CHAPTER 8
“I think we might have destroyed my car’s shocks.” Gareth dropped the third of the large IKEA boxes onto the living room floor. “Was there anything else?”
His five o’clock shadow had come in, and I’d spent the better part of two hours trying to not stare. I knew he hated the scruffy look, but I thought it made him look amazing.
“Nope, I grabbed everything else.” I’d actually gone nuts with the shopping, not at all what I’d intended. But I wasn’t about to pass up the opportunity either. I mean, come on . . . IKEA!
Gareth stood in the middle of the room, his hands on his hips, surveying the pile of boxes and scattering of bags. “I’m almost scared to ask if you want help with this.”
“Oh, would you?” I totally knew he would. “It would go a lot faster with two people and then I could spend tomorrow getting the books up and organized and Connie won’t hate me quite so much. I promise I won’t make you work the whole weekend either. I bought beer and we can watch a movie on Netflix later if you want.” Netflix? Well, it was as good a plan B as anything. Hopefully, there wouldn’t be a need for movies. Though any excuse to watch Secretary was good with me.
Gareth rolled up his sleeves and tore open the boxes. He’d worn jeans and a button-down shirt, my favorite combination on him. Damn, I had to leave if I was ever to get phase two of The Plan into action.
“I have to hit the bathroom.” I started edging my way from him. “Need anything before I disappear?”
“No, I’m good. I’m surprised you haven’t exploded yet.” He smirked at me before returning his attention back to the box. “How many coffees did you have?”
“Only two.” That he saw. “I’ll be out in a minute.”
I’d gotten everything I’d need ready before he’d picked me up. My bathroom had been converted from the place I primp and clean into a leather works. I’m not normally one for all the trimmings, but I had to admit it was a lot of fun shopping with Connie. The thigh-high leather boots were my favorite of the outfit. The way the leather clung to my skin as I laced them up damn near made me come. Yet another kink I’d have to explore.
The corset and skirt left nothing to the imagination. I had to practice putting everything on a few times to make sure I could do it quickly. Honestly, my first few attempts at dressing were funny as hell. At least now I knew how to do it without ending up in knots.
With the strings tightened, boots on and panties off, I quickly put on the cherry red lipstick and darkened my eye shadow. I really didn’t look myself, but that was the whole point. Pulling my hair into a tight bun changed the way my face looked. I was no longer sweet, funny, and slightly odd Liz. I’d morphed into Domme, Mistress Elizabeth.
So. Frigging. Weird.
And a little bit hot.
But this was the plan to help Gareth get past whatever this block was in his head. His wife wouldn’t have wanted him to be alone. At least, I would hope not.
“Liz, do you have a hammer?”
“In the kitchen pantry. Third shelf.”
I somehow managed to keep myself calm enough, listening at the door for him to go into the kitchen. Not that I had my entrance planned precisely, but this was a bit better than the cheesy hey sexy, wanna fuck bit I had in mind.
Holding myself back until I knew he was rummaging in my pantry, I tiptoed my way into the living room, pushing open the door to my bedroom on the way. I had practiced my pose—Connie insisted—so I knew exactly the impression I was giving.
Imposing. Sexy.
As long as I didn’t laugh.
Please God, don’t let me laugh.
“I don’t know how you and Connie can find anything in that mess. I’m surprised Stephen hasn’t made you—” Gareth stopped dead in the doorway, his eyes wide. “Whoa.”
“Are you criticizing my organizational skills?”
I would have loved to have cocked an eyebrow the way he does when he’s annoyed with me, but I can’t do it. Instead, I narrowed my gaze and lowered my chin. I knew I got the look right when he sucked in a sharp breath.
“Liz, what are you doing?”
“That’s Mistress Elizabeth. I’m the one in charge here tonight.” Okay, so I actually sounded pretty good there. Liz on steroids or something.
Gareth smiled and gave his head a small shake. “I’m not sure I want to play this game, Liz.”
“Believe it or not, this isn’t actually about you. Now come here.”
Stephen had let me borrow his riding crop from his toy box. He said it would add to the whole air of control, plus it would give me something to do with my hands. The downside was how sweaty my palm was getting as I had to wait to see if Gareth would come this far, trust me enough to at least hear me out.
Gareth pushed his wire-framed glasses up his nose. He always wore his contacts when we were doing a scene, but I loved seeing him in his glasses. It was another subtle change that I hoped would help make things work tonight. I didn’t move—a feat in itself—as I waited. He was always more patient than me, but I could see the cracks in his resolve tonight.
This was different. I’d not only caught him off guard, but I’d nudged him into unfamiliar territory. From what Stephen had told me that was something very few people had ever been able to do.
When he took that first step toward me, I wanted to jump and whoop. I bit the inside of my cheek and tightened my grip on the crop instead.
“Liz?”
I narrowed my gaze again.
“I mean, Mistress Elizabeth?”
“Not another word until you come here.” Stephen’s crash course on being dominant had been helpful, but most of what I needed to know I’d learned from Gareth himself. The way he handled me, how he kept himself composed, how still he could be. That was the type of Domme I wanted to be for him. I had a feeling he needed it more than most.
I could smell his cologne and the faint whiff of sweat from having moved the heavy boxes up from the car as he drew closer to me. Normally, I’d be the one begging to lick the side of his neck, needing to taste him. It was oddly arousing to be on the other side of this power exchange.
Tonight it was my job to look after Gareth, to make sure that he knew he was as safe with me as I was with him. To give back to him the gift he gave so freely to me.
Gareth still hesitated, but after a few more moments he sauntered over to me. I could tell by the way he moved he wasn’t convinced that I was serious about this whole thing, but he was willing to play along for the time being. He stopped half a foot from me and grinned.
Wearing these boots, I was nearly as tall as him. I don’t know if the added few inches gave me more confidence, or if I was actually starting to slip into the role. Instead of my normal lip-biting routine, I lifted my chin and evenly met his gaze.
“On your knees.”
He did cock an eyebrow then—God, I wish I could do that—but didn’t otherwise move. Now, Liz would have been tempted to throw a “Please, Sir” on the end of that command. But right now I was Mistress Elizabeth and I wasn’t about to be begging for anything. Without looking away from him, I flicked the crop so I landed a smack to the outside of his thigh.
“Now.”
It was weird. One moment we were standing there as equals. I had asked in the strangest way possible for him to trust me and go along with what I had planned. Though he didn’t actually say the words, I knew he understood. I was then forced to stand by and watch him work his way through his decision. God, I could practically see his thought process running through his mind as he weighed the pros and cons, the benefits of going along for the ride.
I must look this way to him too. Even more so.
Connie always told me the power actually lies with the sub in these situations, but I never quite believed her. Not until this moment when I realized if he said no, or made any indication that he wasn’t into what I was about to do, that I’d have to walk away. I might be the one with the crop, but that wasn’t true power.
Shit, I hadn’t considered that he might say no. This wasn’t something we’d ever discussed before and despite Stephen’s reassurances, I didn’t know for certain if he’d be into this.
Plan C—we’d have to have a conversation. Not sure how that would go.
Gareth cocked his head to the side and let his gaze run down my body. I wanted to preen, but that, too, wouldn’t have worked. Mistress Elizabeth wouldn’t care what a sub thought of her appearance. She was a bastion of power and control. Queen of the bedroom.
I sighed and tried to look bored. He chuckled again. But after a few more seconds, he sank slowly to his knees.
Oh.
Oh yes, please.
I moved behind him, careful not to touch any part of his body, but needing to get out of his line of sight for a few moments. While I had no problem taking charge at the office when I needed to, this was different. I mean, Gareth had always projected that quiet core of steel, one that I didn’t think could be dented, let alone broken.
Standing there, with him on his knees, I started to wonder exactly how wrong I was.
I let out a huff and did my best to push the distracting thoughts from my mind. I had only one thing to focus on right now and that was the man at my feet.
“You have been hiding yourself from me.” I lightly tapped the back of his head with the crop. “I’m not sure if you thought I was dumb or if I wouldn’t call you on it, but I’ve had enough.”
“Liz, I—”
The fabric of his pants increased the sound of the crop landing against his ass, even though I knew it would dull the sensation. It didn’t stop him from jumping or twisting around to look at me. I’d surprised him, and I could tell from his eyes that he hadn’t been taking Mistress Elizabeth seriously.
Oh, dude, that was mistake number one.
“Take your shirt off.”
It was funny how I found myself trying to emulate what Gareth did to me. Voice calm and steady, free from emotion. I kept out of his line of sight and touched him only when I wanted to get a reaction. I made him wait until the limits of his resolve were tested.
The bastard had more patience than me, but that didn’t mean I couldn’t do this.
I gave the top of his shoulder a tap with the crop, a bit harder than maybe I should have, when he didn’t react. “I said, shirt off.”
Gareth let out a shuddering breath. Slowly, he started undoing the buttons of his shirt. Inch by inch, his body was revealed to me. Firm skin and tight muscles as the fabric dropped down his arms and finally to the floor. I couldn’t stop myself from running the leather tip of the crop along the back of his shoulders, down the curve of his spine to the top of his waistband.
“Very nice.” I counted to five in my head, took a breath, and moved around him until I stood in front of him once more. “Excellent in fact.”
“Thank you.”
I lifted his chin with the crop and waited for him to correct his mistake.
“Thank you, Mistress.”
Yeah, I could get used to this.
“I’ve noticed you’re not very good at listening. I plan on teaching you how to be better at it. What do you have to say about that?”
Gareth didn’t say anything. Okay, not exactly the response I wanted, but I couldn’t let his stubborn streak get to me. “See, this is exactly what I’m talking about. Not listening. I asked you a question. I’m waiting for a response.”
He kept his eyes up and locked onto mine. There wasn’t the normal calm I was used to seeing in him. Holy shit, he actually looked a little freaked out. I knew I was supposed to stay in character, but I couldn’t, not with him barely keeping it together. I reached down and cupped his face in my hands, letting the crop fall to the floor.
“We can stop this right now.” I leaned in and kissed his forehead. Gareth sucked in a sharp breath, but he didn’t otherwise move. “I . . . I probably got this all wrong. I got the impression you might enjoy having someone else in charge for once. Give you a bit of a break. And I wanted to show you that I could actually do this . . . and I wanted to just . . .”
I pulled back enough to watch him swallow. His eyes were filled with unshed tears and his hands were shaking as they hung limp by his side. Dammit, this wasn’t right at all. I can’t believe I’d screwed things up so badly this fast.
“Gareth, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to upset you. Let’s just forget that I—”
“Thank you.”
I was so surprised I’m sure I gave an excellent gaping-fish impression. “What?”
He reached up and placed his hand over mine. “I don’t think I’ve ever had anyone do something so . . . generous for me before.”
That’s right, that’s me. Good old generous Liz. “What?”
Gareth chuckled, but he made no move to run away screaming. Hell, he somehow went from looking panicked to relaxed in the space of a few heartbeats.
“Liz, you’re not a Domme.”
“Believe me, I know. But Stephen said you needed to have things shaken up a bit, and Connie wanted me to ask you to participate in an orgy, but I was pretty sure you wouldn’t be into that. I thought this might be a better option. So I bought the outfit and borrowed the crop and I really wanted to give you a special night as a thank you for everything you’ve done for me. And maybe see if there was possibly a chance that we could take things a bit further.”
Whoa, he didn’t interrupt my tirade.
He wasn’t saying anything, in fact.
“Gareth?”
“Yes, Mistress?”
Okay, so if I thought I was wet before, having this in-control, domineering man call me Mistress had me nearly coming on the spot.
“Do you want me to continue?” I gave his cheek a gentle squeeze. He was always doing that to me, touching and caressing. It settled me in a way I hadn’t realized contact could. If luck was with me, it would do the same for him. “Because for a minute there it looked as if you were freaking out. I need you to say the words so I know I’m not forcing this on you.”
Gareth didn’t have the same tells that I did. He didn’t lick his lips or bite his cheek when he got nervous. But surprisingly, he would drop his gaze. An odd thing given what he enjoyed doing in the bedroom. Though I’ve come to the realization that who we are when the door closes doesn’t encapsulate everything about us as a person.
Currently, Gareth was staring at a spot on my chest—probably my cleavage. It was a really nice corset and did its job spectacularly.
“Yeah, I think I do.”
There was that internal Snoopy dance going on again.
“What’s your safeword?”
“Book.”
“Book? Really? That’s very . . . book?”
“Don’t make fun of the safeword, Liz.”
“Right. Sorry. Book, it is.”
I had to step away then and give myself a minute to get back into character. I also knew that he’d need a few moments of quiet himself. It really is a different headspace when you’re doing a scene, even if it’s with someone you care about. Especially then. The last thing you wanted to do was fuck it up and hurt them.
As weird as this was, I wanted to show him that I could be the woman he could trust to take the next step with. The only way I could think to do that was to pretend to be something I wasn’t, to give him something he needed.
I loved him enough to make the effort.
Starting up my saunter around him once more, I made sure to scoop up the riding crop from where it had fallen. The leather wrap around the handle had cooled down, but it wouldn’t be long before we had it hot and sweaty once more.
It was time.
I had a Dom to train.