Through the Eyes of a Male Submissive (2 page)

This wasn’t too difficult since he has the baffling traits of an A-list actor to make women swoon in his presence.

Her name was Olivia (Via) Johnson. She was twenty-five, single, and living alone in her apartment in Aspen, Colorado.

She and her friends came to Vegas approximately once a month, something they had done since turning twenty-one.

My brother glared at me as if he knew what had been going through my head.

“Are you going to stalk this girl now?”

I shook my head. “No, I’m not going to stalk her. I would like to see her again though.”

He gazed at me with a dumb look in his eyes. “Good. She will be coming over for dinner tonight. Be sure to wear something presentable.”

“Wait…what?”

The thought of seeing this woman again ignited a small spark in the pit of my darkened soul.

“It wasn’t my idea. She was the one who badgered me for your address, threatening me with a wedgie if I did not comply. Don’t let the woman’s innocence fool you.”

I found myself grinning at the image of this girl half the size of my brother, tugging his undergarments until he could taste the cotton.

As funny as it may seem, it would make me very jealous, seeing her with her fingers on my brother’s waistline.

* * * *

My heart pounded against my chest as the time drew nearer for her to arrive.

I showered, shaved, and dressed a couple of hours early. I had to keep myself busy to distract the nerves in some way.

My brother glared at me. “You really like this girl, don’t you?”

I stared at him, smoothing out my jacket. “How can you tell?”

“For one, your forehead is sweating crazily, and second, your breathing has become heavier. Calm yourself, bro. Don’t let this woman get to you so easily.”

Before I had the chance to rebut, there was a light tapping on the front door and my heart jumped to my throat.

My enthusiastic brother jumped up. “Allow me.”

He opened the door and smiled at the woman I have wanted to make mine since I first saw her.

“Via, it’s so good to see you again.”

Her footsteps were drawing closer as my heart thumped louder.

I politely smiled when she came into view. “Hello Via.”

She smiled with her eyes dancing on me. “There he is, my favorite dance partner. I hope you don’t mind my coming over this soon. I just had to see you again before I head back home.”

“How far do you live from here?” I knew the answer to the question, but I wasn’t about to admit it.

“My apartment is in Aspen. Where do you live, Ryan?”

I stood there for a few seconds. If I told her of my many homes in various places of the entire continent, how would she react?

Surely resembling everyone else with their eyes lighting up brightly as if they figured out who to bum money off of.

Shit!
May as well get this over-with now.

“I live in Seattle for the time-being. I have apartments in New York, California, and Hawaii. Before you ask why, the modest answer is because I can.”

She smiled to hide her slight blush. “I wasn’t going to ask why you have the need to have apartments scattered everywhere. It honestly isn’t any of my business. Besides, you made it very obvious that you don’t even want me here.”

My eyes nearly bulged out of my skull.

For one, she didn’t question me about my money. Two, why on earth would she think I did not want her here?

“If I didn’t want you here, Via, you wouldn’t be here. Why would you say that? Of course I want you here!”

She stared at me, blinking a few times before she spoke, tapping her right foot.

“Well, excuse a girl for being confused. I mean… You didn’t even ask me yourself. I had to torture it out of Jason.”

I shook my head, sensing she was royally pissed.

“It’s not as if I didn’t want to, trust me. Look at you, Via. You’re gorgeous. Why would you be interested in a man like me?”

Her foot tapping abruptly ceased.

She strolled up to me and I smelled the sweet aroma of her perfume.

To my astonishment, she lightly slapped me across the face.

Her hand connecting to my cheek suddenly jerked my heart and felt as if she had swiftly kicked my genitals.

Oh…what has this woman done to me?

“Ryan Rayner, I showed up here tonight because I admire you. You are definitely not going to ruin this night for us with your self-pity shit, do you understand me?”

My eyes widened after she spoke. The first instinct was to plant one on her. She was just too damn eye-catching when she was mad as hell.

My lips wanted to form a smile, but I wouldn’t dare let them. “I’m sorry.”
Damn!
Now she has me apologizing!

“Good. Are we going to stand here, staring at each other the rest of night, or shall we go to dinner?” she asked, a sly grin spreading upon her cheeks as she watched me.

Jason cracked up laughing. “I like her. Maybe she can actually keep you in line.”

What he said was absolutely true, but still didn’t stop me wanting to punch him in the face.

* * * *

After a few minutes of sitting in the back seat, I could tell she was beginning to grow anxious.

She had to have just about a billion questions swirling through her head from the look on her face alone.

“Alright, I have to know… Who’s the dude?” she asked, looking over at Matthew, who had been driving.

I couldn’t help but smile in amusement to her confusion. “That is Matthew. He is an employee of mine.”

He looked back at her through the rearview mirror with a polite smile before focusing on the road.

“He’s your chauffeur?”

“He drives me where I need to go at times, yes. He is more of a bodyguard.”

I was trying to explain everything in the best way. I never had to elaborate on my life before to a female.

Via stared at me without blinking an eye.

Oh, what I would give to hear her thoughts at the moment.

“What lines of work are you in that need you to need a human shield? Oh no! Please don’t tell me you are a mobster.”

I couldn’t hide my smile any longer after her little comment.

She was so eager to know what I did for a living, most likely thinking I was a chief executive.

To give her a sense of relief, I shook my head.

“No. Definitely not a mobster. No worries, you won’t end up on the ID channel or anything.”

“What is it that you do, then?”

Should I allow this woman to know so much? We haven’t even known each other a full twenty-four hours yet.

Before I answered her question, I decided to tease her a little.

I angled my body to face her. “What do you do for a living,
Olivia Johnson
?”

She blinked at me, her eyes wide as if she were a deer caught in a pair of headlights. .

She took a deep breath in and released it.

“I graduated from college last year at the top of my class. I have degrees in both Culinary and Pastry Arts. I spent six years in college, so I finished every course offered. My dad would have preferred me to be a doctor of some sort, but wearing scrubs and treating the ill just wasn’t what I wanted.” She smiled. “My main goal is to own and run a restaurant, and, in order to fulfill that dream, I started working full-time at a local restaurant in Aspen.”

“A woman who cooks and bakes for a living… I couldn’t get much luckier even if I tried,” I said, trying to lighten the mood. “Do you want to open up your restaurant in Aspen?”

“Not actually. I want to move somewhere else and start my business there sooner or later. The lack of money is in the way, but I’m getting there, bit by bit.”

She rose up as if to say she had been proud of herself for coming a long way.

I wanted to offer what she needed, but I knew her stubbornness would force her to reject me.

“To answer your earlier question, I am a full-time lawyer in Seattle, but I do own and run other businesses as well. I don’t want to talk about myself. I would prefer to talk about you. We can chat about me later.”

Matthew had pulled into the hotel before she opened her mouth to speak.

She stared out the window and her jaw almost hit my leg. “
Whoa
… We’re having dinner here, at the MGM? What? How is this even possible?”

Realizing she had her hand positioned on my knee, she rapidly removed it to glare at me.

I saw the hunger for knowledge overwhelming her eyes.

I had to smirk as Matthew opened the door on my side. “I wanted this to be something you would remember. I wasn’t about to allow our first date to be lounging on my couch and eating take-out. Besides, a woman like you needs to be taken out every so often so a guy can show her off.”

I observed as her cheeks flushed a light shade of pink.

Holding my hand out to her, I assisted her out of the car.

I didn’t release my grip on her until we were escorted to our table by the overly friendly hostess.

Like a proper gentleman, I did not take my seat until Via sat.

“This is pretty fancy. Something I am not used to.”

Shrugging my shoulders, I politely smiled at her.

“You will get used to it, trust me.”

She stared at me, appearing to be intrigued and contemplating what to ask first.

“You mean to tell me you have grown accustomed to this—the constant staring and the faker-than-silicone-boobs smiling from strangers? I’m not certain if I would be able to… With a straight face that is.”

Chapter Two

I just about choked on my Sauvignon Blanc once I processed the words
silicone
and
boobs
in the same sentence. “You display unique ways of wording everything, don’t you?”
She shrugged as she picked at her salad, looking up at me.

“You will grow accustomed to it, trust me,” imitating my voice in a mocking tone.

“Are you mimicking me now,
Miss Johnson
?” I couldn’t help but smile a bit.

Her eyes fluttered up at me as a sly smile formed on her appetizing lips. “I would never,
Mister Rayner
.”

She released the grip of her fork, not moving her gaze from mine.

“Since I told you about my educational history, you have to tell me yours. It’s only fair.”

“I graduated from New York University with a terminal degree in law, which is why I own a small apartment there. I spent over six years there doing nothing but working and studying like a mad man.” I was entertained by her interest in my life.

“After graduation, I didn’t slow down and start working right away. Instead, I decided to take a couple of years to de-stress myself from all the time I put in to furthering my education.”

As she took a sip of wine, she nodded.

“I understand. This is where the Hawaii apartment comes into play, isn’t it?” she wondered, placing her glass back on the table.

I nodded with a hint of a smile.

My mind couldn’t help but ponder what was going through her head—all the questions she had in store for me.

However, tonight, I wanted to be more familiar with her.

“What was your childhood like?”

Her eyes widened, somewhat in fear as if someone had just knocked the wind out of her.

It stung a bit, seeing this question bring so much pain to her.

After a few seconds, her face returned to its original shade.

“It was as normal as anybody else’s, I guess. My mother wasn’t around, so it was just me and my dad, but I still turned out pretty decent.”

Intuitively, I wanted to question why her mother had not been in her life.

I wasn’t going to push the subject. She would tell me on her own when she was ready.

She downed the rest of her wine, set the glass aside, and shrugged.

“Soon after she had given birth to me, my mother decided she had made the biggest mistake of her life. To be happy again, she divorced my father and left soon after the divorce became final. I was an infant when she left. I don’t remember her. My dad tried to create excuses for her, but even then I sensed she didn’t want us.”

She stared at me with tears pressing against the rims of her eyes, shaking her head as if to fend them away.

“It doesn’t bother me much anymore. Honestly, it’s her loss. She missed out on having an incredible daughter in her life. That is what my dad tells me, of course.”

I reached out and touched her hand, giving it a light squeeze.

“What your mother did, leaving you and your father—there is no way I would ever hurt you,” I assured as I gazed at her. “I am well aware about this being the first date and I shouldn’t say this, but I hold unexplainable strong feelings for you. The second I laid eyes on you last night, I had to look twice because it was as if I had previously met you. Am I freaking you out yet?”