Forbidden Love Series (SubmissiveRomance) Complete Collection (6 page)

“Olivia? Is that you?”

Olivia’s heart stopped at the sound of that voice. Slowly, she stood and looked up at Brandon. “What’re you doing here?” she asked, grabbing his elbow and dragging him away from Maya and Master Todd. This was a conversation they didn’t need to hear.

“Tracy didn’t think you’d have the guts to go through with the research needed for this story, so she sent me in as back up.” Brandon smiled.

Olivia felt her stomach flop and her heart sink. As if it wasn’t bad enough that her boss didn’t believe in her, Tracy had to go and send the one person in that entire office that Olivia despised. Brandon was a self-centered, arrogant, misogynistic, prick. “Well, you can go back and tell Tracy I’m doing just fine and that I don’t need back up.”

Brandon crossed his arms over his chest. “Are you? Because to me it looks like you’re uncomfortable here. You had two perfect subjects right in front of you and you were barely talking to them. That doesn’t seem like doing fine to me.”

She scowled. “Damn it, Brandon. I don’t need you looking over my shoulder on this. I’m doing what’s necessary to get the story, okay? Now leave it alone.”

“And what exactly are you doing?” he pressed.

“That’s none of your business.” She clenched her hands into fists and glared at him.

“It is when you botch this story and I have to pick up the pieces. So, tell me what you’ve got so far so that I know how much work I have to do.”

The urge to slap him was overwhelming. “Look, Brandon, not that it’s any of your business, but I have a very trustworthy source, okay? In fact, he’ll be here any second and if you’re hanging around, it will blow things. For obvious reasons, he wants to remain anonymous.”

Brandon eyed her suspiciously. “You’re really doing this? You’re going to actually get the inside scoop into this freakish lifestyle and write the article Tracy wants?” His voice was laced with disbelief.

“Yes.”

“Olivia. What the hell is going on here? Who is this guy and what article is he talking about?”

Dean’s voice paralyzed her with fear. Oh, shit! She slowly turned to look at him and from the look on his face; she guessed he’d heard a lot more than she’d hoped he had. His eyes were dark with fear and pain – pain she’d caused.

“I can explain,” she said lamely.

Forbidden Love Book 3

Olivia presented for Dean, her heart thundering in her chest and ears so loud she could barely hear anything over the sound of her own heartbeat. He’d demanded that she accompany him to his dungeon room after he’d overheard Brandon talking about the article. She could’ve used her safe word, and she almost had, but she desperately wanted a chance to explain, to make Dean understand. So, she’d willingly followed him to the room. And now she kneeled before him, waiting. To an outsider, it would appear as though she were being patient, waiting for her Master to give her an order, but the truth was,
she wasn’t patient. She was dying on the inside. They’d been in here for close to five minutes and Dean hadn’t said a word yet. He just walked back and forth in front of her. Every few moments he would sigh.

Then he stopped pacing. “Look at me, Olivia.”

Slowly, she lifted her head, ashamed that she had tears streaming down her face. Olivia wanted to appear strong, but she wasn’t. She was falling apart. His eyes were dark, brooding, and full of painful anger. Olivia nervously licked her lips. Why wasn’t he saying anything?

“Who are you? And I want the truth this time.” He crossed his arms over his chest.

She longed to have them wrapped around her, to feel his strong, comforting embrace. He seemed so cold compared to how he was just an hour ago. What she wouldn’t give to go back and do things differently.

“Answer me, damn it!” His booming voice startled her.

“My name is really Olivia, sir, and I’m a journalist for Women’s Life and World Magazine. Everything I told you about my past, about my ex and my sexual history is all true. I swear it, sir.” Her lips trembled and her voice quivered. She didn’t know what she’d do if he didn’t believe her. How could she ever prove it to him?

“And what’s the truth about why you’re here?”

She swallowed hard. There was no more lying. “My boss sent me here to get the inside story about this lifestyle, sir.”

Dean took a deep breath, and then turned his back on her. She didn’t think it was possible for her heart to hurt anymore, but in that moment, it did. It felt like it shattered in her chest and the ragged pieces were coursing through veins, cutting her even deeper. Without turning around, Dean lowered his head and said, “And what was I, Olivia?” He spun around on her. “Huh? What the fuck was I to you? Just a means to an end?”

“No.” She shook her head as tears coursed freely down her face. “No, Master Dean, that’s not it at all. I never expected to meet you, but I did and—”

“And what? You saw an opportunity to further your career?” He ran a hand through his hair. “Shit.”

“That’s not how it was, sir.” She was crying so hard now that her words were more of incoherent sobs than actual words.

Dean stood in front of her, looking down at her with pure disgust and hatred. It was unbearable to see him looking at her like that. “There were only two things you had to do, Olivia. Trust me and communicate with me. And you,” he pointed in her face, “you didn’t do either one of them. Fuck!” He laced his hands on top of his head and looked up at the ceiling.

She had no idea what to say. He was right. All he’d asked for was trust and for her to talk to him. She hadn’t done either. And now that she looked back on it, she couldn’t even remember why she’d made the choice to lie to him. But she had, and it was the worst decision she’d ever made.

“Why, Olivia? Why did you lie to me?”

“I don’t know, sir,” she whispered, and then a little louder added, “I wanted to. I had every intention of telling you the truth that first night, but then you asked me to go to your room and I was afraid…” Olivia paused to take a deep breath. “I was afraid that you wouldn’t want to be with me.”

“That’s where you were wrong.” He took a few steps back. “Get up.”

Olivia stood, thankful for the reprieve from kneeling, but she had a feeling that what was about to happen was going to be so much worse than being forced to kneel for a longer period of time. Dean closed the gap between them and took her face into his hands. Then he did something she didn’t expect. He kissed her. It started hard and fast, laced with despair, and then it slowed to a soft, passionate, all-consuming burn. She knew without him saying it that it was a kiss goodbye. More tears flowed down her cheeks. Dean released her lips and wiped her tears with his thumbs. Then he rested his forehead to hers, allowing his eyes to close momentarily. What he said next crushed her.

“I cared about you, Olivia. A lot. In fact, I was going to collar you tonight. But now,” he dropped his hands from her face and stepped back, “well, now I can’t. You’ve broken my trust and that’s something I just can’t forgive.”

She’d noticed he was no longer using his dominant voice. His words stung. He had wanted to collar her, to make her
his
submissive; something he’d openly admitted he hadn’t done in a long time. And now he could barely stand the sight of her. So, that was it. It was really over. Just like that. It hurt so bad she didn’t know if she could breathe let alone walk out of this room, this club, and his life forever. It wasn’t fair.

“Dean, please, just…please give me another chance. I’m sorry. I’m so sorry,” she pleaded.

“So am I.” He shook his head and once again turned away from her. “Just go, Olivia.”

“What?” She prayed to God that she’d misheard him, but her gut told her she hadn’t.

“I said go.” He faced her. “I’m no longer capable of training you. So, it’s best if you just leave right now.”

“Oh God!” she sobbed and clutched her hand over her chest. No. This could not be happening. It just couldn’t. But sure enough, Dean gathered her coat and handed it to her. She swallowed the sob that threatened to erupt. Part of her wanted to drop to her knees and beg him not to do this, but she knew that wouldn’t do any good. So, she took her coat and slipped it on. “I really am sorry, Dean.”

“Me too.” Then he walked further into the room and sat on the leather couch in the corner.

Olivia wiped her tears, straightened her shoulders, and walked out of the room and the club with her head held high. As she passed the bar, she noticed Master Steve eyeing her. That man made her skin crawl. Even though Dean was no longer her Master, she still wouldn’t dream of letting Steve anywhere near her. Hell, she had no intentions of coming anywhere near this club ever again. This part of her life was over.

***

When Olivia left the room, Dean turned and looked at her retreating back. Tears pooled in his eyes. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d wanted to cry over a woman, but Olivia had cut him deep. Dean had truly believed that she was different, that she wasn’t like other women, and that she was genuinely interested in him and this lifestyle.
But no. She’d only been using him so she could write an article for her job. Letting her go had been hard. But it had been even harder to hear the truth. When he’d overheard her talking to that man, he’d desperately wanted to believe he’d heard wrong, that because he’d come in during the middle of the conversation that he’d taken it out of context. Unfortunately, he hadn’t.

Olivia had lied to him. She’d used him in one of the worst ways possible.

And that damn article! What would she say in it? Would she portray the lifestyle favorably or would she misrepresent it like so many others? Was she going to use his name? He stood and paced. How was all of this going to affect his reputation here at the club? And as a Dom? He’d forever be known as the Dom who got played by his sub.

He needed a drink. Dean left his dungeon room and went back out to the main room. He sat at the end of the bar in the corner and ordered a double shot of top shelf whiskey. “Keep it full,” he said to the bartender. And then he proceeded to get drunk. He had no intentions of going home. He’d just pass out in his dungeon room where the pillows and blankets still smelled like Olivia.

***

At six o’clock a.m., Olivia’s alarm went off. She was already awake. In fact, she’d barely slept since Dean kicked her out of his life. She’d spent all weekend locked up in her apartment, binging on ice cream, watching romantic comedies, and crying until her eyes hurt. It was her standard operating procedure after a breakup, and normally after a weekend of intense grieving, she’d be good enough to face the world.
But not this time.

Every single time she closed her eyes, she saw Dean’s face. In the middle of the night when everything was dead silent, she could hear his voice and feel his hands on her. It was pure torture. She missed him so much it hurt to function. When they were together, she hadn’t realized it, but now that he’d been torn from her life, she knew just how much she cared for him. It was crazy, but she was in love with Dean.

Olivia forced herself out of bed even though she had no intentions of going to work. Grabbing her cell phone, she dialed Tracy. As always, Tracy was wide awake and chipper. Olivia often wondered if that woman ever stopped working. “Hi, Tracy. Sorry to call you so early, but I need to take the week off.”

“What? Why on earth would you need an entire week off? Do I need to remind you that you have an article due next week? Or should I just have Brandon write it? Damn it, I knew I should’ve just—”

“Tracy!” Olivia interrupted her tirade. “I’m well aware of my deadline, and no, you don’t need Brandon to write the story. In fact, this story is the reason I need the week off.” Lying to Tracy never paid off, but Olivia knew she couldn’t tell Tracy the truth this time, so she would just bend the truth a little.

“What does that mean?”

“I’ve managed to get invited to a week-long submissive training course. In order to keep up the façade I’ve created, I need to be there the entire week.” When Tracy remained silent, Olivia continued. “This is what you wanted, isn’t it? An in-depth insider’s perspective on this lifestyle? Well, you’re not going to get any more in-depth than this.”

“This had better be the best thing you’ve ever written in your entire life or you’re fired!” Then Tracy abruptly hung up.

Olivia threw her phone across the floor with an aggravated scream. That was just wonderful. Not only had she been dumped, but now her job was on the line. How was she supposed to write this article when all she could focus on was the pain and the heart ache? Then an idea struck her.

She raced into the living room and grabbed her laptop. Carrying it into the kitchen, she set it on the table and prepared herself a cup of coffee with a few extra sugars. After no sleep all weekend, she was going to need the caffeine to give her the boost to finish this article. She knew if she didn’t write it now, it wouldn’t have the emotional punch that she was hoping to achieve. Once she had her coffee, she tucked her laptop under her arm and retreated back to her bedroom. She had an article to write.

***

It had been almost two weeks since Dean released Olivia.  He missed her like crazy and had even thought about calling her a few times. But each time he’d pick up the phone, he’d hang up before he finished dialing her number. There was just no way he could forgive her for what she’d done. Being a Dom and living this lifestyle – it’s who he was and he couldn’t change that. He’d been very clear in his expectations of her. Why couldn’t she just follow the rules? Then they’d still be together. She’d be wearing his collar and he’d be spending every night pleasuring her.