “What are you doing?”

  He nodded to the bed. “You can have the bed. I’ll sleep on the couch.”

  Now I was really confused. “Wait, don’t you want to…?” My stomach danced with butterflies. “I mean, I thought we came here to….”

  His intense eyes were analyzing me. “Came here to what?”

  “I thought after you put the collar on me, we were supposed to….” I gestured toward the bed. “You know?”

  He smiled, shaking his head. “Putting the collar on you was a sign to the rest of the club to stay away from you, particularly Colin. You wanted to find out what it was like to be a sub to me, Lexie.” He sat down on the bed. “And so, you have. I told Mabel the truth about you, why you were with me, and that we were just an experiment. That is why she was willing to let you go and not commit to the ceremony. She knew you were just pretending.”

  I gawked at him. “You mean this was all…you’ve just been pretending with me? All the groping, kisses, hand-holding, and dinners were just an act?”

  He stood from the bed. “You wanted to know how it felt, so that’s what I did. You have enough to write your books. Now I can get back to my life.”

  I stomped my foot on the floor. “Wait a minute! Where do you get off leading me on? Making me think—?”

  “Think what, exactly?” He drew closer. “Yo
u were the one who set the rules, Lexie. That first day when we met for lunch, you were the one who defined our relationship, not me.” He cocked his head to the side. “Are you saying you want to change the rules?”

  There comes a point in any relationship when you know you’re about to step over the edge. You throw your heart into the abyss, and pray that all the emotions you are feeling are returned. As I stood there, with his deep brown eyes challenging me, I knew Garrett’s heart could never be mine. He was not the kind of man who could be swayed by emotion. What beat inside of him was not a human heart, but a heart of stone, impervious to any feeling whatsoever. Despite all of that, and the warnings of my reason, I based my answer to his question on my relentless desire, and decided to hell with the consequences.

  “Yes,” I finally whispered. “I want to change the rules.”

  His face never altered and remained as aloof as ever. “How do you want to change the rules?”

  “I want to be…your sub, your slave, for just one night.” I lowered my eyes to the shiny hardwood floor. “I want to be yours.”

  He slowly walked around me, studying me, with his hands clasped behind his back. “Why?” he eventually uttered.

  “What do you mean ‘why’? I thought you would—”

  “Why do you want to be mine?” he interrogated beside me. “If you’re going to be mine for one night, then I must know why.”

  “I guess I want to know how we would be together. I haven’t been able to think of anything else but you for some time now.”

  “I’m glad to hear it.” His hands went to my shoulders and kneaded my flesh through the fabric of my robe. “You must let me do whatever I desire to you. Do you agree to that?”

  I enjoyed the strength in his hands as they massaged my shoulders. “Whatever you desire, yes.”

  He came around in front of me, his eyes cool and detached. “Remember what I told you I would do to you during the ceremony?”

  I untied the belt from my robe. “Is that how you want me?” I let my yellow robe fall to my feet.

  As I stood naked before him, he gazed up and down my figure. I thought I should be used to his eyes on me. I wasn’t. The way he was drinking in every inch of me made my skin tingle, driving me crazy. Never taking his eyes off me, Garrett reached for the belt on his robe, slowly shrugged off the thick material, and tossed it to the bed.

  It was my turn to ogle his strong, lean body, and my pulse quickened at the sight of him. My excitement dimmed when I saw that he was not erect. Recalling how he had become aroused in the shower, excited by controlling me, I turned away. I knew what I had to do to please him. Positioning myself over the bed, I rested my hands on the bedspread and waited, imitating what I had seen Heather do on the stage during her collaring ceremony. I concluded this was how he wanted me. I was his submissive and could only be taken this way and no other.

  I felt him coming up behind me, and I closed my eyes, preparing for what was to come. He spun me around to face him.

  “What are you doing?”

  I pointed to the bed. “Don’t you want me this way? Like in the ceremony?”

  He held my hands and pulled them to his chest. “No, I don’t want you like that. I want you, Lexie. I want the woman you are, not the submissive you’ve pretended to be.”

  “You want me, as I am?” I asked, confused. “Since when?”

  He nuzzled my cheek. “Since the moment we met.”

  I tilted my head to the side as his lips glided down my neck. “Why didn’t you say anything before?”

  He raised his head, and I noticed the coldness I had always seen in his eyes had retreated. “Giving in to you, would mean giving up what I am. I wasn’t ready for that,” he softly confessed. “I couldn’t let you have that kind of control over me.”

  His words shattered my image of him as the impervious Dom. On the inside he was just as scared, just as fragile as the rest of us.

  “Do you still feel that way, Garrett?” I whispered, conforming to his strong chest.

  His lips drew closer to mine. “No.”

  His mouth crashed into mine, and I was caught up in the fervor of his kiss. I explored the muscles in his chest, and the rippled contours of his abdomen. When I reached around to finally get my hands on his round ass, his arms went about me, pulling me close. His hands roamed over the curve of my butt and along my hips. He kissed my neck, and then bit into the tender flesh at the nape. I sucked in an exhilarated breath as his hand traveled down my stomach to that triangle of hair. When his fingers slid into my folds, I moaned for him.

  “Do you want me, Lexie?”

  “Yes, I want you.”

  His fingers thrust deep inside of me. “Say my name,” he murmured.

  “Garrett,” I called out as my insides ignited. “I want you, Garrett.”

  He pushed me back on the bed, reclining next to me on the light red bedspread. As he kneeled between my legs, his erection rubbed against my inner thigh. I was about to reach for his cock, when his fingers drove into me again. Rubbing my clit with his thumb, he began plunging his fingers forcefully in and out.

  “I need you good and wet for me, Lexie.”

  I was writhing on the bed next to him, caught up in the magic of his hands. I could feel my orgasm climbing upward.

  “Oh God, yes,” I shouted.

  I was just about to come when he jerked his fingers away. “Not yet, my Lexie. Not until I’m ready for you to come,” he kissed my right breast, “will I let you come.”

  I dug my nails into his shoulders, arching into him, anxious for him to take me. Swiftly picking me up from the bed, he positioned me on all fours.

  “I’ve been dreaming of taking you from behind.”

  I clutched the light red bedspread, impatient for him to enter me.

  Wrapping one arm around my waist, his hot breath caressed the back of my neck. The stubble of his beard grazed my skin when he kissed me. I could smell the essence of coffee and cologne on him, as the heat from his body enveloped me. He nipped the back of my neck, spread my folds wide apart, and then he rammed into me, making me cry out with surprise. He went so deep, penetrating as far as he could go.

  I reveled in the sensation of him inside of me. Then, Garrett slowly pulled out and quickly pounded into me again, harder than before. This time, there was no discomfort, and I instantly wanted more of him. I wanted all of him.

  I rocked my hips into his. “Yes,” I moaned.

  Responding to my need, Garrett began moving in and out, in slow deliberate thrusts. It was the sweetest agony I had ever known. My body throbbed, my toes tingled, and the tension twisting my muscles pleaded for release. Moving faster, he grunted behind me, and even the sound of his exertion turned me on. Just when I thought I could not take anymore, I was seized by the rush of my orgasm. I screamed as the sound of our hips slapping together reverberated around us. He held me while I gave in to the swell of pleasure. I was barely able to stay upright when he made one last deep push, curled into my back, and came inside of me.

  Tumbling with him, we collapsed on top of the bed, catching our breath. It had never been like that with anyone. The intensity I felt made me realize I had been missing something in my previous relationships; something sensual, something provocative.

  “Now you’re mine.” His arms tightened around me.

  “It would never have been like that at the club,” I joked, facing him.

  “No.” He flipped over on his back. “One of the reasons I wanted to spare you that fiasco.”

  “Can I ask you a question?” I sat up and ogled his well-defined chest.

  He arched a single brow at me. “Is this more research?”

  “No.” I paused, trying to word my question without sounding too judgmental. “Why does the club appeal to you? I mean, being a master and all, why does it turn you on?”

  He sat up on his elbows. “Turn me on? That’s an odd way of putting it.”

  “Let me rephrase that. Why do you like being in
charge?”

  Lying back on the bed, he put his arm under his head, thinking. “I like…I’m not sure how to put it. I like having my way, is probably the best way to say it. I don’t like wasting time letting people think they know what they want to do, talk about how to compromise and then in the end, do what I intended from the beginning. This way I get what I want without wasting time.”

  I rested my head on his chest. “There’s got to be more to it than that.”

  “Maybe I find most people don’t know what they want. When confronted by someone who does, they tend to yield. I just prefer to be in charge.” He played with a strand of my dark brown hair. “It’s my nature.”

  “What about compromise? You ever tried it with a sub?”

  His brow furrowed and he frowned. “No,” he emphatically stated.

  “What about with a woman you had a relationship with? Ever compromise then?”

  He sighed and his face relaxed. “Frequently, and it usually led to fights, screaming sessions, and eventually a break up.” He dropped my hair from his fingers. “This way, I avoid the screaming and the fighting. Better for my sanity.”

  “Fighting is part of relationships,” I insisted. “Goes with the territory.”

  “No one enjoys fighting, Lexie. Did you enjoy fighting with your ex?”

  I thought back to the numerous fights Sid and I had about money and my mother. “No. Sid and I were always fighting. I should have seen that as a sign of things to come. I wanted to leave him many times before I eventually did. I guess I never had the nerve. I went along with our marriage because I felt obligated. I was never happy.”

  In one effortless motion, Garrett lifted me off his chest. He sat me up next to him in the bed. “That is the same thing you did with the ceremony. You agreed to it, but really didn’t want it. You need to tell people what you want, Lexie. If you don’t, you’ll just be at the mercy of another Sid. Why didn’t you stand up to me from day one and tell me to forget about the claiming ceremony?”

  I was taken aback by the question. I thought he knew why I had done it, why I had gone through with everything. “I wanted to do it for you. You needed me, and I wanted to please you.”