Forbidden Love Series (SubmissiveRomance) Complete Collection by Lucia Jordan Page A

bar in the corner and ordered a double shot of top shelf whiskey. “Keep it full,” he said to the bartender. And then he proceeded to get drunk. He had no intentions of going home. He’d just pass out in his dungeon room where the pillows and blankets still smelled like Olivia.
    ***
    At six o’clock a.m., Olivia’s alarm went off. She was already awake. In fact, she’d barely slept since Dean kicked her out of his life. She’d spent all weekend locked up in her apartment, binging on ice cream, watching romantic comedies, and crying until her eyes hurt. It was her standard operating procedure after a breakup, and normally after a weekend of intense grieving, she’d be good enough to face the world. But not this time.
    Every single time she closed her eyes, she saw Dean’s face. In the middle of the night when everything was dead silent, she could hear his voice and feel his hands on her. It was pure torture. She missed him so much it hurt to function. When they were together, she hadn’t realized it, but now that he’d been torn from her life, she knew just how much she cared for him. It was crazy, but she was in love with Dean.
    Olivia forced herself out of bed even though she had no intentions of going to work. Grabbing her cell phone, she dialed Tracy. As always, Tracy was wide awake and chipper. Olivia often wondered if that woman ever stopped working. “Hi, Tracy. Sorry to call you so early, but I need to take the week off.”
    “What? Why on earth would you need an entire week off? Do I need to remind you that you have an article due next week? Or should I just have Brandon write it? Damn it, I knew I should’ve just—”
    “Tracy!” Olivia interrupted her tirade. “I’m well aware of my deadline, and no, you don’t need Brandon to write the story. In fact, this story is the reason I need the week off.” Lying to Tracy never paid off, but Olivia knew she couldn’t tell Tracy the truth this time, so she would just bend the truth a little.
    “What does that mean?”
    “I’ve managed to get invited to a week-long submissive training course. In order to keep up the façade I’ve created, I need to be there the entire week.” When Tracy remained silent, Olivia continued. “This is what you wanted, isn’t it? An in-depth insider’s perspective on this lifestyle? Well, you’re not going to get any more in-depth than this.”
    “This had better be the best thing you’ve ever written in your entire life or you’re fired!” Then Tracy abruptly hung up.
    Olivia threw her phone across the floor with an aggravated scream. That was just wonderful. Not only had she been dumped, but now her job was on the line. How was she supposed to write this article when all she could focus on was the pain and the heart ache? Then an idea struck her.
    She raced into the living room and grabbed her laptop. Carrying it into the kitchen, she set it on the table and prepared herself a cup of coffee with a few extra sugars. After no sleep all weekend, she was going to need the caffeine to give her the boost to finish this article. She knew if she didn’t write it now, it wouldn’t have the emotional punch that she was hoping to achieve. Once she had her coffee, she tucked her laptop under her arm and retreated back to her bedroom. She had an article to write.
    ***
    It had been almost two weeks since Dean released Olivia.  He missed her like crazy and had even thought about calling her a few times. But each time he’d pick up the phone, he’d hang up before he finished dialing her number. There was just no way he could forgive her for what she’d done. Being a Dom and living this lifestyle – it’s who he was and he couldn’t change that. He’d been very clear in his expectations of her. Why couldn’t she just follow the rules? Then they’d still be together. She’d be wearing his collar and he’d be spending every night pleasuring her.
    Instead, he was jogging alone, in the drizzling rain, hoping that the