I Need You Always

by Cynthia P. O'Neill

  I was lost in thought as my mother and I hugged. She released me, stepping back a bit to grab a tissue to wipe both our eyes. “Okay, let’s not get too sappy here. It can’t be good for the baby and we want you to look your best for Dane.” She was all smiles. “I still can’t believe I’m going to be a grandmother.”

  Dane came up behind me, wrapping his arms around my waist and pulling me close. “Ready to go, love?”

  I jumped at little at his words. The afternoon had been absolute perfection. The wedding was a blur. From the moment my eyes met Dane’s at the end of the aisle until the moment he kissed me as his bride, just whisked right by me.

  I was thankful that we opted for very traditional vows. We wanted to keep our personal feelings and thoughts to each other, to share at my collaring. My collaring! I never thought I’d want that in my life and here I am craving it.

  Dane didn’t disappoint on the cake. He had the bakery make a perfect small cake, in my favorite flavor of vanilla, with a raspberry and cheesecake flavored mouse for the center, to go atop of a large cupcake display. We’d freeze that and save it for our one year anniversary.

  He liked the flavors of too many of the cake options that he opted for a variety of small cupcake flavors, so everyone could have a variety of tastes. How did he know it would be my selection, too?

  Alexander had brought in one of his catering friends to a surf and turf menu that was light and tasty for everyone to enjoy for dinner. Between him and Celia, no detail was left unaccounted for. Because of everyone, I’d cherish this day for the rest of my life.

  I turned to face Dane and nodded. “I’m ready.”

  He’d already sent our bags to the plane earlier this morning. We’d only needed to change into our “get away” attire and we would be ready to go.

  I watched as he nodded toward my parents to give them a signal. He then proceeded to escort me through the house and up into his old bedroom, where our clothes waited.

  As soon as the door closed, he turned me in his arms and began removing the pins that held my veil in place. He took it gently and placed it a top of a chest of drawers. He then helped me to undo the line of buttons down my back that held the dress in place. He slowly peeled my dress off and helped me step out of it, as he sat it gently across the bed.

  I watched him take in my appearance from the lingerie he’d purchased, a strapless lace bra and nearly see through thong lace panties. “You look precious, my love. Now, undress me.” He didn’t ask, he commanded in his dominant voice.

  My stomach fluttered with anticipation, while my nether regions started to spark to life. But, I thought we were going to wait until tonight, on the plane, to consummate our marriage. His hand came out to pull mine toward his tie, indicating his need to be out of his clothes.

  I didn’t question, I merely focused my attention on removing his clothing, down to his boxers. I placed each item across the back of a chair, before being commanded. “Take your position and kneel before me pet.”

  My face was full of confusion, but my body responded immediately to his instructions. I bent down to kneel on the ground, my legs spread wide, hands behind my back, and my eyes cast down toward the floor.

  I watched his feet move toward me and felt his fingers drag across my shoulders as he walked behind me and began to remove his mother’s necklace and then her earrings. “This looked beautiful on you, love. But, I’d rather you wear this.”

  He retrieved something from the pockets of his jacket. “I wanted to wait until tonight, but watching how happy you are, I don’t want to wait any longer.”

  I didn’t understand until he knelt behind me and held out his hands to reveal the necklace, or collar, that he’d created in my line of sight. “I need to claim you as mine, now.”

  He planted a small kiss on the lower part of my nape. “You know how much you are a part of my heart and my soul. I don’t want to be just your husband, but your lover, your friend, your confident, and also your Master. I want to know that I have your trust to guide you through our lives and push you to the limits of extreme pleasure. Will you accept me as your Master, as I accept you as my forever submissive?”

  “Permission to speak, Sir?” I’d asked.

  “Granted, love.”

  “You already know how much you’ve changed my life. You’ve welcomed me into a world I never knew existed. You’ve taught me to be one with myself and with you. I’ll strive hard to be the wife you deserve, the lover of your fantasies, and your faithful companion. I willingly accept you as my Master to guide me and teach me to please you alone. I submit to you freely my heart, my body, and my soul.”

  His chest pressed up against my back, while he slipped the collar around my neck and locked it into place. “This collar will serve as a reminder to all those who’re familiar with our lifestyle that you belong to me and me alone. I hold the only key that can remove it from your neck. Your pleasure is my pleasure. Your body now belongs to me, my pet, my forever sub . . . my darling.”

  I held my position, feeling the weight of the collar that now bound me to Dane in more ways than one. He’d entered my heart as a boyfriend, cinched it as my husband, and now owned it as my Dom.

  He stood and walked around in front of me. “Give me your hand love.” I placed my hand in his as he helped me up. He lifted my chin so that my eyes met his. “I’d love to ravish you right here, right now. But, I know our parents will come looking for us if we take too long up here. Plus, we need to be at the airport in an hour.”

  His other hand came up to grip my hair and pull it back to align my mouth perfectly with his. His lips took mine by force. I felt myself melt into his embrace and matched his kissing with enthusiasm. His tongue pushed through devouring my mouth and my soul.

  I started to writhe against his body, where he lifted me, allowing me to wrap my legs around his waist, feeling his hardness pressing beneath me, when a knock came at the door.

  “Are you two okay in there?” It was his mother.

  Dane’s forehead pressed against mine, as he muttered, “Damn it. I told you this would happen.”

  “We’re still changing, but will be right out mom.”

  “Should I start to gather the guests in the foyer for your retreat?” Celia questioned.

  He looked at me with questionable eyes and I nodded. It made a good location. That way we could use the staircase to throw the bouquet and the garter, before we left.

  “That’d be lovely Celia. Thank you.” I yelled out.

  Dane sat me down and helped me dress into a sun dress, a lightweight jacket, and some heeled sandals. He still hadn’t told me where we were going to, but told me to pack tropical attire. While he dressed in a pair of loose khaki’s, that rode low on his luscious hips, and a polo shirt that stretched tight across his chest., that made me wish we had time to do something more in his room.

  It wasn’t until we were in the air that Dane finally told us where we were headed. “We’re flying to Bora Bora for a week’s stay in our own little paradise above the water. Then we’ll be head to a couple weeks in the Hawaiian Islands, before we fly to Mexico to pick up a cruise through the Panama Canal, that’ll take us back to Florida.”

  I’d never been any place tropical, with the exception of Florida. I couldn’t help but jump out of my seat and into his lap, kissing every inch of his face. One thing soon led to another, as he lifted me into his arms and carried me into the bedroom. “We have all night to explore, cara mia. I need you, my love. I need you always.”

  Dane and Marissa have had their happy ending. But, the story continues, as Nate steps forward in search of his, in “I Need You Now—Need #2.”

  Coming Spring/Summer 2015

  I Need You Now—Need #2

  Nate

  I WAS GLAD TO be back in the hotel room, having finished my last assignment. I hated the Seattle weather, always dreary and raining, but the assignment was good. I got to work with a fellow dominant who knew what he wanted to accomplish, already had
a list of suspected skimmers in his company, and had all the information I needed ready and waiting for me when I arrived.

  He hadn’t liked my need to fly home, mid-assignment, but after telling him it was my sister’s wedding, he extended his private jet to take me back to Orlando. I’d enjoyed spending time with the reclusive billionaire and his wife and adorable children. It was nice to just shoot the bull with a temporary boss instead of always saying, “Yes, sir. No, sir,” as I had to with my other assignments. I was a dominant, not a damn submissive and he got that. He’d read me easily from day one and we got along.

  His skimmer turned out to be an employee going through some rough medical times. I was surprised he didn’t press charges, but instead helped out his family and let him off with a warning.

  I’d already given my notice to my employer, that this would be my last assignment with them. I was tired of traveling. He’d offered me a position within his company to work with his computer team to help create software that could alert company’s quicker when skimming or hacking started to occur. The offer was intriguing, but I wanted to live closer to my sister, get to know my future niece or nephew, and find the woman who’s held me captive in my dreams.

  I wasn’t looking for a connection, only a hook-up for some release that night, after my sister’s graduation. I was so pissed about her ex-boyfriend that I needed to blow off some steam and to me, there was no way better than a good fuck.

  I’d gone to Dane’s parent’s club, The Shanty, and found one of the owner’s, Kent, to help talk me through my frustrations before I decided to prowl the scene. It was good having one of the owner’s be a psychiatrist.

  A Greek goddess passed my line of sight, having platinum blonde hair, a light tan, wearing a black mask to hide some of her face, and red “come hither” lipstick. She wore a short black leather dress, and some “fuck me” stiletto red pumps. I watched as her ass sashayed up to the bar.

  I could tell the hair wasn’t hers just by the way it moved. She was incognito, much like myself. I’d pulled a cowboy hat from the props room, along with a Lone Ranger mask. It seemed to be a popular fantasy among women to be ridden hard by a cowboy and I definitely aimed to please.

  I leaned back against the bed and slowly drifted off to sleep recalling my conversation with “Vixen” played through my dreams. “Hello cowboy? Care to tame a wild . . .”

  I startled when my cell phone rang. “Hello?”

  “Hey, Nate. Did I wake you?” It was Dane’s voice.

  I instantly panicked. “Is Marissa okay?”

  “She’s fine. We’re actually enjoying our honeymoon. But we can’t seem to get away from finding new items to offer up to our buyers. I know we’re not supposed to be working, but try to tell your sister that.”

  “That’s cool. If she’s fine, then why are you calling?” I knew Dane something was up because he never called unless there was a reason.

  “My family needs your assistance. Remember how we’d talked about someone screwing around with the numbers in some of our financial and sales reports?”

  “Yeah. We’d talked about it in the hospital. Are there more problems?”

  I could hear Dane take a deep breath, which wasn’t good. “Whoever’s doing this is trying to implicate a couple of people. One is our new accounting manager, Gianna Scott, who we can assure is not guilty. The other, is your sister.”

  I could feel the anger rising inside me, as I slammed my fist down into the bed, making is squeak. “Why can’t she just be left alone in peace? Is it that bastard, Tom, trying to pull some kind of shit from jail?”

  “No. He’s actually in the hospital right now. Someone tried to kill him in jail and they may have succeeded. So he’s not a problem.”

  I shook my head trying to figure out why someone would want to cause my sister problems. “Could it be one of your ex’s?”

  Dane laughed. “No. None of them would be bright enough to carry on such an elaborate scheme. Whoever this is has to be internal, we just can’t figure out whom? We’ve checked for hacking and there are no signs of anyone getting into our systems externally.”

  My mind quickly went through my standard questioning. “Do you have a list of suspects? Can you get access to all the hard copies of all the information being affected?”

  “We’re not sure who could be doing this, though we do have a couple of names. They haven’t been exactly nice toward the new account manager or Marissa.”

  He paused for a moment, listening to Marissa say something in the background. “Your sister just reminded me that even the hard copies we scan into the system have been tampered with trying to create issues. The scenario looks like she’s pulling sales from our associates and padding her own figures so that we’ll both get better compensations for the quarter. As for the accounting department, it’s making our manager look like a fool. She signs off on the figures and then they suddenly change, she’s questioned, and looks like she’s failing at her job.”

  I raised my voice a bit. “I hope you’re not calling my sister a thief or you and I will have issues.”

  Dane was quick to respond. “Nate, I love your sister and trust her with all my heart. She’s the one who pointed out the initial discrepancies, but since we’ve been gone, more have followed, which alerted my father. Whoever’s doing this doesn’t realize that the people they’re trying to mess with are family members. My sales team usually gets bonuses based on their performance each quarter. Marissa and I are exempt, because we get a flat salary and that’s it. It’s our goal to lead the department and reward the employees for their efforts, not take from them. So the person doing this has no clue how our system works or the fact that they’ve just pissed off the wrong people.”

  I breathed a little easier, knowing my sis wasn’t a suspect. “So what do you want me to do?”

  “My father will be sending a plane for you in a couple days. He wants you to come into the company undercover and fill in as a temp in our accounting department. He’ll pay you what your current company used to charge, as well as set you up in my old condo, so you don’t have to worry about looking for a new place to live, while you work for us.

  “Dad has your number and will provide you all the details. When the job’s done, we can try to help you find work or assist you in opening an office of your own. Can you help us?”

  “You’re family and my sister needs vindication. I’d be happy to do this for free. That’s what family is for.” I offered.

  “Thanks, Nate, but we’ll pay you for your time. I need to go. Your sister is calling me to dinner.”

  I was happy to hear that my sister was fine, but hated that someone still had it in for her. This just got personal and I hope the individual was ready to pay for crossing the line.

  I’d planned on finding a new place, realizing that I was growing up and needed to be away from the party scene that my roommates seemed to be stuck in. Not having to worry about things, would free me up to spend my time seeking out my Vixen.

  I’d already been back to Orlando, any chance I had, to go back to the club and search for her. I’d never been into emotional hookups, but with her, we seemed to connect on a level that brought out intense desires in me. I’d never experienced a euphoric release in my life, but I’ve been floating ever since that night.

  Her captivating aroma of strawberries and champagne was etched in my mind. I’d almost thought I’d found her when I was standing up with Dane at his and my sister’s wedding. The scent blew across the pool area, where the guests had been seated.

  I glanced out to the crowds to try and determine where it had come from, while watching my sister walk down the aisle. I was disappointed to find a young woman in a power suit, hair tied tight in a bun, with sunglasses on, shift in her seat. Her facial structure seemed familiar, and she was cute, but the way she carried herself was too dominant for my tastes.

  Out of curiosity, I tried to find her after the wedding, but she’d left in a rush.

 
Now, I was in a hurry to get home and possibly to my future!

  I muttered to myself, as I began to pack. “I need you, Vixen. I need you NOW!”

  I would like to thank, first and foremost, all my followers, fans, bloggers, and friends. Without all of you, my books would not be possible.

  To my family, you all mean the world to me, especially putting up with my crazy writing hours. You mean everything to me.

  To the young man, who’ll always remain a mystery to me, who did collapse across the street from my house and inspired this story, I hope you’re well and your life has gone onto amazing adventures.

  To my good friend and trusted beta reader, Mia Mincheff. Your words of wisdom, your belief in my dreams, and your encouragement mean more than you’ll ever know. I’m thankful that our paths crossed. You help make me a better writer.

  To Angela Clark Jarvis. We grew up in the same town, were friends in school, and now life has our paths crossing again with a shared love of books. I value your insights and advice as a beta reader, but more importantly I value our friendship. Thank you for sharing in my journey as an author. I look forward to supporting you when your first murder mystery novel releases.

  To my beta reader, friend, and fellow lover of books, Becky Sheehan. Your insights, and questions, are what I need to help make me a better writer. I’m glad our paths crossed.

  To Stacy Nickelson, my editor, beta reader, and friend. You’ve helped push beyond my comfort zone, always trying to get me to take another step forward on my continued growth as an author. Thank you!

  Above all, thanks to God, for giving the ability to write.

  I grew up in a small town in South Florida and moved to Central Florida to attend college. I married my friend, love, and soul mate and still reside in the area with our amazing son, and a feisty, four-legged little doggie boy.