Emma Lia Grant. The woman is a magnificent creature.

The fire of defiance blazing in her ice-blue eyes burns white-hot. Her powerful resistance makes her a force to be reckoned with. Makes my dick hard as steel every time she fights me. Breaking her is going to be such a pleasure.

There is zero doubt in my mind. She is the one who I want to feel beneath me. The one I want to feel struggling against me before finally submitting. The one I want to rock against me, begging to be fucked harder.

My new submissive is the only thing on my mind during the ninety-minute drive home from Biloxi to New Orleans. Erotic images of her flash through my imagination. My favorite is the one of her lying facedown on the bed with her ass in the air, a faceted blue gem butt plug stretching her so that she can take my cock with ease the first time I fuck her pink puckered hole.

Taking her for the first time is going to be glorious.

All of my kinky fantasies end when I pull into the driveway of my Greek revival home on St. Charles Avenue. Reality sets in, and I’m not looking forward to what I’m about to do.

Claudia’s bedroom light is on. I’m glad of that; I want to get this done now. No need to put it off.

Her green-golden-brown eyes alight with delight and a broad smile spreads when she sees me standing in the doorway of her bedroom. Without hesitation, the obedient submissive inside her takes control of her body, simultaneously lowering her gaze, dropping her chin close to her chest, and falling to her knees beside the bed, ready to please me.

Not a single word required on my part. My presence alone makes her take the submissive pose.

Best sub I’ve ever had. So well trained.

So well trained by Easton. Not me.

“Master.”

I lean against the doorframe and take a moment to look at Claudia on her knees. Instead of being sad that this is my final moment with her as my submissive, I’m thinking about the first time that I see Emma Lia on her knees in this bedroom. The first time that I see her in the submissive pose. The first time that she addresses me as Master. I will be the one who has taught and trained her. Only me.

“Stand.”

Claudia rises to her feet, but her face and eyes remain lowered while she awaits her Dom’s instructions. Because that’s the kind of submissive that she is. Always awaiting the next command from the man she worships.

“At ease, Claudia. I’m here to only talk.”

She lifts her face and wrinkles form over her brow. “What happened to your face? And neck?”

Emma Lia Grant happened. What a tigress that one is.

So fucking exciting.

I wave my hand to dismiss her question; I have no intentions of telling her that my new submissive isn’t the least bit obedient.

“I understand that this is going to come as a surprise, but I’m ending our Dom-sub relationship.”

Her lips part, and it takes a moment for her to speak. “Master…”

I wait for her to finish, but no words follow the name that she has called me for the last year.

“You can’t call me Master or Sir anymore. I’m only Tristan to you now.”

Tears form in her lids, covering the lower half of her eyes that never seem to be quite the same color from one day to the next. One of the things that I’ve always found exotic and enticing about her.

“I… I can be more obedient. I can… I can be whatever you desire if you’ll tell me what you want and need.”

I don’t love Claudia, but she does hold a fond place in my heart. I owe her better than this. I shouldn’t have waited. I should have sent Claudia away the moment that I made the decision to take Emma Lia as my new submissive.

I was wrong. And I see that now.

She lowers herself to her knees in front of me. “I can do better, Master.”

I bend and take her hands, helping her to stand. “It isn’t possible for you to be a better submissive. You are incredible. The best.”

“Then I don’t understand what’s wrong.” Her words are little more than a whisper.

Claudia is an excellent sub, but she has never experienced a Dom-sub relationship outside of the ones that she has shared with Easton and me. Both long-term for our lifestyle. I myself have never had a sub for longer than six months prior to Claudia.

Perhaps keeping her for so long was a mistake.

“You know that a Dom-sub relationship isn’t intended to last forever.” Easton told her that. I told her that. She said that she understood.

“I know that most don’t, but there have been times when a Dom claimed his sub forever by marrying her.”

I can’t believe that she’d even suggest that as a possibility between us. She knows better than that shit. “I’m not interested in marriage.”

“I thought that I made you happy.”

See… this is why I don’t so romantic relationships with women. They want to drag shit out. Talk it over and try to make it work when I just want the hell out.

I need the kind of woman who says yes, Sir and moves on to her next fuck when I tell her that we’re over. No questions. No discussion.

“You made me happy for a long time, but I crave something different now. Something that you aren’t able to give me.”

Her eyes widen as though maybe I’ve said something that gives her hope. “Tell me what it is, and I swear that I will give it to you.”

“A woman who’s never been with another Dom.” I give her a moment to absorb how clearly that excludes her. “A woman who will belong to only me. Someone I can break and train and mold from the start into exactly what I want her to be.”

She lowers her head. “That’s certainly something that I’m not able to give to you.”

“There are plenty of Doms out there looking for a sub as perfect as you. I’m happy to give you a stellar reference. And I know that Easton will too.”

“You make it sound like a job interview.”

Claudia went from the ownership of one Dom to another. Like a transfer. She doesn’t understand the process of seeking a new Dom. Being a sub is very much like a job. In New Orleans, the better your referrals and experience, the better the Dom you will land.

“I heard that Jacob Westbrook was looking for a new sub. I can contact him on your behalf if you like.”

Jacob is wealthy. He would maintain Claudia in the lifestyle that’s she has become accustomed to. And I’ve seen him in action at a play party once or twice. Looked like he knew what he was doing. I would feel comfortable with transferring Claudia into his care.

“You just told me that we’re over a few minutes ago. I’m nowhere near ready to even think about another Dom.” She cups her hand over her forehead. “You’ve been the center of my universe for more than a year. I don’t even know how to do that—how to consider looking at another Dom, much less let one touch me.”

“I understand that you’re going to need time but please know that I’m willing to help whenever you decide that you’re ready.”

“Only a few hours ago, we were fine. Or at least I thought we were. What happened to bring this on so suddenly?”

All right. She’s hurt. She’s disappointed. She’s shocked. I get it. But all of this talking and discussing isn’t going to change anything. And it’s beginning to annoy the fuck out of me.

I wasn’t planning to tell her about Emma Lia, but I think I need to so that she’ll stop dragging this out.

“I’ve found my new sub.”

Claudia’s mouth gapes, and her face distorts as though she’s in pain. “You found her tonight?”

“I found her months ago, but I’ve been waiting on some things to fall into place. The time is finally right.” So fucking right.

Claudia takes a step back and blindly feels for the bed before sitting on the edge. “Did you cheat on me with this woman?”

Cheat on her? Cheating implies that we were monogamous. We were not. Hell, Easton continued to fuck Claudia at least once a month after she became my sub. People in love don’t do that.

“I haven’t been with her yet.”

“Yet,” she whispers.

The Claudia before me isn’t the poised submissive I’ve known for the last year. This one looks like she could have a meltdown at any moment.

“You don’t have to worry. I’ll pay for you to stay in the hotel of your choice until you find a new Dom. I’ll take care of your living expenses.” I owe her that.

“You’re making me leave?” Her voice has risen a few octaves.

What the fuck? Did she think I was going to have my new sub and my former sub living in the same house?

I shouldn’t have to explain what is obvious. “You can’t stay here. Emma Lia is going to be moving in with me.”

“Oh my God. Seriously? Her name is Emma… Lia? What the fuck kind of name is that?”

I’ve never heard Claudia be so hateful and rude.

“It’s a beautiful name for a very beautiful woman. It fits her perfectly.”

“Are you going to give her my bedroom?”

Claudia is laying claim to something that doesn’t belong to her.

“This room belongs to my submissive. Just like it has belonged to every other submissive who came before you and every submissive who will come after. Emma Lia is my new sub and she will use this bedroom as long as we are in a Dom-sub relationship.”

Claudia laces her fingers and cups them over the top of her head. “I can’t believe this is happening.”

“You’ll find a new Dom, and you’ll forget all about me.”

“I don’t want a new Dom; I want you. I’ve always wanted only you. Even when I was submissive to Easton. Because I love you, Tristan. Do you really not see that?”

Fuck.

Fuck.

Fuck.

I didn’t want this to happen, and that’s why I was honest with Claudia from the start. I told her that this relationship would never go down a romantic path. I’m not that guy. I don’t fall in love.

“I’m sorry, Claudia. I don’t want to hurt you, but this arrangement is over. Take off your collar.”

“Please don’t do this. We’re perfect together, and I know that we could become so much more. I can make you happy. I know that I can.”

Claudia’s desperation is pathetic, irritating… and useless. Any doubt that I might have had about ending things between us disappeared the instant that Emma Lia walked through the door of my hotel suite tonight.

She instantly became mine.

“I’m not going to change my mind, so stop. Groveling is unbecoming and beneath you. Now remove the collar.”

Claudia blinks rapidly, and several tears drop down both of her cheeks as she reaches behind her neck. I love some fucking tears, but not when they’re attached to unwelcome emotions. And Claudia’s love is most unwelcome.

Claudia hands over the diamond necklace and goes into the bathroom. She comes out with a tissue in her hand, dabbing at her eyes and cheeks. “This woman has ruined everything between us.”

“That’s so not true. I’ve been feeling a pull to do something different for a while. I was just waiting for the right person to come along. And now she has.”

Claudia flicks her wrist. “This has been my home for more than a year. I don’t want to be anywhere but here.”

I don’t know what she expects from me. “I’m sorry, but you can’t stay.”

“Living in a hotel will be hell. You know that it will be. At least let me stay until I find a new Dom.”

Two submissives. One old. One new. Both under the same roof. It’s asking for big trouble. “It won’t work.”

“You’re the Dom. Your new sub will have no choice but to make it work if you tell her that’s what she must do.”

Claudia isn’t aware that my relationship with Emma Lia isn’t consensual. She isn’t going to come into this house playing the part of an obedient submissive and I’m afraid that Claudia’s presence will only complicate an already fragile situation.

“You dropped this bomb on me without any kind of warning. Don’t you think that I’m at least owed a little time to get my bearings? Make a plan for myself and my future without being thrown out on the street?”

She’s being a bit melodramatic. Being put up in the hotel of your choice isn’t the same as being thrown out on the street. But she’s right about one thing. She needs to make a plan for her future.

“You can move into the guest room on the third floor until you make other arrangements.”

She dashes toward me and throws herself into my arms. “Thank you, Tristan.”

I hope like hell that I don’t regret this.

“You have to stay away from Emma Lia. I don’t want her to know that you’re living in the house. It’ll only cause problems between us.”

She nods. “I understand.”

“And you must begin your search for a new Dom tomorrow.”

I need her to get out as soon as possible.

“Yes, Sir.”

Yes, Sir. I can’t wait to hear those two words come from Emma Lia.

Soon.

Very soon.