Shadows in the Dark (Dark Lotus #1)

30. Brynn

In the weeks following the break-in at my condo, I had managed to relax a slight bit. My sweet neighbors were being hyper-vigilant for me, as I was for them. I made sure to never be at home without the alarm on and made doubly sure to check the locks when I left the house entirely. While it was my own oversight that contributed to a stranger being in my personal space, it could have happened regardless.

I was now going to the office on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Thursdays, and every other Monday. True to their word, Edward and Thomas were running interference with Randall and keeping me so damn busy that he was forced to find another assistant. That slightly eased the knot in my stomach when I was around the man. Strangely enough, he’d been acting extremely professional toward me. It made me wonder if his new admin was now the focus of his creepy attention. I certainly hoped not for her sake.

EREBUS69 and I had not met again at Lotus, nor had we had another video call, but he assured me it was because of his work schedule and the grueling hours he kept. He didn’t seem to be acting any differently than I’d known him to in the months since we had first connected on Olympus, but a small piece of me was insecure.

My sister had felt the same way about a Dominant from Lotus as well. While she had scened with several of them, there was the one in particular with whom she said she felt very connected.

Dear Diary - Part of his appeal is the fact that he is so mysterious. Ever elusive, I know little about him except he is dark and dangerous, with an air of tragic loneliness around him. It’s so forbidden, but I want to be the woman… the submissive… to take that sadness away from him.

Blair then went on to tout his skill in the playroom, parts of her descriptions making me blush to the roots of my hair and causing my toes to tingle. I had experienced some of that with EREBUS69. He made me feel in ways I’d not ever done so before. It was more than a bit unnerving, but I knew this was what those in the lifestyle meant when they talked about intimacy and trust. My sister mentioned those things, too, and how if she was discovered, it would ruin her chances with “Him”.

“Discovered how? God, I hate your cryptic messages, B,” I muttered to myself.

My cell phone pinged, and I smiled when I saw it was a message from EREBUS69. He was requesting, rather, he was directing me to log on at 8:27 PM that evening for a second attempt at our video call. The first one had been so rudely derailed when I was dealing with SFPD. I still had the lingerie he had sent before and tonight would be the first time I would wear it. For him.

After exchanging a few more messages, I went back to my current project, still smiling to myself about the evening ahead.

“Brynn, you are coming to my Happy Hour tomorrow night, right? You’ve been one of my favorite people here and it wouldn’t be the same if you weren’t there to help send me off with good wishes.” I glanced up at Colleen and nodded. She was one of the few people from the office I was willing to socialize with, and now she was leaving us to take a dream job overseas.

“Of course I’m coming. While I’m sad to see you go, I’m so thrilled for you. Besides, now I will have a friendly face to see the next time I go to Japan.”

“When have you been to Japan?” she asked excitedly.

“Never, but now is the time to start,” I teased. It would be sad to see her go, but Colleen had been trying for over a year to get into a role where she could teach English as a second language at a corporate level. It was all down to connections and networking, and hers had finally come through for her.

“Okay, so,” she said, her voice dropping low, “a small group of us is planning to meet on Thursday at The Felix around 6:30 for tapas and a few cocktails. Nothing big. No fuss. No formal invite. I just want to celebrate with the few of you here I actually interacted with, you know?” Flipping her blonde hair over her shoulder, she gave me a conspiratorial wink, set a stack of envelopes and packages on my desk and walked off, leaving me chuckling. She would definitely be missed.

Running a few errands after work, on a whim, I darted in to the lingerie store where I’d had luck finding the coral-colored gown several months prior. I just wanted to see what new items they’d gotten in and maybe be inspired for the next time I went to Lotus. Of course, what I wore to the club was mostly dictated by EREBUS69, but perhaps I could find a few things for myself. After all, a girl liked to feel pretty under her clothes and there wasn’t an item in here that wouldn’t make me feel pretty.

I picked out several sets in black and red, feeling my heart race at the thought of him peeling me out of them. I also eyed a set in a gorgeous turquoise blue, but considering how much was already in my hand, I put it back with a sigh. They might still have my size in a couple of weeks, or maybe it might go on sale.

Once I had purchased the lingerie, I stepped out of the store and for the briefest of seconds, I felt the back of my neck tingle. It was fleeting, and after looking around, I didn’t see anyone watching me, or doing anything that was sketchy, so I brushed it off and went to my next stop on the way home.

One by one, the items on my list were checked off and I was making great time. My final stop was the market on the corner where I browsed the local produce. I would be able to make a huge salad and add chicken for dinner.

“Hey, Brynn, everything still quiet at your place?” the store associate inquired. Nodding, we then kept up a light conversation while I filled my basket with what I needed, topping it all off with a gorgeous bunch of sunflowers.

“Hot date, tonight?” he teased, making me laugh.

“You know better than that. Lug Nut is my one and only, at least for the foreseeable future,” I said, with no regrets. I really did like my life and my relative solitude. Emotional connections were hard and now that Blair was gone… well, my most important one was gone, too.

After paying for my items, I walked the short distance to my condo. Taking care of the dog, making and eating dinner and hopping in for a quick shower left me with just enough time to dress for my video call.

I gently removed the lingerie from its bed of lilac tissue paper, releasing a low whistle when I got another good look at what I was holding.

More straps and sheer fabric than anything, the material was almost like gossamer while I slipped the panties on and up over my hips. It took a few minutes to figure out where and how things fastened, but soon enough, my waist, lower abdomen and upper thighs were encircled with the satin straps. Turning in the mirror, the back of the panties were high cut, exposing the majority of my ass cheeks without actually being a thong.

Next was the top, which presented its own set of challenges. Eventually, though, I was in and clasping the collar around my neck. My eyes went wide at the sight of myself with the circle around my throat. I knew what it meant in the BDSM world. A collar meant you belonged to a Dom. It meant you were his. It meant you were owned.

I shivered at the thought of being owned by EREBUS69, though the possibility of that happening was just this side of unlikely. He didn’t strike me as the type of man who was interested in permanent personal attachments. If he ever became that type of man, then whomever he chose to be his would be one lucky woman.

Feeling a bit self-conscious, I grabbed a satin dressing gown and went into the kitchen, intent on grabbing one glass of wine and a bottle of water. Having secured both, I turned off lights as I went back to my bedroom, smiling as I heard the dog snoring soundly from his bed in the living room.

It was 8:20 PM, which gave me enough time to get settled, log online, and take a sip of wine while I waited. I often wondered if he ever logged on early in invisible mode and lurked to watch and see what others were doing. At this very moment, he could be watching my light turn green, and if so, I hope I pleased him for being prompt.

The channels were busy tonight. Lots of streamers showing movies and TV shows. Someone was sharing the classic Deepthroat movie and there were over a hundred others watching. Anya said hello, we exchanged some small talk and then she went back to chatting about the film stream. I didn’t comment, but I did smile at some of the comments being made.

Several minutes later, another light turned green, I was diverted into a private chat room, and I was finally able to show EREBUS69 exactly how his gift looked.