TWELVE

ETHAN

It had all been going so well, I should have known it couldn't last. Like with Elora. That's what life did. It lifted you up and then threw you back down again. The only question was what you did when you landed.

I had loved lunch with Alice, pausing it to spank her to see how she reacted. She seemed to enjoy it as much as me. I didn't fuck her then, though the sight of her so wet and ready for me made it difficult not to.

I wanted her teased, I wanted her thinking about me all day. I wanted her desperate to come back so we could finish what we started. We spent half the afternoon just talking. I told her about my life, about my past, about my parents, about my future, a future that I hoped included her. There was only one thing I didn't tell her about, one thing I had no desire to share. That was my pain to handle alone.

She told me about her hopes, her dreams of painting for a living, how her art degree didn't seem to have helped her achieve her ambitions. I didn't say it out loud but I could tell what was holding her back, what was stopping her from achieving her goal.

It was fear. A nasty, horrible emotion that could take hold and paralyse as it had done with her. She was afraid of failure, afraid of rejection, of someone telling her that her paintings weren't good enough. So she'd not submitted anything to any galleries. Nor had she tried to sell anything online, not even a little Etsy store to test the waters.

I could help her there. I could give her confidence. I could give her the push she needed, all by being her Dom. I would tell her to paint and she would. She would still doubt herself but she would be ruled by the need to please me. In return I would worship her, would give her everything she needed in life to succeed. If we both had some of the greatest sex ever along the way, well that wouldn't be so bad would it?

Driving her back to her place was hard. I hated saying goodbye so I made it quick. I knew I'd be seeing her in a couple of hours anyway. I watched her walking up her street, my heart yearning to run after her and grab her, hold her in my arms one last time.

I drove home slowly, feeling truly contented for the first time in as long as I could remember. Throwing myself into work might have been a good distraction from the emptiness in my life but it couldn't compare to having someone like her bringing warmth and light to my house, turning it into a home, all after just one visit.

I spent the next couple of hours on the phone to the office. We had a buyout coming up and I wanted to be on the ball for it, not risk having them walk all over us during the negotiations.

By the time that was done, I barely had ten minutes to get ready if I was going to be at the club for nine. I had a quick wash and got into my sharpest suit, already excited by the fact I'd soon see her again.

It was strange. You could go on without knowing someone existed and not realising they were out there waiting for you to find them, waiting for the universe to connect you. But from the moment you did meet, you can't imagine the world without them in it. I couldn't imagine my world without her in it.

I had barely scratched the surface of who she was but all I wanted to do was talk to her, find out everything about her, share my life with her, share my wealth and my bed too, give her everything she needed to make her happy, starting with my cock in her mouth and my hand smacking down on her ass.

I was through the club door just after nine, one of the first to arrive. I saw her over at the bar and headed straight across. I needed to kiss her. It was an urgent need, one that came over me from the moment I saw those soft lips smiling back at me.

I didn't make it.

I was halfway across the floor when Rowena suddenly appeared in front of me. To her left was Jason Fry and to her right was Tony La Mesma, the auction master. This wasn't good.

"I need a word," Rowena said, a serious look on her face. "If you'd come this way a moment."

I thought about refusing but that would be as good as admitting my guilt. I already knew what they wanted to talk to me about. Rowena already knew, of course she did. But she would have kept it to herself as long as Alice was happy. But the other two. That was a different matter entirely.

"Sure," I said, following them across to a corner table. Three drinks had been laid out. There wasn't one for me. This was really not good.

"Sit down," Rowena said. "If you'd be so kind."

"What's up?" I asked, watching the three of them closely, feeling weirdly like I was at a job interview, or an interrogation.

"I'm going to ask you a straight question," Rowena said, glancing across at Alice over behind the bar. "And I want a straight answer. Did you put her name in for the auction."

"Yes." There was no point lying. It was too late for that.

"I told you!" Jason said, slamming his fist down on the table. "You fucking cheat!"

"It wasn't cheating," I replied. "Anyone can put their name in."

"Their own name," Tony said. "No one can submit another person's name. You know that, Mr Powers."

"I'm going to have to ask for your membership card," Rowena said, sounding slightly sad about it, just a hint of her real emotion coming through. "You know what happens when a member breaks the rules.

I dug into my pocket and pulled out my wallet. Reaching into it, I slid out the black card, Darkness written across it in flowing handwriting. I pushed it across the table.

"I am sorry to see you go," Rowena continued as she picked up the card. "Tony, will you see Mr Powers to his car?"

Jason sneered at me, a wicked smile that made me clench my fist under the table. I couldn't hit him, that would mean any shot at regaining my membership gone forever. No violence in the club. Break that rule and you were gone for good. Didn't stop me wanting to do it though.

"Don't worry," he said as I got to my feet. "I'll look after Alice for you."