Chapter 12
“Was that him?”
By him, she meant Gabe. “Yes. He told me to text him when I got home so he wouldn”t worry about me. He didn’t, however, like me calling him Master H, or challenging him by asking how he would enforce my addressing him without using a very respectful title.”
“Oh? What was his answer?”
“He told me that chastity belts had advanced considerably and were making a comeback, and he had no problem strapping one on me to keep me from pleasuring myself, or anyone else for that matter.”
Mari’s jaw dropped and then she broke out in peals of laughter. “Oh my god. He’s hilarious. I’ll have to remember that one in case I need to punish an errant little subbie.” She lifted her eyebrow at me meaningfully.
The word home reverberated through me and I realized that Philly had become that place in just a few weeks. Maybe not so much the location as much as the people who lived in it. My job was fulfilling and I got to spend time with my bestie. I had a boyfriend, no, make that a playmate at best who seemed to legitimately care for me, or at least my safety.
“I guess you made quite an impression on him today.”
I leaned back, sipping my gin martini. “I don’t know. I told you already what he’d said literally within minutes of having mind-blowing sex in his office. It kinda let the wind out of my sails honestly, and the rest of the day I buried myself in work to avoid an empty feeling that haunted me with our parting. He doesn’t want anyone at work to know about us. I don’t like being a secret to be swept under the rug when he finds it convenient. Can you offer me any advice?”
“I think you”re missing what is happening here, Rose, and my guess is because you are so attached to everyone knowing everything. You need to chill a bit. The fact he texted you first says a lot about what the other night and today meant to him. I’m pretty sure what he did with you today he’s never done before with anyone. You should be celebrating, not pouting. Remember, Gabe is by nature a very private individual, and I think that’s why he loves to watch. Stick with that, what you both like, and enjoy what he has to offer.”
“You have a point.” I thought about our chemistry and how off the charts it was, in comparison to anything that came before. I knew when I was playing in all those dungeons around the world that I hadn’t found the one to make my toes curl, but he sure as heck did, and then some!
Mari ordered us another round of drinks. “Mari, you haven’t said much about your parents or how you are doing. I don’t like to insert myself where I’m not wanted, but I’m concerned you haven’t grieved.”
She seemed transfixed by the condensation created by the ice cubes in her glass. “I grieved during their decline in health. I knew there was no coming back for them and after each visit, I cried. When their deaths happened, I was ready to say goodbye.”
I nodded my head in understanding. “That makes a lot of sense. I didn’t have that with my mom. I was too young to know what goodbye really meant.” I slid my hand across the table and took hers. “I hope you know I am here for you, always.”
“I know. Best decision I ever made was talking to you that day at the hotel.”
“Right. I watched you get off the elevator and thought, now there is a woman who knows who she is. You seemed a foot taller than you actually are, did you know that?”
Mari laughed. “So I’ve been told.”
Our next round of drinks came, and as we chatted, the rounds continued to arrive. Hours later, we both stumbled into our cabs, going in the opposite directions. On the ride, I replayed our conversation. I believed it was our eclectic lifestyle and experiences that drew us together. Mari and I were wanderers. She’d found her home with the men from college. Seven proud, strong, successful men who treated her as one of their own. And I’d felt I’d found mine, but only time would tell if he felt the same and we paired well beyond the mind-blowing sex.
I paid the cab driver and weaved into the lobby of my building. Gabe’s building. I lived in his building and worked for his company. What was mine? Intoxication had driven me to analyze things that wouldn’t normally bother me. Everything was Gabe’s, even the damn club where we played was his, and suddenly this really pissed me off.
Yeah fuck it! When I saw him next, I would tell him it was my way or the highway. That thought had me laughing out loud as I struggled to get into my suite.
“What the hell is going on here? Where have you been?”
I shrieked as I wasn’t expecting to hear anyone at 2 a.m., especially not Gabe. “What does it look like,” I slurred, “I’m trying to get into my suite. Actually your suite, everything is yours.” I waved my hand around. “You’re the king of the castle, now maybe you could lower yourself to help a simple woman navigate the lock. How the hell does this work again?” I jiggled the handle, but it didn’t open. “I got to pee, stupid door!”
“Give me that.” Gabe grabbed the key card from my hand and opened the door first try.
“See!” I pointed my finger at him accusingly and then stumbled across the threshold and raced for the powder room. My bathroom was too far if I didn’t want to pee on the floor.
I sighed as my bladder released and hung on to the wall when I stood after wiping. I washed my hands and kicked my heels off and into the hallway, accidentally hitting Gabe in his ball sack. I slid down the bathroom wall in a fit of laughter.
“What the hell is wrong with you, woman? Are you trying to change me from a rooster to a hen?”
“I didn’t see you. Soorreee,” I sung. I tried to stand but it wasn’t going to happen, instead I crawled past him, making for my bedroom. Getting into the bed was too much. Instead, I sat on the floor and leaned back against the baseboard, staring down the hallway at Gabe, who was holding his sack and glaring at me.
“Why are you here? Are you stalking me in my own apartment, Gabriel?”
“It’s late and you didn’t text me. So I watched on the cams until I saw you enter the building. I was going to leave it at that and punish you tomorrow, but I saw you could barely stand and thought to make sure you got in okay. Damn good thing I did. Look at you? Where the hell have you been, and more importantly, who with?”
“Aww. Are you jealous? That’s so cute.” I giggled and got the hiccups.
“Rose. Answer the question.”
“Not that it’s any of your business, as I’m not a client and I didn’t ask you to watch out for me, but I was out with Mari. She ordered so many rounds I lost count. If you want to be mad at someone, then be mad at her for a change and cut me some slack.”
I didn’t like the look he was giving me. “Don’t believe me? Ask her yourself.” I pulled the dress off that I’d worn for the evening and sat in only my bra and panties. “Now if you don’t mind, I need to sleep.”
My eyes closed. I was startled when his strong arms wrapped around me and lifted me from the floor. “You smell good,” I mumbled as he placed me in bed, “and you’re really handsome.” My words trailed off, and I wasn’t sure if he heard me.
“I’ll see you at the office. Good night, Rose.”
Last thing I heard was the click of the door lock moving into place.
* * *
I moaned as I rolled over, hitting what I thought was my alarm. My phone clattered to the floor. Great! I attempted to sit up and was so dizzy I dropped back down. Shit! I was still drunk. I took my time sitting up and kept one hand on the bed to steady myself as I grabbed my phone.
I had three unread text messages, and all from work.
You’re late!
I guess next time you won’t stay out so late on a school night!
What the fuck?
When you decide to grace us with your presence, please report to my office immediately.
Oh-oh, I was in shit.
I made it to my feet and staggered to the bathroom to have a shower. My breath was disgusting and I brushed my teeth twice. This morning was one of those times I thanked myself for being so organized. I didn’t have to choose my outfit for the day as it was all ready, hanging neatly in my closet with a pair of shoes to go with it. Luckily for me, I arranged my outfits by days of the week and added all the necessary accessories to complete the look.
I’d never been able to understand why people put all their pants together, then their shirts, etc. How inefficient was that? Way too basic for my logical brain.
No time for naked coffee in the picturesque window or to take the bus. I ordered a cab and had him stop on the way so I could grab a breakfast sandwich and a coffee. I had him pull around back so I could enter through the back door and arrived at Gabe’s office door at 10 a.m.
I tapped on his door. “It’s Rose, Sir.”
“Enter.”
He was typing on his computer when I entered. “Good timing. I’m ready.”
Ready? For what? Did I miss a memo?
“Sir?”
“Pass me your phone, Rose, I’m installing tracking software.”
I passed him my phone without thinking about what I was agreeing to by handing it over. After a few sips of the much needed bean, my drunken mushed brain leveled up enough for me to at least question what he was doing.
“Is that standard procedure for everyone? I would have thought only those working with clients directly would need that type of software.”
He handed me my phone and leaned back in his chair. He wore a tight-fitting black tee and with his arms above his head, I was gifted a few inches of flesh. His sexy V that disappeared into the waistband of his khakis had me licking my lips and I realized just how parched I was. “Uh, may I have a bottle of water?”
He raised his eyebrows expectantly.
I couldn’t help rolling my eyes. “May I have a bottle of water, please, Sir?”
He smirked but rose and grabbed me one from his fridge. “You are correct in your assumption”—he handed me the bottle of water—“it is only for those working in the security field directly in case something goes wrong. I have added you to this list because I’m worried about you.”
I stayed quiet, processing his words. He had said last night to text him and I hadn’t. Was he really up late worried about me? I felt kind of bad but wasn’t completely convinced this wasn’t a tactic to control me. “I have to know, is this personal because I didn”t do as you asked and text to let you know when I’d arrived, or is this because of the company, and my position coming with risks?”
“You meant this morning, and yes, partially at least. Let me see your arm.” He sat forward and placed a bracelet around my wrist. Not exactly my style but it looked well-made and expensive.
“Aww, you shouldn’t have, boss.” I smirked at his look of surprise.
“Oh, you misunderstood. This is a top of the line GPS tracker with a panic chip implanted. You press the clasp here, and it sends an emergency alert to me.”
What the???
“Oh hell, no! I am not being tapped into you so you can spy on me all day. Cams are one thing but knowing my every move? That isn’t my kink, thank you very much!”
Gabriel”s eyes went black. “This is not negotiable, Rose. You gave me permission to do what needed to be done from the moment you walked through my doors and started working for me. At work you are my employee, at the club, you are my sub, and that means that I choose the safety protocol and you accept.” He was so far forward in his chair I was worried he’d tip right over.
He was getting angry, but so was I and this wasn’t one of those moments when I felt like deferring to him.
“I’d take it off whenever I wanted to.” I smirked. “You can’t make me agree to this, Gabriel, and you sure as hell can’t force me.” He relaxed back in his chair and I watched the blackness seep away from his eyes.
“I can force you, but I won’t. Instead, I will give you an explanation.”
Oh, this should be good, what was he going to tell me, that he had a woman field agent once who bit the dust?
“When I was just getting ready to graduate from high school, my parents were in a car accident. They were run off the road by a long-haul trucker who never stopped to see if they were okay. Their car had gone far enough into the woods beside the highway that no one saw their vehicle and the accident wasn’t reported until night time, when someone finally saw the hazard lights my dad had the forethought to switch on before he passed out, but by the time the police arrived, it was too late. When the truck hit them, they spun out of control and down the embankment, into the woods, hit a tree and landed on their side. They were trapped inside and died later that night of their injuries. Had their car been spotted earlier, had they a bracelet like the one I just gave you, they would have lived and I would still have them in my life. When they died, I was devastated, lost, and it wasn’t until I found my tribe in college that I could even begin to understand the depths of my loss and what it did to me.”
For once, I saw behind his cool collective mask, beyond the control and dominance, to the boy who lost his parents too soon. I felt a rush of pleasure move through me at the idea that he cared enough about me to want to ensure what happened to his family never happened to me.
But also riding on the coattails of that pleasure was my independence telling me I didn’t need a man running my life. He’d said that he wanted control, that he had to have it that night after we played at the club. Had I thought about what he’d said and what that would mean for me, or had I merely been reacting to everything and attempting to get everything my way, without me having to change what I was comfortable with?
Crap! I felt like a shithead.
I said I wanted a strong dominant man, but I’d never considered how that would affect me outside of play time. “If I say no, will this thing between us be over?”
Gabriel’s mask slid into place and I was back to speaking with the man I was quickly learning was a control freak. No wonder he loved private security.
“I told you right from the start what I was like and would do, remember?”
“Yes, I do. Okay, then I will accept under one condition.”
Gabriel”s eyes narrowed. “I’ll consider it, what is your condition?”
“I want access to your phone’s tracking app so I can also follow you. It actually makes sense if you think about it. If ever there was a problem, I will need to know where you are anyway to send in reinforcements.”
I tied it up in a pretty bow, hoping he wouldn’t see through my true intentions.
“I agree to your conditions.”
He took my phone back and altered the app to include his location. “You will wear that bracelet at all times, Rose, do I make myself clear?”
“Yes, Sir.” I saluted.
At the door, I rose onto my tippy toes to kiss him goodbye.
“Not at work,” he admonished.
I didn’t try to hide the hurt I felt at his rejection.
“How about dinner tonight, my place?”
I lowered back to my feet. “Fine. What can I bring?”
“Just bring you… in as little clothing as possible,” he added with a wink.
I batted my eyelashes at him and turned to walk away, adding an extra swing in my step, so my ass wiggled. I called over my shoulder. “It sounds like my kind of dinner.”
I caught Gabe shaking his head but didn’t miss the small smile on his face before he closed his office door.