An Expert in Domination (12 page)

He was suddenly impatient to be back in LA and be more hands-on, but the fact was there was very little that could be done over the weekend anyway, and he would be in the office bright and early on Monday. In the meantime, he could make phone calls.

He walked back toward the door, only to find the henna-haired girl blocking his path. He stopped, waiting to see what she had to say, even though he felt like telling her to get the hell out of his way. Between not being able to reach Sophia and not being able to do anything for his clients, he was feeling grouchy.

“Hi. My name’s Valerie.”

“Colby. Glad to meet you,” he lied and then took a deep breath. He was a good judge of character, but sometimes he’d been surprised by people he had wanted to write off at first. Maybe she wanted to learn how to tie a knot or something.

Valerie met his eyes. “I liked your presentation of flogging. I was wondering if you’d like to go in there and whack me some. I can take a good beating, and I’ve got no problems with you leaving marks.” She shifted her eyes away. “And if you prefer a little submission to go with your masochism, I can do that too.”

Meaning you can fake it.
Sophia had no idea how to dance the dance of dominance and submission, but when she had surrendered, it was real and hard-won. Valerie, he suspected, was willing to submit because he was a mild celebrity, and because she figured that in the dungeon with everyone watching, she didn’t need to trust to play the role. “No, thank you.”

For a moment, he thought Valerie was going to make another pitch, but she shrugged and actually grinned at him. “There are plenty of other fish in the sea. Thanks for listening.” She stood aside. “Have fun, and thanks for coming to Bondage Ranch. I look forward to your next demo.”

“Thanks. Glad you came too,” he said, with sincerity this time.

Then his phone buzzed. He pulled it out and saw that it was Sophia. He gave an apologetic shrug. “Have to take this,” he said and walked away, hitting Accept as he did.

“Hi. How’s your dad?”

“He’s doing okay. Stable, conscious, he’s going to make it through okay. Just one of those warnings to exercise and eat right—and he used to smoke, so he’ll always have some damage from that. A scare, that’s all.” She had a nice, sweet voice. Without her body there to distract him, he could concentrate on it better.
Kinda like a blindfold can enhance a flogging.

“Whew. Glad that’s all it was.”

“Yes. Wish I hadn’t had to go, but I did. I’ll be playing with my kids today, keeping them occupied, and we’ll go and visit, but I think once a day is enough for them. Mom will be there all day. Why the heck am I telling you all this? You’re a stranger. Why’d you call?”

“Because stranger or no, I do care. And also, we had an intense experience.”

“We did.”

“And I want to make sure you’re okay.”

“Why wouldn’t I be?”

“Be—”
cause people often experience drop and have a hard time after scenes, or multiple scenes. Because it’s hard to go from intensity to normality sometimes.
He stopped himself because there was no use in explaining it to her if she honestly wasn’t feeling bad. Some people didn’t. If she was one of them, more power to her, and he certainly wasn’t going to tell her she ought to be. “It’s my job to check,” he said.

“I’ve got a mark from the rope, but it’s fading, and it’s actually kind of fun to look at now and then. Everything we did was safe, right? I don’t know about you grabbing my neck, but I have to admit that was hot. Anyway, I’m fine.”

I wasn’t primarily concerned with the physical.
“Good, good,” he said. “Well, you’ve got my number now, so feel free to call in the next few days if you need anything.”

“Nah,” she said. “You’ve got demonstrations and talks to do up there. You’ll be busy. Plenty of people for you to play with. I’ve gotta run. Jack is upset with Lana. I think they both want to read the same book. Thanks for calling. Bye.”

He wanted to protest that he would rather play with her, but he didn’t think she’d believe him. He
should
go and find a play partner and have fun, but he didn’t really feel in the mood. And he didn’t have any right to keep her from being a mom. In fact, it was one more adorable thing about her. “You’re a lovely person, Sophia. I’m glad I met you. Bye.”

The line went dead. Colby went back into the dungeon, exchanging a smile with Valerie on his way. He resolved to go find the Dom who’d asked him for help with the Somerville bowline and make sure he was getting it—and if he was, teach him a few more tricks, if he was willing. If he didn’t feel like playing, that didn’t mean he couldn’t spend the weekend teaching and helping other people’s scenes if they wanted him to.

* * * *

Once he was home, he threw himself into his work.

“You look like crap,” Angela told him two months after he’d been to Bondage Ranch. “You’ve been working too hard.” Angela was a big African-American woman who’d been born to a fifteen-year-old single mom and had studied hard and become a lawyer. She knew the meaning of work, that was for sure. She was also one of his best friends, working with him on several custody cases. She had walked into his fourteenth-floor office to drop off some papers and had stayed to share a cup of coffee.

“Why, thank you,” he said. “Your ’fro has seen better days, yourself.”

“Ain’t nothing wrong with my ’fro, Colby, and don’t change the subject. You’ve been running yourself ragged for weeks. You need to stop, or you’ll be no good for anyone.” When Angela’s grammar slipped, she was going into bossy mode. Angela was one of the few people Colby could tolerate bossy from.

“I talked to a potential new client yesterday. A trans woman who has been harassed by the cops.”

“Refer her to Terry,” Angela told him, suggesting a friend of theirs who did good work. “There’s nothing left for you to do in the Conway case, and we’ve got it in the bag. Finding out that her ex has been doing drugs should pretty much seal it, even if the judge was skeptical about her lifestyle. You’ve done good work. Go do what you do to relax.”

He shrugged. He had been working late nights and then getting up early. Angela knew about his involvement in the BDSM lifestyle, but discussions of it made her uncomfortable. He’d been avoiding the local dungeons, and he wasn’t sure why, except that work left him tired and he’d felt uninterested in casual play and too jaded to cultivate a new girl. Maybe he could go to a few Lakers games, although the way they’d been playing the last couple of weeks, that wouldn’t necessarily be very relaxing.
And it would be better with a date.
“Maybe I should go camping.”

“No. You’ll turn that into work.” She pulled his half-drunk coffee cup away from him, sliding it across the glass-topped desk. “Do I have to say it, Colby? You need to find one of those girls you get somehow—go get laid, play Master and slave for a while, and work the bugs out. You’re not a man who does well when he’s not getting sex, and while you can channel your frustration for a while, you can’t keep it up.” She smirked. “Sorry for the bad pun.”

He stared at Angela and leaned back in his swivel chair. He knew how to look relaxed to clients or opponents even when he wasn’t, but he doubted he could fool Angela. And he wasn’t even going to bother to object to her use of the word
play.
“There’s no way I can be here in LA and not work for that new client. Or look for a lead on the Baker matter.”

“That trail is dead, dead, dead, Colby. If you take a break, you might have a fresh insight, but you’re not going to get anywhere just hammering away on it. You can’t solve all the world’s problems. Get out of town, then. You’ll find a girl. Maybe you’ll even find one you want to keep again someday.”

I can solve a few people’s problems. Maybe someday I’ll be able to do more, but right now at least I can help one person at a time.
He knew she was right that he was running himself ragged, though. It seemed as if every time he helped, there were two more people with problems to solve waiting for him. “Give me my coffee back.”

“No. Not unless you agree to take a break.”

“Dammit, Angela. You don’t get between a man and his caffeine.”

“I got between one of my mom’s drunk boyfriends and her when I was eight. I imagine I can get between you and your java. I’m right, and you know I’m right. Last time you spent a weekend away, you were on the phone to me every few hours and driving me nuts. This time I’m not taking your phone calls. Got it?”

When had he spent a weekend away?

Two months ago, when he’d gone out to Maryland for Bondage Ranch weekend at the behest of his old friend Dylan. And he’d met Sophia.

She’d wandered in and out of his dreams since, as he imagined doing wicked things with her curvy body and hearing her voice speaking words of submission. He’d spent less than a day with her, but she’d gotten to him. She was the right level of challenge, smart, and definitely not a doormat with a desire to submit but having to struggle to make it happen. He’d only started bugging Angela after Sophia’s emergency had taken her away.

He figured she’d probably found another man by now. He had hoped when she did, she’d at least e-mail him for some advice. He’d mentored several of his former slaves and was still in contact with some who had become lifelong friends. Even if Sophia didn’t care for getting pointers from a Dom, he could have at least hooked her up with a submissive who knew the ups and downs of D/s.

But he’d heard nothing.

“Maybe,” he told Angela. He pulled out his phone. He was aware of her eyes narrowing at him, but he ignored her. He found Sophia’s number and sent a text:
Are you seeing anyone?

“Who are you texting?” asked Angela.

“It’s none of your business.”

“Fair. Never stopped me, but fair.” Angela shrugged and, as if to make a point, stretched back and put his coffee on the windowsill behind her, even farther away.

“A girl I met a few months ago on the East Coast. If she’s available, I’ll go. If not, I’m taking that case, and I’ll walk right by you and go to Java Joe’s for another cuppa.”

“Do women ever say no to the great Colby Brock?”

“Yes.” He couldn’t tell if she was mocking him, and he didn’t feel like figuring it out. “You, for instance.”

Angela harrumphed. “Well, you never asked me for sex. But the answer to that would be no too. I’m no one’s lapdog.”

“And neither are any of the women I play with.” He knew he wouldn’t succeed at explaining to Angela that it required strength to be a submissive, not weakness. “And as for the latter, good. We’re not remotely compatible.”

Angela nodded. “I don’t date white boys anyway.” She got up out of her chair. “I can’t spend all day watching you. But I’m not helping you on another case until you start taking better care of yourself.”

“Mind handing me my coffee?” Colby asked.

Angela glanced at the windowsill and then back at Colby. “Yeah,” she said and walked out.

An hour later, he glanced at his phone. There was nothing from Sophia, but a friend of his had sent him an invitation to a private play party at seven. He took a deep breath.
I should go. Angela is right. All work and no play isn’t good for me.

He was on his way there, dressed in his leathers, when he finally got a text back.
No. Y?

Minimum effort. Not promising. But at least the answer was no. He pulled over and thought for a moment, then tapped out a message back.
I have a chance to be in your area for a while. I’d like to get together.

Maybe,
came the answer.

* * * *

Yes. I’d like to see him. And play with him. But what does he expect? A one-night stand?

Sophia pushed the papers in front of her aside and tried to clear her head. The light in her office was the only one on in the house, and the kids were sleeping. She hadn’t taken a break for a while. Dad had recovered, and her parents might be up to watching the kids again, but she was waiting for them to offer. She spent the time the kids were at school and a couple of hours after they went to bed editing technical papers and textbooks for her job, but now she was having trouble concentrating.

I haven’t taken a break for a while, so even a one-night stand sounds good if I can get someone to watch the kids. Or even better, a morning tryst while the kids are at school. But the last time I did things with him, I couldn’t keep him out of my dreams for weeks. I want more than just one night. I want the chance for a relationship.

He didn’t respond right away, and she forced herself to focus on the paper she was editing. She’d have to put her edits online in the end, but she found she did her best work with printouts and red pen. Her endurance was better without the glare of the screen. Still, her mind kept drifting back to him.
What’d you expect? “Yes, Colby?” It’s not that easy.

Her phone buzzed.
I’d be in town for a few weeks, if you are interested in exploring dominance and submission with me.

More than a one-night stand, then?
she texted back. Might as well say just what she was thinking.

Much more.

Then call me.
Her heart beat faster. But how could she manage that? She’d been getting by on short flings for quite some time before Colby, but above all, she needed to protect the kids, and they didn’t need to see Mom with a new boyfriend every month or two.

The phone buzzed again, and she picked it up. “Hi.” There were sounds in the background. Voices and other noises she couldn’t place. She wondered where he was.

“Hello, Sophia. How are you?”

“I’ve been getting by. You?”

“About same. I was actually wondering if I could stay with you.”

She sighed. That sounded perfect, but it was completely impractical. “I can’t. I have my kids, and I don’t want them seeing…”
How do I say this without it being insulting? But I really only barely know him.

“Gotcha,” he said. “You barely know me, and you have to protect your kids. But do you have some free time?”

“Well, I usually work. But afternoons while they’re at school, I could make time. A couple of hours. And I could get some time on weekends maybe.”