Page 2 of Tell Me Your Desires
Looking back, Jaime had once thought that doing those things interfered with her tough exterior, but Taylor saw through that façade from the moment they met. Jaime hadn’t been looking for a relationship when she stumbled upon a new woman just a short distance from her apartment—she didn’t have time for a love lifeandcrime—but Taylor hadn’t pressured her for anything. Once Jaime had explained that she would love to see her again but that she had a demanding and unpredictable job, she expected Taylor to lose her number and never call again. Miraculously, the opposite had happened. Taylor had asked Jaime to call her when she was available, told her she wasn’t the needy type, and said that she would love to go out to dinner with her when her schedule allowed.
Before Jaime had time to sit and take stock of the relationship she’d found herself in, she realized she had fallen in love with Taylor and everything else she offered to Jaime’s life. It was that security. Coming home from the precinct each night to someone who just wanted to be with her. To laugh with her and listen when Jaime needed it. Neither of them had to try too hard to make it work. It just did. Naturally.
But that wasn’t to say they hadn’t had to deal with issues. While Taylor insisted she could accept Jaime and her career, the unpredictability caused problems now and then. Jaime never knew when she would get a call. Taylor never knew if she could make concrete plans for them. And then there was the idea that Jaime may not come home on any given night, which haunted Taylor daily. Still, they loved one another, and that was what counted. That’s what kept them going.
Everything Jaime hadn’t known she needed had fallen into her lap, and two years into their relationship, she’d asked Taylor to marry her. Of course, the guys at the station gave her shit forbeing ‘whipped.’ They couldn’t wrap their tiny brains around the idea that Jaime Baros—someone they thought would be single forever—was head over heels in love. But Jaime didn’t care. She knew exactly what she had away from the job: the perfect life with a woman who would have moved heaven and earth to make her happy. Well, mostly.
That was then, and no amount of reminiscing would change the fact that Jaime now lay alone at night, tossing and turning. The slightest sound would send her heart rate sky-high, tricking her into thinking Taylor was walking through the door. She’d be wearing that silly grin she always had as she yelled, “I was only playing with you. I’m fine.”
Jaime pressed the heels of her hands to her eyes. God, she’d give anything to go back two years and change things. She wished she could have said more, done more. Even though their relationship had been great in many aspects, looking back, Jaime could see where she needed improvement.
Quite frankly, Jaime wished Taylor would have left her for another reason. At least then, she would have been able to sleep at night, knowing Taylor was safe in the arms of another woman. At least Jaime wouldn’t wake in a cold sweat with that night repeatedly replaying in her heart and head. She’d gone to therapy and lay on the couch while someone asked her how it all made her feel, but nothing took the edge off the pain she felt deep down. A pain only she understood.
The fucking joke in all of this was that Jaime Baros had never even wanted to fall in love. It was too complicated, too messy, especially in her line of work. But Taylor Chamberlain made love seem so effortless. She made Jaime feel as though she was capable of anything. Taylor became the reason Jaime took a breath every morning when she woke up. With her dark smoldering eyes and naturally curly hair that flowed over her shoulders, Taylor was the most desirable woman Jaime had evermet. And now, it was all gone. Jaime hadn’t felt that euphoria for two years, and she’d never feel it again. It wasn’t possible to replace what she’d had with Taylor. It wasunimaginableto entertain the idea that she could bring another woman into her life.
Jaime’s heart belonged to Taylor.
If Jaime hadn’t told Taylor to go to the store herself that night… If she hadn’t been so against the idea that Taylor was a smoker… If Taylor hadn’t gotten involved…
Jaime shook her head. She couldn’t follow those thoughts tonight. They only led to a place of darkness…and guilt. If Jaime had learned anything throughout all of this, it wasneverto follow the darkness.
Go back to bed. Sleep. “Come on, Baros. Get your shit together.”
Chapter Two
“Tell me your desires.”
A portly man, sweating profusely, grinned. The grin was arrogant, despite his being constrained and half-naked. His eyes were covered with a blindfold, and his hands were bound at the wrists by chains hanging from the ceiling.
“To fuck you,” he said with confidence born of a privileged man.
Lady A sat in the shadows, watching the hairy man thrust his hips, and shuddered with disgust. Unfortunately, this man had paid handsomely for Lady A’s time. Once again, Lady A pondered changing the requirements to get into her chambers. She knew she’d never sleep with this man—she wouldn’t even if shewasn’ta lesbian—but this room was more about fantasy than reality. Clients came here to escape their everyday lives and allow someone like Lady A to control that fantasy.
Many would call Lady A a dominatrix. While she used the tools implemented in the BDSM world, she didn’t always agree with the characterization. If anyone cared to look beyond the lingerie and whips, they’d see Lady A was more of a therapist. A therapist who chose to suspend her clients from the ceiling andwhip them when they didn’t follow policy. She nearly scoffed out loud.
Lady A stood and walked into the dim light of the room. The black carpet muted the click of her stilettos, but the crack of the whip across the man’s back echoed. As did his outcry.
“You know the rules, George.”
“I’ll get you to surrender to me one day.”
Another crack of the whip across George’s back made him hiss through his teeth.
“You could hold your breath,” Lady A proposed. “But I wouldn’t if I were you. Now, let’s start again. Tell me your desires.”
Lady A satin front of the large vanity mirror. The lights felt warm on her skin, and she basked in it.What I need is to sit out by the pool and soak up the sun. The dry heat in Nevada had been unseasonably hot the past week, and the thought of sitting in it didn’t sound pleasant. Though spending most of her nights in the shadows had her begging for the sun.
“Lady A?”
Lady A looked up in the mirror and saw her assistant walking toward her with a tray. A lone shot of colorless liquid sat atop.
“Hello, Maisie,” Lady A purred. “Please tell me that’s for me.” Maisie nodded and lowered the tray so Lady A could grab the shot glass. Lady A took it and slammed it back, coughing as it hit the back of her throat. “God, that’s awful.”
“Why do you drink it then?”
“Because it’s not as awful as the taste that man leaves in my mouth.”
Maisie’s eyes widened. “D-did you…”
