Aidn smiled and held out his hand to her. She was a pretty young thing, someone he might have taken home, or at least taken on the desk, but there was not an ounce of attraction or arousal. He didn’t like that. “Please, Misty, call me Aidn.”
Her eyes flitted back and forth between his face and his hand, finally taking it lightly and giving it a brief shake. “Oh no, sir, I couldn’t do that. Master says I am to speak respectfully at all times. I am not to use a man’s given name.”
Aidn raised an eyebrow and gestured for her to take a seat. He slid his hip on the edge of the desk, looking her over. “Very well, but for future reference when someone asks you to call them by name, and you do so, you’re not being disrespectful.”
“Yes, sir. Thank you for the lesson, sir.”
He was torn between a smirk and grinding his teeth into dust, his jaw was locked so tight. Better get down to business and get her on her way. “Robert said you needed some help with a contract.”
“Oh yes, sir. Your friend said it would be a good idea to have you look over the contract my master wants me to sign and that you were always willing to help out others…in the lifestyle.”
She spoke with such earnest excitement and Aidn’s stomach clenched in dread. Gullible was a good word for her, as well as innocent, unassuming. Unfortunately, the perfect prey.
“Your master? Really? Does he know you’re talking to me?” he asked, though he already knew the answer.
“Oh no, sir. I didn’t talk to him last night. Besides he would not be happy with me if he knew.”
“Why would he be upset? You’re just trying to—”
“He said I should trust him to know what’s best for me.”
“Right, of course.” Blind trust. “Here, let me see what you’ve got.”
She reached into her bag and handed him a piece of paper. It required the date and her signature. Glancing at it, nothing struck him as being out of sorts. It was simple and straightforward. A general contract that he had seen a dozen times before. The man had probably printed it off the Internet.
“I feel kind of silly showing it to you.”
“No need. As Robert said, this is part of what I do. I try to help ensure that everyone involved in the relationship is protected.”
“I understand, sir. But, I really don’t need it. Master would never hurt me. He looks out for me. And besides, I can read it and understand it.”
“Of course you can.” He handed the paper back to her. “So, tell me. How did you meet your master?”
She blushed. “Online. One of those, you know, personal sites for…kinky people.”
Her voice had dropped to a dramatic whisper as though she expected the kink police to jump out of thin air. How amusing.
“Yes, I know. And how long have the two of you been talking?”
“Oh a long time, sir. I knew immediately that I wanted to be with him.”
“Really. That’s great. How long is a long time? A few months? A year?”
She actually laughed. “Oh no, sir. A few weeks.”
“A few weeks? And he’s giving you a contract? He’s wanting to collar you?” The nausea was nearly overwhelming.
“Oh yes, as soon as I sign it and send it back. I am going to live with him after he receives it.”
If he threw up would she notice through the haze of her euphoria? “You’ve met him, then?”
Again, the blush. “Not yet.”
Not yet? Oh yeah, he was going to be ill. Did he have any Pepto in the office anywhere? Shit, what he wouldn’t give for a whole box of the chewables. “Phone calls?”
“A few. But he’s seen me on webcam a lot.”
“I’ll just bet he has,” Aidn murmured.
“Sir? Are you okay? You look a little pale, like you’re sick.”
He swallowed and tamped down the urge to take her by the shoulders and shake some sense into her. “I’m fine. Misty, signing the contract gives him control of you until the date stated, at which you can ask to be released. It’s not legally binding in a court of law, but…”
“Oh, I won’t be doing that. Master’s other girls are very happy living with him. I’m sure that I will be, too.”
“Other girls?” Maybe two boxes of Pepto.
“Yes, master owns two other girls. We’ll be as close as sisters. I don’t have sisters, sir.”
There was a wistful longing in her eyes. She was lonely. Shit. “Have you talked to these girls?”
“No, sir. Master says there will be time enough for that when I get there and get settled. He said these weeks were just for us to get to know each other.”
“How old are you?”
“Twenty-one, sir.”
He grimaced. He couldn’t help it. It was like a boulder had just settled in his stomach. “What do your parents think?”
“They think I’m going back to college.” She looked down at the floor. “My parents wouldn’t understand. No one understands.”
The sympathy her words could have evoked was tainted by the childish pout of her lips. He wanted to reach down and shake her until the cotton candy in her brain transformed into a solid mass of tissue capable of rational thought. He wanted to yell that she didn’t have a fucking clue what she was doing and that if she came home she was likely to be so mentally and emotionally damaged, so physically abused that… God, Aidn didn’t even want to think about some of the truly evil things he’d seen bastards like her so-called “master” do to girls as blind and naïve as she.
“Misty. Is there anything I can do to talk you out of this? To give it more time, to give yourself more time to get to know him? To talk to the other girls? To meet him a few times?”
“You don’t think I know what I’m doing either.”
“I think you’re very young and very innocent and very lonely.”
“Well, sir, that just goes to show how much you know. Thank you for your time, but I need to go.”
“Misty, I’m only concerned that you could get hurt.” Maybe he could tie her to the chair until he could get in touch with her master.
“You’re just like the rest. Master said that people would try to talk me out of it.”
“And he’s right.” He reached across the desk and took one of his business cards from the small metal holder. He held it out to her and when she didn’t take it, he picked up her hand and placed the card in her palm. “Call me if you ever need anything.”
“I won’t need anything. Master will take care of me. He is all I need.”
Aidn sighed and rubbed at the knot in his stomach. He couldn’t get rid of the feeling of dread surrounding her. He needed… oh fuck, he needed Bailey. He needed to lose himself in her body, in her presence.
“Very well. I guess we’re done.”
“Yes, sir, we are.”
He watched her. She got up from the chair and walked toward the door. She really was cute and he really was scared for her, even if she wasn’t bright enough to see he was only trying to help.
“How did you and Robert meet?”
Her hand was on the doorknob but she stopped before opening it. Her voice was low and he strained to hear it, but her words were clear.
“Master likes pictures of me sucking men off. It’s okay you see, because he tells me to do it. He likes to see their come on my face. Robert was one of those men. He was nice to me.”
She walked out and Aidn just shook his head, his eyes closed and his stomach in knots. He hated feeling helpless, powerless to help someone see when they were making a big mistake. A little voice inside told him he ought to look at the mistakes he’d made with Bailey, but he refused to listen, refused to think of his having left her as a mistake. It was for their own good, his and hers. He couldn’t commit, couldn’t trust, and she deserved no less than that.
The office phone ringing caught him mid-thought and he reached for it, glad for the distraction. “Aidn Greer.”
“Up for dinner tonight?”
“No. By the way, that girl
you sent me, Misty? She’s a piece of work, Robert. You do realize she’s young and walking into a situation that could destroy her, right?”
“Yeah, which is why I wanted her to see you. I was hoping you’d be able to talk some sense into her.”
“Well, she didn’t want to listen and now she’s gone off to live with her ‘master’.” Aidn spat out the word as though it were poison on his tongue. “And what the hell were you doing with your dick in a glory hole? That is how you met her, right?”
“Hey, I don’t judge you, so don’t you judge me. What the hell were you doing fucking that girl all afternoon then running out on her?”
Shit. Robert had him there. His cock ached just thinking about her and he’d had a hard-on for the last two weeks. He would give anything be everything she needed and show her that she was everything he’d been hungering for. Fuck. He had to stop thinking like that. Seeing her earlier had been a huge mistake, but as he’d told her, he couldn’t stay away. Now, he wanted to go back and never leave. No matter what he did, he was fucked.
“Why did you do that, Aidn?”
“I don’t know.”
“Is it because you’re a shallow son of a bitch?”
Aidn snorted. Was it that? Did her size have anything to do with it? He had big hands and he liked when they could span the waist of a girl. He liked being able to pick a girl up and carry her in his arms when he was fucking her. He liked when they didn’t look at him like she did, when they didn’t dream about him, when they didn’t want him for more than fun. He didn’t like a girl with expectations and given the chance, expectations would have been written all over her beautiful face.
“Maybe.” Not a chance in hell was it shallowness. He didn’t have an issue with her body. He didn’t really even have an issue with the way she looked at him as though he were the answer to all her submissive needs. It was his own paralyzing fear of trust.
“Abyss this weekend?”
“Nah, I don’t think so. I think I’ll just relax with a couple beers and a game.”
“No, man, come on. We’ll go for a little while and just maybe find a girl or two for you that you know, ‘fits’ you. A girl that’s more your style.”
It was said in fun, but was no less true. And yeah, maybe he could find someone that would wash the memory of Bailey out of his mind, but he doubted it. He just wasn’t cut out for more than casual relationships and casual would never be able to take the place of the one afternoon he’d spent fucking her.
Shit. “Yeah, I’ll go.”
Bailey stood outside Aidn’s office door. The small, historic downtown street looked like a picture out of a magazine. All the old storefronts had been restored and new businesses had moved in, revitalizing the old Southern town. Should she knock or just walk right in? It was near closing time for most all the businesses, but his Jeep was still parked outside on the street.
She didn’t even know what she was going to say yet, but she needed to think of something before people started to stare and ask questions. When she opened the door, a little bell jingled like the one in her shop and she stopped, cringing. Looking around, there was no secretary and no noise from anywhere inside the large space. Straight back from the front entrance were a few rooms and a light on in the one at the far end of the hall.
With hesitant steps, Bailey made her way to the back of the building. Aidn was sitting at a large, dark wooden desk bent over some papers. In the corner behind the office door was a television turned on to a reality show that she never had the patience to watch.
Drawing in a deep breath, she let it out slowly. “Hi, Aidn.”
To say that he was surprised was an understatement and she had to bite back the smile that threatened to show. His pencil dropped from his hand and his eyes widened.
“Bailey. Hi.”
His mouth split into the most handsome grin and the warmth that flooded his gaze nearly broke her as he stood and started to walk toward her. Damn man.
“You left. Why?”
“What?” He stopped in the middle of the room.
“That’s all I want to know. Why did you leave?”
“Wow. I… Come in and sit down.”
Aidn gestured to the chairs in front of his desk, but Bailey stayed rooted to the spot in the doorway and gave a shake of her head. If she went anywhere near him, she’d melt. She was weak where he was concerned and her resolve was faltering fast. She wanted to be tossed across his desk and fucked. She wanted to drop to her knees and unzip his pants and suck his cock into her mouth until he came down her throat. She wanted his kisses, his hands on her, his need, his hunger, his control. She wanted everything she could never have from him, and so she would settle for what she could get—an explanation.
“I really do just want to know why you left. Then I’ll go and we don’t have to meet again. I’m sure that’s what you thought too, though, right? That if you left, you’d not have to see me again.” He looked uncomfortable as she talked. That wasn’t her purpose, but, she was glad nonetheless that he was not exactly feeling good about it.
“That’s not it at all. I just…I got scared. Happy?”
He shoved his hands in the pockets of his tailored dress pants and sighed. She couldn’t start to feel bad about showing up when he’d obviously never expected her to. She had to remain strong, get what she came for, and then run like hell.
“No, not really. I don’t see you as the getting scared type. You asked me to…to fuck you. The least you could have done was say good-bye when you were done.”
“I could have, but I didn’t.”
She closed her eyes and counted to ten, then counted to ten again. When she opened them, he was standing right there, his chest just inches from hers and she had to grab the doorframe to keep from falling over backwards.
He reached up and stroked her cheek with such tenderness she wanted to cry. Coming to see him was a really big mistake. Why didn’t she just call him? Why didn’t she send him an e-mail or something? She had his business card. Not that he’d answer or reply, but still…why did she think she just had to see him?
When he’d come to the bakery earlier in the day, she’d been so thrilled to see him. When he’d held her, caressed her, kissed her and told her all the things he wanted to do to her, she’d had the word yes on the tip of her tongue. He left though, walked out. He’d taken another piece of her with him and she was damned if she wasn’t going to try and get some answers.
“Look, I don’t have a reason that’s going to sound right or sound intelligent or even sound grown-up. I don’t have an answer that’s going to satisfy you. I just left.”
“You’re right, that doesn’t satisfy me. It’s nothing but crap, Aidn. You saying you were scared sounded better. Why can’t a man just say he’s done and he’s leaving?”
“Come on now, Bailey. You’re making a bit of a generalization, don’t you think?”
“No, I don’t. You did it. It’s been done before, too, to me. Not by anyone like you. Not by anyone that I would give a second thought to really, but that’s beside the point. I just want to understand why you left, what I did wrong.”
“I don’t know how to make you understand that you did nothing wrong. It’s me.”
Bailey laughed. She couldn’t help it. “The old ‘it’s me not you’ argument. Right.” She sounded desperate and it was a low point she’d never hit before. She’d never intended to lash out or humiliate either of them. He made her feel so much, brought to life parts of her she hadn’t expected to come alive after just a few encounters with him. “I’m sorry,” she whispered.
Aidn grabbed her arm, pulled her tight against him and backed up into the office enough so that he could close the door behind them. She tried to wrench her arm free, but he wouldn’t let go and before she could catch her breath, he had her pinned against the wood of the door. He held her in place until she ceased to struggle. She couldn’t fight his hold on her, physical or emotional. Damn.
She started to sp
eak, but his lips swallowed anything that she might have been about to say. His tongue invaded her mouth and his hands pressed her shoulders into the door, his fingers digging into her. She was lost in the kiss, in the pressure of his body against hers, in the realization that his hard cock pressed against her, urging her to spread her legs a little more. Despite his words, he wanted her as much as she wanted him.
He lifted his head and looked down at her, confusion swirling in the dark blue depths. “I can’t give you what you want or what you deserve.” He took a step back and let go of her. “Now, you get to be the one that leaves. And believe me, Bailey, it’s better this way.”
The club was packed. The music thumped and bumped and it echoed in her blood. Bailey glanced around as the hostess stamped her hand. She loved the open sexuality, the exhibitionism of the women. Most walked around in g-strings with pasties covering their nipples. The two dancers on stage were dressed no differently, though one was barefoot with a sparkling anklet and the other had on bright red, patent leather fuck-me heels. They were so lost in their movements and Bailey suspected they were lost in being watched, admired, being wanted. And she had no doubt that they were wanted, lusted after. What would it be like, to be up there, dancing and moving, lost in the beat of the music, lost in the eyes that followed every move? Could she ever be brave enough?
Her cheeks warmed and she turned away, following Jen farther into the building. Couples, trios and groups in all variations of dress and undress swarmed the balcony, hovering around the play stations and the bar.
“Let’s get your name on the list first thing so you can get that flogging you’ve been dying for.”
“No, Jen.”
“Yes. You’ve seen him work every time we’ve been here and he’s offered for you more than once. Come on, B.”
“No, I don’t want to be watched in public like this.” Which was such utter bullshit. She might have told Aidn that she wasn’t an exhibitionist, but that wasn’t true. At least she didn’t want it to be. She wanted to be up on stage dancing, wearing next to nothing. She wanted to be hoisted up on the chains in the center of the building, tied carefully and artfully, then swung back and forth for all to admire. She wanted to be seen, to be wanted, to be hungered for. And yes, she wanted to be bound to the St. Andrew’s cross and flogged.
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