Mastering Lexie (Stronghold Book 4) (14 page)

She answered
the phone, making her voice stay calm as her cell vibrated next to her
thigh.  It took all of her self-control not to check it while she was
scheduling the appointment, but she was determined to remain
professional.  Plus, it wouldn't kill Patrick to have to wait for her
response.  She was not going to do something so irresponsible as checking
her text messages while she was on the phone with a patient.

But she yanked
her cell out of her pocket the second she hung up.

Heels, yes. 
Leave the trench coat at the front desk.  Come into my office when you get
here.

A shiver went
down her spine that was so intense, she looked around fearfully, sure that
someone must have noticed.  Nope.  They were all lost in their own
little worlds, completely indifferent to the sudden upheaval of hers.  

Her phone
buzzed again.

How do you
respond, Pixie?

Wetting her
suddenly dry lips with her tongue, Lexie felt her heart pounding as she typed
in her response.

Yes, Sir.

******

Waiting for
8pm was a form of torture all on its own.  Patrick hadn't wanted to do
Lexie's scene too early in the evening.  Making it later gave it a more
pressing time limit to end, so that he couldn't be tempted to extend it. 
It also meant that he had far too much time to kill beforehand. 

Lisa was
behind the bar, Jared was at the door, and the club wasn't exactly hopping
yet.  It was always slower on Thursdays anyway, especially earlier in the
evening, so Patrick just wandered through, double and triple checking that he
had all the toys he wanted already set up in the "Office."  Not
his own office, although he'd been tempted; he'd signed out the theme room
Office for the evening.  All new toys too, chosen specially with Lexie in
mind.  She'd get to take them home at the end of the night.

It gave him a
small sense of satisfaction to know that, if nothing else, she'd always have
the toys that he'd picked out for her.  

When he came
back down to the bar, Justin and Chris were there with Jessica.  She
immediately perked up when she saw Patrick, a happy grin alighting her
face.  Tipping her head back, she said something to Justin, who had his
arm around her waist.  He looked up and gave Patrick a nod before
releasing her.  While he and Chris kept talking, sipping on their drinks,
Jessica came trotting over to him.

It was all
Patrick could do not to raise his eyebrows.  Usually she couldn't be
separated from those two, and even though she was friendly with him, he could
always tell that he intimidated her.  She tried hard not to show it
though.

"Good
evening, Jessica," he said, as soon as she got close enough, giving her an
encouraging smile.

The pretty
brunette beamed up at him, for once not an ounce of trepidation in her
expression or body language.  She was looking particularly pretty tonight,
with her soft brown curls falling around her shoulders and her curvy body on
display in a tight violet corset and a black latex skirt.  Patrick
recognized Justin's particular style in what she was wearing; he and Justin
both had a penchant for dressing their submissives.

"Good
evening, Sir," she said.  "I just wanted to say that I'm really
happy you're letting Lexie into the club now.  She's so excited, and the
rest of us are really excited that she's going to be here."

Now one of
Patrick's eyebrows did go up.  He hadn't been sure what to expect from
her, but somehow this wasn't quite it.  He doubted Lexie had put her up to
this; it was more likely her naturally friendly inclination and desire to see
everyone happy.  That was definitely something he'd noticed about
her.  It amused him to think that maybe she was trying to give him some
kind of positive reinforcement for what she saw as good behavior. 
Although, he supposed it could also be a kind of guilt-trip in case he was
having second thoughts.

One thing he
did like about the subbies of Stronghold was how they stuck together.  Not
all of them liked each other, of course, but he didn't tolerate drama in the
club.  He
had
 been surprised by how many of them had rallied
around Lexie last week.  That kind of thing was rare.  Then again,
such a situation had never come up before. 

"I'm sure
she'll appreciate the sentiment," he said, a bit dryly. 

Jessica
shifted slightly on her high heels, and he wondered if she was getting a little
nervous now or if she was just having trouble balancing.  "You're
doing the right thing."

If Justin had
heard her say that, he'd probably give her a spanking.  She was teetering
on the line of being disrespectful.

Crossing his
arms over his chest, he stared down at her, watching as she went from an
insistent friend to an anxious subbie who realized she'd just pushed things a
little too far.  As a Dom, he didn't need her approval on how to handle
his sub - and Lexie was his, at least for the duration of her training. 
As the owner of the club, he needed it even less so.  Jessica's hands
fluttered and then slid behind her back, where he was sure they twisted
together.  He wondered if she even realized how her body language had
changed, to that of a submissive trying to show her acceptance of his
dominance.

"Have you
thought about how Lexie will feel if she can't meet the standards I need for
any woman, any submissive, that I become involved with?" he asked, his
voice perhaps a bit harsher than he'd intended it to be.  But he knew
she'd pass her words on to the other subs, and they all needed to think about
how much pressure they were putting on both him and Lexie, when it really
wasn't any of their business.  Not to mention, how much they were
encouraging her without thinking of the consequences.  "How she'll
react?  How it will affect everyone else?"

Jessica's
mouth opened and closed, and she frowned, obviously thinking.  Her hands
still behind her back, chest thrust slightly forward, she swayed slightly on
her heels as if his words had struck her.  Then she shook her head,
looking up at him with liquid brown eyes. 

"Have you
thought about what you'll do if she can?"

She quailed
almost immediately as his eyes flashed with displeasure.  "Back to
your Doms, little subbie.  Ask Justin for a lesson in minding your own
business."

He like a
sassy sub, otherwise he'd never have been attracted to Lexie, but Jessica had
just pushed a little too far.  She knew it too.  

Dropping her
eyes to the ground, she nodded her head.  "I'm sorry, Sir.  It's
just... we're all worried that you're not going to give her a real chance and
then both of you will be miserable."  She peeked up at him, sincere
apology in her eyes.  "We just want you both to be happy."

"Apology
accepted.  Just remember, part of being happy is finding our own way, just
like you did," Patrick reminded her gently.  He dropped his arms from
across his chest and opened them, Jessica immediately stepped forward and
snuggled in.  Across the room, he could see Justin and Chris take note. 
They'd been watching the whole time of course, but they had to be wondering
what had prompted the hug.  "It's okay to be a concerned friend, but
you can't push people into a relationship just because you think it's a good
idea.  Something you should know better than others."

More than one
person had tried to convince Jessica that she was making a mistake by being in
a triad relationship with Justin and Chris, pushing her to choose one over the
other.  Hell, the other guys had all been concerned, especially because it
could have seriously fucked up Justin and Chris' friendship.  But, at the
time, both of the guys had been determined to have Jessica and just as
convinced that they could keep their friendship intact.  Choosing both of
them had done that, but it hadn't been an easy decision for her.

Jessica
squeezed his waist and then pulled away and gave him a smile before trotting
back to Justin and Chris.  He smiled at them, so that they wouldn't give
her too hard a time after she gave them the message.  She deserved a
spanking, but nothing too harsh.  Patrick appreciated how much the other
women watched out for Lexie.  He just wasn't about to let them push him
around because of it.

Oh my god,
oh my god, oh my god... I'm doing this.  I'm so really doing this.

Lexie walked
quickly towards the door into Stronghold, her heels clacking on the
pavement.  Not just because she was excited, but also because she was
freaking cold.  The temperature had dropped when the sun went down, and
even though it wasn't frigid or anything, being basically naked under the
trench coat meant that she didn't have a whole lot keeping her warm.

Although her
shivers weren't entirely from the chilly breeze that slid under the skirt of
the trench coat.  Nope, that was definitely partly from the excitement
too.  

"Babe! 
You're here, you made it!"  Freddy, a submissive and one of the
receptionists, perked up as soon as she came in the door.  The slender
blonde was one of Mistress Erin's favorites, although Freddy was bi and played
with several of the male Doms as well.  He was a pain slut and extremely
submissive, not to mention so pretty that Mistress Erin often dressed him as a
girl, and he was as gorgeous as any of the women in the club.  He was also
super friendly and eager to please, with everyone.  Lexie had a special
soft spot in her heart for him, because he was like a doormat, and she worried
that not everyone was looking out for his best interests.  Mistress Erin
did, of course, but sometimes Freddy played with Doms who didn't seem to care
for him as much as Lexie thought they should.

He was
thrilled that Lexie was finally getting into the club - and not just because it
meant more work hours for him to pick up, which he needed since he was
currently putting himself through college.  Freddy just wanted everyone to
be happy.

"I'm
here, I made it," she repeated his words gleefully, throwing a happy smile
at Jared who just sighed and scowled a little.  Still, he didn't look
upset, just concerned, which she was okay with.  

"Take off
the coat, I have to see," Freddy said, practically dancing in his seat
behind the desk.  His hazel eyes were sparkling with excitement, little
fashionista that he was.

"I'm not
wearing much," Lexie warned, before whipping open the trench coat and letting
it drop to the floor.  She really hoped Patrick was watching the security
cameras.  Even if he wasn't, it was worth it to get Freddy's excited shout
of approval, even with the bass undertone of Jared's groan.  Peeking over
her shoulder, she saw the big guy staring at the ceiling. 

Ha. 
Maybe she should go over and give him a hug, just like this.  He'd
probably have a heart attack on the spot. 

Grinning, she
decided not to torment him.  She didn't want to give Patrick any reason to
decide she wasn't being serious about being in the club.  Better to just
follow the orders she’d been given, without sidetracking.  Plus, now that
her dramatic reveal was over, she was feeling a little bit weird about standing
in the front room wearing basically nothing.  None of her important bits
were even the tiniest bit covered.

"Girl,
you are going to have the Doms in a tizzy," Freddy said, making her laugh.

"You've
been spending some time with Hilary," she accused.  Because,
seriously, who else ever used the word 'tizzy'?

"I just
overheard it," he said, grinning as he took her coat.  "Loved
it.  Stole it."

"Good for
you," she said, moving towards Patrick's office door.  

"Stop by
and see me on your way out!"  Freddy demanded, and Lexie nodded,
smiling as she knocked on the door and then entered, quickly.  She usually
waited for Patrick to tell her to come in, but right now her bare ass was
hanging out. 

It didn't
matter anyway, since the big office was empty.  Lexie bit her lip. 
Had he meant the theme room Office?  She'd only ever been in there to
decorate, but she knew where it was.  But did he really want her to walk
across the entire club, alone, with all her goods hanging out?  Lexie
hadn't minded people watching her scene with Master Michael, but that was a little
different than just brazenly walking around like this.  Then again, she'd
seen plenty of other people do it.

Was this a
test?

If it was,
Lexie hoped she was making the right decision.  She was 99.99% sure that
the text message had said
his
office.  Choosing a spot in the
center of the room, she knelt down, knees apart, and put her hands on her
thighs, letting them rest, palm up.  It was a position she'd seen on the
internet, when she'd been cruising BDSM sites.  

Taking in a
deep breath, she let it out slowly.  She could do this.

******

Perfect. 
Fucking.  Perfect.

Those were the
first thoughts that ran through Patrick's mind when he walked into his
office.  Swiftly followed by a swell of satisfaction and a sense of
rightness that he tried to shake off.  Lexie, on her knees, in a
submissive pose, right in the middle of his territory.  His space.  

The pose was
nearly perfect.  Her head twitched, and he could tell that she wanted to
turn to look at him, but she didn't.  The silver rings gleamed on her nipples,
which slowly hardened even further under his gaze.  His cock seemed to
press even harder against the zipper of his pants at the sight.  With her
head bowed, she looked like she was offering him everything.  

Fuck if he
didn't want to take it.

He hadn't
meant to be late.  Tardiness was one of his pet peeves, but when he was
running a club, he couldn't always control everything that went on around
him.  A lackluster scene between a couple down in the Dungeon had turned
into a shouting match, which had turned into a break-up.  The Dungeon
Monitors had been there, of course, getting the sub down from the Saint
Andrew's Cross and trying to calm both participants, but Patrick had been able
to sort things out faster.  The couple was new, and the Dom was drunk. 
Patrick told the jerk his membership was revoked and had two of the DMs escort
him out the back entrance, to disturb as few people as possible.  The
crying, but defiant, sub he'd handed over to Jessica, Justin and Chris, who had
just come down to start their own scene.  They’d probably end up getting
Jared to take care of her while Justin or Chris took over at the front door
until the sub was ready to go home.  Out of all the Doms at the club, Jared was
always the best when it came to a sub in need of support and gentleness.

He wouldn't
have left without getting Jared himself and making sure that the sub was okay
if Lexie hadn't been waiting for him and if Jessica hadn't jumped in without
being asked.  She'd practically pushed the DM out of the way to get to the
angry and heartbroken sub.  Patrick wasn't sure exactly what had gone
down, but he'd heard the Dom call the poor woman frigid.  Which was part
of why he'd revoked the ass' membership.  If he couldn't get his
girlfriend to respond sexually, Patrick was pretty sure it had more to do with
him than her.  Blaming her was unacceptable, as was being cruel. 
Jessica had taken the sub over to the aftercare area, hugging her and nodding
as she listened.  Chris and Justin had followed behind, Chris looking resigned
and Justin pissed - although not at the sub.  Going by the way he was
cracking his knuckles, Patrick had a feeling that Justin had heard more of the
Dom's muttered diatribe on his way being escorted out the door.

No doubt he
would be getting an earful when the DMs came back. 

But at least
he could leave the sub with Jessica and her two men with a clear
conscience.  The woman was clinging to Jess and didn't seem interested in
talking to
any
 man.  Patrick had never been good at stepping
back or delegating, but he wanted to get to Lexie.  He told himself it was
because he'd given her a certain time and so had a responsibility to be on time
for their appointment, but he knew that he was just being selfish.  Still,
it wasn't like he took time for himself all that often, so he refused to feel
guilty.  Besides, everyone was always telling him that he was too much of
a control freak when it came to the club.  

"Very
nice," he said, approaching her, letting his voice fill with the warmth
that he felt as he looked down at her.  "I actually prefer hands
behind your back, do that now.  It will be more comfortable if you grip
your elbows."

Lexie
immediately rearranged her arms, sliding them behind her back and bending them
in the exact manner that he'd recommended.  The position made her breasts
thrust out even more, offering up her pierced, swollen nipples, and he saw the
pink that flashed across her cheeks as she realized what the change in position
had done.  As brazen and bold as Lexie pretended to be, he loved to see
that little hint of embarrassment.

Standing
directly in front of her, looming over her, he pressed his shoe against her
inner thigh.

"Knees
farther apart."

Her breathing
faltered and then picked up as she shuffled slightly, spreading her legs wider. 
Patrick stepped back enough to enjoy the pretty picture she made, with her
shaved pussy completely open, her breasts thrust forward, and the pink on her
cheeks deepening.  Part of that was arousal, he was sure.  Her
nipples were hard little points, and he was sure that he could smell the sweet
scent of her pussy in the air. 

"Beautiful."

"Thank
you, Sir," she said softly, peeking up at him before dropping her gaze
back down to the floor.

Patrick
grinned wolfishly.  With Lexie kneeling in front of him, he felt more in
tune with himself, more alive, than he had in months.  His dominant side
got plenty of use when it came to running the club, but it wasn't the same as
having it focused on a single woman.  A woman who was submissive and
sassy, and ready to do whatever he wished.  The power was a heady thing,
and the fact that the woman in question was Lexie made it even more so. 
His metaphorical fingers had been itching to dominate her for so long that he
could actually feel a sense of relief at finally being able to do so. 

"What
would you do if I told you to kneel up, Pixie?" he asked, curious to see
how much she'd researched on her own.  Obviously she knew a little bit,
since she'd been in a proper position when he'd entered the room.

Immediately,
Lexie rose up so that she was on her knees, no longer resting back.  It
made her pussy slightly less accessible, but it also put her in perfect
position to suck his cock.

Which really
fucking made him wish that was happening tonight.  He'd had fantasies
about that mouth.  Lots and lots of them.  Far more than he would
ever care to admit.  It was practically an oral fetish, the way he
obsessed about it.  He'd never had it with any other woman, but with Lexie
it was constantly on his mind.  Especially when she was being particularly
bratty.  Although, she was being perfect right now and he still wanted to
fuck her mouth.

"Good
girl," he said.  Her eyes lit up with pleasure at his approval,
sending an answering surge of warmth through him.  A Dom liked to know
that his approval was desired.  "Stay there."

Turning
around, he discreetly shifted his raging hard on to a slightly more comfortable
position before going behind his desk and opening up the top drawer. 
Picking up the thin strap of leather, he tried to stifle the emotions that said
this meant something.  It didn't.  Not yet.

"This is
a training collar," he said, coming back to her as she peeked
curiously.  Her lips parted, and for a moment he thought she was going to
interrupt him, but she didn't.  "You can take it home with you and
you will wear it any time you come to the club from now on.  It's not a
real collar," he said, firmly, as much to himself as to her.
 "It implies no commitment, other than you are under my protection
while I'm training you and neither of us will be seeing or playing with anyone
else for the duration of your training."

******

Patrick could
say whatever the fuck he wanted, that sounded like commitment to her.  Not
that she was going to protest.  Nope.  She was going to keep her
mouth shut for once, rather than pointing out the obvious and forcing the
issue.  If this was what he needed right now, who was she to take that
away from him?  Lexie realized that he was struggling a bit with the whole
training thing, not to mention the fact that she was his best friend's little
sister, so if he wanted to be in an exclusive relationship without calling it
that, she could accept that for now.  The important thing was that she now
had reassurance he wasn't going to be seeking out any other women.

Which made her
want to dance around and sing for joy.  Sure, he hadn't been playing at
the club, but she'd never been sure about whether or not he'd been seeing
someone in his free time at home.  If he said that neither of them were
going to be involved with other people while he was training her, he would hold
to that.  

Fuck yes!

Somehow she
managed to contain her excitement, which was really super hard. 
Especially because he was collaring her.  Yeah, she got it was to make
sure that other Doms didn't approach her or think that she was up for grabs
now, but it was still a collar.  It meant something.  Angel, Jessica
and the others all wore some kind of choker or collar when they came to the
club, even though they weren't technically 'collared.'  It was just a way
of showing that they were taken.