Chapter Seven

It pissed Mason off more than anything that he couldn’t stop himself from thinking about Stella all day. She managed to crawl in and bury herself deep inside his thoughts. The idea of spending this much time thinking about her irritated him. It bordered on the absurd to him.

For the rest of the night and all day Saturday, he should’ve had his mind on his work. Hundreds of thousands of dollars hung over his head, and all his damn mind could think about was what Stella busied herself doing without him. His mind drifted off in all different directions.

Would she be with another submissive? Training another poor soul? Someone who would fall to their knees in front of her.? Just the idea of someone else already taking his place clawed at his insides. He had never been a jealous person. Other than his job, he had little else in his life to care about.

Ever since he was younger, the drive to be the best at everything he attempted showed through his hard work. He’d learned at a very young age that working hard would be the only thing that took him away from the shitty life his mother had given him. Thanks to that life, he had made the decision a long time ago that he would never have children of his own.

There should be laws in place against people having kids who have no means to support them. Too many children in the world went hungry or ended up on the streets because of parents who made bad decisions. People who could barely take care of themselves let alone a child.

“Mason? Why does it not surprise me to see you here on a Saturday? Have you ever taken a weekend off in the years you’ve worked for us?”

Mason’s head snapped up at the sound of his boss’s voice. Greg Finch, the oldest brother in Finch and Finch investments. Mason had been staring blankly at his computer screen for so long he hadn’t heard the older man come in.

“No, sir. I believe I’ve worked every weekend. Days off don’t make me a paycheck.” He watched his senior boss walk farther into his office before taking a seat in one of the empty chairs in front of the desk. He itched to ask what had warranted this sudden visit but it would be insulting to ask the boss why he was here at his own office.

Mr. Finch leaned back in the lush office chair and kicked one leg up to rest his ankle across his knee. “Money still flows even on a weekend, my dear boy. Whether you’re here or not. I know you have a drive in you, I can see it. It’s the same drive I had at your age.” His boss paused for a minute as his smiling face grew serious. “How long have we known each other, Mason?”

Mason leaned back in his own chair trying to guess what game his boss played. “Six years, sir.”

Greg nodded as he thought about it. “In six years, you have never taken a vacation, have you?”

What the hell difference did it make if he took a vacation or not?

“No, sir, I haven’t.”

The older man nodded as he looked down toward his lap. “I’m sorry to hear that, Mason.” He paused before he continued. “Do you know how old I am?”

What the hell was this? He leaned farther back in his chair, tipping it back to rest more comfortably. “Around sixty if my memory is correct.”

“I’m sixty-two. I survived my first heart attack at thirty-nine and another at forty-seven. I had to look into my beautiful wife’s face when the doctor told us there would be no coming back from the next one. The horrified look I saw in my wife’s eyes scared me more than the damn heart attack did. I made her a promise that very day. I would start letting all my hard work finally pay off. We had our first family vacation that year.”

He had heard the pep talk before. It started to become clear the direction of their conversation.

“I know I’m working all the time but unlike you, I don’t have a family or anyone to share my time with.” As he spoke, a mental picture of Stella crept into his mind. Besides Bradly, she was the only other person in his life who wasn’t a paying client.

“Whether you have family or not. I want you to enjoy some of what your job has given you in the last six years. I want you to go on vacation, Mason. And it’s not a request. I can’t have you ending up like me at such a young age. I want you to wrap up this account then hand things over to Bradly. You’re going on a forced vacation.”

Greg stood from the chair, buttoning his suit jacket closed. Mason couldn’t believe he was being forced to take time off. This was crazy. “How long am I supposed to take?” He bit back a little of the anger that rolled to the surface. What the hell was he supposed to do with himself on a vacation?

“How long you take will be up to you. I don’t want to see you in this office for at least a week.”

“A week? Do you know how much money we could be making in that amount of time? This is ridiculous.”

“Don’t you trust Bradly? Do you think things will fall apart without you? This company made money for years before you come along. Don’t get me wrong, you are the best employee to ever come our way, and we want to keep you for many more years to come. Meaning, you need to take care of yourself. Bradly will take your active accounts for a week. Have a little faith in him.”

Greg headed toward the door of the office. He stopped once he reached it and turned back to look at Mason, who remained sitting in his chair.

“Of course I trust him.” He had taught Bradly everything he knew.

Greg laughed. “That’s good, because you were the one who promoted him. One week at least, Mason. Don’t bother asking your assistants for files either. They were all advised if they want to keep their jobs, you’re not to be informed about any client.”

Mason stood from his desk, slamming his hand on top of it before placing it on his hip tucking his suit jacket out of the way. His anger getting the better of him.

“Do you have anything else for me, Mr. Whitman?”

Besides the fact that this was bullshit? “No.”

“Good. Wrap it up, and I’ll see you in a week. Learn to relax, kid. You only have one life. Learn to live it.”

****

“I had some doubts if you were going to show up at all,” Stella said, walking into the private room she gave to Mason Friday night. She didn’t think he would be back and yet, here he was. Just as he told her he would be.

“I had a fucked-up day yesterday, so can we just get on with whatever it is we’re doing today?”

His angry tone made her take a step back. Obviously upset about something. She had a rule that no one played while angry. It made the surroundings too unsafe for everyone involved.

“Would you rather talk instead?” She hoped he would make a grab for the branch she offered him. Like most men who struggled with control issues, he could be completely clueless. He turned quickly and pinned her with his dark stare.

“Talk? Okay let’s talk. My boss just sent me on a mandatory vacation. Said he didn’t want to see me in the office for a week. A fucking week!”

She tried not to smile at the disappointment she heard in his voice, but failed miserably. “A whole week, huh? What are you going to do with yourself for such a long period of time?”

His body stiffened at the sound of her teasing words. “It’s not funny, Stella. I take my job seriously.”

There’s no questioning that. “Everyone knows that, Mason. That’s the problem. Maybe you take your job a little too serious. Maybe a break is what you need.”

He took his hand out of the pocket of his pants and rubbed it across his forehead. “Christ, not you too.”

She wanted to tell him to lighten up and not to take things so seriously in life, but she knew he already worked too far inside his own mind for that to work. It left her trying a different tactic. She took her Domme stance, bracing her legs straight and shoulder width apart. Her hands came to her hips, and she locked her gaze on his.

“Fine. No more talking about work. You came back here so that means you want to continue what we started. Strip.” It wasn’t a request, but a demand. If he wanted to get out of his head, then she was more than willing to help him accomplish that.

It was a damn good thing she took the time to change into her fetish clothes as soon as she heard he walked back into the building. The sexiness she felt after sliding into her leathers gave her all the confidence in the world to stand up to the men who came into the club. Her customers needed her to be strong and not to back down. When she wore her leathers, she was a strong Dominant who couldn’t be pushed around.

“Don’t make me ask you again, Mason. There will be punishment involved.” She half expected him to disobey her in an attempt to shock her. He pleasantly surprised her by silently removing his clothes. His jacket and tie went first followed by shirt and pants until he stood in nothing else but briefs.

She closed the space between them as she stepped around his near-naked body. Smiling as she watched his body grow harder with the closeness of her presence. Making sure one hand stayed on him, she walked a full circle around him. Surveying his body. She needed to make him escape his mind and all the thoughts running through him.

Laying her palm flat on his bare shoulder, she trailed her fingers over his skin as she made another circle around him. The edge of her nails raked along his skin leaving pale white streaks behind them. His muscles flinched and jerked, but it didn’t stop her from moving down to his hard abs.

“Close your eyes and take a deep breath in.” Her voice dropped and leveled out at a calming tone. “Your body is tense and all knotted up. I can feel the stress of the day on you. I’m going to help you clear that away.” His eyes drifted closed and his chest rose to hold a breath for a second before falling back to his original form. Grabbing onto his hands, she led him over to the bed.

“I want you to keep your eyes closed. If you open them even once, I’ll be forced to start your punishment. I don’t feel you’re ready to undergo that just yet, so please don’t make me.”

His heavy breath released, and she took it as his way of acknowledging her request. She backed him to the edge of the bed, pushing him down to sit. “I need you to slide farther onto the bed and lie on your back with your head on the pillow.”

Without opening his eyes, Mason shifted his body until he backed up enough to move into the position. Happy with his arrangement, she moved to the side of the bed near his head and grabbed the cuffs that were tucked on both sides. She reached for his hand and slipped his wrist in before moving around to the other side to repeat the process.

“What is your safe word?”

“Watermelon,” he mumbled.

She felt proud as he unknowingly handed her over some of his control. He hadn’t handed all of it over to her yet…but she would get it. It was important to the outcome of his future in the lifestyle for him to learn to fully trust her. He had to learn to let go of his control for this relationship to work.

Walking around to the foot of the bed, she reached for his ankles and locked them in. Once she secured his body, Stella stood back and admired how beautiful he looked tied to her bed. The muscles of his naked body flexed and hard, awaiting the unknown. His eyes remained closed and his breathing labored as if he were fighting internally to remain calm.

“Is that comfortable enough for you?” She moved around to the other side of the bed. She trailed her hand from his ankle to his abs, making sure he knew she still lingered there and wasn’t about to leave him. She wanted to keep him comfortable and relaxed.

“Why do I need to be tied?” His voice, rock solid showing no emotion at all.

“Being secured is just a way to hand over trust. Remember, any time you can’t handle something, all you need to do is say your safe word and all this will come to a stop.” She turned to face toward his body. Keeping her hands on him, she trailed her fingers around his pelvic bone and teased at the opening of the waistband of his briefs.

“Putting yourself in my hands willingly like this, it tells me I have some degree of control over you. I can do anything I wish to do. For an example, I could do this…” She let her fingers dip inside his waistband until her fingers were barely touching the hair hidden beneath.

“…Or, I can do this.” Her hand leisurely wrapped around his growing cock and using her fist, pumped him once and then twice more until a moan escaped his throat. “…and there’s nothing you can do about it.”

Removing her hand from his body, she took a step away from the bed, daring him to look at her. His head tilted in her direction, but he didn’t even so much as pop one eye open.

She watched him, ready to verbally reprimand him for disobeying her. When he didn’t, she spoke. “Good. Now open your eyes.”

She wasn’t sure what she was going to do with him until that moment. An idea came to her and she moved over to the bed to begin releasing him from the cuffs.

“What are you doing? I thought you were teaching me control?”

She gave him a grin as she reached over him and freed the other side. “We are. But I just thought of another way.” Once he was free, she walked over to one of the dressers that stood in the room and handed him a pair of leather tight pants. “Put these on. No briefs.”

She waited for him to follow her instructions before leading them out of the private rooms, down the hall, and into the red room. Mason hesitated at the doorway popping his head in to look around.

“What’s the matter?”

Mason looked around the room and at all the faces that were in there. Unlike the last time he had been in the room, this time it was full of people. “I don’t want to see anyone who might know me. I take my privacy very seriously.”

“Why? Are you embarrassed? If anyone saw you in here it would be because they were a member too. What are you so afraid of?”

“I’m not afraid of anything other than losing credibility with my clients. That’s another hard limit for me. I can’t be around other people while doing…this.” He spread his hands out between them as if unsure of what to even call their relationship.

“You can refer to it as play or sceneing. I promise you, no one will think any less of you if you’re in there. We are all the same here. Some play more than others. Some play harder. But in the end, we all have desires that we need met and this is the safest place to get them.”

She walked farther into the room and waited for him to follow. Mason took one step inside the room looking around at the people. Just when she thought he would follow her lead, he turned on his heel and headed back down the hallway.

Disappointed, she let out a frustrated sigh and watched him leave. He had come so far while in the bedroom and yet, still couldn’t let go of the hold he allowed others to have over him. By caring what others thought about him, he gave them control over his mind and body.

He had some difficult bridges to cross before being completely ready to open himself up especially in front of others, but she also couldn’t have him running away every time he didn’t like a situation. Mason had to learn that they were a pair that they had a partnership. Before leaving her standing there he should have trusted that she knew how to gently guide him to his limits.

He left her with no choice. It was time to introduce Mason to punishment. If he was going to bolt for any reason, this would be it.