Perfectly Too Far (14 page)

“
Because
he likes my art,” she spat, anger starting to make her temples
hurt.

“
Don't
get me wrong, I like your work, too. But someone doesn't just offer
you a driver, and lodging, and access to expensive clothing and what
have you just so you'll paint a
wall
.
Do
you
like
him?
”

“
What!”
That time, Judith did pour some of her water on her lap. Scrambling,
she dabbed it away and fixed wide eyes on the girl across from her.
“Do I what? I don't even... I don't know! I hardly know the
guy.”

“
He's
handsome, right?”

“
Maybe,”
she said, thinking about when he had shared the pool with her.

“
And,”
Lorraine waved her straw side to side, “he's rich. What's the
problem? Why haven't you locked that down?”

“
Lorraine!”
Scowling, she looked into her glass, cheeks pink as roses. Her mind
filled with images of Benedict, how he would look at her as she
worked, the deep sound of his voice.

Suddenly,
the firm, strong gloves of Onyx cut in, and she recalled the dominant
man's scent. “I don't know,” she lied.

Because there's someone else
consuming my thoughts.

“
Well,”
her friend shook her head, shrugging. “All I'm saying, is this
guy wants more than your art. And if you
don't
want
more from him than some extras, you need to be careful. Someone is
going to get hurt, and my advice, is don't be around if it's going to
be the guy with all the money. I'd hate to see what a man like him
does when he's rejected.”

Judith lifted her gaze, looking at Lorraine and trying to find the
right words. “I think it's just... I think I like someone else,
that's all.”

Canting her head like a bird, the other woman leaned closer over the
table. “Don't stop there! Is it your driver? He was pretty
classy looking, but he's got to be even older than Benedict.”

“
No!”
She shook her head, laughing at the ease in the tension. “No,
uh, not Corbin. Someone else I met recently.”

“
Well,
what's he like?”

“
Hmn...
he's interesting,” she muttered, thinking of how he had touched
her throat. “I've never met anyone else like him.”

“
What's
he do for a living?”

“
I
don't know,” she blinked.

Lorraine wrinkled her forehead in disbelief. “Alright. Where's
he live?”

“
I
don't, ah, I don't know that either.”

Throwing
her arms in the air, Lorraine laughed sardonically before she spoke.
“What does he
look
like?”

I can't tell her I haven't seen
his face.
“He's got a nice body,” she whispered sheepishly.

“
So
you pretty much know nothing about this guy, but you like him better
than Benedict. Huh,” she sat back in the booth and waved the
waiter over. “Well I can't really comment on that. I guess if
you like him, you like him, but... why?”

“
Because
he makes me feel good,” she finished lamely. Not wanting to say
more when the waiter arrived to take their orders, she chewed her lip
in silence.

When
they were alone again, she opened her mouth warily. “I know it
sounds dumb. And maybe you're right, and Benedict likes me, and I'm
being stupid about not jumping on that. It's just, this other guy, he
really does it for me. I can't explain why, Lorraine, he
does
something to me
.”

Her friend smiled, reaching across to grab Judith's wrist. “Hey,
you don't need to justify it to anyone. If this other guy gets you
going, it's not my business to tell you what to do. Besides,”
she laughed, pulling back and lifting an eyebrow, “you didn't
listen to me about avoiding Benedict Vance. Why would you listen to
me about anyone else?”

Judith smiled shyly, nodding her head to be polite, but her mind was
buzzing. Lorraine's concerns were not unfounded. She did like Onyx,
but what did she really know about him?

I know he can get me to do things I never imagined before.

Flushing, knowing Lorraine couldn't understand why, she grabbed her
drink and didn't bring her relationship worries up again the rest of
their brunch.

When Corbin had pulled up outside, the girls hugged each other
tightly and promised to get in touch again soon.

“
Maybe
I can come visit you and see your painting?” Lorraine asked.

Though she was terrified of introducing someone else to that mansion
with its strange secret night life, she gave a quick nod and ducked
into the sparkling car. “Right, maybe sometime soon!”

Waving out of the window, Judith wondered what Lorraine would have
said if she had told her the whole truth about Onyx.

The day stretched by far too slow.

She was lost in a daze, thinking about the night before, and the
terrible things she had partaken in. The very idea of it, kneeling at
someone's feet and calling them 'Master' was so far out of her realm,
if she had been told about it in regards to anybody else, she would
have laughed.

Yet, here she was, biding the time until she could rush back through
that red door, to fold at the ground before Onyx. Closing her eyes,
she breathed in slowly, imagining what he might do to her. How he had
teased her, so close to kissing her lower lips, instead forcing his
hard length down her throat.

The sound of his voice, that low baritone that penetrated her
bones... she wanted to hear him call her 'little Sparrow' again, or
even just to tell her how good she was.

“
Beautiful,”
that voice whispered. It was so real, so close to her ear.
Yes,
he thought I was beautiful.

Again, it brushed along her neck, stating how she was...

“
Beautiful.”

Judith jumped, jerking around to fast she hurt her neck. Benedict
grinned at her, eyes twinkling wickedly. Grabbing at her heart, she
gave a weak laugh as she eyed him. “You surprised me!”

“
Sorry,”
he inclined his head, turning to view the wall she had been painting
in her fog. “I was only admiring how this is coming along. It's
wonderful, it looks like it will be done soon.”

Brushing
her hair behind her ear, she shot him a sideways look as she calmed
her heart.
I was
really daydreaming, there. How embarrassing, I hope he didn't notice.
“I
think maybe another day or so, yeah.”

“
That
quickly?” He flashed her that perfect smile, dusting down the
front of his crisp jacket. She couldn't help but notice it was a
different garment than the one she had splashed paint on. Hoping she
hadn't actually ruined it, she wiped her stained hands on her shorts
self-consciously.

“
Yes,
if all goes well, I'll be out of your hair by the weekend.”

“
What
if I wanted you to stay longer?”

Blinking,
Judith almost stepped backward.
He's
so blunt!
Her
brain tingled, recalling Lorraine's comments on how her employer had
a thing for her. “Why would you want that?”

Shrugging, he tucked his hands in his pockets casually. “I have
other rooms I'd like painted.”

Other rooms?
She
glanced at the red door below them, and was sure he noticed. Yet he
said nothing about it, only gestured with his styled hair at her
current work. “Think about it, you might find staying here
longer to be to your benefit.”

“Um, it's just that I was really hoping to catch the next
admission period at Sun Arts.”

“You could do both. Think of the money you'd save staying here,
and Corbin could take you to the campus everyday. Then at night, you
could work on art here. Wouldn't it be nice?”

Judith parted her lips, then closed them. Imagining the idea of more
time, how she could keep sneaking off to meet Onyx, she felt her
lower belly twitch.
That would be amazing.
“I'll
consider it, okay.”

“
Good,”
he beamed, a smile that was much more genuine and cheerful than any
she had seen him wear before.

“
Does
that idea make you that happy?”

“
Hm?
What do you mean?”

Pointing, she felt her own mouth tugging up at the corners. “You
just... I've never seen you smile so much before now.”

As
if waking up, his face melted back into a more relaxed line. “Oh,
well, as to that... I guess I
am
in a good mood. But never mind, I've things to do, so I'll leave you
to it.” He spun on his polished heels and almost danced down
the steps.

She
watched him go, confused by what could make a man like that so
chipper.

****

Night could not have fallen fast enough. That is, until it arrived.
Then Judith was bursting with anxiety, pacing her room and wondering
if her plan was actually a good idea.

If I go back, what then? It seemed fun last night, but couldn't it
get worse?

She had no idea what Onyx might plan for her, only that she had seen
what he was capable of when he had the blonde woman at his mercy.
And, after last night, she knew he could command her to bow to his
wishes without much trouble.

Remembering
how he had spanked her, she covered her mouth to muffle her own moan.
That was
incredible, I have to admit. How could it be bad, to go back to him?

Antsy, like she was an alcoholic who demanded a fix, she finally
opened up her closet. The mask was where she had left it, sitting
among the others and watching her with empty eye holes.

Turning, she scanned the racks for something else to wear, thinking
about how Roseli had shown up in something other than black.

There doesn't seem to be any
rule about what I can wear, I guess people just tend to choose dark
stuff.
Mulling it over, she grabbed an emerald green dress that hugged her
body, tight as the way Onyx had gripped her jaw.

Tying
her hair back, still worried the red color might give her away if she
left it down, she painted her lips with shiny gloss and left her
room.

She had estimated that everyone seemed to show up after eight, and it
didn't take more than half an hour for them to finish filtering in.
Peering down from the railing, she saw the foyer was empty, so she
skipped down the stairs.

Gripping the handle of that crimson wood, she felt herself shaking.
Is it from fear, or anticipation?

Deciding it didn't matter, she had already come this far, Judith
slipped through and into the dim passage. At the bottom, she slowed,
her heart racing the closer she got to the purple curtain. Though she
was readying herself for it, she still nearly bolted when she saw
Corbin.

There wasn't a line like last night, one or two people were finishing
up, exiting through the drapes as she approached. The chauffeur
glanced up at her, that face neutral and impossible to read.

Does he know, did he figure it out somehow? No, impossible, calm
down!

Gripping
the pen on the clipboard, she paid attention this time to the page
she was signing. She didn't need to add herself again to a new list
of some kind and repeat the surprise of last night's role call. With
one more glance at Corbin, she slipped through the curtain and into
the strange underground world hidden beneath the Hollywood mansion.

She could see the room was emptier than last night, drawing the
connection between there being new submissives joining up.
They
were all here to watch us get called, so they'd know who we were, for
the auction. And now...

Now, she realized, that the members were all off enjoying themselves
elsewhere in the tunnels. Turning in place, she almost walked right
into Onyx before she even had a moment to wonder where he might be.

The noise she made was a small, squeaky breath of air. The appearance
of him, sudden as it was, called to her mind the way he seemed just
as much a part of this place as the red door itself. His outfit was
tight, charcoal. The shirt was open, displaying his glistening rows
of ivory muscles.

Still,
always with those gloves.

Hugging his long fingers, the smooth material caught the light,
displaying the texture for a moment. Onyx linked his hands together
behind his back, wordlessly staring down at her with an aura of pure
confidence. It filled her, made her knees weak and her tongue
swollen.

Kneel,
kneel,
she reminded herself as
she fought the distracting fog in her brain. Carefully, trying to be
more elegant than last time, Judith folded to the floor and bowed her
head. With her legs bared as they were, she was grateful for the
plush rug.