Page 104 of Corrupt Game

Why would she speak Andrew’s name when she was unconscious? How were they connected? He must have meant something special to her if that was the name she uttered when she was lying there, unable to move or think. He was the last thing on her mind.

My fist pounded on the desk.

I suddenly felt super jealous of a dead man. I was her dom and npw I’d fallen in love with her. Collette had made that easy for me when so many others had failed over the years.

There had been no interest with any of the other women, but something about Collette drew her to me in a way that had me all twisted up inside.

My whole body hummed with the necessity of knowing anything and everything about her and her connection to Andrew. I always deemed myself as a superb judge of character, so how could I miss the mark badly with Collette?

It felt like she’d been real with me, and I was certain that she returned my feelings. Then she’d offered herself and finally given into the idea that she was the one in charge of sex, and I’d lost my control of the situation.

I’d never done that before. Afterwards, I’d almost regained it, only to have to rush to her side. If I had to be honest, keeping her in the basement to protect her also helped me regain the control I needed of the situation.

Colette would have to learn to deal with being my submissive, that it meant I called those kind of shots.

When I was younger I’d thought that I could have saved my mother. As an adult, I understood that she’d quit eating because of a broken heart. Nothing I could have said or done would have fixed that. It didn’t mean that I didn’t feel responsible in some way. She’d taken an easy way out instead of more years of misery married to my father. I understood the decision, but it didn’t change the fact that I wanted her here alive with me. That I wished she had chosen to be a mother.

While I missed her, I realized that I couldn’t bring her back by dwelling on it. I couldn’t bring Andy back, either. Collette was another issue.

She was still alive, and I could keep her alive and well.

The only problem was that she was still keeping secrets. Even though I now doubted highly she was a corporate spy.

What could she know about Andrew and who he was?

When she looked up at me with that sassy expression, I’d felt a stirring that I hadn’t had in ages. In fact, I had never experienced this before.

Caution, both for her and of her was going to be my motto for a while. The fact that I cared for her made everything much more difficult.

The first day in the office, I didn’t have a chance to do more than check the cameras a couple of times because I had online meetings the entire day and wasn’t able to be present. If she was up to something, I hopedthat Rossi was going to catch it. I put even more of her care on his shoulders. I didn’t trust my myself when it came to her.

I had dropped so many things to come running when she’d fainted that I had to rework my schedule, working extra long hours to catch up. I would still come running to her, that would never be in question.

. But there were too many moving parts that had to be dealt with for our contracts to continue on schedule. Bringing the business to the forefront of my mind had to be non-negotiable.

Even now, I had to wonder if it had been a desperate cry for my attention. What might she be trying to tell me something that I’d missed?

She had been really sick. The doctor said she was not getting all the nutrients and was malnourished. I’d fed her during our times together, but in those short few days, her body hadn’t gotten the rest or food she’d needed. It had reverted to a past behavior and felt that it was being starved.

Foster care had done a number on her on a deep level, and it didn’t take much for her instincts to return to survival mode.

When I’d fed her, she’d willingly eaten everything that I’d given her. In the end it appeared that she relished the care. In the closeness that it brought us. The bond it forged.

With the doctor’s advice, I had been planning on a new food system to make sure it didn’t happen again. Even if it meant putting her in a watch that kept track of her food intake and alerted her to eat more.

She knew something about Andrew, and I needed to know what that was. Her simply saying his name was worth more of an investigation. I couldn’t imagine how he and Collette had crossed paths, but somewhere in their past was the clue.

I wanted her to tell me, but that hadn’t happened.

In the past, my heart wasn’t ready for an emotional connection. That was why I’d always chosen to enter a contract with submissives, so that I didn’t actually become attached. It kept everyone in their place, butthat hadn’t worked for Collette. She’d either ignored the rules or twisted them to suit her fancy.

Now, we’d continue and I’d find out the secret she was keeping.

~~~

The entire first day back, I didn’t see her in person. Rossi informed me she’d eaten under protest and removed the butt plug, which I found amusing. The fire she harnessed would always gain my attention.

That would have to be a conversation for later. There wasn’t time for us to speak with all of my meetings, and I missed being around her. Maybe she’d become my drug of choice?