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"Of course I did. I must say that the contents were fairly shocking."
"Shocking? To you? I thought nothing could shock you."
"I was shocked by the idea that you would think I was available for patronage."
Finally, a reaction. Helen relaxed in her chair and smiled. Nothing sinister. Nothing… toxic. Not the kind of smile Jacqueline would have given Monique before saying something nefarious. No, the words coming out of Helen’s mouth were anything but. "I was under no assumption that you were available in that way. You have mistaken me."
Monique opened the box and pulled out the collar. She found the inscription and shoved it in Helen’s direction. "And what do you call this?"
"My intentions."
"You either think I’m up for patronage or not."
"Let me put it this way. I know that you don’t work like the other young ladies here do. I know that. I’m also not interested in any of them. I’ve only been interested in you since the moment I first saw you."
Monique almost lost her posture. “Excuse me?”
“I can’t completely explain my attraction to you yet. When I first laid eyes on you that night, I thought, ‘What a beautiful, refined woman. I want to get to know her better.’ And when I did, my heart only quickened more. Maybe I’m a fool, Monique, but I’m a fool for you.”
This was ridiculous. The woman was talking like she came from a pre-War record track.Spare me.Nevertheless, Monique liked that kind of talk. She liked it when women sounded sophisticated and flattered her in such ways. “You don’t know me at all. And you send me this? What is this supposed to mean?” The collar rattled in Monique’s grasp.
Whether Helen was perturbed by Monique’s frustration or not, she didn’t let on. “You said to impress you by sending you something that you would like. Well? Don’t you like it?”
“What would make you think that I like something like this?”
“Because…” Helen stood up, pulling her jacket closed and weaving a single button through its hole. She leaned across the desk, hands splayed in support above the now empty box. Her lips were not too far from Monique’s, which parted in surprise as she came so close to kissing this stranger but dared not make a fool of herself. “I know a ready submissive woman when I meet one, Monique.”
Breath tore from her throat, her chest, and into the empty air between them.How dare she…How dare she what? Want her? Recognize her?Knowher? Monique’s skin was sweaty, making the collar slip between her fingers. Her nail grazed against a diamond, a lump going down her throat. Those eyes… Piercing into hers. Seeing her soul. Picking apart her brain and feasting on the morsels she offered. The only thing keeping her from sitting up and kissing Helen Warner was the blaring alarm going off in the back of her head.Idiot.
“You would have to be a professional sub to run this place. I can hear these walls echoing with your need to be touched with the determination that only a woman like me provides.”
Another swallow. “You are sure of yourself.”
“Don’t insult me, Monique. Are you telling me that I know who you are, but you don’t know me? We’re two halves balancing each other out. We’re Yin and Yang. And you have so much Yin. You really should find an outlet for it before you’re consumed by your energies. You know what? Same could be said for me. We need harmony.”
“Don’t insult me… you don’t know me…?”Monique didn’t mean from a previous encounter. She meant that knowing notion that they were two halves of the same whole.Yes.Ofcourse, Monique had noticed it. Hadn’t she been fantasizing about Helen tying her up, spanking her, and biting her until she cried?Because she’s one of them. A Domme. Helen never said she wasn’t.Oh, God.This was not making Monique’s position any easier to bear. I want you, Helen Warner. I want you to make me feel like I used to.All the pent-up stress and frustration were like ticking time bombs in her gut. Monique could ignore it as long as no one else was around. From the moment Helen entered her life, Monique wanted her to use and dominate her until she was harmonious again.
She wondered if Helen felt it too. A mighty desire to take out her power on a ready submissive woman.Let it be me…
The collar was hot in her hand. If she put it on, Helen could have her. Right here. Right now, in her office. Or the bedroom next door. Monique clutched her chest and averted her eyes so those blues no longer destroyed her. It also kept her from kissing the damn woman.
Helen lifted her hand, knuckles next to Monique’s cheek. “If there’s someone else…”
“No.” She spat it too quickly before her emotions were purged. “There is no one.” Monique had to tell herself that until she finally believed it.
“So then…” Helen did not dare touch her. Monique wanted it, though. First, she desired for this woman to put her hands all over this skin. Second, if Helen touched her without permission, then Monique knew that Helen was no better than Jacqueline. No boundaries. No love for her.
But she didn’t touch Monique. The fact tortured her.
Don’t tempt me.Tempt her into something stupid. Monique was too close to her previous relationship to even think of starting up a new one, let alone one hinged on domination and submission. It was what she wanted in her heart, but damnit, she wasn’t ready!
“Don’t touch me,” she said, almost breathless. “Please.”
She hesitated, but Helen backed away. For the first time, Monique saw disappointment in those eyes. What, did she think Monique would fold beneath her pressure and give her whatever she wanted? Monique had her reasons. Helen didn’t need to know them.
“My apologies. I read the situation all wrong.”
“Yes, you did.” No, she didn’t. Helen was perceptive. Too perceptive. She had read Monique like the open book she was the first moment they met. A woman like that could be dangerous. “I’m sorry, somewhere along the way you got the impression that I can be bought.” She slammed the lid back on the box and pushed it toward Helen.I don’t mean it like that.Her employees weren’t “bought.” They were professionals selling a service, yes, but they weren’t commodities. Yet did clients ever see it that way? Maybe women like Helen Warner needed to know exactly where they all stood. Monique wasn’t to be bought. Or sold. Or controlled in that fashion. Monique was her own woman in this world she created. She had to learn how to live on her own and take care of herself. No woman would do that for her.
