Relapse (Doctor Dom Volume 4) (A BDSM & Medical Play Novella) by Tara Crescent Read Free Book Online

and I had sworn to myself I wouldn’t safe word. No matter what. Because I had been unworthy of him, and I needed punishment.
    “I needed to make atonement, Patrick, can’t you see that?” I begged.
    “By destroying my trust in you?” His retort was swift. He looked haunted. “I can’t do this anymore, Lisa. I can’t play with someone I don’t trust.”
    The door slammed as he left. Everything crumbled around me.
    I wok e up, shaking with fear from the dream I’d just had.
    Everything was great in my life. Patrick was fantastic, and it wasn’t just the sex. I could be silly and laugh with him. I could share things I was incredibly embarrassed by, and he listened with empathy and without judgement. I really loved him.
    But at any moment, it could all come crashing down.
    My dream had given me a pretty specific clue a bout why I was feeling this way, and I was afraid to fall back asleep. I sat up on the bed, flicking on a light and hugging a pillow for warmth.
    I was trying to convince myself I wouldn’t need to tell him. But I wasn’t succeeding.
    ***
    T he first thing on my schedule Monday morning was the final walk-through for Charles Dobson’s waterfront penthouse condo. Normally, I would have been somewhat steeling myself for the encounter. Charles was, well, difficult. Extremely Type-A, and he expected perfection and got it.
    Today though, Charles greeted me with a pleasant smile. I was immediately suspicious. “I hope your life has settled down,” he said genially. “How is your mother recovering?”
    “Fine,” I said. I realized I was frowning at him, and I smoothed my expression into something more neutral. “Thank you for asking. Shall we do a final walk through?”
    We walked through his apartment, and I saw him take it all in. It looked fabulous. It was a corner penthouse unit with stunning views of the lake. Only four units on the floor. Eight thousand square feet in Toronto, not to mention the additional two thousand square feet of outdoor balcony space. This much space was practically unheard of in the city.
    “This looks really good, Lisa,” he said. “You’ve done an amazing job.”
    “Thank you,” I replied. Compliments were rare from Charles and I found I was actually beaming with pride. “It’s a great space. I hope you’ll be happy here.” As soon as I said it, I wished I hadn’t. That sentence had sounded a lot more personal than I had intended.
    He looked at me thoughtfully. “How’s Natalie?” he asked me. There was an undercurrent of unhappiness in his voice.
    I had no idea what was going on between Natalie and Charles. Natalie had seem disinclined to talk about him, and I wasn’t going to probe. Charles was a client, and the commission on this job was a lot of money. But at the end of the day, my loyalties came down solidly on Natalie’s side. Natalie was my friend.
    “Fine,” I said. My tone was short. I hope d that it was clear that I was unwilling to be drawn into conversation about Natalie.
    He gave me a look that I returned steadily. I was not intimidated by Charles.
    “I hear you are dating Patrick Anderson,” he said, in what was clearly an attempt to defuse the tension.
    I openly frowned at him, and he hastily clarified. “Sorry, it came up accidentally in a conversation with Natalie.”
    I wanted to bite out that my private life was none of his concern, but I was being needlessly touchy. I knew why; I was bristling at the possibility that he had hurt Natalie. Nothing she had said or done had implied that, but because of Nick, dominant men made me antagonistic.
    All but one, of course. Patrick.
    “ Do you know Patrick?” I asked politely.
    “Not well, but m y firm does some work with his company,” he replied. I nodded, hiding my inner confusion. Patrick was a neurosurgeon. What possible work could he do with Charles’s law office? Charles’ firm did corporate law.
    We finish ed the rest of the walk through. He wrote me a check, and then we shook