Submissive's Journey (Masters of Blackstone Book 1), page 32
Julia walked two steps toward the curtain before glancing back over her shoulder at the crowd. In a practiced but unnoticeable lift of her shoulders, her blouse slipped a little, revealing bare skin. Her audience remained quiet—silent, none of the rowdy hoots and cat calls generated by the first girls performance—but a glance told her she had their full attention as her hands moved up to her shoulders, rubbing her skin sensually, playing her fingers down her arms as she skillfully slid the blouse lower. Hidden from view her opposite hand unbuttoned the remaining buttons.
Unexpectedly her silk blouse slipped to her hips, held in place only by her bent elbows.
Bending forward, Julia swayed her hips left and then right to the horns rhythm, and then straightening, turning, letting the blouse fall to the ground while her hands teased and played with the bare skin of her pale, flat stomach.
She hugged herself, pressing her breasts closer together. She forced herself to keep moving slowly because even though she felt like time was crawling by and she was taking too long, she could tell by the expressions of those closest, they were completely invested in her performance.
Achingly slow, she unbuttoned the single button at her waist and lowered the zipper, moving in a slow semi-circle pivot as it slid, then allowing the fabric to fall down an inch, up an inch, down two inches, up again, teasing, teasing, then that slow, easy push of fabric all the way down over my hips, pushing with her fingertips so her palms glided over all that bare skin as her thighs were exposed. Squatting, she rubbed her calves as they too were exposed and everyone present felt as if they were the ones feeling all that silken skin. Straightening, she stepped free of fabric.
She stood before her audience, feeling naked even though she wore bra, panties and 4-inch stiletto pumps.
The song paused for only a second before it began its repeat, obviously the DJ realized the show had only just begun and she realized he’s right. Now it was time to have fun. She had the crowd’s full attention, but now, she longed for them to want her badly. She danced and teasingly slid her bra straps of her shoulders, before unsnapping her front closed bra and playing a quick peek a boo-by game as she opened and closed her bra, exposing and hiding her breasts.
A glint of light drew her eyes to the back of the club, a man was leaving and her heart stopped when the sun glinted off his silver hair, revealing a profile that—
Master? Master Jasper! Not thinking, definitely not rational, she ran from the stage, taking a small set of side stairs, chasing the man, knowing in her mind it wasn’t, couldn’t possibly be Master, but her heart in her throat demanding she have proof it wasn’t him.
Pushing the doors hard to get outside, bright sunlight hit her face, glinting snow everywhere, the glare blinded her for a second and she panicked not knowing which way he went but a bouncer caught her around her waist, dragging her back inside as she kicked and screamed to follow the man she saw from the stage.
It was the course, heavy hair on the bouncer’s arms, brushing against her stomach, which returned clear thought. He pushed her into a small room with a desk and a phone and closed the door. Alone, she realized she was naked, had performed at a strip club, and Master Jasper was still dead.
What in the hell am I doing? I am so fucked up.
♥ ♥ ♥
Shaking and chewing off her fingernails, Julia waited in the manager’s office for Trevor and Maxwell to arrive. Tears still ran down her cheeks, but her hysteria had passed and she stared ahead blankly trying to not overthink everything. It was only after they arrived that she realized she was wearing a borrowed terrycloth and held her discarded clothing inside a plastic grocery bag against her chest. Trevor came in first and she could tell by the look he gave her that she was in deep shit. She could hear Maxwell in the hallway, speaking softly to the manager. “Thanks for not calling 911, man.”
“Like I want cops here?”
With nothing more than a firmly spoken, “Come on,” Trevor herded her to their car. Wearing the borrowed robe and her high heels, she continued to hold the bag of clothing against her chest.
Maxwell held her elbow as he assisted her into the passenger seat and buckled her in. He kissed her temple when she refused to meet his gaze. “I’m not drunk. I can drive myself home.”
“Burton’s Babydolls’ manager wasn’t so sure about that.”
Julia looked out the window and saw Trevor was driving her car, meaning Maxwell was chauffeuring her. She huffed. “This is ridiculous!”
Maxwell exhaled, not commenting.
“I am fine.”
“You’ve seen better days, love.” Maxwell drove her home in silence.
She held her head, thankful he wasn’t lecturing her. He parallel parked the car beside the curb in front of her house and came around to her door to help her out. “When we get inside, I’ll call Everett.”
“No, there’s no reason to call Everett.” She pouted and wrapped her arms around herself to keep from falling apart again. Trevor parked her car in the driveway and came down to where Maxwell was still standing on the snowy sidewalk. Overhearing, Trevor agreed, “You call him. It will sound better coming from you instead of us.”
Julia stepped out of the car and plodded toward her front door as fast as she could, wading through shin high snow in stilettos. They joined her on the porch while she fumbled with her keys. She unlocked the door and went inside, prepared to close the door in their faces, but Maxwell pressed his way inside. She accused, “You think I’m having a break-down. You want to call Dr. Merrill.”
Trevor entered behind him and assured, “I’m concerned about you, but I didn’t say anything about your mental state or your doctor.”
“Ex-doctor. You’re both thinking it, but I don’t care. I’ve felt more like myself than I have in a very long time.”
Maxwell pulled his cell from his pocket and started to dial Everett but Trevor shook his head. Maxwell argued, “He’s petitioned to be her dominant. It’s his right to know.”
“Why?” Julia asked. “He didn’t say I couldn’t enter an amateur striptease contest, and I’m not collared by him yet.”
“Why on earth a strip club?” Maxwell demanded.
“Because I could! I gave myself permission to do something! I didn’t have to ask anyone if I could and there is no one in my life to make me do it against my will.”
Maxwell looked hard at her, shaking his head, but not stepping away, even though she knew she was pushing his personal space and ached to take a step back from her. His jaw ground tighter before he admitted, “I don’t understand any of this. I’m going to make us some tea and then we’re going to have a serious discussion, Julia.”
Julia turned away and started walking down the hallway to her bedroom. Trevor followed her and she was too numb to care. “I think a hot soak will do you a world of good, love.”
Closing her eyes, she allowed him to do everything for her. He ran the water, helped her out of her clothing, and settled her into a deep bubble bath. Julia started crying.
Seemingly ignoring her tears, Trevor scrubbed her from head to toe and then washed her hair. An hour later she was wrapped in her own warm pajamas and robe. She’d been fed a bowl of soup and was left sipping hot, sweet, cream laden tea under the watchful eye of Trevor. She was more than ready for them to go home but neither seemed remotely interested in doing so.
She wondered if asking them to leave would be rude. Turning her slightly to look her in the eyes, Trevor guessed, “What you said earlier about why you needed to strip today, Jasper made you dance for other men? He made you strip for them?”
She turned her head away to watch the neighbor shoveling his driveway through the picture window. He turned her face back to face him, making her meet his gaze. “Your task didn’t end with dancing and stripping?”
Her face crumbled and he pulled her into his arms. “Jesus, Julia, we didn’t know.”
“He was my Master, it was his right to demand it.”
He tipped her chin. “Was there any negotiations at all when he collared you?”
“Trevor,” she whispered. “Everything was against my will, Trevor. Everything.”
“Julia, if I’d have known—”
She pushed her fingers to his lips. “You didn’t even know I existed then did you?”
“We attended your wedding, love. It was beautiful. You were beautiful. I believed yours tears were happiness.” Trevor pushed his hands through his hair, clearly upset. “God! Julia? How could I have missed all the signs that in hindsight are so blinding?”
“No! This ends now.” Undoubtedly having been eavesdropping, Maxwell leveled his gaze at her. “Jasper Madani was very old school but I don’t believe any of this for a minute.” He lifted a full pill bottle and shook it. “You are off your meds and your delusions have clearly clouded your mind!”
Crushed, Julia turned to face him. “Why can’t you believe me?”
Maxwell’s expression was murderous. “I’m tired of the lies. You’ve been out of control ever since you tried to kill yourself. You lied about being vanilla. You lied about where you were spending your free time. Now this! Jasper was a well-respected dominant in the community and I won’t let you besmirch his name when he isn’t alive to defend himself.”
Julia gaped at him.
Trevor tried to pull Maxwell aside. “Now isn’t the time, Sir.”
“Now is definitely the time! I’m done with her lies and outlandish stunts. She needs to be in a facility where she can be properly evaluated.”
“What?” Julia shrieked.
Trevor faced Maxwell. “Maxwell? What have you done?”
“What I should have done a year ago. I already called Dr. Merrill and she’s meeting us at the hospital. We’re done enabling Julia.”
“Hospital?” Julia backed away. “No. No way!”
Trevor started yelling at Maxwell and Maxwell didn’t take his authority being questioned well. Julia raced to her bedroom and pulled on clothing as fast as she could. Quickly searching her room, she grabbed her purse. She looked around the room questioning whether she had everything she needed. Cash. Passport. Car keys. She exhaled slowly, trying to prepare for what she was about to do and left through her bedroom window.
♥ ♥ ♥
Everett fastened the front of his leather pants. He hadn’t expected to be home for the monthly play party held at his house, but since he was it wouldn’t be hard to unleash his strangling frustrations on the backside of a willing submissive. He hooked his favorite cat of nine tails onto one of his belt’s O-rings. He attached a pair of leather cuffs to another. An avowed sadist, he rarely let go, but tonight he would make an exception, knowing there would be plenty of available masochists to choose from. He gave his cell’s screen a cursory glance when he felt it’s vibration in his back pocket. Trevor?
His Dom-senses went on full alert, knowing the submissive wouldn’t be calling unless something had gone horribly wrong. He answered, “What’s happened to Julia?”
“She’s missing.”
“What?”
He heard Maxwell in the background, but he was saying the same thing Trevor had just said and he understood both men were reaching out to anyone who might care. “You’ve called the police?”
“No.”
“Why the hell not?”
“I did not abuse her!” Maxwell’s voice rose heatedly in the background. Apparently whoever he’d called wasn’t taking the news well. The line was silent for a moment and then he heard a door close softly. “Sorry about that, Maxwell got the short straw and had to fill in Skye. She’s our best bet at where Julia would run to.”
“Run to?”
“We had a situation earlier. Julia had another blackout and did something quite out of character. Maxwell accused her of lying and being an attention whore, among other things.”
“What?” Everett saw red, not wanting to believe what he was hearing. His heart started racing believing a dominant might have taken advantage of her vulnerable state. “Was she injured? What did she do? Who was she with?”
“She was alone and physically, she’s well. After work, she stopped by an adult entertainment club and entered an amateur strip tease competition. She was just blowing off steam, but because she did it during a blackout, she was understandably upset.”
Everett exhaled slowly, trying to wrap his head around what Trevor was saying. “I understand emotional, but why would she run away?”
“Maxwell made arrangements to have her institutionalized.”
“Excuse me?”
“I won’t sugar coat it, not even for my husband. Maxwell fucked up. He flat out called Julia a liar, telling her that he didn’t believe anything she’s ever said about Jasper or his abuse of her. He accused her of lying about having blackouts. Then he made arrangements with Dr. Merrill behind Julia’s back to be met at a psychiatric treatment facility.”
“I’ll kill him.”
Maxwell’s voice rose, though it was muffled by the door Trevor had closed. “You will have to get in line. You should know, I removed my collar. I’m not sure this won’t be the end of us.”
“Jesus, Trevor! You’ve been together longer than any couple I know.”
“Thirty-five years.”
Everett shook his head. “I’m hanging up now to call her myself. I’m sure she will answer my call.”
“No, she won’t. She left her phone on the middle of her bed.”
Fuck. “What can I do to help? Do you want me to come to Cincinnati?”
“No, that won’t help at all. Just let me know if she reaches out to you and I’ll let you know when Skye tells us she has her somewhere safe.”
“You’re certain she will go to Skye?”
“Yes. She has no family and Skye’s her dearest friend. I’m just hopeful she gets to Skye before Maxwell files a missing person’s report. God only knows how sideways this will slide if the authorities and Dr. Merrill get involved.”
Chapter Sixteen
♥
This is wrong, this is wrong, this is so fucking wrong!
“Yes, conscience.” She was next in line. Paranoia kept her looking over her shoulder, but she’d covered her tracks. Leaving her car in a long-term parking garage downtown, then taking a taxi to the address of a popular restaurant on the Kentucky side of the river and a second taxi to the airport.
You’re still going through with this insane plan?
In answer, Julia asked the ticket agent, “Is there any way I can change this one-way ticket into a round trip ticket for tonight? I need a direct flight to Savannah.”
The woman behind the counter at the Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport wore a huge, fake smile plastered on her face. Her name read JANET CABLE.
Julia knew it was a totally false smile because it was the same smile she’d plastered onto her face for Master Jasper a million times before, when she was trying to make him believe she was really okay with some aspect of kink that they were doing and she’d learned the hard way, he could make it so much worse if he realized she didn’t want to do what he was asking of her.
“I’d be happy to try to help you with that,” Ms. Cable answered, extending her hand to take the ticket from Julia. After thoroughly examining the ticket and typing some randomness into her keyboard, she lifted her gaze to Julia’s and stretched her smile a little wider, “I’m sorry. This is a non-refundable, non-exchangeable ticket but I’d be happy to sell you a round-trip ticket for today’s date. We do have room on the eight-fifty, arriving Savannah-Hilton Head International at ten-twenty, non-stop, are you traveling alone?”
“Yes.” She looked at her watch, eight fifteen p.m. “Do I have time to reach the gate?”
“If I process now and you run, yes.”
Great, just great.
“And when would you like to return?”
Still on probationary status, Julia knew she couldn’t miss a single day of school and all she really needed was enough time to see if Everett is the man he said he was. “Sunday night. Late. Quick visit in and out.”
“Perfect!” Ms. Cable announced, her fingers flying across the keyboard.
I shouldn’t do this. Julia felt her purse vibrate and looked at the burner cell within. An ancient Nokia 8210, it was virtually untraceable. Only Skye had the number. She pulled the cell from a pocket and saw Skye’s text.
Skye: Are you someplace safe?
She quickly replied.
Julia: Yes.
Skye: Maxwell called. He feels terrible. For what it’s worth he supposedly called Dr. Merrill and told her he’d overreacted. I have no idea whether it’s truth or a lie to trick you into returning.
“Nope, just not good enough this time.”
Julia: Let them know to lock up when they leave my house. I’m not going home tonight. Or tomorrow.
Skye: What time are you coming in and I’ll meet you at the airport?
Julia: Sorry, not coming to LA. Not enough time. Gotta be on time for class Monday am.
Skye: Sad face emoji x100 emoji
Julia: Blow kisses emoji
“I have an open seat available.” Ms. Cable’s voice lifted in pitch and she made eye contact as she recited what she read on the screen. “The round trip ticket with taxes is eleven hundred and eighty dollars, seventy-nine cents.” The ticket agent ended her sales pitch without a breath or as much as a blink. Julia decided the woman hated her job because even though she smiled, the emotion hadn’t once reached her eyes. She felt sorry for her, having worn the same expression so many times before … smiling to keep from crying.
Twelve hundred dollars? Julia rubbed her forehead, this wasn’t really an expense she could afford on a teacher’s salary. “I know, I know.”
“If you’re going to make the flight, I have to book now.”
I can dip into the overseas account this one time. I am doing this on my own terms. Knowing her conscience was in agreement when Julia handed the attendant her bank card, bolstered Julia’s confidence. When she smiled, it was a real smile. She could feel it in her heart and her guts that she was making the right decision for her, making yet another decision, for better or worse, come what may. If Everett couldn’t deal with her last bid at independence, then it was his problem, not hers, because he hadn’t collared her yet. She owed him no excuses for her actions. For a while longer, she was own person.
