Rebecca's Lost Journals, Volume 3: His Submissive (Inside Out #1.3)(10)

Sunday, March 20, 2011

After the night . . .

I

wore a dress he’d sent to me by courier. Turquoise. Figure-hugging, with a zipper down the front. Expensive. My shoes were black pumps. My thigh-highs, thong, and bra were black, with sexy sheer lace. My nerves were jumping around when my doorbell rang, and I drew in a few deep breaths before I opened the door. And when I did, oh, my, he just plain stole my breath. He was scrumptious in every way.

His eyes traveled down my body, caressing it with an intimate, slow inspection, and just like that, I was wet and wanting and we hadn’t even left my apartment. “Hi,” I said when his gaze returned to mine, sounding like some silly infatuated schoolgirl. Feeling like one, too.

His eyes danced with amusement before he pulled me close, kissed me thoroughly, and then caressed a hand over my backside. “Hi,” he replied.

When he set me free, I wobbled, and he grabbed me and held me there a moment, just staring down at me. “I’ve been thinking about tonight all day.” His voice was rough, almost harsh with feeling.

I wet my lips and his gaze followed, sending liquid warmth to my belly and then lower. “Me, too.” Just then I wondered what we were doing and where we were going. Wondered if I could pass this final test, and did I really want to? Last night, in that moment in his arms, his hard body cradling mine, the answer had come easily. Yes. I did.

“Tonight I am ‘Master’ to you.”

“Yes.” His brow lifted and I added, “Yes, Master.”

Once he helped me into the sleek, silky black jacket he’d bought me, and we were in his fancy car, we rode in silence, the small space thick with sexual tension and anticipation. Our destination turned out to be a gated property in a ritzy part of San Francisco called Cow Hollow. Here the standard small houses disappear and become monstrous architectural wonders.

I knew the area but had never been there. I was basically poor growing up, with a single mom who worked in hotel sales. She did all right for us, but we weren’t putting caviar on the table like the Cow Hollow crowd.

We pulled to the front of a massive concrete stairwell where men in suits, security I discovered, seemed to be waiting on us to arrive, but they didn’t open our doors.

“There are rules inside that we need to cover,” my Master told me, turning to face me.

“I’m listening,” I said, butterflies going wild in my stomach.

“You walk behind or beside me, never in front. You speak to no one unless I tell you that you may speak. You don’t even make eye contact with anyone unless I say you do.”

My lips parted in shock. “What is this place?” I whispered.

“A private club that we will frequent should we ink our agreement. That makes how you behave tonight critical. You are a reflection on me here.”

I nodded, uncomfortable and nervous.

“There are two sections to the club,” he explained. “A public play area and private rooms for intimate play. We will be going straight to my private quarters.” He studied me a moment. “Any questions?”

“No.”

“No, what?” he demanded, his tone sharp, his eyes hot.

“No, Master,” I replied, and I was surprised at the thrill that shot through me.

He opened his door and got out of the car. One of the security men immediately opened mine. My Master appeared and offered me his hand and I took it, letting him pull me to my feet. With my hand in his, we started up the stairs toward a set of double red doors. Two men in suits waited for us at the top, but I didn’t look at them.

When we entered the house, I stepped onto an expensive Oriental rug and immediately felt as if I was in the movie Gone with the Wind, the room was so elegant. An extravagant chandelier hung overhead and a winding, red-carpeted stairway twisted and turned toward an upper level.

My Master motioned me toward the staircase but he didn’t touch me. We made it halfway up when a striking man in a dark suit headed down toward us.

“Head down,” my Master ordered a moment before we paused for him to greet the newcomer.

“And who is this?” the man asked.

“My lovely new prospect,” my Master replied.

“Indeed. May I admire her?”

My Master touched my back. “Look at him,” he ordered.

Admire me? I fought the urge to back away and somehow I lifted my gaze to stare into the man’s eyes, my heart thundering wildly in my chest.

Raw male interest flashed in his stare. “Innocence personified,” he murmured, cutting his attention to my Master. “Will you be taking her to the main floor?”

“No. I’ll be keeping her to myself.”

Relief washed over me. The man glanced back down at me. “A pity.” He gave me a small bow. “I hope to see you again soon.” He stepped around us and I let out a breath.

“Come,” my Master said, urging me up the stairs and leading me to another pair of red double doors.

We stepped inside a small sitting room with high-backed chairs. A separate door led to someplace, I didn’t know where. My adrenaline was cranking up so hard and fast that the soft sound of him locking the doors behind made me jump.

He stepped behind me. “Untie your coat.”

I did as he ordered, and I heard the quiet whisper of the cloth as he disposed of it. My Master stepped in front of me, and looking into his eyes, seeing the possessiveness in them, shook me to the core. I could barely swallow, let alone think.