Switch (A BDSM Romance Novel) (8 page)

For Henry sleep didn’t come so easily. Once, he could have misheard.

Twice, he couldn’t accept.  

His arms were still holding her and his eyes were wide open when she awoke a few hours later. His stare pierced her carefully as she stirred, and Jenna lay carefully still as she waited for instruction. His brow was furrowed and every part of his countenance reeked of seriousness and dominance.

“Morning sir…” She yawned, eyes fluttering before returning to looking placidly up at him. His expression only sank further.

“Actually, pet, it’s not morning yet. And I have a task for you to do.”

Jenna smirked happily, and rolled herself around on top of Henry, whose arms tightened to still her. “What is it?”

“I would like for you to write a minimum of 2000 words on your thoughts.” He told her, but his voice was soft and undemanding. “I would like for you to include
everything
, even things that you feel shy about telling me.”

“Sir, what exactly do you want me to write about?”

“Dominance, submission and specifically our relationship.”

“Ok.” Jenna appeared puzzled, but still she smiled and Henry smiled back as he swept several tendrils of hair from her face. “And when, good sir, would you like that for?”

“Nearest opportunity.” He replied. “I am not going to push you for time considering your schedule at the moment of Jasmine and work. I am trusting you instead to work on it whenever possible, and to hand it to me in a timely manner.”

“Yes, sir.”

“Good. Let’s bathe.”

Jenna nodded, and sleepily scampered of to run a bath, Henry close behind her.
It was most definitely night time when they finished, feeling closer than ever as they ran their fingers and washcloths over each other, gently caressing and caring and arousing all in one. They touched each other until there was no skin that they hadn’t touched, and then they lay together, their limbs wrapped together tightly until the water became too cold to bear.

He dried her thoroughly before quickly rubbing the dro
plets from his own skin and holding her again, leading her by the hand back to bed.

“You may either start on your essay now, or come to bed with me and get some rest.” He told her
. “I would recommend the latter - you have work tomorrow.”

“I agree, sir.” Jenna sighed, her limbs heavy as she crawled over the mussed up sheets to curl up with her head on her pillow.
Henry settled beside her and pulled the duvet over their naked skin, his body pressing firmly against hers as he reached over her to turn out the lamp.

“Goodnight, darling.” He whispered, and Jenna smiled as she murmured incoherently in reply. When she awoke again it was morning, and Henry was fast asleep beside her, clutching her close to him like a child with a teddy bear.
Reaching slowly for the clock  on the side of the bed, Jenna turned off the alarm so that it wouldn’t go off and wake him and then lay her head back down, watching the unchanging features of her lover’s face, feeling the even rise and fall of his chest. Light was starting to pour through, and Jenna stayed still a moment longer, enjoying the way the pure light lit him like something innocent and holy. His skin became smoother, more perfect and his long hair appeared illuminated.  Jenna pressed her lips gently against his, kissing him softly before drawing away, and attempting to pull the rest of her body away too.

“Mmm.” Henry let out a sleepy groan as he shifted, and his eyes opened as Jenna rose from the bed. “Good morning.”

Jenna turned back round, flushing slightly at the way his eyes travelled over her unclothed form. “Morning.” She replied, hastily pulling her clothes on while Henry watched in amusement, propped up by one arm.

“Any particular reason why you are covering up such a wonderful sight this morning?”

“I would like to start on your essay this morning, sir. If you wait half an hour or so, I’ll sort out breakfast for us.”

Henry shook his head, kicking the duvet aside and sliding out of bed. Completely unabashed he moved towards her and placed a kiss on her forehead. “I’ll sort out breakfast. I’d ra
ther you spent the extra time organising your thoughts.”

“Is there any particular reason for this, sir?” Jenna asked, her face flushed pink.

“I would like to read what you write before saying anything more.”

“Alright, sir.”
She paused a moment. “I may be back late today, too. I think that I will try to go and talk to Jasmine first.” She paled a little and swallowed, Henry’s hand immediately reaching for her chin, tugging her eyes back upwards and meeting them with his own stern, confident gaze.

“You have done
nothing
wrong, remember?” He told her matter of factly, the surety in his tone sending shivers and confidence through her. “Jasmine is the only one who has done something wrong, and so you are not going to apologise for any of the things that she saw. You will go in and, with no anger or trace of hurt in your tone, let her know what she had done wrong and give her an opportunity to apologise, after which you will continue the conversation as if nothing has happened. Do not allow her to upset or intimidate you. Do you understand?”

“Yes, sir.” Jenna felt solid, extremely controlled and sure and safe.

All in all, a heck of a lot better than she did when she made her way to the hotel where Jasmine was staying. Every step that she took felt like a step closer to entering the lion’s den. Cool wind chilled her bundled up skin as she filled herself with negative expectations for the meeting. She even felt out of place entering the building, as if someone would suddenly burst out at her with accusations born of conversations with her sister.

Upon seeing her though, Jenna highly doubted that she had said a word.

Slightly pale and gaunt, Jasmine looked nothing like her usual self. She was Jasmine in tight clothing that showed off her generous curves, and Jasmine with effortlessly neat hair; but she was Jasmine who had clearly been missing out on sleep. She looked slightly afraid as Jenna entered the room, a pillow held tightly to her chest as she sat on the large bed, her knees raised and drawn close to herself. Jenna swore she even saw her tremble.

“Hey,” Jenna said stiffly, the thickness of the air between them tangible, forcing Jenna to wade through the awkwardness as she haltingly made her way closer to the bed.

Still Jasmine didn’t speak, and Jenna looked around the room fleetingly, occupying herself as she thought of something, anything to say while the loudest part of her demanded that she simply wait for her sister to speak and, as Henry had decided she should, apologise.

Jenna waited.

Jasmine didn’t move.

Taking a large breath, Jenna turned her entire body to face her sister head-on, straightening her posture and raising her chin defiantly as she prepared to defend her wondrous dominant lover.
Her eyes gleamed startlingly, staring as if through the other woman, but her voice was quiet and calm; in fact it was the epitome of serene.

“I apologise for not being prepared for you yesterday,” Jenna told her pleasantly. “I entirely forgot that you were coming.”

Jasmine let out a loud gasp of breath and curled her fingers into the malleable fabric, digging her nails into the pillowcase.

“You
forgot
I was coming?! That much was obvious!” She let out a loud huff and threw the pillow onto the bed beside her. “OF COURSE. You were too busy getting weird guys to beat you up, you fucking freak!” She let out another loud exultation of breath and leaned forwards, her body stiff and intimidating as she glared at Jenna. “Where did you even find that guy? Gaol?”

“I met him through a friend.” Jenna replied coolly, the heat in her rising up in defence for her dominant. “And what you saw between us is none of your concern. I do not expect someone outside of the lifestyle to recognise our relationship for the beauty that it is, and I certainly don’t expect you to. The fact remains that it is just none of your business, and the polite thing to do would be to pretend that you never saw a thing.”

“What? Are you actually serious?” Jasmine yelled, her face crumpled and her nose crinkled in distain and despair. “You think that I can just ignore the fact that you are a bloody masochist? It’s disgusting! Why did you even have him in your home anyway? Oh, yeah, you forgot that I was coming!”

The mocking quality in her voice rose, and Jenna’s protectiveness only followed.

Still, she forced her voice to remain calm, her expression blank as per the wishes of the man that she wanted nothing more than to call Master.

“Yes, I did, and I have already apologised for that. The fact remains, however, that Henry would have been with me regardless as we live together.”

“You live with
that
!”

“Yes, I live with that lovely, amazing caring man who never makes me feel like what I want is wrong. Who never treats me like you are now, despite my sex life having no bearing on you whatsoever. I do not ask what you get up to with your partners, and I would rather that you didn’t pry into my relationship.”

“Pry? After seeing that it’s called being a decent sister! What does he even
do
anyway, like as a career?” Jasmine’s voice calmed as it trailed off, some semblance of normalcy returning as the drama dimmed, but Jenna was now focused on the new question as well as the unsettled, unhappy, empty pit inside her where Jasmine had temporarily stolen the joy from all of the core experiences that Jenna held dear.

“He does not currently work.” She murmured dimly. “He was made redundant when the company that he worked for closed last year, and he has been unable to find employment since.”

“So what?” Jasmine scoffed. “He’s just living off of benefits? Stealing tax payers money?” Her voice rose once more, prepared to battle but Jenna snapped.

“No, actually, he’s been living on the fucking streets! He hasn’t been getting benefits because he hasn’t
had an address to get them sorted and he hasn’t got them sorted since he started living with me either!”

“What?” Jasmine scoffed. “Suddenly made redundant and then can’t get a job elsewhere? Seems more like fired to me. And you seem to be running an actual charity now; allowing hobos into you
r home. But not only that, you’re screwing them, too!” Her voice cooled, quieting and freezing until it held all of the connotations of ice. It cut and numbed and then finally the heat came back in to expand it, shattering its container. “He’s like a prostitute; he’s having sex with you in exchange for somewhere to live.”

H
aving nothing else remotely polite to say, Jenna exploded in a furious rage of curses, insults and half-formed defences. Upon seeing that her words would have no true effect on her adversary, she left.

Henry was waiting for her as always, chucking his book to the side the moment that he heard the door open and then slam behind his enraged submissive. He didn’t speak at first, only pulled her tight against him in an encompassing, crushing hug that surrounded her in his familiar scent and feel. He rocked her gently, his hands soothing over her back neck and arms like they often would when they sat together after a harsh spanking. It was comforting, but Jenna remained still in his embrace, refusing to free the shakes and tears that wanted to escape.

“Do you want to talk about it?” Henry asked gently, and suddenly the mess in her head cleared and filled itself with blankness. Unable to remember and organise the chaos that had been plaguing her, Jenna shook her head and buried her face in the chest of the man holding her.

“If you don’t tell me, I can’t help you.” He said softly. “If you don’t wish to tell me then I can’t make you, but I think that it could be of value to us both if you did.”

“She said nothing that I haven’t heard before.
It was as we expected really, only that I couldn’t keep my temper.” Jenna released a dry chucked that seemed almost draining in its effort. “I kind of just verbally assaulted her in return and then left.”

“And did you believe the things that she told you?”

“No.” She said firmly. “Not in a million years would I consider what she said to me to be truth.”

“Then why are you upset?”

“Because I shouldn’t have to defend something so important to me from someone who I’ve known for so long.”

Or defend
someone
important to her, not that she could bring the words to her mouth. She couldn’t tell him what Jasmine had said about him; she knew full well how it would hurt him. It would slice at him more than it did her; and it may even cause a different effect entirely from Jenna’s sudden desire to be even closer to him. She felt the attack like knives, slicing her inside where it was more difficult for the shallow cuts to heal.

She pulled him close, her lips desperately seeking his and brushing over them idly. She felt the warning of his hands on her waist, tightening in an order for her to yield, but she disobeyed.
She wanted to hold him and pleasure him in the way that he did her; enveloping her in the feel of ecstasy, love and safety.

His stubble tore at her chapped lips as she kissed it soothingly, running her tongue along his jaw and pressing open mouthed kisses down his neck. She nuzzled her way down his chest, pressing her tongue against the body through the covering of his dark shirt.
She could taste the cotton in her mouth as she pushed, feeling the flat planes. She stopped above his lap, breathing out over him and then nuzzling against the covered treat.