Page 78 of Don't Leave Me

He led me into the bedroom and opened the walk-in closet, a third of the closet empty and I assumed was just for me, along with a few pink bags labeled Agent Provocateur and a couple from The Pleasure Chest.

I smiled up at Michael excitedly.

“Housewarming presents,” he grinned down at me.

“You didn’t have to,” I giggled, already flattered.

“I wanted to. Go on,” he pointed towards the bags.

I grabbed the bags and followed Michael back into the room and sat on the bed on my knees, giddy and eager. Michael sat and watched me with a satisfied smile.

Quickly, I took a Pleasure Chest bag and tossed all of the tissue paper on the bed and on the bottom was a black leather paddle, small and sturdy. I held it in my hand with awe;I never really get to touch these.

“I know you love to get spanked. The smaller ones are more painful,” Michael explained, watching me as I widened my eyes and ran my fingers across the paddle.

“Thank you, sir,” I smiled up at him through my lashes.

He grinned with satisfaction. I unwrapped the other bag eagerly, smiling widely when I saw a black vibrator wrapped nicely. I held it up: it was a rabbit vibrator, one I was very aware of and had owned before. It worked very, very well.

“I love it. Thank you,” I beamed.

He eyed me intently. “I can’t wait to use it on you.”

My cheeks flushed and I could feel an ache deep in my belly; I was ready for him right then and there.

I playfully opened up the Agent Provocateur bags; one of them had a lacy quarter-cup playsuit, equipped with a collar and very expensive-looking.Holy crap. The others held a fancy, laced black corset and a black, silky robe with pink lace around the trim. It all must have cost thousands of dollars - I felt like a submissive princess.

“Thank you, sir. I love it all,” I said as I sat up on my knees, wrapping my arms around Michael and giving him a sweet, passionate kiss.

“And I love you,” Michael said after we parted, holding my waist snugly, and my heart completely melted.

I bit my lip as I smiled. “I love you.”

“Come on. Let’s take a bath,” he stood up and held out his hand for me.

I took his hand and he led me to the bathroom – our bathroom.I could get used to this.

17

Chapter 17

I sighed happily as I opened my eyes, the faint morning light shining through the blinds. It was the morning after our first night living together.LIVING TOGETHER!It didn’t feel real; it still felt like any other night when I would stay over, oversleeping and rushing to get to work. I turned my head and glanced back at Michael who was still sound asleep with one arm under his pillow and one arm wrapped around my waist. I am so utterly in love with him, it’s a little scary. He is everything to me…absolutely everything. I wanted to cry with happiness and fear at the same time –I have never felt so deeply about someone but what if I lose him?I was being the pessimist that I always was but I shook my head and sighed.Savor the moment, Hana.

Since it was 6:30 AM – two hours before my alarm was set to go off – I quietly got up to go explore the apartment while I had some alone time. I turned on a lamp in the living room and eyed the bookshelf – various classics sat on the shelves, Dorian Gray and Wuthering Heights sticking out and looking the most used, his Jonathan Swift and Mark Twain collections abundant. I smiled to myself;he really is a book lover…it makes sense that he wanted to be an editor. I walked to the kitchen to start opening cabinets to get a feel for where everything was when I spotted Michael’s phone on the counter.This is so tempting. Don’t do it, Hana. Why not? He’s gonna look at my phone whenever he gets the chance. Before I could talk myself out of it, I quickly picked up his phone and hit the home button. I smiled when I saw his background: it was a picture of me, one that he took while I was lounging on his couch one night in nothing but his t-shirt. I was half-hoping that he had a password on his phone, but when I swiped up, I was in.Shit. I hesitated before I hit ‘Messages.’ There were some to and from his dad and sister, some people from work, a lot from me, but something stuck out: there was a text to an unprogrammed number from the night before that read: “This is Michael Barnes. I can meet you tomorrow at 5PM. The price is $14,500, correct?” A response was sent back a few minutes later: “Yes sir. See you tomorrow at 5PM.”Who the fuck else is calling him sir? And what the fuck is he paying $14,500 for?I looked through his e-mails: all work-related. I looked through his calendar: nothing out of the ordinary. I quickly set his phone down and hurried into the bathroom, almost in a panic.What the hell is going on?I looked in the mirror, out of breath, staring at my wide-eyed, pale face, my dark blonde hair out of control, and my forehead wrinkled. My mind was racing, going a million miles per second;what could he possibly be buying for that much money? Is he hiring a hit-man? A sex worker? Is he buying drugs or a black market shotgun to shoot Jack with? It’s probably something harmless like an original art piece or a really expensive suit. I took a deep breath, trying to calm myself down, but my energy was just too high:I need to go for a run. I quietly snuck back into the bedroom, grabbed my shoes, leggings, and a sweater and went back into the living room to change. I wrote Michael a note in case he woke up: “Went for a run. Be back soon.” I pulled my hair up and soon I was walking out of the building and into the cold December morning. The sky was overcast, either about to rain or snow, and people were already on their way to work or yoga class or making a coffee run;I don’t know what these Manhattan people do. I started to jog east towards the East River Park track, my mind still racing, my heart beating wildly. I’m sure it’s nothing. Why am I even worried? Only I can call him sir. Maybe he’s fucking around. No, he wouldn’t. Oh my god, this run feels good. I need to call my mother. I need to get Emily a housewarming gift. I can’t believe I looked through his phone. I want to dye my hair. I feel so much better.

Before I knew it, the sun was high in the sky, although covered by the dark clouds. I stopped running around the track, took my phone out of my compact sweater pocket, and there were 4 missed calls from Michael…and it was 9:30 AM.Fuck! I started to run again while I dialed Michael; he answered almost immediately.

“Hana, where are you?” he asked worriedly.

“I was running at the East River Park. I lost track of time. I’m on my way back,” I explained in between breaths as I ran.

“I’ve been trying to call you for an hour,” he responded; he sounded…relieved?

“I’m sorry. My phone was on vibrate. I’ll be home in about…10 minutes,” I breathed back, suddenly parched.

Michael sighed. “Okay,” he said and hung up.

Ten minutes later, I was walking into the apartment to a wet-haired Michael with only a towel wrapped around his hips, cooking something on the stove. I took in his gorgeous muscled arms and toned back before he turned around and raised his eyebrows.

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