He watched her take a deep breath as if calming herself and wondered if she was going to cry.
“Tell me about your family,” he said gently.
She stared up at him. “What on earth do you want to know about them?” She looked incredulous.
Just then the waitress returned and handed them the menus.
“Um, actually, I’m full, thank you.” Tuesday handed hers straight back.
Damn! He looked up at her quizzically. Had mentioning her family really just made her lose her appetite?
“In that case we’ll just have coffee, please,” he said, handing his menu back also.
He reached across the table to touch Tuesday’s hand, but she quickly withdrew it and put both hands in her lap, where she proceeded to study them intently.
“How many brothers and sisters do you have?” he asked quietly.
“Does it matter? Look, we don’t exactly get along, you know? That’s why I don’t have anything to do with them. It’s just me now.” Her voice was quiet but defiant.
He sat back in his chair while the waitress served their coffees and then sat forward as he stirred his cup.
“You don’t get along with any of them? Not even your mother?”
“No,” she said plainly and took a bite of her mint.
He sighed.
“What about you, Master Dan? Do you have family?”
He smiled at her attempt to defer the conversation again. “I wish I did,” he admitted. “I always wanted a brother or sister to talk to. I suppose that’s why it was so hard when I lost Bernice, I had no one to talk to.”
“You had that counselor,” she pointed out, lifting her cup.
He smiled. “Yes and he was very good, but it’s not the same as having someone who’s close to you, is it? Someone who also knew the deceased and can empathize with how you feel?”
She looked slightly annoyed, and he knew she had realized what he was hinting at.
“Sometimes you don’t need to talk about it. Shit happens. You just get on with it.” She shrugged.
“If only it was that easy,” he remarked.
Her pale eyes stared back up at him.
“What do you mean?” She frowned.
“When someone passes away you don’t just shrug and get on with your life, do you? Not when it’s someone you were close to, someone you loved.” He thought back to the despair he felt when Bernice died, and how he had longed to have someone to share his grief with. He had spoken with his parents, and they had been a great comfort to him, as were her parents, but it wasn’t the same. His friends were helpful too, but no one had known his wife like he had.
“I don’t know. I’ve never lost anyone I loved.” Her words cut into him and he watched her stoically finish her coffee, her jaw tight, daring him to question her.
His heart sank. This poor little sub could only have been in her early twenties and here she was, hundreds of miles from home, without a soul, and trying to convince herself she wasn’t grieving over her dead father. He could see right through her. He could also see that she was in no mood to talk right now.
He paid the tab and they left the restaurant in silence. He drove her back to his place without even asking if she minded. It was time he took control of this little sub. Time to teach her that hiding her feelings—from herself as well as him—was unacceptable.
It was getting late when they arrived home, but he wasn’t deterred.
“Get undressed and meet me in the dungeon in ten minutes,” he told her as he closed the front door.
She stared at him in disbelief.
He was in no mood to argue; he just raised an eyebrow. She got the message loud and clear and scurried off to her bedroom.
Dan quickly changed into his leathers and practiced a few strokes with the single-tail while he waited. After a few minutes she entered the room quietly, pulled off her bathrobe, and knelt silently on the floor in front of him. His heart leaped as he saw her perfect round body compliantly assume the submissive position, staring at a spot on the floor.
He felt his cock twitch and already began to feel uncomfortable in the confines of his clothes. He scanned the room thoughtfully. When he had shown her around the place, she had been quite taken with this room and was particularly impressed that he had his own St. Andrew’s Cross. He wouldn’t give her the satisfaction of what she would prefer tonight though. No, he could whip that gorgeous ass of hers just as well on the spanking bench, so he ordered her to assume the position.
Grinning to himself at the disappointment in her face, he silently went over and cuffed her hands and feet, double-checking their fit, well aware of the last time she had been in this position.
“Are you comfortable, little one?”
“I’m all right, Sir.”
He pouted, glad that she wasn’t exactly comfortable. He didn’t want her too relaxed tonight. He wanted her edgy, too stressed to think up her witty replies. He wanted the truth.
Thwack! He watched her body tense at the first stroke, but she didn’t cry out. Thwack! Thwack! Thwack!
She stretched and contracted her hands, and he could tell she enjoyed the whip, but would have preferred to be on the cross. Too bad! He was in control tonight.
“How many sisters do you have, little one?” he demanded when she had just started to relax. She gasped and answered without hesitation.
“Five, Sir.”
Catching her off guard like this had been a fantastic idea. He smiled, pleased with himself. He knew she didn’t really want to answer him, but she had little choice. Her desire to please a worthy Dom would override her inhibitions.
“Good girl.” He continued to whip her butt, rubbing in the sting, and felt her begin to relax into the soft leather.
“How many brothers?”
“Three, Sir.”
“That’s a lot of family,” he remarked, rubbing the redness. “Anyone you’re particularly close to?”
She paused to think so he whacked her again.
“Padric, Sir,” she whispered.
“Anyone else?”
“Kathleen, I suppose.”
“Good girl.” He soothed the sting with his large hand and trailed a finger down toward her pussy. He smiled to see how wet she was. His little sub was enjoying this!
“Do you keep in touch with either of them?”
“No, Sir.” Her reply was immediate, and he wasn’t sure whether it was defiance or passion.
“Are they older than you?”
“Yes, Sir.” She gasped.
“Do they ever contact you?” He could tell by her breathing and the way her body tensed that she was near the edge, and he took the opportunity to push her as far as he dared.
“Yes, Sir. Kathleen rang me to ask me to come home!”
He swiped a finger over her sodden clit and she screamed her release.
His cock twitched as he watched her convulse into the soft bench, her whole body glowing in a sheen of perspiration. He bent over her and unfastened her restraints, relishing the feel of her soft, warm body in his arms as he carried her over to the massive four-poster bed that dominated the room.
“You did well, little one. I’m so proud of you,” he whispered close into her ear as he laid her down and covered her in a thin blanket.
He felt her snuggle down and hoped she wasn’t too tired. Trying not to disturb her, he swiftly removed his clothes, breathing a huge sigh of relief as his cock sprang free from his leathers. He was further relieved to see her turn to look at him with hunger in her eyes. He grinned and returned to the bed, kneeling over her.
“Do you want me, little one?”
The answer was evident in her eyes. She nodded eagerly and removed the blanket before lifting her knees and spreading her legs to him.
He breathed in the scent of her arousal, feeling his own passion ratchet another notch, and knelt over her.
“Take me, Sir,” she whispered as she stared dreamily into his face.
Dan felt her
heat as his sheathed, bulbous head nudged her inner lips, and he slid easily into her dripping channel. She let out a little moan when he plunged right in, and he eased back a little, allowing her to adjust to his girth. He was glad that she was so tight, and loved the feel of her muscles clenching around him, sucking him back into her as though she would never let him go. He knew that he certainly would never want to let her go, and that realization flooded his mind as he heaved in and out of her welcoming depths, their juices squelching deliciously with every movement.
Her breasts were like two soft pillows as he gently squeezed and caressed them, teasing her rock-hard nipples, first with his fingers and then his tongue. He licked the salt from her neck as droplets of her passion trickled down her body. Gazing into her face, he saw her beautiful eyes shining up at him, trusting him, wanting him.
Keeping his weight from her delicate body, he thrust his heaving cock right into her core, imagining that he had reached her womb. She let out a wild cry, thrashing her head on the soft pillow. Her ecstasy added to his, and he roared his release as he continued to hammer hard into her. Her cries became louder, and he yelled her name as the last of his seed flooded the thin sack. She was clinging to his shoulders, her nails digging deliciously into his flesh, as he slumped next to her and kissed the sweat from her cheek. His face hovered over hers as he panted hard, the truth dawning on him.
“I love you,” he whispered.
Her eyes stared up at him, dazed and tearful, but she didn’t speak. He could see in her face that her brain was trying to compute his declaration. She didn’t look horrified, just astonished.
“M-Master Dan,” she whispered at last.
“Shh, don’t say anything,” he urged as he lay back down, pulling her satiny body into his side.
He didn’t know why he had told her, it just felt right, somehow. He could see in her face that she felt the same, but her own pride wouldn’t let her admit it, even to herself. He smiled. It didn’t matter. They both knew how they felt and that was all that counted. He closed his eyes as he breathed the honey scent of her hair, and drifted into oblivion.
* * *
Tuesday felt his breathing become heavier, and knew that her Master was asleep. Her mind whirled. He loved her! He’d actually said the words. It was everything she had ever wanted, but nothing she could ever have.
Tears rolled down her face as she silently kissed his heaving chest, rolled out of his arms, and left the room. It didn’t take long to get dressed and find her purse. She didn’t want to take anything that didn’t belong to her and the clothes from that fateful night had magically disappeared. Quietly she crept down the stairs, let herself out of his house and into the nearest cab.
It felt like months since she had seen her apartment, but it was only a matter of days. It seemed cold and empty, like her heart. Taking a deep breath, she began to pack up her belongings. She didn’t have much, but what she owned she treasured. Her sobs became heavier, as did her heart as she wrapped the few knickknacks she had collected and tucked them into her rucksack, cushioning them with her clothes.
Her memory of his touch, his smell, his voice, his gorgeous face danced in front of her eyes in blurry visions as the tears poured torrentially down her hot cheeks. Her bed looked inviting and she knew she was exhausted—it was the middle of the night, for Christ’s sake—but she daren’t stay long enough to rest. He would know exactly where to look first, being the Director of HR and all, and she knew that one look at that man would crush all her resolve.
With one last glance around her home she slammed the door shut and dragged her one bag of belongings down to the bus stop. The backseat of the night bus would suffice as a bed for a few hours, and she could figure out where to go from here in the morning.
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
Dan awoke with a shiver around 2am. He was surprised and disappointed to find he was alone and took himself to the bathroom adjacent to the dungeon.
“Tuesday, are you in here?”
There was no answer, so he went in and quickly freshened up before going to look for her. He grinned as he imagined her going to check out his refrigerator—he knew she would have wanted that dessert really. But the kitchen was in darkness, as was the rest of the house.
His heart raced as he dashed upstairs to her room. Dread overcame him when he found her purse gone, along with the clothes she had worn earlier today. The rest of the closet was intact, and he seethed with disappointment that she hadn’t taken any of the other clothes he had bought her.
Quickly he ran next door and dressed himself. He was tempted to call Nathan in case Tuesday might have contacted Summer, but it was the early hours of the morning, and he knew the odds were vastly against it anyway. He grabbed his cell and his jacket and ran out into the night. Burning rubber as he headed for her apartment, he recalled the events of the evening.
It had been perfect. She had been so beautiful and compliant, and he had learned all that stuff she hadn’t wanted to tell him about her family. Perhaps that was it? Did she regret telling him? Or was it more likely his proclamation that did it? He could see in her face that she loved him and she was wrestling with the words in her head. Or was she?
Could he have read her all wrong? Had she actually been mortified that he should feel this way? He loved her dammit. If she didn’t reciprocate the feelings all she had to do was say so! He felt himself go hot at the thought. Had he really just blown all his chances with her?
His brakes squealed as he pulled up in the parking lot outside her apartment, and soon he was running into the building. The lock on the main door had long since been broken off, and he ran up the stairs to her place. Unfortunately this was one lock which did still work, and he hammered on the door, desperately pleading with her to open up. When she didn’t, he shoved the door until it gave way, and he stared around at the empty apartment. It was a furnished rental, so she didn’t have much stuff of her own, but he could see that what she did have was gone.
A hard lump settled in his stomach as he ran back to his car. He didn’t have a clue where to start looking. Slumping behind the wheel, he felt sick to his stomach. He had never known Tuesday to go anywhere but the club, and she’d already told him she’d never return there. It was the only place he could think of though, especially as the only friends she seemed to have were the girls who worked there. Gunning the engine he headed for Collar and Cuffs—his only hope.
It was nearly four in the morning when he pulled up in the parking lot. There were still one or two members milling in the foyer, getting ready to leave, and the cleaners were doing their usual job. He raced down to the dungeon, his heart thumping heavily. Steve Ratner was on duty.
“What brings you here? We’re about to close up, bro,” he told him.
“Has Tuesday been here?”
Dan could tell by the confused look on the sergeant’s face that she hadn’t.
“I thought you took her back with you?”
“I did. She’s gone. I’ve checked her place. This is all I could think of.” Dan sighed, still glancing around the bar for any sign of her.
Steve shook his head. “Sorry, bro.” He looked genuinely concerned, his dark brown eyes narrowing as he frowned.
“I’ll try upstairs.” It was his last resort.
The main reception area was deserted apart from one of the cleaners.
“Have you seen Tuesday O’Leary tonight?” He tried to sound casual as he smiled at the middle-aged woman. Everyone knew Tuesday.
“No, sir. I haven’t seen her for a couple of days now.”
“Thanks anyway.”
Dan went through to the restaurant, but it was in darkness, as was the small bar. In desperation he climbed back into the elevator and went up to the top floor. A desk lamp glowed from his office, and he went in, expecting to see another cleaner.
“Who the fuck are you?”
It was a tall guy with ginger hair and bright green eyes. He was dressed in leathers, but didn’t have the stat
ure of a Dom. He was bent over some papers on Dan’s desk and straightened up as Dan approached him.
“I can explain.” The guy’s broad Irish accent took Dan by surprise. “I’m looking for someone, that’s all. I think she works here.”
“Well, that makes two of us,” Dan muttered as he checked the file left open on the desk.
His heart lurched when he saw it was Tuesday’s HR records the guy had been checking.
“Who are you and what the hell do you want with her?” he growled angrily, his fists tightening.
“I’m her brother. The family’s worried sick about her. I just need to find her, that’s all.” His big eyes reminded Dan of his sister’s and he felt himself go hot.
“Padric?”
The guy looked stunned. “Yeah, but how do you know?”
“She mentioned you.”
The guy smiled. “That’s good to know. I thought we were quite close at one time, but I let her down. We all did.” The smile turned to a grimace and he sighed. “You know her then? Do you know where she is?”
Dan shook his head. “I wish I did. She took off a couple of hours ago. I haven’t got a clue where to look.” He felt useless.
“You her boss then, or her boyfriend?”
Dan didn’t quite know how to answer.
“I’m, er, a good friend.” He wasn’t sure that was entirely true. Had he pushed her too far? Had he caused her to run?
He glanced down at the open folder on the desk. Perhaps there was a clue there. He found her phone number and whipped out his own cell.
“She won’t answer,” Padric told him. “I’ve tried.”
Dan felt stupid. She had never given him her number, and he didn’t press her for it. He saw her practically every day anyhow, so he hadn’t really needed it.
“I haven’t,” he told her brother as he keyed it in.
He was disappointed, but not surprised when it went straight through to her voicemail. “Tuesday, it’s Master Dan. I just need to know you’re OK, little one. Call me.”
Padric frowned. “She won’t like being told what to do,” he warned him.
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