Becoming His Collection

by Haley Monroe

  “You may be his housekeeper, but you’re my new bestie, remember?” I tease with a smile.

  “Benefits of fucking the lady of the house, eh? I like it.” She wiggles around in her seat making me laugh. Jacob rolls his eyes and shoves a fork full of eggs in his mouth.

  “The two of you might just be a bad combination.” He mumbles, but I can tell by the soft light in his eye that he’s glad the two of us get along. “Can I trust you two to go off by yourselves? Will things really get packed up?”

  “Oh, good point.” Steph holds up a piece of bacon like she has an idea. “We’ll probably just spend the whole day at the local sex shop, so Hannah can teach me all about the fun toys and things y’all use. She doesn’t really need to pack anyway. Oh, we can just go buy you a whole new wardrobe!” She’s really getting into this little plan now. She’s sitting up straight in her chair, the bacon waving in the air. “We’ll call it the Mrs. Hoff collection.”

  “I do love toy shopping.” I throw in just to watch Jacob’s expression. His jaw is tight, but not in anger, more like he’s trying to keep his smile hidden. He chews thoughtfully over another mouthful of eggs and nods.

  “You’re more than welcome to the gold card, princess.” He wipes his mouth with a napkin and leans back in his chair. “Maybe a day of shopping would do more good than a day of packing?” My heart pitter-patters as I watch him from across the small table.

  “Yes, so much yes!” Steph bites off half of the bacon she was waving in the air and speaks with her mouth full. “Oh my God, we can do baby shopping and even look for a wedding dress!”

  “Hold on,” I laugh. My hands cover my face and I let out a squeal of excitement and fear.

  “It’s too much? I’m sorry. I’ll slow down.” Steph sounds regretful and I peek at her through my fingers.

  “You don’t have to be sorry but, yeah. It’s way too much.” I lower my hands back to the table and sigh. “Way too much.” I repeat. Jacob’s plate is clear and he stands up, brings it to the sink and then stands behind me with his hands on my shoulders. He massages them, easing out the tension I’ve created by hunching my shoulders.

  “Just like everything else, take it one bite at a time.” Jacob says, his thumbs digging deep into the knots in my shoulder blades. “Maybe do a little packing and a little shopping or none of either. If you’d like to just lay around the house today, do that. You’ve earned the break, there’s no rush. Everything will get done at its own pace.”

  “Mr. Hoff’s right.” Steph reaches out and places her hand on mine. “I just got too excited. We’ll do whatever you’d like, Hannah.” I squeeze her hand back then let go to push my fork through my eggs for the first time since we sat down.

  “Thank you. I think I’d like to go to my house and just pack up enough clothes to get through the work week, then maybe come back here and relax. Would you mind coming with me?” Jacob bends down and kisses the top of my head.

  “I think that’s a great idea.”

  “Of course, I’d be happy to come with you.” Steph finishes the food on her plate as well and I feel like the slow one of the group. My fork just stirs the eggs around and I remind myself that I’m no longer just feeding myself. I chew up the scrambled eggs and am surprised by how flavorful they are. Normally, I’m not a huge fan of eggs, but Steph has made them a pleasure to eat.

  “That’s the plan then.” Jacob releases my shoulders and steps away from me. I look over my shoulder at him and his fingers brush my jaw before he turns around. “Text me when you get to the house and when you leave, please. If the plan changes, just let me know. I may not be able to reply, but I want to know you’re safe.” He commands as he leaves the kitchen.

  “Yes, Daddy.” I holler out and then snicker with Steph. She gets up from the table to clean up the kitchen and leaves me to finish the rest of my breakfast.

  5

  My house seems lonely when I park my car in the driveway. No dogs bark to welcome me home, or cats sitting on the front stoop. No one. There’s no one walking the streets, at least no one that I can see and for that I’m thankful. I turn off the engine and scan the road, my yard and the surrounding houses through the windshield.

  “Nervous?” Steph tips her head to the side, seemingly in no hurry to get out of the car.

  “A bit.” I agree. “I never see him coming. He just appears.”

  “I got your back.” She nudges my arm with her elbow and I let out a small laugh.

  “Then let’s get this over with.” We both climb out of the car and I lock the doors with my key fob. I try to walk to the door, but my feet have other plans. I run. Long strides of my legs to eat up the ground under me and my fingers fumble with the keys, trying to open the door as quickly as possible. I burst in through the door and am thankful when Steph is right on my heels. I’m panting as I slam the door shut behind us and flick the deadbolt into place.

  “I think you’re more afraid than you let on.” She speaks softly and I turn to look at her.

  “It’s the look in his eyes, Steph.” I push off the door and try to find a way to explain what I mean. “He has this look about him that says he doesn’t care about the consequences. It’s reckless and dangerous.”

  “I know that look.” Her arms fold over her midsection and she looks down at the floor. “My ex had that look.” When she looks up at me again her face is different. I see a rawness that her bubbly laughter normally hides. Something passes between us, something powerful and real. I walk over to hug her and she hugs me right back. Her small arms holding me tighter than even Jacob’s big arms ever squeeze me. She exhales loudly and we break apart. “Let’s get this over with.” She repeats my words from within the car and I nod.

  In my bedroom, I throw clothing into an old suitcase. One that I’ve never used because I have never gone anywhere, hell I can’t even remember where it came from. Steph sits on the end of my bed, quietly, as I clean out my closet. I meant to only take what I needed for the week, but it turns out that a week’s worth is all I have. Clothes I wear for work, pajamas, and two sets of casual clothes and that’s it. A bare closet with nothing left but a few stray tags I’d ripped off something at some time and they never found their way to the trash.

  “I feel crazy.” I blurt as I come out of the closet with my last pair of shoes and flop them on top of the unfolded pile in the suitcase.

  “Aren’t we all a little bit of crazy?” Steph shrugs her shoulders. “Look at me,” her hands wave up and down her sides. “I’m a housekeeper who’s so terrified of being alone that I accepted having a threesome with my boss. Hello, crazy!” She laughs and so do I.

  “Well, when you put it that way.” I sit on the other side of the suitcase and at the same time, Steph and I both lay back on the bed to stare up at the ceiling. “Is your ex the reason you’re scared of being alone?” I whisper.

  “Yeah.” Her voice is just as soft as mine. “I grew up in Florida and met him in high school. He was the baddest bad boy. Always in trouble and as hot as he was bad. I thought he was exciting and I thought it was even more exciting that he loved me.” She scoffs. “I was stupid. Boys like that don’t know how to love. He didn’t love me, he loved controlling me.” I turn my head to lay my cheek on the mattress and watch her profile. “He beat me, all the time. When I said I wanted to leave he threatened to beat my mom and little sister. Even said he’d kill them if I ran.”

  “How’d you get away?” Steph turns to face me and her eyes are watery.

  “I just left.” Her lower lip wobbles and she sinks her teeth in it to stop the trembling. “I grabbed as much money as I could get my hands on and got on a bus. I can’t even tell you how many times I switched buses, but I knew I had to get as far away as possible.”

  “Maine’s pretty far.” I slide the back of my hand across her cheek to wipe away her tears.

  “I rode all the way up the coast. Too scared to look back. I was too scared I’d go back.” This time her whole face pinches up and her h
ands lift to cover it. “I don’t even know if my mom and sister are okay.” My gut tightens and my heart hurts for her. I pull her over on to my shoulder and hold her as she cries. “I’m so selfish, Hannah.” She wails into my shoulder.

  “No.” I coo. “No, you had no other choice. You were so brave, Steph. So brave.” I rock her shivering body side to side until she stops crying.

  “Sorry.” She sniffles and pulls away from me. Sitting up and wiping her face with her hands. “I didn’t mean to fall apart.”

  “Hey, that’s what friends are for, yeah?” I sit up with her and brush her pretty hair back.

  “Yeah,” she chuckles that kind of laugh that makes you feel like you’re ridiculous. “I haven’t told anyone.” She rubs her nose. “When I got off the last bus I grabbed a paper and saw an ad for a housekeeper. I used the payphone to call for an interview and Mr. Hoff sent a taxi to pick me up. I think he knew I was desperate, but he was kind enough not to ask why.”

  “He’s really too good to be true.” I smile.

  “He is. He set me up in the guest house for a long time until I made enough money to find a place of my own. I’ve met a few people in town, but no one that I’m really friendly with. It was such a relief to meet you, Hannah, honestly.”

  “I feel the same way.” I tell her and it’s true. I’ve never been one to have many girlfriends. It’s always just been Miranda and I. Making the effort to trust other people was too scary, too hard. I didn’t want to take the chance to be let down by anyone else. I thought she was all I needed, but it turns out, I need a little more. There isn’t anything wrong with enlarging your support system.

  “Speaking of Mr. Wonderful,” she slaps her hand on my thigh. “You didn’t text him when we got here, did you?” My nose wrinkles up.

  “No, I forgot my phone in the car.”

  “Ohh, girl.” She teases and jumps to her feet. “You’re gonna be in big trouble.”

  “Shocker.” I laugh. “When am I not?” I get to my feet and hurry into the bathroom to gather up my toiletries. When I come out of the bathroom, I throw my small bag on top of the suitcase and try to close the lid. “Help,” I wheeze as I tug on the zipper.

  “You packed too much.” Steph laughs as she climbs up on the bed to sit on the suitcase.

  “Nonsense.” I jiggle the zipper a bit more as Steph wiggles around on the top. Finally, the teeth come together and the zipper closes around the stupid bag. “See?”

  “Mmhmm.” She rolls her eyes and slips off the bag. “It’s gonna take both of us to carry it out.”

  “True.” I pull on the bag and it falls to the floor with a thud. It is really heavy and I feel the strain in my arms as I try to drag it.

  “Quit!” Steph swats at my wrists. “You can’t be lifting heavy shit anymore. I was just kidding. Get out of the way.” She hip bumps me out of the way and I stumble sideways. Her big, bubbly laugh is back and just the sound of it is enough to make me give in.

  “I told you, you’d make a good Domme.” I giggle as she hauls the suitcase across the floor.

  “Ugh,” she sticks out her tongue as he walks backwards with the bag in tow. I skip around her and open the kitchen door for her. Our giggles echo around the house as she pulls the bag onto the cement outside the kitchen door. “Fuck, my back.” She straightens with her hands holding her lower back while I lock the kitchen door. “I better get a raise for this.” Her smirk tells me she’s teasing, but I’d almost be willing to bet, Jacob will up her pay now that there will be more people in the house for her to clean up after.

  “We’re almost there.” She bends over again to grab the handle of the suitcase and I swat her ass. She yelps, but keeps dragging the bag to the trunk. I unlock the back of the car and she lets me help her lift it up and into the trunk. “See, easy peasy.” She pins me with an evil look that makes me laugh.

  “Get in the car and text that man before he sends a search party.” She points to the driver’s side.

  “Yes, Mistress.” I dart off before she can return the ass swat I gave her a minute ago. I hear her mumbling and the slam of the truck as I climb into my seat and dig my phone from my purse. She wasn’t wrong, I’m in big trouble. Jacob has text me three times and called twice. I don’t check any of the messages, instead I just dial his number. His voicemail picks up and I’m kind of thankful. “Hey Daddy, I’m so sorry to worry you. We made it to the house safe. I forgot my phone in the car, but I’m all packed up now and we’re heading back to the castle, I mean, your house now. I’ll see you when you get home, love you. Sorry again!” I hang up and Steph drops into the passenger seat.

  “How bad is it?” Her nose wrinkles like mine and I smirk.

  “Probably got a heavy handed spanking coming my way.” I laugh and hold up my phone to show the number of missed messages.

  “Oh, girl.” She shakes her head. “Think he’ll be easy on you because you’re carrying his children.” I blow a raspberry as I back the car from the driveway.

  “Yeah, right.”

  “Well, pregnancy brain is a real thing.” Steph holds up a finger like she’s making a serious point. “You’ll forget all kinds of stuff, better start using it to your advantage.”

  “Um, that sounds like a double spanking if he finds out I’m plotting ways to get out of punishments.” My tummy tingles and I shift in my seat. The idea of a punishment making me feel squirmy. I wiggle my eyebrows at her and giggle. “Ah, maybe that’s not such a bad idea after all.”

  Steph and I break out in laughter that feels so good. It feels free and silly. We laugh and tease each other all the way back to the castle and when we get there, Steph hauls my suitcase into the kitchen and kicks it under the bar.

  “Your buff ass Daddy Dom can carry that bitch up all those stairs.” She points at the suitcase with a serious expression.

  “Agreed.” I kick the suitcase just for good measure. “So, what are we gonna do now?” I stand in the kitchen with my hands on my hips. Steph mimics my position and pouts her lips as she looks around.

  “Wines out ‘cus of the twinsies and we probably shouldn’t do anything too exciting since you’re supposed to be resting.” I nod at all of her points. “Trash TV?”

  “You really are my soulmate.” I joke and she chuckles.

  “Go on up into the theater room and I’ll bring the junk food.”

  “I’m not really hungry.” The words come out of my mouth out of habit and I bite at my lip as she looks at me with a bored expression.

  “Not what I asked, is it?” She turns her back on me and starts to dig through the pantry. I smile all the way up the stairs and into the theater. Finding the remotes is tricky, but after pushing a ton of buttons, the TV comes on. The guide directs me to Bravo and I snuggle in with my mermaid blanket to watch a bunch of rich bitches cat fight over nothing.

  Steph joins me shortly after with arms full of bagged snacks. “I brought all kinds of stuff because I wasn’t sure what you liked. We have banana chips, Doritos, pretzels and chocolate covered raisins.” She dumps the bags on my lap and sits next to me. Digging her feet under my blanket to tangle her legs with mine. It’s comfortable as we open all of the bags and cross arms to dip into different bags. Suddenly, it’s easy to pig out. One snack after the other gets popped into my mouth and between giggles and gasps of shock over the goobs on TV, I don’t even watch how much I’m eating.

  Time slips from us, one episode ends and another begins. Again and again without us noticing. I hear someone clear their throat from the doorway and my head snaps in that direction to find Jacob leaning against the wall in his business suit looking so fucking edible. “Well, hey.” I sit up taller.

  “Ladies,” He shakes his head as he walks towards us. “Look at the two of you. Like teenagers bingeing on MTV specials after school.”

  “It’s not MTV.” I smart. “It’s Bravo.”

  “Is it?” His eye twinkle. He bends slightly and his fingers curl in the corner of my blanket. He tries to sna
tch it from us, but thankfully Steph is paying attention and with a squeal from each of us, we hold on tight to the edge closest to our chests. Jacob laughs and his other hand sneaks under the blanket to grab my ankle. I pull my leg back and so does Steph. She scoots to the other side of the chair, leaving me to fight Jacob on my own as she gathers up the almost empty snack bags.

  “No!” I scream through my giggles as his hands grow tight around my ankles and he pulls me from the chair. My ass slides off the cushion first and my shoulders follow till I’m squirming on the floor. I roll to my stomach, trying to pull myself back up on the couch and away from his hands, but Jacob’s weight pins me down. He puts one knee on the back of my thighs and lets out a wicked laugh. “No, Daddy.” I’m laughing so hard my cheeks hurts. I can hear Steph and Jacob’s laughter too. My hand stretches out toward Steph. “Help me!” I call, but she shakes her head.

  “You’re on your own, kid.” She hops off the chair and throws us a wave on her way toward the exit.

  “Good call, Steph.” Jacob cheers.

  “Traitor!” I screech at her back as Jacob settles on top of me.

  “Now that we’re alone, I think we should talk about you forgetting your phone in your car when you’re supposed to text people to let them know you’re safe and sound.”

  “Why am I always in trouble?” I slump into the floor, giving into whatever it is Jacob wants to do to punish me.

  “I think it’s because you like it so much.” He shifts his weight off the back of my thighs and peels my yoga pants down over my ass. His fingers send tickling sensations along my skin as he exposes my bum. His hand swats me quickly and I squeak.

  “I do not.” I press my lips together to keep from moaning. He rubs where his hand struck me and strikes again. This time just a bit harder, it still doesn’t hurt, but I feel my skin heating up under his hand. “I try to be good, really I do.”

  “Ah, but what fun would that be?” He teases me with his words and his fingers massage my butt cheeks. I look back at him from over my shoulder with a smirk.