Lynne chewed her cereal while reading Simon’s e-mail. It had really been a fluke that she’d checked it at all before she went to class. But for whatever reason, she hadn’t been able to sleep well and had eventually gotten up much earlier than she usually did.
Thank goodness for flukes, she decided, as she read through it one more time.
SSG,
I’ve been thinking about what you said and examining my own goals at the same time. I think you made a valid point last evening when you said trying something online was a good place to start.
I don’t do a lot of this. In fact, I’ve done it only once before. But if you’d like to try, I will as well. I don’t want to start anything too strict or overbearing. We don’t know each other well enough for that yet.
That said, I would like to get to know you better. If you are not comfortable with a phone call, perhaps we can continue with the instant messaging. Please send me an e-mail and let me know which you would prefer. Also, if you’re free tonight, let me know that as well.
Best,
SirSimon
She hadn’t dreamed it. Simon had e-mailed her and wanted to try something online. Tonight. Suddenly, the next twelve hours couldn’t pass fast enough. She typed back a quick reply to let him know that she would be free.
All day, the e-mail kept coming to mind and she had a hard time concentrating in class. She told herself not to be distracted; she was in the city to learn and to get her teaching certificate. And yet he was always there, in the back of her mind. Waiting.
She made it home at three o’clock in the afternoon. In what she thought was a Herculean effort, she would not allow herself to log in to her e-mail until she finished all her schoolwork. Fortunately, there wasn’t much to do. Unfortunately, it was only five thirty by the time she finished. Unable to wait any longer, she turned on her laptop to check her e-mail. She was only mildly disappointed to see that she did not have a response from Simon, since she didn’t really expect there to be anything.
She busied herself making dinner and then spent an inordinate amount of time cleaning the kitchen. It was stupid, as the kitchen was spotless to begin with. And even if it wasn’t, the Wests had a cleaning crew coming by weekly.
She looked at the clock when she finished. Six thirty.
Unable to stay away from her laptop any longer, she glanced over the recent posts on the online BDSM forum. She saw someone who might have been Anna Beth and made note of the username. She wondered if her Dom had liked the corset.
Unable to think of anything else to do, she decided to exercise. Jumping jacks. Stretches. And those god-awful yoga poses Abby had shown her once.
Finally. Finally. It was time.
She hurried over to the place on the couch where she had set up her laptop. Earlier in the day, she told Simon that she preferred to chat online instead of on the phone. She wasn’t sure she could disguise her voice enough so that he wouldn’t recognize it.
Was she being dishonest? Yes. She knew she was, and she knew Simon wouldn’t like it if he ever discovered the truth. In the short time they had been together, he’d repeatedly stressed how important honesty was between partners in a BDSM relationship. She told herself she wasn’t being that dishonest. But deep inside she knew she was wrong to lie to him.
But that wasn’t going to stop her.
At eight o’clock exactly, her laptop chimed with an incoming message.
Hello, SSG.
It occurs to me that I should call you something more meaningful. Unless you like to be called SSG.
It didn’t escape her attention that he was talking as if she were there. He had not asked her if she was present. Nor had he asked for any sort of confirmation that she was, in fact, at the computer. It only proved what she knew. When Simon issued commands, he expected them to be followed.
She thought quickly, not wanting him to think she hadn’t been ready and prepared for his message.
Hello, Sir. SSG does sound a bit too clinical. You may call me Faye.
It was the first thing she thought of. Her middle name. She didn’t think she had told him her middle name when they were dating. There was always a chance he knew somehow, but hopefully he would chalk it up to a coincidence. She also decided to add the “Sir,” believing this new step warranted the title, as it showed her trust in him. If he didn’t think so, he’d tell her.
Thank you, Faye.
It was ludicrous that she felt so happy at pleasing him. Especially since it wasn’t even a name she went by. The fake name wasn’t a rare thing, though. A lot of people played with assumed names. The practice was actually encouraged. But even so, she knew Simon would expect her to tell him who she was since they had a history. Maybe she would. One day.
But that day wasn’t today.
He wrote again.
I thought tonight we’d just get to know each other a bit. How does that sound?
It sounded like a perfectly reasonable thing to do, and if it had been anyone else, she would have jumped in with both feet. Even knowing him the way she did, the thought of getting to know him better thrilled her.
Yet she wasn’t as thrilled about him finding out about her. For the entire conversation, she’d be worried something would strike a chord with him and he’d put two and two together and realize it was her. The only other option was to lie, and that was an even worse idea.
She knew there was nothing to do but agree.
Sounds great, Sir.
His reply came quickly.
I’m aware I’m an unknown. If I ask you anything you don’t feel comfortable with, just tell me. You don’t have to answer.
And that was her out. If he asked her a question and she felt the answer would give away who she was, she would tell him she didn’t feel comfortable discussing that topic.
With a sigh of relief, she replied.
Thank you, Sir.
His first question made her smile.
If you weren’t talking with me right now, what would you normally be doing?
It definitely wasn’t the question she’d expected. Far from it. She glanced at the quiet television. Should she tell him?
What the hell? Honesty it was.
You know those reality TV talent shows?
The singing ones?
Yes. I’m secretly addicted to those.
And one’s on right now?
Yes.
Turn it on. BRB
She turned the TV on and waited for him to come back.
Okay, I’m back. So tell me who in their right mind told this guy up now he could sing?
She laughed, and by the time the show went off the air two hours later, she couldn’t remember a time she had had so much fun watching TV. Simon had a snarky side she hadn’t known about. They said their good-byes and good nights, and Simon said he’d e-mail her soon.
She left her laptop open while she got ready for bed, and she was surprised to find an e-mail waiting for her after she showered. Just seeing his name with an unread message made her feel aroused and tingly.
She flushed as she read the message.
Faye,
I had such a great time chatting with you tonight. I really enjoyed getting to know you better. I know we both want to take this slow, but I thought if you’d like to continue, we could add a few things along the way. Not too much and not too quickly.
If you agree, your orgasms now belong to me. You will not play with yourself or come without permission. I know we’re only communicating via the Internet right now, but believe me when I say that I’ll know if you’re telling the truth.
Yours,
SirSimon
She bit the inside of her lip. After chatting with him, she’d planned to spend some quality time with her vibrator once she finished her shower. The thing was, she still could. Simon wouldn’t know she’d read his e-mail tonight. For all he knew, she’d turned her laptop off and wouldn’t read it until tomorrow morning.
If she played it that way, she could still have a marathon vibrator session tonight. It would be so easy. . . .
Her shoulders slumped.
She couldn’t do it. She had never been a good liar, and though she wasn’t sure what he meant by “I’ll know if you’re telling the truth,” she believed him. Either she’d feel so guilty, she’d confess, or he’d use his supersonic Dom sense to pull the confession out of her. She’d lived with Nathaniel and Abby long enough not to discredit the existence of supersonic Dom sense.
Not only that, but being around the Wests had proven that things Did Not Go Well for submissives who disobeyed or lied to their Doms. The truth of the situation was, she’d told herself she wanted to experience another BDSM relationship. She’d sought one out. A Dom controlling a submissive’s orgasms was fairly standard and something she’d expected.
But dammit all. Why did it have to start tonight?
“Why didn’t I turn the computer off before I took a shower?” she asked the empty penthouse.
She stared at the screen as if Simon were going to send another message, saying, “Kidding! Just seeing if you were paying attention.” No such message appeared, though, and after five minutes, she typed back a reply.
SirSimon,
I can’t remember the last time TV was so much fun. Thank you for sharing your evening with me.
My orgasms are now yours.
—Faye
It felt all kinds of awkward signing her name as Faye. Looked weird on the screen, too. She checked her regular account to see if anyone had sent something to that account. Just when she was getting ready to turn the laptop off for the night, once and for all, an instant message popped up.
Your response pleased me. You may make yourself come once tonight.
Her response to him was swift.
Thank you, Sir.
She decided that sometimes it paid to be the good girl who couldn’t lie.