by Tara Sue Me
Epilogue
Wilmington, Delaware
Daniel brought the beers over to the table where he and Jeff were watching the football game. He set one down in front of his friend. It was halftime and no one was watching the sportscaster’s commentary.
“I meant to tell you about a conversation I had with Julie not too long ago,” Daniel said, sliding into the booth.
Jeff looked up. He’d been texting someone, and Daniel wasn’t sure, but he thought it might have been Dena. But then Jeff took the phone and shoved it in his pocket. Had he been discussing anything with Dena, he wouldn’t have done that. Maybe it was a family member. He’d mentioned earlier that his father had called.
“What kind of conversation?” Jeff asked, reaching for a beer and taking a swig.
“At the conference I went to recently, she met the couple you knew from New York. Nathaniel and Abby?”
Jeff nodded and his lips curved up just a bit. Not enough to count as an actual smile, but possibly it could be called a grin. Maybe.
“Yeah,” Jeff said. “I remember them.”
“Julie said something to Abby; she brought it up to me later that night. It’s bugged me ever since.”
“Oh.” Jeff seemed genuinely surprised. “What was it about?”
“She said one of the reasons she liked Abby’s blog is that it shows the experiences of a long-term Dominant and submissive couple. And then she said our group didn’t have one.”
The grin left Jeff’s face at that, and for a minute, Daniel kicked himself. If Dena and Jeff hadn’t broken up so many years ago, they would have been the couple in the group who’d been together the longest.
“She’s right,” Jeff finally said. “We don’t have any long-term couples.” He took another swallow of beer. “Damn shame. A long-term couple would bring a sense of stability to the group.”
Daniel glanced up at the TV. The commentators were still chatting. “You spent some time with Nathaniel and Abby when they were in town, didn’t you?”
“Yes, and you know I can’t discuss details.”
“I’d never ask you to do that. I just wondered about their interaction with each other. How they work together as Dominant and submissive.”
Jeff picked at the label on his bottle. “He’s stern, but loving. She’s playful without being bratty. Good dynamic.” He took a long drink. “I actually talked with Nathaniel a few days ago. He mentioned they were discussing buying some property in Delaware.”
“Really?” Daniel steepled his fingers. “I wonder . . .”
Jeff grinned. “I know that look. What are you thinking?”
“Why don’t we ask them to come to a meeting? Maybe do a demo or something. Then, if they move here and they seem like a good fit”—Daniel shrugged—“problem solved.”
Jeff leaned back in his seat, thinking. “Nathaniel said they had done a bit of mentoring before they had kids. They’re a nice, down-to-earth couple. I think they’d fit in well with our group.”
“Even better. You know them more than I do; would you mind calling Nathaniel to see if he’s interested?”
“I’ll call him as soon as the game’s over.”
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Prologue
—ABBY—
New York City
I stood in front of the large picture windows in our New York City penthouse bedroom, and gazed outside. It was almost eleven at night and I’d turned off the lights to allow those outside to illuminate the room. From behind the glass, everything appeared so peaceful and calm.
Footsteps echoed in the hallway and I turned to watch Nathaniel enter the room. He’d been on the phone when I left the living room earlier. Probably that Charlene woman again.
I was trying to trust my husband with his choice of employee, but it was hard when that employee clearly wanted a different sort of relationship. My fingers drifted to my neck and I traced the platinum collar I wore. I smirked. Charlene could never even begin to imagine the type of relationship Nathaniel needed.
Nathaniel cleared his throat and inclined his head slightly toward the center of the room.
Shit. I scurried to the middle of the floor and knelt.
“You left the room,” he said. His voice held no judgment and he wasn’t angry, but there may have been a trace of disappointment.
“I wanted to give you privacy, Master.”
“And the call concerned you, so I would have preferred for you to remain. Next time, you will wait for my dismissal before leaving.”
The call concerned me? That meant it probably wasn’t Charlene. “I’m sorry, Master.”
“Nothing to apologize for. I didn’t give you any instruction regarding your behavior while I was on the phone.”
I waited for him to tell me how the call concerned me. He surprised me by walking to me and holding out his hand. Curious, I let him help me to my feet and we went to sit on the bench at the foot of the bed.
“It was Jeff on the phone,” he said.
“Jeff Parks?” I asked. From Delaware? Why would he be calling?
“When we were in Delaware, you had a talk with Daniel’s submissive, Julie.”
“Yes.” We’d actually talked twice: the night I met her at the cocktail party and days later when I interviewed her for my blog and National News Web site. I’d revisited the interview notes a few days ago. I couldn’t imagine anything we chatted about being interesting enough for her Dom to ask Jeff to call mine.
“Julie told Daniel that she wished their BDSM group had long-term couples like us.”
“Ah.” Yes, I remembered that. I stroked his cheek, the skin scruffy under my fingertips. “She told me we gave her hope that she and Daniel could make it.”
His eyes grew dark with longing and he leaned in close. “I would like nothing more than for us to be an example of a committed, long-term Dominant and submissive couple. Beating the odds. Staying together.”
I tried to bring his head down so I could kiss him, but he didn’t budge.
“Wait,” he whispered.
I swallowed my sigh, trying not to show how impatient I was for him, but he saw right through me anyway.
“In a minute,” he said. “Jeff wanted to invite us to their next group meeting and play party. He thought we could lead a discussion and do a demo scene.”
We had just started meeting again with our own group, but that didn’t preclude us from meeting with another.
He ran his fingers through my hair and his lips brushed against my cheek, sparking my arousal. “Is that something you’re interested in?”
“Yes,” I said, not even needing to think about it. “I really liked Julie and Daniel and Jeff. And you know I like doing demos.”
He starting working on my shirt buttons, undoing them one at a time until my shirt hung off my shoulders. “I’ll call him back and tell him we’ll be there.” He pushed the material of my bra aside, exposing a nipple, and I groaned as he gave it a slight pinch. “Later, though. Much, much later.”
Chapter One
Present
Jeff Parks knew it was taking all of Dena’s willpower not to look his way. And since he had once had that willpower bend to his command, he was well aware of the strength involved. On any other given night, he’d be using his own willpower not to stare, but in light of his recent decision—
“Have you been listening to anything I’ve said in the last five minutes?” his friend and fellow Dom, Daniel, asked.
Jeff looked back to the man
at his side. It was late on a Thursday night and their local BDSM group meeting had just ended. No one was in a hurry to leave though; everyone wanted to stay around and talk with Nathaniel and Abby. At the moment, Nathaniel stood beside Daniel, grinning. The guest Dominant had led a discussion about keeping D/s relationships from getting stale. Considering the two scenes Jeff had participated in a few months ago with the married couple, staleness wasn’t an issue between Nathaniel and Abby.
“Sorry. What?” Jeff asked Daniel.
“Nothing important; just going over plans for the play party tomorrow night.”
“Your house at ten.”
“At least you remember that part,” Daniel said in his not quite teasing voice.
“I’ve got a lot on my mind.” He might as well go ahead and tell Daniel everything. He’d find out soon enough and the two of them had been friends for long enough that he deserved to hear the news from Jeff himself. “I’m moving.”
“You’re what?” Daniel asked in shock.
“Why?” Nathaniel asked at the same time.
Jeff’s gaze automatically found Dena again. She was talking with Abby and Julie. Daniel’s submissive must have said something funny, because Dena snorted in laughter, shaking her head. Her long blond hair swayed with the movement.
“Ah,” Daniel said.
“It’s not what you think.”
Daniel pushed back from the table, drumming his fingers on its surface. “Julie told me about watching you two play.”
Jeff had imagined as much; in fact, he would have been more surprised if Julie had not told Daniel. That night, months ago, he and Dena had played for Julie while she was trying to decide if she could accept her submissive nature. Though that night had helped Daniel and Julie, it’d only served as a catalyst for Jeff’s decision to move. He gave a nod in reply.
Daniel watched the two women. “It slips my mind sometimes. Your history with her.”
“Nothing slips your mind.”
Daniel tipped his head. “There just isn’t any intensity between the two of you like there once was. Don’t worry—no one would ever guess she’s the cause of you moving away. Does her work within the group bother you?”
Dena was the most experienced submissive within their local group. As such, she was often called upon to participate in demonstrations. She also worked with Daniel and other senior Dominants when they had mentees.
Once he uncollared her, Jeff knew he no longer had the right or authority to dictate what she did and did not do with other Doms. The truth was, though, it didn’t bother him. What did bother him was that Daniel thought there was no intensity between the two of them.
But that was what he wanted, wasn’t it? Wasn’t that why he’d worked so hard to keep distance between them?
“No,” he said in answer to Daniel’s question. “That’s not it. Her work here doesn’t bother me.”
Jeff didn’t really want to talk about it. Months later and he still couldn’t shake that night off. Having Dena kneel before him again, for her to offer herself for their mutual pleasure. To have her back in his house and arms. He wasn’t sure he wanted to shake it off.
Dena finally looked his way, saw him watching, and dropped her eyes. It hadn’t done her any good either; odds were she was still dealing with her own memories of the night.
Daniel, of course, noticed the slight response Dena had at catching Jeff’s gaze. “How many times have you played since you two broke up?” Daniel asked.
“Once. That time Julie watched.”
“I see.”
“It really doesn’t have anything to do with Dena.” He wondered if the lie sounded as wooden to Daniel as it did to him.
“Of course it doesn’t.”
Daniel didn’t say anything further, but instead kept his gaze on Jeff as if expecting him to confess everything. Had Jeff not used the same tactic himself numerous times before, it might have worked.
“It doesn’t,” Jeff stated again. “We split up years ago. We weren’t right for each other then and nothing’s changed. She’s high society and I’m a high school dropout.”
“Bullshit,” Daniel said. “You’re my friend.”
“And mine,” Nathaniel echoed. “In fact, if you tried to tell me we couldn’t be friends because of something you did when you were sixteen, I’d kick your ass.”
“It’s different with a woman,” Jeff said. “Besides, I’m moving to Colorado, at least for a while. Going to help Dad with the business. He needs to retire and he’s been asking me to help get everything in order.”
Daniel’s laughter drew the attention of several group members. “Insurance? You?”
Jeff’s father ran an insurance company he’d taken over from his own father. That Jeff wanted nothing to do with it had always been the bane of his dad’s existence. Jeff had opened his own business, a security service, eight years ago. It was a two-man operation, small, but profitable enough.
“It won’t be forever, just a few months. Tom said he could handle the business here.” His partner had actually been less than thrilled, but realized he didn’t have a choice.
“Hell, you’re serious,” Nathaniel said.
Jeff couldn’t find a response for that. He answered with his own silence.
“Have you told Dena?” Daniel finally asked.
He resisted the urge to look at her. “No.”
“I heard her father’s on the short list for vice president.”
Dena’s father was a senator with career aspirations that reached to the White House. That paired with Jeff’s past had been part of what made him decide to break things off with Dena three years ago. He forced himself not to think of the other reasons.
“From what I know of Senator Jenkins, he’ll get it.” Jeff wasn’t surprised at the bitterness in his voice.
The two men looked at him sharply, but seemed to sense his unwillingness to discuss the man in question. Jeff had come to terms with the senator a long time ago, but that didn’t mean he liked him or wanted to talk about him.
“You’re still on to be Dungeon Monitor tomorrow night?” Daniel asked, changing the subject.
“Yes. I’ll be there.” His last play party with the group. He wondered if Dena would be attending with anyone. Would his last sight of her be watching as she offered her submission to another? Maybe it would be better that way. If he knew she had someone to look after her, perhaps then he could somehow find the strength to leave her once and for all.
Photo by Glen McCurtayne, Coleman/Rayner © 2013
Tara Sue Me wrote her first novel at the age of twelve. It would be twenty years before she picked up her pen to write the second.
After completing several traditional romances, she decided to try her hand at something spicier and started work on The Submissive. What began as a writing exercise quickly took on a life of its own, and sequels The Dominant and The Training soon followed. Originally published online, the trilogy was a huge hit with readers around the world. Each of the books has now been read and reread more than a million times.
Tara kept her identity and her writing life secret, not even telling her husband what she was working on. To this day, only a handful of people know the truth (though she has told her husband). They live together in the southeastern United States with their two children.
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