like this except...
Recognition hit and she slammed on her brakes, causing the cars behind her to follow suit with a chorus of angry horns. Cringing, she cranked the steering wheel to the right and plunged into the parking area of a Vietnamese diner.
Annabel turned off the motor and sat for a few moments, shaking. This can't be happening. The dark memory of the Violation seared through her like a snakebite's venom. At length, enough time passed she was able to summon a bit of her normal fighting spirit. In fact, I won't let it happen.
She yanked the oversized tote she used for a purse from the floor well of the passenger seat and began a clumsy search for her phone. Locating it inside her pouch of emergency makeup, she yanked it out and punched in Zach's number with shaking fingers.
As she waited for him to answer, she took deep breaths. She would be calm. Whatever this game was, she would not let them play it. Not today and not on her.
He answered on the fourth ring. "Hello?"
"You didn't tell me that you lived with Seth! Our play date is off. You hear me? Off! "
So much for calm, she thought.
"Whoa, easy, gorgeous," he said. "I don't live with Seth."
She couldn't help but notice he had the composure that evaded her.
"I know the way to his house. I've been there before," she snapped in response to his innocent-sounding voice. "You're lying to me. Count me out."
"I've rented the townhouse from him, yes, but I swear"--he made an emphatic stress of the word--"I live with no one. In fact, not wanting to live with anyone is why I left my brother's."
For God's sake, why was she still on the phone with this...this... "Oh?"
"Renting it from Seth was the reason we were talking at the table," he said. "You remember?"
She did. "Hmm."
"It never occurred to me to tell you. Shit, I'm sorry."
"Hmm," she said again.
"I swear, goddess. You and I will be alone. Just you and me. On my life, I swear." That whisky-chocolate voice coaxed at her, pulled at her, caused her resolve to waver. "Just you and me, beautiful. I promise you an experience you'll never forget."
She shivered as his alluring tones tickled every nerve she had. From the tips of her toes to the top of her hair, she could feel his persuasion. But the fear filling her stomach warned her that she trod a path dangerous to her emotional health. Yet, running away didn't seem to be the way to heal. She was no coward.
What was she thinking? She was nuts to still be on the phone with him.
"Okay. I'm on my way."
"I can't wait," he said and ended the call with enough speed she wondered if he was trying to disconnect fast enough to keep her from changing her mind.
It worked. Knowing he awaited her was like a spur to her side. Ah, God, will this slave training ever leave me? It would, she told herself, but clearly not today. Things like that took time. Throwing off behavioral conditioning didn't happen overnight. Yes, it had been six months since she'd left Seth's training kennel, but it was obvious she still had work to do.
He was a helluva trainer.
"I'll get over this mental thing," she said, as she navigated the turn-around at the entrance of Seth's familiar and very pricey community. "I won't be like this forever." In fact, her first play date as a dominant was the first step in the right direction. "Today is the first day of the new me."
She'd been saying that a lot lately.
A fortunate turn of events allowed her to find a parking spot near Seth's--no, Zach's--door when another car pulled out and drove away. These were lovely townhouses, but parking was tight since these homes had been shoehorned along the block. And she just didn't feel comfortable enough parking in his empty driveway.
She sat for a moment in car, staring at the townhouse in question and ignoring how the sun beat down on the rooftop. The townhouse stared back at her, all pristine paint, prim shrubbery, and designer-chosen lawn ornaments.
A green-and-white lawn gnome smiled against her glower. An
Recognition hit and she slammed on her brakes, causing the cars behind her to follow suit with a chorus of angry horns. Cringing, she cranked the steering wheel to the right and plunged into the parking area of a Vietnamese diner.
Annabel turned off the motor and sat for a few moments, shaking. This can't be happening. The dark memory of the Violation seared through her like a snakebite's venom. At length, enough time passed she was able to summon a bit of her normal fighting spirit. In fact, I won't let it happen.
She yanked the oversized tote she used for a purse from the floor well of the passenger seat and began a clumsy search for her phone. Locating it inside her pouch of emergency makeup, she yanked it out and punched in Zach's number with shaking fingers.
As she waited for him to answer, she took deep breaths. She would be calm. Whatever this game was, she would not let them play it. Not today and not on her.
He answered on the fourth ring. "Hello?"
"You didn't tell me that you lived with Seth! Our play date is off. You hear me? Off! "
So much for calm, she thought.
"Whoa, easy, gorgeous," he said. "I don't live with Seth."
She couldn't help but notice he had the composure that evaded her.
"I know the way to his house. I've been there before," she snapped in response to his innocent-sounding voice. "You're lying to me. Count me out."
"I've rented the townhouse from him, yes, but I swear"--he made an emphatic stress of the word--"I live with no one. In fact, not wanting to live with anyone is why I left my brother's."
For God's sake, why was she still on the phone with this...this... "Oh?"
"Renting it from Seth was the reason we were talking at the table," he said. "You remember?"
She did. "Hmm."
"It never occurred to me to tell you. Shit, I'm sorry."
"Hmm," she said again.
"I swear, goddess. You and I will be alone. Just you and me. On my life, I swear." That whisky-chocolate voice coaxed at her, pulled at her, caused her resolve to waver. "Just you and me, beautiful. I promise you an experience you'll never forget."
She shivered as his alluring tones tickled every nerve she had. From the tips of her toes to the top of her hair, she could feel his persuasion. But the fear filling her stomach warned her that she trod a path dangerous to her emotional health. Yet, running away didn't seem to be the way to heal. She was no coward.
What was she thinking? She was nuts to still be on the phone with him.
"Okay. I'm on my way."
"I can't wait," he said and ended the call with enough speed she wondered if he was trying to disconnect fast enough to keep her from changing her mind.
It worked. Knowing he awaited her was like a spur to her side. Ah, God, will this slave training ever leave me? It would, she told herself, but clearly not today. Things like that took time. Throwing off behavioral conditioning didn't happen overnight. Yes, it had been six months since she'd left Seth's training kennel, but it was obvious she still had work to do.
He was a helluva trainer.
"I'll get over this mental thing," she said, as she navigated the turn-around at the entrance of Seth's familiar and very pricey community. "I won't be like this forever." In fact, her first play date as a dominant was the first step in the right direction. "Today is the first day of the new me."
She'd been saying that a lot lately.
A fortunate turn of events allowed her to find a parking spot near Seth's--no, Zach's--door when another car pulled out and drove away. These were lovely townhouses, but parking was tight since these homes had been shoehorned along the block. And she just didn't feel comfortable enough parking in his empty driveway.
She sat for a moment in car, staring at the townhouse in question and ignoring how the sun beat down on the rooftop. The townhouse stared back at her, all pristine paint, prim shrubbery, and designer-chosen lawn ornaments.
A green-and-white lawn gnome smiled against her glower. An
Similar Books
A Rather Lovely Inheritance
C. A. Belmond
The Look of Love
Mary Jane Clark
The Best Australian Science Writing 2012
Elizabeth Finkel
Shadow of Temptation (Asylums for Magical Threats #2.5)
Jessie Donovan
The Prey
Tom Isbell
Secrets of Valhalla
Jasmine Richards
Life After a Balla
Jackie D.
In the Italian's Sights
Helen Brooks
20,000 Leagues Under the Sea
Jules Verne