by KB Alan
“Hey, buddy,” Toby answered.
“Hey. Entertain me so I don’t go road rage on these poor, unsuspecting fools I’m surrounded by.”
“Where are you? You can’t be at home. Podunk doesn’t have traffic.”
“Tell that to the thirteen people I wrote citations for in the last few days.”
“Oh, poor baby, are those mean citizens you’re supposed to be protecting actually making you work?”
“Bite me.”
“Yes, Sir. Just tell me when and where.”
Drew laughed.
“Sorry, I’m on my way into Boston, not New York. And the subbie I’m looking to hook up with has much better equipment than you do.”
“Ah, you wound me. But if you tell me more, I may forgive you. Details, man, details.”
“I pulled her over for speeding.”
“And got her number? Nice.”
“Eventually I got her number.” He let that hang for a minute of silence.
“No. No way mister straight arrow banged a hottie on shift.”
His lips quirked. Toby, a high school teacher, had a tendency to sound like his kids, and Drew knew him well enough to know he hadn’t meant to be disrespectful.
“Well, it was after shift, and no, I’m not going to give you details. I’ll just say that after the ticket was given and the official transaction complete, we took things to a different level.”
“Nice. And now you’re driving into the city to see her?”
“Yeah. She goes to college near me, actually, but is spending a few days in Boston.”
“Mmm, young and experimental?”
“Twenty-three and been experimenting for a little while. She was wearing a necklace with that BDSM emblem, so not a newbie.” He changed lanes to get around idiots who seemed to have no clue what they were doing. “And…we had a good time and I’m driving up to meet her rather than waiting until she goes back home.”
“Ah, come on! You have to give me more than that.”
“I used my police issue handcuffs on her.”
“That’s more like it, give me more.”
“I’m not giving you details, you perv.”
“Even if I beg?”
“Even if.”
“Fine, let’s talk about me then. Are you still up for a visitor?”
Vacations were hard for Toby. His wife had also been a teacher and they’d taken a trip every summer, something they planned together. The first summer after she’d died, Toby had spent the whole vacation at Drew’s house. The second year he’d stayed home, and Drew had gone up to visit for a long weekend. This year Toby had decided to do a summer trip on his own, but he was starting off with a short stay at Drew’s.
“Of course. I took a couple of days off work. Looks like the weather will probably hold for a nice sail.”
“I think you’re right. You going to invite your new friend along?”
“We’re not dating. We’ll be playing tonight, and hopefully she’ll be up for doing that again. But don’t get the wrong idea. We’re not starting a relationship.”
There was a long pause. “Well, you’re definitely starting a relationship, but not the kind you mean. I get that. Well, actually no, I don’t get that. Why are you determined to limit the type of relationship you might have?”
“Okay, it’s a relationship. A club relationship.”
“Without the club.”
“The actual setting isn’t really the point, it’s the attitude and expectations.”
“Exactly.”
Neither spoke for a minute and Drew tried to expel the irritation that was building. “I like club relationships. I like keeping things within those boundaries. I don’t see any reason to change that.”
“Like meeting the right woman?”
“Emma is a great person, we had a lot of fun. I’d like to continue having fun with her. But no, I’m not interested in introducing her to my parents, or my coworkers, or whatever it is that people expect when they’re in the kind of relationship you’re talking about.”
“The kind of relationship where you share your lives together?”
“Yeah, that kind.”
“Does she know that?” Toby’s voice was sharp, surprising Drew. They’d had similar conversations, once before Caroline had died, and once after.
Drew sighed. “I’ll make sure we’re both clear on what we want before we set anything else up.”
“So, how about introducing her to me? Are you going to use my visit as an excuse to not see her?”
“How about you let me have this, our second encounter, before you get too far ahead of yourself?”
Toby sighed again. “Fine.”
Drew changed the subject before his friend could go off on another tangent. “Have you mapped out the rest of your trip yet?”
Toby only hesitated a moment before describing the Civil War sites he planned on visiting. This first real trip alone was going to be tough and Drew wished he could make it better for his friend.
“Toby, are you sure you don’t want some company for all that?”
“You know you would hate this kind of trip. I’ll be fine. I’m not ready to think about a relationship myself, but unlike someone I know and love, I’m aware that I need to live my life and not get hung up on only thinking about the worst that can happen.”
“Toby. That doesn’t even make sense.”
“Yeah, yeah, I’ll shut up. For now. I’ll see you in three weeks.”
When he’d hung up, Drew jerked the Bluetooth out of his ear and dropped it on the passenger seat. When Caroline had been alive, he’d begun thinking it would be nice to find someone like her in his life. Someone permanent, someone to share the good times and the bad. Since he’d long before determined he couldn’t risk inviting someone in the lifestyle into his professional life, he figured he should give vanilla dating a try.
It hadn’t taken long to discover that a vanilla relationship wasn’t going to cut it for him, either. And then bad weather mixed with a truck driver who’d maybe not had enough rest had resulted in a car accident that had taken his friend’s wife. Drew had discovered that the good times weren’t worth having if losing her was the ultimate bad time. Toby still hadn’t dragged himself back to the life he’d had before. Probably never would. The hole Caroline had left was just too great.
Trying to shake off the black mood, Drew turned the radio back on to a music station and followed the map he’d memorized to the hotel Emma had chosen. He pulled up to the front and grabbed his bag, taking a ticket from the valet. A quick glance at his watch showed he was fifteen minutes early.
A small bar area off to the right was mostly empty. He was able to get a glass of ice water quickly, and took a seat. The drive should have given him plenty of time to get himself ready, but being annoyed with the other drivers, talking to Toby…thinking about Caroline. No, he needed to get his head in the game, bring his control to the forefront, and give Emma a fantastic evening. Dwelling on the pain that Toby had endured, the might-have-beens and the maybes, was useless.
When the glass was empty, he took a deep breath and rose. He made his way to the room number Emma had given him and checked his watch. Exactly on time. He knocked, unsurprised when she answered almost immediately.
Chapter Five
She looked stunning. The strappy dress hugged her breasts and ribs before cupping her perfectly rounded ass. It didn’t go much farther before ending, leaving a lot of leg for him to admire. The muted purple somehow set off her fabulous skin and her legs looked ten-feet long, ending in sharp heels that gave him a new appreciation for the whole foot fetish thing.
He raised his eyes back up to hers and smiled. That was all it took to bring a soft flush to her skin. Stepping in, he encouraged her to move back. He pulled a long-stemmed single red rose into view and handed it to her while dropping the bag to the floor. She smiled and brought the flower to her nose. Just because it wasn’t a date, didn’t mean he couldn’t show his appreci
ation for their time together. He shoved away the thought that her smile made him want to do whatever he could to be able to keep seeing it.
He let the door close behind him and leaned back against it, watching her. She lowered the flower and met his gaze.
“You’re gorgeous,” he said.
She blushed again, but smiled. “Thank you.”
“Come here.”
He didn’t move, waited for her to take the step and a half until she was only a couple of inches from him. Then he reached out, grabbed her hips, and pulled her in tight. With the heels higher than the sandals she’d worn the other day, her lips were perfectly matched to his. He kissed her hard, taking, giving. Her breasts pushed against his chest, her thigh notched neatly between his legs, and her forearms braced against the door next to his head as her body easily surrendered to him.
He didn’t know how long they stayed like that, but he wasn’t really ready to quit when the knock sounded loudly on the door. Breaking free, he cursed softly. She blinked up at him in confusion.
“It’s okay. Go into the bathroom for a few minutes. I’ll let you know when you can come out.”
She didn’t like it. Her eyes narrowed and he could see her think up an argument. He reached his hand up and brushed her cheek softly, his thumb caressing her slightly swollen lips. “Go on. It’ll just be a few minutes.”
Turning on her heel, she did as she was told. When the bathroom door clicked shut, Drew turned and let the room service waiter in. It only took a minute to have the items set up on the little coffee table, the waiter tipped and on his way.
“Emma. You can come out now.”
He enjoyed watching her expression change from irritation to another smile. He gestured for her to take a seat on the sofa and sat next to her, as close as he could without quite touching.
“I hope you like strawberries and champagne.”
“When the strawberries are dipped in chocolate, I certainly do. This is lovely.”
She started to reach for one, then stopped and looked at him, dropped her hand. “Are we starting?”
“Would you like to be starting?”
“I guess since you ordered me into my own bathroom, we already have.”
She said it wryly enough that he chuckled. “I guess we have. Would you like to have a snack here, then go out? Or stay in and start now, snack included?”
She watched him as if he were going to give her a clue to his preference, then drew a deep breath. “I’d rather stay here.”
“Is there anything you need to tell me? Any negotiations? Anything different for you since last time we were together?”
Keeping her gaze steady with his, she shook her head no.
“You’re sure? Because I won’t be relying on handcuffs to hold you down this time.” Her responding shiver kicked his pulse into a higher gear, but he forced it down. He wanted to take things slow and steady tonight.
He reached out, caressed his fingers down her cheek. “All right then.” Picking up a strawberry, he swiped it through the whipped cream, painted her lips with it.
“How’s that taste?” he asked.
She ran her tongue through the cream, swallowed.
“Very good.”
He raised a brow.
She blushed a little and looked down. “Very good, Sir.”
He added more cream and nudged the strawberry between her lips.
“Bite.”
She did, licking her lips when she’d finished chewing to clean up the mess he’d left behind. Her eyes had closed in appreciation of the dessert and his cock jerked. He leaned forward and kissed her, tasting sugar and chocolate and Emma. His hands were threading through her hair, holding tight, before he knew it. Another reminder to himself to slow down had him pulling back.
“You had lunch with your friend?”
She blinked a couple of times before answering.
“I did, yes. It was good to see her and we had a great talk.”
“Does she know the other reason you came up here?”
“No.” She frowned. “I thought about telling her, but it never felt right for the conversation. Do you find it annoying, having to hide things like that? Or is it stupid to even assume that you hide too?”
“Not stupid, no. And yes, sometimes I find it annoying, but not as annoying as trying to live a totally vanilla lifestyle.”
“Which you’ve tried.”
“Honestly, I haven’t had much luck in long-term relationships, vanilla or not. I think—” He drank some champagne, knowing it was a stall tactic. He didn’t want to sound like a cynical bastard, but he didn’t want to lie, either. “I won’t say it’s the same for everyone in the lifestyle, but for myself, I’ve come to the conclusion that permanent, long-term relationships aren’t really possible. I don’t think it’s compatible with the life I’ve chosen to live.”
He watched her carefully, waiting for anger or even doubt. For some reason her nod as she swallowed her food was…surprising instead of a relief.
“That’s kind of what I’ve been thinking. When I move back to California, I’m going to have to figure out a way to balance living with my family, being the person that I want to be around them, and yet not denying this part of myself. I’m not quite sure how it’s going to work. I want to be true to myself but then again, a lot of what I do isn’t really other people’s business.”
“That is a very true statement.” He handed her the other glass of champagne while he bit into a strawberry. “Do you think you’d try a vanilla relationship?”
She shook her head. “No, I don’t really see how that would work. I mean, maybe if I met the right guy I could introduce him into the lifestyle, but that would be too risky. And he’d have to be pretty amazing for me to want to…well, train isn’t the right word. But I do prefer a Dom who already knows what he wants.”
“And if you met a Dom that you wanted to take home to your parents?”
“I guess that’s what I’m hoping for. But it’s kind of hard to picture. All the guys I’ve played with in the clubs have been just play. I can’t really imagine any of them turning into real relationships. And I guess it would partly depend on what kind of life he lived outside the clubs.”
He nodded. “My best friend and his wife were in the lifestyle, and they had a fantastic marriage. So I’ve seen it, respect it, but I was always afraid it would become public somehow and ruin their lives. They were both high school teachers. I just can’t risk my job like that. The best compromise I could come up with was keeping the play to the clubs, which doesn’t leave much room for an out-of-club relationship.”
He fed her another strawberry, then set their empty glasses aside, deciding one glass each of champagne was enough.
She rested one arm along the back of the sofa, her fingers drumming a soft beat. “So it can be done, but you live your life in fear of being found out. That sucks.”
He reached out, touched her naked neck. “You’re not wearing your necklace.”
“No. I got it because I wanted to give myself this one year of really living that life, making the most of it, I guess. Not that I’m going to give it up, but that it will be different. More subtle. I guess I thought having a year of not having to be subtle would make it easier, later. Kind of like spending all that time out of the country made it easier to stay here and go to school. I’ll still travel, but never like that again.” She licked the cream off the strawberry he held out for her. “Does that make sense?”
“Sure.” And brought him the relief he’d been looking for earlier. “Makes sense to me.”
“This is weird, but nice.” She waved her hand between the two of them. “It’s like a club relationship, but without the noise and people of a club.”
He smiled. “That’s exactly what I was thinking.” Now that he was sure they were on the same page, he was eager to get his hands on her. He fed her another strawberry, trying to keep his focus on what she was saying and not on the shape of her lips as she pulled th
e fruit in, licked the cream up.
She must have seen a change in his expression because her breathing picked up speed and her nipples beaded under her thin dress, making him wonder if she was wearing a bra. Luckily he didn’t need to keep wondering.
“Emma. Come here.” He took the accent pillow from behind his back and dropped it to the floor at his feet.
She rose, moved so she was next to his right knee, and knelt. Beautiful, absolutely beautiful. He cupped her cheek, rubbing his thumb along her lips. He was becoming addicted to touching her.
“Stand up. Leave your shoes on, but take your clothes off. Slowly.”
Her lips curled up slightly on his last word. She rose gracefully to her feet and turned, offering him her back. Obligingly, he inched the zipper down, one finger trailing behind to run down her increasingly bared back, bumping over the strap of her bra. So she was wearing one. He wanted to see what thin confection she’d chosen that had done nothing to hide her desire from him. He was pretty sure he’d approve. When the zipper was all the way lowered, he ran his palms up her back, parting the fabric until it barely clung to her shoulders.
When he withdrew his hands, she turned carefully until she faced him. One deep breath dislodged the dress and it pooled at her feet. She wore a stark red, lacy bra that cupped her breasts lovingly and didn’t cover her nipples. It matched the equally lacy underpants that did very little to hide her assets. He most definitely approved.
“Beautiful. Take it off.”
Her smile was full this time as she reached back to release the flimsy excuse for a bra. It, too, dropped to her feet, followed by the panties. He loved that while she was clearly not an exhibitionist, neither was she terribly shy about her body. She’d been embarrassed to be in front of the mirror at his house, but she stood in front of him now and she smiled. Oh yeah. He liked that a lot.
He directed her to remove her shoes and hang up the dress, then rose to stand in front of her.
“Now you can undress me.”
She didn’t hesitate, but reached for the knot of his tie. It occurred to him he’d never worn a suit and tie to a club, though it had seemed like a natural choice for picking her up at a nice hotel. He’d never had feminine hands loosen the knot at his throat and release the silk from around his neck. It was sexy, but somehow sweet. She slipped it over his head, bringing her mouth so very close to his, letting her breasts tease his chest.
