His Obsession (10 page)

“I’ve never thought about it. If I
redecorate then someone impersonal will be changing everything. I don’t want
anyone else touching my parents’ house.”

They ate for a little while.

“Why don’t
you
redecorate?
You could do it yourself. You work from home. Can’t you have one of those
phones in your ear while painting a wall?”

“Eat your food.” He pointed at her
plate.

Ursula didn’t pursue her line of
questioning. People kept approaching the table and asking how he was doing.
From the bits of conversation she heard, she knew he hadn’t been to the diner
since his parents’ death.

“How long since your parents
passed?” she asked.

“A while.”

“Is that why you don’t come here?”

He nodded his head.

“Thank you.”

“For what?”

“For bringing me to the place you
shared with two people you loved. I appreciate
it.”Stephen
reached across the table and took her hand. “Thank you,” he said.

Together they finished their food
and sat drinking coffee. When Diane cleared away their dishes, Stephen paid the
bill and ordered her once again to put her money away. Once they were in the
car she turned to face him. “I think packing some clothes and my college stuff
would be easier. I can put the furniture into storage for later.”

“Why? I’ll arrange for my people to
collect your furniture, and we can put it round the house. Whatever you don’t
want we can sell later on,” he said.

“What happens when
this.”
She gestured
between them before finishing. “Doesn’t work out?”

“Do you think I’m going to make you
leave? It will work out between us.” He started the car, but Ursula wasn’t
convinced.

“Nothing is set in stone. What if it
doesn’t work?”

“It will work.” He sounded so
determined that Ursula almost believed him. He turned the key in the ignition,
and the car purred to life. Seconds later they were on the road in the
direction of her apartment.

“I’ve seen a new side of you today,”
she said.

“Yeah?
Do you like it?”

“I don’t know. I’m use to the
brooding, alcohol-driven depressive who stands with me while I cook. This will
take a while getting used to.”
 
He
chuckled. The sound of his chuckle went through her body making her nipples
harden and her pussy melt. She had never known so much desire for a man. Since
she’d met Paul she had seen several men, been attracted to them, but she had
never gone through with it. The moment she met Stephen every other man went out
of the window. He held her constant attention and made it hard for any other
man to get a look in.

Maybe she should go out to a bar and
make sure she wasn’t on some kind of rebound. For some reason, she didn’t think
she was.

“Stop thinking so hard.”

She smiled and leaned back in her
chair to enjoy the ride. All of her problems would still be there when she
thought about it.

****

Stephen didn’t know why he took her
to the diner. He had seen her walking down the stairs towards him and knew he
wanted to take her some place he’d never taken any other woman. The last time
he visited the diner had been the week before his parents passed away. They
were two souls in the same pot. He manoeuvred the car round morning traffic.
Diane had been a kind woman to him. She was over sixty and still running the
place. He took Ursula’s hand, replacing the bad thoughts with the sweet ones
from last night.

He knew there would come a time when
he would have to tell Ursula the truth about himself, but until he needed to he
was going to enjoy their time together. Club Possession had to be kept in
utmost secrecy. It was one of the main rules his father had been sure to pass
down to him.

They arrived at her apartment thirty
minutes later. He parked outside the building and followed her up. When he
passed a mirror with the pair of them their reflection made him pause. She
looked so much younger than he. He noticed the way he held or touched a part of
her body, his hand at the base of her back leading her up. She didn’t protest
his touch. The image in the mirror hit him square between the eyes. The
possessive way he looked and how he touched her reminded him of the men at his
club.

It had to be possible.

He moved with her up the stairs to
her room. There was no sign of damage on the outside of the door. He took the
key from her, opening the door. They saw Paul gathering his stuff.

“I’m leaving,” Paul said.

“Whatever.” Ursula grabbed Stephen’s
hand, leading him through to the bedroom. She opened suitcases. They packed as
much as possible. While she gathered her college work he made a quick call to
his security team to over look the movement of all her furniture. Paul was
cursing as they went back into the main room.

“You’re telling me to leave, but
you’re not even living here.” He looked red in the face. Stephen wanted any
excuse to hit him. One word out of his mouth and he was taking the fucker down.
Paul stared at him for several moments before storming out.

“Asshole.
Come on. I’ve got to get to college
by eleven. Would you drop me off?” Ursula asked.

He grabbed her bags then walked down
to the car. There was work he needed to attend to.

“I’ll put my clothes away when I get
back tonight.”

“Okay. I’ll put them in my room.” He
didn’t know if she’d have some kind of order to her clothes.

“You want me to sleep in your room?”
she asked.

He turned in his seat, cupping her
face in his hands and brushing her lips with his own. When she was breathless
he eased back. “You’re mine, Ursula. I want you in my house, in my room, and in
my bed.”

“This is too surreal.” She licked
her lips. Stephen wanted to taste her. Last night hadn’t been enough for him.
He wanted more of her. The need to take her again and again consumed him. These
needs had only been getting stronger the longer he knew her.

“Get used to it because I keep
what’s mine.”

She didn’t argue. He gave her
another fleeting kiss before starting the car. His first destination was the
college. Stephen told her, he would be picking her up. She tried to brush him
off, but he saw the delight in her eyes.

The next stop was Ravage, James’s
exclusive BDSM club. Unlike the secrecy with which Stephen guarded Possession,
James made his club visible to the public eye. However, there were parts where
the public could go while others were reserved only for the experienced.

One of his security guards opened
the door. He showed the guy his identity card then went straight to James’s
office. The door was shut. He knocked waiting to be allowed in. James let him
in, shaking his hand. Stephen noticed a woman bound to a table in the corner
with a ball gag in her mouth.

“One of yours?” he asked.

James shook his head.
“A training sub.
She came with excellent recommendations.
The only problem with Kitty is she likes to talk a little too much. My
clientèle
don’t like talking subs, if you know what I
mean.” James took a seat behind his desk. Shrugging his shoulders, Stephen sat
down in the chair in front of the desk.

“I don’t like the demand on Ravage,”
James said. “I’ve had over thirty applications in the last week along with
this.” He handed over a piece of paper which Stephen took.

He read the note out loud. “Your
time for control is over. Ravage and Possession are going down.” He folded the
note back then threw it on the desk. “Rather dramatic. When did you get it?” he
asked.

“Last night. It was left on the bar.
One of the waitresses came to me with the note.” James settled back in his
chair. “We’ve got a problem.”

“No, we haven’t. Random notes do not
make for a problem.”

“You and I both know why we keep our
clubs private. These were the rules set by our fathers and the whole generation
chain. Whoever is doing this knows about the clubs. He may even be a member.”

Stephen thought about what the other
man said. He knew something was going on by the increase in demand. Never
before had he ever considered so many applications
before
.“
Look
, have you gone to the police?” James asked.

“You expect me to go to the police
with regards to a threat on a club considered to be a myth it is so bloody
secretive?”
 
asked
Stephen.

It was one of the reasons they
employed the same security firm to look into their problems. They were held by
a code for the clubs and the members.

“Like you, this will stay inside
with me and a few of the workers. Speaking of workers, a couple of mine were
roughed up the other night.”

“What do you mean?” Stephen rubbed
his head. He felt the pressure in his head, which would lead to a headache. If
he knew there would be problems he’d have avoided Ravage. Already he craved
Ursula’s touch. He wanted to take her in his arms and forget about all of his
crap.

“A bunch of men grabbed a few of my
submissive waitresses before the guards could help them. They took them down
the alley out back and roughed them up. I don’t like men who abuse women,
Stephen. I’m not a happy man. I want this problem solved. I know you don’t
believe in the clubs, and you only dabble, but consider this high on your shit
list.”

James was not a man to trifle with.
He gave dominant male a whole new meaning. Looking across the desk Stephen saw
the anger in James, who clearly saw deeper into the situation than Stephen.

“I’ll look into it.”

“You better, otherwise this if going
to hit us in the fucking face and not in a good way.”

“No one can mention the clubs. The
clause in the contract states that,” Stephen said.

“Only to the men
who are members.
This could very well be a turned down member, Stephen. Think about that.
Anyway, rumour has it you’ve got yourself a woman?” James smiled and
transformed into a fun-loving man.

“Don’t start.”

“I want details. Will you be
bringing her to the club?”

Stephen thought about the way she
looked last night on her knees before him. Before he met her, he liked to watch
the goings-on in both clubs. He thought about other men seeing Ursula, and his
hackles rose. No other man would see her glorious flesh but him.

“From the look on your face I know
you won’t be requesting a scene room for help.” Out of all of the men, Stephen
had known James the longest. James was the same age, and they lived in the same
street three houses over. They came from the same background, as James’s
parents had shared the possessive feeling. The clubs were united in their need
to supply men with similar feelings a place to relax.

“Have you ever felt this possessive
need to be the only man in a woman’s life?” Stephen found himself asking before
he could stop.

“I run a BDSM club being the main
dominant. What do you think?”

“No. I’m being serious. There are
women who don’t inspire this feeling and others who do. You can’t tell me that
you feel the need to keep every woman you train by your side at all times?”
Stephen sat forward thinking about the way Ursula made him heel.

James stared at him, a deathly look
on his face. The other man stood walking round the desk and stopping in front
of him. “I’m only telling you this because you’re a friend.” Stephen saw the
way James ran his hand over his face. “There was a woman once.
A waitress who came to work at the bar.
She was beautiful
and charming. The need to claim her as my own arose.”

Stephen saw how hard it was for
James to talk about.

“She didn’t know about
who
I was or what I did. The club didn’t have a reputation
at the time. I pretended to be different. I took her on dates, and we had fun.
Two people getting to know each other. Then one night while I was doing a
demonstration she snuck in. When she saw me she was in shock. The relationship
ended, and she left. I haven’t heard from her since.”

He stopped for a moment, his arms
folded across his chest. “I would like to meet your woman, but don’t hide who
you are. It will only come back to bite you.”

“And you felt those feelings stir
when you were with the waitress?” Stephen asked.

“The time I spent with her I
couldn’t imagine another man touching her. She was mine. I’m not designed to be
vanilla, Stephen. The woman I have needs to know who I am before I’ll commit.”

Stephen nodded. Twenty minutes later
he left the club and went to his own.
   

Chapter Eight

After college Ursula waited for
Stephen, checking her watch every couple of seconds. She didn’t expect him to
spend every moment of the day waiting for her. The least he could have done was
be on time. She saw a couple of the other students coming towards her. They
were not the nicest of students. They were a couple of girls with slim figures
and perfect looks. She envied them with their easy ability to be themselves in
their own skin. Sometimes she wished she was smaller or thinner. She couldn’t
change the woman she was obviously meant to be.