"Absolutely, sir," she said with a smile on her face.

"You were a good girl today. I look forward to the next time." With that I made my way to the door on the opposite side of the room and closed it with a loud snick so she'd know that I had left the room. It was always a task to make myself leave her, but it wasn't fair to make her keep the blindfold on for too long as it could disorient her and be a bad thing. On the other hand, I enjoyed having her in my arms all the same.

I grabbed my bag that carried an extra set of clothes in it and escaped through the back entrance of the building. I didn't want her to see me walking around the front of the club. The gift I had arranged to have left for her had me excited to hear from her. I'm sure it would be a surprise, but I wanted to see her wearing something of mine. The bruises would do a good job of keeping me on her mind for the next couple of days, but they would heal and go away. The gift I left wouldn't. It was my way of claiming her even if she wasn't aware of it. One day I would explain it to her, but she was still quite new in the scene and I didn't know how she'd react to me wanting to collar her.

Chapter 11

Alix

Hearing the door close after Master J left, I stood and pulled my panties back up. After everything that had gone on, I was still a little off-balance, trying to wrap my head around it. Walking around the bed, I looked for anything else that I could take as a reminder of our time together. The ribbon my wrists had been tied with lay on the floor. Quickly grabbing it, I glanced once more around the room. A slim wooden cane was on the floor — the cane he’d used — but that would be too hard to sneak out.

Returning to the small dressing room, I found a note waiting along with a square package. Holding the package in one hand, I pulled the note from the envelope.

Precious,

This is a gift for you to wear and remember me by. Keep it close to you just as I will keep memories of our time together.

Already anticipating our next time,

Master J

The sweet tone brought a smile to my lips as I carefully pulled off the top of the box, unsure of what I was going to find. Inside was a beautiful single strand of pearls nestled in blue velvet. Slowly, I pulled the necklace out and set the box aside before draping them around my neck. Pausing to admire the gift in the mirror, I ran my fingertips over the glittering white spheres. Never in my life had I been given such a beautiful and expensive piece of jewelry, or any gift really, let alone from a man I hardly knew.

Stepping into my clothes, I couldn’t help but peek at the mirror to see the gift Master had given me. Once fully dressed, I faced the mirror again. Even though it was a simple necklace, feeling their weight against my skin, seeing their shimmer in the mirror made me feel more beautiful than made sense. After running my fingers through my hair, I pulled open the door to the hallway. As I made my way toward the front, I could hear the quiet hum of voices along with the occasional scream or moan from the main room. It was easy to forget there were so many other people in the building when I was alone with Master. He made me feel like I was the only person in the world when he was around.

We hadn’t known each other, but he somehow managed to put my mind and body at ease more than ever before. He was also so careful and precise with his actions, never once hurting me more than I could take, more than I was begging for deep down. How he managed to read and understand my body better than even I did, I didn’t know. It didn’t matter as long as he continued doing it. That was all I cared about.

Not to mention after each time we met, he let me get little pieces of information about him. I gobbled up every single niblet he gave me too. The way he held me so tenderly was exquisite as well — like he didn’t want to let me go. Maybe he felt the intense attraction that I did, but he still refused to react and satisfy my other needs.

By the time I got home I was exhausted, so I stripped naked and fell into bed. The next morning, I couldn’t help but keep touching the pearls and smiling as they reminded me of Master and the night before.

As I stepped into the shower, I glanced over my shoulder to see my ass in the mirror. There were five distinct lines straight across my ass that were sure to turn into beautiful bruises. They were still bright red welts that I knew were going to make sitting down most of the day interesting. There were other larger marks on my back from the flogger, but not as severe as the marks from the cane.

I took more time than usual picking out what I was going to wear to work, eventually settling on a silk dress that I’d never worn before. I hoped the silk would be cool on the hot marks and help me make it through the day.

Thankfully from the moment I arrived at work until it was nearly time to leave for the day, the phone never stopped ringing. The non-stop running around made it much easier to keep my mind off the night before and the marks still burning my flesh. Just as I started to close down my computer and get ready to leave, I remembered that it was one of the nights John came in.

Sitting back in my chair, I waited for a few minutes and wasn’t disappointed when I saw Jennifer perk up at her post behind the desk. John stepped into view with his casual, lazy gait that was sexy as hell. He spoke to her for a moment and when she turned away, he tapped his fingers on the top of the desk before turning and locking eyes with me. It was like he knew I’d be there, waiting for him, watching him.

One side of his delicious mouth tilted upward, but Jennifer returned and he turned back to face her.

For the first time all day, I felt the nagging thoughts swelling up and taking over, pushing at me. I needed to slip my hand between my legs. I had to. The longer I fought to deny it, the harder it was to breath.

As he continued to talk to Jennifer, I eased a hand up under my dress. Pushing my panties aside, I sank two fingers into my wet pussy. Angrily, I jabbed them in and out, lowering my eyes from John and Jennifer. I didn’t want to be doing it, but ignoring the thoughts and craving was nearly impossible. The faster I got off, the quicker I could move on. Roughly, I pinched my clit, biting down on my bottom lip to keep from shouting out at the pain that  radiated from it, but the sweet, hot, burn that followed had me thrusting my hips against my hand. The welts on my ass and back, pressed harder against the chair, adding a new and delicious sensation to my forbidden play.

Just as I had nearly reached an orgasm, I glanced up and nearly fell out of my chair when I found John standing just feet from my window that looked over the lobby. His arms were crossed over his chest and an extremely pissed-off  look flowed over his handsome face.

My hand pulled from my body and I wiggled my skirt down from where it had risen in my rush to ecstasy. My face flamed red as I tried to ignore the incredibly embarrassing situation. I’d been caught, no doubt about it. It was only a matter of time, I’d known that. Hell, I’d been fired before for masturbating at work and having sex at work, but that was before. I didn’t want to admit that my addiction was back to the same level it had been. It was too late; he would most likely tell management and I’d be without a job again.

Fighting back the tears and guilt, I grabbed my purse from the bottom drawer and quickly locked my door before fleeing out the employee entrance. I would have to walk all the way around the building to get to where I parked, but I didn’t have to face John or anyone else he might be sharing what he’d seen with.

Opening the driver door, I plopped down in the seat only to cry out from the pain that lashed through the welts on my ass. I was so stupid. How could I not have spotted it before? Not admitted how bad I’d gotten. Driving recklessly, I sped home as tears ran down my face. Sinking against the locked door, I finally let it all out. Screaming and crying, I slapped at my thighs angrily. It was my fault. My fault. No one to blame but myself.