Switch (A BDSM Romance Novel)

by Astrid Knowles

  Switch

  Astrid Knowles

  Copyright © 2013 Astrid Knowles

  All rights reserved.

  This book is a work of fiction. The names, characters, places, and incidents are products of the writer’s imagination or have been used fictitiously and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to persons, living or dead, actual events, locale or organisations is entirely coincidental.

  Cover image is courtesy of photos-public-domain.com

  Chapter One

  It’s only Monday, it’s only Monday, it’s only Monday.

  It was just starting to pour when she reached the bus stop, wrapping her arms around herself as if to protect herself from the sudden downpour. As it was, her fringe already plastered to her forehead with precipitation from the monotonous drizzle that had been the day thus far. Wishing that she could shake out her umbrella and not her skirt, she quickly looked at the timetable and moved away, her frustration palpable.

  The dull street was crowded full of the people who had lurked in the shops that lined either side of the narrow road; those who had waited in the hopes that the rain would calm enough for them to go home dry. As it was now, Jenna passed people in mere t-shirts who had been hoping for sun and instead found their rain-slicked skin slapping against each other as they hurriedly went about their way. They packed into the bus stop, offering each other warmth as they huddled where the cold moisture could not touch them, jostling against her as she moved against the crowd. She barely managed to murmur a quick 'sorry' to the beggar that she stumbled into in her haste to get to somewhere safe from the wet and the packed in people.

  A large sign hung a meter away from her, a familiar black sign with elegant golden writing that beckoned to her with ease. She moved as if summoned to the sign, quickly sliding her way in and banging the door shut powerfully behind her, the gentle bell barely heard as the wind roared.

  "Jenna!" A deep voice called. "You giving my floor a wash again?"

  Jenna rolled her eyes as she wrung out her hair on the bare wooden floorboards and unzipped her coat. Her hardened nipples immediately stood to attention, the sodden fabric clinging to them even as she shook the material out and took a seat at one of the high, black chairs with an ornate back. Her voice husky from the chill, she laughed. "Hey, Aaron. Still haven't carpeted it?"

  "I'm getting there, just you wait! You'll regret your teasing."

  "What? When I'm relaxing in one of the oh-so-comfy chairs that you keep proclaiming will soon come?"

  "Absolutely. When this place is full of customers kicking their feet up and calling this place home! Viola!" He called, and a tall, dark haired girl appeared, peeking her pale elfin face around a door.

  "Hey, Jenna!" She sang. "Forget your umbrella again?"

  Jenna nodded her head firmly and Viola continued before she could speak. "Work or home?"

  "Work." Jenna sighed and her green eyes wilted gracefully as she sulked. "I managed to get there perfectly dry, and listen to Suzannah's weekend without too much disaster only to get soaked on my bloody lunch break." With a thoroughly defeated expression, Jenna stroked her blonde hair back through her fingers, the short, wet layers lankly holding the position that her short, manicured nails shoved them in. "How is your photography going?"

  The elfin woman shrugged, but her brown eyes lit up as she made her way gracefully over to the neat kitchen area. She’d just about given up on everything when she’d started working at Aaron’s, and Jenna knew how important the college course was to her. "I've just started a new unit." She stated, lifting a takeaway coffee mug. "You want your usual?"

  Jenna nodded and leant on the table beside her, Viola continuing unprompted, the words almost exploding out of her as she set to making Jenna's drink, her clear voice singing out in childlike happiness.

  "I've just started on the erotic imagery topic, y'know, sensual scenes and all that."

  And sexual, Jenna supposed, but she bit back her wide grin into a more tempered smile. "Oooh. You got any ideas rolling?"

  "Yes!" Viola grinned happily as she passed Jenna her drink. "I'm going to start with an image of a geisha, well I mean one of my classmates dressed as a Geisha, pushing a silk kimono-style dressing gown off of her shoulder. It's going to be taken in the morning, with the sun low and lots of light. She'll have her body facing the window, but her head turned to look behind her as she slips the material off. Lots of skin showing. What do you think?"

  Jenna winked and leaned closer, her reply a mere murmur full of promise. “I think that Aaron is going to be brought into this somewhere.”

  Viola giggled.

  Jenna reclined once more and her voice returned to its usual volume. “And I think that picture sounds awesome, so you’re going to have to show me once you’re done, okay?”

  “You’re the boss!” Viola chirped happily and reached her hand towards the large jar on the counter, pulling out a white chocolate mouse and offering the jar which Jenna declined. Full to the brim with sugar, the jar had been a part of Aaron’s since Viola began working there and started giving them with hot chocolate instead of the usual marshmallows. “Here’s your change.”

  “Thanks.”

  The door banging shut once more, Jenna made her way hastily to the marginally less crowded bus stop, her wet hands clinging onto her scorching coffee for heat. She consumed it frantically, pulling in the warmth and binning the cup just as the bus pulled in. At midday on a Monday, the bus was near empty, and Jenna was undisturbed as she sat the five minutes or so that her journey took. If she’d remembered her umbrella, she’d have walked it, and simply worked an hour late. She scowled and rubbed her temples as she got off, shivering softly as a breeze hit her.

  She could have done with the walk; it would have relaxed her.

  Despite her earlier than usual appearance, Amelia was already sat at their usual table, her posture perfect as she stared out of the water streaked window in a black corset-style top, her stiletto boots crossed at the ankles. She rose to her feet when Jenna entered, a small warmth in her face as she gestured the taller woman to allow her to kiss her cheek.

  “Gosh, Jenna, you’re frozen!” She spoke crisply, disapprovingly, and quickly commanded the eye of a waiter who quickly made his way over to the pair and greeted them with an offer of their usual order. They exchanged pleasantries quickly, and he soon left, allowing the pair to chat as they awaited their food.

  “Are you well?” She asked, and Jenna nodded, easily accepting the formality of her long-time friend. It interchanged with usual informality and crassness when Jenna least expected it, but the sound of Amelia’s voice never failed to cause a slight wariness of her behaviour, as if she were trying to impress her mother.

  Except, of course, that Jenna had spent much of her time with her parents being purposefully unimpressive, if only for the shiver of sheer delight that could come from a shocked expression.

  This thought hit her now, and Jenna vaguely mused over how Amelia would react if she pretended to have an STD.

  Instead, she settled for a mood lightening, or so she thought, pleasant response. “It’s only Monday.” She replied, a cheeky grin quirking. “Not even I am sick of Suzannah yet.”

  Amelia’s eyes pierced her heavily and sent a thud of sobriety through her. Jenna relaxed her face and spoke more seriously. “I’m great, Amelia. How are you and Dom?”

  “We’re wonderful. Already looking forward to Friday. You’ll be there at seven, yes?”

  “Of course.” She always was. “And how are the stores?”

  “The store is in its usual state with the new stock that’s come in. Only surprise is the sudden surge in customers.”

  “If demands in
creased, then perhaps you could expand even further?”

  Amelia shook her head. “It’ll die down again soon, most likely, but I’ll wait and see. Thank you, Andi.” She murmured as the dark haired waiter placed their drinks in front of them with a friendly smile, and she sighed as she took a sip. “Anyway, an old friend of mine is going to be there, and I’d like you two to meet. I haven’t seen him in a couple of years now. There’ll be a couple of newbies coming, too.” She added, and Jenna placed her own cup back onto the table.

  “I’ll keep an eye on them.” She promised.

  “Thank you. They seem nice enough. They’re experienced and they’ve been together a good couple of years now, apparently. They’re just new to the area is all, and I met them when they came into my store. They seem to know their stuff, so I’ll just lay down the rules and they should be fine.”

  “Good good.”

  They sipped their drinks quietly awhile until their food arrived and they ate in a comfortable silence, the sound of cutlery against crockery and the smell of well-seasoned chicken and roasted vegetables accompanying them. Amelia ate quickly and leant forwards, her arms crossed close to her on the polished table as she watched Jenna finish. The blonde put her knife and fork together and leant back in her chair, her eyes meeting her companions directly as she waited for her to speak.

  “How are things with your sister?”

  “As expected. She’s angry that I’m not being ‘involved’ with the new single phase in her life, and she’s ignoring Joshua completely.”

  “How’d he manage that?”

  “He told her that if she is celebrating how empowered she is in her newfound loneliness, she might as well do that alone.”

  “Slightly unsympathetic.”

  “She did laugh when he got dumped by Dana. And then didn’t congratulate him on his engagement to Sally.”

  Amelia sighed theatrically, rolling her clear blue eyes. “What are siblings for?”

  “Completing the page your parents marked in the baby name book. And causing deafness.”

  Amelia laughed lightly and leaned over the table to murmur. “Well if you want to send her a ball gag, you know where to find one.” Her perfectly shaped eyebrow arched as she straightened, and Jenna felt the polite conversation vanish, simply because Amelia had wished it so.

  “If I get desperate enough to try and give her a heart attack, then maybe I will. Thank you very much for your kind offer.” Jenna retorted sweetly, draining the remainder of her latte. “Anyway, I’m going to have to love you and leave you now.”

  “I’ll see you Friday.”

  “Yep.” Jenna grinned and winked. “I’ll be there at quarter to.”

  “And don’t let Suzannah bully you.”

  “Never.”

  And with that she left, the still air hitting her with a douse of freshness as she left the warmth of her friend and made her way back to work with a new calmness.

  She even tolerated Suzannah, and the afternoon filled itself with meaningless commiserations for some horrendous situation that had been had with a tactless great aunt.

  Chapter Two

  By Friday of course, it was no longer family mishaps that concerned her but rather Jenna’s work itself. As Suzannah’s piled higher, it always appeared that she expected Jenna’s telepathic abilities to manifest, and became increasingly disgruntled when they didn’t. It had been a cause for lack of success before, Jenna knew; her lack of pre-emptive action. It had stumped her often, in her youth, how she could do everything that was asked of her and still fall short. Sometimes it still did.

  It was a relief for her to enter her home after five long days of it, and it was only the thrum of excitement caused by her anticipation of the coming party that kept her from collapsing onto her orange sofa. As it was, she sank in it as she grabbed the bag of Doritos and bowl of Skittles from their place on her coffee table and unwound a little while she snacked. Fifteen minutes later, when the clock claimed six o’clock, Jenna rose and hoovered the crumbs from her bright green carpet, straightened the bowl on the table, and folded over the unfinished bag. She gave the room a contemplative look and left it, wandering across her flat to her bedroom. The smaller of the two, her spare room was filled with everything that had no place of its own.

  As such, her bedroom was uncluttered, with very few unnecessary items hovering. It was reasonably sized with a large bed in the centre, covered in cream coloured satin sheets that had not been seen by anyone since they’d been purchased. Jenna had bought them without romantic design. She’d bought them for her, for the smooth silky feel of them against her skin, for the stroke of them against her body when she rose in the morning. She had no delusions of a dark haired stranger inviting himself into her childish apartment to splay her on them and ravish her.

  It would be spoiled now anyhow. The duvet cover was coated in cat hair.

  She showered quickly, the suds slickening her body with the scent of lavender, and wrapped herself in a large fluffy towel to sit in front of the large steamed mirror that sat in her warm bathroom. She wiped it down and dried her hair, the clinging moisture dissipating into her pale skin. Some dripped from her hair, running a trail over her collar bone and slipping its way beneath the caressing material to scoot between her small breasts. It clung to the undersides and Jenna suppressed a shiver as she tugged a brush through her knotted locks. All too quickly her hair was dry and in order and she pulled the short blonde layers back into a tight bun at her nape, gripping the rebel strands at the sides with sparkly green slides that were a little darker than her eyes. She applied a little perfume as always, and darkened her lips to a deep wine. Her foundation was done quickly, and with the speed of someone who had planned their clothing she dressed. In small heels and a skirt that fell far above the knee, she left, her top half covered in a dark green bodice that resembled ones that were often worn by Amelia. With her small chest it did not look obscene, but instead gave a push of cleavage that she couldn’t often own to. She looked feminine, the laces pulling in at her waist and straightening her back. She got a taxi the few streets to her friends’ home, and at twenty to seven she got out of the car and ambled down the long road of tall narrow building to the house of the end. It was large, and stood taller than the others around it. Steep, angled steps rose a curving path up to the door, edged in neat but wilting flowers of all colours. It was silent and still stood out there, and edging on dark as the sun set in the autumn weather. Warmth flooded her as the door opened, and filled her ears with sound and her eyes with light and a burly man just shy of six feet.

  “Jenna!” He laughed, and swept her into a tight hug that pushed the leather and cool metal of his collar against her neck. He wore blue jeans with it, but nothing else, and Jenna could feel the warmth of his abdomen against her bare legs as she wrapped them around him and returned his embrace.

  “Dom! How’re you?”

  He smirked widely and winked. “I’m gooooood.”

  Jenna rolled her eyes. “Amelia’s letting you answer the door?”

  “Only for you.”

  A clicking of heels against the polished floor announced the new arrival, and Jenna looked forwards to see Amelia leant against the ornate door frame to her living room.

  “Too right. Give it ten more minutes and I’ll put him on a leash.”

  She did too, a few moments later when Amelia stated that the guests would start arriving soon and, as Dom put it, he would ‘over escalate the fun’. Jenna lingered in the large, high-ceilinged living room with the pair, mindlessly snacking on some pineapple and cheese when the doorbell summoned Amelia to answer it, tugging her man behind her.

  They led the newcomers straight through, a short, portly man with a slim woman a few inches shorter. Both had brown hair in a ponytail and their clothing gave little away. Each had an arm around the other’s waist.

  “This is our living room, and informal area.” Amelia announced, killer heels clicking. “We have an area downstairs in our base
ment where anything fixed is kept, and that is more focused on intense play and formal situations. In the basement, rules must be met, and anything that appears dangerous or disrespectful will be frowned upon. Some of our regulars prefer to immerse themselves fully in these gatherings, and they are fairly strict about their etiquette. On the whole though, treat people well and respect their practices and we’ll get along fine. Up here we mingle and some light play occurs but everyone speaks together on an equal basis. How a sub and a Dom decide to comport themselves is up to them, but if another Dominant says something that a sub disagrees with, then the sub is well within their rights to verbally argue it out.”

  “Or just tell the Dominant that they are stupid.” Dom added with a grin, holding his hand out to the new couple. “Hey, I’m Dom.”

  “Dominic.” Amelia interjected. “Is my submissive. Calling himself ‘Dom’ is his bizarre attempt at humour. It only gets worse.” She added archly. “So if he gets too bad, just let me know.”

  She gestured to Jenna. “This is Jenna, a good friend of mine. She’s a submissive.”

  “Hi.” Jenna murmured awkwardly, lifting a hand in greeting. “Amelia’s told me that you guys are new to the area. How’re you finding it?”

  “Welcoming.” The man replied. “We hadn’t expected to find a community so quickly.”

  The woman next to him nodded her agreement and allowed herself to be tugged in front of him. He caressed her stomach lightly as he continued. “Sarah here likes to be put on display, don’t you sweeting?”

  The woman nodded once more and Jenna looked upon her with interest. Her body was acceptably curved and her gaze was fixed below eye level even as she gave her attention to her surroundings. Her chin was pointed, as were her ears, and in a fleeting, haunting way Jenna was reminded a little of Viola; the look of someone who is beautiful, strange and perhaps not quite human. Her eyelashes were long against her pink cheeks and her lips were slightly dry. Small lines of white were apparent where she had likely bitten down, and a purple love bite peeked out in the hollow of her throat, directly below the silver jewelled cat that sat in the centre, engraved with words that Jenna could not read from the distance away that she stood.