Left of the Slash, page 29
As for Olivia and I, we fell into the routine of being together like it was something we’d been doing our entire lives. Sometimes people just fit together without much effort. Having the same sense of humor, work ethic, ambition, sex drive, and love certainly did the trick for us, but the most important part of all of it has almost nothing to do with the way we have sex. Our best attribute as a couple is that we’re best friends. Our foundation has been built on the way we communicate with each other the same way best friends do. We laugh together, keep it real with each other, and support each other like we grew up living next door. To me, Olivia is on the same level as Marcus and Rob, but then we’re able to turn everything up once we’re alone. Our D/s dynamic kicks in like we’ve popped pills the second we touch each other, and it’s the best thing ever. This is what true love looks and feels like. I didn't know what perfection was until this. My best friend is also my submissive—my right of the slash.
“Is the place at least close by?” I ask, chattering my teeth on purpose. “I'm freezing my ass off out here, baby.”
“It is,” Olivia replies, squeezing my arm tighter. “It’s right here.”
I look up and see a black and white sign that reads Docklands Riverfront above a wooden door covered in dangling fairy lights.
“Docklands?” I say. “I haven't been here in a minute. What made you choose this place?”
“I don't know,” she answers. “Stop asking questions and come on. We’ve got some celebrating to do. You only turn twenty-eight once.”
I chuckle at the opening she just gave me, then I exploit it. “True. Do you remember turning twenty-eight, or is that too long ago for you to remember?”
We stop at the door and Olivia lets go of my arm just to punch me in it. “I'm not too old to kick your ass, Mr. King.”
I rub the spot on my shoulder that she just hit, wincing. “Wow, you're an abusive old woman.” Olivia slugs me again, harder this time. “Ow! I'm just kidding. I love you no matter what. Even if you were wrapped up like a mummy, you’d still be my everything. But, you're also going to pay for hitting me.”
Olivia grins as I grab her hips and pull her body close to mine. “Oh yeah? I hope so.”
We kiss just as snow begins to fall from above. It’s not cold enough for it to stick, but it still gives the moment a magical feeling as our lips press together and snowflakes land in our hair and kiss our cheeks. When I open my eyes, I feel like I've just kissed an angel. Olivia smiles at me and I feel stunned by her beauty like it’s the first time I'm seeing her. I'm a lucky motherfucker.
I remember the day she walked into the conference room in the executive wing, sucking all of the air out of the room and leaving my lungs deflated as she stepped to her seat and shook every fragile ego to its core. From that moment to this one, Olivia has never failed to impress me. It’s all a stark reminder that I desperately need to ask this woman to marry me as soon as the time is right. Maybe not right now, but definitely in the near future. We make too much of a beautiful mess together to ever be apart again.
Olivia places a hand on my chest and gestures toward the door. “Come on. Let’s go celebrate your birthday, Sir.”
I smirk as she opens the doors, thinking about the moment I get her alone in her basement, but my thoughts are broken up and scattered as we step inside the bar and an enormous shout startles me to the point of freezing in place.
“Surprise!”
My eyes widen as I realize I'm standing in front of a crowd of people who are all staring right back at me with smiles on their faces and joy in their eyes. Slowly, I start to recognize them all. A handful of people from work fill out the back, a few friends from school stand in the middle, and Marcus, Rob, his wife Sandra, and Eden stand in the front, all of them clapping as Olivia pulls me into the bar she clearly rented out for me.
I look over at her in shock. “You set all of this up for me?”
“Of course I did,” she answers with a proud smile.
“How did you get everybody here?”
“That was easy. I just talked to Rob while we were at work one day, and he took care of contacting Marcus and everybody you guys knew from school. I did a little sneaking to speak to the few people we work with that you actually like, and the rest was history. Easy peasy.”
“Wow. You're incredible, baby,” I say as I pull her in for another hug that Rob and Marcus quickly break up.
“Alright, that’s enough of that,” Marcus’s hating ass says first. “Look, Olivia, I've only known you for a little over a month, and you're already killing me with the PDA. I'm going to need you to tone it down for me, please. Thank you.”
“Ignore this hater,” Rob interrupts as he and I dap each other up. “It’s good to see you, Miss Lucero. I can't believe we actually pulled it off without him knowing.”
Rob gives a half-hug to Olivia, then moves out of the way for Olivia and Sandra to hug, too.
“It’s so nice to see both of you—and would you please stop calling me Miss Lucero?” Olivia says playfully. “And I know. I can't believe he didn't figure it out.”
“I've been too focused on work to be paying attention to what y’all are doing,” I say. “And with the Del-One meeting tomorrow, I've been extra locked in.”
“Yeah, yeah, yeah,” Marcus says. “Enough work talk. Let’s go over here and get these drinks started, shall we? We’ve been waiting on you two for half an hour and I desperately need a sip of something strong.”
“Happy birthday, Quinn,” a new voice cuts in from behind me. I whirl around and give a big hug to Eden, who moves from me to Olivia before joining the group.
“Thanks for coming, Eden,” I say. “I know you all were here before us, so I don't know if you've met already, but allow me to introduce you to my childhood friends. This is Rob and his wife Sandra.” Eden shakes hands with Rob and Sandra as they exchange polite nice-to-meet-you nods. “And this is our crazy and single friend, Marcus.”
“Nice to meet you, Marcus,” Eden says with an extended hand.
“The pleasure is all mine,” Marcus replies as he shakes her hand and maintains strong eye contact. Eden doesn't look away, and the two of them engage in some very flirtatious smiling for much longer than is required for a usual introduction. Olivia and I grin at each other as the two of them release their hands but continue stealing glances at one another while pinching their lips together to keep from smiling more.
“Well,” I say with wide eyes and an all-knowing smirk. “I think this definitely calls for a drink.”
“I'm with you,” Olivia says.
Rob grabs his wife’s hand and starts walking toward the bar. “Let’s get it.”
I take Olivia by the hand and the six of us go over to the bar and order shots of tequila to start the night off right. Everyone in attendance does a quick salute with us before we knock our drinks back, and the party comes to life as the DJ turns on Squabble Up by Kendrick Lamar. The atmosphere brightens around all of us, and the mood stays as high as the stratosphere the entire night.
Later in the evening, Olivia and I notice Marcus and Eden standing at the end of the bar, talking quietly to each other with uncontrollable smiles on their faces. Marcus leans in close to her, whispering something only she can hear, and Eden reaches over and grazes her fingers across his forearm.
“Look at these two,” Olivia says, shaking her head.
“Crazy,” I say. “Maybe it’ll turn into something serious.”
“I hope so,” Olivia responds. “She’s been through a lot.”
“I know. So has he,” I say, hoping that the two of them can actually turn their relationship misfortunes into something with a happy ending. Marcus has been a player for far too long. Maybe Eden can whip his goofy ass into shape and make him man up. Personally, I would love to see the two of them work out. Then it would be perfect. Eden and Marcus. Rob and Sandra. Olivia and Quinn. Vacations and close-knit families sound like a vibrant future to me.
I reach over and touch Olivia’s hand to pull her eyes away from the newly-forming couple. “Hey. Thanks for doing all of this. It was really great.”
She smiles and clasps her fingers with mine. “You're very welcome. I'm glad you liked it. I know we’ve got big things happening tomorrow, but I hope this was a good distraction.”
“It was perfect. But the night’s not done, you know.”
“Is that right? What’s happening next then, Sir?”
“Well,” I say, moving closer so I can whisper into her ear. “First, we’re going to say goodbye to everyone. Then, we’re going to go back to the car, where I'm going to lean over and lick your clit just enough to feed my addiction to hear you moan. Then, we’re going to drive back to your place, walk down into the playhouse, and you're going to kneel for me like the good little slut you are. From there, the sky’s the limit. All I know is that I'm going to spend every waking minute of the night thinking of new ways to tear you apart. How does that sound, Miss Lucero?”
She grins with a raised eyebrow. “It sounds like we need to get started on saying our goodbyes.”
“That’s my girl,” I say, taking her by the hand as I stand. “Let’s go.”
Olivia licks her lips and follows my lead, her eyes as bright as stars. “Yes, Sir. Are we trying anything new tonight?”
I grin, imagining the layout of the playhouse and wondering where my mood will take me. Maybe we’ll give electroshock a go. Or perhaps we’ll dive into the depths of breath play. It all sounds good to me.
“Well, I don't know, baby girl,” I say. “But do you trust me?”
Olivia smiles, knowing that her response to this question has always been more and more every day. Tonight, she leans forward and kisses me softly. I run my fingers up the back of her neck and head until they're high enough to grip her hair, and I tug softly as I kiss her back.
We forget the world for a moment, until Olivia steps back and answers, “Yes, because I love you, Quinn. With all of my heart.”
My world spins. It’s the first time she has ever said she loved me, even though she has done a bad job of hiding it. I have felt it for a little while now. I guess that’s what love is supposed to be like. Even if it isn’t being said, you should feel when someone loves you, and I’ve felt Olivia’s love for me. I’ve felt my love for her, too. It has been growing more and more each day, and there has never been a more perfect time to speak it into the world.
“I love you too, Olivia,” I reply. “For a while now.”
She licks her lips and kisses me again, but this time feels different. It’s funny how just saying the words I love you can change everything. The kiss is more tender and passionate because now we know that love is fueling it. It’s the best kiss we’ve ever shared, and everything else between us will be better now, too. Our relationship has just reached a new level, and I don't think I've ever been more excited about the future. It’s not just my future now. It’s ours. Quinn and Olivia. CISO and CEO. Sadist and masochist. D and S. Both sides of the slash.
THE END
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
To say that this book has been a journey would be underselling it. The entire year of 2025 has been a whirlwind of frustration, worry, uncertainty, and insecurity. I never expected to come out of 2024 and hit a brick wall after having such a great year last year. I published A Good Girl’s Guide to Dominance at the end of 2024, and was so excited when the calendar flipped, only to come face to face with a weird form of writer’s block, where I would write tons of words and then question what the hell I was doing. I doubted every plot that I spent weeks outlining. I wrote 50K words in one manuscript just to drop it. I wrote one chapter in another and immediately gave up on it, even though the outline was fantastic. I just didn't feel it in the moment. Society had pissed me off, and I didn't want to write those characters anymore. It was that simple. The next thing I knew, it was the summer and I had nothing on the table.
So, I went with an old idea and started writing again. The words flew out of me, and by the time I was editing, I realized—once again—that I hated my MMC. Yes, I hated Quinn in the first version of this book. But because it had been so long since I published, I didn't have the option to just drop all 100K words of this manuscript. I had to go back and start revisions. Page by page. Chapter by chapter. I rebuilt Quinn into a corporate anti-hero, and not only did it change Quinn, it changed me. The revisions process of this book has altered my future as an author, and just like Quinn in the final chapter of Left of the Slash, I have never been more excited for my future.
So, now that this book is done, I get to move onto a whole new era of my writing career. I have loved everything I've done up to this point, but Quinn is the best MMC I have written in a long time, and definitely my favorite since I started writing BDSM romances. He is the catalyst for what is to come, and I'm so excited for everything that’s after him. Thanks, Quinn.
After all of this time away from publishing, I actually don't have a lot of people to thank because I’ve learned to do so much of this by myself. I am now creating my own covers, doing my own formatting, and keeping my editing in-house between my wife and I. I’d like to thank all of my former formatters, and my old cover designer for showing me the ropes, but I’ve taken the reins myself and love diving into this creative process myself.
I do, however, want to shout out my wife for being such a huge part of all of this. Thank you for being there through all of the struggles this year, and for being supportive until I finally got back on the right track. You had your own struggles as well, but we always pull through together, and you have your own novel on the verge of release as well. Congratulations to us for breaking through and forging our path ahead.
Thanks to my agent, Stephanie, for continuing to be supportive and patient. Sorry I took so long. Now that I'm back, let’s get it!
Thank you to The Author Agency for all of your support with PR on this long runway before the launch of this book. It’s always great working with you. I'm sending you ARCs as soon as I'm done writing this!
Thank you to everyone in the Greer Mafia, and everyone on my street and ARC teams. It was quiet for a long time, but you were ready as soon as I said I had something coming! I appreciate your enthusiasm so much.
Lastly, thank you to all of my very patient fans. This author game can be difficult because it requires you to never run out of creative fuel, and that’s an impossibility. At some point, creativity needs a break or has to slow down or has to wait for inspiration. My fans were faithful and patient through it all, and I truly hope this book was worth the wait. I promise not to take so long next time!
To 2026 and beyond!
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
WS (Will) Greer is the author of bestselling novels such as The Therapist Series, Kingdom, Interview with a Sadist, and The Darkest Kink. He's also a USAF veteran since enlisting in 2004, and retiring after 20 years of service in 2024.
WS prides himself on being a man who writes spicy romance with the absolute best of them, while also understanding and appreciating that he is a guest in the house of romance that women built.
WS grew up in Clovis, NM, and now resides in Delaware, where he lives with his wife—bestselling author Isabel Lucero—and 3 kids.
MORE FROM WS GREER
Thank you for purchasing Left of the Slash! Please leave an honest rating and review wherever you purchased your copy. It would be very much appreciated!
Check out these other titles from WS Greer
Madman
The Therapist (The Therapist #1)
Shameless (The Therapist #2)
The Fallout (The Therapist #3)
Toxic (The Therapist #4)
Kingdom
Interview with a Sadist
I Love to Hate You
The Darkest Kink (The Darkest Kink #1)
How May I Please You (The Darkest Kink #2)
A Good Girl’s Guide to Dominance
Want more from WS? Visit WS-GREER.COM for much more!
WS Greer, Left of the Slash
