“I’m sorry. There has been some mistake. I couldn’t possibly…”
“Wherever you are baby, come back. It is my wish to lavish you, and you will comply. Now, let her fit you.” for the next hour or so, she pulls out clothes, puts clothes back. Trying to match my skin tone to colors, my eyes, my hair. I am getting dizzy watching her flounce around the room. I look at him, hoping he can read in my face, how too much all of this is and not surprisingly, he does. “Lindsay, thank you for coming, but that will be all. Please leave the outfit she is to wear today, on the settee and have everything else brought to the house later today.”
“Yes, Mr. Lassiter.” turning to me she gives me the type of hug a mother would give to a daughter. “It was a pleasure to meet you, my dear. Here is my card. You ever need anything, even just to talk, call me.” I nod, overwhelmed by everything happening. She walks out of the room and there is nothing left but him and I and a room filled with air so thick, it suffocates me.
Dario gets up from the couch and stalks over to me, his eyes demanding I keep looking at him. He reaches my side and moves my hair from my shoulder to behind my ear. Leaning in, he kisses it, before his tongues take a journey from my shoulder to my neck. I gasp, my whole body reacting, reaching for something not within its grasp. I am about to give up and come back when his teeth sink into my neck, sucking and biting endlessly over and over. I close my eyes, the sensation so powerful, I could die right now, and be content. Knowing it is going to leave more than a mark, but a visual admittance of my capitulation is both scary and erotic. “That will have to do for now.” he says before walking away. I raise my hand to touch it and he growls, “move your hand, Jewel. That neck no longer belongs to you.” Why does that make my knees shake and my body ache? “Get dressed. No need for panties.”
“W-why?” I ask my voice a bare version of itself.
“Your training starts right now. Do as I have instructed, or your first day won’t be so...rewarding.” I watch as he walks away like he didn’t just steal the common sense from my mind and take it with him. Saliva builds in my mouth as I wonder why this man, this...stranger, affects me so much. Realizing I am wasting time, I run up the stairs to the bedroom he put me in and get into the dress that, now that I am wearing it, doesn’t seem appropriate for the office. The color is between a dull and bright yellow, with the shoulder's cutout, the sleeves coming to my forearm. The top is a scoop neck that sits just below my neckline but cuts lower as it moves around the front stopping at the gap where the ‘V’ on my chest begins. It’s the rest of the dress I cannot explain. I mean it stops just below my knee, but it is the split going up the middle, that makes me squirm. Not to mention the material looks like some sort of ribbon-wrap. I have no clue what to make of this dress, but when I look in the mirror, I have to admit, it is beautiful, and I can almost pull it off. Not sure what to do with my hair, I pull the brush from my bag, brush it out, trying hard to make it shiny and silky. I have no make-up to speak of so, I am done.
I am about to put on the shoes Lindsay left to go with the dress, when Dario walks in. “She walks in beauty.” he says, his eyes, inspecting me, like I am his last course. “How do you feel, baby?”
“I feel, not like me, but good and undeserving.” I say as I begin to fidget.
“Undeserving does not fit you, my beauty. One day, you will understand what you deserve. However, that will come in time, with everything I teach you. But come, we must go.” he puts his hand out, demanding, but it feels more like he is giving me this choice, once only. This is my chance to either run, or give in. The problem is, somehow I know that if I put my hand in his, I am saying yes to whatever comes next, no matter what it is. I look into his eyes and inside of me, the voice whispers, trust him. I swallow, gather my courage and take his hand, choosing to go where he leads.
Once we are in the back of the town car, everything seems intensified. From the air in the car to the smell of the leather. “Click, this is Jewel. Jewel, this my driver and right hand, Click. You will get to know one another in time.”