Choosing Rena (14 page)

He chuckled. “Of course they can. You
don’t realize how many times you’ve been in my office and I’ve
visualized having you on your knees, or better yet across my desk
as I warm your ass with the ruler I keep for just that
purpose?”

Unbelievably her libido stirred. As
tired emotionally and physically as she was, she would’ve thought
nothing could arouse her, but instead here she was, her nipples
peaking against her bra while her pussy grew damp under her
panties.

“Perhaps I should have made it
clearer, Rena. When I’m not in a scene, I don’t expect submission.
I want a woman who won’t put up with my shit when I get out of
line, who’ll actually converse with me, not just say “Yes, Sir -
No, Sir” twenty-four, seven. I need submission in a lover but I
don’t want the responsibility of living her life, of making every
little choice for her.”

Her breath caught, and she made a
decision; one she couldn’t believe she was making but as Olivia had
suggested, Rena had to start trusting sometime. “Meet me tomorrow
at Olivia’s, eight o’clock. Reserve a private room, Sir, but
understand we’ll only be using it for conversation. Text me if you
can agree to my conditions.” She disconnected the call, not even
waiting for his response. She just prayed she’d done the right
thing.

Less than thirty seconds later, her
phone chirped. Slowly opening it, she read the quick message and
wanted to groan. He’d accepted her conditions but added one of his
own. He wanted her to wear an outfit he’d be sending over. She had
a sneaky suspicion it was going to be much more risqué than the
clothing she normally wore.

Chapter
Thirteen

Staring down at the long box which had
just arrived via messenger, Rena hesitated in opening it. She
wanted to know what was inside but at the same time she didn’t. It
would make this meeting feel all the more real. When the phone rang
in her kitchen, she set it down on the table, before answering it.
“Hello?”

“Hey, Sissy.” Keisha sounded a bit
worn and tired.

“Keisha.” Pleasure filled Rena. She
hadn’t spoken to her sister in nearly a week. “How are you and my
niece or nephew doing?”

“Tired. Just wanted to remind you of
our upcoming Lamaze class. You’re free on Wednesday night,
right?”

Rena opened the fridge. “Of course.
Not that I understand why you need me there along with Eddie.
Speaking of Eddie…how are things going?”

Keisha giggled. “Better. He’s been
home the past week and so supportive.” Keisha’s voice dropped to a
whisper. “He even made love to me last night.”

A smile crossed Rena’s
face. “That’s great, hun’. I told you he still loved you, which is
why
he
should be
your Lamaze coach.”

“He is. But as much as he gets called
out, I need you as a backup. He’s trying to get out of this trip to
Detroit next week, since it’s so close to my due date. I thought
you didn’t have an issue with…” Keisha seemed a bit more
subdued.

Rena walked across the kitchen, pacing
between the sink and the table. “I didn’t say I had an issue with
it, Keisha. I was just making a comment. I’m glad to be there in a
pinch. But you tell Eddie if he thinks he can claim business and
not attend because of his squeamish stomach, I’m going to kick his
butt up between his shoulder blades.”

Her words had the intended
response , Keisha laughed. Eddie’s squeamish stomach had been the
bane of the man’s existence since the first time he’d seen blood
during a shoot-out.
Which is why he’s the
man behind logistics as opposed to regularly working the front
lines.
From the living room, she heard the
clock toll six times. Crap! She had less than an hour to get ready
before she had to call a cab to pick her up. “Hey, Sis. I have a
date tonight. I gotta get ready or I’ll be late.”

“That’s wonderful! Is it anyone I
know?” Keisha sounded exuberant once again.

Glancing at the box sitting on the
table, she moved closer, carefully using a sharp knife to slice
through the tape holding it shut. “Yeah, but no, I’m not going to
tell you because…” She pried the lid off before moving the tissue
aside. Her breath caught at the sight of emerald latex.

“Because why?”

Swallowing, Rena only paid half
attention to her sister as she pulled the garment out of the box.
“Because you’ll tell Eddie and I’ll never hear the end of it.”
Holding it up, a low whimper of longing escaped her. Although the
outside of the baby doll dress was a shiny deep emerald, the inside
was a deeper forest green and very slippery against her fingers.
She could almost imagine what it would feel like against her skin.
It was the same dress she’d been admiring since she’d seen it in
the window of the Vex clothing store on Montrose Avenue. She’d
never imagined owning it, since she hadn’t planned on continuing in
the lifestyle.

“Are you okay?” Concern laced Keisha’s
tone. “This person isn’t forcing you into the date, is
he?”

Rena tore her attention away from the
dress. “No, nothing like that. I just stubbed my toe on the kitchen
table.” The fib rolled off her tongue as she noticed a note in the
bottom of the box. “I have to go, Sis. I’ll call you later and tell
you how it went. Why don’t you take it easy and curl up with a huge
bowl of Rocky Road?”

After her sister assured her she would
do that, Rena hung up the phone. Reading his note, she wasn’t sure
if she wanted to growl in frustration or whimper with need. He’d
written he’d dreamed of seeing her in the outfit he’d included, and
wanted her to wear this tonight along with the pretty wisps of
underwear he’d included.

“
Damn you, Jackson Levough.
How the hell did you figure out I really liked this dress?”
Regardless of how he’d figured it out, she would wear it.
Even if it has to go back after tonight.
She wasn’t sure how their conversation was going
to go, especially once she’d explained not only her limits, but the
reasoning behind them. No Dom she knew would agree to them, but at
least for a little while, she could hope to have it all.

Pushing her doubts aside, she picked
up the miniscule panties along with the dress and headed to the
bathroom. This was going to be the quickest shower and shave she’d
ever done in her life.

* * * *

Pausing inside the doorway of the
private room, Jackson wanted to groan. While he’d fantasized about
how Rena would look in the baby doll dress, nothing had prepared
him for the reality of it. Standing with her back to him, her
braids spilling down her back, she was studying the array of toys
hanging from the leather covered peg board hanging from the wall.
The luscious emerald latex showcased her generous curves in a way
that had him itching to touch her dark skin. His palms tingled with
the need, but he forced it aside. She’d asked for conversation
only. The fact she’d actually worn the dress for him as he’d asked
was all he could hope for tonight.

“You look beautiful,
ma peekôn.”
He watched as
she stiffened a bit then made herself visibly relax before she
turned to face him.

“It’s the dress, Jackson. I should ask
how you figured out I loved this particular dress.” She moved
towards the spanking bench before sitting down on its padded seat.
He wasn’t surprised that she hadn’t knelt at his entrance. She was
much too independent to kneel for any man who wasn’t her Dom. He
mentally told himself to be patient. They needed to come to an
agreement before they could move forward.

Stepping into the room, he closed the
door behind him. “I saw you stop one day in front of Vex’s
display.”

She nodded. “But how did you figure
out which one? There were several…”

“I didn’t.” He shrugged, before
smiling at her. “I just picked the one that drew me the most and
hoped it was the one you were so attentive to.” He stopped inches
from her, before reaching out to touch the shiny bodice strap. He’d
expected it to feel cool against his fingertips, but instead it was
warm from her body heat.

“Well, you chose well.” She shivered
when his fingers slipped off the strap and onto the bare flesh next
to it.

“Cold?” His voice came out a bit more
husky than he’d expected.

“Cut the shit, Jackson. You know
damned good and well I’m not cold. It’s warmer than hell in here.”
She seemed to be gritting her teeth. “You need to keep your hands
to yourself if we’re going to have our talk.”

“That’s my girl. Give me hell.”
Removing his hand, he stepped back. “It’s your fault. In that
dress…” He shook his head. “…you’re nearly irresistible. Perhaps I
should’ve thought of that before I sent it to you.” Stepping over
to the micro-fridge sitting in the corner, he retrieved himself a
bottle, not trusting himself with anything stronger than water.
“Would you like some?” he asked, holding the bottle up for her
inspection.

“Sure.”

He grabbed a second bottle before
heading over to where she sat. Twisting the cap off, he handed it
to her, before leaning against a counter a few feet away. The
tension in the room grew as she sipped on her water.

“Rena?” His voice made her jump. “You
know, I’m not going to bite you. You wanted to talk, so why don’t
you tell me what’s on your mind.”

She gave a sigh, before pushing
several braids behind her ear. “I’m…well, let’s say this isn’t what
I’m used to.”

He crossed his legs at the ankle and
gave her what he hoped was an encouraging nod. “So tell me what you
are used to.”

Her cute little pixie nose wrinkled.
“A handful of papers with check boxes of what I’ll allow and what I
won’t during a scene.”

Taking a swallow of his water, he
thought over her words. “So you’re used to negotiating a scene for
a single night, not a relationship?”

She shrugged. “The one time I did do a
full-fledged relationship, it blew up in my face. Louis expected me
to play by the rules, but didn’t follow them himself.”

Jackson frowned. “So it was a ‘do as I
say, not as I do’ type of relationship?”

She cocked her head. “Sorta. He was
possessive of me, wanted to be the only Dom who I played with, but
he still wanted to play with other subs.”

“With you or without you?” Jackson
forced himself to tread carefully. In the world of BDSM it wasn’t
uncommon for a Dom to play or even have more than one submissive.
Subs were expected either to enjoy sharing their Doms, or at least
tolerate the idea of it. While it wasn’t his way, he didn’t look
down on such relationships like the one his aunt had with Jude and
Micah.

She frowned. “He never outright asked
me to play with another submissive, probably because he knew I’d
have told him no, but one night I came home unexpectedly to find
him in his playroom flogging another woman. His dick was hanging
out for the world to see, and I could see his seed all over her
back.”

Jackson winced. It was one thing to
play with another sub, but it was another for your sub to walk in
unprepared for the sight. “Ouch! I take it he never talked to you
about the idea of having another join you or him playing with
another?”

A frown crossed Rena’s face before she
set aside her water. “We talked about it. But evidently he didn’t
take me seriously when I told him if I accepted his collar I
expected monogamy. It was one of my hard limits. I even made sure
it was written into the service contract I signed.”

He tucked away the contract tidbit to
focus on the idea of monogamy. “So you expect if we’re in a
relationship to be the only person I would play with?”

She arched an eyebrow. “No, I wouldn’t
expect it, I’d demand it. Only a fool plays around with sex,
Jackson. There’re too many diseases, and too many feelings can get
hurt when one partner in a committed relationship is
promiscuous.”

He sighed. This could be a major issue
for them. He loved his job as a trainer at Olivia’s but hadn’t had
sex with a sub in that context for nearly a year. But he had a
feeling it might just not matter. If Rena couldn’t handle the idea
of him touching others to teach them a safe way to experience
flogging and spanking, their relationship was doomed before it even
began. “You do realize, there’s a difference between being in a
scene with a sub and fucking her, don’t you?”

Her eyes lowered as her shoulders
slumped. “And you’re splitting hairs, Jackson, which is why I don’t
think I can do this anymore. You’d ask too much in return for what
physical pleasure I’d receive.” She slowly stood. “I’ll send back
the dress and we’ll forget this happened…”

“Rena, wait…” He held his hand out to
her. “…I didn’t say I couldn’t be monogamous. Just
that…”

She paused by the door, her back
stiff. “There’s little difference in my eyes between whipping a
woman ‘til she comes then allowing her to suck you off, in
comparison to what you’d more than likely expect out of your
submissive at home. Even if you didn’t sleep with her, it’s all
about your pleasure and…”

Now furious, Jackson pressed a palm
against the door. He didn’t recall crossing the room, but now that
he was there, he was damned if he was going to let her leave and
both of them be denied or punished because Louis Vayarti III hadn’t
been able to keep it in his pants like Rena had expected. “I’m not
him. When I say a scene, I’m not talking about what I want with
you. A scene can be done for many reasons, mutual pleasure
included, but some are done simply because someone needs to teach a
couple the correct ways to play so nobody gets hurt.”