by C. C. Piper
“When you are leaving, for class or to see your sister, you may drive my BMW, or you will have a driver. Which do you prefer?”
His BMW? What if I crashed it? “I have a driver’s license. But I don’t have a lot of experience.” I also didn’t relish the idea of being driven around town by a stranger. “I’ve always used the bus system.”
Richard’s mouth formed a straight line. “You are not to use the bus while you are with me.”
I would be his toy. Like a doll. I wasn’t sure how I felt about that. It wasn’t a lifestyle I had ever considered for myself. Going from never having dated to a rich man’s kept woman was quite a drastic change.
But I had to think of Bella, and what she needed. If I could swallow my pride and make this work, then it could change both of our lives for the better. Even if I only stayed a few months, the financial benefits would be long-lasting. It would change our lives for the better.
Richard wanted me. Not just my virginity, but all of me. I could do this.
6
Richard
Chrissy was stunning. I’d expected an attractive woman, but she could have been on the cover of a magazine. Her blonde hair fell in waves against her shoulders. Her cream-colored skin was smooth and her lips were full and pink. She was slim, with a curved waist and toned arms.
The slinky black dress clung to her figure and accentuated her waist and the curve of her backside.
As she’d walked with me, she’d had an elegance about her, and a rare natural confidence for someone her age. Perhaps it had come from having to survive in her rough background.
For me, the decision was made. I wouldn’t be telling her yet, but the trial was over.
I wanted Chrissy.
I wanted her to accept the offer. I wanted to see her naked. I wanted to order her to undress. I wanted her bent over in front of me. I wanted her in my lap, and in my bed.
But would it work?
Her situation sounded fraught with stress and uncertainty.
I could see that she was apprehensive. The idea of giving me her virginity did not seem to give her pause, but the idea of not being able to come and go freely seemed to distress her. I would have to offer her some ways to leave the house, or I feared she’d end the arrangement. She didn’t seem the type to lie or sneak away, but I didn’t want her to grow restless or depressed.
I hoped she would continue her college classes. It would be a familiar part of her routine, when everything else was so different.
It was clear that she had an iron will and rock-solid self-discipline. In another universe, I’d have liked to hire her as a project manager.
She had been independent her whole life, taking charge of her family at a very young age. She was strong, and determined. I could see the flint in her eyes as she considered having to do exactly as I said.
Chrissy had been making her own way for a very long time. It wasn’t an easy path, but she had forged ahead. She was practical, studious, and gave off a no-nonsense vibe. Her manners were already good, and her speech was perfect.
Could she submit?
I had no I had no doubt she would try, if she decided to do it. She could go through the motions, and bite down any objections. But could she truly submit to me? Would she be clenching her fists and biting her tongue, her head filled with scathing thoughts and loathing for my commands?
“What do you think?” I asked.
She gave her little apple tart a longing look. I decided to save it for her. The chef could make more, but sometimes they tasted good cold.
“Can I go outside?” she asked. “I’d like to take a walk and think this over.”
“Of course.” I adjusted the lights so the pool would be illuminated, and turned on the ground lighting so she could walk around outside freely.
I went to my office. There wasn’t much for me to do, but I needed a distraction. I removed my suit jacket and rolled up my sleeves.
I tried to reply to emails, but thoughts of Chrissy kept me from focusing. I was worried she’d chafe against my instructions, but her personality intrigued me. I thought I’d be fine with someone empty-headed and vapid, but I was wrong.
I wanted Chrissy, with her sharp mind and her determined courage.
7
Chrissy
I didn’t know if Richard had been watching me wander around his estate, or if he had security cameras he could view, but as soon as I walked back into one of the open doors, he was waiting on me in the kitchen area.
“I’ve made a decision,” I said.
“Let’s sit.”
He pointed to a chair. Was he already testing me? Wanting to see if I could obey him? That was part of the job. I had no problem with authority at work, and this would be my job.
I sat.
“Would you like your pie?”
“My pie?”
“I saved it.”
I clapped my hands together in surprise. The walk, with the sound of the ocean in the background, had put my choices in perspective and my appetite had returned. “Yes. I would love it.”
He pulled both pies from the refrigerator and unwrapped them. He placed one in front of me, along with a fork. Then he sat next to me with his own. The gesture was sweet, considering he didn’t know if I was going to stay or go. The men my mother had dated would have just as soon thrown a pie at her if they weren’t getting what they wanted.
“Please tell me your decision,” he said, once he was seated.
“I am interested in accepting your offer. But I don’t want to give you my virginity, and then have you decide to end the agreement before the trial is over.” My goodness, now I was supposed to eat this lovely tart while I was talking about sex. What a day. “So if you’re interested in continuing this, then when the trial is finished, if you want to keep going, I’ll sleep with you then.”
“No.” He dropped his fork and let it clatter to the table. “That’s not an option.”
I’d been having to advocate for myself and for Bella for a long time, with a lot of people. First, convincing teachers they didn’t need to contact DHS when I showed up in the same clothes over and over again. Then convincing a neighbor to let me clean her house when I was fourteen. Then convincing the police, social workers, and a judge that I was the best guardian for my sister when I was only seventeen.
Richard was intimidating, and he made me uneasy, but this wasn’t the first time I had to stand up for myself. I was no doormat. I could play his role, but I wasn’t going to risk pregnancy or an STD unless the relationship was going to extend for longer than a day.
“I appreciate your time. But I can’t accept.” I pushed my chair back.
“Wait.” Richard nodded at the chair, but he didn’t stand up. “Sit back down.”
I raised my eyebrows, but I sat back down.
His blue eyes were serious as they studied me. “Why are you making this demand?”
“To protect myself. No one else ever has, so I have to. I am not willing to sleep with you, and risk any number of issues, for you to end the relationship after a day or two.”
“You would be compensated. You would receive a fee, which I will not name, if I were to end the agreement before the first month is up.”
That made me feel like a prostitute. But it didn’t really matter. Saving my sister was a priority over my feelings.
“By taking this job, I am risking pregnancy. And I’m risking contracting an STD.”
Richard’s face darkened. His jaw moved. It was obvious I’d offended him.
“I can assure you that I do not have an STD. I haven’t been with anyone in months, and I was tested. I will show you the paperwork. As for pregnancy, the shot you received at the club was the best precaution available, but if those were to fail, then you and our child would be fully supported for life.”
Supported? I guessed that meant he didn’t want to help raise a baby. At least he was willing to make sure a baby was going to have his or her needs met.
He wa
sn’t done. “I guarantee you that I will not let you be harmed. However our relationship ends, you will be better off financially than if we had not met.”
This was not an easy conversation for me to have. It was awkward, talking about my virginity as if it were a product. “That’s good to hear, but it doesn’t change my mind.”
“How can you expect to be a good submissive when you make demands?”
“Being a submissive doesn’t equal being a puppet. I am going to be a lawyer one day, and I plan to protect those who can’t protect themselves. It’s part of who I am. That won’t change.” I also wasn’t losing this tart again. I stuck my fork into the soft dough and speared an apple.
“This is my way of protecting myself.” I took a bite. Oh wow. I tasted just the right amount of cinnamon and cooked apple. “Giving up my virginity comes with real consequences. It’s not the same as wearing what you want, or eating what you want, or watching the shows you want. It’s not even the same as prancing around naked for you. None of those can make a baby.”
Richard glared at me, but it seemed to fade as I ate my tart. Maybe it was hard to be mad at someone eating an apple tart.
He inhaled and finally spoke. “Noted.”
Richard was silent for a long time after that.
I was sure I’d squandered this opportunity. Was that all he was going to say? I’d presented my side, and he was just going to say ‘noted?’
“Does that mean we’re finished here?” I asked.
“No. I’m taking time to consider your demand. I do think it will be difficult for you to submit to me, when you are so used to making your own way. I admire that you have the ability to push for what you want.” He gave a wry smile. “You will be an excellent attorney one day.”
I smiled. It was nice to hear that all the skills I’d had to work for would benefit me one day.
Richard leaned back in his chair. He seemed calmer now. “While I admire your tenacity, and I would appreciate it in the workforce, I will not appreciate it in my home. You’re here because I want a certain type of companion. It’s not up for debate.”
I was shocked that he’d complimented me. I’d assumed he’d be angry. But he wasn’t angry, exactly. It seemed more like frustration. I could sense it. Maybe he’d been expecting that we’d sleep together tonight. His gaze kept sweeping over me, lingering at my throat, my chest, my legs.
I wasn’t trying to avoid sex. I was trying to prevent unwanted consequences. “Can we compromise?”
“I’m not interested in conceding any of my requests. This is not a traditional relationship.”
“I don’t mean conceding on submission. Just the one thing — my virginity. Just because we aren’t going to have regular sex tonight doesn’t mean we can’t do other things.” I wasn’t sure exactly what other things I meant.
“So you’re willing to give up control?” Richard asked. “As long as we don’t have sex — intercourse, penetrative sex — then you’re willing to continue and submit to me tonight?”
We needed the money. Badly. I could do this. “Yes.”
“Then consider this to be the beginning of our trial period together. You, submitting to me, in all things except your virginity. Do you agree?”
Virginity was more than just one thing, and I’d heard it argued at college that it wasn't a real concept, that it was a historical way to control women. But that was irrelevant now. Richard clearly had kinks that involved the term, and he wasn’t forcing himself on anyone. He was handling this in a constructive way. This was a much better method than trying to strong-arm unwilling girlfriends.
And in a traditional sense, I was a virgin. I had never been with a man.
I licked my lips. “Yes.”
“One last thing. If you need to stop because you are suffering, emotionally, mentally, or physically, then you say the word red. It will serve as our safeword tonight. We don’t always know our limits before we reach them. Do you understand?”
I was pleased that he’d offered me a way out. “Yes. I do.”
“Then let’s go into the bedroom.”
I placed my napkin on the table and stood. I was nervous. I hadn’t even really kissed a man.
When I was sixteen, one of my guy friends kissed me. He leaned in and touched his lips to mine when we were studying for a trigonometry test. But that was as far as it got. Even then, I knew the problems boyfriends caused. I had watched my mother and her friends invite an endless parade of men into their lives. At best, the men who played the boyfriend role were worthless, at worst, they were dangerous. They always wanted something.
I vowed at an early age that I would never have a boyfriend.
Lily and I had been friends since third grade, and she’d always been a level-headed and sensible person, even as a kid. But when we were fifteen, she was suddenly interested in boys. Her dad was not particularly reliable, but he wasn’t scary, and he came by every two weeks to give her lunch money and a new toy.
So she didn’t share my alarm at the thought of a boyfriend. When we turned sixteen, she started dating one boy in particular, and he didn’t seem worth the emotional energy she spent on him.
Now at twenty, I’d never been really kissed. I’d never been naked in front of a man, and now I was following a gorgeous billionaire to his bedroom. A billionaire who wanted to put his body inside of mine and take my virginity.
I had no idea what to expect.
I put on a good show of getting my way downstairs. I knew I couldn’t let him talk me out of my decision to wait on giving him my virginity. But I was far less confident that I’d acted.
I was experiencing the full range of stomach churning, heart pounding, mind racing anxiety. I could even feel my pulse fluttering in my neck.
His bedroom was large, as expected. The floors were hardwood, instead of tile. The ceiling was covered in hardwood planks that matched the floor.
“This is your first test. If you can obey me, then we’ll move on with the trial period.”
I nodded.
“Are you nervous?”
“Yes.” There was no point in lying. My hands were trembling.
“Thank you for being honest. Now we’ll begin.” Richard turned the full power of his dominance toward me. “Take off your clothes.”
Richard’s deep voice was no longer businesslike. It was rough. It was commanding.
Fire rushed through my body. I was stunned at how those words affected me. I froze for a moment.
Thankfully the zipper to the dress was on the side. I managed to get my right hand up and grip the zipper. I tugged, bringing it down. The dress was tight enough that it still clung to my body even as I pulled the zipper down past my ribs and onto my hips.
Once it was unzipped, I reached up and pulled the strap off my left shoulder, then my right. The dress fell, pooling around my ankles. I stepped out, still wearing the heels.
I stood in front of Richard in the black lace bra and panties.
I’d never had a bikini. I had one swimsuit that was a hand-me-down from Lily. It was a one piece, so this was now the least clothed I’d ever been in front of a man.
He watched me, but said nothing, although his eyes were darker. I let him look for a few moments.
I reached behind my back to unclasp my bra.
8
Richard
“Take off your clothes.”
To Chrissy, I had said the same words I’d said to another woman many years ago. The same words that had made her balk.
The words that had made it clear that I was different from other men.
That woman, whose name had been Victoria, had laughed at me. Had mocked me. Had left me alone.
Chrissy had not run. She had obeyed — so far. She had shed her dress.
Now, in her bra and panties, her hands shook. She took a few steadying breaths. She didn’t try to hide her nerves. Her creamy skin was flushed pink.
I waited, not moving, as she stood in front of me. Would she continue? Or
would she refuse? Removing her bra was clearly a much bigger step than removing the dress.
I had sympathy for her, yet I would not interfere. I would not offer to remove it for her.
I watched as her bra fell away from her body. I watched her arm come up automatically, to cover her breasts. But she stopped herself, and let the bra fall the floor.
She straightened her spine, pulling her shoulders back, which put her bare chest on display. Her breasts were perfect, high and round, with peach nipples. They were just the right size to fit in my hands. Or in my mouth. Goosebumps spread across her skin. She seemed to understand that I was enjoying watching her.
She inhaled, obviously steeling herself to move on.
She slowly began to press down on the sides of her panties, until the fabric began to move downward. She bent forward, her hair cascading around her.
Still in her heels, she stepped away from the panties.
Her stomach was flat. Her backside firm. Her thighs were toned, just like her arms. Her skin was free of blemishes.
“Shoes off.”
She stepped out of her black heels and kicked them aside.
“Step apart.”
She obeyed. She obeyed, and there was no disdain on her face. Only a bright flush. I could handle embarrassment and reluctance, as long as she didn’t mock me.
“Turn around.”
She turned. Even her shoulder blades were beautiful. The slope of her back was just as lovely.
“Come here.”
Again, she obeyed without speaking.
I brushed her blonde hair back from her face. It was soft, and smelled of peppermint. When I touched her lips, she closed her eyes and tilted her face up toward me. I skimmed my hand over her nipple.
She gasped, then clamped her mouth shut.
“I want to hear you. I don’t want you talking, but I want to hear the noises you make,” I said. “Turn.” I spun her in my arms, wanting her backside against my front.