by Sophie Stern
And when Paige kissed me, it wasn’t because she owed me a favor. It wasn’t because I’d made her a promise. It was because she loved me – really loved me – and because she knew that whatever happened next, we’d figure things out together.
Just the two of us.
She kissed me over and over, and I knew right then that I really was the luckiest damn bastard in all of Ruby City, if not the entire world.
“I love you,” I whispered.
“I love you, too.”
Epilogue
Paige
Six Months Later
“What is it?” I asked.
“It’s a surprise.”
He was excited about this, I knew, and I couldn’t really argue with him about that. It took a lot to get Locke excited about things. Despite everything we’d gone through together, he was still often a closed book when it came to dealing with, well, anything. He’d been through a lot, and sometimes, pain changed a person. It made you cautious, it made you careful. In Locke’s case, it also made him attentive.
“A surprise?” I raised an eyebrow. I wasn’t sure how I felt about a surprise, especially after everything we’d been through. After the gala, things had gone downhill very fast for Josiah Reagan. Apparently, my existence wasn’t as secret as we all thought, and some of Josiah’s enemies were very quick to swoop in and catch him in the act of some other not-so-great activities. The very least of those activities included embezzlement and tax evasion. In the end, he went to prison for those crimes and left Annabelle in charge of his company.
As it turned out, she was a very good CEO, and she was excellent at cleaning up her father’s messes. She was able to salvage their company and despite the fact that it was in direct competition with Locke’s, the two of them managed to deal with each other in a very civil manner. Annabelle and I started having lunch once a week, and as promised, she told me all about our dad.
Locke and I...
Well, our relationship was complicated.
Messy.
It was wild and wonderful and painful and fantastic. Fawn had dropped out at the end of the semester, and I’d moved into Locke’s home with him. It was probably much too soon, but neither one of us could seem to get enough of the other, so we made it work.
Somehow, we made it happen.
And now he had a surprise.
We were driving close to campus. We’d driven to pick up a textbook I needed for an upcoming summer class, and he had been kind enough to take me in his car. The Saturn was still running, but barely. He’d tried to buy me a car, but I’d refused. I didn’t want handouts, I told him, even if my boyfriend was rich.
“So what’s the surprise?” I asked.
He stopped in front of the ugly, old beige house that I’d lived in with Fawn. Quickly, I looked at him. Then I looked back at the house. Then I looked at him again.
“It’s blue,” I said. He’d finally changed the damn color.
“I know you hated the beige,” he told me.
“So you painted?”
“I hired someone to do it,” he said. “It’s been remodeled: new flooring, new appliances.” He paused, smiling at me. “You’ll be happy to know that all of the appliances match.”
“All of them?” I asked. “Even the washer and dryer?”
“All of them,” he confirmed.
“Wait, but why?” I was a little confused by everything. Why were we at the old house I’d lived in? I didn’t live there anymore, and if I was being honest, I hadn’t really lost any sleep thinking about the old place. It had been Locke’s property, after all, and it hadn’t been something I’d ever really concerned myself with.
“I thought you could use it,” he said.
Instantly, my blood ran cold. So that was it? Was he giving me a goodbye house and sending me on my way? After all we’d been through together, that was the way he wanted to end things between us? Almost instantly, he seemed to realize what he’d said, because he grabbed my shoulders.
“Not like that,” he said. “It’s not for you to live in, Paige. I want you with me, Paige: forever and always.”
Instantly, I calmed. Relaxed. I took a deep breath and looked at the house again. He’d even had flowers planted, and the entire thing looked about a million times better.
“Then what is it for?” I asked.
“I want you to have your very first rental property,” he said. “It’s all yours. You can find your own tenants, and you can rent it out. Maybe you want to find a couple of college kids to live there or maybe some young professionals...it doesn’t matter. It’s yours, though, and you can start bringing in some rental income. This is hands-off from me. It’s yours to do what you want with. You’ll maintain it, you’ll take care of it, and you’ll keep all of the money from it.”
“Really?” I looked at him, completely shocked. I wanted to be a teacher still. I planned on finishing my degree and then teaching, but it wasn’t exactly a secret that teachers were wildly underpaid.
“Really,” he said. “It’ll be a great way for you to bring in extra income, and, well, I couldn’t bear to sell it,” he shrugged.
“Thank you,” I whispered. I looked back at the house. It was where everything had started. I didn’t think I ever wanted him to sell it, either. I’d lived in that ugly old house with Fawn for what seemed like forever, and I’d fallen in love with Locke while I’d lived in it. It wasn’t ugly anymore. It was pretty now, beautiful, and everything about it seemed to sparkle.
“Come on,” he said, planting a kiss on my lips. “Let me show you inside.”
Locke hopped out of the car, ran around, and opened my door. He helped me out and guided me to the front steps, and then he took my hand as we walked up to the door together. He handed me the keys to the house, and he smiled at me. I took them, staring at them.
How the hell had this happened?
Not only had I finally gotten the answers I’d been searching an eternity for, but I’d managed to find someone who truly cared about me. Not only had he given me the answers I needed about my father, but he’d given me a damn house.
“Thank you, Locke,” I said. I looked up at him and shook my head. “I don’t know what to say. This is incredible.” I unlocked the door and pushed it open.
“Manners, little girl,” he growled at me, but he was smiling. There was no menace in his voice, and I grinned.
“Or what?” I winked. “Are you going to spank me?”
I walked into the house without looking back. I heard him follow behind me, laughing. Locke and I were having a wonderful adventure, but the real fun was only beginning.
THE END
Author
Sophie Stern loves cowboys, soldiers, and shifters. When she’s not busy writing, she’s got her nose buried in a book. Sophie lives with her husband and two little boys who are always keeping her on her toes.
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Books
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STARBOARD
Christina hasn't had a regular Dom since her husband died in Afghanistan. She's a war widow with a daughter: she doesn't have time for relationships, but she does make time to play.
Christina goes to Anchored to unwind and to have her submissive needs met. Whether she's playing with a Dom or Domme, Christina's partners all know one thing: she's there to serve, not to find love.
It's all fun and games for the Damsel of the Dungeon until a new Dom arrives and he sets his sights on her.
Only, he's not just interested in scening with Christina.
He's interested in everything.
Zack has always considered himself a good lawyer, a loyal friend, and an observant Dominant. When his business partner and best friend, Tony, invites him to visit a local sex club, Zack's ready for anything.
Except the feisty brunette who doesn't want to be taken care of.
After the third time he sees Christina refusing aftercare, Zack decides to do something about it, only Christina isn't like other subs.
It's a good thing he loves a challenge.
CHAPTER ONE
Christina
“ARE YOU READY?” ODESSA’S shoes click loudly as she makes her way across the locker room floor. She’s wearing five-inch bright-red stilettos tonight and honestly, I have no idea how the hell she manages to walk in those things. I prefer to be barefoot, myself, but that’s probably just because I don’t have half the grace Odessa has.
“Just about,” I tell her. “Let me finish my mascara.” I twirl the mascara brush over my eyelashes one last time. I really should invest in falsies, but I’m just not confident enough in my ability to put them on. Besides, the double-dark mascara I’m wearing tonight makes me look incredible.
Kissable.
Fuckable.
It makes me look unstoppable.
“You look great, love,” Odessa kisses me on the cheek and manages to pry me away from the vanity mirror. “But it’s time. The night is in full swing and if I’m not mistaken, you have a date with Destiny tonight.”
“Her name is Mistress D,” I smile, but Odessa is right. We both know Destiny from outside the club. It should make playing together a little weird, but somehow, it doesn’t. Somehow, playing with Mistress D is different than working with Destiny.
Odessa just rolls her eyes and gives me a once over. She reaches out and adjusts the corset I’m wearing, pushing my breasts up just a little higher. Then she walks around me, smoothing out the miniskirt I’m wearing and making sure each part of my outfit looks good, perfect. She makes sure I look complete, and for that, I am grateful.
I’ve been playing at Anchored for months now, but sometimes, I still get nervous. Tonight isn’t my first night playing with Mistress D and it certainly won’t be my last, but sometimes I still worry that I’m not going to be good enough to please my partners. Sometimes I worry that I’m not going to be good enough to make this fun for them.
“Stop over-thinking,” Odessa warns me sternly. “Stay focused on the scene. Remember, Christina: stay focused.”
“I will.”
She grabs my chin and turns me toward her. Odessa’s bright brown eyes practically glow as she gazes at me.
“You are not a mother tonight. You are not a widow. You are not a childcare provider. You are not anything but a submissive. Do you understand?”
“I understand.”
“Say it for me, love.”
“I am only a submissive tonight.”
“That’s right,” Odessa nods, seemingly satisfied. “Don’t make the mistake of spacing off during your scene, okay?”
I blush, embarrassed she remembers the debacle from a few weeks ago. I had been playing with someone new and just couldn’t really get into the submissive mindset. As a result, I was spacing off, thinking about grocery lists and errands, and the scene fell short.
Really short.
“I won’t space off tonight,” I tell her. Odessa is a submissive, too, and she’s going to be playing with her regular Dom tonight. Theodore is a kind-hearted tax-attorney who is seriously cut. He’s huge, and if I was at the end of his whip, I’d be terrified. Odessa isn’t, though. She loves it, takes it in stride. She’s a perfect fit for him and sometimes, I wonder why the two of them aren’t dating.
“Good girl,” Odessa says, pressing a kiss to my cheek. I give her the same once-over she gave me, fixing her top and adjusting her boy-shorts to make sure every part of her looks perfect. We each take one last look in the mirror, but then it’s time.
It’s time to leave the safety of the locker room.
It’s time to go to Anchored.
Odessa takes my hand and we leave the room together. Instantly, the sound of the heavy music hits our ears, reminding us where we are. Tonight is about fun and excitement. It’s about relaxing. It’s about unwinding, but it’s about more than that, too: it’s about submission.
Tonight is about giving ourselves to our partners, and in return, they’ll give us a little bit of themselves, as well. That’s the true beauty of submission. In giving of myself, I get something in return. The feeling of offering myself to my partner is satisfying in and of itself, but knowing that it meets my partner’s needs, as well, is even more fantastic.
I like knowing that my Dom or Domme feels good about themselves when we’re through playing together.
I like knowing that they’re having just as much fun as me.
And I like that at the end of the night, when I walk out of Anchored, I’m leaving them at the door.
It’s fucked up, but I don’t really care.
Anchored is my release. It’s my safe space. It’s my haven. Anchored is where I go because I have nowhere else to go. Anchored is the only time I get to myself, and I take it. It’s the only time I have away from my daughter. It’s the only time I can be me.
I’m not the best mother in the world. I certainly wasn’t the best wife. When Cameron died, he left me alone. He left me without anyone in the world. Even now, I don’t have anyone. It’s been two damn years since he died and I have no one.
No one.
But I have Anchored.
I have this place where I can forget, for just a couple of hours, that I’ve lost my true love.
I have this place where I can forget, for just a little while, that my life fell apart and I’m only starting to rebuild it.
I have this place where I can forget, for just a tiny bit of time, that I am completely alone in this world.
I have this place.
And I’m not giving it up.
I’m not going to get in a relationship with one of my play partners only to have us break up. Then coming to the club would be awkward, weird, and uncomfortable. I’m not going to get into a relationship where we have a fight, and then neither one of us goes to the club. I’m not interested in that.
I don’t want to sacrifice my safe space for the temporary satisfaction of being someone’s romantic partner. That’s not what I want and it’s certainly not what I need. That’s not for me.
So at the end of the night, after I play with Mistress D, I’ll spend some time crying in the locker room showers. I’ll wash my hair. I’ll cle
an my face. And then I’ll get dressed, get in my car, and go back to the real world, where I am a mother, and a childcare worker, and a widow.
I’ll go back to the real world where everything hurts.
I’ll go back to my life as a solitary person.
I’ll go back to my world.
“Christina,” I hear a sharp, crisp voice, and I turn. A tall black woman with braids tumbling past her shoulders is walking toward me. A corset pushes her breasts up and out. She’s wearing tight leather pants and stilettos that are even taller than Odessa’s.
Instantly, I drop to my knees, palms down. I bow my head and I wait quietly for my Domme of the night to tell me how I’ve done so far. I wait until she tells me it’s time. I wait until she tells me she’s ready.
And when Mistress D tells me I look beautiful, and that she’s ready to play with me, I take her hand, and I walk into the world of Anchored.
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Did you love Dark Favors? Then you should read Move by Sophie Stern!
Bailey is having a pretty bad month.Her boyfriend just dumped her for her much-hotter cousin, her philosophy professor is dating her mom, and her boss just fired her because she wouldn't flirt with a customer.When her roommate drags her to a pole dancing club, she's skeptical. Kasey swears that pole dancing will give Bailey a new outlook on life, but Bailey isn't so sure. Things have been so bad up to this point. How could one little hobby change everything?But when Bailey walks through the doors of Club Kitten, she realizes that everything is about to change.Learning her moves proves to be a challenge, but when she meets a tall, dark, and handsome stranger, she knows nothing will ever be the same again. Cooper is unlike anyone she's ever met. Soon Bailey is just as addicted to him as she is to dancing.What could possibly go wrong?Author's note: MOVE is the first book in a new series. It is a standalone romance featuring a sassy heroine, a sexy hero, and the love that binds them together. HEA.