Never taking his eyes off of me, Parker sat and opened the folder. Turning his smug expression on me, he pointed to a Connecticut State birth certificate. “Victoria, you were born on October ninth. This little illegal change has far-reaching implications, as you yourself said.” Next, he held up a copy of the forged birth certificate. “You lied.”

Reaching for the birth certificate, my chin fell to my chest and my fingers went numb. Even though I knew it was true, seeing it in print ripped something out of me. I ran my fingers over the seal. It was me, and it wasn’t me. The implications meant that everything I’d always known about myself was a lie. I wasn’t really a Conway. My identity was gone.

I bit my bottom lip to stop the trembling as Parker roughly seized my chin and pulled my eyes to his. “What do you have to say?”

I willed a tear to fall as I tried to shake my head while in his grasp. “It’s true. How can this be? Why didn’t Stewart tell me? Why didn’t my mother tell me?”

“It doesn’t fucking matter how it’s true. It is. And I have no fucking idea why they didn’t tell you.” Leafing through the papers, he located the contract and placed it on top of the birth certificates, and reaching into the breast pocket of his coat, he handed me a pen. “Sign.”

With sobs resonating from my chest, I did. I signed in each of the places I’d done last night. The only difference with Travis’ contract was the clause that now made it impossible for me to sign anything without him as a co-signer. Each time that Parker pointed and I penned Victoria Harrington, it was a lie. It was my plan B. I prayed I would never need it.

When the final page was signed, Parker picked up the pages and put them back into the folder. Leaning back in the chair, Parker sighed. “Victoria, I’ll enjoy having you as my pet.”

My skin crawled at the thought.

I stood and dramatically swallowed. “I didn’t know what would happen. I’d hoped…” I took a deep breath. “…but that doesn’t matter anymore. I brought you something, something to show you that I can behave. I can be respectful.” I looked down. “It’s something… well, from what I saw in your briefcase, I think you’ll enjoy.”

Parker’s brow rose. “You have me intrigued. What did you bring me?”

I reached for his clammy hand and led him back to the chair by the bed. Lifting the box, I said, “Please have a seat. I guess this is your chair now.”

As Parker sat, I removed my robe and knelt at his feet. Demurely, I handed him the silver gift. Without a word, Parker removed the bow and opened the box. Moving the tissue paper, he eyed the black leather fingerless gloves, like those worn by weightlifters, and the long sleek riding crop. His eyes opened wide.

“Stewart enjoyed this. I thought you might too.” I turned toward his briefcase and the whip. “I know what you brought, and the choice is yours, but I’d like to work my way up to that. I’ve never…” I let my words trail away as my face fell forward and I willed more tears.

“Fuck!” Parker said as he eyed my gift. “Stewart was into this shit?”

I nodded. “Yes, are you surprised?”

“Fuck, no—yeah. I didn’t realize he was such a selfish bastard.”

I wiggled my ass against my heels. “He called it our special time.”

Parker looked back into the box at the gloves. “Why—”

Before he could finish I offered, “Sometimes Stewart would really get into it. He said the gloves helped his hands with the leather handle. You don’t have to wear them. It’s up to you.”

The slimy, toothy smile returned. “No, I like them.” He motioned toward the bed. “I fucking want to give this a try.”

I nodded. “May I go to the bathroom and prepare myself for you?”

“Yeah. Don’t take too long.”

I could see his pencil dick protruding under his slacks. “Do you want me to help you with your clothes?”

“No, go and hurry.”

Slowly, I stood and walked toward the bathroom. Just before closing the door, I turned to see Parker unbuttoning his shirt and removing his slacks. Once inside, I sat on the edge of the shower and tried to regulate my breathing. I had no idea how long it would take for the Cytoxan inside of the gloves to penetrate his skin. By leaving the package in the car, the heat coming through the windows caused the powder to be absorbed into the porous leather. I knew to make it most effective I needed his hands to sweat. Though I hated what I was about to do, I knew it was my best option. After a few minutes, I braced myself, took a deep breath, and I made my way back out to the bed.

Seeing him standing in his boxers, socks, and shoes, I wished for the blindfold: this was an image I’d never be able to erase. Even with the leather gloves and riding crop he looked less like a Dominant and more like a pencil dick. I looked at the bed and noticed the satin restraints at the same time that Parker turned toward me.

I weighed each word, reminding myself that I needed his hands to sweat. I also knew the most important part of my plan: he couldn’t touch me. Even though the drug was on the inside of the gloves, there was no guarantee it wouldn’t leach through the leather. Making my presence known, I said, “Parker, I know this is your show. Believe me, I know how that works. But if you want me to, I’ll tell you what Stewart used to do.”

When he didn’t respond, I picked up the thick satin ribbon and ran it through my fingers. “Stewart always said that the strongest restraints were in my mind. He said he could tie me, but that didn’t teach me to obey. By not tying my hands or feet, I had to maintain his positions even when it was difficult. He said that physical restraints were too easy on me.” I raised my brow. “Didn’t you ever notice that I was never tied?”