“She’s had some bad experiences,” Xander went on to say. “Nothing traumatizing or scandalous, mind you. But she’s looking for something more than most Doms are willing to give.”
“Full-time submission?” I already knew this.
“Yes and no. Clarissa’s issue comes when she’s at the club. Something clicks off in her brain and she transforms into … I don’t know. A doll, I guess you could say. She tends to block out her own desires and focus on her Doms.”
That surprised me.
“In case you don’t know, most of the men she’s dated in the past are ones she’s met at the clubs. They’re generally looking for a brief encounter and she tends to settle for that, which, as you and I both know, won’t satisfy someone looking for the whole package.”
“I talked to her about it. In case you’re confused, I’m not new to this, Xander.”
A lot of people thought I wasn’t capable of handling my own life, but I’d made it this far without help, so I had no idea where they came up with that notion. When it came to my lifestyle, I’d been accused of acting the role. I damn sure wasn’t acting. I was a Dominant through and through and I’d known it since I was too young to truly understand what it meant.
“Talked?” Xander questioned.
“Yes.” I sighed. “It’s what I do.”
Xander chuckled. “I’ve seen you jump to conclusions a time or two.”
Fine. He had a point. “Who doesn’t? But you forget I’m not new to this scene.”
“But you like to push buttons.”
“I do.” It was true. I loved pushing buttons. I also wanted things to go my way. I had a knack for making my true feelings about a situation known. Xander would’ve seen this firsthand by the way I interacted with Luke McCoy. But, in my defense, that was a power play between me and Luke, something that kept us on an even keel.
“Be careful with her, Trent.”
“Did you give Shane the same warning?” I countered, trying to rein in my anger.
“What Clarissa had with Shane was … different.”
“Different how?” I didn’t want to know the details of her past relationship with Shane, but I found my curiosity piqued.
“Shane wasn’t interested the way you are,” Xander explained.
The man sounded as though he knew me. Which, in a sense, he did. However, I tended to keep my thoughts to myself.
Xander sighed. “Just be careful with her.”
“Can’t make any promises. Clarissa doesn’t need to be coddled. She needs a Dom who understands her. Maybe that’s been the problem all along.”
I noticed Troy was watching me intently, as though trying to hear the other side of the conversation. He would’ve been disappointed because there was silence on the other end of the line.
I didn’t feel the need to fill it with mundane chatter, so I waited Xander out.
“Perhaps I underestimated you,” Xander finally said, his tone subdued.
“Don’t feel bad about that,” I told him. “Most people do.”
“So, I can tell my wife you’ve taken a serious interest in Clarissa?”
I chuckled. “You can tell your wife whatever you’d like to tell her. As for my intentions with Clarissa, that’s between her and me.”
“She won’t use a safe word,” Xander stated abruptly.
That got my attention. “What?”
“You heard me. She won’t use a safe word. She’s all about doing whatever pleases her Dom. It’s gotten her into trouble a time or two.”
“You’re saying she’s too trusting?”
“No. I’m saying she’s looking to please someone and she won’t use a safe word no matter how much she needs to. If you get her to submit once, she’s going to give you everything, follow every instruction to the letter. You’ll have to watch her.”
I glanced down at the file sitting on my desk. “I noticed she doesn’t have any limits on file at Devotion.”
“That doesn’t surprise me. However, she does have them. Like I said, she’s looking to please, and she doesn’t understand the concept of give and take. She believes it’s her responsibility to give everything.”
Well, that was something we would have to work on. I wasn’t interested in a woman who would succumb to my every whim.
“If you want more details, you should talk to Shane.”
“Yeah. I’m considering it.” I had absolutely no desire to talk to Shane; however, it might be necessary. I knew the man had been intimate with Clarissa because he’d been her training Dom at the BDSM club we belonged to before Devotion came about. Even thinking about it made me want to punch the guy in the face.
Xander sighed again. “I understand you asked Mercedes to invite Clarissa to lunch last week, Trent. You disguised it as business but Mercedes knows better. We’ve seen the two of you interact, and yes, my wife might’ve decided to play the little matchmaker. That doesn’t mean it’s a guarantee.”
“Nothing is a guarantee, Xander.”
