Hanging On (5 page)

For now, she changed the subject.

“Look, Drew, Sabrina and Jonas are two of my closest friends. I don’t want to do anything that might mess up their special day. It’s best if you and I forget we met last night and make a fresh start of things today.” A delighted smile lit Drew’s face. Relief flooded Sophia. He was going to make this easy. He slapped a hand on her knee. “That’s the best idea I’ve ever heard.”

44

When Sabrina and Jonas returned from wherever they went, they were laden with bags. Sophia leapt up to help them, looking for any excuse to put distance between herself and the undeniable chemistry she had with Drew.

Just because they agreed on a fresh start did not mean she could give in to the desire she still felt for him. He was dating Livia, and Sophia could not betray her like that.

The twelve of them gathered in the cavernous living room. The two chairs were taken, so Sophia was forced to take her chances on one of the two extra-long white sofas in the room. Luckily, she found a place next to the arm. Ellen, her security blanket, settled on Sophia’s other side.

Drew stood behind her, resting his arms on the back of the sofa so that, unless she leaned forward, she inadvertently brushed him every time she moved. It wouldn’t have bothered her so much if she wasn’t trying to get the idea of him in the role of a submissive out of her head. If he were truly hers, she would have had him stand behind her or sit on the floor to await her commands. Did he mean to send this signal?

Ginny took center stage and began talking. As the maid of honor, she was running the show. Sophia sneaked a glance at Sabrina to see how well this was sitting with her. She was a control freak. She squirmed a bit until Jonas took her hand and put it on his thigh. It was a dominating gesture, designed to keep her attention focused on him. She calmed immediately, probably unaware of what he had done and why.

Sophia wondered if Sabina knew how aware she and Ellen were of the exact nature of her relationship with Jonas? She was such a private person.

Would it embarrass her? Sophia shook the thought away. It probably didn’t.

Jonas was an exhibitionist, and she knew they had visited exhibitionist clubs

45

around the world. There was no way Jonas would have fallen in love with a woman who was unable to help him fulfill such a profound need.

“You okay?”

The question was whispered in Sophia’s ear and sent quivers rocketing down her spine. She jumped, startled, and turned her head. Drew’s face was inches away. His breath smelled of sweetened lemons. The lemonade had been tasty. Sophia wanted to know if it was just as good licked directly from his tongue. Flustered, she answered quickly. “I’m fine.”

“You looked at Livia the same way last night.” Sophia knew better than to react. Last night never happened.

Acknowledging it now would tell Drew she couldn’t get him out of her head, either. “I have no idea what you’re talking about. Is Livia your girlfriend?”

His smile was brief. “No. We went out once, and then she dumped me.

Apparently, I wasn’t dominating enough for her.” Heat kindled in his eyes.

Sophia froze, something she had never really done before, but which she seemed to be doing a lot around Drew. Was he mocking her? She knew there was a hidden message, but she wasn’t exactly sure as to the contents.

“Drew, flirt later,” Ginny said, interrupting the dangerous trail of thoughts in Sophia’s head. “Honestly, I can’t take you anywhere.” Sophia was mortified. She felt like she had been caught kissing in the supply room in high school and the principal was making her call her dad to tell him what she had done.

Drew scowled at Ginny, but she was effective. He straightened, moving out of whisper range.

Ginny noticed Sophia’s discomfort. “Sorry, Sophia, it’s not personal.

Drew’s favorite sport is flirting.”

Yes, well, with someone as handsome as him, it would be.

For the next hour, Ginny acquainted them with the contents of the gift bags Sophia helped Sabrina and Jonas carry into the room. Sophia’s held an assortment of personal accessories she knew Sabrina had chosen to complement her dark hair and complexion. Each of the women had something similar, but with differing color palettes.

Ginny drew their attention to one of the small boxes in the bags. “You each have a BlackBerry with two years of service. Sabrina downloaded your schedules into them already.”

46

Sabrina was generous, and she made a good living as an advertising executive, but Sophia was surprised. There were ten of these gadgets, each with two years of service, and this was just the beginning. How elaborate would their wedding be? Sophia had been a bridesmaid before. It usually involved dress fittings, a drunken trip to a Canadian strip club, and soothing the bride’s nerves on the big day. She was good at soothing Sabrina’s nerves. It’s the reason she thought Sabrina had asked in the first place.

After giving them time to explore their new electronic toys, Ginny asked them each to open the calendar part. Sophia looked at the myriad demands on her time for the next six weeks. Fittings were scheduled, brunches, too.

Bimonthly trips to the spa for massages, facials, manicures, and pedicures were included as well. She made a comfortable living between her two jobs, but this was going to be expensive.

Then she noticed the dancing lessons.

“Dancing lessons?”

She was so glad someone else said that with the exact same level of bewilderment she was feeling. She looked across the expanse of the room to see the black man on his feet.

“Sabrina, you have
got
to be kidding. Dancing lessons?” She smiled at him, amused. “Yes, Ty, dancing lessons. I want us all to waltz at the reception. It will look fabulous, and Vanessa will be glad you finally learned something besides the Worm.” Sabrina had mentioned Ty before. He worked for her. Since Jonas had also worked for her for a few months, he must have struck up a friendship with Ty during that time. He was wicked cute. Sophia wanted to wonder if he and Vanessa were subs, but images of Drew popped up any time she tried to imagine a scene.

As they argued good-naturedly, Ellen nudged Sophia with her elbow.

“It’s Tuesday nights,” she whispered. “We’ll have to adjust your work schedule.”

Sophia’s shoulders sagged a bit further. “That’s the night I have Ventana and Montez.” Miguel Ventana and Cherry Montez were a couple who came in every single Tuesday and would only see her. Cherry had been Jonas’s client until Ellen fired him.

“Shit,” she said. “I’ll call them and break the news.” She checked the calendar on the BlackBerry. “It’s only for six weeks. Do you think you can

47

do another night? They can do Mondays in a pinch. I don’t want to overwork you. I know how important your days off are to you with working the two jobs. You need time to recharge and have a personal life.” She didn’t want to give Ellen an opening to chastise her about not having a steady boyfriend. Just because her meddling worked with Sabrina and Jonas didn’t mean Sophia craved that kind of thing in her life. She wasn’t ready to settle down and get serious. Luckily, Sabrina saved her.

“Sophia, Jonas will work Monday nights for you. That way you won’t lose any pay and Ellen won’t lose any clients.” She was sitting across the room from Sophia and Ellen, next to Ty, so everyone heard her.

Sophia didn’t have a problem with it. Except for Ty, she was sure the rest of them knew she, Jonas, and Ellen were all Doms.

Next to Sophia, Ellen bounced up and down with glee. “Fabulous.

Cherry will love it.”

“You’re a dominatrix?” This unexpected question came from behind.

Sophia turned to see Drew, looking a lot shocked and a little betrayed.

She didn’t understand. He knew firsthand what she was.

“Drew,” Ginny groaned, “shut up. It’s none of your business.” His mouth set in a grim line, and his eyes shot icicles into Sophia’s bloodstream. Ignoring Ginny and the rest of the group, he pulled her roughly to her feet and dragged her from the room.

He was both bigger and stronger. She couldn’t break his hold. In less time than she would have thought, they crossed the length of the room and the door to Sabrina’s office slammed shut behind them.

“What do you think you’re doing?” she demanded. She wasn’t afraid of him, or even angry. She was baffled by his behavior and curious as to his explanation. If he really tried anything, she could take him down in seconds.

Plus, she knew if she shouted, there were ten people in the next room who would come to her rescue.

He let go and paced from one side of the room to the other, running his fingers through his short hair.

“You knew I was a dominatrix before you met me,” she said in an attempt to make him talk. She hated that he made her feel anxious.

He stopped, peering at her through narrowed eyes. “I didn’t know you charged for the privilege.”

48

Sophia’s temper got the better of her. She took him down with a pinch hold Ellen taught her the first day on the job. “Listen very carefully, Drew Snow. What I do for a living and what I do with my time is absolutely none of your business. Like your good friend Jonas used to do, I work for Ellen as a dominatrix. People pay me to tie them up and whip them because I am very, very good at it.”

Why did she explain after she insisted it was none of his business? She knew what he thought. He thought she was a prostitute, just like Sabrina had when she first met Sophia. Then, she found it mildly amusing. Just now, she wasn’t amused. Deep down, she wanted Drew to be submissive. She wanted him to respect her as his dominatrix. He wasn’t showing any kind of submission or respect just now. If she wasn’t forcing him to his knees, he probably would have been doing something aggressively male and dominating, like shaking her or pissing on her.

His pallor wasn’t good. Sophia released her hold on the sensitive shoulder nerve and helped him to his feet. He breathed against the pain, but she didn’t care. She would likely have bruises on her upper arms where he handled her.

When his breathing evened out, he shot her a resentful look. “Jonas didn’t work out of his home.”

Her fist formed and buried itself in his stomach before she had time to think. Air leaked from him with a swift whoosh, and he doubled over. Blood rushed to his pale face.

“What I do in the privacy of my own home is absolutely none of your business. If this is your way of trying to piss me off, you’ve succeeded.” A knock sounded on the door. Jonas called through the thick wood,

“You okay in there?”

“Fine,” Sophia said, flinging the door open. “He might need some help.” She intended to leave, but Jonas pushed her into the room and closed the door.

When two Doms are in a room as filled with tension as this one, one of them invariably assumes the role of leader. Jonas was ten years older than Sophia and had loads more leadership experience. Plus, he was her mentor.

It was natural for her to defer to him.

“It seems to me the two of you have met before. I saw it in your eyes in the kitchen, but for the life of me, I couldn’t remember introducing you. I

49

asked Sabrina, and she couldn’t, either.” He looked from Sophia to Drew expectantly.

She sighed and spilled. If he wanted to ask either or both of them to back out of the wedding, she’d rather he did it now than after she spent all that time at the spa with Sabrina. “Livia came over last night with her latest boy toy.” Sophia inclined her head toward Drew.

Jonas’s green eyes lit with understanding. He looked at Drew. “I didn’t think you were into that kind of thing.” Drew shrugged. It was a defensive gesture disguised as nonchalance that didn’t fool anyone, except maybe Drew. “When a beautiful woman invites me to a threesome with another beautiful woman, I never turn her down.” Now Sophia felt defensive, and she hated feeling defensive. Livia had to have told him Sophia was a dominatrix. Had she framed the invitation as more of a threesome thing in order to get someone who was clearly not a submissive into the playroom? What was going on inside her pretty head that she would do something like that? Sophia needed to talk to her in the worst way.

She threw her hands in the air. “I followed protocol, Jonas. I made sure he knew exactly what he was getting himself into before I let him beyond the living room.”

Jonas put a reassuring hand on her shoulder. She stiffened, but she didn’t flinch. “I know.” Now, he pinned Drew with a questioning gaze.

“What’s the problem?”

Drew locked his eyes with Jonas’s, challenging his authority in this matter. “This is really none of your concern.”

“It’s natural to feel a strong connection to your first dominatrix, Drew.” Jonas kept his tone calm and level. “If you want Sophia to train you, then you’re going about it all wrong.”

“Train me?” He looked from Jonas to Sophia for an explanation.

Sophia shook her head. Real submissives felt a need in their core. It was unmistakable and inescapable. A good dominatrix recognized it immediately under the right circumstances. Sophia didn’t see it in Sabrina until Ellen thrust her into the training arena for her first whipping.
Christ
. Maybe she wasn’t as good as she thought she was. She hated feeling insecure.

“I don’t think it was anything more than amusing for him. He just wants to sleep with me. It wasn’t in the cards last night.”
50

“I have a question.” Drew directed his statement toward Jonas.

Perching his hands loosely on his hips, Jonas looked to Sophia for permission. He wasn’t going to undermine her authority in Drew’s eyes. She wanted to smack him for being so stubbornly obtuse.