Brie's Tokyo Tryst (Submissive in Love, #1) (5 page)

“Besides Kinbaku?”

That mysterious blush showed up again,
coloring Tono’s cheeks when he answered. “Yes.”

“Well, now you have me intrigued, Nosaka,”
Sir replied. “When and where?”

Tono looked towards his father’s room. “It
would be best if we did it as soon as possible. I hate to leave my
father in this condition, but he insists. Are you free tonight? I
can pick you up at the hotel around eight.”

Brie was equally curious, and hoped her
question would shed some light on the night’s festivities. “Any
particular clothing we should wear?”

Tono smiled when he answered her. “Casual
dress.” Then he turned to Sir, adding, “A few favorite toys would
be advisable as well.”

What the heck does Tono have planned
tonight?

Whatever it was, it had the experienced
Dom’s cheeks turning red, so she knew it had to be something
exceedingly unusual.

They left soon after to give Tono time with
his father.

In the car, Brie began to cry.

“Did Mr. Nosaka say something unkind, Brie?”
Sir asked gently.

“No, Sir. He actually apologized to me.”

Sir raised his eyebrow. “Now that
is
surprising. He’s not a man to take back an opinion once it’s
voiced.”

“I’m in shock as well, Sir.”

“So why are you crying?”

“Being in that room, seeing Tono with his
father…it was both touching and heartbreaking. I wish I could do
something to change what’s about to happen.”

“Death is a struggle, but it’s a journey all
of us must travel, Brie. As much as you may wish to carry his
burden, grief is a solitary endeavor. The most we can hope to do is
act as a distraction from the pain and be there for Ren later, when
everyone else has moved on.”

Brie thought of Sir as a young man, having
suffered the traumatic death of his father with no one supporting
him other than his uncle, Mr. Reynolds. The ruthless curiosity of
the press must have been excruciating to bear, especially at such a
young age.

She suspected that as hard as it was for her
to see Tono’s father dying, it must be churning up painful memories
for Sir as well. However, when she tried to broach the subject, he
immediately cut her off with a stern lecture.

“This is not about me, this is about
Nosaka!”

She knew better than to press him, but now
there was no doubt in her mind that Sir was struggling. When they
arrived at the hotel, she squeezed his hand as he helped her out of
the car. Brie needed him to know that she was there for him—in
whatever capacity he wanted—and went on tiptoe to whisper, “I’m
here, Sir, however you need me.”

His eyes stared past her, as if he were
being tormented by some agonizing memory he couldn’t get past. It
continued to eat at him, his face becoming stern and unyielding as
they entered the hotel room. In a distant voice he informed her, “I
need to prepare for my meeting tomorrow and will most likely be on
the phone for the next few hours. It would be better if you stayed
out here and worked on your documentary while I retire to the
bedroom.”

Brie nodded, although the last thing she
wanted to do was work on the film. She
needed
to be with
Sir, to understand what was troubling him. She called out as she
watched him walk away from her. “Please, Sir…”

He turned back, his voice almost cruel in
its fierce intensity. “What is it, Brie?”

She lost her nerve and replied timidly, “I
hope your meeting goes well tomorrow.”

He narrowed his eyes, knowing that was not
what she had wanted to say, but he did not question her on it.
Instead, he entered the room and closed the door behind him,
shutting her out.

Brie swallowed back the tears. Even after
all this time together, there were still moments when he cut
himself off from her. It hurt deeply, more than she wanted to
admit. He’d insisted that grieving was a solitary journey, and it
appeared he still believed that to be true, but she didn’t so Brie
gathered her courage and knocked on the door.

“What is it?” he asked harshly.

“May I come in?”

“No. I thought I’d made myself clear.”

She was shocked by his denial of entrance,
but would not be deterred by it. She laid her head against the door
and pleaded, “Please tell me what’s wrong.” When he didn’t answer,
she reminded him, “We’re condors, Sir.”

The door was yanked open, leaving Brie
teetering as she tried to keep from falling. His eyes shone with
unveiled resentment. “As my sub, you are expected to follow my
orders, téa. Do you need a lesson in obedience?”

She looked at the floor and answered meekly,
“No, Sir.”

“Good. We both have jobs to do. I suggest
you get to work.”

She dutifully returned to the other room
after he closed the door with unnecessary force. Brie got out her
computer and stared at the screen, unable to think about the
film.

Something had changed; she’d felt it in the
car. Her frustration grew knowing she had done nothing wrong, but
she reminded herself that she was a condor. It was her honor and
duty to see her Master through whatever was tearing at his soul,
even when she was required to take the brunt of his misplaced
anger.

Brie was certain Sir would cancel their
outing with Tono, and was surprised when he emerged from the room
thirty minutes before eight dressed in a dark shirt and jeans.

“Get dressed and meet me in the lobby.”

Although his voice sounded warm, his
expression was still distant and haunted. As she walked past him,
however, Sir put his hand on her shoulder.

She stopped, her head bowed but her heart
gladdened by the simple contact.

“It’s not you, Brie.”

She nodded with tears in her eyes. “I needed
to hear that, Sir. Thank you.”

“Tonight we concentrate our efforts on
Nosaka, since that is the sole reason we came to Japan.” When Sir
took his hand away, the comforting connection it created
disappeared. He left her in the hotel room with things feeling just
as distant as before. It worried her.

With shaking hands, Brie dressed herself and
went to join her Master in the lobby.

Tono’s Secret

T
ono entered the hotel
looking stylish in his simple black kimono. Brie noticed a group of
young women stare at him and then whisper amongst themselves
excitedly.

“I see you brought the requested items,”
Tono commented, glancing at the backpack Sir had slung over his
shoulder.

“Just a few essentials.”

“Perfect.” Tono glanced at Brie for a
moment, then back at Sir. “Is anything wrong?”

Leave it to Tono to pick up on the
tension.

“No,” Sir assured him, “but I believe Brie
is suffering from jetlag.”

Tono asked Brie, “Would you rather skip
tonight?”

“Absolutely not,” Sir answered for her. “My
sub is in need of a little adventure this evening.”

Brie smiled, nodding her agreement.

Tono said with a glint in his eye,
“Good.”

His countenance completely changed once they
left the hotel. He became guarded, speaking in hushed tones. “What
we do must remain a secret. You can tell no one where we’ve been
tonight.”

Brie’s eyes widened, charmed by his
mysterious behavior. Was there a Japanese BDSM underground? The way
Tono was acting, she figured the club must be extremely taboo.

She remembered how stunned she’d been to
learn that Rytsar was a sadist. Was she about to find out something
equally shocking about Tono?

Brie shivered.
Do I want to know?

She took a long, hard look at Tono once they
were in his car. She quickly came to the conclusion that he wasn’t
the type to indulge in extreme play. His spirit was far too
gentle—other than his feisty bouts of spanking.

She was stumped by what secret Tono and his
father could be hiding, but it pleased her heart that the elder
Nosaka wanted her to know.

If Sir was burning with the same curiosity,
he sure didn’t show it. He looked calm and collected, as if he knew
exactly where they were headed, so Brie leaned over and asked,
“Where are we going, Sir?”

“I haven’t a clue,” he answered, giving her
a slight smile before staring out the window. She looked down at
the backpack on his lap and decided that their destination was
unimportant.

Sir was right; the only thing that mattered
tonight was helping Tono.

The Asian Dom’s behavior remained aloof
after he parked the car, leading them through a labyrinth of narrow
alleyways deep within an older section of the city. The location
seemed to hint at something illicit or even dangerous. Sir put his
arm protectively around Brie as if he felt the same way.

The building Tono eventually led them to had
a brightly lit sign and crowds of young people milling about. To
Brie it looked like a dance club from the outside, but she was in
for a surprise when they walked through the entrance and were
greeted by a steep set of stairs leading to a dark basement
below.

A young man met them at the bottom of the
stairs and bowed to Tono before asking him a series of questions in
Japanese. There was a quick exchange of funds, then Tono told them
to follow as he walked down a dimly lit corridor with vividly
painted red doors on either side.

He led them to the farthest room and opened
it with a shy grin, motioning them to enter.

Brie had no idea what to expect as she
walked into the room, but she was surprised to see connected
couches lining three of the walls, with a low-lying wooden table in
the center, and a large white screen covering the furthest
wall.

“Please take a seat,” Tono told them.

Sir placed his pack on the table and sat on
the couch, patting the area next to him. Brie gratefully sat by his
side, although she would have preferred kneeling at his feet.

As she glanced around, she concluded it must
be a private screening room for bondage videos. Tono picked up a
remote lying on the table and the speakers popped into life as a
list of titles in Japanese appeared on the screen. Her curiosity
increased when he went to a shelf in the corner and took something
from a box there.

He returned with an item that looked
suspiciously like a smaller version of a Hitachi Magic Wand. Brie
giggled as it dawned on her that he was holding a mic, which meant
they must be in a private karaoke room.

“No way…” she giggled.

Sir looked at him with amusement, chuckling
to himself.

Tono tilted his head charmingly and asked,
“Do you sing?”

Brie shook her head violently. “No! I’m
sorry, Tono. I can’t sing, not even a note.”

He answered her protest with an engaging
smile. “Come on, Brie—come sing with me.”

“I’m serious, Tono. I would only make your
eardrums bleed if I did.”

“Please…”

His earnest plea pulled at her heartstrings,
but Brie couldn’t hide her horror at the idea of singing in front
of either Dom and stated firmly, “I can’t.”

Tono looked to Sir for assistance.

Sir shook his head as he lay back on the
couch. “I must admit, Nosaka, you’ve surprised me with this one. I
never suspected this would be where we ended up. However, if you
are serious about wanting to proceed further, I suggest
sake
may be in order. We will need to loosen Brie up and heighten our
own tolerance for pain.”

She blushed. Sir had once heard her sing in
the shower and requested afterwards that she refrain from doing so
again.

“I’m sure she’s not as bad as you claim,”
Tono insisted, but he heeded Sir’s warning and put down his mic,
picking up a phone on the wall instead. He ordered the
sake
,
but after noticing Sir holding up two fingers, he amended the
order.

Tono sat next to Brie while they waited. She
couldn’t help grinning when she asked, “So this is really what you
and your father do in secret?”