A Journey to Submission Read online

  Table of Contents

  Title Page

  A Journey to Submission Copyright © 2013 Laney Rogers

  Dedication

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  About the Author

  Also Available from Resplendence Publishing

  www.ResplendencePublishing.com

  A Journey to Submission

  By Laney Rogers

  Resplendence Publishing, LLC

  http://www.resplendencepublishing.com

  A Journey to Submission

  Copyright © 2013 Laney Rogers

  Edited by Tiffany Mason

  Cover Art by Les Byerley

  Published by Resplendence Publishing, LLC

  2665 N Atlantic Avenue, #349

  Daytona Beach, FL 32118

  Electronic format ISBN: 978-1-60735-652-3

  Warning: All rights reserved. The unauthorized reproduction or distribution of this copyrighted work is illegal. Criminal copyright infringement, including infringement without monetary gain, is investigated by the FBI and is punishable by up to 5 years in federal prison and a fine of $250,000.

  Electronic Release: April 2013

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and occurrences are a product of the author’s imagination. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, places or occurrences, is purely coincidental.

  Thank you so much to my great friend, Tiffany. Her inspiration and encouragement meant that I was able to finally achieve my dream of writing my first book.

  Chapter One

  “I know what he wants, and I want it to be you, Liza.”

  The words rang in my ears as I tried to digest what Helen was saying to me. Was she out of her mind? I mean, who actually tries to find someone for their boyfriend to fuck, and what’s more, who wants to organize it for him on a regular basis? This had to be some sort of sick joke at my expense.

  Helen looked at me intently, leaning in across the table so the other patrons of the restaurant had no chance to catch anything she might say.

  “Okay, here’s the deal,” she said. “I know Steve enjoys having other women join us, now and again. I also know he’s always had a thing for you. He can have pretty much anyone he wants, and I accept that. But we’re friends. I trust you, and we get on well. You wouldn’t try and steal him away from me, right?” Helen laughed as she twirled her glass of iced water around in her hands.

  I suddenly realized it wasn’t as easy for her as I’d thought. She was actually quite stressed about all this, and the way she couldn’t look me in the eye told me she wasn’t the usual confident woman I had got to know over the last year or two.

  “He’s made it clear what his agenda is, Liza. He wants someone else in the equation, and he always gets what he wants.” Her thick dark hair swung around her as she checked left and right to make sure we had privacy. She lowered her voice and said, “Steve has particular tastes when it comes to sex. Did you know about that?”

  “No, not really,” I admitted. “I mean, the few times he’s been at my place, he’s always come across as the strong and silent type—but always professional.”

  I had been working part-time for him, cleaning several business premises after hours. He’d told me he’d taken over running the cleaning agency about six months ago, and I’d recently agreed to help out to earn a little money to help pay tuition fees for a management course I wasn’t even sure I wanted to do anymore. Anyway, newly single, I had nothing but free time.

  If I was completely honest with myself, I wanted to be around him in any way I could and had taken the cleaning job even though I knew I’d be able to manage financially without it. The problem was, he wasn’t available, and I wasn’t the type of girl who messed with another woman’s man. He made it very difficult, though.

  The truth was I never knew how to act around him. He frightened me a little, and strangely, that seemed to be an attraction for me. He put me out of my comfort zone, especially when he was physically close. And it felt like he knew it. His sheer size was overwhelming, and he always appeared to be too big for my little apartment.

  Steve seemed to ooze danger, out of every pore. He looked and acted like he could have whatever he wanted. He was tall and extremely muscular, with dark, cropped hair and bright blue eyes. I had noticed a couple of tattoos on his arms, and had silently wondered if he had any elsewhere, and how much fun it would be to find out. However, the fantasies I played through in my mind didn’t portray who I was in real life.

  It could be fun, I suppose. The last thing I wanted right now was a repeat of my last relationship with Mike, the 9-to-5 insurance guy who wanted a sweet little showpiece on his arm to impress his boss. I wanted something that would push my boundaries, and I certainly wasn’t averse to Helen’s offer. I just didn’t know how far my self-confidence would allow me to go. For one, I’d never been with a woman before. And I’d certainly never had a threesome.

  I was jarred out of my thoughts when Helen spoke, “Liza, Steve’s not an average guy when it comes to sex.”

  “I don’t think he’s average when it comes to anything,” I replied with a smile.

  She grinned. “Well, yeah, fair point. But I need to be totally honest with you.” She paused, and I wondered what she was going to tell me now. “Steve’s a Dominant, Liza, and I’m his submissive.”

  There was a weird silence as I digested this piece of information. “You mean he ties you up and, you know, spanks you and all that?” I whispered.

  “Yes, among other things. It’s what we both want and need sexually. I’ve been a sub for a few years now. While I don’t pretend to be an expert, I get the feeling you would enjoy it as well.”

  “I…I don’t really know what to say.”

  “Well, think about how you reacted when I told you. Does the whole idea repulse you?”

  I thought about letting a man restrain me, then bending me over and spanking me, and I instantly felt myself dampen with desire. Holy shit.

  Helen smiled. “I guess from the expression on your face, the answer to my question is no. Steve could have offered the cleaning job to anyone, but he chose you, Liza. I wonder why? He never does anything without a reason, I can guarantee you that.”

  “Helen, I would never do anything to hurt your relationship. I’m not like that. If a guy’s with someone, then he’s off limits to me, okay?”

  “I know. That’s why I asked you.”

  “Are you sure this is what you want?”

  “Why don’t you come to my place later and have a couple of drinks?” Helen asked casually, leaving a tip on the table after settling the bill. She smiled and put her hand on my arm. “You’re beautiful, and it could be fun, just the three of us.”

  I hesitated, knowing there was more to this than met the eye, but finally nodded.

  She bent and kissed my cheek. “See you about eight.”

  As she walked away, it dawned on me that, if I went to her apartment, I would be agreeing to more than just drinks. The question was—did I want to be his temporary fix, with Helen in the number one spot pretty much calling the shots?

  Glancing at my watch, I sighed and grabbed my coat and bag. Time to get back to work; I really couldn’t put it off any longer.

  My footsteps slowed down to a snail’s pace the nearer I got to the office. The truth was, I was bored out of my mind. I
f I’d known, for one minute, how I was going to feel, sitting for eight hours a day, processing insurance claims, I’d have kept my hostess job at the club.

  The nightclub was where I had met Steve about three years ago. I was friendly to all the patrons, but I’d enjoyed chatting to him and did so way more than my job required.

  A few months after we met, he’d brought Helen to the club with him and the two of us had quickly become good friends. I had started going out with Mike by then, and it wasn’t long before my new boyfriend persuaded me to apply for a job at the insurance company where he worked.

  Instead of listening to my gut instinct, I’d listened to my mother. I’d endured yet another lecture on how I was wasting my life at the club, how right Mike was about my career. Even the business class had been her idea.

  “Work your way up like I did, Liza. In a few years, you could start your own business,” mother had said. Blah, blah, blah.

  Naturally, she’d loved Mike. Anyone who could kiss ass to that level was bound to score brownie points with her. Pity he hadn’t been able to kiss anything of mine with the same ability. In fact, it hadn’t taken too long for me to figure out that if it came down to a choice between sex with Mike or an eight hour work day, I’d rather process the insurance claims. Useless prick.

  I made a huge effort to push my thoughts and worries to one side as I walked back into the office just in time for the prick in question to look up from the pile of papers in front of him. Working with an ex who was never going to get over me dumping him was another really great reason to find a new job.

  He gave me a sarcastic glare. “You know, I think you’re the only person I’ve ever worked with who can never get back from lunch on time.”

  Flinging my bag on my desk and throwing myself into the chair, I muttered under my breath, “Yeah, well, I think you’re the only person I’ve ever slept with who could never satisfy me at all.”

  Someone gave a slow round of applause behind me and I shot around, feeling my face going red. “Jesus, Carly, you nearly gave me a heart attack.”

  “Sorry L. Great verbal counter-attack. Maybe a little louder next time so the asshole can hear you.”

  “You know, when I’ve got a new full-time job to go to, I’ll shout it from the roof tops.”

  “Amen to that.”

  Carly shared my opinion of Mike; she just hadn’t been stupid enough to have a relationship with him.

  We both glanced up and caught him frowning in our direction. Raising our eyebrows at each other, we parted company and started wading through the afternoon’s work. It sucked having to work on a Saturday.

  * * * *

  It was no good. I just could not get focused on work after my conversation with Helen. Could I ever be brave enough to go to her apartment knowing I’d be expected to participate? I could not imagine myself submitting to a man, but holy crap, just thinking about it made me feel hot and damp. I was really turned on by all this.

  But what if I made a fool of myself? I was new to all this. And I didn’t know how to react to Steve on a regular everyday level, except when I’d been at the night club, surrounded by other people. How on earth would I cope with being in a bedroom, probably naked, with Steve and Helen wanting me to do God knows what?

  Then again, maybe this was why I always got bored so quickly in relationships. It was never enough just to go on dates, to the movies or parties, then back to his place or mine for predictable twenty-minute sex. Foreplay, penetration, and then snoring—with a two minute cuddle before the snoring, if I were lucky.

  I couldn’t imagine that kind of monotony with Steve.

  The last time Steve had come around to my place to pay me, I’d been struggling down the street with two enormous bags of groceries. He pulled up in his car and got out, greeting me with a, “Hello, gorgeous. You look like you could do with some help,” in that deep sexy voice of his. He loaded the bags into the car, opened the front passenger door for me and had taken me home.

  I thanked him as he pulled up in front of my apartment, assuming he would pay me and leave. However, he asked for my key, grabbed both bags as if they weighed nothing, let himself into my place with me hovering behind him. He was so commanding, a fact that made me want him even more.

  After he’d put the bags in my kitchen, he walked back up the hallway to the front door. I trotted behind him. He’d turned and gave me the envelope containing my wages. We stared at each other for a few seconds, and then he brushed my cheek with his hand. When he bent and kissed it just where his fingers had been, every part of me had wanted to grab him and kiss him back, but I hadn’t had the nerve.

  He told me, in that amazing voice of his, that he would see me soon, and I just nodded like a virginal schoolgirl. He grinned at me and let himself out, and I stood there, rooted to the spot, feeling turned on, a pulse throbbing between my legs for the first time in a long while.

  Frustrated, I pushed away from the desk and stood, deciding to go and make a coffee to take my mind off the coming evening, and to keep myself going for the next four hours of drudgery and boredom.

  Stopping by Carly’s desk, I gave her a “do you want a coffee” gesture and she nodded eagerly, rolling her eyes as she calmed an irate customer on the phone.

  I crossed the hall and walked to the office kitchen.

  “If I didn’t know you better, I’d think you were following me, Liza.”

  I jumped, startled as Mike straightened up, a soda in his hand. He slammed the door of the fridge, a smirk on his face.

  He crossed the room to stand in front of me.

  I took a step back. I couldn’t leave now and let him think he got the better of me, so I decided to take the defensive route instead.

  “That’s the whole problem, Michael. You’ve always been under the impression that you actually knew me well.”

  A frown darkened his face. “Why do you behave like a bitch and deliberately wind me up? And you know I hate to be called Michael.”

  “Look, I came in here to make coffee; no other reason. So why don’t you leave me in peace? In fact, let’s make it a point not to talk to each other. At all. I think it’ll be a relief for both of us.”

  I walked around him and reached for the carafe. As I filled it at the sink, the hairs on the back of my neck stood up. I could sense him right behind me now, but there was no way I was going to give him the satisfaction of seeing me unnerved by him.

  His voice took on a whole different tone. “Come on, baby, don’t be angry with me. I’m glad you came in to make coffee. I think we should talk, and I also think, under that tough little exterior of yours, a part of you wants to work things out with me, maybe start again, huh? What do you think?”

  His hand moved under my hair to stroke my neck. I instinctively pulled away, repulsed. “Don’t. Touch. Me.”

  I slammed the kettle down on the counter, all thoughts of coffee now gone. I just needed to get away from this smarmy creep before I punched him square in the face.

  He grabbed my wrist and spun me around as I tried to push past him in my haste to leave.

  “What the fuck is wrong with you?” he snarled. “You know I’m good for you. I got you out of that lowlife club and into a decent job. I treated you well; we were good together and you know it.”

  I wondered if he had a multiple personality disorder. One minute he was cooing all over me, the next, he was getting physically aggressive and spitting his words.

  He leaned toward me, his nose nearly touching mine. “You know what, Liza? Maybe you’re just not good enough for me, after all.”

  I could smell his breath when he spoke and realization dawned on me. I yanked my wrist free of his grasp and walked as steadily as I could to the doorway. When I reached it, I turned and looked him straight in the eye.

  “If you ever touch me again, not only will I report you for sexual harassment, but I’ll inform every person in this building that you came back from lunch drunk and were abusive toward me.”

&nb
sp; Mike stared me down, a deep frown on his face. His eyes became narrow slits. “You’re just a dick tease, baby. You know that? A frigid, snobby little dick tease.”

  I flinched at the cold, harsh words, but I had just enough pride left not to lash out and behave how he obviously expected. Instead, I did the one thing I knew would get to him the most. I laughed, certain that both my laugh and my mock expression of pity would show him exactly what I thought of him.

  God, it felt so good to see his face, mouth open, unable to come up with another retort. Then I turned and walked calmly away. Actions really did speak louder than words.

  * * * *

  At half past six, I was ready to go Helen’s house. Dressed in a long, tight, black dress and killer heels, I felt pretty relaxed, drink in hand, Nickelback pounding in the background. By seven, I wanted to get into a pair of sweats, lock up for the night and put in “Pretty Woman.”

  After about twenty minutes of pacing up and down, I told myself to stop acting like a fucking baby and walked out the door to meet the taxi.

  It worked.

  After paying the taxi driver, I walked up to Helen’s apartment, slightly breathless from nervousness. I reached out to knock on the door. Before my fist reached the wood, the door swung open and Steve was standing there, smiling that wicked smile that turned my insides right around.

  “Hey, cutie, you look great.” He reached over and kissed me softly on the lips, putting his hand on the back of my neck possessively as he did so. “Go on in; Helen’s waiting for you inside. I have to go out for a little while, but it shouldn’t take long.” He grinned. “I guess I should pick up some more alcohol on my way back. I know how you ladies are when you get together.”

  God, he was just way too hot.

  I pulled myself together and managed to smile back. “I’ll try not to drink Helen out of house and home while you’re gone.”

  Steve ran a finger down my cheek then turned and walked away, down the hallway, toward the stairs. I watched him for a couple of seconds, realizing just how much I really wanted this big intimidating guy.