To Love and Obey (Boundaries) (19 page)

Adam looked uncomfortable, and she immediately saw the hesitation in his eyes.

“What?” she demanded. “What aren’t you telling me?”

He cleared his throat and spoke slowly. “Victoria was working for Karen. She had been instructed to let Karen in through the back door then get you to the office alone. Karen had told her that she wouldn’t actually harm you, but, after she’d given you the message to meet me, she followed you and listened at the door. She went straight to reception to find me as soon as she realized what Karen was up to.” Adam took her hand and gently stroked it, as if trying to soothe away the painful words.

Rachel closed her eyes. This was all too much to take in. The enormity of Victoria’s deception hurt and she felt a flash of anger as she recalled how she’d tried to befriend and help her.

As if reading her thoughts, Adam said, “Don’t be too hard on Victoria. If she hadn’t come to get me as soon as she’d realized what Karen was going to do, I probably wouldn’t have got to you in time.”

The thought was a sobering one.

“The club,” she cried suddenly, as visions of the flames suddenly flared in front of her eyes. “What happened to the club and everyone in it?”

“It’s fine. The fire fighters arrived in time to get everyone out, and they managed to contain it to the office and surrounding corridor. The office is destroyed, but we can easily rebuild it.” He gently stroked her forehead as he spoke. “You should rest now,” he said, the deep, velvet tone of his voice comforting her. “I want you recovered as quickly as possible, because I have plans for you, Rachel Porter.”

“Hmm… Yes, please,” she murmured, feeling a ridiculously strong rush of happiness wash over her. Despite the fact that she had nearly died last night, and that Karen did actually die, she felt a deep sense of well-being that she couldn’t quite understand. She reached out for Adam’s hand as her eyes grew heavy again. He took it and gave it a gentle squeeze. He didn’t need to say anything for her to understand the depths of his emotions. She just knew, as if they were connected somehow.

She recognized the feeling now. It was Adam’s total devotion to her, and her alone, that gave her that warm glow of contentment. She knew he’d never left her bedside since she’d been brought to the hospital, and she also knew that he would be just as lost without her, as she would be without him. They belonged together. In fact, they were soulmates. Soulmates with kinky needs that complemented the other’s perfectly.

She must have drifted off to sleep because, when she opened her eyes again, Adam had been replaced with Victoria. It took a moment to remember why she wasn’t too pleased to see her, then it all came back to her.

“Get out,” she growled. Anger simmered deep inside her as she remembered Victoria’s betrayal.

Victoria looked distressed, though, and wiped a tear from her eye. In fact, she looked awful—deep lines were etched across her face, showing the stress she must have been under, and dark shadows under her eyes made her look haunted.

“Please, hear me out, Rachel. Let me explain and then, if you still want me to leave, I will. I promise.” Her voice trembled, and sounded defeated before she’d even had the chance to speak.

Rachel didn’t say anything. She didn’t have the strength, so she just nodded her head to let Victoria know she could stay.

“Thank you,” whispered Victoria. She waited to see if Rachel was going to say anything and, when she remained silent, Victoria continued, “Well, I’d had fantasies about being dominated for years, but had never done anything about it. I was having dreams about being tied up and spanked by a strict, sexy Dom and it got to the point where I felt I had to do something about it.”

Rachel grudgingly understood exactly what Victoria meant. It wasn’t that long since she’d been there herself.

“I decided to go to a fetish club in Soho to see what it was all about,” continued Victoria. “I didn’t know what to expect—I was absolutely terrified, but I knew it was something I had to do. Well, I met a guy there, Mitch his name was, and he seemed really nice. He said he could tell I was a newbie and offered to Top me to see if I liked it. I stupidly agreed and went back to his place.” She sighed, and checked to see if Rachel was still listening. She was.

“When we got there, he offered me a drink and that’s about all I remember. He’d drugged me and…” Victoria choked slightly on her words as she continued, “and he raped me while a woman took photographs. When I woke up, the woman, Dominique, showed me the photos, which made me look like a dirty tart. You certainly couldn’t tell it wasn’t consensual. Dominique told me that if I didn’t agree to do what she said, she’d send the photos to the head teacher at my school, and tell him I was a BDSM whore.”

Despite Rachel’s resolve not to believe any of Victoria’s story, she felt a pang of sympathy as tears filled the girl’s eyes. Retelling the story couldn’t be easy and Rachel reached out for her hand to help her finish it. Victoria took her hand gratefully and smiled sadly.

“Dominique told me she wanted me to get a summer job at Boundaries and all I had to do was tell her what the plans for your engagement party were. She wanted to know dates, times, stuff like that. Then she said the only other thing I had to do was to let her in through the back door on the night of the party, and get you to go to the office alone at a given time.”

Victoria held tightly onto Rachel’s hand as she cried, “She promised she wouldn’t hurt you, Rachel.”

“Well,” said Rachel, her voice still husky from the smoke, “that explains why I had the feeling you were hiding something.”

Victoria nodded. “Yes, I’m sorry about that. I really liked you and felt we could be friends, and then I’d remember what I had to do and feel so bloody guilty that I couldn’t face you. When you invited me out for that coffee, I was gutted because I really wanted to go. I just couldn’t bring myself to lie to you. I’m sorry.”

Rachel smiled. “Adam tells me that it’s because of you that he got to me in time. It seems I owe you my life.”

“It wasn’t until I heard Dominique threaten you in the office that I realized what she was going to do. I’m so sorry.”

Rachel’s heart went out to Victoria. What the poor girl must have gone through. And here she was, explaining it all to her. She didn’t have to do that.

“What happened to the guy who raped you?” she asked, deciding that if he wasn’t already in jail, then she’d personally see to it that they caught him and threw away the key.

“His job was to create a diversion in reception. The plan was to get Adam away from you so I could give you the message to get you to the office. When I saw him in reception though, I freaked out and told Luke what he’d done. Luke grabbed him and called the police. Luke told me later that he thinks he might have broken Mitch’s arm when he struggled.”

“Good,” growled Rachel. She’d break more than his arm if she got hold of him—he certainly wouldn’t be capable of raping anyone again.

Victoria stood up and looked at Rachel with eyes leaden with guilt and remorse. “I’ll go now,” she said quietly. “I just wanted to explain and say how sorry I am.”

“Wait.” Rachel reached out her hand and took hold of Victoria’s arm. “Don’t go.”

Victoria looked like she didn’t quite know what to do. “Are you sure?” she asked, hovering uncertainly by Rachel’s bed.

“Yes, please stay. I don’t blame you, Victoria. How about we go for that coffee as soon as I’m out of here?”

Victoria’s face broke into a huge smile and the stress on her face drained away. “I’d love that,” she said, and sat back down next to Rachel.

Victoria stayed for another five minutes before being shooed out by the nurse. After mulling over their conversation she fell into a deep sleep, and when she woke, Adam had returned. She told him about her visit and how Victoria had agreed to help her with the wedding plans. Adam smiled and, in typical Dom fashion, ordered her to be quiet so she could rest her throat.

She closed her eyes, finally giving in to her exhaustion, and listened happily to Adam talking about their wedding arrangements, and all the deliciously naughty things he was going to do to her once she was better. The last thing she heard before she drifted off to sleep was Adam saying something about a collar that he was going to place around her neck on the night of their wedding.

Chapter Fourteen

Rachel looked around the huge room, filled with flowers, balloons and smiling, happy people toasting them with the finest champagne.

They say that a girl’s wedding day is the happiest day of her life, but nobody could truly understand the real truth behind those words until it happened to them. She felt as if the day was passing in a blur, like it was slipping by whilst she was watching from inside a bubble. It was all happening too quickly, and she wished she could turn a dial to slow things down a bit. Well, maybe not too much, because after the reception, they were off to Boundaries for a different kind of ceremony.

The catering staff cleared the remaining dishes away and refilled the glasses with champagne. The food had been amazing, although she’d been too excited to eat any of it. Adam had made her eat the seafood starter though, saying that she would need her strength later. Her body had sizzled at the thought, and she had quickly wolfed the food down, although she’d hardly tasted it.

Everything about today had been perfect. She had felt like a princess as she’d walked down the aisle in her beautiful, simple ivory silk dress. Luke had given her away and Chrissie had been Adam’s best man. She nearly hadn’t recognized him in his smart top hat and tails.

She grinned as she thought back to the vows they’d taken in front of everyone earlier. At least half the crowd had snickered quietly when the words ‘to obey’ had been left out. She was so glad she’d made her feelings about that clear from the beginning, and that Adam had agreed. She was also deeply touched and honored that he wanted a collaring ceremony in addition to the wedding. It was the perfect balance. As his wife, she would be his equal, but as his submissive she was more than happy to promise to love and obey.

Mandy and Dawn were there, having flown over from New York. Mandy was her bridesmaid and had helped Rachel get ready that morning. They’d had an emotional talk the night before, where they’d both vowed to be best friends forever, whatever happened and wherever they were in the world. Their champagne fueled talk had quickly turned to smut, and they’d giggled their way to sleep at four o’clock in the morning.

Mandy and Dawn weren’t the only ones who’d traveled to attend the wedding. Adam’s parents, whom she’d only met once before, had flown over from Spain, where they lived in happy retirement. They were lovely people, warm and friendly, and had been genuinely happy for Adam that he had finally found his perfect bride. His mother, Susan, had knocked on Rachel’s door while she’d been getting ready earlier and had given her a sapphire ring.

“It was given to me by Adam’s grandmother on our wedding day, and I want you to have it.” She’d had joyous tears in her eyes, and had returned Rachel’s hug warmly when she’d thanked her.

Someone touched her arm, and she looked around to find Joanne Baker smiling at her.

“Thank you so much for coming, Joanne,” said Rachel, smiling warmly at her new boss.

“I wouldn’t have missed it for the world. It’s thanks to you that Adam is so much easier to work with these days.” She winked at Rachel, who giggled.

She loved her new job and was quickly getting to grips with the basics of accounting. She was due to start a part-time course at college in September, which would give her the formal qualifications to advance in her new career. Joanne had been very supportive and the whole staff had welcomed her to the team. Joanne gave her a hug and returned to her table where Rachel’s new colleagues were finishing their dessert. Joe and her old team were there as well and had all been truly happy for her. The looks on their faces when she’d told them she was going to marry the boss had been priceless. Joe had hugged her and wished her well and the girls had all wanted to know how she’d tamed the formidable Adam Stone.

She scanned the room looking for Adam and when she spotted him a rush of love flooded her body. He was laughing with some friends from university, and her heartbeat quickened at the sight of him. As if sensing her eyes on him, he turned and smiled. That smile could have been proof of synchronicity. They could have been millions of light years apart and would still have had that special connection.

He excused himself from his friends and returned to her, pulling her into his arms as if the five minutes they’d been apart had been an eternity.

“Are you okay?” he murmured, nuzzling her ear.

“I’m more than okay,” she replied, happily. “I’ve never been happier in my life. It’s been such a perfect day, hasn’t it?”

He nodded and kissed her softly on her lips. “Yes, it has and we’re only halfway through. Are you ready to wear my collar?”

She laughed. “It’s a bit late asking me now.”

Adam raised an eyebrow, and she got the message with an excited thud in her stomach.

“Yes, Master. I’m ready.”

“Good. Let’s start saying our goodbyes. Rob will be waiting outside and our kinky friends will meet us at Boundaries in an hour. Do you remember what to do when we get there?”

Rachel nodded. “Amelia and Victoria will take me to the office to get ready. They’ll then lead me through the club to where you’ll be waiting.”

“Good.” He kissed her again and took her hand as they started saying their farewells.

* * * *

Rachel’s stomach was turning Olympic sized somersaults by the time they arrived at Boundaries. For some reason she was more nervous now than she had been before the marriage ceremony that afternoon.

Amelia and Victoria had left the reception a few minutes before she and Adam had, and they were now waiting by the entrance to the club. They smiled as Adam handed her over to them, and led her silently to the office where she was to be prepared for the ceremony.

The office was finished now, finally. It had taken months to rebuild, but now it looked beautiful with its new furniture and fully equipped toy cupboard. There was a small, private room to the side of the office which housed a comfy living space, with soft, squidgy sofas and, coming off that, there was a small but perfectly equipped bathroom. Adam had actually put hooks in the shower cubicle, but she had yet to find out what he intended to use them for. As if she didn’t know.