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Great! Will e-mail details.
She logged in to her in-box to wait for Simon’s e-mail and noticed a new message from Abby. Lynne smiled as she read it.
Abby talked about how the kids were doing and added that they all missed her and looked forward to her coming back in the fall. She told her about how Elizabeth decided to play school in order to show Henry what a teacher did. Lynne giggled as she read Abby’s account of Henry telling his sister to “Sit down. Not Lynne.”
Abby ended by telling her that they were planning to come to the city the next Friday because they had meetings on Saturday. The kids would be staying with Nathaniel’s aunt but, if it wouldn’t be a bother, could she and Nathaniel stay in the penthouse Friday night?
Lynne nearly laughed with the ridiculousness of it. Abby was asking if it was all right for them to stay in their own penthouse?
She sent back a quick reply telling her that they could come whenever they wanted, that she looked forward to seeing them next weekend, and to give the kids hugs for her.
Once she’d sent the e-mail off, she noticed Simon had sent the information. A quick look told her he’d included more than only the information; he’d also added his checklist.
She took a deep breath, exhaled loudly, and began to read. When she finished, she read it again. The entire time, one thought kept repeating in her head: What had she gotten herself into?
Chapter Five
“You want me to what?” Nathaniel hadn’t snorted coffee out of his nose the way she thought he might, but only because he’d already swallowed before she asked her question.
Thinking back, it probably wasn’t the best subject to bring up over Saturday morning breakfast. Especially since he and Abby were meeting with several potential donors for his nonprofit in a few hours. And though she probably thought she was being helpful, Lynne didn’t think Abby standing in the doorway saying, “Just listen to her, Nathaniel,” was helping her case.
Lynne took a deep breath. “I want you to use a single tail on me. I want to know how it feels. And I’m asking you because out of all the Doms I know, I trust you the most.”
“That’s what I thought you asked.” Nathaniel turned his cool blue eyes her way. “No.”
“But—” she started.
“No,” he repeated.
“Nathaniel . . .” Abby said from the doorway, wearing a frown on her face and shaking her head.
He pointed at his wife, which stopped her from walking farther into the room. “The answer is no. It is not open for discussion, and before you decide to argue with me, I’ll remind you I don’t have a problem using a single tail on you.”
Abby didn’t flinch. Instead, she put her hands on her hips and gave him an evil look. “You can be such a fucking hardheaded ass at times.”
Nathaniel silently stood up and made his way to his wife. He looked beyond angry as he invaded her space, but Lynne had to give Abby credit; she stood her ground.
“Did you just curse at me, Abigail?” he asked in that low and dangerous voice of his.
Abby didn’t back down, but Lynne saw her swallow hard as her husband towered over her. She noted Abby was wearing her submissive collar. Definitely not the time to call her husband an ass. Especially since she was in the room. Her stomach ached, because she knew Abby had done it for her. Lynne just wished she’d gone about it a different way.
“Yes, Master,” Abby said, “I did, and I’m not sorry because it’s true.”
Nathaniel stood still, watching her for several long seconds. It was only when Abby dropped her gaze that he spoke. “I appreciate your honesty, but it’s not enough to spare your ass a chastisement you won’t forget. You disrespected me, and you did it in front of Lynne. Go wait in the playroom while I contact our prospective donors and let them know we’ll be delayed.”
Nathaniel and Abby had only recently had the playroom added to the penthouse. Lynne knew because they’d traveled to the city a few times during construction. Most of the time, when they came to the city, she’d remained in Wilmington because Nathaniel’s family had wanted to watch the kids. But there had been a weekend she came to the city with the Wests because the rest of the family had had the flu.
She recalled Abby mentioning the playroom was soundproof, and Lynne had never been happier than she was at the moment. Whatever was happening between Nathaniel and Abby, she didn’t have to listen to it.
But it was somewhat of an awkward position to be in. She couldn’t picture herself hanging out in the kitchen or living room while the two of them were locked away. She finally decided to go to her room to study. Besides, she wanted to see if Simon had sent her a message.
Her in-box was empty, so she settled in to her favorite reading chair and studied for an upcoming exam.
She was so engrossed in the material, she jumped when Nathaniel cleared his throat.
“Sorry,” he said. “Didn’t mean to scare you.”
“It’s okay,” she said. He didn’t look like a scary Dom anymore, standing there in her doorway. He was back to the Nathaniel West she knew. The one who gave piggyback rides to his son and played princess teatime with his daughter.
“Abby’s in the shower,” he said. “Can I talk to you for a minute?”
“Sure.” She stood up so they could walk into the living room. She’d been his employee long enough to know he would never cross the threshold to her room while she was in it alone. She’d thought he was crazy at first but had come to realize it was just one of his boundaries, and she actually grew to appreciate the gesture. It made her feel even safer with him.
He sat down on one of the couches, and she took a seat in a nearby chair. As she would’ve expected, he got straight to the point.
“Why the sudden interest in single tails?” he asked.
She almost told him to forget about it, that she wasn’t interested anymore. But she couldn’t bring herself to lie to him. Besides that, he would see right through her. She took a deep breath and looked him straight in the eye.
“I’ve met someone online. He’s doing a demo, and I asked him if I could help,” she said.
“And you’ve never met him? In person?”
“No.” She wondered if she should tell him it was Simon. Would knowing make it better or worse? “But there’s no need to worry. I’ve checked his references and talked with others who have played with him before.”
“I don’t like the sound of this. At all.” He was frowning. “There’s so much that could go wrong.”
She knew all too well. And though she might be able to ease his mind by telling him who the Dom was, something told her not to.
“How about this?” she asked, as an idea came to her mind. “I can’t tell you his name because that would break confidentiality. But I can tell you that he’s a member at Luke’s club. He’s been vetted there.”
It was then that Nathaniel studied her. Really studied her. She didn’t know how Abby dealt with it. After just a few seconds under that intense stare, she was ready to spill all her secrets and make up a few, too.
“That means I probably know him.” Nathaniel’s voice was very calm and even, but she had a feeling he was anything but.
“That’s why I don’t want to give you his name.” She hoped she sounded firm, and she forced herself to look in his eyes. “Confidentiality.”
Yes, working for Nathaniel, she had learned a lot about him. His love for his family, his integrity in business, and, along with those, the fierce belief that their lifestyle remained confidential. And she knew that what he requested of others, he also gave.
He leaned back in his seat, obviously not happy with the way the conversation was going. He slapped his hands on his upper thighs. “Unfortunately, I can’t argue with that.”
She breathed a sigh of relief.
“However,” he said, “you do need somebody to work with you before you do a demo. And I don’t feel comfortable doing that.”
She dropped her eyes. Dammit. Now what was she
going to do?
“I happen to have a good friend who is somewhat of an expert with single tails. You may have met him. Daniel Covington?”
Yes, she knew Daniel. She knew his submissive, Julie, better, though. She hadn’t been aware that Daniel was an expert with the single tail. She liked him. He was a lot more easygoing than Nathaniel, and Julie was really sweet, too. Lynne thought she could work with Daniel.
“Yes, I know him and Julie.”
“The only thing is,” Nathaniel said, and Lynne had the suspicious feeling she had just been backed into a corner, “I know Julie just about as well as I know Daniel, and while I don’t think she’ll mind if he practices his single-tail skills on you, I’m fairly certain she would want to be there in the room watching during the scene.”
