Owned by the Dom: Part Two (The Owners) (20 page)

She tapped her fingers against the leather couch then checked her watch. Prue made a note to never arrive early.
Sitting in this waiting room for any length of time would have her clawing her hair out in no time.

You’re doing this for you and James.

You can get through this.

The door opened wi
de, and her name was called through. Grabbing her purse she walked into the room. Eyes followed her, or at least she thought they did. A very thin blonde woman stood by the door. Prue looked at her, wishing she didn’t look like a therapist. The woman’s arm pointed out in the direction of the seats.

“You’re Prudence Star?” the woman said.

“Yes, but most of the people I know call me Prue. And you are?” she asked. In her fight to not come she hadn’t given note to the woman’s name. James organised her appointment as she’d thrown the woman’s card in the trash.

Why are you babbling?

Her nerves were getting the better of her.

“Priscilla Charles. Please, take a seat.”

Prue moved to the sofa that sat opposite a single chair. She sat in the centre then rubbed her sweaty palms over her thighs.

“It’s a
pleasure to have you here, Prue.” Priscilla placed a pair of glasses on, then looked over a file resting in her lap. “James was kind enough to tell me some information, and I’ve got some information on your case in front of me. Would you enlighten me?”

Prudence
looked at the older woman and felt a lump in her throat. “You know James?”

“Yes, we go way back as we used to be in the same school together. A lifetime ago.”

Jealousy spiked through Prudence. She didn’t like the thought of this woman knowing her man intimately or not.

James has never talked about her. Stop overreacting.

“Please, Prue, we’re not here to talk about him. We’re here to talk about you. Would you enlighten me about yourself and what has brought you to me?”

Prue
took a deep breath before speaking. “I thought you were supposed to help me?” Prue asked, running her fingers through her hair.

“I will help you. First I need all the facts
in order to know where to start.”

“I don’t know what to say. I’ve been advised to talk to someone
, and I don’t know what to say.” She was being difficult, but Prue couldn’t stop.

Priscilla removed her glasses then stared at her. The serious empathy on the woman’s face shocked her.
“You’re not alone in feeling confused. I’ve had many patients who are confused and want nothing to do with me. I don’t think of myself as a therapist. I advise my patients to see me as a friend whom they can talk to without fear.”

“You want us to treat you as a friend
, but you call us patients.” Prue chuckled.

“How would you like me to refer
to you?”

Prue sat back on the sofa and stared at the women. Her blonde hair was bound on top of her head
, and her blue eyes assessed with each second that passed.

How did she want this time to go?

What did she want Priscilla to think of her?

Why are you doing this?

“Just call me Prue,” she said.

“All right, Prue. Let’s get started.”

Letting out a huge breath, Prue answered all of the woman’s questions. She spoke of her childhood and the incident that led to her kidnapping. They brushed over the details of James and what he had to contribute to her life. Prue wasn’t ready to talk about him. James played a huge part in her life, and she hoped he’d continue to do so.

After an hour passed the bell rang
, ending their session. Prue jumped hating the interruption.

“I’m afraid that’s our time for today. I look forward to seeing you again next week.”

Priscilla closed her notebook then stood to shake Prue’s hand.

“Could we make these sessions longer?” Prue asked, offering the other woman her hand.

“If you wish. I’ll make arrangements and send you the details.”

Prue walked out. She leaned against the building pressing a hand around her throat.
When her heart rate slowed down she smiled. She had thought going to see a therapist would hinder their relationship, but instead, Prue felt liberated somehow.

Priscilla Charles was
a confidante who was bound to do as she was asked.

****

The next appointment Prue sat in the waiting room. She removed her coat, folded her arms, and waited. A week had passed, and this time she’d be getting a two hour appointment. She’d also been told the cost of the therapy was being paid for by James.

Unease filled her at having James pay for her care
, but she couldn’t afford it, and the talk last week helped her a lot. Also, James had taken her to the movies and out to dinner during the week. He seemed happy with her seeking help. She felt something missing between them, like an invisible barrier was stopping her from accepting James.

She loved him
, and every time she saw him he made her pussy cream and her heart melt for the pleasure of him. Being in his company thrilled her to the core.

Holding back
from him hurt like hell. She wanted nothing more than to go back to how things were between them. However, they were different.

Even though James denied it, he was different as well.

Priscilla stood before her. “Are you coming in?” she asked.

Prue jumped. “I’m sorry. I didn’t hear my name being called.” Her cheeks flaming she walked into the room and took the same seat as last time.

She waited for the woman to be ready.

Once Priscilla started talking, Prue found herself relaxing more. During the meeting they discussed her family and then her sister and how her sister
had been involved with James. With each word spoken Prue found herself filing away certain points in her mind. Speaking clearly about her life with a stranger allowed her to see past the faults she thought were there but were, in fact, only issues she’d made up in her mind.

Many of the problems she’d created inside her head were nonsense
, for instance, thinking her parents disliked her when in fact past events had proven they wanted the best for her. When the appointment was over most of her family had been discussed.

For the next three appointments Prue talked about her family and her decision. The time for talking about her kidnapping came after four appointments. During this time she’d spent a great deal of time analysing her time with Henry and even understanding what was wrong with James. There was a l
oose connection inside her, but she didn’t know how to make it work or bypass the problem.

“You’re making excellent progress, Prue. I want to talk about what happened when Daren Robinson took you from Ravage,” Priscilla said.

She’d been expecting the question. Her nerves were gone, and she could look at what happened with an open mind. If Prue was being truthful, being taken and almost sold into sexual slavery felt like it had happened to someone else.

“He was Leo at the time. When he took me and I woke on the boat, I was scared. During the kidnapping, I didn’t have time to think of anything. I’d woken up from a sleep. James had left to do something at Possession
—that’s the club owned by his friend.”

“I’m aware
. Carry on.”

“On the boat I contemplated killing myself. Throwing myself overboard rather than be at the mercy of Daren. Anyway, I didn’t
, and the trip on the boat wasn’t half as terrifying as it should have been. Daren Robinson was a fucking monster, but he wasn’t mean. He hit me when I irritated him or tried to get away, and he made sure that I knew he was doing a job with me. What he did to me wasn’t personal. He never really attempted to rape me. There was a moment where it looked like he would, but then he stopped and nothing came of it.

Prue paused to take a sip of water.

“Move onto Henry,” Priscilla said.

“That was hard. I was locked in a room for the longest time. I don’t know why they kept me so long. I know they struck a deal with James
, but then they put me up for sale. I think I was becoming a nuisance, or maybe I was a risk to them in some way. They wouldn’t have let me go. I memorised the way they looked.”

“Why would you do that?”

“When I got away I was determined to make the bastards pay. They hadn’t raped me, and the worst they did was hit me and beat me. But there were women who could have, and probably did have, far worse than what was done to me.”

Priscilla made some notes.

Not bothering to wait for her to finish, Prue continued talking to her. “I wasn’t deeply affected by what happened. But I couldn’t stand to have the door closed to any room. Being locked away finally did me in.”

They spoke some more over her recovery and spending time with her sister.

“I want to move on to James.”

Prue tensed at his name. She’d been afraid of talking about him.
Taking another sip of water, she looked past the woman’s shoulder. “What do you want to know?”

“He’s much older than you
, and he was dating your sister, right?”

“Yes, he dated Veronica. Nothing ever came of it
, and they didn’t even sleep together.”

“Are you sure?”

“He’d never lie to me.” Prue looked down at where she was scratching the label off the water bottle. “What I say to you stays here, right?” she asked.

“Yes, Prue.”

“James is part of a select group of men. This is going to sound crazy, but bear with me. He’s possessive towards a woman. He needs to be in control and pretty much be part of her life to the point where it could drive the woman crazy. When I met him I didn’t know
that
side of him. He’s also a Dom. Do you know what the word means?” she asked.

“I’m aware of BDSM and what James is.”

“I knew what he needed, and I’d dabbled in the lifestyle before I went back into his life.” Prue struggled to find the right words. “Other women may find his possessive, dominating, and sometimes irritating attitude, hard to deal with. I love that side of him. He never asked me for permission. James took what he wanted without abuse or pain. He showed me by his power how he felt.”

“You’re talking about his actions as if they’re in the past tense,” Priscilla said.

“They are in the past tense. James is different. He treats me differently, and I find him difficult to deal with.”

“In what way?”

Prue rolled her eyes thinking of the best example. “Okay, the best example recently, James and I were in the park. We were walking, and I said something crazy to him. He pressed me against a tree. For the smallest of seconds I thought he was back. The man I’d fallen in love with. The James before I was taken would have made me come against the tree. This James holds back. I hate that he holds back with me. Maybe I’m crazy and I should like this kinder and more reserved James. I don’t. I feel in love with the man who gave me a cross as his token. The same man who fucked me across his desk while he should have been working.” She laughed. “The man who forced his friend to fire me so he could hire me.”

Tears fell from her eyes as understanding swept over her. “You see, Mrs Charles. I’ve not got an issue with everything that happened with Henry. I got over it
, but James did as I asked and stayed away from me. The old James would never stay away from me, and I don’t know how to bring him back to me. I can’t get over the change inside James, and I think it’s tearing us apart.”

James sipped his coffee while signing contracts for alcohol and food to be sold at his club. During office hours he could take the few hours of peace where he didn’t worry about Prudence’s health or safety.

The bill for Priscilla Charles sat on his desk. He
’d paid the woman for the past six sessions. Each session lasted two hours, and she took a large sum of money. He’d seen an improvement inside his woman. She smiled more and conversed with him, but there was still something off about her. Prue wasn’t the same. At least he didn’t think so.

They never spoke of her time with
Henry or the weeks after that time.

He signed several pay checks then moved stuff around in his desk to locate another bill needing his attention.

A knock at his office door distracted him.

“Come in,” he said.

The person standing in the open doorway surprised him. “Priscilla.”

“Hello, James.” She closed the door then walked farther into the room.

“What can I do for you?” he asked. She was supposed to be there for Prudence, not for him.

“I needed to speak to you with regards to Prue and you.”

“I don’t need therapy.” He grabbed the contract he was looking for.

“No, you don’t need therapy
, and neither does Prue. Not really. She’s dealt with the situation with Henry and Daren remarkably well. For a twenty-five year old woman she’s compartmentalized the whole episode. From what I’ve learned I think it’s down to her family’s upbringing.”