voice as a coping mechanism, but it pissed him off. She sounded like they were hammering out the details of a business arrangement, not something he considered even more sacred than marriage.
“Yes. I specifically chose one that in many ways resembles a regular piece of jewelry. To those in the lifestyle, it would be recognizable. You and I would know what it represented.”
“On the Internet, I read that some consider a collar a symbol of ownership. I’m beginning to think you consider it something different. What exactly does the collar represent to you?”
“You own my heart. It belongs to you. But no, Laura, I do not consider you property, if that’s what you’re asking. You are the other half of my soul, my partner in life. We complement each other. As a Dominant, I want, even need, to control you. As a submissive you want, and I hope need, me to dominate you. You have to admit our sex life before D/s was pale in comparison.”
Laura smiled and nodded in agreement. “Our sex life now is hotter than any fantasy I ever imagined. Yes, I want you to have control in the bedroom.”
She was quiet, but he didn’t think she’d finished. He held his tongue and waited. “Yes, I need it.” Her voice, when she finally spoke, was a mere whisper. He tightened his arms around her, knowing how difficult it was to admit.
“Laura, the only other aspect of our lives where I need control is your safety. You take chances, reckless chances, and it kills me inside. You knew Simson was a predator. You knew I was handling it and yet you went against my direct command. Now this bastard has made specific threats against you. Do you have any idea how that makes me feel?”
Laura pulled away from his chest and he immediately felt the loss. “He was targeting my employees. Because I initiated the investigation we were able to get evidence the police can use to convict him. Even considering the threats, I don’t think I would change how it went down. I’m sorry, Nick. I don’t mean that as a slight to you. I just think I handled it the only way I could.”
Nick counted to ten and took several deep breathes. He pulled her back against his chest and cradled her head in the palm of his hand until she relaxed against him. “I should have kept you in the loop, but when this started I considered it simply a club matter. He’d applied for membership. During the routine background check, we found several domestic abuse charges. As we looked into it further, we discovered some pretty disturbing allegations. We had private investigators talking to the victims. The IT guys had remotely accessed their laptops and downloaded the videos. We knew who the victims were over a week ago and were trying to convince them to work with the police. We wanted an airtight case before we made our move. Now he’s trying to cover his tracks, destroy evidence and threaten possible witnesses. He hasn’t returned to his apartment, he emptied his bank account and no one knows his whereabouts.”
Laura shivered. Nick recognized she was beating herself up inside. “You’re a shrewd CEO, you can take failing businesses and make them amazingly profitable. It isn’t your job to consider collecting sufficient evidence to build a prosecutable case. I just wish you had trusted me to handle it, but I’ll admit I should have kept you better informed.”
After several moments, she murmured softly to him. “I’m sorry, Nick.”
He rocked her back and forth, wishing he hadn’t just turned her world on its ear. After a few minutes, her body began to relax against his. Her heartbeat was slowing down. “I love you, Laura.”
She gave him a peck on the cheek. “I love you too, Nick.”
Out of the corner of his eye, he saw ropes or cables dangle in front of the window. Adrenaline surged through his body. What the fuck was going on?
Laura turned, her body began to shake and laughter filled his ears. “Spiderman’s here to wash the windows. Thank God, he
“Yes. I specifically chose one that in many ways resembles a regular piece of jewelry. To those in the lifestyle, it would be recognizable. You and I would know what it represented.”
“On the Internet, I read that some consider a collar a symbol of ownership. I’m beginning to think you consider it something different. What exactly does the collar represent to you?”
“You own my heart. It belongs to you. But no, Laura, I do not consider you property, if that’s what you’re asking. You are the other half of my soul, my partner in life. We complement each other. As a Dominant, I want, even need, to control you. As a submissive you want, and I hope need, me to dominate you. You have to admit our sex life before D/s was pale in comparison.”
Laura smiled and nodded in agreement. “Our sex life now is hotter than any fantasy I ever imagined. Yes, I want you to have control in the bedroom.”
She was quiet, but he didn’t think she’d finished. He held his tongue and waited. “Yes, I need it.” Her voice, when she finally spoke, was a mere whisper. He tightened his arms around her, knowing how difficult it was to admit.
“Laura, the only other aspect of our lives where I need control is your safety. You take chances, reckless chances, and it kills me inside. You knew Simson was a predator. You knew I was handling it and yet you went against my direct command. Now this bastard has made specific threats against you. Do you have any idea how that makes me feel?”
Laura pulled away from his chest and he immediately felt the loss. “He was targeting my employees. Because I initiated the investigation we were able to get evidence the police can use to convict him. Even considering the threats, I don’t think I would change how it went down. I’m sorry, Nick. I don’t mean that as a slight to you. I just think I handled it the only way I could.”
Nick counted to ten and took several deep breathes. He pulled her back against his chest and cradled her head in the palm of his hand until she relaxed against him. “I should have kept you in the loop, but when this started I considered it simply a club matter. He’d applied for membership. During the routine background check, we found several domestic abuse charges. As we looked into it further, we discovered some pretty disturbing allegations. We had private investigators talking to the victims. The IT guys had remotely accessed their laptops and downloaded the videos. We knew who the victims were over a week ago and were trying to convince them to work with the police. We wanted an airtight case before we made our move. Now he’s trying to cover his tracks, destroy evidence and threaten possible witnesses. He hasn’t returned to his apartment, he emptied his bank account and no one knows his whereabouts.”
Laura shivered. Nick recognized she was beating herself up inside. “You’re a shrewd CEO, you can take failing businesses and make them amazingly profitable. It isn’t your job to consider collecting sufficient evidence to build a prosecutable case. I just wish you had trusted me to handle it, but I’ll admit I should have kept you better informed.”
After several moments, she murmured softly to him. “I’m sorry, Nick.”
He rocked her back and forth, wishing he hadn’t just turned her world on its ear. After a few minutes, her body began to relax against his. Her heartbeat was slowing down. “I love you, Laura.”
She gave him a peck on the cheek. “I love you too, Nick.”
Out of the corner of his eye, he saw ropes or cables dangle in front of the window. Adrenaline surged through his body. What the fuck was going on?
Laura turned, her body began to shake and laughter filled his ears. “Spiderman’s here to wash the windows. Thank God, he
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