The Right Thing (7 page)

Michael thought McKenzie might call time and use her safe word but
she didn’t and instead slipped into subspace with a little sigh and a cease in
movements and sounds, boneless. He rubbed the delightfully reddened ass and
slipped his hand between her thighs to slide through the copious moisture.
Finger fucking her with one and then two digits hard and fast, he sought out
her G-spot. McKenzie humped his hand as much as the position would allow and
wailed out her orgasm. He’d hardened again, the sight of her bound and taking
punishment so beautifully aroused him to extreme heights. Pulling on a condom, he
thrust in against the clenching of her channel, battering her into the mattress
with his passion, her hot ass spurring him on, and collapsed with a final
outpouring that emptied his balls and his brain. And that was the start of it,
Submissive Training 101. Michael was never certain who passed that initial
test.

Chapter Four

The days kind of ran into one another. ’Kenzie would get up before
anyone else, use the tiny bathroom assigned to her room and get dressed for
work. She would head downstairs and take her place at the table. Mrs. Wu would
solemnly serve green tea and, incongruously, a bowl of porridge laden with
brown sugar and cinnamon, a jug of milk on the side. She wasn’t certain if
that’s what Mrs. Wu and her family ate for breakfast, or if it was just the
older woman’s idea of what non-Chinese-Americans ate for breakfast. The
language barrier precluded any real discussion, and it really didn’t matter. McKenzie
found the cereal filling and didn’t need to eat as much at lunch. She had to
pinch pennies and there were no benefits for people paid under the table. Eventually
she would need to see a doctor or a dentist, and while there were some free
clinics, medications were never free. Not that she would ever complain. She had
a job, a safe place to live and enough money to get by on if she wasn’t
extravagant. He had seen to it that medical and vision care was taken care of,
so McKenzie figured she was okay for at least a year on that front if illness
didn’t hit. That bridge would get crossed if she came to it.

McKenzie had become used to the work by now, even the continual
standing, and no longer fell into bed shortly after the dinner eaten with her
landlady and several chattering children. That meal was far more traditionally
Chinese and while there were things served probably better left unknown, she
became adept with chopsticks and enjoyed the food and the company. Several of
the children spoke excellent English and she hoped they translated her comments
accurately. Mrs. Wu’s
demeanor
never changed, always patient and stoic, unquestioning. She had no
idea where Mr. Wu was, and didn’t inquire, respecting Mrs. Wu’s privacy as the
other woman presumably respected hers. The landlady might discuss her in detail
and at length, but McKenzie would hardly know. All in all, she couldn’t have
asked for a better option, having run away and luckily found herself in a
situation where she’d been absorbed and accepted without apparent question. She
toyed with the idea that maybe someone watched over her despite recently leading
such a depraved lifestyle or maybe because of it. The idea helped with the
resolution not to think about it or crave that lifestyle. Or him.

McKenzie played games with the children in the evenings or read to
them. Mrs. Wu’s eyes would rest on them and ’Kenzie thought those dark orbs
warmed a fraction. If the kids were otherwise occupied, she would read in the
bedroom, having found a fellow book addict in Lisa. Lisa loaned her every novel
she read, and McKenzie found herself reading all manner of subjects. She could
lose herself in those books and they too kept her from thinking too much and
remembering. The romance was sweet, so she didn’t find herself drawing
comparisons. And if the happily ever afters were predictable, well, then, all
the better.

McKenzie and Donna went out after work on occasion, sometimes for
coffee, sometimes for a drink, although ’Kenzie steered clear of beer since
that first time. They always got together on neutral territory, never at one
another’s homes. She knew she could hang out far more often with Donna, but
found it too difficult to share much of herself. That felt too unnerving, and she
couldn’t consider how the other woman might respond to her past life with him,
even if she could bring herself to confide. Donna, however, had no such qualms
about sharing burdens.

“I never see the old lady and I never knew the sperm donor.”

Donna’s earthy, frank comments never failed to take McKenzie aback,
just a little. And the way Donna said things like that, as though she’d figured
things out and came to accept them, made her admire the other woman a lot. McKenzie’s
own childhood hadn’t been stellar. Her dad died shortly after she’d been born
and her mom absolutely needed all the attention she could get, with none left
over for her children. But there had been just enough money to get by and a
roof over their heads each night. And aunts and uncles were there for her, as
well as three older brothers when they could be, as were various
neighbors
and teachers.
Considering some of the things Donna hinted at, well, McKenzie thought she
really shouldn’t criticize her earlier life even if it manifested in a total
need to be cared for and every aspect of her life controlled. Although, chances
were she wouldn’t have figured that out if it hadn’t been for him. There was a
bitter aftertaste to that thought. Unfair. But then, life wasn’t fair.

Donna was continuing, her tone less bitter, but still morose. “But
me and my brothers are tight. We had to be growing up. They live around here
and now they’re there for me. It’s probably because they weren’t when I was
younger and I don’t hesitate to use their guilt to my advantage!”

Donna told her she was easy to talk to, that she listened, and the
broad hint couldn’t be ignored. McKenzie took a breath. “Sounds like you needed
them when you were younger.”

“I needed somebody to fend off the old lady’s boyfriends, is what I
needed. Or for her to step up.” The flat statement held a wealth of darkness
but no real emotion.

“I’m sorry.” She was, and angry too. Children were so vulnerable. McKenzie
knew that well, although no one had messed with her even if her mother’s lack
of interest still hurt. She had big brothers too, but all of them had enlisted
and were stationed all over the world. They wouldn’t have allowed their sister
to be with him had they been in closer proximity, or if she’d kept in regular
contact. But McKenzie was determined to be independent and make something of
herself, hence the scholarships and social work school. And look at what she’d
become.

“Yeah, well, I guess I’m sorry too. The school counsellor said it
fucked my head up. Made me cut and eat myself nearly to death. I quit the
hurting but I kind of like my size. No one messes with me for the most part.”

“You mean guys leave you alone because you’re overweight?”

“Mostly. And the freaks who like fat women are easy to spot.”

McKenzie heard the pain then, the very real echo, and this time
didn’t hesitate. “You want more in your life. You want a good man, maybe
children.”

Donna stared for a ten count and tears flooded the big, brown eyes,
spilling over to track down round cheeks, glossing the fine, smooth skin.
“Sometimes. But kids deserve better than me and a man would be just a means to
that end.”

They sat in silence for a long time after that poignant statement
before Donna raised her eyebrows. Gulping in more air, McKenzie found the
courage. “I want kids too. But I can’t even look after myself. And I don’t want
a man.”
I just want him.

“Well, I guess then we’re both shit out of luck, ’Kenzie. Lucky us.
S’okay
. At least we have our health!”

McKenzie found herself gaping at Donna’s last comment and dissolved
into laughter. Big, breathless, gasps of giggles and chortles. Donna brayed her
own mirth. McKenzie felt the tears start without volition, followed by deep
sobs. Pawing a handful of napkins from the holder she frantically mopped at the
moisture, struggling to contain herself. Donna awkwardly patted a shoulder and she
managed to settle.

“I guess that’s enough best friend shit for today, ’Kenzie. We
gotta
have a time where we can just have some fun. Maybe we
can go see a movie or something.”

“That’s probably safe. But, Donna? I’m trying to be a friend, but I
don’t know that I really know how to be one.”

“Takes practice I guess. Like everything else. I already told you
more shit than I’ve told anybody. You a shrink, down on your luck?” Donna gave
a snort of laughter.

“No, but I was studying social work.”

Donna reared back like she’d been struck. “Social work? Fuck me,
’Kenzie. I was just kidding with the shrink comment! You probably need to be
social worked yourself considering how you arrived at the Lees. You’re like the
total mystery woman. Although, you do have a way of listening and making a
person comfortable. But not sharing back. Did they teach you to do that?”

“That might be part of it, Donna, but mostly it’s just because I get
a bit freaked out. I have trust issues.”

It was Donna’s turn to laugh to the point of tears. “No shit,
’Kenzie. Trust issues? Honey, we all got trust issues.
Whatever
.”

McKenzie thought she was getting ever closer to unburdening herself
a little with Donna, but what would she say? That she fell in love with a
charming sadist who awakened her masochistic self? And that he fell so in love
with her it made him nuts? That ’Kenzie would never equate sexual pleasure with
anything else now? That she would do anything and everything for him, even if
it meant total subjugation, maybe even her own destruction as a sentient being?
That she had no sense of purpose or ambition without him aside from working at
the dry cleaners to keep basic body and soul together? And that her heart was
broken and her soul shrivelled?

What would be the reason for telling Donna any of that? Would it
change anything? Would sharing make McKenzie feel better, find a better way to
cope? Or would Donna shun and out her for the pervert the rest of the world
would see her as? McKenzie wondered about taking the chance, if it would be
good to have a friend to support her. God, she hoped so. McKenzie admitted she
was lonely. Maybe it was a sign she was healing, and might have a life without him.
No
.

“I guess I need some time.”

Donna made one of those famous shrugs at McKenzie’s lame answer but
didn’t press and life went on as she now knew it.

Chapter Five

           
The news came from
an unexpected quarter. Leave it to Jenifer. The twit didn’t call him. No, she
drove over and burst through the apartment door to deliver the news, the better
to
savor
the response, and Michael didn’t begrudge her. Jenifer had been forced to pick
up her own dry cleaning because her personal assistant had the nerve to succumb
to the flu and take to a sick bed for a few days. She required a particular
dress for a party and when she hadn’t found the garment in the closet called
the PA, determining it was at the drycleaners. That created something
tantamount to a
Middle East
crisis, and
Jenifer had her driver stop by on the way home from the office the following
day.

Michael suffered through his cousin’s saga, knowing something of
utmost importance would be revealed in the punch line. Jenifer didn’t
disappoint. Why she went into the store was still unknown when normally Ms.
Princess would have sent a lackey in to pick it up. Was it fate? Karma?
Serendipity? Didn’t matter. Jenifer probably swept in like royalty and demanded
her property, expecting the serfs’ instant accommodation. The slight delay gave
Jenifer time to check out the joint with a no doubt disdainful gaze, and who
was working at a little table, hands doing some kind of complicated thing with
some gauzy fabric? His sub. McKenzie.

Michael had no memory of crossing the room or of taking his cousin
by the shoulders and shaking Jenifer until her up do came down. The impact of
the stiletto on his toes brought his attention back in short order.

“Where?”

Michael didn’t recognize his voice. The word erupted from somewhere
in the middle of his chest or a little lower, and was painfully quiet, if chock
full of some kind of emotion he didn’t stop to analyze. Jenifer actually
stepped back a pace and regarded him with what looked a little like
consternation. This was clearly a big learning curve for both of them.

“I’ll take you. I have no idea of the address but Gerald will drive
us. I slipped out before she noticed me so she wouldn’t run again.”

Michael didn’t want to go with Jenifer. He wanted to go by himself
and make a plan. But maybe this was better. He wouldn’t get too crazy if
Jenifer was with him, and McKenzie might feel reassured if she saw his cousin
too. He would sweep McKenzie up in his arms like the Prince did with Cinderella
and bring his woman back home.
That
was the real royal equation. Jenifer would pat McKenzie’s hand or something and
tell her it was for the best. He was suddenly adrift on hope and, with what he
hoped would be to his everlasting credit, his cock took a backseat to his
heart.