swallowed against the lump in her throat. Olivia had gotten her the job, insisting she needed something more fun than working in a fast-food place.
She slowly walked another wide circle around the bar, remembering how her Mistress had wanted to see each new painting and how Natalia would be quivering inside, watching her face to see what she thought. Slowly, Olivia’s eyes would light. Her smile would appear as she took in the colors, the lights…the feeling. She not only appreciated the craft, but she always caught the emotions Natalia’d tried to convey.
Why, why, why did you break up with me, Mistress? Why?
Natalia made another circle of the bar. She was waiting for the right time…and hoping to find some courage to go with it.
Some of the Shadowkittens were sitting in an area close to the bar. Gabi and Kim, Sally and Beth. Valerie, Andrea, and Rainie were there, too. For some reason, they’d pulled a rolling bondage table into the circle.
Sally waved for Natalia to join them, but her nerves were too jumpy.
She made another loop, passing Master Sam and Linda at one end of the bar.
Mistress Anne and Ben were near the middle.
At the other end, Kari and Master Dan were talking with Jessica, Master Z, and Ghost.
And then…
Mistress Olivia slid onto a barstool two seats down from them.
As the air in Natalia’s throat clogged, she rubbed her sweaty palms against her jeans.
Now or never.
Never might be better.
Straightening her shoulders, she walked forward.
Is this what it feels like to walk to an execution?
She halted a few steps from Olivia. “Mistress.”
Olivia didn’t turn…because Natalia had whispered the word.
Kim had said, “Make your voice loud enough that others can hear.”
Sooo not easy. But she could do this. Her jaw set. Olivia had called her a Chihuahua once—small but mighty.
Tonight, she’d try for yappy, too. She pulled in a breath, and her voice came out loud with only a tiny quiver. “Mistress Olivia, I’d like to speak to you.”
The Mistress set her glass down with a thud and turned. “I don’t want to talk with you. I’ve made that clear.”
Don’t cringe. “You broke up with me and wouldn’t tell me why. I want to know why.”
When Olivia’s mouth tightened with anger, Natalia’s nerve started to break.
“Don’t stop now.” Gabi hissed from nearby.
“Finish the job,” Valerie called in a firm voice.
Finish it. Mustering her own anger, Natalia fisted her hands at her sides. “I loved you, served you, did everything I could to make you happy. And then you told me to leave, with no reason. I deserve to know w-why.” Her voice cracked on the last word.
But she kept her head high.
Flushed, Olivia stood. “Because you bloody well cheated on me, damn you. I saw the picture. I know.” Hands in fists at her side, she sucked in a breath, then…did that Domme thing she did, taking control of her emotions.
She gracefully resumed her seat and turned her back on Natalia.
It was over, and Natalia had lost.
Because. Wait, what had she said? “Cheated?” Inside, anger grew, rising hard and fast until her vision blurred red. Her whole body shook with fury.
“Cheated?” Her shout held a hoarse quality she’d never heard before. “There can’t be any stupid pictures because I never cheated on you. I’ve never cheated in my whole life! You’re a liar.”
Olivia thought she’d cheated. Could believe she’d cheated.
As her heart broke all over again, her throat closed, tears filled her eyes, and she ran for the exit.
She would never come back to this place.
Even as her ears still rang from Natalia’s furious shouting, Olivia heard the little submissive sob.
And something cracked inside her chest.
Her mouth opened.
Natalia ran out of the club. Leaving the words she’d yelled hanging in the air. Reverberating in Olivia’s heart.
“I’ve never cheated in my whole life.”
Right up until Chelsey shared the picture, Olivia would have staked her life on her Latina submissive being the most honest person she’d ever met.
“Olivia?” Anne set a hand on her shoulder.
Olivia’s voice didn’t sound like her own. “I saw the picture…on someone’s phone. Natalia with a Domme. A very”—she swallowed—“explicit picture.”
“From prior to when she was with you, maybe?” Anne asked.
Olivia shook her head. “No. I could tell because of her hair. She’d never had bangs before, but I thought they’d be cute, so she had them styled after she moved in with me.”
And it damn well hurt because the bangs had made her eyes look so big, and she was so pleased, and so was Olivia and—
On the