If it hadn’t been bad enough, Max was there. Why, I had no clue. Felicity was still in hospital, with no improvement in her condition, last time I’d rung. He was addicted to the lifestyle, I knew, but even he – unfeeling bastard that he undoubtedly was – should have been there, rather than at the club. I could have kicked myself for ever suggesting taking her down there.
‘I’m sorry, Angel,’ I said. ‘We don’t have to do anything, if you don’t want to. I’ll take you home if you want.’
She looked up at me. ‘You want me to go home?’
‘No.’ I put my hands up in defeat. ‘I don’t know what to say for the best. I don’t want you to go anywhere, but I don’t want you to stay because you feel you have to. Back there, in the club, it was a mistake.’
‘I don’t think it was a mistake,’ she said slowly. ‘It was just…I’m trying to get my head around it all. It was just so…different.’
‘I know.’ I was struggling to find the words. ‘It m…must have seemed crazy to you. For me, it’s all I’ve ever known.’
She lapsed into silence for a few moments, before looking up at me again.
‘Do you really want me to know everything about you?’ she asked.
‘Yes,’ I said. ‘But I should’ve thought more before...’
‘Then, I have to know about…that…all this.’ She opened my coat and let it fall to the floor, exposing her tight, tanned body in its white leather corset. ‘I need to find out for myself.’
Despite everything, the blood rushed straight to my cock. I really was a selfish ass.
‘No, Angel…’ I took a step back. ‘You don’t.’
‘Yes,’ she said, her tone brooking no argument. ‘I need to find out what it really means to be your submissive.’
She sank to her knees, right there in the hotel’s glass lift, and gazed up at me. ‘Punish me, Sir,’ she said, her eyes sparkling through the mask. ‘Please, Sir, I need to be punished.’
Thirty Three
Her
The lift reached the top of the building and he bent down to pick up his coat. ‘Come on, then, Angel. I’ve work to do.’
His manner had completely changed. He’d seemed so vulnerable for a moment that I almost felt guilty for my doubts. Christ, he’d even stammered at one point. Although it had melted my heart, I preferred his normal manner. God, I loved it, in fact.
I got up to follow him out of the lift but he turned to face me, stopping me in my tracks. ‘Uh-huh,’ he said, pointing at the floor. ‘Get back on your knees, Miss Anderton. You’re going to crawl.’
If he’d added “to your doom”, at that moment I wouldn’t have been a bit surprised. He was back to himself, that was for sure. He towered over me, looking down at my horror-stricken face with amusement.
‘I don’t want to,’ I said, embarrassment at the thought of it coursing through me.
He laughed. ‘If you wanted to, Angel, it would hardly be a punishment.’
I got onto all fours, wondering if anyone could see my rear end, sticking up behind me and pointing towards the glass back wall of the lift. I had no idea – I’d hardly noticed our journeys in the lift, being so caught up in Nathaniel – but the thought was enough to set me crawling out of its confines.
Nathaniel stepped back to let me pass and bent to give my ass a short, sharp slap as I shuffled past him. ‘There’s a good girl,’ he said. ‘See? You can do as you’re told.’
I felt half mortified, half…something else. His hand striking my ass hadn’t really hurt, but I could still feel its contact, burning into me like a brand, as I made my way, on all fours, along the corridor. It was as if it had flipped some hidden switch inside me and, as I crawled along the soft carpet, I started to enjoy it. It brought back the memory of being in his bedroom, at the Castle, on my knees, and how I’d felt it was where I belonged. I could feel myself growing wet again, between my legs, and I deliberately stuck my ass up in the hope his hand might connect with it again.
‘Now, now,’ he said, in that reproving manner that I both loved and hated. ‘Not so eager, Angel. I’ve told you before, control is everything.’
We reached the door of his penthouse and he stood aside to let me in. The lushness of the carpet ended at his door. Beyond, it was wood and, although hard on my knees, the boots afforded some protection and I barely noticed the discomfort, so intent was I on doing as I was bidden.
He shut the door quietly behind him and followed me into the living room. When I was halfway across the floor, he spoke. ‘Now, Angel, sit up and look at me.’
I sat back on my haunches and met his gaze.
He walked round behind me and, bending down, unlaced my mask. Pulling it gently up and over my head, he came back round to face me and stood staring at me, as if seeing me for the first time. ‘Such a shame you had to wear this tonight,’ he remarked, looking at the mask with distaste. ‘You outshone everyone there by miles and no one knew it. Now, what am I going to do with you, I wonder?’
I didn’t speak – I had no idea if I was meant to. He didn’t seem to expect an answer. He just walked around me, looking at me from all angles, as if considering where to begin. I stayed still, holding my breath as he continued his pacing.
Then, he turned and went up the stairs to the mezzanine. He was gone for a few minutes and, while he was out of the room, I took the chance to look around it. Everything was as I remembered it from earlier. Stylish, clean lines, several large cream sofas, a television bench and not much else. No photos, no ornaments – nothing personal at all, and I wondered how he managed to be so alone when he seemingly had such a large entourage. The steps he’d disappeared up were open, rising from the middle of the room to the mezzanine, high above the windows.
He came back down them carrying a large case. ‘Sorry to keep you, Angel,’ he said. ‘Just gathering a few…tools of the trade.’
He’d taken off his shirt. In the clean light of the living room, his muscles stood out as if etched into him by Michelangelo himself, but I could only afford them the most cursory inspection. I was too busy staring at the case, wondering what the hell was inside it. I didn’t have to wait long to find out.
‘Stand up, Miss Anderton,’ he said, opening it onto a large coffee table. ‘Position yourself behind the stairs and face the windows.’
I got to my feet, my knees hurting as I straightened them, and moved round behind the steps. I could hear intermittent rattling noises, which I took to be him sorting through the case. It was hard to know, as I could only make out the vaguest of shapes in the windows’ reflections.
Thirty Four
Her
The longer I stood there, the more nervous I became and, by the time he came around the steps and stood, surveying me, I could feel myself trembling.
‘Are you worried, Angel?’
‘I’m…slightly cold,’ I lied. There was no way I was going to admit how much he was unnerving me. He had one hand behind his back, which did nothing to calm my anxiety. I wondered what he was hiding.
‘Cold?’ He looked amused. ‘But it’s the middle of summer and this hotel has ambient heating.’
‘It’s fine.’
‘Are you sure?’
‘I’m sure.’
‘Good.’ He sounded satisfied. ‘Then let’s begin. Put your hands above your head.’
I looked at him for a moment, to see if he was joking. He raised his eyebrows. ‘Best you do as I say, Angel. You don’t want to make things worse for yourself. The list of your infringements is…extensive, already, as I’m sure you are aware.’
I couldn’t help scowling, but I did as I was told and stood there, my hands in the air.
‘Stretch them higher.’ He walked up to the side of me.
I reached up, until my fingers were almost touching the underside of the step above me.