by Golden Angel
"How much did Jared tell you?"
"Pretty much everything you told him, I think," Olivia said, her smile turning a little grim. "He really didn't want to talk about Truckstop. I can't blame him... if I ever get my hands on that little thundercunt..."
"You and me both," Rick said, deciding it was best to distract Olivia from that line of thought. If she got pissed enough, and Jared and Marissa did happen to come to the club tonight, who knew what would happen. "So you know I have a neighbor and she's not submissive. That's not exactly what I would call a real problem."
"So then why are you sitting here instead of finding someone to play with?"
Why indeed. Because compared to his level of connection with Maria every other woman here just didn't seem as interesting. Because, even though they'd done nothing more than talk at the pool, for some stupid reason it felt like a betrayal of her. Because he was an idiot.
"What's her name?"
"Maria." It wasn't that he said her name, it was the way he said it. He could hear it echoing in his ears, wistful and possessive at the same time. Dammit. Olivia smiled at him. "Nothing's going on. I've just... chatted with her a bit."
"How often is a bit?"
He took a sip of his beer, which had gotten kind of warm while he'd been sitting there not drinking. Still, warm beer was better than no beer, especially if he was going to talk about Maria. "Every morning," he admitted in a low voice. "She shows up at the pool when I'm finishing my work out and we talk."
"Uh huh."
"It's nothing like what you're thinking," he said. "We're not flirting. I mean, not really. She's sweet and got a great sense of humor… she’s easy to talk to. Kind of sassy. Smart too, she manages a restaurant. But you know, neighborly. She brought me home-made granola."
"Uh huh."
"I just talk to her about day to day stuff. We're getting to know each other, in a neighborly way. We just talk about normal things, like, she's got three younger sisters and two of them are already married and the youngest, Lara, just got engaged. That doesn't bother her though, just how her family and their friends treat her, like she should be bothered by it. But she's not. She's got incredible... strength of character. Which sounds boring, but it's true."
"Uh huh."
It was Olivia's third 'uh huh,' when normally she was quite vocal, that made Rick realize he'd started babbling. About Maria. And that his voice had gotten warmer and more excited as he'd done so. He glared at the smirking redhead across the table from him.
"But she's not submissive, so don't even think about it."
She just rolled her eyes. "How do you know she's not submissive?"
Half an hour later he'd pretty much spilled his guts out, going over every detail of his initial interactions with Maria while Olivia listened thoughtfully. He'd even gotten a second beer to replace the warmed one. Olivia could probably have gotten work as an interrogator if she’d ever wanted it. It felt kind of good to finally unload everything to her.
"So you think she's not submissive because of how she came onto you initially?" Olivia asked.
"Don't ask that like I'm an idiot... she just doesn't seem that submissive."
"Not all submissives are obvious. Remember Angel?" Olivia smirked at him. When he'd first met Angel, it had been at a different club, one closer to Rick that he’d wanted to check out in hopes that his friends could meet him at a kink club halfway between them every so often. Unfortunately Chained had been a letdown, but they had met Angel there. She’d been posing as a Domme, trying to get comfortable with the scene and clubs on her own, and he, Chris and Andrew had all been taken in. Only Adam, who was generally considered one of the best at reading body language, had figured out that something was off, and even he'd second guessed himself over and over again until she'd shown up at Stronghold for her Introduction Scene as a submissive.
"Bad example, she knew she was submissive and she was faking it. I haven't seen any indication from Maria that she even knows what being submissive is."
"She still came to talk to you after you threatened to spank her," Olivia pointed out. A male sub walked by on his way to the Lounge, giving her a longing look, but she didn't even notice. Too involved poking her nose into his business. Olivia did like to be a problem-solver; he sometimes suspected that she liked it as much as she liked dominating submissives. "That means something."
"Yeah, that she has no sense of self-preservation."
"Or... that she's not opposed to the idea." Smirking at him Olivia hopped up from her bar stool. "The only person that's stopping you from getting what you want, as far as I can see, is you."
Patting his shoulder, Olivia turned and walked away, heading straight for the Lounge and the sub that had just walked by. The well-muscled man perked up the moment he saw her coming. Apparently she had seen him after all.
Damn it was annoying when she did that.
Finishing off his beer, Rick returned to the bar for another, and chatted with the Doms, Dommes and couples that ended up there throughout the night. Nothing serious. Nothing heavy. None of them asked him why he wasn't playing down in the Dungeon although he could see in their eyes that they were wondering.
Andrew definitely was curious, but, unlike Olivia, he wasn’t the type to pry information out of someone. Which was good, because Rick wouldn’t have had a good answer for him if he’d asked.
******
I'm such a stalker.
She hadn't meant to be, but she'd gotten home late from the restaurant and had recognized Rick getting out of his car. Friday night... she couldn't help but wonder what he'd been up to. And instead of getting out of her car, she'd sat in the darkness and watched him. She wondered where he'd been that he was wearing what looked like leather pants - leather pants in the summer? As far as she knew he didn't have a motorcycle. The only motorcycle in the parking lot belonged to some dude in the next building over.
So why the leather pants?
Not exactly date clothes. Thankfully, because she had the sinking feeling that Rick on a date with someone else would crush her hopeful little heart.
Where had he been?
Or was he wearing them because he was expecting late night company? Even though it was after midnight, she'd waited in her car for half an hour, waiting to see if someone else showed up. Butterflies of nervousness had assaulted her the entire time. If someone had, she probably would have followed them into the building to see if they'd go to his apartment.
She probably would have been out there for another half hour if she hadn't seen the lights in his apartment go out.
Because I'm a crazy stalker.
Crawling into bed a lot later than she'd intended, Maria decided she needed to do something bold. Something to show him that she wasn't disturbed by the idea that he wanted to spank her - although she wasn't entirely sure of the truth of that. Spanking could be hot, though, right? It didn't always have to be painful. Not that she knew anyone who had actually been spanked since they were a kid, so she was going off of the few romances she'd read that had a bit of light spanking in them.
She liked him. She really liked him. Not just a “hey I want to hang out and be friends” kind of interest, although she'd settle for that if he truly didn’t want more with her, but she got the feeling that his attraction to her was just as strong as hers to him. For some reason he was fighting it. So it was up to her to do something to push him past that.
Once she’d decided on a course of action, the wound up energy that had been keeping her away faded. Rolling onto her side, she hugged one of her extra pillows, smiling to herself.
Surprisingly, she got a pretty good night's sleep. That morning, for the first time in days, she didn't go to the pool to see if he was working out. Nope. She spent the morning shaving, buffing and polishing and then going through her wardrobe. Every inch of her was all soft from her lotion, every inch of her except a thin landing strip of her pubes had been shaved off, and every inch of her was buzzing with excitement.
&
nbsp; When was the last time she'd done something this crazy?
Had she ever done something this crazy?
Amazing how crazy could be so exciting. Her heart was pounding like it might just beat its way out of her chest and she didn't need to put her fingers to her wrist to feel her pulse, she could actually see it. With her nipples narrowed to hard little points, brushing against stiff fabric as it moved while she walked, she made her way down to Rick's apartment.
It had taken her three tries just to get out her own door because she'd turned around and second guessed herself, until she'd finally told herself to nut up. Hell, even if this blew up in her face, she still wanted to do it. A dramatic, crazy, and wild impulse. Because where had being safe gotten her? Single and lusting after a guy who kept pushing her away.
Hey, if he was going to suggest something as wild as spanking, then maybe she needed to show him a little wild to convince him to take a chance with her.
Taking a moment to steady her nerves, she forced herself to breath deeply, glancing around even though she knew no one was in the stairwell. She felt incredibly paranoid, not too surprisingly. Rapping on his door, she just prayed that he was home, because if he wasn't, she didn't think she'd be able to get up the courage to try this on him again.
When she heard footsteps nearing the door, all of her muscles tensed, as she stamped down the urge to bolt.
Oh my god, oh my god, oh my god...
The door opened and Rick was standing there. Gorgeous as always in a simple grey t-shirt and jean shorts. The moment he saw her, he started to smile, and then a little crease in the center of his forehead appeared as he took in what she was wearing. Maria smiled. She hoped it looked confident, even though she felt like it probably looked more sickly than anything.
And then she opened her trench coat.
Before she could take another breath, she was yanked inside his apartment and pressed up against the wall next to his door, which was quickly slammed shut. He tugged the trench coat back over her breasts, his forehead against hers and his lips only an inch away from a kiss. Maria knew her eyes were wider than they'd ever been in her life.
Excitement, fear, anxiety, hope, roiled around inside of her. Yeah, he'd liked that. This close to him she could see the wild look in his eyes, the dilated pupils, feel his chest as he breathed in deeply. The press of his hips against hers as something very big and very hard dug into her stomach.
"What," he growled, "the fuck are you doing?" It wasn’t the nice, friendly tone that he usually had when he talked to her. Nope. His voice was low, dangerous, and it did funny things to the inside of her stomach. Yeah, she was creaming herself already. This was definitely the side of Rick that she’d hoped to invoke with this little stunt.
A tremulous little smile crossed her face. "Looking for a spanking?"
Rick groaned and closed his eyes, his body pressing even harder against hers as his hips rocked, and she the hard ridge of his erection jutted into her stomach, rubbing against it. Sucking in a startled breath, she wriggled a little as his hands slid from her trench coat down to her sides, resting on her hips. Holding her in place against the wall.
The movement made her nipples rub against the stiff fabric of the coat even more, which made her squirm again.
"Hold still," he gritted out between his teeth. Maria froze. His tone was that of a man at the end of his rope, and she really didn't know which way he was going to jump. Holding her hips in place, he pulled back and she felt a wave of disappointment wash over her. Dammit. But the look in his eyes made her belly flutter. The trench coat was still covering most of her, his hands helping to secure it to the front of her body, but he was looking at the little bit of skin that was still revealed like he wanted to lick every inch of it. "It's not just about spanking, Maria."
"Then what's it about?" She wanted to know. Because damn... this was hot. And she wanted sex. With him. Dates too, if he wanted, but mostly she was tired of pretending this attraction between them didn't exist. Dating would be great, because she liked him and she would love to date him, but at the end of the day she’d be satisfied with just sex if that’s all she could get.
Being held against the wall, trapped, feeling like he could overwhelm her at any second was just damn sexy. She loved the growling, crackling note in his voice, the way his thumbs were caressing her hips, and the power he seemed to have over her. It was exciting. Even the idea of getting spanked right now sounded pretty exciting. All hot and bothered like this, going over his knee and having her ass up in the air so that he could touch her however he wanted, sounded pretty great.
His eyes hooded as he stepped back, studying her and she got the strange sense that he was hesitating because he felt vulnerable. Even though he didn't at all look it. Maria was sure that she looked pretty vulnerable as she pulled the edges of the trench coat back together, covering herself more completely. Was that a flash of disappointment she saw in his eyes as she re-dressed herself?
"Come over tonight at eight o'clock. Wear something sexy and black." His voice was deeper than usual. There was no mistaking his words for anything but a demand.
"Is this a date?" She didn't even mind his presumptuous orders, coming from him it was really hot. Any other guy she'd been with in the past would have gotten the cold shoulder for trying something like that, but somehow Rick make it exciting. It felt natural from him; not like he was trying to force himself on her, but like he had an agenda and he expected her to follow through with it. Or not. But if they were going to do this, it was going to be on his terms. It made her insides flutter and her pussy clench.
"No. If you still want to go out after tonight, then I'd like to take you on one," he said. Now she bristled, because the tone of his voice made it seem as though he didn't think she could handle whatever it was he was planning.
"Fine. I'll see you at eight." Chin held high, she flounced out, tightening the belt of the trench coat around her, deliberately not looking at him. Fortunately there were no neighbors in the hallway to see her rather ignominious exit. The door closed behind her before she could say goodbye, but in the grand scheme of things that didn't matter.
They were going out tonight.
Which meant she needed to get her ass back upstairs and search for something to wear. At least he'd made it somewhat easier, but she knew she was going to agonize over it anyway.
Chapter 7
Dressed in a short black skirt that hugged her thighs and a black lacy tank top that had a lining over her breasts and stomach, showing a large portion of her cleavage through the lace where there was no lining, Maria was feeling pretty good. She'd let her hair stay down, her long curls rioting down her back and framing her tanned skin with all that black. Bright red lipstick was the only splash of color that she allowed herself. Even her shoes were unrelieved black strappy heels.
It wasn't the kind of outfit that she'd normally wear on a date, more like something that she'd wear to go out dancing with her sisters - back before they all got married and still wanted to go dancing - but it made her feel good. And Rick had said tonight wasn't a date. Besides, she wanted to keep him drooling over her.
All afternoon she'd been reliving the press of his body against hers, the way he'd trapped her against the wall, the intensity in his blue eyes when he'd been inches away from kissing her. It drove her nuts that he hadn't.
Her heart hammered in her chest as she studied herself. Sexy. Confident. And dressed exactly the way he'd told her to. That last still made her feel a little uncertain - she knew exactly what her sisters would say if they knew some guy had dictated her clothing choices for her - but she was too excited to really care. Besides, since he hadn't told her where they were going, it only made sense that he help her know how to dress, right? That's what she told herself anyway.
"I can do this," she whispered to herself, smoothing her hands over her outfit. It definitely hugged her curves more than it used to, which made her wonder if it was too much... "No, stop it. You've done thi
s already."
Time to go before she chickened out.
Her heels clacked on the stairs as she made her way down, feeling rather breathless. Before she reached Rick's door, it opened, which made her wonder if he'd been listening for her. Blue eyes stroked over her figure, examining her from head to toe. Taking the opportunity to do the same, Maria sighed inwardly at how good he looked. Also wearing all black, he had on the leather pants that she’d seen him in before and a black t-shirt that hugged his body, showing off his muscles and golden tan. The blue of his eyes shone brightly, even in the negligible light of the hallway. He gave her a short nod of approval when he was done looking her over.
"Good enough for you?" she asked, feeling both irritated and nervous at his close scrutiny.
A little smile curved his lips, not mocking exactly, but definitely amused. "You look perfect. Good enough to eat in fact."
Warmth spread through her as a blush rose in her cheeks. Not something that happened to her on a regular basis. Suddenly she felt a little off balance, a little less confident even though he'd just complimented her. And a little more excited.
"Thanks… um, you were wearing those last night," she said, gesturing towards the pants, feeling the need to get the attention off of herself.
Rick raised his eyebrow. "Was I?"
Realizing that she'd just given herself away, Maria blushed again. Dammit. "I was in the parking lot when you came home and I saw you. Are we going to the same place you were at last night?" she asked, hoping to change the subject.