Requested Surrender (12 page)

Too bad it wasn’t going to be.

Chapter Nine

An hour later after they’d finished eating, he was pleased Lacy hadn’t lost focus or conjured up either one of her friends’ expressions during lunch. Maybe he was making some headway. Time to test that theory.

“Are you all done?”

She put her napkin down and smiled. “Yes, thanks. It was wonderful. I think I’m going to need that mandarin dressing recipe.”

“I’ll see that you get it.” Pushing his chair away from the table, he patted his lap. “Come here.”

“Okay.” Quickly, she came around the table. Clearly she’d forgotten about having to answer him on why she liked his ass bite. Or had she?

When she got within reach of him, he made a grab for her and she squealed. “What are you doing? That tickles.”

He teased on purpose. Boldly feeling her up and down. Hell, all over. He loved to see her squirm and there was no better place for her to do that than on his lap. He crushed her up against him and whispered in her ear, “Anything I want and too bad.”

“Now that’s more Dom-like.”

She sounded so genuinely relieved he frowned. “And I haven’t been before?” His hands stopped moving while he waited for her answer.

“You were in the library.” She snorted as if that pronouncement was a private joke and he wasn’t even there. Then before he could say anything about it, she shifted.

“Sometimes you are. Actually.” She continued to twist in his arms until they were eye-to-eye. “Now that we’re on the subject. You blamed me for being like my friends, but you’re like your friends too.”

“If there’s any resemblance then it would be more correct to say they’re like me.”

“Why? Because you taught them stuff?”

“I guided them.”

“Trained.”

“Instructed.”

“Ah.” She nodded and brushed his bangs off his forehead. Such a small gesture that had very deep results. He felt the warmth of her fingertips all the way through skin to bone. “That explains it. Do you have a metaphor class? Where every Dom learns to talk all teachy-preachy to get his point across to his
special
girl or something?”

He wasn’t thrilled that she did air quotes when she’d said “special”. “No.”

“You could have fooled me. You do it and so do Ethan and Ted.” She made a sad face, momentarily pushing her bottom lip out prior to adding, “It’s not very sexy if you ask me.”

“I didn’t ask you.”

Her eyes widened a little too much. “So you do know what I’m talking about.”

Yeah, she was fucking with him again. He sighed. “Not really.”

She cocked her head and studied him for a moment, searching his eyes before she asked, “Why didn’t you take my phone away when you had the chance?”

So that was what was bothering her? She knew other Doms who would have taken her phone in a heartbeat given the situation, and he hadn’t. He kept his voice soft and steady. “What would that have accomplished?”

“It would have stopped me from talking on the phone again after you asked me not to.”

He shifted her on his lap. All her heat and curves molded nicely against him and being that he couldn’t get the image of her sucking him off out of his head, he’d take whatever contact he could get at the moment. “That doesn’t interest me.”

She tapped him on the shoulder. “I can see that. My eyes are up here.”

David tore his gaze off her chest and looked up.

“I don’t get you. I thought you wanted me to focus better and pay attention? Don’t you want to help me to stop
plagiarizing
other people’s lives? Isn’t that what you said? Aren’t Doms supposed to mentor their subs? Why do you keep getting me off? When are we going to do it, that’s what I want to know?”

He recognized the stubborn tilt of her chin, add that to the fifty questions, and he knew that meant more talking. Inwardly, he sighed. She was still basing their relationship on comparisons she was drawing between them and her friends. Sinking back against the chair he drawled, “Depends.”

“On what?”

“Depth of relationship.”

“Oh.” Her cheeks turned pink and her eyes went all glassy.

“You have to be patient.”

Now her eyes narrowed. “All right. Forget getting laid. Let’s put that aside for the moment and concentrate on punishment or no punishment, to be exact. Does this mean the deeper you want a relationship to be, the stricter you’d be with the woman in that relationship?”

Her wheels were turning a mile a minute while she came to certain conclusions. Assumptions that were all wrong because she was too quick to rush to judgment. He didn’t say anything. He was more content to let her hang a bit before he corrected her. Knowing Lacy as well as he did, she’d barely let the thought resonate before she’d start to dissect it. He’d learned more about her by staying quiet than he had when he’d grilled her with precisely volleyed questions.

“So you’re not going to be strict with me?”

She may as well have said, “You don’t care about me.” She’d certainly nailed the puppy-dog eyes. He had to fight the urge to haul her in for a hug.

She toyed with his tie as one foot swung back and forth. The action caused some serious friction between his lap and her bottom when she asked, “I suppose you’re expecting me to be strict with myself?”

Although she’d kept her tone light and breezy, he heard the underlying tremor of sadness and it tore his guts out. Now he knew for certain that he’d been right. Lacy Pembrook was tired of wandering. She needed someone to bring her home.

He reached out and cupped her chin, waiting until she looked him in the eyes. Then he said, “I’m expecting you to be you. That’s all. And trust me on this. If you ever do anything bad enough to warrant a punishment? I’ll be strict with you. No worries there.”

“But I was on the phone and I was…”

She blushed and caught herself before she no doubt admitted to reading that book. Yeah, they still had shit that needed to be worked out, but they had plenty of time. All and all, he was pleased with the progress they’d already made. “Sometimes”– he drew her up against him—“a reward is punishment.”

She laid her head on his shoulder and had barely relaxed when she sat straight up. “Unbelievable. That’s why you keep getting me off.”

“I’d wager you wondered more about that particular method than you would have if I spanked you. But the method is not the issue at all. Instead, I’d like you to think about your actions and reactions and not mine. If I’d taken away your cell or spanked you it would be all about me in your mind. I’d be the meanie bad guy when really you should be thinking you’re a little brat.” She gasped and he hugged her tighter. “So stop comparing our relationship to anyone else’s. We act and react differently—alone and together—so there is no comparison to be made. If individuals are unique, then the relationships they form are more so.”

“I’m not a brat.”

He didn’t fight her when she wiggled to be free of his arms. Letting her go, he sat back in the chair with a sigh. “Debatable.”

She glared and seemed ready to bolt.

“Look, I didn’t share this with you to make you angry. I told you because I don’t want you to think I don’t care about you.” When she stopped fidgeting and snapped her head up, he whispered, “I care. I care very, very much.”

Even though he could have left it at that, he didn’t. Maybe it was the instant flush of pleasure that colored her cheeks or the soft light in her eyes that drew him. Whatever it was it compelled him say, “I knew the moment I saw you sitting in the rain you’d be mine. The look on your face.” He shook his head. “A free spirit if ever there was one.”

Lacy’s heart melted. He meant what he said. She thought about what he’d asked her to recite with the paddle,
Thank me for caring enough to correct you,
and before she could stop them the words tumbled out. “Thank you.”

It wasn’t the appropriate response. It made little sense, but it was as if he understood what she meant when he grinned. “You’re welcome. Now tell me why you liked me biting your ass.”

That hit her like a frosty wind on her first step out of a desert. “You want to talk about that now?”

He nodded and her stomach dipped.

Great. She nearly completed a full shrug when she caught herself and quickly threw out the answer she’d dreamed up earlier when she’d been told she’d have to explain. Easy-peasy. “You bit my ass. I liked it. You stroked me. I came.” Yep, easy-peasy.

David stared at her.
Ugh
, what else could she say? Maybe she could rephrase it the way she used to do with her essays at college. Say the same thing six different ways and she was sure to ace it. But then, David was a man of few words when the subject mattered to him so she highly doubted regurgitating known facts was going to win her any brownie points with him.

She could practically read the most prevalent thought etched on his stoic face.
Isn’t hedging more difficult?
It was.
All right, all right I’ll give a straight answer.
Perfect now she was arguing with herself? “When you bit my ass the pain got my attention and I don’t know. I just…really liked that.”

She thought she’d have to say a whole lot more or come right out and admit that the action had forced her to focus in on feeling, but she didn’t when he curled down and kissed her. Not hard and not soft either. He tasted like the spiced mint tea they’d had with their lunch, and when he cupped her chin to press in closer, she sighed. His warmth, strength and scent captivating and enthralling. It gathered her up and held her steady until the familiar inner peace blanketed her to shut everything else out. The flavor of him. The feel and power turned her insides to jelly. Softening her until all she could do was tremble.

He must have felt it because he gently broke the embrace. Looking down she noticed she clutched his lapels, bunching them in her closed fists. “Sorry.” She splayed her palms over the material and patted. When she was done she waited for him to say something.

Unfortunately he didn’t, and the crackling energy between them sizzled and built until she realized she’d have to cut through it herself. Otherwise it would overwhelm her and she’d likely say something to wreck all this. The good things that came her way usually disappeared, so before this did, she forced a grin and sought to lighten the moment. Recalling his earlier comment she said, “The look on
my
face that day? Did you see the look on the rest of the guests faces? Colin’s? I thought she was going to have a cow when she saw me. Sure my bridesmaid’s dress was drenched and my hair was soaked, but since we’d already finished with the pictures and had dinner I didn’t see what the big deal was. I love rain.”

 “It showed, and so did your hardened nipples when you came back into the chateau.”

His look smoldered. Steamed. Heated her up. That ache was back between her legs and so was the desire to finish where she’d left off with him in library. The thought caused her nipples to spike as hard, or maybe harder than they did that day, as they poked against her Dali t-shirt now. He was right about one thing. She needed to be patient. Maybe if she was, all this would last.

“And as to your second comment. I’m not a free spirit. You are.” She playfully sized him up. “I see you as being unconventional and a nonconformist even by the traditional ‘lifestyle’ standards. You’ve proven it. I’ve broken rules and basically lied to you and I haven’t been spanked once.”

Oh. My. Fucking. God! Did that come out of her mouth? Were his eyes darkening again? Yes. The eye twitch back? Right again. She needed to keep quiet. To stop talking. To—
ugh!
“Actually, I’m the complete opposite as I mostly try to conform and there’s nothing unconventional about that. It’s kind of boring, but at least it’s safe.” Not like the winding avenue this dialogue had turned down. When he eased her off his lap and helped her to stand, she blurted, “I will try my hardest not to break the rules again. I swear.”

He didn’t take his eyes off her as he stood. Was he getting bigger? More handsome? Why was she breathless and ready to beg him to stay when he turned to go?

“I’d appreciate that.” He stopped and then swung around. “Oh and don’t ever lie to me again.”

That hit her like a slap. There was no literal threat attached to that statement, but the humongous gorilla-in-the-room-or-else-implied threat?  Hell yeah, that scared the ever loving heck out of her.

She was still mulling that over when he got to patio doors, turning to ask, “You’re not afraid of bright light, sharp tools and things that will stain your skin are you?”

She gulped because now she had something else to be scared of. “N-no.” And she’d promised she wasn’t going to lie. Double
ugh
.

“Coming?” He held out his hand and she rushed forward to take it. Once he had hold of her she heard him murmur, “You got guts.”

A few minutes later when they arrived at another one of those beautifully arched doors on the second floor, she was sure she didn’t. Yup, she was completely gutless when she was tempted to turn and run as he let them into the room.

Was it his dungeon?

Chapter Ten

David waited for Lacy to open her eyes. “Do you like it?”

She scanned the art studio he’d set up for her before she vigorously nodded.

“I thought in the mornings you’ll work in the library and in the afternoons you can come here and create.”

“It’s gorgeous, but how did you know about my art?”

“How did you know I liked to play the piano?” he countered.

“I…” He hiked a brow at her and she frowned. “I never said you played the piano, but it does make sense since you have one that could rival Liberace’s. Only thing missing is a gaudy candelabra.”

“Ah.” He walked over to her. “But you knew about my playing before you saw my piano.”

She tried to back up and couldn’t. There was nowhere for her to go. Just as he’d planned.

“And how would you know that?”

“The same way I learned about your artwork.”

Her eyes widened and she poked an index finger into his chest. “You saw my portfolio.”