by Brianna Hale
I look at her in surprise. Never? What have her ex-boyfriends called her? A deep throb of jealously and anger is making me want to ask about the worthless P and what he did to her. “What would you like me to call you?”
Is it my imagination, or does Livia’s gaze drift to my mouth for a moment? “Livia’s fine,” she murmurs, though I could swear she’s imagining me calling her other things.
As she goes through her cooldown on the mats, I talk her through a vegan eating program and how to go about slowly making the switch to plant-based foods.
“What do you think about the exercise and eating plan we’ve talked about? Do you think you can stick to it for da—me?” I stop before I call myself daddy. The way her eyes catch mine makes me think she knew what I was going to say anyway.
My heart thumps painfully as I gaze down into her beautiful, flushed face. Having Livia as my trainee and not my sub is going to be torture.
Chapter Five
Livia
After my workout, we book my next session and Trey walks me out through the barriers. “That was a fantastic workout. You did great today.”
He looks deep into my eyes like he did at the club, and I feel the same urge to put my arms around him and have him hold me close.
“Thank you,” I whisper, hating to leave him but knowing I have to go. He’s my personal trainer, not my boyfriend. This is what I asked for.
“Start introducing one or two plant-based meals a day, and we’ll check in about how it’s making you feel next time. Bye.” He smiles and waves and heads back into the gym, professional once more.
At home, I throw out the milk, cheese and processed meats that are in my fridge. Then I go out and buy oat milk, avocados and jars of cashew butter. For dinner I eat linguine with vegan pesto and a sprinkling of nut-based cheese, and it’s surprisingly delicious. I feel buoyant, and better than I have in months.
The memory of Trey’s smile is giving me a boost, too. Who knew a personal trainer could be so sweet and so focused at the same time? He obviously enjoys his job. He even sounded like he enjoyed the punishment side of Dom Fitness, too, and the lectures. Everyone here is working hard, and it’s disappointing to me that you couldn’t bring the same commitment to your own workout.
I wonder what he looks like when he talks like that. I wonder how it would feel if he talked like that to me, and I was sitting at his feet receiving a stern lecture. A warm, buzzing sensation cascades through me. Piers told me what to do all the time and I hated it. Trey makes it seem alluring.
I eat avocado on toast with sliced tomato for breakfast, and buy a salad of sweet potato and tahini from a café next to work for lunch. I’m surprised how much vegan food there is everywhere now that I’m looking for it.
I feel tired and heavy in the afternoon, but make it through the workday before collapsing on the couch at home. My muscles feel so sore after the workout so I guess that’s why I’m tired.
I maintain plant-based eating all the next day, but in the afternoon I’m losing energy fast with every hour that passes. I can barely hold my head up as I’m walking along my street on the way home. There’s a buzzing in my ears and black spots swarming in front of my eyes. I don’t know what’s happening to me. Maybe I’m allergic to avocadoes.
“Livia?”
Strong hands grip my arms. A familiar masculine scent fills my nose. I stare at the ground and the large feet in trainers that have appeared. Trey? Trey’s got really big feet.
“Livia, are you okay? You’re pale.”
“Just really…tired.”
His hands squeeze me comfortingly and he moves me a little to one side until my shoulder touches something solid. “Wait here a second, okay? I’ll be right back and then I’ll help you get home.”
“Sure,” I say, leaning against the wall, grateful that I don’t have to move just yet.
Trey comes back a few minutes later with a paper carry bag, and wraps his free arm around my waist to help me back onto my feet. “Come on. Take your time. Don’t push yourself or you’ll faint.”
I will? I feel weirdly hot and cold at the same time, so maybe he’s right. We walk slowly down the street, Trey murmuring encouraging words the entire time while the world spins around me. I manage to gesture toward my building and he digs the keys out of my purse. Finally, we’re inside my apartment and the buzzing in my ears has turned into a roar.
I collapse on the sofa with my head in my hands. “What’s happening me?”
“Have you not been eating?”
“No, I’ve been eating vegan food, like we talked about.”
“I think it’s your blood sugar dropping. Here.” He passes me a paper coffee cup. “Almond milk mocha. Sip it till you feel better.”
I take a mouthful of the sweet drink and the world steadies a little around me. After a few more sips, the sugar and caffeine work their way into my system and I’m able to sit up and look around. Trey is sitting next to me on the sofa, devouring a scone in big bites. I didn’t think a fitness freak would be into pastries.
“That looks good,” I say enviously, suddenly dying for a scone of my own.
“It’s heaven.” Trey passes me a paper bag. “Cranberry and orange. Got one for you, too.”
“You’re my hero,” I gasp. I take out the scone and bite into it, and moan with pleasure. Trey’s drinking a mocha, too. “I didn’t imagine I’d see you eating like this.”
He raises an eyebrow and swipes some crumbs from his lower lip. The gesture is so sensual that I feel like it’s my lip he’s touching. Maybe it’s not just a scone I’m hungry for.
“You didn’t? Why’s that?”
“You’re a personal trainer with strict plans.”
He shrugs as if it’s no big deal. “I like to eat scones sometimes.”
It is a big deal, though. I thought people threw themselves into a “healthy” lifestyle in an all-or-nothing way.
“I actually allow myself three desserts or pastries a week, and I can have them whenever I like. One night of beer, too.”
I sink back on the sofa and get comfortable as I finish my scone. “You plan for treats?”
“Got to have nice things to look forward to.” He scrunches our empty paper bags and put them aside. “If you’re feeling better, would you like to share with me what you’ve eaten the past two days?”
Am I imagining it, or does he seem stern all of a sudden? I finish the last bite of my scone and wash it down with a mouthful of mocha, enjoying his severe gaze. I feel cared for rather than bullied. It’s kind of lovely.
After detailing the meals I’ve had, he looks seriously displeased. “Livia, we talked about you making these changes gradually. Your body is used to certain foods and it’s not healthy to shock it with a complete change of diet.”
I stare down at the coffee cup I’m holding in my lap. “I didn’t mean for that to happen. I was just trying to avoid meat and dairy.”
Trey’s still frowning, but then his brow smooths. “I should have been clearer. I’m sorry. Let’s set up a proper plan for you tomorrow during our next session.”
I gaze at him, amazed to hear that word on his lips: Sorry. I don’t think I’ve ever heard a man say that before. “You’re kind of sweet for a dom.”
I keep thinking about him that way. As a dom. If he’s a real dom, then I didn’t know that ones like him existed.
The corner of Trey’s mouth lifts. “Yeah, I can be. I’m still strict, though.”
I wish his eyes weren’t so beautifully, distractingly green, or they didn’t seem to soften as he gazes at me. “We were talking about nicknames the other day. What do you like to be called?”
He rests his elbow along the back of the couch just behind my shoulder and props his head against the heel of his hand. “I like to be called daddy.”
A warm feeling chases itself through me. When he brought it up at the club, the word scared me, but now that I know Trey better it doesn’t sound so dangerous. “You asked me what I though
t about calling a man that when we were at the club.”
“I like being called that all the time, from one special person.”
“All the time?” I echo.
He nods, his eyes on my lips. “Yes, all the time. It’s my favorite thing, Livia.”
His voice sounds so velvety as he says my name, and I feel myself sinking toward him on the sofa. “Just out of curiosity, what would you think if I called you daddy?”
Instead of answering, he reaches out and strokes my cheek. The touch of his fingers sends sparkles through my body. The he leans forward and plants a slow, deliberate kiss against my mouth. His lips are plush and I feel myself melting against him as he wraps both arms around me and pulls me against his body.
“I would love for you to call me daddy, little bunny,” he whispers against my mouth. “I crave it from you.”
I slide my hands up into his hair, and before I know it we’re falling back on the couch with Trey on top of me. His bulk is warm and grounding, and I twine one leg around him, squeezing him with my thigh. His T-shirt rides up and my fingers trace the firm lines of his abs and the hard muscles of his chest.
Trey groans and presses his hips against mine. There’s something hard and thick against my belly, and realize it’s his cock. His very large cock, from the feel of it. I reach down and explore the length of him, vividly imagining how good his girth would feel as we had sex. I whimper against his mouth. It’s been quiet for so long, but my libido has come back with a vengeance.
Trey hooks a finger into my top and tugs it down, and teases my nipples through the lace bra with his teeth. “Bunny, you’re just so delicious.”
My skirt is riding up as we’re making out and moving against each other. Soon his cock is sliding against my sex over my underwear and through his sweats. He braces his hands either side of head and looks down at us. We can both see how wet I am through my underwear as he moves against me. He bites his lip and makes a nng noise of pleasure, sending waves of desire pounding though me.
“You’re so fucking gorgeous. I’ve wanted to kiss you the moment I laid eyes on you.”
His words make my heart sing. I want to just go with whatever is happening between us, but I need to understand a few things first. “Does everyone call you daddy at the gym?”
“No. If I were your daddy then you’d be the only one to call me that. Ever.” Trey’s vivid green eyes hooded and hazy as he slides a hand into my hair and claims my mouth.
He’s in control, but I’m enjoying every touch, every word out of his mouth. Trey runs his fingers down my throat, between my breasts and over my belly. “Can I see more of you, bunny?”
Getting naked with someone can be scary, but I feel totally safe with him. He sits up and helps me out of my top, but instead of taking off my bra he pulls the cups down.
“You could take it off,” I point out.
His smile is mischievous. “You look hotter this way.”
He takes one of my nipples into his mouth and sucks hard, making me cry out and pant his name.
As he goes on kissing and sucking me, he murmurs, “I shouldn’t be doing this. I’m breaking so many rules. Dom will fucking kill me.”
“So, we should stop, that’s what you’re saying?” I tease. I have no intention of stopping. Judging from the way Trey is nipping me with his teeth, he doesn’t, either.
“No way. I’ve been dying to kiss you for too long.”
I slide his T-shirt up his torso and he helpfully reaches behind his head to pull it off in one smooth movement. I whimper at the sight of his naked chest and muscled shoulders. He’s sculpted like a Greek god. Laying beneath him, I suddenly feel self-conscious and cover myself up with his T-shirt.
“Hey. You’re beautiful. You know that, right?”
I gaze up at Trey. “I always used to think I was.”
“Well, you are. But take your time, bunny. It’s heaven just being here with you.”
I touch Trey all over his body, and slip my fingers into the waistband of his joggers. Just enough to feel the silky skin of his hips and the firm curve of his cock. Damn, this man is hot. He strokes the lace of his underwear, and his fingers skim the seam of my sex.
“Is that nice, little bunny?” he murmurs, just teasing my clit through my underwear. “Do you want daddy to make you come?”
“Mm,” I manage, running my hands up his arms and holding onto his shoulders. I want to come so badly that my pussy is aching. I wonder if I’m brave enough to ask him to finger fuck me.
“Is it okay if I call myself daddy when I touch you? You don’t have to say it back.”
I nod quickly. I like hearing that name on his lips. Each time, it sounds sweeter and sweeter, and I start to yearn to say it myself.
Trey hooks his finger inside my underwear. He groans, feeling how wet I am, and slides two fingers firmly up and down my sex, against my clit and through my folds.
“Sink into me,” I whisper, begging him with my eyes.
The corner of his mouth quicks. “Say please, bunny.”
“Please, please, please.”
“Good girl for telling me what you want.”
A champagne feeling fizzes through me at those two words. Good girl. I want to hear him say that again and again. His middle finger slides through my sex and pushes at my entrance, but before I can feel myself stretch around him, there’s a knock at my door.
He looks up, annoyed. “Are you expecting anyone?”
“Not that I can remember.”
“Don’t answer it.”
As much as I’m aching for Trey’s expert fingers to rub against my G-spot, I sit up breathlessly. I’ll feel bad if it’s a delivery and they have to come back. “It’s probably an order I forgot. I’ll be one minute.”
I quickly rearrange my bra and pull my top back on. The door is around the corner and Trey stays where he is on the sofa.
Trey, my personal trainer. Trey is in my apartment, and I think we’re going to have sex. This week is nuts. I’m so happy.
When I open the front door, I discover just how nuts this week is. Standing in front of me is Piers, my stupid, asshole ex-boyfriend.
He’s wearing a blue polo shirt tucked into jeans and gives me his familiar smirk. “Hey, Livia. Guess it’s your lucky day.”
It was my lucky day. All the rainbows and sparkles that have been bursting through my body for the last half an hour are replaced by a thrill of trepidation. “Piers? What are you doing here?”
I hear footsteps behind me. Heavy, angry footsteps. A warm hand touches my shoulder.
“Everything all right?” Trey murmurs, looking down at me.
I wrap my arms around myself. Everything was all right but now I feel frozen with terror.
Trey’s flinty gaze arrows into Piers. “Can we help you?”
From anyone else, the presumptuous way he says we would irritate me, but from Trey I feel protected.
Piers gazes at Trey with naked dislike, and then his eyes travel to me. I sense nasty words on the tip of his tongue. Couldn’t wait to spread your legs for another man, could you, Livia? Slut. Whore.
I’m not a slut. It’s been six months since Piers dumped me and I spent all of that time feeling broken and lonely. It’s like he sensed I was moving on, and it brought him back to my apartment like a bad penny.
“I’m here to talk to Livia, actually,” Piers sneers at Trey.
Trey turns to me. “Do you want to talk to this man?”
I shake my head.
Trey steps past me and forces Piers back from the doorway. When they’re both outside, he turns to me. “I’ll head out, too. I’ll see you tomorrow at the usual place.” Then he turns to Piers and claps a hand on his shoulder, steering him back toward the stairs. “Come on. I’ll see you out of the building.”
Piers looks furious and shrugs Trey off on the way to the elevator. Trey turns back to wave at me.
Thank you, I mouth at him, wishing he didn’t have to go, too.
He g
ives me one of his beautiful smiles, and I watch him disappear into the lift after Piers.
I give a ragged sigh and put my face in my hands. The last hour has given me whiplash.
Chapter Six
Trey
Piers rounds on me the second we leave Livia’s apartment building. “Who the fuck are you? How do you know Livia?”
I eye him coldly. He’s got shitty ex-boyfriend written all over him. I’d lay bets that this is the toxic dom I’ve suspected of being in Livia’s life before me. The man who made her believe she was unattractive and worthless, and that ‘safe, sane and consensual’ isn’t a thing.
It burns that I can’t tell this dickhead that I’m Livia’s boyfriend now and he needs to fuck off forever from her life. We’re not quite there yet, but we damn well are going to be. “It’s none of your damn business how I know Livia, or who the fuck I am.”
His eyes drop to my T-shirt. I came from work and I’m still wearing the one that says TREY across the front.
Piers snorts with derision. “Okay, Trey.”
He stays where he is as if waiting for something. I am, too. I’m waiting for him to leave. Finally, this creep gets the message that I intend to stand guard over her door, and turns and walks away. I stay where I am and the idiot actually comes back after five minutes, sees me still standing there, gives me the finger, and leaves.
“Not on my watch,” I mutter to myself. After thirty minutes of no sign of the asshole, I head home.
All evening, I can’t relax for thinking about that creep showing up at Livia’s apartment again. I wish I could call her. I consider going through the files at Dom Fitness to get Livia’s number, but that would be majorly overstepping boundaries. I’ll just have to wait and hope that she turns up for her session tomorrow.
If she doesn’t, then I’ll start overstepping boundaries.
To my relief, Livia’s waiting for me at Dom Fitness when I meet her at our appointed time. She seems pale and tired, but determined to get started, so I decide to save my questions for after our workout when she’s more relaxed.