Trust Me to Know You (35 page)

We arrived at the hospital and Jason took my arm guiding me through the corridors, asking questions until we were outside the intensive care unit. There were
police officers standing around in the corridor. I recognised Trudy’s mum sitting in the waiting room. Trudy’s dad had passed away many years back.

“Gemma, I’m so pleased you came,” she said as I took her hand.

“Mrs Belling. I’m so sorry I came as soon as I heard.”

I swallowed hard. Her
face crumpled and she squeezed my hand. I glanced behind me, looking through the doors to the corridor, to where I saw Jason talking to the police. He was holding my mobile phone and showing them the message. The police kept looking from the phone and then back to me. I
could not hear what they were saying.

“Oh, Gemma. I don’t know what to do. He beat her badly, the bastard. Dragged her to an alleyway and then sexually assaulted her.”

The last part of sentence hit me like a freight train. The accumulation of the morning’s events was too much. I crumpled into blackness.

***

“Gemma,
Gemma
?” Jason’s voice was reaching out to me and then I sensed bright lights.

Too bright
. I was lying down. Someone was holding my arm and taking my pulse.

“She’s coming round. You say she’s been exercising this morning? I suspect the shock and lack of food has had a detrimental effect. She’ll be fine once she’s eaten and rested.”

My eyes remained shut. I was not ready to face the situation.

***

Later I opened my eyes again. I was lying on top of a hospital bed in a side room, still dressed with my shoes were off
. I
searched about with bleary eyes and found Jason on an uncomfortable looking plastic chair, watching me intently. It reminded me of how he stared at me when I stood next to the photocopier, those weeks ago. He reached over and touched my hand.

“OK, babe?” he rubbed a finger along my arm.

Tears formed, trapped in my eyelashes.

No!
I was not all right, my best friend had been attacked
and I felt responsible as if I could have stopped it. I
could not
say these words. They stayed bottle up inside me. Jason sat on the bed beside me and embraced me. We
did not say anything. I was just relieved he was with me.

They would not let me see Trudy. I was too distressed and she had been sedated while she recovered from severe concussion. I hoped she would not
remember what happened to her. Jason insisted I ate something before he took me home. I nibbled
on a ghastly hospital sandwich while trying not to throw up.

Leaning on his arm,
he took me back to the waiting car and home to Piedmont. He practically had to carry me into the house.
Curling up on the sofa, I felt unusually fatigued and Jason went to make me a drink. I could hear him talking to someone in the kitchen and I assumed it was the elusive Mr
Brooks.
Jason came back with a steaming hot chocolate and blanket, which
he put over me. I sipped the sweet drink, while he watched me from the other sofa. Then I lay back down.

I must have drifted off, because when I woke, Jason was sitting there with laptop and papers,
busy working. He smiled at me and h
is pleasant expression made me feel good. I sat up leaning on one elbow.

“Hi,” I said quietly. My voice was back.

“Hi to you. I contacted the hospital. The news is good. Your friend is out of danger. Conscious, she doesn’t remember much about the past week, never mind Saturday night. Hopefully it will stay that way.” He put his laptop on the coffee table. “Can I get you anything?”

“Perhaps something to eat.” I pushed the blanket to one side. The wobbly legs had gone and my head was clearer.

I followed him into the kitchen and sat at the table. He fished out something from the fridge and put it in the microwave, a pasta dish.

“I’m sorry, I’ve ruined your work day.” I looked at him apologetically.

“It’s going to be a relatively quiet day. Carla has cancelled my meetings and rerouted my calls through to Philip.”

I glanced at the kitchen clock, two o’clock in afternoon.

Pre-empting my question.
“I’m not going back to the office. They can manage without me for one day. It wouldn’t be a good company if it fell apart the moment I’m not around
.”

He took the dish out the microwave and setting it in front of me, he watched as I slowly started to eat. I was famished and the food tasted good.

“When you’ve finished that I’ll run a bath for you and then I’m going to make love to you.” He brushed the hair from my face.

I was sincerely touched by his suggestion and he clearly had my needs in his mind. I took his hand in mine and kissed it, keen to show my appreciation. “You really take of me, master. I’m very grateful.”

I smiled, all the stress was starting to drain away and he gazed back at me. We both understood the significance of my words: I had called him ‘master’ for the first time.

I was lying in his arms. The daylight had gone now and t
he cold evening setting in. Jason has wrapped himself around me like a protective cocoon. I
was not
sure about having sex. I
did not
think he could arouse me. His sexual expertise had no bounds though and he worked his magic on me. Taking his time, using his tongue, fingertips and
then he easily penetrated me with a well-lubricated erection. I did not
think sex could be so gentle or relaxing. Stripping away the worries of the day and blocking out the awful text message. He was definit
ely master of me in the bedroom, it was undeniable.

Please, please let me stay with you forever, Jason Lucas.

Later that night I heard him breathing heavily, deep in sleep.

“I love you, Jason,” I said aloud. He did not stir.

***

Jason dropped the printed sheets on the kitchen table in front of me. I looked at the title on the top sheet:

Job Description

I glanced up at Jason, dressed in sweat pants and t-shirt, he was helping
himself to his morning coffee. He planned to head straight for the gym before starting work.
Feeling the excitement growing in me, I leafed through the papers. It looked the perfect job for me - small company, growing rapidly and seeking my level of experience.

He could sense my elation, “I thought you would be pleased.”

Jason sat himself down next to me and scanned down one of the documents. I was reading rapidly and noticed that I was only required to work twenty-five hours a week.

“It is part-time!” I exclaimed.

“What’s wrong with that? It gives you plenty of time with your personal shoppers and gym visits. You’ll have to decide quickly, the interview is on Thursday.” He quickly devoured his bagel.

“
Shit
!” I was in a fluster, everything was happening suddenly and I was ill-prepared. “You didn’t fix this, It’s not a shoo in is it?”

Jason put his mug down and glared at me.

“Certainly not. I don’t do nepotism. If you want this job, you’re going to have to get it on your own merits and it’s your responsibility not mine. I had someone in my HR department source potential jobs for you. This looked the best of the bunch.”

“Oh. Well,
thank you. I will take it seriously. It is a bit sudden that’s all.”

“Christ, you are contrary, Gemma. One minute you’re demanding I find you a job and the next you’re chickening out of it.”

He scraped back his chair, putting the mug and plate in the washing up bowl. I went across to him and caught his hand.

“I am excited,
Jason, honestly. Thank you,” I reached up and kissed him on the cheek. He fondled my bottom for a minute, savouring his lips on mine.

“Good. Start your research. I want you to impress them, like you impressed me,” he slapped my bottom.

“Yes, sir,” I beamed back at him.

***

Thursday evening and I was clock watching. It was already gone past seven o’clock and Jason was not
back from work yet. I resisted the temptation to text him with my news.
I paced up and down the hallway and
the suspense was unbearable. I heard a car door slam and
footsteps on the front steps. The key in door and then he was facing me, looking somewhat bemused by the welcome.

I flung myself at him, making him drop his briefcase to catch me in his arms.

“I got the job!
I got the job
!” I was like an excited school girl.

“Of course you did. I never doubted you,” Jason pushed me away. “We’ll celebrate later, Gemma, I’m very hungry. Please feed me.”

“I start on Monday,” I shouted over my shoulder as I skipped into the kitchen.

***

Lying on the bed, face to face on our sides and staring at each other, we were suitably satiated by frantic love-making
. Jason was tracing his finger around one of my erect nipples. I had my hand pressed against his
chest, feeling the rapid pounding of his heartbeat as it gradually diminished in pace.

“Was that celebratory enough for you, Miss Marshall?” Blue eyes smiled at me.

I was pleased, as he had stopped work earlier than usual in order to have sex. I nodded appreciatively. He ran a hand down my side to my thigh.

“You’re especially smooth today.” His finger continued down my leg.

“I had a celebratory waxing after they contacted me in the afternoon.”

My hour long interview had been in the morning. It seemed to go well, plenty of affirmative comments on my short presentation. My future boss, Daniel Crosswell, had asked a number of challenging questions, and for a moment, I had lost my confidence. The phone call in the early afternoon was a huge surprise. I had impressed enough to knock the
other candidates out quickly. I
could not wait for Monday.

“Never knew a waxing could elicit such pleasure in you.” Jason looked incredibly relaxed, most unmasterful. “Just your legs though, you shaved here.” He flicked my pubic bone.

“I don’t do Brazilians without forward planning.
I never know when you’re going to fuck me next. Hurts you know!” I reminded him of the post-waxing skin sensitivity.

“There’s
still your mouth. I prefer Brazilians. I’m
sure we can do forward planning.” He ran his around my groin. “Though what’s wrong with a little discomfort in what is mine to enjoy?”

There was that wicked grin of a man who knew he had a sadistic streak. I was not going to find out what that last statement meant as it frightened me a little.

“I had one former master who liked to do the waxing himself.”

Jason raised
an eyebrow at my revelation. “Your previous adventures never cease to amaze me.”

I giggled. “Jason, how did you get started? I mean did you know you were a dominant when you were young?”

Jason’s face was no longer smiling and he looked at me with that unnerving, unreadable expression. Perhaps the past was not an appropriate topic tonight.

“Well... I didn’t wake up one morning and decide to be a dominant,” he paused. “I played the sexual field at university for a couple of years, but didn’t connect with anyone. When I was twenty, in my final year, I met a mature student.”

I looked taken back at the thought, an older woman.

“No, not that mature, Gemma. She was a doing a doctorate. Very quiet lady and I liked her. On our first night out, she never looked me in the eye or spoke out of turn. It was a
n evening that awoke desires in me. I already knew I innately sought to control people and things, being a dominant gave me chance to do so in a sexual context. Only later, with others, would
I discover I enjoyed instilling discipline in women, requiring their obedience, owning their bodies and being in control. Also helping them to realise their desires and fantasies.

“I don’t derive pleasure from dishing out punishments or giving pain without the context of domination. It is being able to have the control over a submissive woman and knowing she is willing to let me punish or discipline her for the purpose of modifying her behaviour. Occasionally I would top a pure masochist, always something to be appreciated.” Jason was being very honest about his motives, not many dominants take the time to understand their actions.

Jason continued. “T
he doc and I were only together for two terms. Then we went our separate ways. I won’t forget the first time I told her to drop on to her knees and she
waited
for me to tell her how she could please me. By the time we parted, I had already found my own way and was easily meeting
like-minded people.”

I thought of my previous dominants and none of them quite fell into the same bracket as Jason. “Men in positions of power often prefer to be submissive in their free time, not you though?”

“No. I can’t imagine giving myself to another, having another in control of any aspect of my life. I understand though, that those who have much responsibility in their
lives
want someone else to lead them in their private lives. It’s not for me,” he shrugged dismissing the idea. “In any case submissives have power, you know that. If you left me, I couldn’t stop you. You have your safe-words too.”

Jason tugged at my nipple. “Your turn! Where did my little subbie start out?” He charged me to reveal my past.

“OK. I’d graduated
unattached to anyone. I wasn’t a virgin, sorry to say, that went to a spotty
guy. A big regret
looking back. He f
ucked me on his brother’s
bunk bed, while his parents watched football downstairs. After graduating, I was struggling to find a job in my field and ended up working in this antique bookshop. It was something out of a Dickens’s novel.
The proprietor, a smooth gent in his fifties, not only collected books, but maps, music, anything on paper that looked old. I worked hard for him, lots of dusting shelves. He liked it clean and old books make a lot dust.”