Chapter 6

That described Mistress Alyssa to a "T"; sweet as pie backed with steel shards. She may talk with a gentle tone, but it is backed with a hard promise of punishment if it was disobeyed.

My eyes wearily slid up her luscious body, unwittingly lingering on every sweet curve and caressing it with my gaze. Something I ached to do with my hands.

Trimmed and fit legs seemed to travel up and up showed to perfection in her tight jeans. The gentle swell of her hips led the way up to a stomach that was built to lounge my head in for hours as we relaxed. Then slide up to her generously endowed breasts barely covered by the tight form-fitting bodice of her shimmering blue halter top.

The urge to yank that shirt down so I could glimpse the tantalizing flesh underneath threatened to overwhelm me. I swallowed hard and finally met her eyes, afraid of what I would see there.

Concern was not what I was expecting.

"Is everything okay?" she inquired softly.

My impulse was an honest answer. No, everything was not okay, I was lonely, scared, and tired.

After the drug lord had been arrested, I had lost everything. My house, my business, a good deal of my friends. All of which couldn't quite understand that I was not actually part of the cartel. All my family had stopped talking to me, blaming me for the family shame being brought to light.

Most days, I felt so alone that it wasn't even funny.

Was everything okay? Not even close.

But I shoved that answer down, burying it deep within me so it would not inadvertently show. I straightened my shoulders and faced her, trying to pull my flippant nature around me like a cloak.

"I'm doing well, Mistress Alyssa. I'm trying to get a job at a hospital for physical therapy. It pays well, and I won't have to live with my friend Lori forever," I stated, proud of my accomplishment.

Especially since it was the only positive one, I had in a while. Despite my boast, concern still washed Alyssa's face, and she opened her mouth to speak again.

"What happened to your business?" Lizzie butted in.

Alyssa stepped aside for Lizzie, allowing her to interrupt.

"The Feds seized everything. The gym, the apartment, and most of my things. They barely let me take the clothes in the dressers. Even then, I had to pack under the supervision of one of their agents."

I shivered, remembering the way the man's eyes had felt on me as I pulled my undergarments out of my drawers. Unprofessionally and overabundantly pleased, the man would lean in a close and ask if I needed help.

I shook my head to wipe the man's lecherous gaze out of my mind before I ran and took a shower.

"Anyway, after that was done, I was stuck having to find a new job and a new place to stay. Lori was extremely happy to have me come live with her," I explained.

"You mean Mistress Lori?" Lizzie queried incredulously. "I wouldn't live with her if you gave me a million dollars. That woman is a PURE sadist. Through and through."

I could not help but laugh. Yeah, Lori had quite the reputation for her love of inflicting pain.

"Yeah," I responded. "She's a sweetheart. As long as you stay on her good side. She's threatened me a few times with her rather wicked-looking toys. Needless to say, I didn't forget my night to do the dishes again."

Alyssa stiffened a bit before pulling away even further. I kept my eyes on Lizzie despite the aching need to find out what had hurt Alyssa, I forced my eyes to stay forward.

I shifted several times as the situation grew uncomfortable and awkward. Like a ray from the sun after a winter storm, Vie and Trev trounced out of the back area glowing with enthusiasm. It was obvious by the cute little collar around her neck what had happened before I had managed to show.

Sadness clinched in my stomach having missed the moment. The sadness turned into a sliver of envy as I looked at their happiness, and I found myself relieved that I had missed the collaring.

Vie's eyes lit up the moment they landed on me.

"Bethany!" Vie shouted as she raced towards me.

"Hey," I managed to get out before she pulled me into a strangled hug.

"I'm so glad you're here!" Vie called.

"Me, too," I answered, almost choking on the last word.

I prayed she did not hear the lie that slightly pitched my tone.

"Look!" she implored.

The feathery strands of her deep honey brown hair swept back to reveal the tiny circlet chain wrapped tightly around her neck. The center held a simple little disk with a single diamond in the dead center.

"It's beautiful," I gushed. "So, I take it everything went well."

I had begged Vie to show up tonight, knowing that Trev would be here.

Trev was Lizzies older brother. They had lost contact with each other when he had joined the military. I'm not completely sure what happened after that since Lizzie does not like to talk about it much, and I do not like to pry. I do know that it took Trev 10 years to reunite with his sister.

The search had him bouncing from town to town and had ruined the small amounts of financing that he'd had. Vie had stepped in to get him back on track and had also been there for his realization that his baby sister was into BDSM… with two men.

At first, he was horrified, then he became intrigued when he found out Vie was into it. According to her, and what I can remember from the night we got hammered, Vie had finally opened up and the little tastes that he'd gotten had been amazing. But, when it came to the punishment part, he kind of lost his mind and had said more than a few nasty things to her.

However, with the bright glow on both of them, it was obvious that they had worked through it. The bright shiny collar was a rather obvious sign that things had worked out better than I had hoped.

Despite the gnawing envy and loneliness, I was happy for them. Vie was a sweet woman and would lay her life down for her friends, I knew that better than anyone else.

Vie deserved a good Dom to pull her out of her organized world every once and a while.