Mia's Masters [Locks and Chains 2] (Siren Publishing Ménage and More) (4 page)

“Yes, I have, and whilst I may like the fantasy, I know I wouldn’t like the reality.”

“You may be right. I have a sense for people, and you, my dear, fall smack in the middle. You may want to be a sub by day and slave by night.” He chuckled at the term. “So tell me, how long have you been interested in BDSM, and what brought you to my club?”

Mai fidgeted in her seat, wondering whether to be truthful or not. What would be the harm in admitting the truth? Only her embarrassment if the boys found out she had told someone their private business, although, if she lied and Craig knew it, she had the feeling her membership would not be accepted.

“Well, Mr. Blackwell, I became interested in BDSM after listening to my bosses at work. Not that they know I know they live the lifestyle. But you see, I hear them, and I researched the noises. And there were things I found out that I’ve always been interested in. But I never knew the terminology. And, well, here I am.” God, she wanted to smack herself in the head. She was babbling like a stupid idiot.

“So these bosses of yours, have you played with them?” Craig asked.

“No, they’re gay. Shit, no I—ah! Can you just pretend I didn’t say that?”

“Don’t worry, Mia. Anything you say in this room is strictly confidential.”

“Thank god. They’d be very angry if it came out. And it’s their choice if they ever do come out.” Why was she being such an idiot? God, it was as if Craig had sucked out every piece of intelligence she’d ever had and made her leave it outside the door.

The interview was over before Mia could blink. It felt like she’d only been there five minutes. Although, if her watch was correct, she’d been in Craig’s office for just over thirty-five minutes.

“Mia, I’m happy to offer you membership to the club. Of course, you’ll have to attend a trial night, but I don’t foresee a problem there.” Craig handed her a folder containing information about the rules and other general information. “Now, go down to Sandra at the bar, and she’ll give you all the information you’ll need for the trial night.”

“Thank you so much, Mr. Blackwell.” She stood, picked up her bag, and walked toward the door.

* * * *

Craig quickly texted Sandra, ensuring his trap was set and his puppets in place. A
ding
sounded from his cell phone, alerting him to a message from Sandra confirming everything was in place. He gave Mia a two-minute head start before he left his office. He headed down the stairs toward the main floor where he saw Dylan, Mathew, and Peter all waiting at the opposite end of the bar.

“Hello, gentlemen,” he said, greeting them all warmly.

“Craig,” both Dylan and Mathew replied.

“Master Craig, thank you so much for your lunch offer,” Peter replied, smiling like an eager puppy.

He was thankful that Peter was so happy and settled. Relief again washed over him at the sight of the healed Peter. “Sorry I kept you so late. I had a membership meeting that went a little over. I was interviewing a new female sub. You know how careful I like to be with all my new subs.” He paused. “Thought this one might very well like to be a slave in the bedroom. You know how rare they are. I’m not sure, though. Maybe it will take a Dom or two to discover her true potential.”

“Ah! Fresh meat, a virgin sub,” Mathew said with a predatory grin.

“Yes, she’s new to the lifestyle, but she’s done a lot of research. Actually, you know her.” He paused again for effect to get them interested.

“Really, who is she?” Mathew asked.

“Well, I’m not going to name names. You know how my privacy policy works. But if you look over toward Sandra’s office at the end of the bar, she’s picking up her trial night details right now.” Craig watched as the three men turned simultaneously to look at the two women emerging from Sandra’s office. God, he wished he had recorded them. Dylan went from shock to scowl in two seconds. Mathew was stunned and frozen. Peter had his mouth gaping open

“What? No, this…” Peter fumbled in shock. At least his mouth had closed. Dylan’s head whipped around to Craig.

“What is my Mia doing applying for membership at your club?” he seethed.

“Now, Dylan, in her application she stated she was single and not in any type of relationship. So she’s not your Mia,” Craig said, trying to contain his mirth.

“You know damn well she is ours, Craig.”

“Dylan, she applied for membership, and I’m granting it.”

“What?” Mathew roared. He then turned to Dylan. “We can’t let this happen, Master. No one, and I mean no one, is going to touch her but us.”

“Don’t you worry. We’re going to sort this out,” Dylan said in a gentle tone to Mathew.

It was these types of dramas that kept his life interesting. He just thanked God he was never a part of them. Craig loved life being interesting. He just didn’t want the melodrama himself.

Mia hurried back into the office after her meeting with Craig at the club. She’d grabbed a sandwich and take-out coffee at a deli on the way back, which took forever, as the line was huge, and now she was late. She couldn’t wait to get settled and then mull over everything that had happened today. Thankfully, the boys were still at their lunch meeting, so no one would be any the wiser. The ringing of the telephone as soon as she entered the office interrupted her thoughts, and instead of letting it divert to accounting, she picked up. It surprised her that the caller asked for her. It surprised her even more that it was the super from her apartment building. As she listened, her heart galloped right up into her throat. There was no way this was happening to her. Not after all the strife and struggles life had given her. First a rotten childhood with parents who didn’t even know she was there. Parents who abused and neglected her. Then numerous failed relationships where she had been cheated on and lied to. Just an hour ago, she’d thought her life was finally on the up and up. What a joke that was. Now she felt like she was living a nightmare.

* * * *

All the way back to the office, they talked about what to do about Mia. They still didn’t have an answer by the time they arrived, although they all agreed they would wait until closing before they did anything. They wanted complete privacy to confront Mia about her joining Locks and Chains. Dylan and Mathew decided on a trip to the in-house gym to take the edge off their frustration. Neither of them wanted to scare Mia by going all Dom on her when they had their conversation later this evening. Peter was daydreaming about a “board meeting” with Dylan, Mathew, and Mia as he breezed through reception on his way to his office down the hall. He glanced up sharply at the sound of sobbing. Confused, he looked behind the desk and found Mia sitting with her face buried in her hands. He had never seen Mia cry. She was the strongest, most organized person he knew, except Dylan. Therefore, he knew something horrible must have happened. He ached at the sight of her. She looked so small and broken.

He really, really hoped this wasn’t her having a meltdown about the club. Craig had told them she had broken up with her boyfriend six months before, although she hadn’t told them that little gem of information. So it couldn’t be about that. He was at a loss to understand what had upset her so much. What he couldn’t admit to either of the boys was just how much he really wanted her. Not just for a quick fling, but for a lifetime. Mia always brightened his day. They could laugh and joke with each other and even gossip. He felt he could talk to her, and there was so much he wanted to talk to her about. He lusted for her body, but he also lusted for the companionship they could share. “Mia, honey, what’s wrong,” he queried as he walked round the desk and lowered himself to a crouch in front of her so he could look into her face.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to. I just…don’t worry about me” she spluttered, trying to wipe her streaming face with a sopping, crumpled tissue.

“Now, how about you tell me what’s wrong. You never know. I may be able to help.” He moved closer to her. He had an overpowering need to hold her close, to protect her from whatever was troubling her.

“It’s okay. I need a little time to pity myself. I’ll be okay. I just need to work out my next step,” she replied.

Peter put his hand under her chin, raising her face. He saw more than just a letting out of emotions. He saw devastation and shock. “Hey, honey! Everyone’s entitled to a pity party now and again. Although, this looks like more than just a pity party to me.”

“It’s just…look, don’t worry. I don’t want you to worry about me. Besides, you’re my boss, and my problems are not work related,” she replied, turning her face away from him and trying to stifle the sobs that were still echoing from her chest.

“So why don’t you just stop worrying about everything and tell me what’s going on. I’m not going to fire you, so spill.” He trapped her with his arms. “I’m still waiting. Come on, please tell me.” He knew asking nicely was never going to get her to fess up.

“I just got off the phone to my super and…” Another sob escaped her that she couldn’t stop.

“And?”

“There was a fire at my apartment building this morning. It’s all gone. The whole building is destroyed.”

“My God, Mia, I’m so sorry. What needs to be done?”

“The super said nothing is salvageable on my floor. The police and the fire department are there now and will decide when and if I can get in to look. They…my God, everything is gone.”

“
Ah
! Sweetheart.” He pulled her into his arms and rubbed her back. He knew it only proved he was a bastard at heart, by enjoying the feel of the softly molded body in his arms. He had wanted to hold her for years, and this was his first chance. As much as he didn’t want to see her in pain, he was thankful that he was here right now. As he rubbed her back, he felt her snuggling in closer to him.

Mia pulled out of Peter’s embrace suddenly. “My god. I’m homeless,” she nearly shouted. “I have nothing but the clothes on my back. Oh my God, all the lovely pieces of furniture I have scrimped and saved for. My precious collection of first edition books and my Persian carpet are all gone. I’ll never see them again. Oh no…”

“Honey, they’re only possessions. They can all be replaced. Did the super say everyone was okay? Was anyone hurt?”

“No, he said three people were slightly injured, but all the residents are accounted for,” Mia sobbed.

“Well, at least that’s a blessing. Leave everything to me for a bit, and try to calm down. Everything will be okay. We’re going to take you to your building in a moment. Then I think I may know somewhere you can stay. I just need to check a few things out first,” he said.

“Really, you do? Well, that would be great just till I sort out what I have to do next.”

She looked up into his face, her eyes red and puffy and her face streaked with mascara. She look so beautiful and trusting that Peter wanted to kiss all her troubles away. But if his idea panned out, it wouldn’t be long before he could kiss more than just her lips. He hoped to be able to kiss her entire body soon.

“No matter what, I’ll help you out. You’re not alone, Mia. Give me an hour to see what I can sort out. Okay?”

“Sure, thank you so much, Peter. I should get myself cleaned up and back to work.”

Before she headed to the restroom, she wrapped her arms around his waist and gave him one last hug.

“Thank you,” she whispered then left. Peter watched her leave and, for a second, wondered about his idea. Was he an evil villain taking advantage of Mia’s situation? Dylan would know. He would call a meeting and float his idea, and Dylan would decide. Peter used the phone on Mia’s desk to call Dylan and Mathew and ask them to meet him in Dylan’s office in thirty minutes for an emergency meeting.

* * * *

“Okay, Peter, you called this meeting. What’s the emergency?” Dylan asked with annoyance. He hated to be interrupted when he was at the gym and in his Dom space. He was suffering a bit from the distraction of seeing Mia in the club. Okay, he admitted to himself, he was suffering a lot.

“When I came through reception, I found Mia curled up and crying behind her desk. It took some time, but I finally got the story out of her.” Peter proceeded to repeat word for word the conversation he’d had with Mia.

“Christ!” Dylan shouted.

“Poor thing has lost everything. She needs to go to the site and see if anything is salvageable. Her super told her there nothing was left but she needs to see it for herself,” Peter replied grimly.

“What’s she going to do?”

“She doesn’t know just yet. At the moment she’s in panic mode. She’s just trying to remain in control.”

“So what do you want to do? Lend the girl some money or something,” Dylan said.

“No, I was thinking more along the lines of her staying with us in the guest room,” Peter replied.

“You want Mia, the girl we’ve all fantasized and lusted after, under our roof,” Dylan choked.

“Yes,” Peter stated plain and simple, short and sweet.

“What, so we can all have a try at getting her into our bed?” Mathew asked.

“No. I think we should tell her up front she is to be in our bed. After all, she put in an application to join Locks and Chains, so she must be ready to move up into the big people’s world.” Peter could tell by the expression on their faces that he had shocked them both with his statement.