To Love and Obey (Boundaries) (7 page)

He was bent over some report or other, seemingly engrossed, and ignored her greeting. As she placed the cup down on a coaster in front of him, he finally looked up and gave her a smile of sorts. “Oh, hello. Thanks.”

She was shocked at how tired he looked. His eyes were slightly hollowed and dark shadows beneath them made him look almost haunted. Previously unnoticeable lines were now etched across his brow, which seemed to have frozen in a permanent frown. But it was the fact that he hadn’t shaved that shocked Rachel the most. At work, Adam was always well-groomed, his suit crisp and sharp, his face closely shaven and his hair neat and stylish.

Today, though, he looked like he’d just stumbled in after a rough night at Boundaries, his hair unkempt and his suit rumpled.

“Are you okay?” she cried, not able to keep the shock out of her voice.

He nodded and ran his hand though his hair. “Yes, I’m just tired, that’s all.”

When she didn’t give any sign of letting him get away with such a vague answer, he added, “I came straight here from the airport last night and have been working all night. I didn’t realize it was this late.”

She wanted to walk around the desk and massage his shoulders for him, he looked so tense and exhausted, but the fear that he was still angry stopped her. Instead she remained where she was, and wondered what to say next.

“I’ve left some reports on your desk. I’m not to be disturbed by anyone, except Lord Granville.”

And with that she knew she was dismissed.

She struggled through the morning, shielding calls and visitors and worrying about what was wrong. Adam remained in his office the whole time and barely acknowledged her when she brought him some coffee at eleven o’clock.

Finally, at half-past twelve, his door opened and he emerged looking, if possible, even worse than before. “I’m going home to get some sleep,” he said, his voice sounding croaky with exhaustion. “My car will pick you up at eight o’clock sharp, make sure you’re ready. Oh, and bring a weekend bag.”

Before she had a chance to comprehend his words, Adam was gone.
Car? Weekend bag?
She’d been so sure he’d been about to either fire her or dump her, or both, she was stunned by what he’d just said. That meant he wanted to see her tonight. And he wanted her to stay for the whole weekend. Why?

Maybe he was building up to one final ultimatum? Or maybe he was so sure she’d willingly become his slave that he planned to keep her chained and naked all weekend. Or maybe he really was going to dump her and he just wanted to use her one last time then throw her out like an unwanted toy?

* * * *

Later that evening, when she was ready and packed, she poured Mandy and herself a large glass of wine each.

“Has it occurred to you that he might just want to spend the weekend with you with no ulterior motives?” Mandy rolled her eyes at Rachel and took the glass. “Honestly, give the guy a break. You don’t know what the problem is. It could just be something related to work.”

“So how come he turned all funny on me the moment he realized I’d fucked up the lunch order?” Rachel pouted, knowing that she sounded like a petulant teenager, but she just couldn’t help herself.

Mandy frowned and actually slapped her hard across her bottom.

“Ow,” shrieked Rachel, “what did you do that for?”

“Because someone needs to knock some sense into you. You need a good spanking and if it wasn’t for the fact that you’re off to see Adam later, I’d do it myself.”

The anger in Mandy’s voice shocked Rachel.
Shit, she’s serious.

Mandy faced Rachel head on, arms akimbo and said, “Don’t go jumping to conclusions, Rachel, you don’t know what’s going on. If you’re not careful you’re going to push Adam away. You’ve got to learn to trust him.”

“I do trust him,” said Rachel, not quite able to keep the sulky tone out of her voice.

“Oh really? So why have you already decided that he’s going to use you and dump you? I’ve only met him the once, but he seems like a decent man to me. Talk to him, find out what it is he wants from you. If he does want to carry on seeing you and wants a TPE relationship, then tell him how you feel about it and take it from there. You must be honest with him though, trust works two ways, you know.”

Rachel sighed and took a sip of her wine. Mandy was right, of course. She owed it to Adam to be straight with him. She loved him, more than she’d loved anyone before, even Paul, but no matter how much she loved him and needed him, she wasn’t prepared to sacrifice her freedom for him. Not because she didn’t think he deserved it, on the contrary, it was because she loved him so much that she didn’t want that love to turn to resentment and bitterness when she couldn’t live up to his expectations. She understood how a TPE relationship could be a beautiful and precious thing, but she also knew herself well enough to know that she could never live like that.

“Okay,” she said, after another sip of wine. “If Adam doesn’t finish with me tonight, I’ll ask him straight out what he wants and then I’ll tell him how I feel about it.”

“Good girl,” said Mandy, looking pleased.

“God, you’re such a natural bloody Domme. You just called me a good girl.”

Both girls laughed and the tension lifted again.

“Talking of being open and honest, I’ve got something I need to tell you,” said Mandy, suddenly sounding nervous.

“Oh, no, don’t tell me you’ve switched to being a sub,” giggled Rachel.

“As if. Dawn’s been offered a job at the New York Times.” Mandy eyed Rachel steadily, as if expecting some sort of reaction.

“That’s great.” She smiled, but then it dawned on her what the implications were and her smile faded. “Oh, does that mean she’ll be moving back to New York?”

Mandy nodded. “She’s asked me to go back with her.”

Rachel put her glass down and put her arms around her friend and gave her a long hug. “Oh, Mandy, I’m really happy for you.”

Mandy blinked. “You don’t mind?”

“Why would I mind?” laughed Rachel.

“Well, it would mean giving you notice on the flat. It would be a permanent move.” Mandy looked so guilty that Rachel almost made her suffer to get her back for smacking her bottom before. But she was genuinely happy for Mandy and couldn’t keep the smile off her face.

“Don’t worry about the flat. I can probably manage the rent on my own now.” She grinned when Mandy looked surprised. “I haven’t told you because this is the first time I’ve seen you since yesterday, but I’ve been offered a new job and even though I’ll be a trainee, I’ll still be getting a raise.”

“Oh, my God, why the hell didn’t you tell me sooner? That’s fantastic. Congratulations! Right, you’ve got twenty minutes before Adam’s car picks you up. Spill, and don’t leave anything out.”

Rachel filled her friend in on all the details of her job offer, losing track of time until the sound of a car horn alerted her to the fact that Rob was waiting outside. She gave Mandy a quick peck on the cheek and grabbed her overnight bag. “See you on Sunday,” she called, just before she rushed to the door.

“Yeah, providing you’re not enslaved in some dark dungeon at the mercy of your Master,” said Mandy, with an evil grin.

As Rachel greeted Rob and climbed into the car, there was a nervous flutter in her belly. Even though she knew Mandy had been joking, a little part of her couldn’t help wondering just how determined Adam was to make her his slave.

Chapter Six

Adam was waiting for her when she arrived in the reception at Boundaries. He looked a lot better than he had earlier, the shadows were gone from under his eyes and the deep lines on his brow had relaxed back to barely visible character lines.

“Hello, gorgeous,” he said and pulled her into his arms.

“Are you okay?” Rachel asked tentatively. She didn’t want to risk upsetting him, but she couldn’t forget the troubled man she’d seen at the office earlier.

“I’m fine,” he replied softly.

“But…”

He put a finger on her lips. “Sssh,” he said. “We’ll talk later. Right now I want you naked and on your knees.”

“Naked?” Rachel gasped.
Holy shit!

“Oh all right, I’ll settle for you removing your coat for now.” He grinned and helped her slip her coat off.

Once he’d handed her coat and bag in at reception, he fastened the leather collar around her neck before putting the wrist and ankle cuffs on her. He stepped back and studied her. Heat stained her cheeks and pooled in her groin as he inspected his property. He nodded with satisfaction, clipped the leash to her collar then led her into the club.

She was wearing a very short, black pencil skirt and a thin, white silk blouse with the top four buttons undone, exposing her braless cleavage. Adam had sent her a text earlier instructing her to wear this outfit, which he had left in a package under his desk. When she’d changed into it and had looked at herself in the mirror, she’d seen a slutty looking secretary staring back at her and a shiver had run through her at the obvious implications.

They made their way through the crowds and she grinned when Chrissie waved to her from the bar. She felt like she’d come home.

As they sat down at their usual table, Amelia came across with a couple of drinks for them. Her friend looked stunning in a purple satin boned corset and not much else. Her light blonde hair was perfectly spiked and her makeup made her blue eyes sparkle. Or was the sparkle because she was happy? She certainly looked radiant.

“Do you work here?” asked Rachel, surprised.

Amelia grinned and shook her head. “Nah. Jack’s late so I thought I’d help Chrissie out. I hate sitting around on my own, pretending not to notice the Doms eyeing me up.”

Adam laughed and gestured for her to join them. “Well, maybe you two could keep each other company for half an hour or so, then?” He nodded over at one of the Dungeon Monitors. “We’ve got a new guy starting tonight and I’d like to show him around myself.”

Amelia smiled broadly and sat down on the sofa next to Rachel. “Thanks. That would be great.”

Adam pulled the ring on Rachel’s collar and drew her up close. “Now that Karen is gone, you can move freely around the club.”

“Thank you, Sir.”

He kissed her hard, holding her firmly in place while he forced her to remember his control over her. When he finally released her, she was panting, her lips were swollen and face flushed. He didn’t look that dissimilar.

“I never thought I’d see Adam Stone so smitten,” whispered Amelia, as Adam strode away from their table.

“Hmm. He’s pretty pissed off with me right now, actually,” replied Rachel, taking a sip of her drink to try and recover from the kiss.

Amelia laughed and raised her eyebrows. “Now what have you done?”

Rachel groaned. “I fucked up at work, big time, and to make matters worse, we have differing opinions on where our relationship is heading. I daren’t say any more than that or he’ll go mad, but let’s just say that things are a little tense right now.”

“Well, girl, in that case, you need to let you hair down. Come on, they’re playing Depeche Mode.” Amelia jumped up and grabbed Rachel’s hand as the pulsing beat of Personal Jesus filled the club. She dragged Rachel onto the packed dance floor and raised her arms as she swung her hips seductively to the sexy rhythm.

Rachel soon lost herself in the music as she and Amelia danced to the heavy gothic sounds. They flirted subtly with each other, their brief encounter still fresh in Rachel’s memory, and their scantily clad bodies soon glistened from the heat surrounding them. The dry ice machine threw occasional plumes of smoke across the dance floor, briefly enveloping them as they danced. It felt good.

Gradually though, the music changed from gothic rock to heavy industrial, and Amelia signaled to Rachel that she’d had enough. After grabbing a couple of bottles of water from the bar, they headed arm in arm across to the far end of the enormous room and found a couple of free seats in a quiet corner.

“What time will Jack get here?” asked Rachel then took a grateful gulp of the ice cold water.

Amelia shrugged. “Dunno. He got held up in a meeting at work. Shouldn’t be too long though.”

“You’re very different when he’s not around.” Rachel still found it incredible that this confident, outgoing woman became so subservient as soon as Jack was with her. She wondered if her happy sparkle was because he wasn’t there.

“This is how I am at work. But I love letting it all go as soon as we get home.” She took a swig of the water then continued, “He makes me strip as soon as we walk in through the front door and I have to crawl on my hands and knees unless he gives me permission to walk. It’s a complete TPE, and I love it.”

Rachel couldn’t help gawping at Amelia in surprise. “You’re his slave?”

Amelia laughed. “Yeah. Couldn’t you tell?”

“I assumed you just played here and went back to normal when you got home.”

“Hell no. The only time we’re equals is at work and then I outrank him. Otherwise, we live the lifestyle twenty-four-seven.” She must have noticed Rachel’s look of shock because she then added, “And I wouldn’t have it any other way.”

“Wow. I didn’t realize.” So people really could exist happily in a Total Power Exchange. But no matter how happy Amelia obviously was, Rachel didn’t envy her.

“I crave his Domination like a druggie craves his next fix,” continued Amelia. “I need it. I can’t explain it, but it’s such an integral part of our lives that to live without it is unthinkable.”

“I think that’s beautiful,” sighed Rachel. “I find the depth of your submission to Jack fascinating. But a bit scary as well. I’m not sure it would be for me.”

“I thought that at first as well. But as our relationship grew, so did my need for his dominance.” Amelia made it all sound so normal.

“And now you’re his slave. You know, you’re the last person I would have thought of as being a slave.” Rachel shook her head, still not quite able to believe it.

Amelia laughed. “I must admit, before I met Jack, if anyone had told me they wanted me to be his slave, I’d have punched his lights out. Especially after…” She stopped suddenly.

“After what?”

Amelia’s eyes clouded over as she stared absently at a couple nearby. The female Domme was tenderly stroking her male sub’s head as he knelt by her feet. He had a look of complete devotion on his face and only had eyes for his Mistress.