Although she had clearly stated she would not be playing in the office—something I was going to respect—I knew it had been a knee-jerk reaction. She had been upset. Unfortunately, when it came to the office, we were bound to uphold her wishes. Until she was willing to come forward and ask for forgiveness, there was nothing I could do to change the outcome.
Either way, her actions today showed she was comfortable with herself and her desires. She’d risked being caught just to watch Langston fuck his submissive.
However, I found it interesting that Ben was punishing her without even telling her that was what he was doing. Forcing her to watch tonight, although he believed she was remorseful for her actions the other day, was one hell of a way to handle it. I’d seen with my own eyes her disappointment when I had held back the collar tonight.
Initially, I thought Addison was going to be a power play between me and Ben. I thought for sure he was going to want to dominate Addison, but I was going to have to encourage him to do it. That wasn’t the case. The man was in complete control where Addison was concerned and tonight she would learn that she’d overstepped in a big way.
So, I’d spent the better part of the afternoon planning out my scene with my pup. We hadn’t had the opportunity to play the last time we were here due to the incident with Addison, and I fully intended to make that up to him.
I knew exactly what I was going to do.
“Justin, it’s good to see you here tonight.”
The raspy, familiar voice had me turning to see Timothy Triton—aka Master Chaos—a man I’d become friends with over the years, sauntering toward me.
“Likewise,” I offered, holding out my hand in greeting. “Are you here to play? Or on duty?”
Timothy grinned as he shook my hand. “I’m looking to find me a submissive tonight. It’s been a long time.”
It had been a long time, I knew. Timothy had lost his submissive, Missy, many years ago. A drunk driver had hit her head on when she’d been coming home from work late one night. I still remembered it like it was yesterday. It had taken almost all of the past seven years for the man to dig himself out of the debilitating depression that he’d endured when she died.
Sure, he had scened with a few submissives over the years, but it was rare. Perhaps once every six months or so. The last time I’d seen him in a scene was about three months back. I was glad to see he was taking steps to move forward. Missy wouldn’t have wanted his life to end because hers had.
However, I knew how difficult it was to move on after tragedy such as that. My mother died when I was nine. She’d been grocery shopping late one night and some guy hopped up on coke decided to rob the store she was at. Thanks to the overzealous actions of a wannabe do-gooder, the gunman had unloaded inside the store. My mother had been caught in the crossfire.
Then, at twenty-two, the woman I’d thought I would spend the rest of my life with died in a massive eighteen-car pile-up during one of the worst snowstorms our city had ever seen. For the longest time, I thought I would never get over losing Amanda. Eventually, as the world continued to spin and the years passed, the pain became not quite so debilitating. It still hurt from time to time, though.
And a few months ago, I’d lost my father and I still felt the deep, painful ache in my chest. Losing someone you loved was never easy, no matter the circumstances.
I couldn’t help but look over at Addison as she moved behind the bar. My heart constricted and I felt that same painful loss I’d experienced before. Only, Addison wasn’t gone. She was right there, living and breathing, so damn beautiful she made my heart hurt. And I was being a dumb ass by letting my own fucked-up need for control come between us.
“I figured I’d come check out who’s available,” Timothy said, drawing me out of my thoughts.
“Well, it looks as though you’ve got your pick,” I told him as we both glanced over at the submissive holding area. There were three women and one man kneeling on jewel-toned pillows, eagerly awaiting instruction from a Dominant who was looking to play.
“That I do,” he agreed. “Maybe tonight I’ll take two.”
I chuckled as I turned. “Good luck with that.”
“I’m sure I’ll need it.” He pivoted to speak to one of the dungeon monitors who was heading toward the stairs.
With Ben at my side, my hand behind his neck, we continued to the bar.
“Do you need something to drink?” I asked my pup.
