To Love and Obey (Boundaries) by Katy Swann Page B

petulant teenager, but she just couldn’t help herself.
    Mandy frowned and actually slapped her hard across her bottom.
    “Ow,” shrieked Rachel, “what did you do that for?”
    “Because someone needs to knock some sense into you. You need a good spanking and if it wasn’t for the fact that you’re off to see Adam later, I’d do it myself.”
    The anger in Mandy’s voice shocked Rachel. Shit, she’s serious.
    Mandy faced Rachel head on, arms akimbo and said, “Don’t go jumping to conclusions, Rachel, you don’t know what’s going on. If you’re not careful you’re going to push Adam away. You’ve got to learn to trust him.”
    “I do trust him,” said Rachel, not quite able to keep the sulky tone out of her voice.
    “Oh really? So why have you already decided that he’s going to use you and dump you? I’ve only met him the once, but he seems like a decent man to me. Talk to him, find out what it is he wants from you. If he does want to carry on seeing you and wants a TPE relationship, then tell him how you feel about it and take it from there. You must be honest with him though, trust works two ways, you know.”
    Rachel sighed and took a sip of her wine. Mandy was right, of course. She owed it to Adam to be straight with him. She loved him, more than she’d loved anyone before, even Paul, but no matter how much she loved him and needed him, she wasn’t prepared to sacrifice her freedom for him. Not because she didn’t think he deserved it, on the contrary, it was because she loved him so much that she didn’t want that love to turn to resentment and bitterness when she couldn’t live up to his expectations. She understood how a TPE relationship could be a beautiful and precious thing, but she also knew herself well enough to know that she could never live like that.
    “Okay,” she said, after another sip of wine. “If Adam doesn’t finish with me tonight, I’ll ask him straight out what he wants and then I’ll tell him how I feel about it.”
    “Good girl,” said Mandy, looking pleased.
    “God, you’re such a natural bloody Domme. You just called me a good girl.”
    Both girls laughed and the tension lifted again.
    “Talking of being open and honest, I’ve got something I need to tell you,” said Mandy, suddenly sounding nervous.
    “Oh, no, don’t tell me you’ve switched to being a sub,” giggled Rachel.
    “As if. Dawn’s been offered a job at the New York Times.” Mandy eyed Rachel steadily, as if expecting some sort of reaction.
    “That’s great.” She smiled, but then it dawned on her what the implications were and her smile faded. “Oh, does that mean she’ll be moving back to New York?”
    Mandy nodded. “She’s asked me to go back with her.”
    Rachel put her glass down and put her arms around her friend and gave her a long hug. “Oh, Mandy, I’m really happy for you.”
    Mandy blinked. “You don’t mind?”
    “Why would I mind?” laughed Rachel.
    “Well, it would mean giving you notice on the flat. It would be a permanent move.” Mandy looked so guilty that Rachel almost made her suffer to get her back for smacking her bottom before. But she was genuinely happy for Mandy and couldn’t keep the smile off her face.
    “Don’t worry about the flat. I can probably manage the rent on my own now.” She grinned when Mandy looked surprised. “I haven’t told you because this is the first time I’ve seen you since yesterday, but I’ve been offered a new job and even though I’ll be a trainee, I’ll still be getting a raise.”
    “Oh, my God, why the hell didn’t you tell me sooner? That’s fantastic. Congratulations! Right, you’ve got twenty minutes before Adam’s car picks you up. Spill, and don’t leave anything out.”
    Rachel filled her friend in on all the details of her job offer, losing track of time until the sound of a car horn alerted her to the fact that Rob was waiting outside. She gave Mandy a quick peck on the cheek and grabbed her