by Lily Freeman
“They’re great, really. Mika’s a sweetheart and Elliot’s—I’m still getting to know Elliot.”
Rusty smiled then casually changed the subject. For the next half hour they talked about everything from families to funerals. She laughed, she cried, she laughed some more, but by the time they entered the room of cages at the clinic, PJ was quiet.
Vader was asleep, curled up on his blanket so she just picked him up, kissed his nose and carried him out. She paid the two and a half thousand pound bill with a smile. In the car he woke, panicking before he spotted her. She kissed him again and stroked his filthy coat. In that moment, all the heartache that she’d been through over the last two months faded, no longer relevant to her because for the first time ever, she had something more; she had something that was just hers, her own little family.
“They’re back. I’ll go down and see if they need a hand.” Elliot was out the door before Mika had a chance to comment. He couldn’t explain why, but he’d been jumpy all morning. Actually he’d been jumpy ever since he’d heard PJ arriving home late last night. He’d watched her getting out of the car, then just stand there staring before the fuckwit boyfriend finally drove away. She honestly had no idea what she was playing with, but he did and it worried him. Elliot didn’t pretend to know PJ, which was his fault not hers, and he accepted that. But he was still battling with the resentment he felt towards her, though if he were honest, it was lessening. If he could just stop being a bastard long enough to actually hold a conversation with her, well that was the plan, and now seemed as good a time as any to try it.
Soft voices filtered down the hallway from her door. He followed them, finding PJ and the old cab driver sitting on the couch, both staring in the same direction towards the far side of the room. Keeping impossibly low to the ground, the little dog crept forward. Its golden brown fur was ratty and matted with black tufts that tipped its ears, muzzle and feet, but it was the big honey colored eyes, so like PJ’s, which had Elliot smiling. Taking a slow circuit of the lounge, he sniffed the furniture and the corners before finally approaching the couch.
PJ was nervous, Elliot could see it as her hand clutched Rusty’s knee. Her eyes were locked on the floor while his were locked on her, taking in every little detail from the gentle bow of her lips to the heart shaped curve of her jaw. There was no denying it; she was a beautiful woman.
“Hey, little boy, don’t be scared, you’re home now.”
Tears slowly rolled down her cheeks as she reached forward, allowing the dog to sniff her hand. Elliot hadn’t realised he moved, covering the distance between the kitchen and the couch, but he had and he wasn’t done yet. Kneeling down before he could think too much about it, he reached forward, gently wiping the pad of his finger along her cheek. She was so warm beneath his touch, and soft. Mika was soft too, just not like her. Elliot was lost in the sensation until he looked up to find her staring at him; eyes wide, lips parted.
Did he just …? Elliot … shit!
PJ was stunned. Elliot had just touched her and not because she’d passed out or tripped over or any of those things that would have forced his hand. He’d touched her by choice, and obviously regretted it because now he was looking at her like she was a freak, or he was, his eyes darting between her face and his hand.
Her phone rang, thank God, breaking the awkward tension. Slowly extracting herself from the couch, PJ found it on the kitchen bench, Vader following her every move. After an incredibly short conversation, most of which was spoken to her in a thick Italian accent, she was thrilled to learn that the ridiculously expensive coffee machine she’d ordered would be arriving on Boxing Day, but just as she put her phone down another call came through.
“Hey my little masochist, you ready to spill yet?”
Whether it was India’s overexcited voice or the high-pitched ceilings, her friend’s question bounced around the apartment, causing both Elliot and Rusty to stare at her.
“India, I have company so if you could keep your filthy mouth shut, that’d be great.”
“Is your hot, gay—” slamming her hand over the phone, PJ spun around then yanked the fridge door open. It wasn’t much, but at least it hid her flaming cheeks. “Indy, shut the fuck up.”
Laughter bellowed down the line. “They are, aren’t they? Does Luke know … oh, he’s there too, isn’t he?”
“No, India, he’s gone back to Germany.” She hadn’t intended that to sound so emotional, but clearly it did because Indy jumped straight on it.
“You really like him, don’t you?”
“I do.”
“Fuck, Babe. Have you seriously thought about this and what it could mean? He watches you like you’re a possession, something he owns, and Master James said—”
PJ couldn’t do this, not now. The Luke she was getting to know was not the man that everyone else knew. He wasn’t the brutal sadist who demanded the ultimate surrender while holding everything of himself back. But there was simply no point telling Indy that again. If she chose to believe the gossip over PJ, there was nothing more to be said.
“Indy, relax. I feel safe with him. I really do.”
“Well, if it all this turns to shit, if he fucking hurts you, if he—”
For the first time in months PJ’s temper flared which was so unlike her, but she couldn’t stay quiet any longer, not after everything Luke had done. “He isn’t going to hurt me.” Fuck, that had come out far too loud. Glancing up, she found not only Elliot, but Mika staring at her as well, while Rusty thankfully, was looking away.
“I’m going now, India, because I have guests and a dog to look after. I’ll call you tonight and we can talk.”
Indy sounded sad when she answered. “I’m sorry. I’m just worried. You know what he’s done.”
She did, but he wasn’t doing it to her. “I’ll call you later.”
After closing the fridge, PJ headed back into the lounge to find the most adorable sight. Elliot was now leaning forward with his elbows on his knees, his chin resting in his upturned hands as he watched Vader, who was sitting directly in front of him staring up in awe.
“You got a new friend, Elliot?”
He turned to her and smiled. “Maybe I do, PJ.”
Did he, was that what was happening? As Elliot sat somewhat awkwardly on PJ’s couch, his fingers still moist with her tears, he was forced to accept that his feelings towards her had changed. It bothered him, especially now that he remembered where he’d met Luke. The bastard had known too, in the hallway the other day, but he’d played it cool which had left Elliot wondering just how much PJ, who collapsed at the first sight of pain, knew about her sadistic boyfriend.
After hearing bits of her conversation earlier, Elliot realised she knew more than he had assumed, which again left him somewhat baffled. She didn’t seem like a particularly shallow woman, the kind to be swayed by good looks and charm yet nothing else made sense. They couldn’t possibly have anything in common.
“Do you think I should take him outside?”
Glancing up, Elliot found PJ and Mika both frowning as Vader circled the fur rug.
“You might want to if you like your rug, PJ.”
“I do.” Carefully she picked the dog up, kissing him before he had a chance to struggle.
“Come on, Tesorino, we’ll take him for a walk.”
Mika had her out the door without a backwards glance, Rusty following. Elliot briefly thought about going with them, but decided not to; instead he wandered around the lounge. It still amazed him that she’d created something so beautiful out of the empty shell of the warehouse and yet it shouldn’t. She was a very determined, intelligent woman. So why was she seeing that cunt? Elliot began to pace in frustration and anger, only stopping when her phone began to ring, one word flashing across the screen—Luke. Grabbing it, he was thrilled to discover the phone wasn’t locked. All it took was one swipe of his finger and he was in.
“PJ’s phone.” He was greeted by a very long moment of silen
ce.
“Is PJ there, please?”
“No.” More silence.
“Any idea when she will be?”
The slightly clipped edge to Luke’s tone merely confirmed what Elliot already knew. The man had a temper, which clearly he kept very well contained. It wouldn’t take much though, to make him snap and there was only one way to find out.
“She’s a bit tied up with Mika right now. Shall I tell her you called, Luke?” Again there was a noticeable delay in his reply.
“That won’t be necessary thank you. I’ll call back.”
The prick may think he could hide behind his good manners, but he was wrong. Elliot knew what lay beneath and PJ would too, especially if he had anything to say about it.
“Tell me, Luke, does she know what you are?”
Several long, deep breaths hissed down the line.
“I beg your pardon?”
“Oh, I’m sorry. Was that not clear enough for you? Does PJ know what you were doing to women like her ten years ago, in Amsterdam?” Elliot had barely finished speaking when Luke started.
“Not that it’s any of your God damn business, but she knows who I am now and that’s all that matters to her.”
Well that was convenient, but Elliot wasn’t buying it. When he’d walked into that bondage club a lifetime ago, he’d been young and naive, aware of his growing needs, but unsure how to fulfill them, so he’d watched, one Dom in particular with a morbid fascination. The brutality and callousness of what he did to his subs had haunted Elliot for years. He’d known it was consensual, that the women had searched out the one man who could meet their needs, but fuck, the way Luke had relished the task was mind-blowing and not in a good way. The more he thought about PJ at the mercy of that psycho, the more uneasy he felt, because despite what Luke just said, that sort of behaviour was hard-wired into the brain. It didn’t change and it certainly didn’t diminish with the passing of time. It was part of who Luke was and if he was telling her otherwise, he was a fucking liar.
“Well, thank Christ for that because I’d hate to come visiting one morning and find PJ bloody and battered.”
“You stay the fuck away from her.”
Yep, that temper was real close to the surface.
“You’d like that wouldn’t you? Poor PJ, no one to talk to except you. Well, it’s not going to happen. She’s part of my life now, like you’re apparently part of hers although to be honest, I can’t figure out why. What has she got that you want?”
Again he was silent for such a long time that Elliot was tempted to hang up.
“She’s safe with me.”
Luke didn’t sound angry anymore, just strung out, frustrated, not that Elliot cared.
“Well that’s great, but is she safe from you?”
“Just tell her I called.”
That was about the last thing Elliot intended to do, especially as the images from all those years ago came flooding back in vivid detail. “Sure.”
He was just putting PJ’s phone back on the coffee table when he heard her laughter and Mika’s deep chuckle. Vader appeared, scanning the large room before he spotted Elliot. Dropping to his knees, he waited as the dog approached cautiously. He really was a cute little thing; so defenceless, a lot like the woman who’d found him. There’d been very few times in Elliot’s life when he’d felt protective over something, or more specifically someone, yet he did now. What he intended to do about it, he wasn’t sure. He’d made some mistakes with PJ, and she was wary, but he didn’t think she was afraid of him. She may not like him, but he could work on that, as for the little dog, Elliot grinned, reaching around to scratch his ear. “You’ll help, won’t you buddy?” He got a lick, which was a pretty good start.
It was light when PJ woke the following morning, unnaturally so for an English winter, but that wasn’t what had her smiling, or cringing for that matter. Vader was curled up on her pillow by her face and as adorable as he looked, he smelt horrible. He needed a bath, but first she needed a coffee.
Heading to the kitchen, PJ made one and then checked her phone, somewhat disappointed that Luke hadn’t called. She could call him, but she didn’t want to interrupt the meeting he’d already rescheduled due to her. A little later though, after she destroyed the small bit of trust she and Vader had managed to establish, she’d call just to hear his voice.
Decision made, PJ scooped Vader up, carrying him upstairs to the bathroom. He whimpered and howled while she filled the bath, which was beyond heartbreaking because with his injuries he couldn’t do either successfully.
She held him as he quivered, but it couldn’t be put off any longer. Her bed was filthy and he smelled like anaesthetic and trash. Lifting him over the water, PJ gave him a second to calm down, but he didn’t; his little legs flailed, his whole body jerked then nothing. All the fight just up and left him as she lowered him in. Instantly, a slow creeping cloud of brownish grey bled into the water. His defeated little face looked left, right, then reluctantly up to her, still so trusting even though he was clearly scared. With one hand she cuddled him, with the other she carefully squeezed shampoo out and started massaging his back. Within seconds the bath was black and murky and Vader was whining again. One more dollop of shampoo and he was lathered to within an inch of his life. Yanking out the plug, PJ watched as the water drained away, leaving a thick ring of filth.
“Well that’s not gonna work, is it, Sweetie?”
Carefully she lifted him out, sitting him between her legs as she reached over to turn the taps back on. Just as the water burst through, Vader bolted for the door, soap and water flying everywhere.
“Oh fuck.” Scrambling to her feet, she grabbed a towel and followed. The stairs were a death trap with soap suds everywhere and the floor too as Vader ran at break neck speed around the coffee table. PJ laughed, simply couldn’t hold it back. What she wasn’t expecting were the deep rumbling chuckles that came from behind her.
It wasn’t often Luke was left speechless. He was a lawyer, talking was what he did, but the sight in front of him? Well, words failed. Standing with her back to him, PJ was dressed in a T-shirt, a very tight, very wet T-shirt. It was clear there’d been a battle; he just wasn’t sure who had won. PJ held a towel, but the dog was still covered in soap.
It had been worth catching the five-thirty am flight just to see her pert ass through her wet T-shirt, but that wasn’t why he had. Ever since the moment Luke had dropped his phone yesterday after his conversation with Elliot, he’d been a wreck. His meetings had come and gone, plans had been formulated, arguments won and lost, none of which he recalled. They all knew now that the case was only days away from hitting the Internet. Too many details had been leaked and shares in the company had plummeted dramatically. The major automotive distributors were asking questions that no one had the answers to, because as Luke and his team had recently discovered, Kaiser was in fact telling the truth.
Millions of vehicles had been sold with faulty on-board computers and someone was going to pay. His job was to make sure it wasn’t his client or any of his co-workers, although they all knew, ultimately it was the employees who would suffer if the company was torn apart over this. At this point in the proceedings, Luke had done all he could.
PJ spun around, gasping in delight as she spotted him.
“Luke.” She, wet T-shirt and all, was in his arms before he could reply. “What are you doing here?”
Again he opened his mouth to speak, but she kissed him, dipping her tongue playfully between his lips. She tasted like sunshine and joy, things he hadn’t thought about in years.
“I missed you, Baby, just couldn’t wait any longer.”
“What about your case and your—”
“Shhh. How about we forget all about that for the day?” Thirty seconds in her company and he already had.
“Really?”
“Yes, really.”
She glanced around, searching for something. “How did you get in?”
“Mika w
as outside.”
“Oh.”
Easing her back, he took a long, lazy look at her. The whole front of her T-shirt was saturated, revealing her gorgeous dusky pink nipples and her bare pussy. “I take it we’re heading back for a rinse.”
“We are, you want to help?”
Holding out her towel, she stepped forward. Vader’s head jerked up, eyeing them both before he took off around the table again.
“Go left.”
She did, as Luke headed right, blocking the gap. Twice more Vader evaded them before he voluntarily surrendered to PJ. They headed back upstairs, the dog surprisingly quiet until she began to fill the bath then he started to wail and whimper.
“Oh no, Sweetie, don’t do that. You’re breaking my heart.”
Her previously rosy cheeks paled, her eyes became instantly glassy. She really was an emotional little thing, and that worried Luke because now that he remembered where he’d encountered Elliot before, he knew what the bastard could tell her.
It felt like a lifetime ago, when he thought about it. He’d been young, reckless, high on a new kind of power. The club scene in Europe had been so much more extreme than England, and he’d fit right in, finding a group of like-minded Doms and their subs. Some of the things he’d done and seen, even now, just thinking about it made the blood rush through his veins so fucking fast. If PJ ever found out how hard he’d pushed the women who’d chosen to surrender to him, he’d lose her, and that was something that Luke just couldn’t comprehend.
While she wrestled with the dog, Luke wrestled with his conscience. More than anything he wanted trust and honesty between them, but he also wasn’t stupid. He couldn’t tell her what Elliot knew, not yet, which left him with two options: he could lie to her or he could ignore it. He chose the less detrimental of the two, casually changing the subject when she mentioned Elliot’s unexpected interest in her new pet.