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My mind reels with all the pros and cons as I’m handed the bag and leave the boutique, taking my time to head back to the car. The brisk breeze is a touch too cold, but I don’t rush.
I could have her at corporate events.
I could take her out to fine restaurants, not worrying if the paparazzi might snap a photo.
I could have her at my public birthday party. Not that it’s a big event, just a small gathering of my closer acquaintances and Joshua. But everyone will be unmasked, everyone will be recognizable.
Is Kiersten ready for that? Would it shove her away from me?
That risk, thatfeareven... I’m man enough to admit that it terrifies me.
Instead, I purchased her something else I know she’s always wanted.
It’s already at the club, waiting in our new playroom. It’s one of a kind, a handcrafted platinum collar. It doesn’t resemble a standard collar, though, laying flat across the collarbones and chest in front and nearly an inch and a half wide before arcing up gracefully to a half-inch in the back, where it’ll attach just underneath the bottom of her hairline. The individual segments are so finely crafted, so carefully fitted together, that the seams between them are nearly invisible to the naked eye when worn.
In the center is a three-carat diamond, as flawless as the woman who’ll wear it. I want that gift to be between just the twoof us, in our space, our refuge. I want Kiersten to understand that while I might be too damaged a man to ever be more than her Dom... she means everything to me.
It’ll be the only thing she wears tonight when I attach her to the playroom’s St. Andrew’s cross to tease her body however I’d like.
As I drive, with the dull hum of the engine accompanying me, I go over every aspect of tonight.
Of course, kink furniture isn’t the only thing in the playroom. I made sure of that, and behind the floor to ceiling partition that runs on a motorized control is a king-sized bed with silk sheets. It is fitted with all the right hidden attachments to allow for any sort of bondage play Kiersten and I might enjoy, but that’s not what it’ll be used for tonight.
I want to replay our first night.
The memory makes me smile slightly as I drive back to the office, knowing Kiersten is waiting for me there. I hope that my first gift acts as the misdirection that I want it to be, making the second gift all the more exciting and surprising for her.
But when I get upstairs, the receptionist has a tight look on her face. “Sir, a Mr. Lewis came to see you,” she says, shifting in her seat uncomfortably. “I told him he needed to wait until you returned, but—”
“It’s fine,” I reply tersely as I head for my office. Ivan’s an intimidating motherfucker, and I’m not surprised the receptionist didn’t do anything. But hearing his name puts ice in my blood. If Ivan’s here, and Kiersten’s waiting for me... yet again. The fucking bastard doesn’t know what no means. He doesn’t know fucking professionalism.
“Should I call security?” she calls after me as my stride increases.
“No need,” I call out.
Their voices are heard through the door as I enter my outer office, gritting my teeth.
My muscles are stiff and tight as I open the door harder than I should only to see Ivan standing too close to Kiersten, reaching for her, and I get in the way.
“Gabriel!” Kiersten says, her eyes wide with emotion. “Uhm, Mr. Ivan just arrived. He wasn’t expecting me to be here.”
It doesn’t escape me that she’s scared. It doesn’t escape me that she’s trying not to be.
My back straightens, every bit of me on edge. “That’s fine, Kiersten,” I reply, not taking my eyes off Ivan, my tone cold. “Are you okay?”
“Yes, fine,” she says, stepping behind me. Inside, I’m enraged, on edge of losing control.
Quickly, I dismiss Kiersten, telling her to wait in the reception area. When she’s gone, I lock eyes with Ivan again, my hand balling up and knuckles turning white. “What the fuck do you want?”
“I came to tell you about tomorrow’s auction,” Ivan says, chuckling. It catches me off guard. There wasn’t a doubt in my mind that he was here for business.
Not for her.
“What about the auction?” I lower my voice, hushing it for the secret that the club is, my eyes narrowing.
Ivan’s lips tip up in an asymmetric grin as he says, “She’s not going to be your woman any longer.”
I don’t say anything. I don’t have enough control to. Without thinking, I charge across the office to grab him by the lapels of his suit and jam him against the desk. It rattles as he slams against it, grunting from the force. With my teeth clenched, I tell him, “She’ll always be mine.”
