I want to thank everyone for reading and providing their wonderful comments on my previous stories, they meant a lot to me. As with my other stories, this is based on a combination of real world experiences and fantasies. I'll let you decide which is which. I appreciate your comments and feedback either after the story or via email.
Thinking back on it, the week had seemed like a stream of consecutive Mondays. Monday night with a customer in Fort Worth had been a particularly difficult one with one distraught staff member after another. Tuesday had seemed interminable with crisis after crisis. And Wednesday, I was sure that there'd been no Wednesday or Thursday rather more Mondays in their place. It was finally Friday, or so I hoped. My heels clicked on the floors as I returned to my desk after meeting with several VPs. Pausing to collect myself, I noticed a cream colored envelope addressed simply 'Alexa.' Slipping a scarlet nail beneath the flap, I flicked it open, eyes widening, a flush rising from my throat to my cheeks, my knees suddenly weak as a soft gasp slipped between my lips. Fingers trembling, I looked around quickly to see if anyone had noticed as I dropped down into my chair, my breath quickening as I read again.
"The Rosewood Mansion on Turtle Creek, 6:00 P.M. sharp. Go to the reception desk, there will be a package and note with your name and further instructions."
I read and read again, the words seeming to leap from the page; their tone not a request rather a statement, a command. I felt my stomach tightening as the flush of heat raced through my entire body. I quickly pushed the note back into the envelope and slipped it into my desk drawer. My still trembling hand covered my mouth as I fought to regain my composure. Standing shakily, I walked briskly from my office to check with the IT team and several coworkers, anything to take my mind from the words on the note.
Normally I would have looked at the clock, willing it to speed up on a Friday afternoon, but today my glance was to make time slow down. But the more I glanced at the time, the faster it seemed to pass. My mind racing as to what to do. Yet even as I reasoned that there was no way that I was going to obey those directions, something deep inside of me, something deep inside of my soul, told me differently.
As the directed time drew closer, I went to the bathroom to check my appearance. The week had been so hectic, I'd dressed very simply with a plain white blouse, black skirt, and black 3" heels. My blonde hair was tied back in a simple ponytail with a black ribbon. Because my blouse was fairly light, I had chosen one of my smooth cup bras so as not to reveal my nipple piercings; my thong was white, matching my bra. Gathering my belongings, I headed to the garage. The trip to the hotel on Turtle Creek was a blur, seeming to take but a second. Walking from the parking lot, my mind whirled with a myriad of thoughts and images, my belly tight with a combination of fear and anticipation. Finding myself before the bubbling marble fountain, I climbed the few short steps and entered the lobby, hesitating before I approached the reception desk and in a soft, almost whispered voice, asked for the package and note left for 'Alexa.' Smiling, the receptionist handed me the small, beribboned package and cream colored envelope to my stammered 'thank you.'
Taking a deep breath, I went to the small reception lounge and slowly sat down to open the 2nd note. Pausing to take a deep breath, I opened the note and slowly slipped it from the envelope and read:
"Put on what you've found in the box. Once you've done so, go to the Turtle Creek Suite. Use the door key and enter without knocking."
The tone was the same as the first note, the words again seeming to leap from the page as I read, heart racing at its message. Trembling harder, my fingers fumbled as they slipped the crimson ribbon from the package and slowly opened it. My eyes widened, a gasped 'ohhhh!' slipping from between my parted lips as I gazed down at the thing in the box -- a simple black leather collar adorned with a single star and ring at its front. My head spun, vision blurring as the faintness swept through me.
My gasp brought a look and query of concern from the receptionist. "Are you alright miss?"
His words snapped me back into focus.
"Huh? Umm, y-yes, I'm fine thank you."
Looking at me a moment longer, he nodded and returned to his paperwork.
Gathering myself, I made my decision and slipped the door key from the envelope and stood, still trembling, to make my way to the room designated in the note. My heart beat faster and faster with every step, the tightness in my belly ever present. Reaching the room, I stopped, taking the collar from its box to slip it around my throat. Softly moaning beneath my breath as I buckled it in place, fingers tracing the narrow leather band evoking feelings and needs from deep within me. Feelings and needs that were at my core, that were my very essence.
