Cardinal's Rule Read Online Free PDF Page B

Understand?”
    “Yes, Mistress.”
    “I know you’re divorced, but are you dating or involved with anyone?”
    “No, Mistress.”
    “Why?”
    He shrugged. “I’m too busy.”
    “You find time to see me.”
    “I need to see you.”
    She leaned back in her chair and studied him for a moment. “Why?”
    “I can’t afford to be outed. If I have a choice between spending my free time seeing you to get what I need, or spending my time trying to troll bars or Craigslist for a date, I’d much rather spend it with you.”
    Well, I wanted honesty. “If I was someone you met somewhere, outside of our business arrangement, am I someone you would go out with?”
    He hesitated to answer.
    “I want honesty. Regardless of your answer, it won’t count against you in any way.”
    “Honestly?”
    “Yes.” Now she wished she hadn’t asked. She had a feeling her ego was about to get slammed
    into the fucking basement.
    “I think you’re beautiful. If the situation were different, I would do nearly anything for a chance to go out with you.”
    Oh.
    Oh!
    “Really?”
    He nodded. “Really.”
    She sat back and studied him some more, not sure if she liked the way his answer made her feel.
    The anticipation.
    Hope.
    She didn’t want to feel hope. Hope was for chumps. Hope was what got her fucking heart
    broken five years ago.
    “Would you ask me out?”
    “I can’t.”
    Aaaaand, there we go. “Why not?”
    He looked at the table. “You told me when we first started that wasn’t allowed. That was one of the rules you said if I ever broke, it would immediately end our arrangement.”
    Oh.
    Oh!
    “That’s right, I did.” She considered him. “If the rule wasn’t there?”
    He looked up at her, unmistakable hope on his face. “Then I would ask you out on a date.”
    She took a deep breath and held it for a few seconds before blowing it out again. “I’m going to do something I never do and tell you a little about myself. I don’t date. I don’t have a boyfriend. I’m completely single. But if I go out on a ‘date’ with someone, I don’t want to go out on a date with my
    ‘boy.’ Unless I’ve told him that’s what I want. In real life, I am not Mistress Cardinal. If someone asks me out on a date, I want them to ask me out because they want to get to know me in real life, not because they think they’re getting a freebie or because they want a full-time Domme in their life. I want someone who wants me for me, not just the parts that get their rocks off.”
    He nodded. “I understand.” He looked like he wanted to say something else.
    “What is it?”
    “May I ask you a question, Mistress?”
    She nodded.
    “If I was to ask you on a date, what would you want me to call you?”
    She smiled. “I would want you to call me by my name. Matilda. Well, Tilly. I prefer Tilly. I don’t like Matilda.”
    “That’s beautiful.” He sounded sincere. Bob always sounded sincere. He’d never been a “do
    me” sub. He’d always let her set the tone and pace since their initial evaluation. He never asked. He was a good boy.
    “Thank you.”
    He looked at her for a long moment. “May I ask you something else?”
    “Sure.”
    When he leaned in, she felt his energy shift. Her “boy” was gone, and Bob now sat in his place 
    across the table from her. Not a hint of submission in his posture. She suspected this was how the rest of the world saw him. His gaze grew intense. “Tilly, I’d like to take you out to dinner tonight, if you’d let me.”
    A delicious shiver passed through her body as she nodded.
    * * * *
    She quickly changed into a blouse and skirt and flats. Normally, Mistress Cardinal wore spiked
    heels for sessions, but those were murder on her feet. Tilly usually went barefoot around the house, or wore sneakers or comfy sandals or Crocs whenever possible, even though Mistress Cardinal had an image to uphold.
    Bob stood by the front door. Not a boy waiting for his Mistress, but a man waiting for