"My pearls. Sir, I want them back. I'll come to you right now. Anything, sir." I couldn't fight the rejected feeling that overcame me. Logical or not, I needed those pearls more than I needed my next breath. I might have more questions than I could write down for him, but I didn't want to lose the connection we had over something so stupid.

"Meet me at the club. You have one hour." Master hung up the phone before I could respond.

Jumping off the bed, I immediately stripped out of my clothes and pulled on a skimpy pair of panties and a bra before covering up with a trench coat. My favorite five-inch heels were slipped on before I stepped out of the house. There was no reason to get dressed. Master never saw me dressed and I didn't want to waste any time putting on clothes only to take them off when I got to the club.

As I drove to the club, I pulled out my hair tie and fluffed my hair. I still had on the leather collar from the night before. I had tucked the chain into the collar so it stayed out of the way but I hadn't removed it. Hopefully Master would be able to tell that I was still fully invested in our relationship, even though I had slipped up and not answered my phone. There were a lot of things I wasn't sure about, but I realized that even though I had entertained the idea of leaving Master because I didn't know his name or face, I couldn't do it.

I didn't need to know his name or see his face to let him teach me how to be a stronger person — how to fight the constant internal battle that went on. The day hadn't been easy, but it certainly hadn't been as rough as it could've been, and I hadn't given in to the strong desire to masturbate. Hell, it had been days since I'd even had that temptation and that was something I could brush aside. It was too important.

The amount of freedom I could gain from finally conquering my demons would extend to every part of my life. I had once had that freedom, or I thought I had. The life I lived after rehab wasn't life. I lived in constant fear that something would set me back. Even trying to avoid it with every blink of my eye, I still tripped and fell back in to old habits.

The control that I was gaining from being under Master’s careful, knowledgeable hand showed me that I never really had defeated it before. I'd simply put it in a box that would spring open again whether I wanted it to or not. Master was showing me that I could leave it there in the open, acknowledge it and continue on without letting it take over my life. I still had a long way to go and I wasn't ready to lose the man who had created the unusual, but successful path in my brain.

After spending hours trying to clear the murky water in my brain about Master’s and my situation, I had made very little progress. This one falter cleared the water so quickly it was staggering. I needed Master and I would do anything to make him see that.

When I arrived at the club, I knew I wasn't looking my best. The only make-up I had on was what was left from the night before and a day of cleaning. As I walked through the parking lot, I realized I should have showered since I probably didn't smell the best. Oh well, too late. I ran my fingers through my hair taking care of a few knots. The man at the door, let me in without a word. I handed over my purse to the woman inside and strode down the hall, determination radiating off me. Each step brought me that much closer to a pivotal moment.

With the final steps to the dressing room, I unbuttoned my jacket. As soon as the door was open, I dropped my jacket onto the chair and was kneeling on the floor before it could click closed behind me.

"Hmm. Didn't waste any time, did you?" Master's voice came from across the room. There was a current of pleasure in his tone.

"No, sir. I got here as fast as I could." I kept my eyes locked on the ground even though I knew I could easily look up and finally get that glimpse of his face I craved. That wasn't how I wanted it though. I wanted him to want  me to know more about him. The black silk cloth was draped in front of my eyes as a pair of bare feet stepped into my sight. The view had my back straightening. It wasn't what I was used to. He always had shoes on. I couldn't help but admire the well-groomed manly feet and the jeans that brushed the ground.

Before he could say anything or wrap the silk around my head, I bowed and brought my lips to the top of each foot. It was the first way to show him I was grateful for him giving me the opportunity to make up for my idiocy.

"Stop," Master barked. "You are never to kiss my feet. That's a slave thing and I don't want a slave. I want a woman who can stand next to me while submitting to my desires."

"I have made an error and I want to apologize, sir," I murmured. "I just want to make you happy."

"I have shown you how to make me happy. I might not be all that happy at this exact moment, but you are never below me in such a way that you bow to me like that again. You submit to me because you choose to. You give the control of our time together to me. You are worth more than that. Those lips are too perfect to be touching dirty things that touch the ground."

As he spoke, he wrapped the blindfold around my eyes. Once it was tied, he buried his hand in my hair, tugging my head back before his lips came forcefully down on mine. His tongue plunged into my mouth to touch and taste. Yanking his mouth away moments later, his forehead pressed to mine. Our breath mixing as his bare chest brushed against the material of my bra.

"Don't ever ignore your phone again." His grip in my hair tightened and his other arm wrapped around my waist. The tightening of his arm brought me firmly chest to chest with him. He had gotten to his knees in front of me, it was the only way he could possibly be touching me the way he was. Tilting my head to the side, he left open-mouthed, wet kisses along the column of my neck as he continued to hold me close.

"I won't, sir," I said as he sucked and licked at the sensitive skin where my neck met my shoulder.

After a few more kisses, he rested his cheek against mine. The rough stubble across his cheek scraped my face. "I shouldn't tell you this, but I was so God-damn worried you had decided you were done with me."

"Master? Why would you think that?" I didn't know what would make him jump to that conclusion since I'd sent him a message to apologize for running out on him before heading to bed.

"I...just did. After the way you left last night, and then not hearing from you all day. My mind went wild trying to figure out what had happened," he released a shaky breath, holding me closer.

I didn't fully understand why he was reacting the way he was. I understood that I had been wrong for not answering all day, but his reaction seemed a bit extreme. Then again, nothing was even remotely normal in our relationship, if it could even be called that.

"Let me make it up to you, Master." It was all I could do. This side of Master, while touching, was freaking me out. I was used to the untouchable, all-knowing version and I wanted it back. That was the man I needed and I would do whatever I had to in order to get him back.

Chapter 20

John

To say that I freaked out when I didn't hear from Alix for almost twenty-four hours would be an understatement. I drove past her house multiple times, was even late to meet clients because I needed to see if I could get a glimpse of her. I hadn’t even seen curtains moving as she walked past. It was much easier to see where she was at night, and as soon as I was done with clients for the day I was back to her house.

My brain was throwing together every possible scenario, and the one that stuck together the best was that she had decided that she was done with me because she didn't know enough about me. It took me a long time to convince myself that ringing her doorbell and announcing who I was wasn't the right way to reveal my identity. It would only make the situation worse.