Betting on Fate by Katee Robert

foolish, but he’d at least hoped for a text when she woke up.
    After last night, he felt like he’d taken two full steps into a world he no longer recognized. He’d broken rule after rule since taking Penelope on as his submissive, each one easier to blow past than the last. There were good, concrete reasons to have those rules in place, but he couldn’t remember a single one right then.
    He picked up his phone before he could think too much about it and called. As the line rang, he wondered if she’d pull the same disappearing stunt she’d tried the other day. Will grinned. It’d be a pleasure to hunt her down and repeat that encounter.
    But she answered. “Hello, Sir.”
    He closed his eyes, doing his damnedest to keep his body from jumping to attention at her husky tone. “I didn’t hear from you this morning.”
    “I had to be in the office early—though obviously not as early as you. Thank you for the coffee, by the way.”
    There was something off with her tone, but he couldn’t be sure without being in the same room as her. Easy enough to fix that. “Meet me for dinner.”
    A beat of silence. “I actually have plans tonight.”
    He waited for her to continue, disappointment and something like jealousy souring his stomach. Christ. This was why he held so tightly to his control—the second he let it go, everything went sideways.
    Penelope rushed on, “I’m sorry. If I’d known we’d be in the middle of this… But I didn’t when I made the plans. My friend, Addison, started seeing someone seriously last year and I don’t see nearly enough of her. Tonight has been planned for over a month, or I’d just cancel.”
    It struck him that she was feeling just as much out of her element as he was. Though that fact should prove them both idiots, it reassured him a little. He shook his head. What the hell was he thinking? They weren’t in a high school romance. She was his submissive. She bowed to his will.
    And she was looking to him for permission.
    He pushed back the strange concoction of ugly emotions vying for control. “Have dinner with your friend, pet.” He waited for her exhale of relief before continuing, “But I expect you on my doorstep afterward. And, this time, you will be wearing nothing but the coat and heels. Is that understood?”
    “I… Yes, Sir.”
    “Good girl.” His gaze landed on his computer. “Are you in your office?”
    Another pause, shorter this time. “Yes, Sir.”
    “Skype me.”
    She laughed. “It would be my pleasure.”
    A few seconds later, the icon popped up. He hung up his phone as he clicked the link, holding back a smile as the screen changed to show Penelope. She had her curls back today, and was wearing an orange dress that covered her from collarbones down to her wrists. “Stand up, pet. Let me see.”
    She didn’t hesitate, rising and tilting the screen down so he could see that it hit her around mid-thigh. It was entirely too easy to imagine sliding his hand beneath the hem and touching her there. As he watched, she inched the bottom of the dress up, obeying but taking her time about it. When it finally reached her pussy, he exhaled harshly. “Do you ever wear panties?”
    “Not when I know I’m going to see you.”
    The answer, as unexpected as it was welcome, had him sitting back in his chair and scrubbing a hand over his face. She’d planned on seeing him at some point today, dinner plans or no. It shouldn’t matter…but it did. “Knee on the desk.”
    The angle was ideal for seeing her from the waist down, but he found himself craving her expressions. “Do you remember how you refused to touch yourself?”
    Her hand shook. “Yes, Sir.”
    “I found that incredibly disappointing. Do it now.”
    She switched her grip, using one hand to keep herself bared for him while she dipped a finger into her folds and drew her wetness up around her clit. The barbell shone as she touched herself, little circles just the way he knew she liked it. He kept