Mastering Lexie (Stronghold Book 4) (18 page)

"Patrick
wants to see you in his office," Miranda said cheerfully, as she hopped up
onto the seat Lexie had just vacated.

"Oh...
okay, thanks."  The words tumbled out as surprise and curiosity
wrapped around her.  She also felt a lot perkier than she had a minute
ago.  Patrick wanted to see her, huh?  That was new and
different.  Normally he didn't take the time to say goodbye at the end of
her shift.

That perkiness
lasted less than five seconds once she actually walked into his office. 
The big bastard was sitting behind his desk, working on some papers, and he
didn't even glance up when she came in.  She drank him in with her eyes,
kind of hating how her attraction to him sizzled when he hadn't even
acknowledged her presence.  The soft, white cotton shirt he was wearing
clung to his body, his muscles, and made a gorgeous contrast to his dark
skin. 

Without
looking up, he reached out one hand and pointed to the floor next to him.
 "Kneel here.  Quietly."

The calm
authority in his voice had her moving before she could even think about it, and
as soon as she did, she hesitated.  Patrick kept writing.  Part of
her wanted to snap at him, but another part of her was kind of thrilled that he
wanted her in his office, next to him, even though her shift was over.

You knew he
wanted a full-time submissive, now get your ass into gear and prove you can be
one!

When she came
around the side of the desk, she could see that he had a cushion on the floor,
and she smiled a little bit as she knelt down.  He'd thought ahead for her
comfort.  Not that the carpet would have been completely uncomfortable,
but it would have started to hurt her knees eventually.  Of course, that
just made her wonder exactly how long he planned on having her kneel here.

Whatever. 
She'd do it for as long as he wanted. 

Folding
herself onto her knees. Lexie put her hands behind her back the way he liked,
keeping her gaze on the ground in front of her.  She wondered if she
should be insulted that she was being ignored, but instead it felt like he was
somehow including her in his life.  After all, this was what he did at
work, ran a club, and he wanted her beside him even if she wasn't doing
anything.  That was nice.

His pen
scratched across the paper, and she could just barely hear him muttering under
his breath, although she couldn't quite make out what he was saying.  The
sound was surprisingly soothing.  In fact, she already felt a lot less
antsy than she had when she'd been sitting out front.  

"Good
girl," he finally said, reaching out to absently stroke her hair.
 "You may rest your hands on your lap."

She couldn't
help a little sigh of relief as she moved her hands into place.  Holding
them behind her back wasn't exactly uncomfortable, but it wasn't comfortable
either.  Resting them on her lap was much more so.  Listening to the
faint sounds of him working, kneeling by his side, Lexie should have been
bored.  But she wasn't.  Instead she felt almost meditative.

******

Watching Pixie
out of the corner of his eye, Patrick had to admit to himself that he was
impressed.  He'd thought she'd balk at kneeling in place with nothing to
do but wait for his next order.  Instead, the expression on her face was
calm, even happy.  The way he'd always imagined his submissive would look
as she knelt next to him.

This was a
simple fantasy to have, but not such a simple one to fulfill.  A lot of
submissives couldn't handle just sitting and waiting.  It made them feel
like they were in a scene, and they eventually needed the scene to
progress.  Patrick wanted it as a lifestyle though, and he could admit to
himself that he'd been testing Lexie.  Minutes passed as he worked, all
too aware of the woman kneeling by his chair.  She didn't try to distract
him or get his attention, she just knelt in place on her cushion, looking
completely satisfied to be there.

Which, in
turn, made him satisfied to have her there.  It also turned him on.

Fuck she was
perfect.  But he couldn't help wondering if she would truly be happy doing
this on a regular basis.  

"Excuse
me, Sir."  Her voice slid into his consciousness and he almost
sighed.  Here it came.  The questions.  Wanting to know why he
was making her do this.  What he wanted from her.  When she could
leave.

"Yes,
Pixie?" he said, turning his head to look down at her as he pressed his
pen down so that he didn't lose his place in balancing the accounts.  The
black leather bustier she was wearing covered her top completely, which just
made him want to open it so he could see her nipple rings, and the short black
skirt came down to cover about half of her thighs in her current
position.  The more she covered, the more he wanted to see.  But the
collar around her neck… that was fucking perfect.  Just a training collar, and
yet he felt satisfaction looking at it, as if it proclaimed to the world that
she was his.

"May I
change position?  My knees are starting to ache."

"Yes, but
try not to shift around too much."

"I
won't.  Sir."  She smiled up at him as she rocked, getting her
legs out from under her, sighing with some relief as she stretched her legs out
in front of her.  Patrick had to smile, because she looked so damned cute,
trying not to move too much as she got into a more comfortable position. 

He waited to
see if she was going to ask anything else, but it appeared that she'd gone back
to being contemplative and happily calm.  Which surprised him.  Even
though Lexie was obviously a submissive, he hadn't really thought that she'd
take to this side of things so well.  He knew she had feelings for him, so
he'd expected some show of determination... but instead she seemed
content.  Perfectly happy to sit and wait for him.  It didn't look
like she was just doing it to 'show him.'  He would have noticed that kind
of attitude from her, and he wouldn't have found it relaxing.

Instead, it
felt completely natural to do his work, occasionally reaching over to stroke
her hair.  Natural and like a dream come true, all at the same time. 
So he kept her there until the end of the night.  Although she
occasionally shifted position, there were times when she did so quietly enough
that he didn't even notice.  Not once did she complain.  Not once did
she play the brat or try and top from the bottom and get his attention. 
It was probably the most productive night he'd ever had.

Which, when it
came right down to it, meant he was fucked.

******

Emergency
girls' night.  My place.  Leigh and Michael broke up.  She needs
distracting / support.  Come as soon as you can.

The text from
Angel had Lexie jumping into motion.  She was supposed to be at Stronghold
in three hours, but there was no way that was happening now.  Just as she
was about to send out a mass text, begging someone to cover her shift at the
front desk, she paused.  Normally, as long as she got her shift covered,
it didn't matter that she didn't come in.  Patrick might be cranky,
depending on her reasons, but it wasn't a big deal.

But what about
now?  Should she check in with him first?

Last night had
been intimate in ways that transcended the sexual.  He'd treated her as
his
 sub,
even though she hadn't done more than stay beside him until he'd dismissed
her.  When she got out to her car, she realized that he'd kept her in his
office for two hours.  Not that she minded.  Surprisingly, she hadn't
even gotten bored, because he had been there and she'd gotten lost in her
fantasies and the pleasure of being near him.  But she'd surprised him,
she could tell that.  He hadn't expected her to handle that so well. 
Honestly, she hadn't been sure how she'd handle the whole 24/7 thing, but if
that was a taste of it... well, she really liked it.

If that's the
road that she wanted to go down, might as well stick to the path.  So she
dropped the text she'd been starting to write and put in his number instead.

Angel's
asked us to come over for an emergency girls' night.  Leigh and Michael broke
up, and she needs us.  Is it alright if I have someone cover my shift,
Sir?

While she was
waiting for the reply, she threw her pajamas and a change of clothes in a
bag.  In some ways, this was as much a test for him as it was for
her.  She'd enjoyed last night, she really had, and some days she really
liked the idea of having Patrick ordering her life... but when it came to
things like this, she needed to know that he would respect her needs as
well.  That he wouldn't control just to control and that she would still
be able to have her life. 

As much as
Lexie wanted to be with him, as deep as her feelings were for him, she wasn't
going to be a complete doormat just because she was willing to give him
control.  She wanted to be his full-time submissive, but not a
slave.  To her, there was an important distinction between the two, and
part of that distinction was things like girls’ nights.  Especially
emergency ones.

His response
made her scowl.

Of course
you can, why are you asking me?

The only
consolation she had was that she'd been smart enough to text him instead of
calling him.  If he'd said that to her over the phone, she would have lost
her temper.  She was worried about Leigh, anxious over him, and now mad at
herself for not realizing that he was probably going to pull back now. 
Biting her lip, she made herself calm down and think logically.

They'd made
several very big steps this week.  He'd not just watched her scene with
someone else, he'd now scened with her.  Then, last night, he'd invited
her into his life, and she'd enjoyed it.  It shouldn't be too surprising
that he'd try to push her away now.  Mixed messages were pretty much how
they communicated.  

The best thing
she could do was
not
 get upset, the way he probably expected her
to.  She'd just been thinking that she needed to follow the path towards
the goal she wanted.  Now was not the time to get distracted just because
he was being a thick-headed jerkface.

Thank you,
Sir.

Smirking, she
quickly sent out the text to the other receptionists, praying that someone
would get back to her.  Patrick didn't text her back, of course, but then,
she didn't really expect him to.  He probably had no idea what the fuck to
say to that, which was the point.  She'd ignored the second part of his
text and only concentrated on the first, which was all she cared about. 
After all, she'd asked for permission, and he'd granted it, and that's what was
really important, right? 

Hmm... should
she bring alcohol?  Taking her bag into the kitchen, she pulled out her
bottle of salted caramel vodka (which was only half full) and a new bottle of
pumpkin cream liquor that she'd picked up the last time she was at the
store.  Tonight seemed like a good night to try it.  Even if she had
to leave to go work her shift, she'd be at Angel's for as long as possible and
then she'd come back as soon as she could.

Fortunately,
while she was trying to decide if she should bring any more booze, Freddy
texted her back and said he could cover.  She sent him a thank you, in all
capital letters, grabbed what she already had in her bag, and got out the door.
 

******

The club was packed,
as usual, since it was Saturday night.  Patrick found himself at the bar,
trying not to scowl.  It had taken him a few hours to admit it, but he
missed Lexie's presence there.  The text messages she'd sent him today
hadn't just caught him off guard, they'd pleased him.  More than they
should have.  Sneaky little brat had even sassed him with a perfectly
respectful answer.  

To his
surprise, Jared was sitting at the bar too.  Will was on door duty, so
Patrick honestly hadn't expected to see Jared here tonight.  The big Dom
rarely came in unless he could play.  It was no fun to be in a BDSM club
feeling like a little kid with his nose pressed against the window.  Which
was the exact spot Patrick was in right now, he realized.  Andrew was at
Jared's end of the bar, chatting with Jared when he could, although the members
who had finished their scenes and could now drink were keeping him busy. 
The big man was resting on his elbows, staring at the wood grain of the bar,
and toying with his drink rather than actually drinking it.  The two ice
cubes that he always had with his scotch had already melted into the
liquid.  Not good.

"Hey man,
what's up?"  Patrick asked, sitting down at the bar stool next to
Jared.  He gave a finger wave to Andrew, gesturing towards the tap. 
Andrew would know to bring him any of the darker beers.

Jared didn't
even try to prevaricate.  Wasn't really his style.  "Marissa
called me today.  She's staying in California for another month.  Got
some kind of part in a play or something out there."

"Does she
want an open relationship again?"  Patrick asked dryly, as Andrew
appeared on the other side of the bar with his beer.  Andrew snorted,
looking contemptuous.  He didn't even need to ask who Patrick was talking
about.  They all knew.

"No, but
I think I might," Jared muttered.

Andrew and
Patrick exchanged looks.  This was new.  Andrew had obviously already
heard it tonight, which meant that, maybe this time, it wasn't just random
venting.  They could only hope.