It took until the meal was delivered for her to forget about her naked skin on the vinyl seat. The food was delicious and the conversation fun. No mention was made of bondage or slavery throughout the entire meal and Sarah found herself forgetting all about their lifestyle choices. But then she’d get a glimpse of Andrew’s leer and she’d be reminded all over again. At one point, he reached across her for the salt, being sure to get his face good and close to her breasts. Sarah gritted her teeth and glared at Phillip, who didn’t notice. He was listening to Lady Aleshia tell a funny story and hadn’t seen the man practically drool down her cleavage. By the end of dinner Sarah was about ready to take the ice water the waitress had refreshed for her and pour it all over his lap. A decided bulge had been under his napkin all night and she was done with it.
Getting out of the booth at the end of the meal turned out to be a sticky situation—literally. Phillip slid out his end and held out his hand to her. But when Sarah went to take it, she realized her skin was sticking to the vinyl, just like the backs of her legs did in the summer when she wore shorts. Being as unobtrusive as possible, she first lifted one cheek and then the other, her napkin in hand to wipe the seat as she left. The fact that Andrew’s eyes never left her ass during this entire process wasn’t lost on her.
If anyone else noticed her discomfiture, they pretended not to, for which Sarah was grateful. If Phillip asked her, she knew she’d submit to Master Will or even Lady Aleshia or the nice Master Robert who’d joined them partway through dinner. They all held the same…presence that Phillip had. But Andrew just gave her the creeps. She made a point of taking Phillip’s arm as they walked out of the restaurant, giving Andrew the cold shoulder as she passed.
Phillip handed her into the car, then went around to speak to Will for a moment before joining her. She watched Andrew out her window and sure enough, he was taking his sweet time passing the car, pausing by her window to try to see down her blouse. The temptation to open the door into his groin was a hard one to resist but resist it she did. Instead, she simply folded her hands demurely on her lap and stared straight ahead.
Chapter Five
Caught
Phillip pulled Will aside. “Let Sarah’s performance tonight be Andrew’s parting gift.”
Will nodded. “Oh, he’s definitely not invited to any more of these gatherings. He was over the top tonight, and this after repeated warnings. Why didn’t you say anything to him?”
“I wanted Sarah to see the wannabes of the world for what they are. Figured at the least this guy isn’t dangerous. He’d look his fill but I knew he wouldn’t touch her.”
“Something tells me that woman of yours could take on men like Andrew. When she was done with him, he’d wonder just where his balls had gotten to.”
Phillip laughed. “Making her show her ass to a guy like that, a guy she’d normally ignore, was also part of my lesson for her tonight.”
“Evening’s lesson number two coming up at my house?” Will grinned. “Jill and I cleaned all day getting the place ready for the two of you.”
“Then after I take care of a few details, we’ll be right over.”
Sarah obviously had questions for him when he got in the car. Her first one, however, surprised him.
“Would you ever share me with a man like Andrew?”
The question threw him. Every time he thought he had her pegged, Sarah managed to break out of the mold he tried to fit her into. He grinned. It was one of the reasons he had fallen in love with her.
“You’re smiling. Does that mean yes?”
“No, it…” he paused to start the car as he decided how far to push her. “I was smiling because I didn’t expect you to hit the heart of the matter so quickly.”
“What do you mean?”
Phillip pulled the car out of the restaurant lot, stopping to let Andrew, in his car, exit first. Nodding toward the man who’d ogled his wife-to-be all night, he explained. “As your Master, I have the right to share you with anyone I want.”
Sarah nodded, her fingers laced so tightly together, he could see the whites of her knuckles. He decided to push a little further.
“In fact, Andrew is not the first to ask me for permission to use you.”
Although he kept his eyes on the road, he stayed very aware of the tenseness in the woman beside him. If he played this right, she would come right here in the car from his words alone. He would also plant a seed that would start a longing blossoming in her soul.
“He asked permission to use me?”
Her voice sounded very small and he glanced at Sarah’s face. Her lower lip trembled a little, the only outward sign of the roiling he knew was going on inside.
“He did.”
She was silent for an entire block.
“And what did you tell him?”
“Does it matter?”
The question hung in the air between them as Sarah considered it. Did it matter? As his slave, he could do with her what he wanted. She had given him permission a dozen times over. Hadn’t she proven that when she’d shown that slimebucket her ass tonight? Could she go farther, however, and let the leering Andrew actually play with her? She shivered.
“Maybe someday it won’t matter, Master. But right now? Yes, it does matter.”
She watched Phillip’s smile deepen. “Good answer, slave. I like it when you’re honest with me.”
“So did you? Give Andrew permission?” Sarah felt her nails dig into the skin of her hands, she clenched them so hard, but she couldn’t stop. She had to know.
“I did not. You are worth far more than a man like that could ever offer you.”
A flush of pleasure rose into her cheeks. While the thought of being shared certainly aroused her, even with a lech like Andrew, knowing Phillip thought so highly of her made her feel like she was someone special. And damn it, she was! Her feminism leapt to the fore at Phillip’s recognition of her worth and she grinned even as Phillip eased the car to the side of the road.
“Why are we stopping?” She hadn’t really been paying attention to where Phillip was driving. Looking around the neighborhood now, she realized she didn’t know where they were.
“Several members of the group are getting together tonight. We are invited.”
The light of a nearby streetlamp lit the interior of the car, though the light did not travel up far enough to illuminate his face. Still, Sarah heard the unmistakable deeper tone his voice got when he was her Master. “And everyone there will know I’m your slave, right?”
“Yes.”
“Thank you for telling me, Sir.” He didn’t have to, she realized. And yet, this was a part of the dance—taking steps toward the future as they both found comfortable positions in their relationship. He could have just driven there and expected her to follow along without question. The fact that he’d stopped and was now informing her, gave her an opportunity to object if she didn’t want to. “I’m ready if you are,” she told him.
Phillip nodded once and reached into the back, pulling out a small bag from behind her seat. “I don’t want you to see where we are going, so I want you to wear this.”
Sarah realized it wasn’t a bag he was holding but rather a black leather hood, straps dangling from it at odd angles. “Of course. I’d be happy to wear it.” All the same, her stomach gave a little flip. “How does it go on?”
“Turn around.”
She faced the door and he lifted the hood over her head, settling the closed face over her eyes and cheeks and mouth. He smoothed down her hair, then zipped it closed in the back. Sarah felt him buckle the straps and when he was done, she heard his muffled voice. “Can you breathe all right?”
She tried to open her mouth to reply but discovered the straps held her mouth closed tightly. With no sight, no ability to talk and barely able to hear, her world shrank in an instant.
But she could still nod her head. Were there holes where her nose was? The air she was breathing felt warm. If there were holes, they were small ones. She sat still, her hands on her lap as Phillip ran his hand over her encased head.
Cold metal touched her wrists and she jumped. Handcuffs, she realized. Even through the leather she could hear the snick as he locked them around her wrists. The car moved forward and Sarah sat back, trying to gather information from her blunted senses.
Phillip made several turns, forcing her body to sway first right, then left, then right again. A short acceleration later, it felt as if they were flying down the highway. It was possible—there was an expressway that encircled the city in two different loops.
She thought she heard Phillip mutter something but wasn’t sure. The car started slowing down very quickly and Sarah’s heart started thumping when she heard a siren right behind them. When the car came to a stop and Phillip leaned over her, a whimper forced itself through her closed mouth.
“Don’t worry, Sarah. I just need to get my registration. You’re going to be all right.”
All right
? she thought to herself. They’d been pulled over by the police, how on earth was she going to be all right? She was about to die of embarrassment. Under the hood, her face became very hot. Forcing herself to remain calm, she took in deep breaths and concentrated on making herself very small. If she pretended she wasn’t here, maybe the officer wouldn’t see her.
“May I see your license and registration, sir?”
Her eyes tightly shut behind the hood, Sarah didn’t move. Silence stretched into silence. What was happening?
Just breathe and pretend everything is normal
, she repeated over and over, quieting the turmoil in her mind.
“Would you step out of the car, sir? Slowly.”
The car shifted as Phillip opened the door and left her alone. Keeping her hands tightly clasped, she fought the urge to reach out to him as he left.
Don
’
t bring any attention to yourself
.
He won
’
t notice you if you don
’
t move
.
In fact, the trooper had already noticed her. Pulling over a car for a routine traffic stop had never before given the young man such a shock. Drugs, guns—those he found on a semi-routine basis. A hooded woman with handcuffed wrists? That was a first.
“Ma’am? Are you all right?”
She started, her bound hands flying to her heart but then nodded. The trooper sought to reassure her. “Don’t worry. You’re going to be just fine now.” Turning to the tall man looking impatient by the hood of the car, he kept his voice level and calm.
“Turn around and put your hands on the hood.”
Clearly the man wanted to talk back to him. Instead, he swallowed his anger and turned around, deliberately putting both palms wide on the hood of the car. Kicking the perp’s feet wider, he did a quick search, finding no concealed weapons. For good measure, the trooper decided this guy would be safer if he were handcuffed. Then he could rescue the woman without needing to worry about the man who had obviously kidnapped her.
Phillip saw the trooper reaching for his wrist and knew what was coming next. Torn between lashing out with indignant anger and swallowing the officer’s mistake until Sarah was unmasked, he decided discretion was the better course. He had done nothing wrong and the trooper would be apologizing to him soon. Phillip made no moves that could be interpreted as threatening to the man and simply allowed himself to be handcuffed. When the trooper started to steer him toward the patrol car, however, Phillip complained.
“Is this really necessary, officer? When you take off her hood, you’re going to be very embarrassed. There is no crime here.”
“Into the car.” The trooper gave him no choice. With a sigh, Phillip got into the backseat of the patrol car and watched as the cop moved around to the passenger side of the Saturn. A brief surge of jealousy flashed through him and dark thoughts filled him. Sarah was unprotected. With the mask and handcuffs on her, this guy could do anything and she wouldn’t know what was going on. Sure, most cops were honest but was this one? Glaring, he watched him open the door and stoop down next to her. With the windows closed, he couldn’t hear what the trooper was saying, which only frustrated him more.
When the door opened beside her, Sarah jumped again. What was happening? Where was Phillip?
“It’s all right, ma’am. You’re safe now.”
Safe now? What was he talking about? She’d been safe before.
She felt his hands slide around the hood, searching for and finding the buckles that kept it in place. He released them, unzipped the back and gently pulled it off her face. The bright interior light of the car blinded her and she blinked as her eyes watered and adjusted.
“Here, let me get those cuffs off you.” He reached for her hands and Sarah pulled them back.
“No…” Her voice cracked and she cleared her throat. “No, thank you. I mean…where’s Phillip?”
“He’s in the back of my car. He won’t hurt you.”
“Of course he won’t hurt me. He’s my fiancé.” The truth of what the officer suspected suddenly hit home. “Oh, no! You think…that he… Officer, it isn’t like that at all!”
The young man didn’t say a word, only raised his eyebrows in skepticism. “Then what is this like, ma’am?”
Damn, that word made her feel old. Her eyes, more focused now, took a good look at the trooper and she realized he really wasn’t that much younger than she was. But his question needed an answer and she didn’t have time for stray thoughts. Phillip was on the verge of being arrested. “We…that is…I…like bondage games. We just went out for a ride and the destination is a surprise, so Phillip put the hood on me so I couldn’t see. That’s all.”