Curvaceous Heart (23 page)

“A consideration collar.”
Sue nervously licked her lips. “I’m
sorry,
it’s just that having this conversation with you feels a little -- well -- odd.”

“I imagine it would be.” Margaret smiled.
“A consideration collar?
Now that’s not something I’ve heard of in a long time. It used to be a common thing amongst the old community.”

“Community?
There are others locally who?”

“Yes, there are. And a few of them now bring either their daughters, or their daughter-in-laws. Still, the majority of the group is around my age. There are far more male dominants than there are female ones, which is a shame. Still, I’m sure there are others who just aren’t aware of our small group. You
are,
of course, welcome to attend our next little get-together.”

Others?

Women like her who needed to be in charge of their relationship?

It wasn’t just some sick little fantasy she’d indulged in?

Of course it wasn’t. Her short search on the Net, and a quick visit to a well-stocked alternative bookstore had proven that, but to know there were others who lived locally that she could turn to for advice was a different matter entirely.

“Does Alan know about all this?”

“No, he doesn’t. He might be more than a little surprised to know that at least one of the women there has a vested interest in him. But she’s just not suitable for my son. She’s far too willing to cross the line between consent and abuse. Oh, not physically, but emotionally, mentally, and those can be just as damaging. I’m hoping that the commitment you and my son have made will be enough to finally tell her that she needs to back off and leave him alone.”

“Are there really those who cross the line? I thought that was just something put on sites to frighten people, or it just existed on the Net.”

“No, they do exist. Men and women, submissive and dominant who don’t care who they hurt just as long as it means they get what they want.”

Her mouth dried out. “So what happens if she doesn’t take the hint?”

“Then she’ll be blackballed. If she doesn’t leave Alan alone then I’m sure you and I can handle the matter.” Margaret smiled slightly. “But if she has any sense, she will leave him alone once it becomes clear that you and he have taken this first step. A consideration collar is not something to be disrespected.”

That, at least, was good news.

“Where do these meetings take place?”

“In our homes.
Formal tea parties you might call them. Those of us with trained
submissives
sometimes bring our boys with us to tend to the service. It’s all very relaxed for the most part. I don’t tend to bring Neil with me though; he doesn’t always play well with others, as I am sure you’ve noticed. He prefers to keep his submission to me private.”

Sue nodded; a part of that made sense. Men like Neil wouldn’t want others knowing about their desires in case others took it as a form of weakness. She’d read through more than one essay on that recently. “I don’t think I could bring Alan either, especially with you there; it might be uncomfortable for him.”

Uncomfortable didn’t even begin to describe it. How could she ask him to act in a publicly submissive manner? He wasn’t ready for that.

No, let’s be honest here. I’m not ready for that. I don’t know how Alan would react to the idea, but I’m not sure I could handle it
.

“
Which would, in turn, make it difficult for you.
Being a dominant doesn’t mean forcing your submissive into situations which could be detrimental to their family relationship. Although I’ve always known he was a submissive looking for the right dominant, I don’t believe I’d be that comfortable with the idea of my own son wearing a collar and a frilly apron, serving me tea and scones at the next event.”

Sue couldn’t help but laugh at the thought. “No, bringing him to that sort of get-together wouldn’t be a good idea.”

“Because of his reaction?”
Margaret’s gaze narrowed.

“No, because of mine.”

Tension seeped from the older woman’s body. “If you’re willing to admit that failing then you truly
are the woman
my son needs.”

Chapter Twenty-Two

Neil Martin led the way into the small office after stopping by with his son in the living room. It was enough to buy them both
time
to have a private chat without one of his guests coming in search of them

“Alan, I’m sorry. Your mum made it very clear, I had no right to treat Sue the way I did.” Neil Martin pulled out a chair from behind the heavy oak desk and sat down. “I just let myself get caught up in the hope that you would find the type of woman that I -- well, it’s your life and from what your mum has said I might have missed a few things about Sue when I first met her.”

“She’s a good woman and I love her. That should be all that matters, Dad.”

His father didn’t look up from the table. “Yes, it is. It should have been. I can’t do anything more right now than tell you I’m sorry. I just hope that’s enough.”

It would have to be. What else could he expect his father to do?

“She’s a very special woman.”

“I hope so. I don’t want to see you hurt. I was just a little concerned. She’s a touch on the old side to have children with. It’s something your mother and I always
wanted,
grandchildren.”

“There’s always adopting, if we decide we want children. And women are having babies into their fifties now.”

“Not safe though, is it?” His dad shrugged. “Not that it’s any of my concern. I just hoped -- ah, never mind what I hoped for.”

Children, his father’s expectations, is
this what it had all boiled down to?
The hopes of a would-be grandfather?
Still, this wasn’t the time,
nor
place, for this conversation. They had guests to tend to, business matters, and when Sue returned he had every plan on introducing her to each person at the party. If nothing else it would show Sue how much he loved her, and confirm to others just how important she was to him. A way of putting an end to the rumors and husband-seekers who wanted to find a way to sink their claws into the money they assumed he had access to.

“So, do we sit here waiting for them to return or --
”

“Alan, I was wondering where you were hiding. Someone mentioned they’d seen you arrive.”
Victoria
’s voice cut off the rest of his words.

Alan tensed and turned to face the imposing young woman. “Hello,
Victoria
. I wasn’t sure you’d be here tonight after our last meeting.”

“Your father invited me several weeks ago, and I’m sure if I was no longer welcome then either he, or your mother, would have informed me that the plans had been altered.”

Victoria
. She hadn’t changed. Any other woman would have been ashamed of the way he had sent her packing. She had left the office half naked beneath a fur coat, a spurned lover instead of a triumphant woman. Now she stood in the doorway, dressed in the height of fashion. A long cocktail dress of deepest red, split to the hip on one side, drew further attention to the figure she was well used to flaunting when the need arose.

“We didn’t exactly part on the best of terms the last time we saw each other. I would have thought that would have been enough of a reason to stay away tonight.”

“Well, I decided to forgive you for that mistake and give you one last chance. After all, we both know you had other things on your mind that day. I should have taken that into consideration.” She walked smoothly into the room, closing the door, her lips gleaming from a faint coating of well-applied lipstick.

“And just what things might those have been?” His gaze narrowed. He wasn’t in the mood to deal with
Victoria
and her insistent need to try and be a part of his life.

“Approaching you at work was a little foolish. I should have arranged to meet you elsewhere, away from the stress of everyday life.”
Victoria
walked around the table, tracking one hand over his shoulders then down his arm before she turned her attention, briefly, to Neil. “Evening, Neil, if you don’t mind, I’d like to speak to Alan alone.”

Alan felt his hands tighten into fists. His skin crawled under her touch. Odd, once it would have set his body aflame, but now he wanted nothing to do with her.

“Actually I believe I’ll stay. The last time I checked this was my home, not yours,
Victoria
.” Neil met her gaze calmly. “And you are a guest in my home, but that does not give you the right to request me to leave. I suggest you remember that in future.”

“In that case, Alan, I believe we should move elsewhere to continue our conversation.”

“No, if you have something to say to me you can do so in front of my father.”

“Alan, I don’t believe that would be a wise idea. This is something of a delicate matter.” She pouted slightly, turning to rest her right hand fully on his shoulder. “I’m sure you can appreciate the need for privacy with such things. If nothing else your little problem at work should have made that very clear.”

“My little problem?”
Had she overheard something during her brief visit to the office? Or realized what was going on when the secretary had escorted her through the building?

Neil’s gaze hardened instantly but he kept silent this time.

“Oh, come on now, Alan. It’s common knowledge.
The
blogger
ring, company secrets all over the Net.
Perhaps if you had a real woman in your life, one with business sense, you’d be able to keep a firm hand on your company.”
Victoria
leaned in close, brushing her lips along his neck. “That’s what you need, a woman who knows what she wants and isn’t afraid to go after it.”

His stomach knotted. “
Victoria
, if you had any idea just what had been going on at work then you’d keep your mouth shut.”

“And if you don’t learn to treat me with a little more respect then I will make sure that your recent little problems will only be the tip of the iceberg compared to what you will be doing next. I tried to warn you, I don’t like being pushed to one side. I get what I want, and I want you.”

“I’m not some prize up for grabs.” If she’d been a man he’d have been ready to throw a punch, but hitting a woman, no matter how angry she managed to make him, just wasn’t a step he was willing to take.

“No, you’re not a prize, not in the sense that most people would think. You’re handsome enough but that isn’t the reason I’m interested in you. Neither does it have anything to do with that nice little business you and your father run. No, it was the long chats with your mother that finally made it clear to me that I had to step in and take charge of the situation.”

His mother?
What the fuck did his mother have to do with this?

“You’re a man, one I want. And I don’t take well to being told no.” She leaned in, nibbling at his earlobe. “There’s so much I can show you, teach you about yourself, but the first thing you need to learn is not to tell me no. I won’t tolerate it.”

“Get used to hearing it from me, Victoria,” he growled, pulling away from her touch. “I’m not interested in you and if I have to hire a skywriter and proclaim it in mile-high letters in order for you to understand then…”

Victoria
’s gaze narrowed on the bracelet he wore, her fingers closing about the silver links as she used her hold on it to drag it further into view. “What the fuck is this?”

“A gift from the woman I love and plan to marry.” He yanked his wrist back.

“You bastard!
You’re going to toss me over for someone else? Who is it? That tart you came here with? Oh don’t lie to me, Alan. I told you I knew you’d arrived. More than a few people are talking about that overweight frump you turned up with. She’s what, nearly old enough to be your mother, isn’t she? If you think I’m just going to sit back and let you settle with that bitch then you truly don’t understand the lengths a woman in love will go to.”

“You’re not in love with me, Victoria.”

“Oh, yes, I am, and unlike your overweight little pet I do know what love is.”

“You’ll leave Sue out of this. I don’t care what you or others might think, I love her, fully. She’s all I’ve ever wanted or needed in a woman.”

“Take it off now. You’re mine. You’ve always been mine. I’ve had you dancing on the end of my strings for the past month; you were just too dumb to realize it,”
Victoria
snarled, her normally pretty face twisted, her eyes darkening. “I’ve worked my way into every facet of your life but one and that becomes mine tonight. If you try and deny me I’ll do a lot more this time than start spreading rumors that you’re gay.”

Cold sweat coated his top lip. He didn’t like where this was going. Or what his gut was telling him. “And just what do you think you can do to me, Victoria?”

“I can make sure that every little secret that didn’t make it up onto the
blogger
suddenly becomes public knowledge.”

“Charlie and Bill made it clear they were working with someone else, but they were both too afraid to give me the name. Thank you for clearing that up.”

“Oh, don’t pull that one with me, Alan. You’re nothing but a silly little submissive male who needs a strong hand to tell him what to do, and that’s me. I’ve trained for this, spent my entire life studying, preparing for the day when I would finally have my own little boy toy, so imagine my surprise when I found out that dear Margaret’s son was a submissive male just waiting for the right woman to come along.”

A cold hand clamped about his heart. “What did you just say?”

His mother?
No, his mother would never have encouraged
Victoria
to come after him like this.

“Oh, didn’t she tell you? You’re
mother’s
known for some time. She doesn’t like me though, told me to stay away from you, but what’s she going to do to stop me? You can’t even stop me. Not really. Not when you’re fighting the urge to come and kneel at my feet even now. Oh, don’t try to deny it. I saw it in your eyes in your office. You wanted what I was doing, you needed to give into that, but something wasn’t quite right for you. Perhaps I wasn’t forceful enough at that moment. That’s when I realized that you’re the type that denies what you are, you need to give in to the idea that you’re being forced, manipulated,
even
blackmailed. Just like those silly little money sluts. The ones that spend all their money on women they never even meet, phone goddesses who control their lives and wallets.”