by Measha Stone
"What does that mean?" She shoved the menu she had been pretending to study to the side and focused on him.
"I know why you haven't been back at the house. You've moved in with that guy." His eyes narrowed. "I really should have known you were like them."
"What the hell are you talking about?" She leaned over the table, trying her best to keep her voice down and their conversation private. The blonde was probably trying to listen in, and she would be damned if she would let her hear any part of their communication.
"I saw you with him. Last week, walking into that club Alex owns. I know what they do there, what sort of people hang out there. I should have known with all your co-dependency issues that you'd end up with one of them."
She didn't miss the disgust laced in his tone and her hands clenched in her lap. Determined not to let him get her temper riled, she forged forward with a steady voice. "I don't have any co-dependency issues. The man you saw me with was Bradley, and if by one of them you are referring to honest, loyal, caring men then yeah, he's one of them."
"You know, you acted all broken up when I told you about Valerie, but really you were just waiting for an excuse to get naked and jump into some sex club scene."
Her blood began to boil at his accusation, but she took a deep breath and reminded herself that he was the one who left, he was the one that cheated. She had absolutely nothing to be ashamed of.
"As usual, you don't know what you're talking about." Erin shoved aside the glass of water in front of her and pulled the listing papers out of her bag.
"Oh, I know full well what I'm talking about. I ran the papers for that club remember? I know what they do there. That guy you were walking with, he's one of the owners."
"For all you know, I could have been there working on their web design. Maybe Alex wanted me to come up with new graphics for their web presence." She shot at him, knowing full well that thought wouldn't have crossed his mind. He never fully grasped what she did as a graphic designer.
"Right." He snorted. "You need someone like him, I guess. Someone to order you around, tell you what to do, how to think. That's what you've always wanted. That's why you were always asking me what chores I wanted you to do, what way I liked my shirts ironed. You just can't think for yourself."
His words cut her, she wouldn't deny that, but she needed to stick firm to her decision and not let him get to her. Those things weren't bad, those were the things Bradley liked about her.
"Just sign these so we can list the house and be done with each other." She said, shoving the papers across the table at him. She wanted to rebuke him, hit him and scream that he was completely wrong about her, but she caught a glance of the blonde still staring at them. No way in hell she would give that woman the satisfaction of seeing her upset.
Jonathan looked at her silently. "I'm worried is all," he said in a friendlier tone. Not having gotten the fight he was looking for, he would go for the concerned friend. Erin wouldn't buy into it. She'd seen it too many times before. "I know I hurt you, and I never meant to do that, but you can't just hide beneath some man who pretends to care about you. He's only using you for sex, and when he's tired of you he'll get rid of you. What will you do then?"
She put her hands into her lap and clenched them tightly, feeling her nails dig into the flesh of her palms and took a deep breath. "Like you got rid of me?" She asked the question in a hushed voice. "Jonathan, who I see is none of your concern. You have your girlfriend now, just sign the listing papers so I can go home. It's been a long day." That wasn't a lie. Every time she thought about her meeting with Jonathan and that she couldn't talk to Bradley about it, her body would tense and her heart would pound. She was exhausted.
"Fine." He picked up the pen she laid on the table for him and began to read the document. She rolled her eyes. It was a standard form, but he would need to read every single word of it.
Feeling her phone go off in her purse beside her, she dug it out and checked the message. Bradley.
When you're done being disobedient get your ass to the club.
She felt every drop of blood rush out of her face and swallowed nervously. How could he know? Her long day was about to turn into an even longer night.
When Jonathan finally scribbled his illegible signature, he looked up at her, his eyes widening at her appearance. She realized her face felt hot, but she shivered at the same time. She could only imagine what she actually looked like to him at that moment.
"Thank you." Erin forced a flat tone and pulled the papers toward her. "I'll file this tomorrow with Sarah at the reality office." She slid them into her purse and tucked the pen away as well. "She's going to put a lock box on the house so we won't need to be there for showings, and she will inform us both of any offers that come in."
"Erin." The softness of his voice stilled her as she began to scoot out of the booth. "Are you okay? You look upset."
Erin shook her head. "I'm fine, Jonathan."
"If he hurts you…"
The laugh tore through her chest and filled the diner before she could stop it. A few unkind remarks sizzled on her tongue, but she didn't bother releasing them. Even if he could grasp the irony of his words, it wouldn't change anything.
"Your girlfriend is waiting," she said instead and swung her purse over her shoulder. Erin could feel the blonde's eyes on her as she walked past her toward the exit but didn't respond with a look of her own or a single word. The two of them could enjoy each other. She had Bradley.
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
"Who are you texting?" Kelly demanded to know, leaning over Bradley's desk as he typed away on his screen.
"Kelly, back away." Kendrick pulled her arm away from the desk.
Bradley finished his message and put the phone in the top drawer of his desk. He wouldn't respond to her message and having it in his hand would only tempt him too much. She had disobeyed him. Blatantly. And lied on top of it.
Had Kendrick not brought Kelly along with him for their short meeting, he might never have found out. When he saw her walk in right behind Kendrick he asked if Erin was with them as well. He figured it was a bit early for their dinner to be over.
Kelly looked confused at first. "No, she said she was going home after."
"After?" Bradley had pressed her. Kendrick realized the situation before Kelly did, and turned away from them.
"Yeah. After she got Jonathan to sign the listing papers she was going home. Haven't you talked to her today?" The accusation in her tone only darkened his mood further, but he focused on the first situation.
"She's listing the house and is out with Jonathan. Now?" Not waiting for her response, he had made it to his desk where his phone rested within three long strides. His temper beginning to simmer.
The reality of the events must have finally hit Kelly because she was at his desk before he finished typing out his message demanding to know what he was doing.
"Wait. I was wrong." Kelly pulled free from Kendrick, who was starting to look as irritated as Bradley felt at her behavior.
"You were wrong?" Bradley crossed his arms over his chest and gave her a good glare. She wasn't his to discipline, but he wouldn't allow her to get away with lying to him either. Not even to protect Erin. Especially not to protect Erin when she was off being disobedient.
He had been very firm that she not meet with Jonathan without him. At the very least she could have told him what she planned. He may have insisted on going along, or if she had given him a reasonable basis for wanting to go alone, he might have consented.
"Yeah." Kelly glanced over at Kendrick who had moved to her side, giving her a disapproving glare. "She was thinking of meeting up with Jonathan. I don't think she did though."
"Kelly." The warning evident in Kendrick's tone. "I really wouldn't…"
"Let her explain," Bradley said, cutting Kendrick off. In his experience, when a submissive thought they could talk themselves out of the hole they'd gotten themselves into, letting them try provided mo
re insight and some entertainment as well. It was a little sadistic, but he enjoyed watching the hole get deeper and deeper until the sub was covered head to toe in her own bullshit.
"I'm just saying that you shouldn't jump to conclusions and you can't be mad at her." Kelly chanced a quick glance at Kendrick but must have thought better of it and turned back to Bradley.
"Why can't I be mad at her if she's completely disregarded the rules of our relationship?" Bradley demanded in a low tone. He wouldn't lay a hand on Kelly, she wasn't his, but he sure as hell would not let her think she had any sort of upper hand with him.
"You look really pissed," Kelly said boldly and crossed her arms over her chest as though that would intimidate him.
"You think that lying to me again, on top of the lies she's already told me is going to help the situation?" Kendrick kept a close watch on the two, but Bradley wouldn't give him a reason to intervene to save his little sub. No, if anything, Kendrick was going to have to intervene to keep Kelly from jumping over the desk at Bradley. She was acting in protective mode, Bradley understood that, but Erin did not need protecting from him.
"I'm not lying."
"Kelly. Look at me." Kendrick waited until she had her gaze settled on his. "Did Erin tell you she was meeting with Jonathan tonight?"
The stubborn look on her face made Bradley think for a moment she would continue her dishonesty. "Yes." She let out a heavy sigh.
"So you are lying to Bradley." He gave a curt nod and pointed to Bradley. "Tell him the full truth right now."
Bradley kept his eyes on Kelly, keeping his own satisfaction of her being called out for her bullshit to himself. He may enjoy seeing a sub controlled by her dom, but he respected that it took a whole hell of a lot of strength to comply when one didn't really want to.
"It's not lying when you're protecting your friend," she argued with Kendrick, not looking over at Bradley at all.
Of the entire group, Bradley had already pegged Kelly for being the most difficult to win over when it came to Erin's friends. She not only felt protective over her for obvious reasons, but from what little she knew of him, she had decided Bradley was too much for her little dove, Erin.
"Why do you feel she needs protection? She obviously lied to Bradley, and you know what happens to you when you lie." Kendrick's usually casual tone deepened, and his eyes were fixed on his woman with a hard stare.
"He's not you." Kelly shot back. "He's… well…" she glanced at Bradley for the briefest of moments. "He's meaner."
Bradley wanted to throw back his head and laugh, but he kept his composure and let Kendrick deal with his fiancé.
"And now you insult him?" Kelly's eyes averted away at the firmness in his tone. "Bradley will handle Erin how he sees fit. She has put her trust in him, and that should be enough for you." Kendrick stepped to Kelly, their toes touching. Her hands slowly eased away from her chest, and he cupped her chin hard, dragging her eyes back to his. "Just as I will deal with you. Go to the door and face it."
"Kendrick." Her plea went unanswered. Kendrick grabbed her arm, spun her around and delivered three hard swats to her ass before giving her a light shove to get her going. She gasped at his manhandling but took the steps needed to get to the door, not forgetting to give Bradley a hard glare as she did so.
"I saw that," Kendrick muttered and turned back to Bradley. "I'm sorry, I don't think we are going to be very productive tonight. I brought her to so we could play in the dungeon after our meeting, but apparently she had other ideas."
"I'm not really in the mood for our meeting anymore, either. And not because of Kelly. My girl isn't exactly pleasing me at the moment." Bradley heard his phone dance in his drawer and fought back the temptation to look at the message. "Before you head out, have you found anything out about those letters?"
"No. They were clear of prints and without the card from the flowers, there's no telling where the order originated from. Hell, he could have picked them up on his way to her office and paid with cash. Has she gotten any other letters?"
"Not that she's told me, but I'm not sure I believe her right now. I'll find out this evening while we have a chat."
Kelly snorted from her position of facing the door, her arms behind her back. Bradley couldn't help but smile over her rebellious streak. Kendrick had his hands full with her.
"Let me know if she has. I'll be taking Kelly home. She's never been punished in public before. Besides, by the look on your face, I'd say it's better she not be here when Erin shows up."
"That might be best." Bradley nodded in agreement. The last thing he needed was Kelly throwing herself in front of Erin to protect her.
Once Kendrick had collected his errant sub and left him alone, Bradley pulled out his phone to see her message. If it contained anything other than what he expected, he would add more punishment to her already declining evening.
I'm sorry. On my way, sir.
Lucky girl, he thought and shoved the phone in his pocket. Heading out to the front entrance he began to play through the next hour of the evening in his mind. His girl would never think to disobey him again after she got what was coming to her. Kelly may have been trying to insult him by calling him cruel, but she had no idea how cruel he could be when it came to Erin's discipline. The woman wanted to be submissive and her punishment would test her ability to accept responsibility for her actions and accept his authority over her mind and her body.
Dressed in his cargo pants and black tank top, Bradley waited until the front desk informed him of Erin's arrival and was waiting for him in the private room he requested for the night. He imagined her pacing the room, unsure of what to do. He hadn't given any instructions for her to follow, only to remain in the room until he came for her.
He played with the idea of taking her home to discipline as Kendrick had Kelly, but then he imagined her sitting at a restaurant with that ex of hers sitting across from her and decided he didn't want to give her the luxury of being comfortable at home.
As he made his way through the lounge Claudia bumped into him. "Oh! Sorry, Bradley." Her smile suggested otherwise while her hand rested on his bicep and her eyelids fluttered ever so slightly. "I should have known you were here; your girl is here. I just saw her walking toward the privates. She looked a little off kilter. I hope she's okay, she looked like a little lamb being taken to market."
Bradley looked past her toward the rooms, one of which Erin was in. "She's fine." He forced a civil smile and casually moved his arm to shake off her hand.
"Well, I hope so. You know how those newbies are sometimes. Things can get too serious too quick. Maybe the fantasy should have stayed fantasy?" She tilted her head to the right, a slight flicker in her eyes.
"She's just a little nervous." With good reason. He wasn't going to be giving her a little paddling and calling it a night. No, a serious session was heading her way. He never claimed to be easy. He warned her how hard he was to please, how strict he would be with her, and how harsh his punishments would become if she didn't learn from previous punishments. Hiding her decision to sell her house and going out to dinner with that ex of hers when he was very clear about not doing exactly that were serious transgressions and not her first.
"If you say so. Some vanillas just aren't cut out for this, Bradley. They read a few kinky novels, like the idea of a good ol' paddling, and they jump into our little world here, when really they don't belong. I'd hate to see you wasting your time." When she brushed her hand along his arm again, he took a step back. It didn't feel right having another woman touching him, even in an innocent way such as that.
"Claudia. There you are." Alyssa interrupted them before Bradley could correct her misconceptions. Claudia turned her head slightly with narrowed eyes at the interruption.
"What is it?" Bradley heard the snap of her tone, and crossed his arms over his chest, ready to intervene between the two if needed.
He should have known better. Alyssa wouldn't fall prey to a woman such as Claudia
. "Travis is looking for you. He's at the front desk." Alyssa widened her grin. "It looks like he's changed his mind and decided he would come back—at least this once. Anyway, he hasn't got a membership anymore, so I told him I'd find you, see if you would sign him in."
Claudia cursed. Her healed foot stomped on the floor and she huffed. "Dammit. What is he doing here tonight?" She let out another long breath. "Fine. What an idiot. I'll sign him in." She stilled her tongue when she caught Bradley watching her intently as he was.
He'd seen her brat side and her seductive side, this current side was a new one for him. He didn't care for it at all. "You were saying?" He prompted and leaned forward just enough to let her know he was paying close attention to her words.
She screwed her face up into what could be thought of as a smile and shook her head. "Nothing of importance. Sir." She thanked Alyssa again and stalked off through the lounge toward the open dungeon floor.
"She's playing with Travis now?" Bradley watched Claudia sashay through the lounge toward the front desk.
Alyssa raised her eyebrows. "I know, seems weird. I mean, I know he's got money, but he's married, and she's not the second fiddle type."
"Do me a favor and keep Travis away from anything valuable. We don't want him stuffing his pockets with anything while he's here. I should have him thrown out."
"I'll keep an eye out," she promised solemnly. "Uh, did I see Erin duck into one of the private rooms a little while ago?"
At the mention of Erin's name, Bradley's smile dropped. He hadn't forgotten what he was heading to do, but he wasn't looking forward to it either. And if Alyssa was going to tell him to be easy with her, he wasn't sure he would be able to withstand holding his temper back.
"Yes. That was her."
"Well, she looked… I know the look." She waved a hand in the air. "Like she was about to puke."
"Alyssa, I'm really not in the mood."
"Yes, I can see that." Her eyes grazed his body starting at his booted feet and moving up to his hairless head. "You look very, well, you right now, which means she's probably in for some serious trouble."