“I need you to listen to me,” he said, pressing his palms together and resting them between his legs.
“Is that true?” She nodded her head to where the file lay next to him on the coffee table.
“Some of it is true. Not all of it. No, listen. I need to talk to you about this.”
“I’m listening,” she said. The tears in her eyes killed him.
“I know you hate me right now.”
“I don’t hate you, Stephen. I could never hate you. What I don’t like is finding this stuff out about the man I love from someone else instead of you telling me yourself.” She looked down at her hands after she spoke. He’d heard the words but didn’t know what to say.
His heart stopped beating. “You love me?”
“Of course I do, you dope. How could I not? I’ve given you so much of myself already. I spend most of my days not wanting to be anywhere else, but I need to understand what that is.” She rubbed her hands over her knees. The tears spilled down her cheeks. “Explain it to me, and I’ll try to understand.”
It was more than he expected. He nodded and waited for the words to come to him. “I own an exclusive gentlemen’s club called Possession. That part was true. There is also a BDSM club known as Ravage run by James, the guy who pulled me away from Lucas and Sean. There is a belief that there are men out there who are particularly possessive about their women.”
“Most people are possessive about the partner in their lives. It doesn’t mean they go to a club and do that.”
“BDSM is James’s field. I go to the club to watch but nothing else. I know some of the men who like to take it to the next level. I don’t. This club has been passed down through generations ever since the Knox line began. The members of the club know they act with discretion. They can take their women and know they are safe. Men within the club will not try to hit on any of the women.”
“It sounds reasonable.”
“The jealousy is what makes it bad. When I saw Paul in your apartment I wanted to hurt him. No one can touch what’s mine, and you’re mine. It’s a little joke among the men that we consider ourselves ‘owners’. You’re our women, and we own you. It’s a very outdated part of the club, but the statements go with the history.” He tried to explain. She sat forward getting closer to him.
“I get it.”
“There was an incident a couple of years back. A guy by the name of Lloyd Black used the club to abuse his wife. He’s in prison serving a sentence for attacking his wife. Rebecca ended up in hospital with serious injuries.” He didn’t go into detail. Stephen reached for the file and flipped it open.
“In my club what happens is a lot of drinking and talking. A place for men like myself to socialise without fear of being ridiculed for our beliefs. Some men like to bring their women to the club and make love to them with an audience. In my club no one shares. I don’t allow it.”
He pulled out a photo of one of the couples. “This is a woman who has been happily married to the man in the photo for over ten years. He runs an investment group and is possessive about who she talks to. The club offers him the chance to be free and open with her away from the prying eyes of most of the public.”
She nodded. He put the photo aside and reached for another. “That is James, and he’s going to be pissed someone took a photo of this. He’d training a submissive woman. He’s a dominant through and through. This is his whole life. I’ve known him since he was a boy. Our clubs are part of the same group. Our parents were close. What he is doing here is punishing a woman. It is convenient how the photographer left out the vital part of the picture,” he said.
“What vital part?”
“She’s turned on, Ursula. If they had gotten her pussy in the shot, you would see she was dripping with cum.”
Her cheeks turned red. He caressed the red then went back to each picture discussing in great detail what each one was.
Afterwards, he put the file aside and stared at her.
“Someone wanted to break us up?” she asked.
Stephen shook his head. “They want me distracted. If you leave me then my mind won’t be on the club, and things will go wrong.”
“Why didn’t you tell me about this?”
He sat on the sofa and pulled her into his lap. “You’re different from all the women I know. I’m used to them falling at my feet for my money or the power I have to make things happen. I’m a wealthy, influential businessman, and that usually gets me what I want. You worked for me, argued with me, and challenged me at all points. I thought this possession was a load of bullshit.” He stroked her hair as she sat across his lap. His cock stirred with her closeness.