‘That’s me.’
‘But were you always aware of your, uh, inclinations?’ Rob wanted to know. ‘Or did it gradually dawn on you?’
‘What, being a domme, you mean? I did it for cash to begin with. Found out pretty quickly that I had a taste for it, though I wasn’t so keen on the men. As you know, I ain’t that way inclined. I’d always fantasise that the hairy bloke I was whipping was a lovely, soft, round girl. Then I met a few people, in the course of my work and, what with one thing and another, I ended up fronting the club.’
‘A bit of this, a bit of that,’ said Rob with a jokey sparring action. ‘Ducking and diving.’
‘Don’t joke,’ said Allyson, and the atmosphere went from relaxed to guarded in the time it took for her to snap the words out. ‘It’s all very funny for you, posh college boy, slumming it with the likes of me. But I could tell you stories that’d turn that lovely hair of yours white. I’ve seen it all. I wish I hadn’t. But there ain’t nothing I can do about it now.’
‘You run a club,’ said Richard, in an attempt to soothe.
‘Yeah, I run a club. I don’t get my hands dirty. But I know what goes on. Don’t ask me to talk about it.’
‘I didn’t mean to.’
Rob grimaced at Richard, who remained tight-lipped.
‘OK, well, it’s getting late anyway,’ said Blake. ‘I might call it a night.’
‘Wonder if Lucy’s still awake,’ said Richard, looking at the ceiling.
‘I hope so,’ said Rob. ‘All this story telling has got me a bit frisky.’
‘TMI,’ drawled Allyson, but she made no move, her hand still closed around her empty glass.
‘No such thing as TMI here this weekend,’ said Blake, watching the other men climb the staircase.
‘I’m going to check on Emma,’ said Allyson, standing up, but before she could follow Richard and Rob, the newly installed landline rang.
‘What the fuck?’
She went to pick it up, and recognised the voice on the line instantly.
‘Why have you switched off your phone?’
‘I haven’t. Reception’s shit down here.’
‘You can’t be out of range, Al. You can’t do that.’
‘What’s up?’
‘You’ve got to get back here. And bring that bitch of yours with you. She’s got some questions to answer.’
It All Comes Down To Love
‘I don’t understand. What did he actually say?’
Emma couldn’t get comfortable in the driver’s seat, she tried resting most of her weight on one hip, but then the seatbelt was across
her neck. Nothing worked. Nothing. worked and she didn’t want to be here, in this car, heading for London and the unknown.
‘He said jack shit,’ muttered Allyson. ‘Just to get our arses down to London.’
‘He specifically wanted me to come?’
‘Yeah. He said, “Bring your bitch.”’
‘He’s still as charming as ever then.’