The Love of Money II – Chapter 24: The Fifth Stroke

I need you, I typed into my phone.

Mmmm… that’s the kind of message a girl likes to hear, came the reply almost immediately.

I snorted. That’s not what I had meant, but a little extra flattery went a long way.

Good, I replied. Because I’m not letting you go. You’re mine till you draw your last breath.

God, Marcus…

Come to the dungeon, I typed back. I need you to put on a little show with Bobbi. If it’s good, I promise you won’t regret it later.

I’m in the hot tub, but I’ll be there as soon as I can, Sir, Helen replied.

I slipped my phone into my pocket and stood, offering Natalie my hand. She hesitated a moment, then placed hers in mine. I helped her to her feet, but didn’t let go. She didn’t try to pull away; her fingers curled around mine and gave them a light squeeze.

“You sure you’re okay with this? If the mere thought of it makes you uncomfortable, there’s no reason to see it.” After Emily’s reaction to learning the details of my relationship with Bobbi, I didn’t relish the thought of having a repeat performance with Natalie.

“No,” Natalie said. “I want to.”

“Okay,” I said and still held her hand as I led her down the hall toward the dungeon. On the way, I passed the door to my office, where Erin would soon bring Phoebe. Our destination was only a few doors down from there, and within moments, we stood in front of a door that looked deceptively like all the others.

I took a deep breath. “What you’re about to see…”

I turned to take both Natalie’s hands in mine. “Just reserve judgment until you’ve given it a few minutes.”

Natalie gave me an inquisitive look. “Are you about to take me into your murder room?”

Her question dispersed some of my tension, and I chuckled. “I don’t have a murder room.”

“You’re not about to show me a dead body? You’re not starving anyone in a cage?”

That last question hit a little closer to home… not just because of Bobbi, but also Ryo. I was literally holding a man hostage a couple of floors down. I didn’t know exactly how Psalter was entertaining our guest, but I doubted they were playing board games all day.

At least I wasn’t starving him.

“No,” I said.

“Then I should be fine.” I could still detect a hint of discomfort despite the reassuring half-smirk she gave me. “I’m not exactly completely innocent, you know.”

“I guess we’ll see,” I said, and opened the door.

As I leaned into the room, my eyes landed on Bobbi. She was straddling a Sybian near the edge of the cleared-out center, eyes wide in surprise. The moment she saw me, she fumbled for the controls, scrambling to turn the machine on.

“I was just taking a break!” She said as she engaged the switch. A low hum filled the air, muted by the noise-absorbing panels that lined the walls.

She sat straight, looking at me like a toddler caught with her hand in the proverbial cookie jar. “I didn’t mean—”

Then she caught sight of who was with me.

Her wrath overtaking her, Bobbi’s slender form launched off the saddle, and she stalked toward us. She still wore the red and white bikini top, but the bottoms lay on the floor next to the machine. It left Bobbi completely bare waist-down, and the way the light hit the Sybian made the seat gleam, suggesting that my little kitten’s hairless slit was wet.

“You brought her!? Here!?” Bobbi demanded, her fists clenched as if she were ready to swing at Natalie as soon as she got within arm’s length. “Are you fucking serious!?”

Bobbi’s words immediately triggered me, and I took two steps into the room without even thinking. I stood in front of her as she quickly closed the distance between us, spine stiff. “What the fuck did you just say?”

Everything from the look on Bobbi’s face to her posture immediately changed. She came to a dead halt about four feet from me, looking more abashed than angry, though I could still see her seething just below that surface of shame.

“What makes you think you can take that tone with me?” I snapped again, meeting her glare for glare. “Have you learned nothing?”

A hand touched my shoulder, pulling me out of our staring contest. I turned my head enough to see Natalie standing just behind my left shoulder, her eyes darting back and forth between Bobbi and me. Every muscle in her body was tense and charged, as if the slightest irregularity could set her off and send her fleeing.

“Close the door,” I said reflexively, and internally winced, regretting not making it a request.

It didn’t matter. Natalie obeyed my order, taking a step back before turning to do as she was told. Her obedience made my dick twitch.

As she did, I turned my attention back to my pet. “What did I tell you to do?”

Bobbi glanced at Natalie.

“No! You’re talking to me,” I growled.

“Not to turn it off,” she said sullenly.

“That’s right. It’s bad enough you can’t follow a simple command, but now you talk to one of my guests like that?”

She didn’t reply. Her glare was slowly fading into something more sullen.

“Well!?” I barked. “Answer me!”

“I don’t want her here,” Bobbi said, her voice subdued, but still threaded with annoyance.

I closed the distance between us. “I don’t give a fuck what you want. Who I bring in here is my business. Who fucks you is my business.”

From my peripheral vision, I could see Natalie tense, startled at that last sentence.

Bobbi set her jaw in defiance. “Last time you said something like that, it was Astrid.”

A pang of guilt shot through me. Bobbi’s injuries after her session with Astrid had been superficial. By now, most of them were faded, but there were still a few residual marks—faint stripes and faded brown splotches that looked more like she was accident-prone than anything.

The guilt didn’t last long, though. Her haughty expression only served to piss me off. God… just when I was starting to actually like Bobbi…

No one could get under my skin quite like her.

“Keep talking to me like that, and I’ll ship you back to her in a box,” I said.

Her jaw set in unvoiced defiance, but she shut up.

For now, that was enough for me.

I glanced back at Natalie, who was staring at her nearly nude former co-worker—the woman who had made her professional life a living hell for the better part of a year.

The look on her face was a complex mix of emotions, but two stood out more than any of the others.

The first was fear. She’d tried to play it cool, but being introduced to this room… especially with Bobbi in here… it was probably more than she anticipated, and definitely something she hadn’t expected to deal with tonight.

The other one was arousal. There was no doubt about the amorous gleam in her eyes as they traveled over Bobbi’s form. Natalie was still in her swimsuit sans the skirt, so I could see every twitch of her bare thighs as she absent-mindedly squeezed them together.

Her arousal amped mine exponentially.

“Kitten,” Natalie observed, staring at Bobbi’s collar. “What’s that?”

“Oh,” I said, turning my attention back to my pet. “That.”

I reached up and ran the back of one finger across Bobbi’s small, pointed chin. Then I began to walk, making a slow circuit around her as she stood rigid, muscles tense. “You want to tell her, or should I?”

Bobbi’s nostrils flared as she glared at Natalie, but she didn’t say anything.

“It’s her name now,” I said when it looked like Bobbi was going to explain. “She doesn’t answer to her old name unless she’s ordered to.” Stopping behind her, I leaned toward her just enough so she could see me in her peripheral vision. “Isn’t that right, kitten?”

Bobbi didn’t respond.

I studied Natalie, watching her as she took in everything happening. Despite putting on what I thought was a perfect act, I was nervous and felt regret bubbling beneath the surface. I wanted to explain—give her context, soften the edges. I was afraid she’d see only the cruelty, as though, without knowing the dynamics, she’d mistake my relationship with Bobbi for pathology.

But in providing context to Natalie, I was afraid of letting Bobbi see my vulnerability, which could possibly undo some of mine and Helen’s hard work.

On the other hand… if Natalie wasn’t scared off by everything she’d seen so far, maybe she was at least a little into this. Perhaps she didn’t see it as cartoonish villainy after all. Come to think of it, she hadn’t even flinched in my office at Marduke—not when I implied the dynamic with Bobbi had a coercive edge.

Or perhaps she was just so into me that she was willing to give whatever this was a chance.

In the end, it didn’t matter. This was my life, and radical honesty was the reason I brought Natalie here. She’d either accept it, or we’d both have to walk away.

“Kneel,” I said, low enough to sound somewhat menacing, but loud enough that Natalie heard it. Her focus sharpened. When she shifted, her thighs slid together with just enough friction to once again betray her arousal.

Bobbi didn’t move.

Still behind her, I leaned in closer so my mouth hovered just next to her ear and spoke so softly that she was the only one who could hear. I kept my eyes on Natalie, though.

“Kitten, your mistress has been enjoying herself this evening. If she has to spend the rest of the party punishing you for disobeying me, I’m sure it will be ten… fifteen times worse. I’m only going to say it once more. Kneel.”

A heartbeat passed, and none of Bobbi’s muscles so much as twitched as she continued to glare daggers at Natalie.

Why did Natalie trigger her so much? Did she hate being seen by someone who remembered who she once was? Was it embarrassment or shame?

Two heartbeats, and she still hadn’t moved.

Natalie’s eyes flickered from Bobbi to me—searching and unreadable.

Three heartbeats.

Bobbi’s knees bent as she slowly began to descend to the floor, finally obeying my command.

I tried not to look surprised as I placed my hand on the top of her head and started to complete my circuit around Bobbi.

“This isn’t the woman you used to know,” I said and looked back down at Bobbi, kneeling in front of me.