The parlour vdb 1, p.14
The Parlour (VDB #1), page 14
“My dear, you are near perfection. Would you like to walk with me?”
“Where? How is that helping me train? And, unless you missed the point of my earlier statement, I still have no clothes,” she clipped, raising an authoritative brow at him and taking another sip of her coffee.
“Emanuelle will be back shortly with those, and you will learn a great deal if you are prepared to listen, my dear. By the time we return, you should be fully versed in my world and have the full vocabulary firmly imprinted. I will not have you accosted again because you are so unfamiliar with our ways. Tonight, you will work the club, and therefore will need to understand the rules.”
“Work the club? You don’t expect me to have sex with everyone, do you?”
“I expect you to do anything I ask of you, if you still desire your fifty thousand dollars, that is. Hmm? What will it be? The door is still over there.”
“Right.”
“Did you choose a safeword?”
“Yes, pickles.”
“Pickles?”
“I detest pickles, and I’m thinking that when I’m at a point that makes me want to hit you, I’ll remember how much I hate you, ergo, pickles.”
“You hate me? This is a strong word, my dear. Why would you hate someone who has offered you an option such as I have?”
“Pickles.”
“I asked you a question?”
“And I used my safeword, which means I don’t have to answer, right?”
“Yes. Although…”
“Pickles.”
“Are you going to say anything other than pickles?”
“Not on this matter, no. I’m here for a job, yes? None of which involves an emotional response to anything, including how I might feel about you. Train me, use me, and then let me go on my way, or back to Roxanne. As you say, fifty thousand is a lot of money. Can I suggest you get on with me earning it rather than concerning yourself with what might be going on in my mind? I’m not your concern regarding anything other than how to speak, act, and behave to get my month’s worth of work done.” He’d never been spoken to in such a way before. Where had she suddenly erupted from? Minx.
“Do you intend to be difficult constantly, or is this a calculated misjudgement on your part?”
She sighed and stood from the chair. He watched her as she wandered around the space with interest, fingering binders and folders and tutting to herself about something.
“Where’s the really interesting stuff?”
“What?”
“You can’t tell me that you run a place like this and do the things you do without having a thousand documents that need, shall we say, writing up delicately. That’s what I do, Pascal. All this bending over and being spanked is easy, and I’m sure I’ll learn all about your world in the space of a few days. Who knows? I might even learn to enjoy it, but what I’m really good at is dealing with things that need thorough examination. I can assume that a man like yourself needs thoroughly examining,” she said as she fiddled with the keypad on the safe that she had found behind the door. He stared at her collar bones and considered a thorough examination. Alexander should employ her thought process more readily. “Nice suit today, by the way. You look good in green.”
“Why thank you, I’m glad you approve. Do not call me Pascal again.” She chuckled.
“You’re welcome. Is it all in here, Sir?”
Having pondered her reaction to the fact that being spanked was easy, he wondered how bothered she might be by a more forceful interpretation of the word.
“Does the thought of undiluted pain not bother you in the slightest, my dear?” She turned and made her way back to the table, then sat herself on the desk in front of him. She twitched her lips in amusement at him for some inexplicable reason and then put her feet into his lap.
“The only real pain you can ever cause someone is emotional. And as I don’t intend to let you anywhere near my head, you’re not capable of that. You may be a big bad wolf with very sharp teeth, Sir, but I have a legal brain. It’s dispassionate about anything remotely linked to torment. I decipher analytics for a living. I shut out any emotional thoughts regarding the task at hand. If I need to take pain to achieve my goal then that’s what I’ll do.”
“Hmm. Stimulating indeed.”
“Very.”
“A winter hearted bitch.”
“For you, yes. Did you need something more?”
He did not need anything more than that. Never had he needed anything more than that. To take and use was exactly what he needed, regardless of the odd sentimentality that was intrinsically linked to his rose’s manipulation around his chest area. Alexander may have been a different matter, but Lilah was offering exactly what was required of her.
“The significant documents are in Rome, where they cannot be extracted without my irises,” he replied, snatching his hands away from her feet, which he had found himself rubbing for some extraordinary reason.
“Mmm. Shame. I’ll have to deal with unimportant shit then. You could keep doing that, you know. I really don’t mind. Not like it’s linked to my brain,” she said with a wide grin as she pushed her toes into his thigh and braced her hands on the table behind her with a sigh. The robe slipped from covering her legs and draped back towards her waist, exposing her entirely as she continued to pad her feet in his crotch.
He narrowed his eyes at her intelligent mouth and manoeuvrings. He should fuck her, immediately. Then beat her, or perhaps chain her somewhere until she got the point that she wasn’t in charge, and that she should have a little more respect for the Dominants she would have to play under. That thought sent an instant wave of irritation over his skin. Others? It was very clearly proved that no one else would be playing with Lilah James for quite some time when, beyond his control, his hands found her feet once more. He snatched them away again and fought the need to discipline her dramatically. For whatever reason, he enjoyed her mouth the way it was. Perhaps his time with Elizabeth had forged this need for a confident woman, someone he could discuss matters with other than Alexander. Play with. Or perhaps she was turning him soft, something that was entirely unacceptable.
“When were you last in Europe?”
“Five years ago,” she replied, moving her toes towards his stomach and rubbing them into his shirt. Irritation bit at him as he pictured all the other shirts ruined lately.
“This is Italian silk,” he snapped, assuming this would halt her progress. It didn’t.
“Mmm, it feels wonderful on my skin. Thank you.” His brow shot up at her complete disregard for the finery as she smiled again. Attempting banter with his mind was one thing. His clothes were quite another.
“Do you wish to be fucked?” Perhaps that would stop her.
“Mmm…That would be wonderful,” she mused, still rubbing her feet and relaxing more by the second. “You could do just about anything now and I’d more than likely beg for it. Is this normal around you? Roxanne said it was, Vixon too.” His cock deflated the moment his wife was mentioned.
“It is entirely normal for women to throw themselves at me, often.”
“Not surprising,” she said as she closed her eyes and tipped her head back. “You have this thing you do with your body. You glide. It’s quite ethereal really. I bet when you fuck it’s extraordinary. Do you talk all the time you’re doing it? Your voice is astounding.”
“In several languages.”
“Mmm… Use Italian. I understand that one.”
He’d use several expletives in several languages the moment he felt he was in control of the woman who was currently completely in charge of this situation. He pushed her feet from his lap and stood immediately. A walk – he should go for a walk, probably without Lilah James. Unfortunately, the thought disturbed him and he found himself glancing at her wrist and pondering the possibility of some diamonds on it, just to prove she wasn’t to be touched. Obviously, it would be for her benefit, not his. Again, this caused him to huff out an irritated breath to himself and circumnavigate the space away from her.
“Where is Emanuelle?” he snapped to no one in particular.
“How would I know?” she said smoothly, swinging her body around on the desk to face him. She closed the front of her robe again and slid her frame down to the floor, then crossed the space toward him. As much as he tried to avoid looking at her, he couldn’t help but watch the swing of her hips as she silently covered the ground, or the sway of her deep brown hair gently caressing the sides of her sharp features. She was entirely captivating and irritatingly appealing. “Why are you annoyed with yourself?”
“I am not. I am in fine fettle. I am simply considering why your clothes are not yet here.”
“Oh, and here I was thinking you were wound up about something.”
“I do not get wound up for any reason, other than him on occasion. You do yourself a disservice by presuming to know that which you do not,” he replied, flicking the contradicting thought away with his hand and reaching to pour another coffee.
“Why are you clenching your fist then?”
“I am n –” He looked at his other hand reaching for the cream and chuckled. He most definitely was. The woman was far too intelligent, and he should dispense with her services forthwith. Which he most definitely would. The moment he fucked her, and let her organise his business more successfully. He eased open his hand and poured the cream into lukewarm coffee.
“Why do you need pain? From him?”
He pulled in a breath and turn back to face her.
“Why do you ask so many questions of me?” Not that she had asked that many. It was more the fact that she asked the more emotional ones – the ones he did not quite understand the answers to himself. She took a step towards him and tilted her head.
“Why do you not like me asking them?”
“It is incessant, annoying.” She opened her mouth and abruptly closed it, then tilted her head the other way with a look of utter contempt radiating across her brow.
“You’re a liar, and I’m just trying to learn. That’s what I’m here for, isn’t it?” she eventually snapped. He smiled at her ability to read his thoughts and decided to leave the deceit out of the conversation until another time.
“You are indeed here to learn. However, that is a personal discussion, which–”
“Quite, and because it is, it makes it relevant to me. If I need to understand the behaviour of these Dominants as you said, really understand it, then you are the one I need to understand the most. Roxanne told me to learn from you, that you were the most highly decorated Dominant there was. She also said that I would come back an overly qualified sub if I survived you. So, I do need to ask those sort of things, because then I’ll be the best, and make the most money doing it. See?”
Much as he hated his bitch of a wife, the compliment was pleasant coming from her. And he supposed the resulting effect of someone understanding him with anything close to reality would improve the odds of that person becoming an invaluable sub in the future. Unfortunately for Lilah, one English rose swirling through his mind already was quite enough. He narrowed his eyes and eased back into his normal calm demeanour. Lilah James would have to learn to close her mouth. Others would not be so forgiving of her naivety. Her point, though, was a smart one, one she could employ to devastating effect if she chose to, he was positive.
“Sir, may I enter?” Emanuelle’s voice called softly from the door.
“Mmm,” he responded as he stared at Lilah until her eyes found the floor. Blonde hair popped into his field of vison and deposited a large number of bags by the side of Lilah’s feet. “How is your knee today? Emanuelle, you may leave.”
“Still a bit painful, not too bad though,” Lilah replied, still looking at the floor. He listened to his kitten’s feet padding softly across the floor as she left the room and considered whether having Lilah in his bed was such a wise move. He should have Emanuelle find her somewhere else. That would, of course, be the most appropriate reaction to this intrusion on his mental stability.
“Hmm. Get yourself dressed. Wear warm winter clothes, and I would hope a hat has been purchased,” he said as he took his drink and his body out of the room in search of more suitable attire himself.
An hour or so later, he found himself wading through snow like a fifteen-year-old boy again. He could feel the cold winding its way up his legs and revitalising muscles that had not seen the light of day for maybe a year. Fresh cold air and people, many, many normal people. Vanilla people. All of them throwing snowballs at each other and dancing around in some sort of glee filled manner. It was positively disturbing. Why on earth he had believed this would be a pleasant experience was beyond comprehension, although the merriment of the laughter around them was some consolation. A child squealed behind him and rushed past his leg, causing him to dodge the oncoming assault from behind as more of the strange squealing noises screeched into his eardrums.
“You don’t like this very much, do you?” Lilah’s quite lovely voice said next to him, as she tightened her grip on his arm to avoid slipping.
He liked it very much indeed. It was a useful reminder of why none of this was acceptable in his world. Not one iota of this kind of comportment made any sense to him at all. He’d witnessed adults stuffing snow up jumpers, and then trying their hand at icicles in trousers, which was reasonably amusing now he thought about it, and could be quite useful if appropriated in the correct manner. And then he’d had to witness couples wandering around pretending to be in love. None of these people knew what real love was, or the sacrifices one made if one prized it highly enough. None of them had revelled in the debauchery that he had in order to find elements of a heart that had long since left. Well, apart from where Alexander was concerned.
He manoeuvred them around the edge of the fountain and gazed at the oncoming mass of more happy couples, all clasping hands and kissing. Some had their lips bound together in a torment of passion, as if they were desperately seeking a place to hide so they could fuck. Or maybe they were just simply enjoying the feel of their lovers’ lips caressing and comforting them. He supposed they went home to each other every night, slept together, paid bills together, ate together, and went on holidays together. Normal.
He shook his head and adjusted the scarf at his neck, which instantly reminded him of Alexander again. He was collared and owned, and so desperately craving the connection that the man wouldn’t be able to give for quite some time yet, if ever, given his love for Elizabeth.
“Do you wish he was here?”
“Yes.” The word had left his throat before he had a chance to recall it. He swallowed loudly, trying to pull the word back in again, but it was too late. There was little point denying it in front of Lilah James anyway. Her astute nature would only find a way to bring it back out again.
“Why aren’t you with him if you love him? Does he not love you?” He sighed and looked up into the bright blue sky filled with hot breaths and potential snow storms.
“A good question indeed, my dear, and one I’m afraid I can’t answer, much as I might like to.”
“Are you together?” Together. Two. Only two. Never would there be only two of them.
She slipped on some ice and clung on for support as he dragged her to her feet again and gazed into her questioning eyes. There were thousands of unasked questions in there, simply waiting to spout forth and ask more of him. She had so much to learn about who she was and what she needed. Was it so hard for these people to just reach into the bottoms of their souls and drag out the animals that lived there? The one that either needed to be tamed or enlightened. He’d found the task relatively easy as a youth. He’d simply embraced his need for something that others didn’t seem to have the taste for. While all the other boys in school had constantly talked of girls and hormonal fingerings in sheds, he’d been busy building up a liking for torture at the hands of the headmaster. Some would have called it an outrage, had the man struck off for his conduct. He himself had just been a foolish boy requesting much needed love. And that new form of love was delivered harshly and with a passion he’d never felt from hands again, until Alexander.
“Sorry, I’m okay now. You can let go.” He shook his head again and refocused on the woman in front of him. Beautiful, intelligent, and smiling so brightly the sun almost eclipsed in her wake as she shivered and chattered her teeth.
“Am I amusing you again?” he asked as he quietly let go of her and turned them back in the direction of the café. She caught hold of his arm and giggled, charmingly. “This giggle of yours is pleasing, Lilah. You should do it often.”
“Ah, but too much giggling would show emotions that I clearly am not feeling.”
“Mmm. Errant things, those emotions. One should be careful with their delivery. They can be devastating. Never give your emotions to someone you do not trust with your life. It will surely be your demise.”
