by Dakota Trace
Mrs. D. covered Sabella’s hand with hers. “I think I understand what’s bothering you, Bella-mía. You’re scared you’re going to develop feelings for this man because he might be able to actually give you what you’ve been looking for.”
Sabella’s face flushed. “I…it’d be nothing more than…” she began.
“Hush. Who do you think you’re foolin’, child? This is Mrs. D. you’re talking to. I was the person you asked about sex.” She raised a brow. “I was even the one who caught you surfing the bondage sites when you were sixteen. At seventeen, I brought in Marissa to explain how what you were feeling was normal. I know you.”
Sabella’s breath hitched as remembered embarrassment flooded her at the memory of the average looking housewife who’d showed up one night to discuss submission with her, while her father had been working a late shift. Despite the embarrassment though, Sabella had learned a great deal from the frank submissive. Enough to keep me safe until Louis. “Ugh, please don’t remind me…” she joked lamely.
Mrs. D. pursed her lips. “All I’m saying is I know you. I helped raise you after your mother died. And I know you’re concerned about being hurt again after what happened with that last idiot, but it’s been months. And if you’re asking for my advice — I think you need to get your feet wet again. This seems like the perfect opportunity. You can get the release or grounding…or whatever you kids are calling it these days, which you find in the ropes, and the man gets a willing participant. What do you have to lose?”
Sabella tipped her head. “Nothing, I suppose — other than time. It just seems odd to let a man who’s a complete stranger tie me up. I mean, other than the one time in Las Vegas when I let a Dom at a convention demonstrate a shibari harness….”
An exasperated sigh escaped her neighbor. “Child, you’re giving me nothing more than lame excuses.” Mrs. D. gave her a pointed look. “It’s simple. Either you want to do it, or you don’t. Which is it?”
“I want to do it. I’m just scared I’m going to get hurt again.”
She gave Sabella a grin. “So put stipulations on it. From the sound of it, the man is in quite a bad situation, and more than likely he’ll agree to them.”
Sabella wanted to groan. The idea of giving any Dom stipulations on what she would and wouldn’t do was hard. She knew logically she needed to stand up for herself, and it was no different than discussing limits, but at times her need to submit was stronger than common sense. “I…”
“Don’t make me take you over my knee, girl. You have a head — use it. So you don’t want to get in too deep. Tell him it has to be a temporary thing. If you don’t want to be intimate at all or need to work up to it — tell him. Communication is the trick. Be honest but be yourself.”
The burning at the back of her eyes told Sabella she’d done the right thing. “You know you’re just what I needed, Mrs. D.”
The other woman laughed. “Why? Cause I’m not an old prude like your dad? Heaven forbid his daughter even think about having sex before marriage.”
A bubble of laughter escaped Sabella. “Of course not. But you know just how to give me a kick in my rear end. Sometimes I need it.”
“We all do, Bella-mía. Even at my age.” She leaned forward. “But don’t tell your dad I said that.”
Laughter erupted in the kitchen once more.
* * * *
Ethan had just entered the office he shared with Davis at New Beginnings, when the phone rang on Davis’s desk. Never one to ignore a ringing telephone, he answered it. “New Beginnings, Dr. Tremaine speaking.” He waited for the customary pause at his greeting but was pleasantly surprised when the woman on the other end spoke softly. Davis had warned him time and time again that his formal phone etiquette was off putting, but this young lady didn’t seem the least bit bothered by it.
“Well, hello. I wasn’t expecting a doctor to answer the phone.” There was a slight pause. “Am I to assume, since you answered that Davis isn’t in? Of course he’s not there…or he’d have answered his own phone….duh Sabella.”
The last part seemed to be as if she were answering her own question. A smile tugged at his lips. She was delightful. “Indeed, he’s not but he should be here in within the hour. Would you like me to take a message for him?”
There was a sigh, before she answered. “I suppose you could. Can you please let him know Sabella Johnston called?”
Searching for a pad on Davis’s cluttered desk, he finally unearthed one from under a stack of vendor receipts. He was going to have to talk to his partner about the mess again. Disorganization could kill their business — even if the man’s plan to find him a sub did come through. Now to find a pen. He scowled as he realized there were none on his partner’s desk. “Well, it seems as if Davis has taken home all of his pens and pencils. Can I ask what this is about? I may be able to help.”
A soft laugh filled his ear. “Let me guess, his desk is very cluttered.”
“How did you know?” He was curious to understand her reasoning.
“From my personal experience, a Dom is either very tidy or very cluttered. There’s usually no in-between, so when you said you couldn’t find a pen, I just assumed he fell into the latter category. And after meeting him this weekend, I have to say it doesn’t surprise me.”
Intrigued, he leaned his hip against Davis’s desk. “Really?”
“Yes. I was quite surprised to the say the least. He was meeting my friend Lauren for lunch, but she invited me along without warning either me or Davis about one another.”
A light bulb went off in his head. “Lauren? As in Lauren Haskell? The little matchmaker of Napa Valley?”
“I see you do know her.” Sabella sounded rueful. “But, yep that’s her, my best friend in all her glory.”
“And she set you up with Davis?” A frown furrowed his brow as his amusement died. Not only did Davis have a thing for the leggy blonde submissive, the idea of Sabella being set up with his friend bothered him.
“Surprisingly no. Besides even if she’d have tried, Davis’s reaction when I joined them would’ve had me saying no.”
Relief washed through him. “I take it my friend said something rather uncouth for mixed company?”
She chuckled. “You could say that. Something along the lines of how seeing Lauren wearing nothing more than his whip marks would affect him. I believe the term “rock hard” was used.”
A genuine laugh ripped free of him at the idea of Davis sitting in a restaurant with Lauren and this unknown woman calmly discussing the fact it made his dick hard when he thought of whipping Lauren.
“Sure go ahead and laugh, Dr. Tremaine. I thought it was quite funny too, although Lauren turned several shades of red. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a woman turn that particular shade in my life.”
He was still chuckling when he heard the door open behind him. He knew without a doubt it was Davis, but he was reluctant to give the phone up. “So if it wasn’t a set up then why did she have you meet him?”
“Something about helping his partner out with a demonstration…”
Elation flooded him. The sharp intake of breath behind him should’ve have warned him, but he wasn’t paying much attention to Davis. His focus was on Sabella and her answer.
“Gimme that!” Davis pulled the phone away from him. “Bella, sorry it’s Davis.”
Shock rolled through Ethan as he stared dumbfounded at Davis. The last thing he’d expected him to do was yank the phone out of his grasp. Covering the mouthpiece with his hand, Davis shot him a warning look. “Please tell me you weren’t being an uptight ass to her. She may be the one to pull our fat out of the fire for the Kinkfest.”
Ethan pushed off the desk. “So she was about to tell me.” Reaching past Davis, Ethan hit the speakerphone button on the base. “I’m sorry about my partner, Ms. Johnston. He can be rude at times, but he does grow on one. Now you were telling me Lauren asked you to lunch to discuss the possibility of you working with me for my de
monstration at the Kinkfest in the spring?”
“Oh, my…” Sabella stammered. “…now I’ve done it. I’ve blathered on…I’m truly sorry, Dr. Tremaine. I had no idea…”
“Nonsense.” He gave Davis a warning look as the other man opened his mouth. “Nothing from you, Davis. I have you on speaker, Sabella. May I call you that?” When she mumbled her consent, he continued. “Because my partner seems to think I can’t carry a civil conversation without alienating you, I’ll give you the choice, would you prefer to speak to me about the matter or him? Or we could, all three, talk about it.”
He tried to act nonchalant, but Ethan really hoped she choose him. But he had to be fair.
“I…well, considering it’ll be you I’ll be working with, why not cut the middle man out?”
“Sounds fair to me. Davis?” He gave his partner a feral grin. “Would you mind giving me some privacy to discuss the matter with Sabella?”
Davis’s jaw dropped. “Fine. But you fuck this up, Ethan, and I’ll kick your Asian ass from here ‘til next Sunday.”
“I’m not going to “fuck” this up, I assure you.”
“You better not.” Davis stomped out of the office, slamming the door behind him.
“Did he just throw a tantrum?” Sabella seemed impressed.
“Of course. I just kicked him out of our office.”
A muffled giggle came through the line. “I’d say you’re awfully brave considering the size of him. I have a feeling Davis doesn’t go anywhere he doesn’t want to with his size.”
“Very true. But size isn’t everything.” He slid off the desk into the leather chair behind it. “So tell me, what exactly did they tell you about me?”
“Not much, other than the fact you need a person who’s experienced in bondage to help out.”
He nodded. “Well that’s the bare bones of it. I do need an experienced submissive to train rather quickly for the demonstration. Which is why I need someone who is experienced in bondage. I don’t have time to teach a newbie the ropes, so to speak. Kinbaku isn’t exactly like shibari, and it is something which cannot be rushed, so even with the three months I’d have to train, a person with no experience may feel that way.”
A soft sound of disappointment reached his ears. “How much experience and of what kind?”
A sinking feeling had his resolve wavering. Despite his firm belief his style of bondage couldn’t be rushed, he found himself wanting to make an exception for her. “You don’t have any experience do you, Sabella?”
Her tone was rushed. “In Kinbaku, no. But I have been tied up, and…”
He squeezed the bridge of his nose. “Letting your boyfriend or Dom tie you up isn’t the same thing. My style of bondage is much more intense.” He winced as his statement came out more harshly than he’d intended, and her silence was all the proof he needed to realize it. “Listen, I don’t mean to belittle you…”
“Well, you did a pretty good job of it, Dr. Tremaine.” Her voice was clipped. “But if you would’ve let me continue I’d have explained. I had one Dom who explored shibari with me. I’ve also gone to several conferences with him where he allowed me to be used as a demonstration model, so he could learn how to correctly tie me. In the end, he decided it wasn’t for him, and we parted ways shortly thereafter. So while I haven’t truly been suspended, as is common in kinbaku, I’ve always had the desire to experience it. I thought perhaps this was the opportunity I was waiting for.” She snorted. “I wish you luck in finding a submissive who meets your high standards, Sir.” The resulting click filled the room. He stared at the phone as what happened sunk in. Desperation tugged at him. She’d actually hung up on him before he could apologize.
“Dammit, I knew I shouldn’t have let you handle this.” Davis’s rueful voice came from the doorway as he walked back into the room. “What do you say we do this my way next time?”
“Next time?” Hope blossomed.
Davis smirked. “Now, you really didn’t think I was going to let that little subbie escape our net, did you?”
Chapter Five
The calm silence was deafening after the loud, boisterous tones of her youth class. Sabella pushed her way into her boss’s office. Looking up from his newspaper, Kaleb Terzis smiled at her. With his blond hair, and all around American boy look, he always had a ready smile, whether it was for her, or the disadvantaged kids they helped each day.
“You wanted to see me, boss?” She fidgeted in the doorway.
Setting the paper down, he gestured for her to come in. “Yes, come in. How was your teens’ class today?”
She smiled, thinking about Shara and her twin brother, Samuel. At fourteen, they had already had a rough life, but seemed to find plain old fun as well as wonderment in the basic art skills. “Crazy as usual. But I really enjoy working with the kids. Particularly the older ones.”
“The terror twins giving you issues?” He pushed back from his desk.
She shook her head. “They’ve been good. Both of them have quite the eye for art.”
“Good. I was hoping this art program would help.” He moved to shut the door. “But it’s not the reason I called you in here. Have a seat.”
Surprise flooded her along with a bit of apprehension as she sank into the chair across from his desk. “I see. Was it something I did or didn’t do?”
“Relax. This isn’t meant to be uncomfortable. In fact it has nothing to do with your job performance here at the youth center.”
Her eyes widened. “Then what does it have to do with?”
He sighed. “I’m sure Lauren told you I’m in the lifestyle?”
“Of course.” She shifted uncomfortably, wondering where Kaleb was going with this conversation. Surely he wasn’t hitting on her. She was quickly disabused of the notion.
“Well, I also am a member of New Beginnings, and this morning I got a rather unusual request from one of the owners.”
Her blood froze before embarrassment hit her as her face heated. “I’m sorry if Davis has been pestering you. He’s been calling me for the past several days and I keep telling him to…”
He held up a hand. “It wasn’t Davis. Relax. It was Dr. Ethan Tremaine.”
Her heart jumped and she frowned. “Ethan? Why would he be calling you about me? He’s already decided I was unsuitable…”
Kaleb chuckled. “Darlin’, if unsuitable is him trying me not only at home, but also here at the youth center, then I don’t want to know what he’d do if he found you desirable. He’d probably would’ve camped out on the youth center doorstep when he couldn’t get a hold of me.” He paused. “Which is exactly what he did.”
Mind whirling, Sabella tried to grasp exactly what was going on. “I…what do you mean he camped out here at the youth center? I would’ve noticed some man loitering outside when I came in. After living in New York, I’m always on the lookout for danger around children. Not to say he’s dangerous to kids, but when it comes to looking after the kids one can’t be too careful.” She was quick to add.
“I’ll give you that, but Ethan has a quiet demeanor about him. Even when he’s loitering, he blends into his environment. It’s probably what makes him such a good doctor.” Kaleb nodded. “He’s been waiting all day to talk specifically to you.”
“I don’t know what to say.” She slumped down in her chair, trying to think if she’d noticed anyone watching her today. There had been a quiet Asian man earlier in the day who’d held the youth center door for her when she’d come back from lunch. She’d passed by him, and couldn’t help but think about the cologne he was wearing. The citrus-y scent had lingered in her nose long after her busy class. But he’d left. Or had he?
He sighed before placing a hand on her shoulders, jerking her out of her thoughts. “I won’t force you to talk to him, Bella. But he does seem honestly sorry about what happened on the phone, and has requested a few minutes of your time.”
Chewing on her lower lip, she wondered what it would hurt to actually se
e the man — other than her overwhelming need to kick him in the shins. The good girl in her protested while the little devil on her shoulder told her to go for it. He’d given her hope only to dash it with a few callous words. She had to remind the little devil he hadn’t actually ever said he would take her on, and if her hopes had gotten dashed it was because she’d wanted too much, too soon. She went back and forth mentally until Kaleb’s concerned voice put an end to her internal bickering.
“Darlin’, I won’t make you see him if you don’t want to.” Crouched in front of her, Kaleb wore an expression of genuine concern.
She blinked up at him, before shaking her head. “No, since he’s taken the time to come down and see me, I suppose it can’t hurt to hear him out. Although I might hurt him if he says something incredibly stupid.
“All right then. Wait here, and I’ll go get him.” Kaleb stood and was gone, before she could question whether or not she was doing the right thing.
Within minutes, Kaleb was back. When she didn’t notice anyone with him, she figured Ethan had left. Disappointment tugged at her, even if it had gone no further she’d wanted to be able to put a face to the voice she’d talked to on the phone. “Oh, did he leave?” She forced the words past her suddenly tight throat.
“After waiting all day to talk to you, no, I wasn’t going to leave.” The softly spoken words teased her ears before sending shivers down her spine. Despite their soft tone, the command in them was undeniable. She nearly fainted when the Asian man from earlier in the afternoon stepped out from behind Kaleb. With his long dreadlocks pulled back at the base of his neck and striking Japanese features, he carried himself with a strength which belied his slender build. Dressed in a pair of loose but neatly pressed linen pants and silk shirt, he exuded confidence.
Pushing herself out of the chair, Sabella tried not to stare. She was so focused on the good doctor she barely noticed Kaleb leaving the room. “Hello, Dr. Tremaine. Kaleb was right, you’re very good at blending into your surroundings. I never would’ve guessed the man I spoke with on the phone was the same as the one who held the door for me earlier today.”