Tangled Fury (6 page)

Thane

“Ms. Billings,” I
said, tapping her on the shoulder.

Sera’s
head popped up and she looked around in confusion.

“You’re still at Tangled,
” I said, smiling in amusement at her lopsided eyeglasses.

Staring at me in horror, she
wiped the drool from the corner of her lip. “Oh, my God,” she said. “I’m so sorry. I can’t believe that I actually fell asleep.”

“
I take it the contract was nothing to write home about?” I teased, sitting down behind the desk.

“It was
… fine,” she replied, removing her glasses. As she began cleaning them with a tissue, I found myself surprisingly fixated on her light green eyes and thick lashes. Although I could appreciate a woman with glasses, Sera was absolutely stunning without hers.

“I haven’t been able to sleep,” she said, stil
l looking embarrassed. “With everything that’s been happening. Tell you the truth … getting this job seems almost too good to be true.”

“
I’m sure you deserve it and hopefully you can put everything else behind you, soon. At least some of your financial worries.”

“I sure hope so
.”

Her smile was radiant and it did something to me.
I stared at her full lips and began to have some seriously wicked thoughts.

Damn you, Felicia.

Obviously, her mention of my sex life had stirred something up. Something I normally preferred to leave at home. I tried not to think about what was happening in my lap, and instead, thought about the bastard who’d used his fists on her.

H
ow fucked up could anyone be to harm such a beautiful woman?

I was no saint. I’
d beaten the shit out of many guys in cage matches for money. But, they’d known what they were getting themselves into and I’d taken my own share of beatings. Raising a hand to a woman was against everything I believed in. And to top it off, the guy was supposed to have been a cop.

“Is there something wrong?” she asked, putting her glasses back on.

“No, why?”

“You j
ust looked upset there for a moment,” she answered, studying my face.

I
leaned forward against the desk. The only thing upset at the moment was my dick, and it wasn’t calming down. Not with her in the room. “I’m fine. Did everything look agreeable in the contract?”

“Yes, and
I signed it. One thing I wanted to ask you - is there some kind of dress code? I didn’t see any mention of it.”

“You can wear whatever you’d like under the salon apron. I’ll get you a couple of those before you leave.”

“So, casual
would be fine?”

My eyes drifted to the blue silk blouse that outlined her full breasts
. She looked like someone’s prim and proper secretary and it was suddenly very… sexy. I imagined her unbuttoning it and wondered what color bra she was wearing. And if it was a push-up.

“Thane?”

I blinked. “I’m sorry, what was that?”

“Just dress casually, then
?”

“Wear what
ever you want,” I said, a little more firmly than I would have liked.

Her eyes widened in confusion
. “Are you sure that you’re okay?”

I smiled weakly. “
I’m fine. Just have stuff on my mind. I didn’t mean to jump down your throat.”

“It’s fine.”

I started moving papers around on my desk, wishing she’d suddenly disappear, along with my woody. “Uh, why don’t you go and look around the shop?”

“Okay,” she said, standing up. “Um, you do want to show me around?”

“I’ll be out in a second,” I answered, trying to still appear busy. “The area you’ll be using is just around the corner, past the other hair stations.”

She put her purse around her shoulder.
“Right.”

“Like I said, the last technician left some items and apparently, doesn’t need them. I also have the name of the distributor she preferred. I think she ordered most of her things through the website, but the company is located in L.A. It might be easier to take a trip out there and talk to them directly.”

“
Actually, I did purchase a lot of supplies already. I wanted to make sure that I could start quickly.”

“
Good. In fact, start Monday, if you’d like. That gives you a few days and by then, we can get your business cards printed.”

“Okay.”

I nodded towards the doorway. “So, yeah, just go ahead and make yourself at home. I’ll join you shortly. I’m going to make you a copy of your contract, now that it’s signed. So, you’ll also have one for your records.”

“Good idea.”

I smiled and she turned around. It was then that I noticed her shapely calves and slender ankles displayed below the mid-length black skirt she was wearing. I pictured those legs draped over my shoulders and growled in the back of my throat. Felicia was right. I really did need to get laid…

Sera

I walked o
ut of Thane’s office and released the breath I was holding. I was actually relieved that he’d stayed inside. Not only was I still embarrassed of having fallen asleep, there was something about him that made me nervous and tense. He certainly was easy on the eyes, however, and I could tell by the way his clothing fit that he kept in very good shape.  And those eyes… although intense, they were almost too ethereal for a rugged-looking man like Thane. 

Stop it.
The last thing you need is to develop a stupid crush on your new boss,
I reminded myself.

Not only was it stupid, but I was still married to a psychopath. I couldn’t bring anyone else into such madness.

“Hey gi
rl,” said Felicia as I drew closer to her station. She was putting small rollers into an older woman’s short, white hair. “How’d it go with the Lion King?”

I chuckled. “Well, he didn’t bare his teeth or roar in my face. I guess that was a good sign
.”

She
smiled. “A
very
good sign. So, when you startin’?”

“Hopefully, on Monday.”

“You hear that, Monica?” hollered Felicia.

The old woman
sitting in her chair looked confused. “What?”

She pointed to me and said loudly, “We have a new nail technician. Sera.
You might want to make an appointment with her now. Something tells me she’s going to book-up pretty fast.”

“I might just do
that,” replied Monica, smiling. “Do you have a card, dear? I need to check my schedule at home and then I’ll get in touch with you.”

I clear
ed my throat and answered loudly, “Sorry, not yet. But, if you call me on Monday, I’ll make sure to fit you in as soon as possible.”

She leaned closer to me.
“What was that?”

“Call me
on Monday!”

Monica
looked frustrated. “Wait a second, let me turn on my hearing aid. I forgot that I’d turned it off.” She reached up and fiddled with the small gadget in her ear. “There we go.” She smiled. “You said Monday you might have an opening?”

“
Yes.”

She pointed to her shoe
. “Do you also do pedicures? I haven’t had a pedicure in so long. Now that Tom is gone, I think I could use a little pampering.”

“I’m sorry. Was Tom your husband?” I asked.

Her eyes sparkled. “Husband? No. My husband died fifteen years ago. Tom was my Submissive.”

I looked at Felicia and then back
to Monica in confusion. “I’m sorry… what?”

“She used to tie him up and make him do all kinds of
crazy, kinky, and sometimes painful, shit,” answered Felicia, chuckling. “And to top it off, the man begged her to do it.”

I was
left almost speechless. “He… You… Really?

“Actually
, there was a little more involved than just that,” replied the woman. “We also used to role-play and my, oh my… he was
such
a wonderful lover.” She smiled wistfully. “Nobody filled a cock-ring like Tom. Did I tell you he was nine-inches, Felicia?”

I blinked, unable to believe that this wo
man, who had to be pushing eighty, was so straightforward about her sex life. Thankfully, there was no one else in the shop, besides us, and Thane was still in his office. I couldn’t even imagine him walking into this type of conversation.

“Anyway, h
e used to do all of my nails. Unfortunately, he moved back to Germany a couple of months ago. So,” she raised her fingers and wiggled them. “They really could use some tender-loving-care.”

“Have you replaced Tom with another Sub
?” asked Felicia, rolling another curler into her hair. “Cause if you haven’t, I’ll show you how to access my website.”

“Honey, I’ve probably got
more things in my toy chest than you have on your entire site,” replied Monica. “Although I should probably ask -you don’t take in items on trade, do you?”

Felicia’s eyes widened. “
You talkin’ used?”

She shrugged.
“Well, they’re obviously
clean.
I haven’t used them in a while. Now they’re just collecting dust. I’ve already tried pawning my swing, but I just can’t get anyone to take it.”

I pictured skinny little Monica on a sex swing
and stared at her in disbelief. She looked so dignified and prim. Yet, she talked about sex like it was an innocent little hobby, and obviously one that she really enjoyed. 

“You could try selling it on
EBay or Craig’s List,” replied Felicia.

“
My goodness, Felicia, I don’t want any freaks coming to my house,” she answered, her eyes round. She looked at me and pursed her lips. “People are so weird. Especially in California.”

I tried to keep a straight face. “I could only imagine. Although, I’m originally from Wisconsin. We have our share of kooks there, too.”

“Wisconsin, huh? Not much to do there I suppose, but eat cheese and drink beer. That’s what I heard, anyway,” replied Felicia.

“They also like their winter sports,” said Monica. “Isn’t that right, dear?”

“I guess,” I answered. I wasn’t much of a beer drinker or a football fan. Not like Ray. He’d enjoyed both, which had probably ruined any interest I may have had. Especially that last few months we’d been together.

“
I know one thing - people are weird
everywhere,”
said Felicia. “It just so happens that they’re just a little more open about it here.”

“Very true,” answered Monica.

I cleared my throat. “I’m going to take a look at my new work station. Thane mentioned that it was back that way?”

“Yeah. There’s a lot of stuff still sitt
ing out from our last nail tech. Anything you don’t want, you can probably put it in the back storage area.”

“That’s what Thane said
, too,” I answered, heading back towards a white curved table.

“What do you think?” asked Thane, approaching me a
few seconds later.

“I like it,” I answered
truthfully. The table still looked almost new and there was a small shelf on top, which still held several bottles of nail polish. She’d also left a lamp, a U.V. nail dryer, and wax warmer, which sat on a small cabinet next to the table. It was as if she’d just got up one day and walked out, leaving everything behind. “So, can I use that as well?”

He turned towards the black and white
pedicure chair, in the corner. “Of course. She sold it to me at a very reasonable price. I guess this one has a built in massager.”

“
I noticed that. It must have been very expensive. You know, I do have a little money saved. I can pay you for use of the chair.”

“
Actually, the monthly lease includes use of that chair.”

“
Oh, good.”

He
looked down at his watch. “I’ve got a meeting I need to get to. Do you have an email address?”

“Yes,” I replied. “It’s on my resume.”

He grinned. “I guess we found a use for it.”

“
I guess we did.”

He stared at me for a second and then said,
“Well, I’ll send you an email to set up your business cards. Hopefully we can get them printed and here by Monday.”

“That would be great.
I appreciate you giving me this opportunity, Thane. I’m sure you could have rented this spot out to a number of technicians. Ones with clients already established.”

“Yes, I could have, and you’re welcome.”

I smiled. He’d seemed to warm up quite a bit since I’d first arrived.

His cell phon
e began to ring.

“
I guess I’ll talk to you soon,” I said as he took it out.

“Definitely. Call me if you need anything.”

“I will.”

When I walked out of Tangled, I felt a calmness that I hadn’t in a while and hoped it meant that our lives were finally going in the right direction. At least for
my little Emma’s sake.