by Katie Ashley
“One could argue that a wedding band is also a symbol of ownership.”
“I guess you have a point.” I hesitated before posing my next question. “Were you afraid of the commitment?”
“I’m thirty-two—I’m ready for commitment.”
“Then what was the problem?”
“She wasn’t the one.”
“Oh,” I murmured.
“To bind yourself completely to someone else, you have to be in love with them. I realized that although I cared for Calla, or Brook in real life, I didn’t love her.”
“So you ended up breaking her heart, and when you break someone like Calla’s heart, she becomes a vengeful bitch.”
“Yeah, unfortunately so. It was never my intention to hurt her.”
I couldn’t help smiling. “I believe that. I don’t think you could ever intentionally hurt anyone. You’re like a big, sweet teddy bear.”
“That makes me sound like a pussy.”
“No, William. You’re all man from your head to your incredibly large dick.”
He laughed. “Thank you.”
Since we needed a subject change, I said, “Since 1740 is out, just where do you presume we go? I mean, I might live in a basement apartment, but it’s certainly not a dungeon.”
“We could go back to my hotel room.” I didn’t question him on why he wasn’t asking me back to his house. A lot of the clients at 1740 were out-of-towners who came into the city to play. Thus, the need for hotel rooms.
I smirked at him. “Hmm, no penthouse in the city with a playroom? You disappoint me, rich boy.”
“For your information, there is a penthouse. But considering my grandfather has access to it, there’s no way I can throw a St. Andrew’s Cross into the guest room. He and my grandmother are there this weekend, or I wouldn’t be staying at a hotel.”
“What a pity.”
William smiled. “Yes. It is.”
“Then I guess we’re going back to your hotel room. Of course, we’re going to have to improvise when it comes to playing.”
“I have some rope in the truck.”
“What a prepared sub you are. You just never know when you’re going to need to be tied up.”
He nudged my leg playfully with his. “I used it for rappelling when some buddies and I went rock climbing. I told you before I was a rope virgin.”
“That’s right. Did you like it?”
“Yeah, I did. I’d like to try some of the more intricate ones.”
“I’d like to see you in them,” I said, in an almost wistful tone. I don’t know why I thought that, least of all said it. Even though we were going to be together again, it was only for one night. There wouldn’t be any more opportunities to see him tied up. It wasn’t something I had ever really desired when it came to sex, but I could see myself enjoying it with William.
The waiter returned with our check. When I started to reach for my purse, William shook his head. “My treat.”
“I don’t need your charity.”
“Consider it a tip for last night.”
“But you didn’t pay me. We were just playing.”
“I can still tip, can’t I?”
I pursed my lips at him. “I suppose so.”
“Just kills you to give up some control, doesn’t it?” he asked with a smile.
“As a matter of fact it does.”
William’s smile broadened as he placed another fifty in the envelope. “Ready?”
I nodded. “First, you’ll need to take me back to my car.”
“You don’t want to just ride with me to the hotel?”
“No. I want to be able to come and go as I please.”
“Such a Domme,” he muttered as he rose out of his chair.
I pursed my lips at him. “Are you afraid I’ll just drive off and not show up?”
He waited a moment before answering. “Maybe.”
“I can assure you I’m a woman of my word.”
He tilted his head to the side, then his gorgeous, dimpled smile made an appearance. Oh shit. The dimples are a serious weakness. “I believe you, Sophie.”
“Good.” When I stood up, I found it easier to put weight on my ankle. I still limped a little, but it wasn’t as bad as before. Of course, William hovered around me, ready to swoop in and save me in case I fell.
The parking lot of the park had thinned out by the time we got back. William eased his truck in beside my car. “You want to follow me?”
I laughed. “I think you’re trying to top from the bottom by trying to control this hookup.”
Taking his hands off the steering wheel, he held them up. “I was just trying to be helpful, I swear.”
“Just ease up on it, okay?”
“You know, it wouldn’t kill you to let someone help you from time to time.”
While I wanted to tell him where he could shove his helpfulness, his earnest expression made me think otherwise. “I’ll work on it.”
“Good. I’ll see you at the Ritz downtown.”
I snorted. “I would have been so disappointed if you had said anywhere else.”
He winked. “I’m glad to please you, Mistress.”
When I opened the door, I was surprised to find William wasn’t racing around to help me. After glancing back at him, he smiled. “Just doing as you said and easing up on being helpful.”
“Nice job.”
“You’re welcome. I’ll see you at the hotel.”
“See you there.”
Fighting mortification, I eased my decrepit Honda Accord up to the valet stand at the Ritz. I momentarily kicked myself that I had to be such a control freak and hadn’t ridden with William. His Escalade fit right in with the upscale clientele while my Honda stuck out like a hooker in church.
After handing over my keys to the attendant, I pulled my shoulders back and tried to hold my head as high as I could considering I was wearing spandex running clothes. William met me at the door with a beaming smile. “See. I’m a woman of my word,” I said.
“I never doubted you.”
“Uh-huh.”
“Okay. Maybe a little.”
We stepped through the revolving doors and into the elaborately decorated lobby. “This place is so beautiful,” I remarked, as I eyed the crystal chandeliers overhead.
“It’s my favorite place to stay when I come into the city.”
I bit my tongue to keep from asking where he lived. Although we had shared an extreme amount of personal information, some things we had held back. William guided me over to the elevators. Once we stepped inside, he pressed the button for the fourteenth floor.
At my sigh of relief, he gave me an odd look. “What?”
Shaking my head, I replied, “It’s stupid.”
“What’s stupid?”
“The stupid, superstitious fear I have.” At his puzzled expression, I rolled my eyes. “I thought for a minute that you were going to press the thirteenth floor, and I have this fear of threes.”
Instead of busting out laughing at my ridiculousness, William’s expression remained serious. “What happened to make you fear them?”
The elevator doors opened, and we stepped out onto the plush carpeting. “My mother was killed on March 3, 1993 at three in the afternoon when I was three.”
“That’s horrible.”
I nodded. “It’s not just that one time either. When I was thirteen on June 23rd, my horse fell during a jump, and she had to be put down. It was 6:33 at night. My dad’s MD diagnosis came on the 30th. It seems like everything bad that has happened in my life has happened with a three in the a date.”
“I can see why you would want to avoid them.”
“You don’t think I’m crazy to be superstitious?”
William shook his head. “No. My great-grandmother was from Ireland. She passed on all her superstitions to my grandmother. I heard everything from handing a knife to someone is bad luck, so put it on the table, to your chair falling over gives you bad luck.”
He smiled. “And those were the least extreme ones. The Irish Catholic in her would say your superstition about numbers was warranted because of the importance of the biblical number thirteen influencing the Friday the 13th legend.”
“Your grandmother sounds like a very interesting woman.”
An expression of pure love came over William’s face. “She really is. She goes to mass every morning and then she goes to play Bingo. Don’t even try to tell her that Bingo is gambling.”
I laughed. “She sounds a lot like my late Grand-Maman.”
“They would have probably gotten along very well.”
“Probably so.”
William stopped in front of one of the rooms. He pointed at the number hanging on the door. 1422. “No threes.”
“I’m pretty sure we would have had to get another room if there had been some.”
“And I would have been happy to get another one.”
“Anything to make your temporary Mistress happy, right? Even if she’s a little off her rocker?”
William chuckled. “Of course. Even if you weren’t my mistress, I’d want you to be happy and secure.”
“Thank you.”
He slid the card into the lock and then opened the door. I stepped inside. While I would have expected some grand suite, the room was more functional. There was a king-sized bed, a table and two chairs, and an antique-looking desk. Across the room was the door leading to the bathroom.
As I apprised the room, I started mentally taking inventory about what we could use to play with. When I saw William’s suitcase sitting open on the luggage rack, I began to rifle through his it. “What are you doing?” William demanded.
“I already explained to you that playing outside of 1740 meant improvising when it came to tools.”
“Yeah, but—”
I jabbed a finger at him. “You’re not starting off very well by questioning your Mistress. If you keep this up, I’m not going to play with you. I’m going to order in room service and watch bad reality TV.”
Although he wanted to argue, his will to obey was stronger. “I’m sorry, Mistress. I need to get myself into sub space.”
“Yes. You do. Now strip.”
William stepped out of his running shoes before peeling his shirt over his head. He once again didn’t disappoint me when he jerked his running shorts down to reveal he was going commando. “Just out of curiosity, do you own underwear?”
He laughed softly. “Yes, but I only wear it to work, not to play.”
“Or to run?”
“That, too.”
“I see.”
“It doesn’t bother you, does it?”
“Of course not. I like having quick access to your dick.” I jerked my chin toward the bathroom. “Now go take a shower. I’m sure you stink from running, and swamp dick is not my thing.”
“Will you join me?”
“No. I need to get things ready for the scene.”
He nodded and then went into the bathroom and closed the door. I took out a turquoise silk tie that had been folded neatly in his suitcase. While I could have called down to the front desk to ask for a sleep mask, I liked the idea of this instead. At the sight of the dress pants and button- down shirt, I couldn’t help wondering why he had such business type attire with him. It was the end of the summer, so he wasn’t teaching. Maybe he was planning to visit his grandparents and wanted to dress up for them.
I was glad to see there was not one, but two belts to choose from. I had worried that I might have to resort to using a cable cord for spanking. After choosing the wider of the two belts, I dug a little deeper. At the bottom of the suitcase, I struck pain-inflicting gold at the sight of a Tens unit. I picked up the base and started unraveling the four leads.
Before she left 1740 for the corporate world, my buddy, Lindsay, had imparted her knowledge of electrical play on me. While the ultraviolet wand was what most people thought of when it came to using electrostimulation, the Tens unit actually provided a wider use of play. When the electrode pads were placed directly on the cock and balls or clit, the soft pulse gave off the similar stimulation as a vibrator while turning up the dial could give a higher jolt that was painful.
Overall, the orgasms were pretty intense as I could personally attest to since I’d given it a whirl myself. I’d tried to tell myself I was doing it to be able to speak knowledgeably about my product the same way someone selling cosmetics would. But the truth was more about the fact I was horny and feeling adventurous. You just had to be careful that the bits were shaved because the leads could hurt like a bitch when they pulled hair off. I had learned that the hard way after not weeding my lady garden before usage. Although I hadn’t gotten too up close and personal with William’s balls last night, they looked fairly clean-shaven. Most subs usually were.
After closing and zipping back William’s suitcase, I took the materials over to the ornate desk across from the bed. After adding the rope to the mix, I stood back to evaluate if I was ready for playing. I would need some ice, but after that, I would be good to go. Nodding, I murmured, “Not bad.” I was a little proud of myself with my improvisation skills. The educator in me went so far as to propose teaching a class at 1740 about BDSM toys around the house.
The bathroom door opened, and William appeared in the doorway in all his naked glory. I dug my toes into the carpet to keep from running over and tackling him. His mop of dark hair was still wet, sending droplets of water running down his broad chest and onto his washboard abs. I wanted nothing more than to run my tongue all over his body, lapping up the excess moisture on him.
“You’re not dry,” I said lamely. Instantly, I felt as stupid at Baby in Dirty Dancing when she said she carried a watermelon. I had meant to convey the thought that he wasn’t presenting himself well as a sub.
“I apologize, Mistress, but I thought I should come out to offer you the bathroom.”
Of course, he was thinking of me. “Thank you. I do need it now.”
But I remained rooted to the floor, watching him rub the towel furiously through his hair. I wanted nothing more than to do it for him. Good Lord, what was coming over me? I was starting to feel like a lovesick teenager with my first crush. This was not about starting a relationship—this was about one night of fantasy sex. Nothing more and nothing less.
Putting on my best Domme face, I picked up my purse and walked over to him. I yanked the towel from his hands. “I’m going to shower now. Stand at attention until I get back, and don’t get hard.”
He immediately stepped into position. I smacked his ass before heading into the oversized bathroom with its marble floor and shower stall. As I picked up the hotel body wash off the counter, I noticed William’s bathroom bag. At the sight of the cartridge of dental floss, another trick of the trade hit me, and I grinned.
I showered quickly, not bothering to wash my hair because it would take too long to dry. Considering I didn’t have a change of clothes with me, I had to put on the hotel’s plush terrycloth robe. It was hardly intimidating Domme wear, but it would have to do.
Taking my hair down, I brushed it until it shone. After digging my makeup bag out of my purse, I put on a very light sheen of powder along with blush, eyeshadow, and liner. Once I rolled on some lipstick, I was set to go. I pocketed the dental floss and then opened the bathroom door.
I went over to stand in front of William. “Look at me.”
When William raised his head, his eyes widened in surprise. “What?” I questioned.
“I’ve never seen you with your hair down.”
“I usually only wear it up for work and running.”
“I like it down. It softens you.”
I smiled. “That’s why I don’t wear it down at work. I don’t want to look like a softie who is going to go easy on a sub.”
“You’re beautiful both ways, but I like it down the best,” he said sincerely.
“Thank you.” His compliment momentarily made me gooey inside. For me, there was no
thing quite like hearing a man tell you how beautiful or sexy you were. The icing on the cake was when it said with true emotion, not just as an afterthought. From the way he said it, I knew William genuinely thought I was beautiful. Of course, his integrity as a sub wouldn’t have allowed for him to be dishonest to his mistress.
Once again, I had to suit up my Domme mental armor again. I jerked my chin at the bed. “Now bend over.”
William obediently went to the bed. After spreading his feet apart, he placed his palms flat on the mattress. I slid the belt through my hands before doubling it over. When I cracked the ends together, William’s body shook ever so slightly.
I placed my left hand on his lower back to both steady him and to protect his vulnerable kidney area from the blows. Raising my right arm, I brought the belt down across his right butt cheek as hard as I could. His flesh reddened immediately. I hit the left buttock with the same force. I repeated the process but even harder.
Air hissed between William’s lips as he drew in a breath. His fingers gripped the sheets as his hips began to thrust in time with my blows. I let my hand snake around his hip to take his erection in my hand. “Yes, Mistress,” he groaned when I began to pump my hand up his shaft in between striking him.
When my hand grew wet from the precum coating his dick, I pulled my hand away and stopped the spanking. William’s head dropped down, and he buried his face into the mattress, groaning in frustration.
“Lie down on your back,” I instructed.
The mattress dipped as he placed one knee on it and then the other. When he reached the center, he flipped onto his back. Taking his hands, I tied them together with the rope from his car. I kept things simple this time with the basic handcuffs knot. After pulling his arms over his head, I tied them to the headboard.
“Blindfolds. Hard or soft limit?”
“Soft.”
“Good.” I took the tie off the table and returned to William.
“You’re using my tie?”
“It’s a better choice than your T-shirt or worst of all your shorts.”
William smiled. “I’ll take the tie, Mistress.”
