Mentor's Match: A Submissive Series Standalone Novel (BDSM Romance) Page 12

  “I had a job interview.”

  “In Berlin?” He asked. How could she have had an interview in Berlin? “Are you moving here?”

  “No,” she said. “The lady I interviewed with is based here. I can work from anywhere I want.”

  “That explains why you’re in Berlin. Why are you at my house?”

  He didn’t miss the way her bottom lip trembled before she pressed both together and they stopped.

  “I can… it’s just…” She looked around. “I’m sorry. Can we sit down or something?”

  He could hit himself. “Yes, I’m sorry.” He motioned to the kitchen table. “Would you like something to drink?”

  “No, thank you. I’m fine.”

  With that out of the way, he leaned back and waited for her to talk.

  She slumped in her seat and that surprised him. He’d assumed since she didn’t return any of his texts she was doing well without him. However, the woman before him didn’t look like she was doing well at all.

  “After I left Wilmington, I took some time and work on me. To really think about what I wanted. Not only from life but also from a relationship.” She looked up from playing with her nails. “I’d never really done that before. Even after I left Cole.”

  But why couldn’t you at least reply to my texts? He wanted to ask, but refrained for now.

  “After I put down on paper the kind of relationship I wanted, I realized I’d never seen anything like it before.” She shrugged. “I had to face the fact I probably wouldn’t find anyone who would be interested.”

  “Did you ask anyone?”

  “No.”

  “You must forgive me if I’m slow here. It is almost three in the morning.” He meant to lighten the mood, but he didn't think it worked. “Did it occur to you to ask me?”

  “No,” she said. “Because nothing I've heard from you gave any hint you wanted a serious relationship. You're just a player.”

  “Just a player,” he mumbled to himself. “After I told you I would be vanilla for you, it still didn’t hit you I might want to at least talk about what you needed?”

  “I just didn’t think you’d be interested.”

  “Why would I not be?”

  She sighed. “For starters, you live in Berlin. I live in the US.”

  “I don’t always live in Berlin. I move around. You know that.”

  “And I wasn’t sure I wanted to live like that. Never in one spot.”

  He leaned forward, making sure he had her attention. “The fact is you didn't ask me what I wanted. Or what I would give up or even compromise on. You decided for me.”

  “You can’t sit there and tell me that you would actually be willing to compromise on what you want in a relationship for me. When I was here before you were very clear about what you wanted and that you wanted a full-time power exchange.”

  He caught her eye and for a long moment, didn’t say anything. When he finally spoke it wasn’t until she squirmed under his gaze and even then he spoke low and even. “I don’t believe I like the fact that you're sitting at my table telling me what I would or would not do.”

  She opened and closed her mouth a few times. Good. Let her think about it for a minute.

  “You have interested me since the first time I met you.” He nodded at the surprise in her eyes. “Yes, back when you were Cole’s. I didn’t say or do anything while you were with him because I would never disrespect anyone like that. Much less one of my good friends.”

  “Wait. What?”

  He hadn’t meant to just blurt it out like that and hesitated a second too long.

  “Are you telling me you’ve been interested in me for years and you never got around to telling me? And you think you’re going to sit there all high and mighty and judge me? I don’t think so.”

  It struck him how tired he was. “We need to finish this conversation, but we also need sleep. Or at least I do. The guest room is made up. You can sleep in there for now and we’ll pick this conversation up in a few hours.”

  “I’ll just go back to the hotel.”

  “The hell you will. It’s not safe.”

  She crossed her arms. “I made it here, didn’t I?”

  “I’m not going to argue about this.”

  “Good.”

  “If I wake up and you’ve left, I’ll find you and drag your ass to the club you saw me at and it’ll be your turn for a discipline session in the window display.” He knew by the way her cheeks flushed and how she refused to look at him that it had been her in the crowd.

  “I don’t believe you.”

  He rose partway out of his chair, placed both hands on the table and looked straight in her eyes. “Try me.”

  13

  Kate woke up, not feeling like she’d slept at all. A quick look at the bedside table showed it was after seven o'clock in the morning. She gave a short laugh. She hadn't slept very much last night. Rolling to her back, she decided she shouldn’t be surprised, seeing how the conversation had gone a few hours ago with Fritz.

  She wondered how long it would be before he woke up. No sooner than she thought that, she heard a noise in the kitchen. Fritz was making coffee. And since he didn’t drink coffee, he was making it for her. She stretched and got out of bed. Might as well see him. No point putting off the inevitable. He looked up as she walked into the kitchen. It made some part of her feel better seeing the dark circles under his eyes and knowing he hadn’t slept well either.

  “Morning, Kate,” he said.

  “Good morning, Fritz.”

  “Coffee’s brewing. I can cook you something for breakfast.”

  “I’m fine with coffee right now.”

  The room was quiet with neither one of them breaking the silence with words. She knew she needed to say something, but she didn’t know where to start. How could she with everything that needed to be said?

  The coffee had finished making. He poured her a cup and placed it in front of her.

  “Thank you,” she said.

  “I understand why you didn’t tell me about what you needed in a relationship. You didn’t know what you wanted and you were still working it out for yourself. What I don't understand, is why you didn't answer my texts?”

  “I didn’t think you noticed. You’re a known player.”

  He leaned forward. “You keep saying that and I’m not going to say it wasn’t true in the past, but I ask you, how many women did you see me play with in Wilmington?”

  The truth hit her at that moment. “Just me.”

  “Yes, and to be honest with you, I haven’t been with anyone sexually since you were in Berlin the first time.”

  Her mouth dropped and she snapped it shut. “But that’s been…”

  “A long time.” He nodded. “Yes. But if they weren’t you, I wasn’t interested. Also, about the full-time play.” He drummed his fingers on the table. After he left her last night, he’d gone over their past conversations, trying to come up with how she came to believe what she did. “When you asked me if I was like Cole, I said twenty-four, seven was my preference, but I’ve never lived it like you have and I never meant that to be translated to mean I wasn’t willing to do something else.”

  Her lips formed an “O” of surprise.

  He leaned closer. “Tell me why you came to my door last night when you wouldn’t return my texts and you didn’t stop by to see me in the club yesterday afternoon.”

  He’d given her nothing but honesty and she would do the same for him. “When I saw you with that submissive yesterday, it brought everything back.” She took a deep breath. “Suddenly, finding the perfect relationship didn’t seem as important as being with the man I love.”

  She waited for him to say something, but he simply sat there. She brushed a tear out of her eye. “But I’m so confused because I don’t want to be a full-time slave again, but I really like it sometimes and who’s ever heard of a sometimes slave? And you live here and there and everywhere and I’m in New York. I don’t see
how we could ever make it work.”

  She dropped her head. A few seconds later, she heard his chair scrape across the floor and footsteps as he approached.

  “Kate,” he said standing in front of her and she looked up. He held out his hand. “Stand up for me.”

  Uncertain, she took his hand and did as he bid.

  “Did you say you loved me?” he asked.

  “Yes.”

  He kissed the few remaining tears from her cheeks and whispered, “Oh my, liebling, I love you and as long as we agree on that, everything else will fall in place.”

  “How can you be so sure?”

  He smiled. “Because I’ll tell it to do so.”

  She huffed. That wasn’t any sort of answer. But before she could express her outrage, he crushed his lips to hers in a dominating and possessive kiss that wiped her mind of any doubt.

  14

  Two Months Later

  Partner’s Club

  Wilmington, Delaware

  “Everything looks fabulous,” Abby told Kate. “You guys are amazing.”

  They were inside the dressing room. Abby was already dressed and in fact, had been headed out into the main room when she saw Kate walk in and joined her. Kate was happy to have the company. Tonight was going to stretch her and she was thankful for the slightest bit of distraction.

  “Thanks. I’m so glad everyone likes it.” Kate put her bag in a locker and undressed. Tomorrow she moved in with Fritz and he’d told her before she did, they would do a public scene at the Partner’s Club.

  She didn’t know why she was nervous. Over the last few months, she’d played numerous times with Fritz, both in private and in the window display of his club. Yet somehow, tonight felt different. She didn’t think it was because she’d be in front of people she knew. She knew the people in Berlin.

  No, something told her tonight was different. Tonight was special. She just wasn’t sure why.

  She loved what the Delaware group had done to the dressing rooms. Functional, yet comfortable while still conveying a sensual feel was hard to do, but they had pulled it off. She stripped down to her thong and bra, just as Fritz had requested and slid into the barely there robe waiting for her in the walk in dressing area the admin working the front desk told her had been reserved her.

  Kate checked to make sure her hair was still pulled back and secured into a high ponytail. She stopped to check herself in the full-length mirror and, finding herself satisfactory, looked at Abby. “Ready.”

  “Let’s go.”

  Rhythmic music played softly in the background, but with an underlying beat that matched her step. The sensual feel flowed out into the main areas of the club. Each area remaining separate and yet still maintaining an overall similar undertone.

  Kate looked around and found Fritz talking with Nathaniel and Cole. They were all three standing. Sasha, she noted, knelt beside Cole, a look of bliss on her face as he rested his hand on her head.

  Abby went to stand by Nathaniel and Kate, feeling somewhat self conscious, knelt beside Fritz. It wasn’t because she was uncomfortable around the other two couples, but rather because they were so obviously couples. She knew Fritz had never collared anyone and while she felt he’d one day get to the place where he wanted to collar her, she couldn’t help but feel a little jealous of her two friends.

  “Are you ready?” Fritz asked her.

  “Yes, Herr Brose.”

  He held out a hand to help her stand and nodded at Nathaniel. As they walked off, she saw Nathaniel drop his head to whisper something to Abby. Abby brought both her hands to cover her mouth and nodded.

  What the hell?

  But Fritz was moving forward, so she’d have to find out later what had made Abby happy.

  Toward the back of the building, a large area, complete with a stage had been built for demos. When they made it there, fabric-covered screens kept her from seeing what Fritz had planned.

  He told her to sit in a chair in front of the screen, facing the audience, and that they would begin in five minutes. Word had obviously spread throughout the club, because at the end of five minutes, not an empty spot remained.

  She heard the screens being moved behind her and the crowd before her murmured at whatever they saw. She hated that she didn’t know what to expect. Hated it in that secretly loved it way.

  Heavy footsteps sounded behind her and the crowd grew completely silent. Kate took a deep calming breath, glad that he was ready to start. He kept walking until he stood in front of her. He looked devilishly handsome and dangerous at the same time. His shirt was off, revealing the toned hard muscle of his chest. She dipped her gaze lower, following the dusting of hair that disappeared below his waistband of his black pants.

  “Like what you see, liebling?”

  Her head jerked up and she met his cool expression. “Yes, Herr Brose.”

  “Kneel before me.”

  She slid off the chair and went to her knees.

  “We haven’t spoken of this, and yet you are living with me as my submissive and sometimes slave. I want your honest answer to my next question. Will you agree to wear my collar?”

  It was as if someone removed all the air from the room and she couldn’t breathe. He wanted to collar her? Now?

  That giddy feeling she’d rarely experienced came back and it took all her self discipline not to jump up and yell her answer. She forced herself to simply smile and say, “Yes, Herr Brose,” but her voice trembled and from the emotion in his eyes, Fritz heard it as well.

  “I thought you would. But first, I have to make sure you’re ready.”

  Fuck. That could be anything. She remained still and waited.

  “I have to give you a medical exam.”

  Her brain threatened to short circuit. Fritz and a medical scene? Holy fuck.

  “And I need an assistant.” From the corner of her eye, she saw Abby approach the stage. “Master West has been gracious enough to allow his Abby to assist me. Do you know why I’m particularly happy with that, liebling?”

  “No, Herr Brose.”

  “Because Abby West is fluent in German.”

  Oh, shit, she thought, because she was almost positive what was coming next.

  “Tell me, liebling, how are your German lessons?”

  She gave him the evil eye because he damn well knew the answer to that since they had discussed it this morning. “I haven’t started them yet, Herr Brose.”

  “And yet your possible soon-to-be Master is German and you will live in Germany part time.” He looked to where Abby stood and said something to her in German. She laughed.

  Since he hadn’t asked her a question, she could only remain silent and wish she’d started on the German lessons last month the way she’d said she would.

  “Go position yourself on the exam table.”

  She rose to her feet and turned to find a recreated doctor’s room behind her seat. It only took a few steps to make her way to the leather table, finding when she laid on her back that she felt more vulnerable in the lingerie than she ever was naked.

  Fritz took a white lab coat from a nearby table and slipped it on. From the pocket, he took a notebook and pen and handed them to Abby.

  He moved to stand at Kate’s side.

  “You look stunning in the lingerie. It’ll be a hard decision trying to decide if I have you wear it around the house or keep you naked.” He looked over his shoulder and spoke to Abby in German. She wrote something down.

  He turned back to Kate. “Let’s see how prepared you are to serve me.” Then he said something else, but it was in German. She didn’t move.

  He sighed. “Open your mouth.”

  She dropped her jaw.

  “Wider.” He tapped her chin. “You’ve seen my dick.”

  She opened it wider, imagining him using her mouth, thrusting into it. Desire swelled between her legs.

  He put two fingers in her mouth. “Suck.” He continued to talk while she worked his fingers like they were
his cock. “Every time I indicate my desire for it, you will present me with an open mouth, ready and eager to suck anything I put in it.”

  She wanted it now, but guessed he would make her wait. So in the absence of his cock, she enjoyed his fingers.

  “Enough,” he said and removed them.

  His fingers brushed her collarbones and dipped along the hollow of her throat. “I will provide all you need to ensure your body and mind are sharp and strong. It pleases me to care for you.” His lips nibbled her neck. “And doing so will keep you fit to serve me.”

  His hands dipped lower, tracing her breasts along the edge of her bra. Little-by-little, his thumbs teased the material aside, giving him access to her nipples. He gave her neck a hard suck and then stood up and unclasped her bra.

  She frowned. That didn’t seem right.

  He stiffened above her. “Is there a reason you’re frowning?”

  “It’s not the way I thought it would be. You’re undressing me. I’d assumed I would undress for you, sir.”

  “I see,” he said and his forehead wrinkled a bit. “I’m sure I’ll have you undress for me at times. Right now though, you’re offering yourself and I’m accepting that gift. Unwrapping it, if you will. In other words, it pleases me to undress you. Understand?”

  She did when he put it like that. “Yes, Herr Brose.”

  “You want to please me?”

  “Yes, Herr Brose.”

  “Then you will start your German lessons tomorrow.”

  “Yes, Herr Brose. I’m sorry I haven’t already done so.”

  He stroked her cheek. “Thank you, liebling. However, the fact that you haven’t is what will make this scene so much fun. For me at least.” He stood and said something else in German to Abby. She wrote something down and hurried over to stand closer to them, but not in the way.

  Fritz resumed his place at her breasts. He took them in his hands and so gradually she barely felt it, grew rougher and rougher. He looked her in the eyes and said something in his native tongue.