Page 17 of Callback
“Well, what is something you would never in a million years do? In fact, if I did do it to you, it would be a betrayal?”
I brought my fingernail to my lips, nibbling the edge. “Public nudity, sharing, voyeurism. Whatever I do in the bedroom stays private, just between me and my partner.”
Jude nodded, a smile curving the corners of his lips. “We have that in common.”
He slid his submissive contract across the table. Was that…? Was his hand trembling? He scraped his other palm down his face over his mouth.
He was nervous. So nervous, he was shaking. Without thinking, I covered his shaking hand with mine, curving my fingers around his knuckles. He gasped from the other end of the table. “Jude, I promise you, you’re safe with me. All these secrets… I would never do to you what Jack did to me—” my voice caught and I swallowed, trying again. “I just… I would never do that to you. You can trust me.”
Each deep breath he took was like Xanax for my nerves. Our breathing evened, until we were inhaling and exhaling together like some sort of fucked up, naughty yoga class. “Thank you, Marly.” He breathed my name like it was a mantra. A whisper on his lips. I’d never liked my name… but coming from Jude? It almost sounded sexy.
“Thank you for this. You’re helping me… and… and I’m still not entirely sure why.”
“I already told you why,” he said. Could it really be this is all just because he doesn’t want to act alongside his ex-wife anymore? It seemed extreme. He cleared his throat and tugged his hand from beneath mine, tapping the contract. “So, this is an example of what I expect from my submissives. Before we begin, I have her look it over, make any amendments she wants to it. We agree to everything expected and of course, we revisit the contract from time to time, discuss any new scenes before they happen.”
I lifted the contract, reading over it.
“You don’t need to sign that now. Or ever. I think it would be a good exercise for you… for us… but it can take a while, hashing out the Dom/sub contract.”
“Shh,” I chastised him playfully with a wink. “I’m reading here.” I gestured at the contract and Jude’s smile lifted once more.
“Reading about Burritos, Doritos, Snickers and… what was the last one?”
“M&Ms.”
“Right. M&Ms.” His grin widened and I tore my gaze back to the contract.
Jude Fisher’s daily rules:
1)Every day, sweet girl must wear an item that reminds her of Jude. It must be an item given to her by Jude and it must stay on her from the moment she gets dressed, to the moment she goes to sleep.
2)Every morning before leaving the house, sweet girl must text Jude a photo of her outfit. Not to be approved, but so Jude can praise her and tell sweet girl how beautiful she is.
3)Every morning by 7 a.m., sweet girl will receive a good morning text from Jude and every evening by 11 p.m., she will receive a goodnight text. She must respond within 15 minutes of receiving these texts or prepare for punishment during their next playtime.
Holy shit. This was intense. “Sweet girl?” I asked, looking up.
His smile shifted, turning unsure. And he shrugged one shoulder to his ear. “It’s always been the term of endearment I’ve used for my subs.”
Unease twisted in my belly. I never liked being one of many. “Even Layla?”
His smile dropped. “Yes,” he answered hoarsely. “Even Layla.”
Grabbing my pen, I scratched out all of the sweet girls on that paper. “I don’t know what I should be called yet, but I’m unique. And I don’t want my nickname to be one you’ve ever used for any other sub, especially your ex-wife.”
“Noted.”
I kept reading.
4)Every day at lunch,sweet girlmust perform 100 kegel exercises and text Jude while she is doing them.
5)Every day at 6 p.m.,sweet girlmust insert Ben Wa balls and wear them until after dinner.
I paused from reading to take a sip of tea.
“You should start thinking of safe words, too,” Jude said. “Just to get in the habit of using them.”
Safewords? Plural. Before I could ask Jude about that, he started talking again. “And you should know, I’m officially no longer involved in casting the movie. I have no say in whether you get this part. Anything you do or don’t do this week has no bearing on your getting hired. Understand?”
