Chapter 3

At four o'clock Ursula let herself into Stephen's house with the spare key he'd given her. She had no idea what happened to all the other cleaners he used to employ. There was no need to dwell on the other helpers. This job meant she could finish college and live comfortably. Or as comfortably as someone could with an abusive slob. She shuddered, thinking about the mess Paul had gotten himself into the night before.

She'd woken up to find him lying in the chair, cock out and splattered semen over the furniture.

If she didn't faint at the sight of blood she'd have chopped his dick off to teach him a lesson about making a mess. Instead, she'd gotten immense pleasure out of smacking two saucepans together to wake him up. Petty emotions but a girl had to get her kicks out of something in life.

There hadn't been a car in the driveway. She closed the door, put her coat and bag where Stephen had told her to. Walking through to the kitchen, she prepared some food then began to do the cleaning. Pulling out her phone, she put her headphones in her ears, turned on the music and began to dance. She loved dancing. Ursula moved round the house, cleaning, allowing the beat of the music to take over. Her singing voice left a lot to be desired, but with the music pounding in her ears she didn't need to listen to the sound of her own voice.

She rocked her hips to the dance beat, singing as loud as she could. In one hand she held a feather duster, and with the other, she pretended to have a microphone to sing into.

In her rare solitary moments, she could pretend to be someone different. In her mind she didn't have a lame-ass

boyfriend or spend most of her time daydreaming about the future.

She twirled round, screamed and fell on her ass to the floor. Stephen went to her, helping her to her feet. "Sorry, I didn't mean to scare you," he said. Ursula knew the damage was done. The laughter in his eyes along with the smile confirmed her suspicions. He was laughing at her.

"You could wear a bell you know."

"Are you sure you could hear me?"

The heat spread in her cheeks. "So, you could have

done the gentlemanly thing and left." She got to her feet, rubbing her butt.

"I never said I was a gentleman."

"You live in a mansion. You reek of money and silver spoon crap. You're a gentleman." She cried out as he caught her hips in his grip, pulling her against him. He placed his hands under hers cupping her butt. She felt the press of his cock against her stomach. Her mouth went dry while her pussy grew wet with want.

"I may have money, but never mistake me for being a gentleman. When I see what I want, I take it no matter what the consequences are." His voice captured her attention making it hard for her to look away.

Biting her lip, she stared at him, conscious of the possessive way his hand moved down the seam of her ass. She got the sense if the fabric weren't there he'd be running in between her cheeks. He buried his face in the curve of her neck. She tilted her head to the side to get him closer. Goose-bumps erupted on her arms. Her breathing changed as her nipples grew hard. The bra she'd chosen this morning felt too tight when her nipples swelled with arousal.

He kissed her neck, causing her to moan. Every touch felt amazing. She was not the woman with the jerk-off boyfriend. She was Ursula Mills, a woman with needs. Slowly, he kissed up her neck to her cheek. One of his hands moved from her ass to cup her cheek. The tenderness in his

touch was not lost on her. His thumb rubbed her bottom lip pulling it out from between her teeth. "You'll hurt yourself if you keep doing that," he said.

The sound of the telephone ringing interrupted the moment. She turned her attention away looking over his shoulder. His body remained wrapped around hers. Their reflection in the mirror over on the far wall caught her attention. Her hair was pulled into a ponytail. He'd caught her up in his arms, pushing her breasts high up. She looked like a seductress with a fat ass.

Don't let that jerk invade this moment. Stephen doesn't see you like that. Feel his cock pressed against your belly. He wants you.

You want him, too.

She shook her head, pushing on his chest to break their contact. He let her go, and she sensed he let her go with great reluctance. "You'd better answer the phone." She picked up her phone, which had fallen out of her pocket during her fall.

He stared at her for several moments then left. Only when he left the room did she let her breath out. Her hands were shaking from what had taken place. They hadn't kissed, yet her lips looked red and swollen. Turning away, she began to clean. The scent of her cooking assailed her, so she put her cleaning supplies away and made her way to the kitchen. Stephen was seated at the counter on the phone. She ignored him, going to the over to check on the chicken. His conversation sounded like work. Turning away she went to the pantry to gather ingredients to finish off the chicken.

When she entered the kitchen, she saw he'd begun to chop some tomato and cucumber for the salad. "Will you be joining me today?" he asked.

"If you want me to."

Stephen caught her cheek getting her to look at him. "I want you to eat with me. I like your company."

"Then I'll eat with you." She moved away to grab the chicken from the oven. Coming back to the counter she saw him cutting the cucumber wrong. "Don't do it like that." Ursula leaned over showing him how to get the watery seeds out of the centre. In doing so, the long sleeved blouse she'd been wearing came up from the stretch, exposing her bruised wrist. She didn't have time to cover it up before he caught her wrist, holding it up to inspect.

"It's nothing," she said, trying to extract her hand from him.

"Nothing? This looks like somebody squeezed your wrist, Ursula." He refused to let her go. She turned to face him staring into his questioning gaze.

"It's nothing." She repeated the words and hated herself for it. "It was an accident."

"Are you going to tell me you walked into a wall or perhaps accidentally walked into a bear and the bear got so angry he squeezed your wrist and slammed it down?" His anger echoed off the walls.

"You don't need to be sarcastic. Bears are nowhere near here." She tried to brush it off by talking about something else. He wasn't having any of it.

"Cut the crap, Ursula. I never took you for a fool, so don't start acting like one." He cupped her cheek again. "You're a strong woman. Don't let this jerk abuse you."

"He's not."

"Don't—"

"No. Listen. He's going through a tough time, and he's

not got a job, and everything is getting him down, and—stop me because I'm making excuses for him, aren't I?" she asked. Turning away from him, she took the seat at the counter. She dropped her head in her hands as her predicament came at her from all angles. He put his hands on her shoulders. She shouldn't be gaining so much comfort from his touch. Their relationship was strictly professional.

A professional relationship doesn't make a woman wet between the legs.

Shut up.

She never used to have long conversations with herself.

"If I don't end this, will it only get worse?" she asked aloud. She knew the answer. One of her courses delved into human psychology. She knew enough to know that if she didn't take action, Paul's actions could escalate further. What had started out as verbal abuse had turned into something physical. She wasn't stupid. Her choices were right in front of her.

"You clearly don't need me to be the older person with reasoning."

She lifted up to look at him. "He used to be really sweet."

"Do you love him?" he asked.

Ursula thought about it. No, she didn't love him. There were times she liked being around him just to have someone else in her life. She didn't talk to her parents. They didn't like her decision to leave with Paul. They'd never liked him. She wondered if they saw the guy he really was while she'd been filled with her high-school crush.

"No. I don't love him."

Stephen moved away from her. She missed his touch the moment he left. Biting her lip, she stared down at her hands to keep herself from begging him to touch her. A begging female was never pretty. She gazed back up when she heard some rustling. Stephen was leaning on the counter writing on a piece of paper.

"Here are all my numbers. I know you have the house number, but you can reach me at all of these. Call me if it gets bad or you need help with anything."

She took the piece of paper from him. On closer inspection she saw it was a card. Turning it over she saw his name under the word "Possession".

"What's Possession?" she asked.

He cursed, took the card from her, and scribbled out the word. "Nothing. Just some business cards that came out wrong."

Ursula stared at the card. "Are you sure this is okay? I don't want to take any of your time or anything."

Stephen reached for her hand. "You don't have any family in the area. I would never forgive myself if anything happened to you."

"Why?" she asked. The moment she said the word she wished she could take it back. She didn't want to know if it was some gentlemanly obligation.

"I have no idea. I know I want you to be safe."

With his last words hanging between them, he let go and began chopping the salad. She put the card into her jeans pocket. Minutes later they were sitting eating their meal, but something was different.

Ursula didn't linger afterwards. She finished her chores and left before he had the chance to do anything else. Usually she stayed until he got back from wherever he went. This time, she walked the short distance home. Paul was in his chair again with another porno on the television. She didn't even attempt to make conversation.

She went straight through to her bathroom, took a long bath, then dressed once she was finished. Sitting on her bed, she took the card out of her pocket. For some reason she didn't think this was a wrongly printed business card. Ursula grabbed her out-of-date laptop and settled on the bed.

Staring at the card she typed in Possession, Stephen Knox, and a question mark. Her internet connection was bad, so it took a few minutes to load up. The sound of moaning from the other room made her roll her eyes. She couldn't believe how much of that jerk she'd put up with.

The search came back with nothing. Frowning, she typed in her boss's name, and lots of information popped

up. Feeling annoyed at her interest, she shut down her laptop before putting the card away. She knew unless it was an emergency she'd never use it. Ursula kept it just in case the time came she would need to. Paul was an asshole, but he was stronger than she. She would be useless against him if he started on her.

She closed her eyes thinking about Stephen's cock pressed against her stomach and the feel of him kissing her neck.

****

Stephen could have cursed himself for giving her a card with the name of the club on it. He was so fucking stupid at times. Watching her leave had been hard. He couldn't stay in the house knowing what it felt like to have her so close to him, and yet she wasn't his. Grabbing his keys he went to his car.

Drinking would be out of the equation with him taking his car. He drove the distance to where his club was. Stephen typed in the twelve digit number, and the gates opened immediately for him. Parking the car he got out and went 'round the back. He didn't need to enter through the front. Lucas was waiting for him when he walked into his office.

"Have you got some kind of monitor on me to know when I'm on the move?" he asked, taking his seat behind the desk.

"When your number comes through from the gate I get notified. It's extra security I installed for added protection."

"A little much, don't you think?" Stephen sat down looking at the several piles of files on his desk. "What's all this?"

"Member requests, petitions, and complaints. Also, I got a call from a Mr. Black who asked to speak with you," Lucas said.

Stephen looked up, surprised by the name. "Did he give a first name?"

"Yes." Lucas looked down at his notes. Impatient, Stephen began tapping his desk. "Lloyd Black. Does the name ring a bell?"

"Fucking bastard." Stephen slammed back his chair and started to pace. He had hoped to never hear that name again. "I think you need to bring Tate, Kevin, and Cadeon in here."

"Sean won't accept being left behind."

"Then bring him in. Did you speak to that fucker?" Lucas nodded. Stephen looked down at his desk and

saw the note for Lloyd Black with a phone number underneath. He wished he could have stayed at home, convincing Ursula to stay with him. Running his fingers through his hair he continued his pacing. He needed to clear his head.

Lucas came back after several minutes followed by Tate, Kevin, Cadeon, and Sean. He glared at Sean for the problems the bastard was causing. Possessive men were really starting to piss him off. Shutting down the club seemed like the best solution.

They took their seats without saying a word. "I don't know why, but Lloyd Black seems to have called me earlier. I wasn't here, but Lucas took the message."

All the men, barring Lucas, froze at the mention of the name. Lloyd Black had created so much anger. Stephen had forgotten how much he despised the man.

"What do you think he could want?" Sean asked.

"I don't know, and I don't care. I want to make sure that Rebecca has all the security she needs. If he's making calls then I know something is happening," Stephen said.

"I'll arrange everything," Cadeon said.

"Won't your woman have an issue with your involvement?" Stephen asked.

"Since Tate and Kevin are not making much headway, she only responds to me. I took Violet with me, and Rebecca liked her. The two women talked for a long time. In fact, that's where Violet is now."

Tate and Kevin glared at Cadeon.

"Okay, for those of us who have no real idea who this woman is, or the guy, what's going on?" Lucas asked.

"Finally something you don't know." Sean sneered at the man. There was so much testosterone in the room, Stephen wanted to cause damage. These men truly believed in their possessive instincts. Instead of disputing their belief he chose to ignore his own problems.

"Lloyd Black was a member of the club several years ago. He's our age and comes from money, wealth. He married a young eighteen-year-old woman, Rebecca. She was sweet and charming. What we didn't know is that behind closed doors Black was a sadistic fuck who used her to get what he wanted." Stephen stopped explaining and allowed Cadeon to take over.

"They were together for five years, but he did enough damage. We do not abuse women. This is not what the club is about. We're possessive, and the club is designed for us to be with like-minded men who feel the same urges when it comes to their women." At the last part Stephen felt uncomfortable. He never knew any of the urges he heard men talk about. Cadeon was still talking.

"Behind closed doors, Black was beating his wife, and any man who talked to her he was taking it out on her. She became his slave without thought. The punishments he dished out, she took. There was nothing to her. She didn't talk to anyone unless he forced her to. It was too late when we all noticed the changes. One night they came to the club. Someone spoke to her, and Lloyd went ballistic. He locked them in a room and started hitting her, kicking her. We saw it all on the monitor before any of us had time to react. Anyway, since then she's been trying to regain her

life one bit at a time. We don't know everything that happened to her, but Lloyd ended up in jail serving time. He's not allowed any contact with her."

Cadeon finished his explanation. Stephen was sick to his stomach remembering the events. He got angry, but he'd never take it out on a woman.

"How we managed to keep this club out of the media still surprises me," Stephen said. "At the time, Black had tried to blame his whole personality on the club. He tried to make his defence based on multiple brain-washing in turn making him believe that beating a woman was the right thing to do."

Lucas cursed, and so, too, did all the other men.

"I'll contact James and let him know what's going on. Black is still a powerful man. If I know him like I think I do then he's already on the steps to getting out of jail."

"Wouldn't his money have gone to Rebecca because of the divorce and his being in prison? She'd have to help him," Lucas said.

"No. The money remains with Lloyd. Rebecca got nothing in the divorce settlement. I would guess that his oldest son from his previous marriage would be handling all of the business until Lloyd got out. But Rebecca didn't get a penny of his money. The moment he was arrested she had nothing to her name. Everything she has now is what all the members of the club have banded together to support her. We look after our own," Stephen said. "The son needs looking into. I've denied his request to join. The rumour about him is that he's as sick as his father only worse. He likes to cause pain. Lots of it. I'm talking seriously kinky, verging on being kicked out of the kinkiest club."

"I'll handle the son," Sean said.

"Are you ready for that?" Lucas asked.

"Yes. You've given up, and I need to fill my time." Stephen watched the two men, curious about the

tension between them. "Right, until we know anything

further, petitions and applications will stop. I'm not dealing with this shit without this behind us." He tossed the files into the trash can.

"You'll need to talk with the rest of the men," Cadeon said.

After the meeting in his office Stephen gave a brief talk before leaving for the night. He wasn't interested in being at a club where he felt like he didn't belong. At home he sat down in his sitting room staring at the television. He hadn't turned the unit on. The thought of sitting down and watching something left him depressed. Looking at the whiskey decanter he considered losing himself to the alcohol haze that would allow him to sleep without dreaming.

He thought about Ursula. Stephen wanted to be able to go to her at a moment's notice and knew if he drank that would be impossible. Turning away from the drink, he took a cold shower before climbing into bed.

Thinking about Ursula sent a stirring deep inside him. Right now she was probably lying with her boyfriend. His hands fisted in the blanket as he thought of that asshole touching her. Would she moan her pleasure like she did for him?

Stephen went to sleep, his anger sizzling beneath the surface at the image of Ursula with another man. No woman had ever made him angry. What was it about her that made him react in such a way?