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Tony’s praise warmed me like the summer sun, but the touch of his lips set me on fire.He felt good…too damn good.Inwardly chastising myself for how easily he charmed my arousal, I quickly focused on all the reasons Tony was bad for me.
“I’m going to hit the shower and head to work.I won’t be around much the next couple of days, so stay out of trouble,” he warned.“I’ll be here at night, but I don’t want other Doms coming to me with complaints.”
“Wow.That hurt.”I grimaced as I slid from the barstool.
“You know what I mean.Sit down.”Tony scowled.
“No.”I shook my head and stared into his eyes.“I should be grateful that you didn’t call me brat, but honestly, your expectation that I’m going to disgrace you while your back is turned hurts a lot worse.Don’t worry, Tony.You won’t get any reports about bad behavior.”
I turned and stormed back to my room as an avalanche of ineptness thundered through me.
I don’t want other Doms coming to me with complaints.“Bastard!”I hissed as I stripped and started the shower.
Standing beneath the hot spray, I scrubbed away the oily film Tony’s insult left behind.I may never win a “Submissive of the Year” award, but I didn’t purposefully go out of my way to be disrespectful, either.The man was a callous and insensitive prick.I’d wanted to rail at him so badly, but I’d kept my cool and walked away.That, in itself, was progress.Could he not see that?Probably not.His stinging condemnation was another glaring reminder that entertaining fantasies about the man was foolish and a waste of my time.
ChapterSix
The next few weeks crawled by.I spent too much time sleeping and weeping.Surrounded by the memories of George wasn’t helping.After serious consideration, I agreed to move into a new room.Mika pulled out all the stops, transforming a private play room into a cozy living space.The new apartment was much smaller than the one I’d rented before moving in with George, but at least my new furnishings far surpassed the hodge-podge I’d scrounged from the thrift store eons ago.
Ironically, my new digs were flanked by Tony’s room on one side and Master Stephen’s on the other.The walls were thick, and I usually heard little to nothing.But a few times I’d been awakened by the sound of raised voices as Stephen and Carnation argued.Thankfully, I’d not been exposed to a whisper as Tony cared for his throng of pain sluts.
After a few weeks in my new place, I found myself growing stronger.I spent less time crying and more time focused on getting on with my life.While I slid back into the depths of depression, I didn’t allow myself to linger there for long.I mentally yanked up my big girl panties and started back on the road without George.
After my spat with Tony in the bar that morning, I tried to distance myself from the man.But he wasn’t easily dissuaded.He visited often, usually with breakfast or dinner in hand, and offered up suggestions on ways to help me cope with my grief.While the loss of George was becoming easier to manage, I still wasn’t healed.
Plagued by the thought I might possibly be using Tony as a form of super glue to mend my broken heart, his daily visits weren’t helping me figure that emotional mess out.
I couldn’t help but notice it was a struggle for the normally controlled Dom to keep his hands off me.Every time he reached out to caress me, he pulled his hand back as if he’d been burned.And the times he lost his head and kissed me, I felt the earth shift beneath my feet.
For the most part, we just talked.Tony shared stories of his family.The man had more brothers and sisters than I could keep straight.But he spoke of them with such devotion, I knew the love he felt for his family was unconditional.Thankfully, he never pressed for information about mine.
I spent my days looking for a job like I had at the café, one that would pay me in cash under the table, without having to fill out an employment application.It limited my options, but I continued to scour the want ads in hopes of being able to support myself once again.
I carried a copy of the restraining order George had executed inside my purse, but it did little to alleviate my worries.Matt would someday find me.I managed to keep a lid on my fears, staying diligent of my surroundings, and carried on one day at a time.
Nights at Genesis were the loneliest, but that was my own doing.I chose to isolate myself inside my room and read while I fought the urge to seek out Tony.
Fantasizing more and more about the man only added to the rollercoaster of longing and self-restraint raging within me.He filled my nightly dreams with animalistic sex and control, and it was becoming increasingly hard to shove my tangled emotions for him aside.My ridiculous jealousies had grown stronger, as well.The thought of watching him working the subs, fulfilling their needs, played havoc with my sanity.So, I hid from him, like a child.It was gutless but emotionally safer for me.
Mika stopped by the club a few nights a week, but for the most part, he stayed by Julianna’s side.Trevor, Savannah, and I visited her several times a week, but the poor thing was climbing the walls.With four weeks to go until her April thirteenth due date, I worried she’d go nuts before the baby arrived.
Dressed in Burberry skinny jeans and a grey Akris cashmere sweater, I stared at the clock on the wall; it was ten-twenty-five.Mika had phoned a few hours earlier and asked that I meet him in his office at ten-thirty.Just as I reached for the knob on my door, there came a knock.
Pulling it open, I found Tony dressed in a sleek, tailored Italian suit, looking decadently drool-worthy.His deep bronze skin, peeking beneath the unbuttoned collar of the white oxford shirt, beckoned my tongue.His tie hung loose beneath the crisp collar.A panty-melting, nipple hardening smile curled his lips as his gaze roamed up and down my body in hungry approval.
“You look gorgeous, angel,” he said in a smooth seductive voice as he sidled in close to me.
“Thank you.You look extremely handsome yourself,” I whispered as a rush of heat ignited within.“What’s with the suit?”
“I’m giving a lecture today at the university.”
“Ah, I see.Arming all those young minds with scalpels and probes to dissect and analyze people’s deepest secrets?”I smirked.
“Why, Miss Bennett, I believe you’re purposefully maligning the science of psychology.”
“You think?”I giggled.
“Hmm, if I didn’t know better, I’d say you were begging for a red ass,” Tony growled as a lurid grin crawled across his lips.
