“I want you to take care of yourself. Sleep enough, and go to bed at a decent hour. Eat things that are good for you. Say it.”
“Yes, sir,” she said.
“Ah, little pet, it drives me mad that you’ll be out there all alone without someone to take care of you, to tell you that you are bright and beautiful and a joy to fuck and bend over my knee to spank.”
The blanket was almost too warm around her, and she must have frowned because he said, “Ah, no, my princess. You deserve to be cherished, and treasured, and loved.”
Tingles shivered deeper into her skin and shook her flesh until she couldn’t stand it anymore, so she whispered a joke. “Would I have to wear the Sailor Moon costume all the time?”
Twist chuckled and rubbed her arm where he was holding her. “Perhaps we could mix things up with a Faye Valentine costume.”
Who was from an entirely different anime. Interesting.
He rocked her in his arms, murmuring to her while the time floated by, and Colleen snuggled in the blanket against his chest and breathed.
For whole moments at a time, safety and comfort surrounded her.
Her hand stole up. Her fingers curled around the open edge of his shirt near his collar, and she held on.
Time drifted with his deep voice rumbling around her.
In another moment, his arms were withdrawing from around her, leaving her lying on the mattress with the blankets tucked around her.
His lips and his breath, just a trace of whiskey amid the mint, brushed her forehead. He whispered, “Ah, my princess, the things I would do to you if you were mine. I’d transform you into a wanton, twisted thing such that you wouldn’t even know yourself. You’d trust me with your body, your soul, and your very life. I’d take you places you’ve never seen and show you the world.”
She could barely breathe and thought she might be only semi-conscious. Surely, she hadn’t heard that right, but she whispered back, “Thank you.”
“It was my absolute pleasure.”
His lips caressed hers, and Colleen tried to kiss him back, but he was already gone.
The door clicked shut.
After ten deep breaths, Colleen roused herself, pushing herself up on her arms. She dragged the blindfold off her face and looked around.
There was a little more light, as if he’d undimmed the lights when he’d left so she could see.
After being blindfolded, her eyes were adjusted to absolute darkness, and she could see the scarlet silk of his tie in her hand.
She was lying on a four-poster bed that was dressed in white sheets and smelled faintly of lavender. Past the footboard, the iron of medieval torture devices shone faintly in the gloom, and the black leather-padded seats were bolted to the bars in inexplicable places.
Twist was gone.
Colleen hugged her knees to her chest, the red faux leather of her tall boots creaking. She was just as alone as before she’d met him, and yet the air around her seemed even emptier.
She finally stood, balancing herself gingerly on her ridiculous boots, and went back over to the door where she’d hung her purse. Inside, her phone read that it had been almost three hours. She dressed and made her way out of the private room, through the crowded tables and bar, to her car.
She drove back to her studio apartment.
Maybe she shouldn’t have gone, but it had been worth it.
5
How It’s Going
Tristan
The day after Tristan Fortunato King flew into town on his private jet was a reconnaissance day, a day for the ground game where he visited companies that might be worth buying or worth shorting.
