Lisa looked at herself in the mirror and cringed. What does one wear to go and see the owner of a sex club? Was it like a job interview? Should she wear the one and only business suit she owned or would they be expecting her to be in something more… sex-club-ish? Lisa didn’t own any leather - no leather skirt, no leather pants or shorts, or even a leather jacket - she didn’t think they made anything in her size. Lisa wasn’t all that self-conscious about her size. She wasn’t too big and she wasn’t a waif, she was somewhere in the comfortable middle. Her curves were soft, her boobs were a decent D-cup and she had a booty, and none of that mattered when she wore her loose-fitting dresses. She’d had a pair of jeans once upon a time, but her aunt had kicked up such a fuss about them, that she’d never worn them beyond that one time and hadn’t bought another pair since. The closest she came to wearing anything tight-fitting were her leggings, which she always wore with an oversized sweater
It was heady stuff and something Lisa had never stopped to consider before. She had been too afraid of people finding out the truth about who she was to ever actually revel in her success. Sure, when she was behind her keyboard interacting with fans on Facebook or through email, she behaved confident and self-assured, but it was a persona she put on like a fancy dress costume. When she was behind her keyboard she was A.A. Abernathy, a successful, bestselling author adored by her fans. It didn’t matter that most of her fans thought she was a man; it was why she’d used an androgynous pen name. All that mattered was that they liked her and what she wrote. But in her everyday life, when she was slogging away at her manuscript, she was just plain old Lisa Sutherland - orphan, recluse, and painfully shy introvert. The clothing she wore was her skin, and it defined her as someone nondescript and immaterial. Lisa stood tall and shook off the melancholy of her thoughts. Today she was not t
The elevator doors closed and they rode to the lobby in silence. He stepped out with her, despite needing to go down another level to the parking garage, and reached out to take her elbow before she could walk away from him. “Can I give you a lift somewhere?” he asked. “I’m heading over the river—” She smiled at him again and he stopped mid-sentence. He wanted to prolong their contact, he wanted her in his car. He wanted to see if her skirt would ride up as she sat in his passenger seat and he wanted to see the satiny skin of her thighs and maybe even run his hand over them in between changing gears. “Thanks, Mason, but I’m heading in the other direction—” He stepped close to her, finally taking hold of his body and his reactions to her. “I don’t mind taking you wherever you need to go,” he said, not sure whether he was still talking about giving her a ride. She looked up at him uncertainly and bit the corner of her lip, causing him to bite back a groan of longing. “Okay,” she
Lisa watched Mason’s car disappear around the corner and then turned on her heel and headed for the nearest tram stop. She didn’t understand why Mason had insisted on driving her and then had behaved like it was such an imposition. If he hadn’t wanted to give her a ride, then he could’ve walked away when she first said no to his offer. Instead, he had made a big deal out of it and then not spoken to her the entire time. The man was impossible. The tram came to a stop and Lisa boarded with the other passengers who’d been waiting, tapping her Myki card on the card reader and finding a seat. There was no way she could’ve given Mason the actual address of where she was going, so she’d ended up catching the tram anyway, which was what she should’ve done from her apartment. Now she was all… she couldn’t even find the words to describe it, but being in the close confines of Mason’s car and feeling his eyes on her had messed with her head. She would’ve sworn that he was undressing her in hi
He slipped out of the room, closing the door behind him and Lisa turned slowly around, taking it all in. She was beginning to think that her preconceived notions of what a fetish club looked like were ill-informed. There was no cupboard full of whips and chains, no spanking bench, or St. Andrew’s cross. It looked like a comfy living room and went a long way to putting her at ease. She walked over and poured herself a glass of water before sitting down at the table to go through the required paperwork. Deciding that her new persona was going to be in charge here, she used her full name, Lisa, at the top of the forms. She answered the general information questions; her address, date of birth, occupation, etc. She filled in the parts asking for her driver’s license number (which she didn’t have), Medicare number, passport number, and all the things needed to prove she was who she was. With each new section she filled in, she felt more at ease. Knowing that they required her to prove he
It was good to know that his people were diligent in the execution of their duties, even if it did mean he was accosted in the lobby of his own building. Mason stepped into the elevator and looked down at his t-shirt and torn jeans. He knew his hair was too long and he hadn’t shaved this morning so he was sporting some impressive stubble. The sleeves of his t-shirt were short enough to reveal the bottom of his tattoos and the scuffed leather boots he wore did not scream billionaire. Maybe he should have worn a suit to work, but he wasn’t like Brooks or Hunter, or Jonathon or Declan for that matter. They all wore suits to work, but Mason was a gamer at heart, never mind that he’d built a billion-dollar company, and he hated the restriction of a tie and jacket. He didn’t expect any of his employees to dress that way, although he knew that most of his executive team did. He was more interested in what they could do than what they looked like. He stepped out of the elevator on the exe
Lisa blushed. “Most people call me Lisa, but I think I would prefer to be called Lisa while I’m…” She didn’t know how to describe it and waved her hand around to indicate the room, the club, and everything else it entailed. Madam Charlotte nodded and smiled. “Most people prefer to have an alias when they come to Fetish. We don’t dissuade it. It is important to us that everyone feels safe and if that means taking on another name, then that is okay. What we discuss here is completely confidential and for your safety. Only the details you wish to be revealed will be passed on to your partner, so you can rest assured that none of your personal details will be made available to them until such time as you request it.” “Thank you,” Lisa said with relief. It was another layer of security to know that if things did go wrong then DomMPF couldn’t stalk her. “This is your first time at Fetish?” “Yes,” Lisa said with a nod. “It’s the first time I’ve ever considered… this.”
“One thing,” she said before they disconnected. “She is a little fragile and if it was anyone else but you, then I wouldn’t be letting her move forward. I can trust you to look after her, Mason, can’t I?” “Of course,” Mason replied, not offended that she would ask such a question. It was the reason he went to Madam Charlotte in the first place. He knew she looked after the women in her care and her concern for his sub only reinforced her high standing in his opinion. “She’ll be good for you,” Madam Charlotte said cryptically before hanging up. Mason frowned down at his phone, not quite sure what to make of her last comment, but then he wiped it away to concentrate on more pleasant things. He would finally get to meet NewGRL549 and put a face to the name, which would remove Lisa from his dreams…hopefully.Lisa felt particularly drained after her meeting with Madam Charlotte and when she got home she stripped out of her clothes and crawled into bed. The last thing she had
Six Months Later…Everyone he loved was in the room. They were celebrating. Barry and Becky had finally set a date. Lisa and Mason wouldn’t be far behind. Brian and Cassie kept sneaking glances at one another that they thought nobody else noticed. He thought he knew what was going on but he didn’t want to ruin the surprise. It was their news to share and he was happy to wait for them to be ready to share it. Liam and Loretta were here too. He’d been slowly getting to know them. There was a lot of hurt to work through, but they were getting there. Jonathon quite enjoyed having a younger brother even if it was only in small doses at the moment. Devi and Kirra were also there. Kirra was graduating in a couple of weeks and then she would be hopefully attending one of the universities close to home. She wouldn’t know if she got accepted until the new year, but Jonathan was quietly confident that she would get into her top pick. And then there was Emma. Every day with her was
“I know it’s too soon,” he said, cupping her cheek. “But I want you to know that I am in this for good. I want to spend my life with you Emma. I want us to be a family. You, me, Kirra, Devi, Liam, and Loretta—” “Loretta?” “My mum. I want one big, messy family with you and me at the heart of it. Tell me you want that too.” She pressed against him and brushed a kiss on his lips. “I do,” she said before putting the remaining half of the chocolate in her mouth and grinning. The wheel came to a stop and he drew Emma to her feet, moving them both over to the window. The entire city of Melbourne was spread out below them, but it dimmed in comparison to the woman in his arms. “I love you, Emma,” he whispered before kissing her while they stood on top of the world.He took her home. He couldn’t not. They had stuff to work out and a relationship to manage. He had a family to get to know and she had her mother’s illness to navigate and her sister’s final year of sch
He stepped into the pod and waited for the door to close before holding the final box out to her, his mouth dry. She reached for it but he snatched it away, lifting it beyond her reach. “Before I give this to you, I need to explain.” She looked from the box to his face and nodded. “Okay.” The wheel started to move and Jonathon moved them over to sit on a bench. He exhaled roughly. “Okay, so I don’t know how much of this you already know, but how about I just start at the beginning?” She nodded again. “My mother left when I was two. I always believed she left us for a man with money. I’ve recently found out that wasn’t true.” He took a deep breath and her hand rested gently on his chest as she moved closer to him. He took strength from her closeness. “Someone was impersonating me—” “Liam?” He nodded. “Right. Liam. It turns out Liam is my brother. He was trying to draw me out and get me to notice him. He ultimately wanted to meet his father. He didn’t
“Are you looking for this?” the security guy asked, holding out an old-fashioned paper ticket. Emma laughed as she snatched it from him, waving it over her shoulder as she jogged toward the front doors of the building. She slid into the car and Brian looked at her expectantly. “Um…” Emma looked between Brian and Cassie. “I want to say Luna Park, but I don’t think that’s right.” “Why Luna Park?” Cassie asked. Emma held up the ticket in her hand. “We went to a fête in Merveille and rode the Ferris wheel.” “The Melbourne Star,” Brian said, his voice gruff. “Of course!” Cassie cried excitedly, leaning over to give Brian a smacking kiss. “You’re brilliant.” Emma could barely keep still as Brian drove them across town toward the Docklands and the giant observation wheel. As much as she was enjoying herself, she wanted to see him. She had already forgiven him for his lie and now she desperately wanted to ask his forgiveness for her stupid, fearful, erratic
She walked around the corner expecting to see Jonathon outside the patisserie, but there was no one there. She stepped inside breathed in the sweet scent of pastries and chocolate and looked around, hoping to spot him, but he wasn’t there. “Are you Emma?” a lady asked. “Yeah,” Emma said, turning to the woman who sat at a small table with a familiar little box in front of her. “This is for you,” the woman said, standing and walking away. Emma sat and took the box, pulling at the bow and opening it to see another chocolate truffle, this time it had an ’S’ written on top of it in dark chocolate. She didn’t need the little ‘Eat Me’ note to know what to do. She put the truffle on her tongue and closed her eyes. The chocolate coating melted away to leave behind a cake center with the sweet tang of apricot jam. “Sachertorte,” she mumbled to herself as she sighed and opened her eyes. Emma picked up the note that had nestled beside the truffle in the box.The first time we made lov
Dear Emma,The first time we met I wanted to kiss you. I knew I couldn’t. I knew it was stepping across a line both personally and professionally, but still, I couldn’t deny the attraction I felt.Our relationship has had an unconventional start, a bit of a rocky middle, and an absolutely appalling ending, but there were some real high points along the way. Let me remind you of how good it was between us and how good it could be again.Do you remember our first kiss? I don’t think I will ever forget it. I thought I knew what I was getting myself in for when I leaned down to brush my lips across yours, but I was a fool. You were so much more than I ever thought I would ever experience. You took my breath away and I lost a little bit of my heart to you at that moment.If it meant as much to you as it did to me, meet me there at the place where we first kissed.Jonathon.Emma could feel the wetness on her cheeks and she sniffed as she wiped at the tears. “Well?” Cassie asked, rocking o
It was the first Saturday morning Emma could ever remember that had the three of them sitting around the kitchen table eating pancakes and laughing. What would have been a simple, family Saturday morning ritual for some was something out of a fairy tale for Emma. She knew they were a long way from being a happy family, there was still a lot of hurt to navigate and broken trust to overcome, but it was a start and for once in her life, she was willing to just go with it. On this day, Devi was back to the woman she vaguely remembered from before Tom died and Emma wanted to soak it up and memorize it. From pancakes, they’d gone to gardening. Emma shared her plans with Devi and Kirra. She would let the lease go on her flat and move back in here permanently. It meant she would be on hand if Devi needed her and hopefully give some stability for Kirra’s final year of school. After she graduated and went off to uni, Emma could look at what would happen next. They all agreed that if they were
Emma wanted to believe her, but it was tempting to turn away and close her heart off so she couldn’t be hurt again. Except it would hurt anyway. If there was one thing she learned through this whole saga with Jonathon it was that closing your heart off to others was a mistake. You ended up hurting everyone that way, not least of all yourself. She put her arm around Devi and hugged her. “Good for you mum,” she said.Jonathon worked all night and most of the day. He tried calling Emma but when she didn’t pick up or reply to his texts after the first twenty or so, he gave up. What he had to say needed to be said in person anyway. Inspired by the woman he had fallen irrevocably in love with, he had spent the night holed up in his test kitchen creating the perfect set of truffles. Anybody could buy a box of chocolates or a bunch of flowers but only he could create an entire set of truffles that spelled out just how much he loved her and how much she had impacted his life. He had words
Kirra said when Emma finally made it home. Emma had been wandering around the city trying to come to terms with what all this meant for her life going forward. She had made some hard decisions, but she felt like a weight had been lifted off her shoulders. It hadn’t helped with the pain in her chest where her heart was currently crumbling away to dust, but at least she knew that she wasn’t going to end up like her mother just because she had fallen in love. Life was always going to throw her curve balls and she just learned something about herself. Despite her previous belief, she was actually strong enough to withstand them, even swing the bat at them, and make the best out of a bad situation. “Hey, yourself,” she said, sitting at the table opposite Kirra. “Where’s Zoë?” “She had to go and run some errands.” “Where’s mum?” Kirra bit her lip and her eyes teared up. “I don’t know.” “She’s not here?” Emma asked, sitting up straighter and leaning forward. “When I got home, Z