~*~*~*~ "There is nothing either good or bad, but thinking makes it so." ~*~*~*~

"Good morning, Miss Grey."

Startled, I dropped Dante's The Divine Comedy and whirled, finding myself facing the object of my thoughts for the last few days. After reading his contract, I had stuffed the phone he'd given me deep in my closet and tried to forget about him. It hadn't worked, and I should have known that he would come looking for me. Part of me had even wanted to, had imagined what I would say if I saw him again.

"Um… hi," I breathed and stooped down to grab my book, holding it to my chest like a shield. "You're… here. At the library."

"Yes," he said, and I wished that I could read his face. "This is where I thought you might be. When is your shift over?"

"Ten minutes." Why can't I lie to him? "Unless we get a rush." Why did Sarah have to be sick today?

He nodded and straightened. "I'll be waiting for you right outside, then. We need to talk."

I should have told him no. I should have kept my distance from him. But I only found myself nodding in agreement. "Ten minutes."

He said nothing else, simply turned and headed for the exit. He moved so gracefully, even in slacks and a dress shirt. I had missed that inborn confidence, though I knew that I shouldn't have been thinking about him. Shouldn't be meeting with him when my shift was over. But I found myself texting Taylor and my father, telling them that I was picking up an extra shift because we were crowded and Sarah was sick. I received a quick response that told me to call Taylor whenever I thought I would be ready.

Lying… we can just add that to the list of all the stupid things you've been doing lately. Sneaking off campus to go and see a guy without permission. Even considering the possibility of entering into a BDSM relationship with someone. What's adding one more? Lying…

I shoved my conscience out of my head and went back to work, making sure that everything was done so that I could leave on time when my shift was over. My replacement arrived three minutes early, so I was able to quickly give her an update on what I had done and then dart away before anyone could decide they needed me.

Knowing it would make me late (and cursing that fact), I went to the bathroom. When I was done, I quickly checked my ponytail and my makeup. Once I was satisfied that I looked okay, I headed outside, finding Adrian sitting on the steps, scrolling through his cell phone, looking for all the world like a bored businessman. I just stood there, admiring the way that the breeze ruffled his espresso hair.

Before I could walk up and announce my presence, he said, "You're four minutes late, Miss Grey. Did they need you inside?"

I easily could have lied to him, but for some reason, that was too hard for me. "No. I needed to duck into the restroom for a moment."

Adrian slipped his cell phone into his pocket, stood, and just looked at me. The ten feet between us felt like miles. Miles that I wanted to cover. "You haven't responded to any of my e-mails or text messages or phone calls. Problems with the new phone?"

"No," I choked out. "It… it works fine. I just… I needed some time to process all of this and I just-"

"Take a breath, Phoebe," he said and then climbed two of the steps, moving closer to me. "If you had read my e-mails, you would know that I made a few slight changes to the contract, at your suggestion. You should read over it."

He didn't ask if I even wanted to be involved with him anymore. But the thing was… I did. Standing there in front of him, I knew that there was nowhere else that I wanted to be. I knew that it was crazy – that I didn't know him well enough to be thinking those kinds of things – but I also knew that he might be my only chance to experience real pleasure. I didn't respond as other women, so I needed to try something a little outside the box.

I just hoped that actual boxes weren't involved…

"This scares me," I admitted.

Something in his fiery blue eyes softened and he nodded, taking one step down and gesturing to the street below, where his black Lexus was waiting. "No Arthur today. I thought we could take a drive and talk things through." When he saw me thinking, he said, "I'll have you back here by whatever time you'll need to be back here. Please, talk to me."

"Two hours," I decided and got out my own cell phone so that I could send Taylor a text. "I need to be back here in two hours."

"Done," he declared, and watched as I sent Taylor a text to pick me up in two and a half hours. Taylor was always early, so I was playing it safe. Once I received a response, I slipped my phone back into my pocket and nodded, heading down the steps and toward the car. He opened the door for me, I slipped inside, and then we were off.

I watched him drive, noting that he only kept one hand – the left one – on the wheel. The other he rested on his leg. He watched the road but also shot glances at me, and I decided that checking out the interior of the car would be easier for me. It was a nice car, probably the newest model. But I could feel his eyes on me and I was getting distracted…

"If you get too hot or too cold, let me know," he said, and I could only nod in response.

We drove past my father's old apartment building and then I said, "You never told me not to be scared."

"There is beauty in fear," he said. "Is it that they fear the pain of death, or could it be they fear the joy of life?"

"You said that I would enjoy it," I answered. "You said that the pain and the pleasure… they're like the same thing."

"You need a stronger hand to respond to. I can be that hand for you. I'll show you the pleasures that sex can offer."

I had no doubt. I could feel myself caving every second that he continued to speak. "I have to let you hurt me?"

"You'll have safe words; you saw that in the contract," he said. "If you say 'green', then I know that you're okay and that I can push you harder. If you say 'yellow', then I'll stop and check your bonds or ask you what the problem is, but I know that you're still okay. If you say 'red', I stop immediately and we take a step back to talk about what went wrong. Your well-being is always going to be my top concern during play, Phoebe. The submissive, in traditional roles, has all of the power."

It made me feel better, knowing that I would have a way to slow things down or stop if I got scared. "And your rules… how will I know what the punishment will be if I break one?"

"That will largely be up to me, as the dominant," he said. "It'll depend on the severity of the broken rule, and sometimes I'll ask for your input. I am not a cruel master, Miss Grey. I try not to make split-second decisions. I will never intentionally cause you excessive harm as a punishment."

The thought of him punishing me for anything – much less, rules that he had made up – was odd to me. But it was a good kind of odd, strangely enough. I liked this concept of submitting to a man and letting him give me the pleasure that I craved but had never received. "How do you suppose I get away every weekend?"

"That'll be up to you," he said. "You know your parents better than I do; you know what they would believe. Say you're spending the weekend with friends or some such thing. I'll help any way that I can with that."

I knew that my parents would believe whatever I told them. Ted had been a wild child, always attempting (and sometimes succeeding) to sneak out and go to parties or go hook up with girls. I was the good child, the one who went to bed when she was told and always did well in school. I'd never been in any major trouble before, so why would they expect any different from me now? "I think I can do that. With a weekend off a month. Or maybe every other weekend."

"If we do every other weekend, then I need one night every week as well." He was a fierce negotiator, but I supposed that's what made him such a good businessman. "Or a few hours during the day, if you could stand to skip school. I'll leave that choice up to you."

The thoughts were whirring around in my head, but I knew what I wanted to do. Knew what everything inside of me was pulling me to do. And a few minutes later, I finally gave the answer that, for me, was the only one there was.

"Okay," I told him. "I'll be your submissive."