“You’re still watching me,” she said. “Afraid I’m going to steal something?”
Grant set his open book on his chest. “Where would you put it? I can see through that thing you call a dress. Looks more like a colorful sneeze.”
“Good. You hate the look of it too.” Lynia pulled the garment over her head. She folded it carefully and set it on the chair. “Much better.”
Grant took stock of her body. Small in size, Lynia’s breasts were rounded and not pointy. Her waist tapered in to an ungodly small width, then flared out beautifully at her hips.
“You’re not with Brax,” Grant said. He brought his book up to his face. “You don’t have to parade around here naked if you don’t want to.”
“But I do.”
He lowered the book. With the grace of a cat, she sauntered to him. “You don’t like my husband very much, do you?”
“He’s okay.” Grant tried to bring the book back up to his face but Lynia grabbed it and pulled it back down.
“Liar. I see how you look at him when he touches me a certain way, like you’re jealous.”
Grant thought the vein he felt pulsating in his neck would throb out of control and burst through his skin with her declaration.
“I am not jealous.” He set his book on the table, not caring if he lost his place or not.
“I’m not talking about jealousy over women. Zora is beautiful and smart and funny. You two are great together. That reminds me. Why haven’t you married her yet?”
Grant jumped to his feet. “You want something to eat? I’m hungry.”
He wasn’t about to open up to Lynia, a stranger, his neighbor. What did she know about him and Zora anyway? It was none of her business why he hadn’t asked Zora to marry him yet. He would. He just needed time. Everything took time.
“You’re skipping the subject.” Lynia leaned against the countertop as Grant searched through the fridge for his dinner.
“No, you’re skipping the subject. You were saying how I’m supposed to be jealous of Brax.” He pulled out a bowl of cold fried chicken and set it on the table. “Chicken?”
“No, thanks. You want to be like him.”
“Who?”
“Brax.”
“No.”
“Yes.”
Grant grabbed a can of sweet corn from the cupboard. “No, I don’t. I have no interest in hurting women.”
Lynia’s little face scrunched into something ugly. “He doesn’t hurt me. Why don’t you believe that?”
“Because clipping clamps to your nipples can’t be a walk in the park.”
“I told you that they---”
“And making you wait to eat while he takes his time makes him an asshole in my opinion.”
“You don’t understand. He---”
Grant got into her face. “And petting you like a dog. That’s the part that gets me the most.”
He watched her bottom pink lip tremble. “Why?”
“Women shouldn’t be treated that way.” Grant backed away. “They should be honored and respected. Not abused.”
“Grant, I’m not abused. The type of relationship we have is consensual.”
He kept his head down as he poured the contents of the can into a ceramic bowl. He shook it to settle the teepee of corn into one layer, swirling the vegetable in its juices.
“Look at me,” Lynia said in a stern voice.
Grant couldn’t help but draw his attention away from the corn and to her.
“I’m not abused,” she repeated.
He wanted to believe that. She always seemed happy with Brax no matter what he did. Whenever Grant saw them together his side ached. His head throbbed like it used to when he was a teenager growing up with his mother and stepfather, who ruled the household with an iron fist.
“I have no desire to have the kind of life that Brax has,” Grant said. He turned the microwave to high to let the corn cook.
“Not his life. But you want the way he commands people. Take your boss.” Lynia came around the counter.
“What do you know about her?” Grant had never talked about her and he was pretty sure Zora hadn’t either, since he never went into detail about how much he despised the woman.
“Garland told me.”
Figured. Grant had forgotten that piece of the puzzle.
“I think Garland is right,” Lynia began. “You need to take a firm hand with your boss. Nothing too over-the-top but something that’s going to grab her attention.”
“I think Garland did enough attention-grabbing for one day.”
“That was Garland. We’re talking about you. That woman is looking to be ruled. Trust me. I know. I used to be that way.”
Grant smirked. “You were a manager at a major corporation?”
Lynia smirked back. On her, though, it looked cute. “What do you think? That I was always a submissive running around naked? I had a life before Brax.”
“And now?”
“We share our lives and we love it. Unlike you and Zora, we have no secrets from each other.”
“There are no secrets between me and Zora.”
“Then why doesn’t she know about your boss? She thinks you’re happy at work. Why won’t you tell her how you really feel about us here on Fascination Street?”
The microwave hummed next to Grant’s head as he stared at Lynia, who’d said more tonight than he’d ever heard her utter.
“Why worry her?” he said.
“You mean why worry you?”
When the microwave dinged, a pop and another explosion sounded inside. Grant flinched and put his body in front of Lynia’s. Peering in the front of the microwave, he saw bits of yellow corn splattered across the inside of the compartment.
“Guess I kept it in there too long,” he commented, before opening the door.
“Some things won’t keep while waiting for you,” Lynia said. “Eventually it explodes.”
Grant stared at her.
“I think I liked you better when you didn’t speak as much.”
Like a pixie, she giggled.
“So what exactly is your husband doing to Zora?” he asked. Ripping off a few paper towels hanging from a roll, he wiped away the mess. Zora would have a fit if she saw it.
“Exactly Brax is doing something special for her and you. I’m not going to spoil the surprise. You’ll see.”
“Yeah, but will I like what I see.”
The idea of Zora changing scared the shit out of him. Why did there have to be so much change? Why couldn’t they still be that same couple that clawed after each other like the first day they’d met?
Friday couldn’t get to him fast enough.
Chapter Twenty-Two
“You can do this,” Brax said.
Zora sighed again and peered up at Doggie Style as she sat in his Jaguar.
“You want to go back home?”
As she was about to shake her head, she stopped. She wasn’t that same woman a week ago who couldn’t confront things that bothered her. Strange as it was, thanks to Brax’s training, Zora started to feel invincible, like she could take on Hulk Hogan and go toe-to-toe with Lennox Lewis. She shifted in her seat to find a comfortable way to sit while the largest anal plug lay lodged in her anus.
“No,” she finally said. She gazed at Brax. “I want to do this.”
“You want me to come inside with you?”
Staring at the man, she couldn’t stop herself from smiling. She’d grown to trust him almost as much as she trusted Grant. It was Friday. True to his word, he never had sex with her. Yes, he did kiss, lick and fondle her in preparation of the anal plug. Otherwise he kept his penis in his pants.
Placing her hand to the side of his face, she said, “No, you’ve done plenty for me.”
And he had. He tapped into a newfound strength deep within her. Stepping out of the car, she closed the door, took a deep breath, then headed inside. Zora tried hard not to walk in a different manner than normal. Kind of difficult with a
pear-sized piece of plastic shoved up her ass. But with each step her skin tingled. It was that same feeling she’d felt throughout the week as she walked around Brax’s house and worked out regularly.
“Zora, where have you been all week?” Inez asked. “Julie said some guy who wasn’t Grant called here Tuesday saying that you were taking the rest of the week off.” Zora had remembered that call Brax made in her presence. The haughtiness he carried to do such a thing angered her. He’d dared to rule her life. When he explained 215 what he wanted to accomplish and how, she calmed down. Brax’s training went beyond anal sex play. He wanted her to accept her sexuality and exude it.
“Where’s Julie?” Zora asked. She wasn’t willing to explain the call or her whereabouts.
“In the back.” Inez pointed her thumb over her shoulder.
Zora headed to the back area. The closer she got to the kennels, the louder the dogs barked and the cats meowed. People say that animals can tell when there’s danger approaching. The pets at Doggie Style must have known Zora’s intention.
With her back to the door, Julie hunched over a small table while she clipped the hair from a Great Dane. Zora made sure to go around the table to gain eye contact. She wasn’t about to hold a conversation with this woman’s back.
Julie gazed up and her eyes went wide. After turning off the clippers she said, “There you are. Are you okay?”
“Yes, I’m fine.” Zora put her hands to her hips.
“First I get this strange phone call, then I call your house and Grant tells me you’re away. I was seriously thinking about calling the cops.” Julie wiped her hands.
“Julie, I want to start styling the pets instead of shampooing them.” Zora figured the direct approach would be better than beating around the bush.
Julie set the towel down next to the pooch. It shivered even though the room wasn’t as cold as it normally was in the summertime when Julie knocked the thermostat down to fifty degrees.
Zora’s boss hung her head down as though thinking over the prospect. Zora’s heart thudded in her chest. She balled her hands into fists. By the time she swallowed, Julie lifted her head.
“No.” Julie picked up the dog and put it in a cage. “It’s not like I don’t trust you or believe you can do a great job. It’s just that I have two competent groomers and I don’t need another. You understand, don’t you?”
Zora’s throat tightened but she thought with her head instead of her heart. “Then don’t pay me the extra money and let me do it on my current salary.”
Zora winced. Brax would have hated hearing her backpedal like that but she wanted to make the offer. If Julie didn’t accept it, then she would know it was Zora’s skills that she didn’t trust and not simply a matter of money.
“Zo, it’s not that simple. You’ve been with me, what, three years? These things take time.” Julie put her hand on Zora’s shoulder like she wanted to comfort her.
“Inez became a groomer right off the street and she’s been with you a year.”
Julie removed her hand. “She came with great references.”
Zora smiled. “That’s nice. I hope I can expect the same from you when I seek my next employer. I quit.”
The dogs howled as though applauding Zora’s efforts. She stormed to the door.
“Zora, wait. Let’s talk about this.”
But Zora kept walking, never looking back. She whisked by Inez, who said something to her that Zora didn’t catch and didn’t care to acknowledge. Once she got outside, Zora felt free. She felt light enough to float to the clouds and beyond.
She hopped into the car and wrapped her arms around Brax’s neck. “I did it! really did it!”
“You got the job?” he asked and hugged her back.
“No. I quit. I quit my job.” She pulled back.
Zora hadn’t expected to see Brax look so stunned. His mouth hung open and his eyes were wider than she’d ever seen them.
“You didn’t,” he said.
She nodded this time and didn’t feel bad about responding that way. “I’m starting to realize that life is too short to do stuff you don’t want to do. I want to be a stylist. Whether its dog or human, it doesn’t matter. But I have talent.” She smiled. “I’m skilled.” She kissed Brax’s cheek. “And I’m horny as hell.”
Brax laughed. “Grant will have to take care of that last item for you. But for now, what would you like to do to celebrate?”
“First of all, I think my hour is up.” Her gaze went down to her lap, then back to Brax’s eyes.
“I get it. I’ll take us home and take it out. You’ve done a great job this week. Grant would be proud of you and I hope he likes his surprise.”
“I’m sure he will. Even I’m looking forward to feeling him take me that way. I hope he’s just as excited as I am right now.”
***
After a week with The Interrogator, also known as Lynia, and missing Zora like crazy, Grant nearly skipped around the hallway at his office building that Friday at work knowing Zora would be back in their home. How she would be changed, he wasn’t sure.
A phone rang at his desk. Out of habit, Grant picked up his desk phone and spouted his normal company greeting. But he caught a dial tone and the ringing persisted. His heart stopped for a moment as he fished through his pockets to get his cell phone, not his personal one but the neighborhood one.
Glancing at the Caller I.D., he saw that the call was coming from Brax’s sex phone.
Zora. It had to be her.
“Hello?” he said.
“Baby.”
It was all Zora had to say to get his johnson to awaken in a matter of seconds.
“I’ve missed you so much.” Grant didn’t bother lowering his voice. He didn’t care who heard him talking to his sexy girlfriend.
“I have big plans for us tonight,” she began. “First I’m going to have dinner ready, then I’ll draw you a bath and---”
“Forget dinner and the bath. When I get home, I’m going to---”
“No personal calls at work.” Stephanie yanked the phone from his hand and snapped it closed. “Ordinarily I would take your phone until the end of the day like a teacher with an unruly student. But I trust you will not do this again.” She slammed the phone onto his desk and sauntered off.
Flames surrounded Grant’s head as he watched Stephanie go into her office. No way. No way in the world was he going to have her hang up on his woman, the love of his life. If she wanted a dominant in her life, a Master, then Grant would give it to her in spades.
Jumping to his feet, he stomped his way to her office. When he got inside he stared her down.
“What are you doing in here?” she asked. “Get back to your cubicle.”
Instead Grant slammed the door behind himself. “Let’s get one thing straight, I work for you but you in no way, shape or form own me, got that?”
“I beg your pardon?”
“You heard me.” He kept up a slow but steady pace to her desk. “You are going to start treating me and the rest of the employees here like human beings instead of your little minions because if you don’t, I’m going to go to human resources and tell them what an uptight, pain-in-the-ass, snooty bitch you are.” He loomed over her, one hand on the desk and the other on the back of her chair. “That was my girlfriend you hung up on just a minute ago. If I don’t get an apology right now,” Grant thought of his options before completing his statement, “I’m going to put you over my knee and spank you.”
Okay, not the best threat but from looking at her quivering bottom lip and the way her pupils dilated, he thought she might actually buy his veiled threat.
In a blink of an eye, Stephanie wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him so hard that she banged her teeth against his.
What the hell? Not the reaction he wanted or expected.
“Steph,” he mumbled through his lips. “Calm down.”
He stood and tried pulling her off of himself but only managed for her to sit on h
er desk and drag him down with her.
“I have been a bad girl, Daddy,” she said between kisses. “Will you spank me?”
“Jesus H., Steph.” He grabbed her arms but when he pulled them from around his neck she wrapped her legs around his.
“I saw how hard you were when you came in here. I know this is what you want. I’ll be your slave.” She clawed at his shirt.
“I don’t want you to be my slave or anything else. I just want to be able to do my damn job.”
And as though he didn’t have enough problems on his hands, the door to her office opened and on the other side stood Garland. Perfect fucking timing.
Stephanie had her skirt up around her hips, her legs were akimbo, one hand was down Grant’s shirt and the other at his belt loop.
With an icy stare, Garland stormed into the room, went straight to Grant and slapped his face.
“You couldn’t hold out a week?” Garland said.
When she walked out, Grant knew exactly where she was going to go…to see Zora. He had to stop her before she spread lies to her about the situation.
When he got to the door of Stephanie’s office to catch Garland, he was halted by Stephanie’s voice.
“Hey,” she began.
He brought his attention to her.
“You think you can get her to come back and the three of us can---”
“Lady, get some help,” Grant said and ran from the office.
He ran smack dab into a wall of obscenities that Garland spread thickly through the office in a loud, commanding voice.
“Grant Valente is an asshole!” Garland screamed. “He can’t keep his dick in his pants for a day. Lying, cheating bastard!”
“Garland!” he screamed after her.
“Go to hell!” She burst through the door to the stairwell.
“Man, sounds like you’re in the doghouse with your wife,” the mailroom guy said to him as he strolled by Grant.
“That’s not my wife.” Grant gathered his things together, including his neighborhood phone.
Fascination Street Page 24
