“Thanks,” she said, then answered the phone. “Hey.”
“I thought for a second you were screening calls and I didn’t make the cut,” he teased.
Julie shut the door behind her. “Afraid I’d decided you didn’t pass my test after all?”
“Yes and I’d be upset. Last I checked, I speak in complete sentences.” There was a slight pause. “Most of the time.”
She shivered, remembering what caused him to speak in phrases. Picturing him over her, his back arched in pleasure as he climaxed inside her.
“Mmm,” she hummed. “Maybe complete sentence are overrated.”
He laughed. “We better change subjects before I’m tempted to come pick you up and render you speechless.”
“Tease.”
“I’m completely serious,” he said, and she didn’t doubt him. “What are you doing tonight?”
“I’m actually at Dena’s place. Sasha and I came for dinner.” She took a second to look around. The room was tastefully decorated in a French country theme. Simple and uncluttered, much like the rest of the apartment. “I like her.”
“I didn’t realize Sasha and Dena were close.”
“I didn’t either. Today was the first time I’ve seen her, not counting the group meeting.”
There was silence before he spoke again and when he did, his tone was flat, almost as if he were describing the weather. “She’s a good person. And an experienced submissive. She’d be happy to answer any questions you have on the lifestyle.”
“She mentioned she saw you on Sunday.” She brought it up, not because she felt jealous, but because she wanted him to know.
“Mentoring session with a new Dom. She helps sometimes.”
She wondered what that would be like, training someone. From what Daniel had told her, there seemed to be a lot to learn.
“I thought about asking if you’d like to stay and watch,” he said. “But decided it might be too soon.”
She respected both his decision and the thought that had gone behind it. He told her he’d been a Dom for over ten years; if he felt it too soon, it was too soon.
“Probably,” she agreed.
“I won’t keep you. I just wanted to call to see if you could come for dinner tomorrow?”
“Just dinner?”
“I was hoping you’d spend the night, too, but it didn’t seem polite to ask you to dinner and then to stay after so I could tie you up in my playroom.”
He chuckled after he said it, but she had a feeling he wasn’t joking. He was going to tie her up and have sex with her. Her heart pounded with excitement and desire swelled between her legs.
“Julie?”
“Is it tomorrow yet?”
“Have a good time with the girls, kitten.” His voice was low and sultry. “Tomorrow night you’re all mine.”
Minutes later, she walked back into the living room on weak legs. She didn’t have to guess what her face looked like; Sasha’s expression said everything.
“Damn, that must have been some phone call,” Dena said.
Julie knew she could lie and say it was nothing, but instead she took her seat and smiled. “It was.”
Sasha and Dena both waited.
“So, what were you two talking about while I was gone?” Julie asked.
“Is she always like this, Sasha?”
“Yes, it’s annoying as hell.”
They both looked at her and she sighed. There was no escaping. “If you must know, he asked me to dinner tomorrow night.”
Sasha crossed her arms. “There is no way dinner would put that expression on your face.”
“And then he might have mentioned what he’d do after.”
Dena stood up and carried her wineglass to the kitchen. “I so do not want to hear this.” She looked over her shoulder to Sasha. “Not worth the evil things he’ll have his mentee do to me.”
Sasha snorted. “You love it.”
“Of course I do. It’s just part of my game to pretend otherwise.” Dena shifted her attention back to Julie. “If you tell us what he has planned, we could give advice.”
Julie ran a finger along the rim of her wineglass. “I know you could and I’m sure there’ll be a time in the future when I need your advice. But for right now, it’s just Daniel and me, and it’s new and we’re getting to know each other, and, well, I just want to keep it to myself right now.”
“Oh, wow.” Dena was looking at her all strange.
“Told ya.” Sasha just looked smug.
Julie didn’t understand what they were talking about. She was missing something. “What?”
“It’s basically what Daniel said Sunday.” Dena sank into the couch. “You just squashed the hopes and dreams of damn near every submissive in the western hemisphere.”
“And half the vanilla women, too,” Sasha added. “It’s clear Mr. Covington is no longer available.”
Daniel hung up the phone with a smile on his face. If he guessed correctly, Julie would think of little other than his words until she came over the next day. Hopefully by the time they finished dinner, she’d be so needy with want, any trepidation she had at being tied up would be overshadowed by desire.
He was surprised to hear she was spending the evening with Dena. Though if his relationship with Julie continued on its current path, it only stood to reason that the two women would spend time together. Dena had taken several young submissives under her wing over the years; she enjoyed mentoring as much as he did. Daniel was relieved Julie now had two people other than himself she could talk with.
He decided to walk down to the playroom so he could start planning for the next evening. But halfway down, his doorbell rang.
That was odd. He wasn’t expecting anyone. He checked his phone to make sure he hadn’t missed a call. Nothing.
He opened the door and smiled when he saw who waited.
“Cole Johnson, you bastard,” Daniel said, pulling the scruffy man into a hug. “How long has it been? Don’t you have a phone?”
Cole laughed and returned the hug. “Too damn long and yes, but by the time I figured out where I was going, I was already here.”
Daniel led him inside with a shake of his head. Some people never changed. He had met Cole when they were both in graduate school, though Cole left before getting his master’s, opting to return to his homeland, England, to finish school there. He currently lived Stateside and was a well-known award-winning journalist. They typically spoke every few months, but it’d been at least a year since they’d spent any time together.
They settled into the living room after Cole passed on a drink and Daniel got his first good look at his old friend. It appeared as though Cole hadn’t shaved in days and fatigue laced his features.
“What brings you to my doorstep?” Daniel asked. “And you look like hell, by the way.”
Cole scrubbed his fingers through his dark hair, making it look even worse. “I haven’t slept in over thirty-two hours. I was hoping I could crash here.”
“Sure, for as long as you need.”
“It won’t be long. I’m on my way to India for a few months. I leave in a few weeks.”
Which meant there would be no playroom with Julie the next night. He’d have to call and tell her about the change in plans. He wondered if she’d even want to stay. Even though he hadn’t seen Cole in over twelve months, he wished his friend had picked a different weekend to stop by.
Daniel stood. “Why don’t you take a shower and crash? You can sleep here for now and move into the guesthouse over the weekend.”
“Thanks, much appreciated.”
After Cole made his way upstairs, Daniel went to his bedroom and sent Julie a text asking for her to call him when she got home. His phone rang less than an hour later.
“Miss me that bad?” she teased when he answered. “Or were you afraid of what I learned from Dena and Sasha?”