The day had been tiring, but well worth it. Twelve of the old employees had become their employees and they already had a list of fifty people who might be coming to work. They’d know for sure by the end of the next week. Kendrick stretched his neck and pulled his arms out slowly, holding them out until the muscles in his upper back relaxed. Becca’s back wasn’t healed so he wouldn’t do a heavy scene with her. But if things went well he would still enjoy himself with her.
A slightly evil grin touched his lips. He’d drive her out of her mind while not allowing her to move. Old trick but sometimes the old ones worked the best. And since he couldn’t play hard, he could play with her mind. That was where real play happened, anyway.
A large pizza sat in front of the hearth to keep warm. Neil had made a run with the ferry to pick up a boat they could use and to get something good to eat. That was something they would need to have in place soon. Good food. When the men and women who would be running the shops and restaurants arrived, that needed to be in place. Nobody would want to take the long trip back and forth every day to get food from Sequim. And cooking at home every day when you’re working your ass off for twelve to sixteen hours wasn’t viable in anyone’s time table.
Kendrick sent Craig a quick text asking for an update on the kitchen. If they could get Slate and another chef to share it, they might do a cafeteria style meal three times a day until the food places were up and running in the Faire. He blew out a breath. The next six weeks were going to be hectic and expensive. He looked forward to it, but he knew by the time the Faire opened, he and the others would be raw. They needed good food to keep them going.
A soft knock on his door changed his focus entirely and he strode toward it. He pulled it open and took in the vision in front of him. Becca was completely nude except for some sort of opaque sash would wound her breasts and hips. “Very nice,” he said and stepped back. “Come in, Becca. I hope you like pizza. It’s all I have.”
She stepped past him and he took a moment to look at her back. Bandages covered three large welts and several others were slightly raised but not bleeding. “I love pizza,” she said in a quiet tone. It did not escape his notice that her eyes were lowered. Good little submissive. But she wasn’t his sub yet.
“Until we come to an agreement, I’d like for you to meet my gaze,” he said after he closed the door and led her into the kitchen. “Currently your status is my equal in everything until you give that up.” A little shiver of her shoulders made him frown. “Are you cold or was that anticipation?”
She glanced up, her soft hazel eyes twinkling. “Anticipation. Though I might be cold as well.”
Amused he nodded toward the box. “Get us both a couple slices while I light a fire. I’m going to have to get used to this Northwest wet cold.”
“I’ve lived here for almost a decade and I’m still not used to it,” she said.
“Well, something made you stay.” He put a new log on the fire and closed the grate. “That should warm things up,” he said as he turned back. Becca sat on the sofa, two plates in front of her on the low coffee table. “I must say, I approve of your outfit.”
She smiled. “Cassidy helped me come up with it. I didn’t bring my club clothes with me. A scarf seemed to work.”
It worked perfectly. While he could see her dusky nipples, the dips and folds of the scarf played a “now you see it now you don’t” game with his head. And apparently with his dick which was ready to get to the end of the night and slam inside her heat.
“It works for now,” he agreed. He sat down next to her, making sure to brush her thigh with his. She trembled and he picked up his plate. “So what do you love about the rainy Washington coast?”
A soft laugh left her lips and she picked up her plate. “I think it’s a combination of things. I love being near the water. I’ve met some really good people in the kink community and they’re like home to me. Plus, I’m employed by the Seattle School system, which keeps me in enough money to survive.”
Surprised, he turned toward her. “So how did you get off work in May?”
She rolled her eyes. His palm itched to smack her ass hard enough to stop that. The disrespect in the movement was one of his bugaboos. Craig liked the sass in it. He did not. Thankfully he had full control of himself and didn’t say or do anything. “Cutbacks. Since I graduated with my master’s degree I’ve been working on an as-needed basis, filling in for teachers who are on long-term sick leave. I finally have a contract of my own for next year teaching English to seventh and eighth graders, but this year I was filling in for a teacher who was on maternity leave. Mid-year the school system decided to combine two classes whose teachers were off into one humungous class and the other as-needed teacher got that job. So I found myself without work and this job sounded perfect.” Becca shrugged. “Turned out to be anything but… until you arrived.” She gave him a sideways glance as she took a bite of pizza. The oil from the pizza made her lips glisten in the low lighting and he could imagine her covered in his cum.
He needed to get them moved on to the contract part of the evening before he exploded. It had obviously been too long since he’d had a sub. His body was like a coiled spring.
Clearing his throat deliberately, he leaned back against the sofa. As he’d expected, she stilled, aware of the signal, though probably wondering what it meant from him. Kendrick couldn’t wait to find out how much training she had and how much he would have to tweak. They would only be together until she went back to Seattle, which would not give him time to fix any traits he didn’t like, but he still felt they could do well together. Or at least he hoped they could. “Tell me about your training.”
Becca placed the plate on her lap and turned her body slightly toward him as she spoke. “I met Master Dennis when I went to a club for the first time. He trained new subs and took me on.” A soft smile crossed her face telling him of very good memories. “Master Dennis was strict, but kind, and never lost his temper once. After he’d been training me for about six months, he tried to secure me a place with another Dom, but I didn’t feel comfortable being handed off. So I went out on my own.”
An independent sub. Interesting.
“I was with Master Rob for three years. We met just before I got my master’s degree and we aligned in a lot of kinks. He pushed me further than I ever thought possible.” Her soft smile turned into a grin. “I found kinks that I once thought horrifying or disgusting fit me to a T. But he didn’t think taking me on as a permanent submissive was good for either of us. He’s in his sixties,” she explained, “and the forty year difference was fine in his home or at a club, but he was right that we could never go beyond that even if we continued. I’ve worked with other Doms since, but none that felt right.”
The way she hedged those last few words made him cock a brow. “There are many reasons a Dom and sub don’t mesh. What do you think happened with them?”
She winced and pink flooded into her cheeks. “Master Rob was right,” she said softly.
“About what?”
Becca startled as though being surprised he heard her. “I called him and asked him to find out about you. Turns out he met and thinks highly of you.” She fidgeted a little, though he couldn’t imagine why. That had been a very smart thing for her to do. “He reminded me,” she went on in a rush, “that I should tell you of my two main faults.”
He kept a straight face, but was very interested to see what she felt her main faults were. “Go on.”
Twice she opened her mouth and closed it again. But finally she raised her eyes to meet his and blurted out, “I think too much and I tend to push people away.”
Ah. The thinking too much was a wonderful challenge. For some subs, a Dom needed to create a tremendous amount of sensation, enough that the sub was overpowered with them and their brain shut off. For others, it was more a case of trust. Their brain ran like a hamster on a wheel, not allowing them to connect with a scene. It would be fun to figure out which she was. Or even if there was another reason. “How do you push them away?” he asked, wanting a clearer look into that particular problem. He needed to know what to look for.
Becca took another bite of pizza and took a long time to chew.
“Rebecca,” he said firmly and she gulped, her eyes wide. “I’m not going to judge you for it. But I need to know if we’re going to go forward.”
“It’s different every time,” she said in a soft voice. “I don’t even know I’m doing it until after I’ve screwed things up. But it’s like my inner sub knows exactly what button to push to send a Dom, or any man really, running for the hills. My mind concentrates on something, blows it up into something bigger than it is, and the world has suddenly ended and I’ll do everything to save myself. Master Rob explained it’s a form of protection. I’ll push you away before you can push me.”
His heart softened for the sweet sub. Many submissives had issues a Dom had to work with and he’d met a few who had similar problems. “Becca, our contract will be for a finite time. It can only last until you return to Seattle. Will that create barriers you won’t be able to let down? Or will it help knowing there’s no reason to push me away because there’s already an end in mind?”
She finished her last piece of pizza and set the plate back on the coffee table. “I don’t know.” Honesty rang in her tone and in the worry in her eyes.
He reached forward and drifted two fingers over her cheeks. “That’s fine, Becca. You don’t have to know. But if you’re willing to go forward with me, we’ll figure it out together.” He smiled to make sure she knew he was being honest. “All couples have to find those little things and pluck them out. Who knows? Maybe I can help there so that your next Dom just needs to fine tune it.”
“You think that’s possible?” Becca asked. “That would be nice. I get tired of realizing I’m the one who screwed things up.”
Kendrick scoffed. “Those Doms had the choice to pick up and run or stay and fight. So it isn’t all on you. And knowing this ahead of time, I know of a couple rules right off I’ll make for you that will hopefully help.” He patted her leg. “Let me go grab the contract. I printed it off right before you arrived.”
The contract still sat in the printer and he removed it and brought it back into the living room to her. “Here. My contracts are simple,” he explained as she took the paperwork from him. “I don’t believe in spelling out every little thing because A: that’s not how I work, B: I’m not that anal retentive, and C: we’re just starting out and there’s no way for me to know what you need.”
He filled two glasses with water and put them on the coffee table before taking his seat, this time putting a little space between them. While she looked at the contract, he would not interfere.
“Just a limits list?” she asked in surprise after thumbing through it.
“And the last page where I’ll list the things that will be part of our relationship. And just so you know, that list of limits is extensive. It doesn’t mean I do everything on it. In fact, there are some items that are a hard limit for me. But I want to know what you need,” he said firmly. “Because if it turned out our needs were diametrically opposite to one another, I would be a poor Dom indeed if I took you on.”