*Thank-you for the reviews on the last chapter they were greatly appreciated. Thank-you all so much*
"I think Journey really liked me," says Roman as we are playing golf the next day.
"Were we listening to the same conversation?" I ask as Seth gets ready to take his swing at the ball. "I don't think she liked you."
"I'm sure that she did," he says with a smile. "Do you think she will call me? I'm waiting for her call."
"Maybe you shouldn't wait for that call. I don't think she's going to call you back."
"She really seemed interested," he says.
"Um, I think we were involved in two different conversations," I say, "I don't think she was as interested in you like you think if she was even interested in you at all."
"Come on, Dean you saw the way she was looking at me, you know she wanted me."
"You know it's men like you that give men like me and other decent men a bad name. Not every woman wants you and not every woman wants to sleep with you. Women are more than sexual objects. They have emotions, they have feelings, they have choices and we should respect them. Stop thinking that every woman you meet wants to have sex with you because I'm pretty sure Journey doesn't."
"When did you become such a feminist?" he asks.
"I'm not a feminist, I just believe that women have the right to be respected and not seen as sex objects by men like you. Some women do enjoy a gentleman."
"As if you were a gentleman," says Roman. "Remember some of the nights you and I had together. We had a lot of fun with those girls. Do you remember?" he asks making me remember a time when I was like him. There was a time when I was just like him going out every night, finding a different woman or two maybe three to entertain at night. We had some good times together going out at night and enjoying the New York City nightlife but now that I am older and more established I don't want that kind of lifestyle anymore. I don't want to have casual sex anymore. I am way past that in my life time. There comes a time when you have to grow up in life and settle down. My next move is to find myself a wife not another woman just to take to bed at night, not that I have anything against casual sex I just have an empire to maintain and a legacy to carry on through children of my own and my family. I was never like Roman though with the way it came to treating women. He is more coarse and unrefined than I ever was. "Seth, have you seen Journey?" he asks.
"No I haven't had the pleasure of meeting her," he says, "and don't bring me into this argument. My wife wouldn't appreciate me jumping into the middle of your argument."
"I didn't ask you to," says Roman.
"Seth, don't you think women should be treated with dignity and respect, to be treated as an equal?"
"Of course I believe that. I think there's more to a woman than sex appeal. I personally think that a woman's brains are most attractive. I don't care what she looks like on the outside but as long as she's intelligent and a good person then I am all for it. If she's beautiful to that's an added bonus."
"You would say that," says Roman, "your wife is smoking."
"I think so," Seth says with a little laugh.
"And when you meet Journey you'll see how smoking she is. Seth, this woman is fucking beautiful. She's hot. I see why Dean took her into his home and gave her a place to stay. Nice job, Buddy."
"It wasn't because of how she looked," I say. "I want to help her."
"And you don't think she's smoking hot?" he asks.
"Um, of course I do," I say nervously thinking of the kiss that Journey and I shared the night before. I have no idea what it meant for us. We haven't talked about it since. "She's hot, she's beautiful and she's intelligent."
"So you don't ever think about taking her to your bedroom and fucking her for hours?" he asks as I feel my face heat. "I know the old Dean would have done that."
"Roman," I say.
"Admit it, you would fuck her if she would let you. All she would have to say is, Dean let's fuck and you would have her in your bed in a second. Am I right?" he asks.
"Maybe," I say biting my tongue not telling them about the night before mainly because I don't want Roman to make a big deal about it like I know he will.
"Wait," says Roman with a smile, "something happened between the two of you didn't it?" he asks.
"Maybe," I say.
"Did you sleep with her?" he asks with his smile fading. "Is that why she won't call me back?" he asks sounding defeated.
"I didn't sleep with her and she's not calling you back because she isn't interested in you, Roman. Not every woman on this planet is attracted to you trust me. Journey is NOT attracted to you by any means."
"So what happened then?" he asks.
"Yeah," says Seth, "now I'm curious. What did happen between you? Did she just suck you off? She was a prostitute before wasn't she?"
"No to both of those questions. She's a girl that went through a lot in her life and got the bad end of the stick. She was going places until her world crashed down around her. She's not a prostitute and she never was," I explain.
"So what happened then between the two of you?" he asks again.
"We kissed," I say, "Journey and I kissed and it was like nothing I ever felt before. It was different. It just felt right."
"I see," says Seth with a smile. "So you are attracted to her?"
"Of course I am. I didn't expect to be but I am."
"Is the attraction what made you bring her into your home?"
"No, I really wanted to help her. The kiss just happened. The feelings just happened. I had no hidden agenda. Fate just happened."
"She isn't going to call me back is she?" asks Roman.
"No, Roman, she isn't I don't know what to do guys. I have this beautiful attractive woman staying with me that I have developed feelings for and we kissed. She's also going to be working with me on Monday. I want her but I don't want things to get in the way of my agenda. I want to ask her out on a date but is that the right thing to do? Should I just keep things professional?"
"I think that you and Journey need to talk about it. Who kissed who?" asks Seth.
"She kissed me," I say.
"So she's obviously feeling something too and she's just attracted to you as you are to her. You two should talk and see what happens now that you kissed. Maybe something more could happen but you two have to agree on it," says Seth.
"But I don't want things to not work out and then something happens between us and I can't help her the way I want to. Not to mention it is weird having my girlfriend be my personal assistance that's almost like dom/sub stuff," I say.
"It is who you ARE," he says. "You can't hide who you are, Dean."
"I know," I say. "She's just been through so much I don't want to scare her away and I don't like to do this boyfriend/girlfriend thing. I was not really a hearts and flowers type of guy before but now I know I would buy her millions of flowers."
"One step at a time, just get a feel of everything and see how it goes," he says. "You will never know unless you talk to her."
"You're right," I say. "I can do this."
When we finished our game of golf which was spent talking more and more about Journey as we went on about our game and I had lost all concentration on golf and more about Journey and myself, we went out to have lunch together before I headed back to my penthouse so that I could talk to Journey about everything Seth, Roman and I had discussed over lunch. She knows so little about me and who I truly am. They suggested that I tell her and let it out in the open and go from there. Even if she doesn't want me to be who I am I am willing to settle to be who she wants me to be as long as I can be with her.
I step off my elevator into the foyer of my penthouse leaving my security behind me as I walk through my penthouse. It smells like apple cinnamon as I make my way to the living room. I see Journey sitting on the couch reading a magazine. "It smells good in here," I say with a smile.
"I got some air fresheners," she explains. "I did some cleaning too while you were out."
"You really didn't need to do that," I say. "The maid can do that."
"I thought you wanted me to work for you," she says, "and help keep the house clean?"
"No not anymore, Journey," I say. "You're my personal assistant. That's the only job you have. I'm not going to make you clean up my penthouse or cook dinner. I have housekeepers and maids that can do all that for us."
"Are you sure because I want to keep my worth around here," she says.
"No, you're fine," I say with a smile. "I think we should talk though."
"Okay," she says nervously, "did I do something wrong last night when I kissed you? Because if I did I am really sorry it will never happen again I promise, Dean. I will never kiss you again. I crossed the line. I shouldn't have done that," she rambles. "I really shouldn't have done that you're trying to help me and here I am screwing everything up by kissing you. I crossed the line. I shouldn't haveā¦" she says before I allow her to say no more, catching her on the couch, kissing her again the way she kissed me last night. She tries to fight it at first but she relaxes, cupping my cheek as I cup her cheeks as I kiss her softly. "Dean," she says looking at me with her beautiful eyes.
"I told you that you were fine," I say settling into the seat beside her, "but yeah we need to talk about that."
"Okay," she says biting her lip. "What's wrong?"
"I like you, Journey. I like you a lot. When I moved you in here that was not my intention but there's just something about you that attracts me to you and when I saw you I had this vision that I wanted to help you and then we spent more time together. I saw how genuine you were and how wonderful you were and I grew attracted to you."
"Dean," she says, "what are you saying?"
"Do you feel the same way about me that I feel about you?" I ask.
"I think so," she says with a smile. "I tried to hide it for so long but I couldn't hide it anymore. Last night after hearing your story and seeing your face I needed to act on my feelings to show you that I care about you and that I'm attracted to you. I thought about it for a second and then kissed you because I wanted to. I had to."
"I'm glad you did," I say with a smile. "I just don't want things to get messy between us, Journey. That's what concerns me. You're in a good place and I don't want to fuck it up because I am attracted to you."
"We could try," she suggests. "If it doesn't work out we can always be friends afterward."
"If you really think we can be friends," I say. "But I'm not your average guy, Journey. I'm a little different when it comes to my interests in women. I have never been the relationship type of guy. I have never done that before."
"Then what have you done?" she asks.
"I've owned women, Journey," I say telling her the truth and the look on her face is indescribable.
"You owned women?" she asks. "What does that mean?"
"I have had contractual relationships," I explain. "I'm a dominant which means I tend to attract myself to submissive women."
"You're into BDSM?" she asks. "Are you trying to contract me to be your sub?"
"You're familiar with it?" I ask.
"I know some things about it," she says.
"And no I'm not contracting you to be my sub. I wouldn't do that. I feel differently about you that's what I am trying to say. I'm just telling you that's my past. I still have the dominance trait in me but I don't practice that lifestyle anymore. I gave it up a couple years ago and being through what you have been through there is no way I could contract you to be my sub."
"That's kind of different than an abusive relationship," she says. "Doms look out for their subs and protect them. They do what's best for them while an abuser destroys their victim emotionally and physically. Doms don't push subs past their limits there's a big difference."
"So you do know about the life of a sub and dom, how is that? Have you ever been a sub before?"
"Well, not exactly," she says. "I just read about it. I have been interested in it. I read those Fifty Shades books and got interested and that's when I learned they were more about abuse than BDSM. The girl was pushed beyond her limits even after she gave her safe word. That's abuse. I wouldn't mind trying it out."
"I had other ideas in mind for us that didn't exactly involve that," I say.
"And what was that?" she asks. "I'm willing to try the sub thing if you're willing to be my dom."
I grow a smile on my face. "Journey, you don't know what you're signing yourself up for. But my idea was more like taking you out on dates, buy you flowers and candy, having an actual relationship with you not any of that Dom/sub stuff," I explain.
"Are you asking me out, Dean?" she asks with a hopeful smile.
"I guess I am," I say smiling back at her. "So do you want to go out on a date and be in a relationship with me?"
"Dean," she says, "yes to both but if you are interested we could do both. We could have a relationship and I could be your sub."
"I don't know about that," I say, "how about we just try the relationship thing first and then maybe we'll try that out but I really don't want to besides, I don't think you're as submissive as you think you are," I wink.
"I guess not," she says, "but I would still be willing to try."
"I'll think about it but in the meantime, would you like to go out to dinner with me tomorrow night?"
"Yes, I would," she says with a smile. "I'd like that very much."
"Me too," I say with a smile.
"Can I kiss you?" she asks.
"Journey, if we are going to do this relationship thing you never have to ask me if you can kiss me. You can kiss me whenever you want, I'm yours," I say with a smile as she smiles back at me before she kisses me passionately.
*a/n: Do you think Roman feels defeated since he won't be hearing from Journey? What did you think of Dean's conversation with his friends about how a woman should be treated and his feelings for Journey? Do you believe that Dean was once a dom before he got involved with Journey? What makes him want to try something different with her than other women in his past? Were you surprised that Journey is willing to try it out? What do you think of Dean asking her out on a date and for a relationship? Do you think they will practice the Dom/Sub lifestyle eventually? Please review and thank-you for reading.
