Requested Surrender (4 page)

“I’m confident it is.” He sat back and studied her. “Tell me. How long did it take you to figure out that he was playing into you being a pushover?”

“He didn’t…”

David sat forward and pointed down. “These cherry-wood floors instead of the white ceramic you wanted.” He waved his hand at the walls around them. “Peach paint in place of the neutral you were so excited about.” Dropping his hand to his lap he scowled. “How long was it before you started to manipulate him in order to get what you wanted?”

“A few weeks.” Her voice was so quiet he had to strain to hear her. “I didn’t intend to string things along like this, it kind of happened and I didn’t want you to get mad.”

“Too late for that.”

She tried valiantly to sit on the bed, but eventually abandoned that idea and said, “It was easier this way, you know what I mean?”

Now they were getting somewhere. “No, I don’t know.” He rested his elbows on his knees and shifted forward. “Tell me.”

“Joe likes to be bossed around. Not when it comes to the products he installs. I realized too late that the guy is thrifty when it comes to job material. So after thinking about all the stuff he insisted I use for one reason or another I, ah, gave him things to do. That made him happy and when he was happy he wasn’t so stubborn when I said I didn’t like the samples he showed me.”

He tried not to narrow his eyes. “What kind of things to do?”

“I made him clean the bathroom with a toothbrush. Toilet and all. He did my dishes more than once. Oh, and I ordered him to wash my car a couple of times. He’s really good at that.”

David’s right eyelid twitched as he made another mental note. E and Ted would have to look into their favorite contractor’s play habits. If Joe were hitting up some of the other clients they’d recommended him to this way, there’d be hell to pay. It seemed the guy needed a real Domme to fill his needs. Lacy certainly wasn’t the woman for the job even if she and David didn’t have a
thing
, as she put it, because what she’d described was a day-laborer, not a sub.

“You’re not a Top.”

“He didn’t know that.”

Of course he did, which made it worse. Recalling the scene he’d walked into, he asked, “That wasn’t uncooked rice he was kneeling on, was it?”

“No. I didn’t have any.”

She looked away. Was she hoping he wouldn’t press her about this? Not going to happen. He was pressing. “What was it?”

“A perfectly good substitute.”

He straightened and dropped his voice, “Lacy.”

She made an impatient sound and then blurted, “Kitty litter.”

“What?”

“Relax, it was clean. I keep a bag in case I have to bring home a patient. It’s good to throw in the snow at winter too.” When he remained silent she seemed to get flustered. After a few seconds she began to nervously knead her terry lapels. “Oh, come on, don’t stare at me like that. I looked it up on the internet and since I didn’t have rice I improvised. I thought it was a clever solution.”

David had heard enough. She was missing the point here so best he direct her to it. “You seem to have an abundance of clever solutions. I recall seeing the toothbrush idea in a movie once.” When her eyes widened in surprise he knew he’d nailed where she came up with that one. Standing, he shook out his coat before he took a deep breath and let it out slowly.

“David?”

Ah, so she was finally taking due notice. “Here is what we are going to do. I’m going to leave you right now so you’ll have the afternoon to decide whether or not you want to pursue a relationship with me.”

“But w-we are already in a relationship.”

“I’m going to forget you said that.”

She looked completely baffled and he didn’t blame her. Lacy was used to flying under the radar. Playing bratty then cute to get around the people in her life, but all that was about to change. He figured she knew it when she whispered, “Why?”

“Because I wouldn’t think much of you after learning what you’ve been doing with Joe this past month and I want to think the world of you, so we’re starting over. My way.”

“David.”

“This new start is going to be about choices. Your choices. Here’s your first one. If you want to commit to this relationship you’ll be ready when I send a car for you at 7pm tonight. You’ll have your bags packed with regular outfits and cocktail attire as well.”

“I don’t understand. Are you taking me to the airport in the morning so I can catch my flight?”

He walked to the door and stepped over the saw before he turned back to her. “No. My driver will bring you to me. And once he does you’ll have another choice to make so be prepared.”

She shook her head and frowned. “What about my trip?”

“The flight’s been cancelled. I’ll reimburse you for the cost of your fare.”

He turned to leave and she panicked. He could tell. She took two steps forward before she caught herself. Smart. Best she kept her distance from him for the moment at least. “Reimburse me? What about the belt? You can’t leave me stuck in it.”

“Oh, right, thank you for the reminder.”

“Awesome. I thought I was going to have to wear it all afternoon.”

He kept his eyes on her as he reached into his inside pocket. Pulling out the small booklet he tossed it to her. “You’re going to need this. It will come in handy this afternoon, and if you decide not to come to my place I’m sure it will be a godsend over the two weeks you’re in the Dominican.”

He almost smiled watching her flip through the pages. She went from stunned to shocked and finally settled on an expression that highlighted her incredulous fear. “Instructions? They have instructions for this…this…
this
Victorian vag vice?”

“Of course.” He stepped around the saw and went to her. Leaning down he tapped on one of the pages. “There’s even a money back guarantee. It states if you’re not completely delighted you can return it for a full refund.”

All she did was shake her head. Clearly she was speechless.

That thought made him grin. “Oh yes, but personally I think they wasted the paper printing that promise because who wouldn’t be completely delighted?”

He expected her to throw a fit. Yell at him or be sarcastic or something, so when her eyes clouded over he was stumped. Straightening he stepped back and waited for her to say what was on her mind.

“I have reasons why I go away this time every year. One reason actually, so I can’t stay home. I can’t.”

Interesting and something they’d get to the bottom of eventually. Right now however she needed a little push. “You won’t be staying home. You’ll be staying at my place.”

“Your place?” She gasped as if he’d slapped her. “But Colin and Jo said women never get to go to your place. Never.”

“Did they tell you why?”

“No.”

She looked so beside herself he didn’t fight the need he had to touch her. Reassure her as he tucked a curl behind her ear and softly asked, “Would you like me to tell you why?”

“Yes.”

“I’ve never had a special girl before. Are you ready to be my special girl?”

She didn’t answer. Only closed her eyes and pressed her cheek into his palm which was good enough for him.

“7pm. Be ready and remember to pack cocktail attire in your bag.”

As he left the house his adrenaline was high at the prospect of having her all to himself for the next two weeks. He’d always told the Doms he trained that where there’s good, there’s bad, but in this instance where there was bad—the Joe thing—there was good. Because now he knew exactly what Lacy needed and he was set on giving it to her.

Chapter Four

Lacy sat in the dimly lit vestibule and waited. It had been over an hour since David’s driver had left her there, but she was determined to stay calm. It was becoming more than apparent, as the minutes ticked by, that this ‘making her wait’ was a tactic the slighted Dom was using to intimidate her.

She looked around at the sumptuous furnishings, the highly polished marble floors and up at the cut-crystal chandelier that was bigger than the fake Christmas tree she put up every year, and sighed. This place was intimidating. No wonder David never brought women here. Between his looks and this palace he’d never get rid of them if he did.

Eyeing the glossy mahogany wainscoting, she tried to imagine him in a place like this. It was easily double the size of Ethan and Colin’s winery and it tripled Ted’s impressive brownstone. She didn’t know why, but she’d always assumed David was the more modest one out of the three of them. Maybe because he was quiet. Hm. Studying the humungous chandelier, she tapped her foot against the marble. There wasn’t one lick of modest furniture in here. Recalling the ride through the gates that lead up to this modern day castle, she realized she may have underestimated her guy.

That depressing thought caused her to stop tapping as she whispered, “It’s okay. He doesn’t hate you. At least he’s giving you a chance.” Another ten minutes crawled by and she was ready to knock on the huge double doors that led into the main part of the house when the butler entered through a side paneled door.

“Ms. Pembrook?”

“Yes?” She turned and couldn’t help frowning when she noticed he was empty handed. “Where are my bags? I thought the driver said he was going to get them to you?”

“Oh, he did. Not to worry, all your things have been installed.”

“Excuse me?”

“I’m sure Mr. Hollan will explain. He’s ready to see you.”

 “Thank you. Point me in the direction because I’m ready to see him as well.”

“Yes ma’am. Follow me.”

He swept by her in such a swift and professional manner that she lost some of her newly built confidence. Hadn’t she decided to play things by ear? Test the waters for a little while and see if David changed his mind about wanting her to stay here. First though, she needed to get him to undo the belt. It had taken her the better part of the afternoon to conclude that she’d never make a good locksmith. Her fingers were still cramped from holding those two straightened paperclips like chopsticks in one of the keyholes. She really had no idea what she was supposed to do to spring the locking mechanism, but it had looked easy enough when McGyver picked locks on TV. After her every attempt in that endeavor failed however, she’d spent the rest of the afternoon learning how to sit without cursing him. She hadn’t quite mastered that so she intended to stand when she was in the company of others. Certainly made following this guy easy.

“Ms. Pembrook?”

The butler pushed the doors open and when she spied the interior, a shiver raced down her back. Laid out in front of her was a phenomenal expanse of the same black and white marble floor. Only in this room it was installed in a checkerboard pattern. She looked up, examining the high arched ceiling shot through with elegant wood beams, and trim-work with an intricate profile and knew for sure that Joe hadn’t done that. It was more artwork than mere carpentry.

Off to the left was a wide staircase that had several long skinny windows graduating up the wall on one side—framed in that same gloss-finished mahogany—while on the other side, was a thick wood railing supported by black wrought iron that boasted large fleur-de-lis cutouts every linear foot or so. The grandeur of it all instantly had her thinking about Architectural Digest magazine. This place would make a great cover. Recalling her manners, she gave herself a mental shake and refocused.

“Thank you…” She just realized she didn’t even know the guy’s name. Pulling her gaze away, while at the same time hoping she hadn’t made too much of an ass of herself as she stood there gawking, she turned. “I’m sorry, I don’t even know your—” She stopped her apology when she saw the that the doors had been firmly closed and the butler was gone.

“Lacy?”

She spun around and put a hand to her chest. Scanning the room, she found him. “David.”

He didn’t move, and it was no wonder she hadn’t immediately spied him. He was standing in front of a fireplace that lit the shadows with a golden shine off in the farthest corner in the room. Even as she stood there, the collection of overhead chandeliers dimmed, and with each deepening degree of darkness, he became more visible.

The first thing she noticed was the way he was dressed. She’d never seen him without a suit on and yet there he was. Dressed in a pair of snugly tailored black slacks and a white shirt he’d made more casual by turning up the sleeves. Strange that he looked bigger somehow, dressed as he was, and yet she would have guessed the effect being the other way around if asked. She took a step toward him and then stopped when her eyes fully adjusted to the dusky light.

Immediately she was treated to not only him, but the things around him. Two items in particular made her nervous. The stool that was positioned right in front of him and the wooden paddle lying across the top of it. When her gaze met his, she knew without a doubt he meant business. He pulled out the keys to the belt, holding them up and letting them swing pendulum style as the metal flashed occasionally when kissed by the rays of the licking flames behind.

“It’s time for you to make that choice.”

No doubt he was going to unlock the belt if she agreed to a spanking. She sized up the paddle and decided she could handle it. She’d probably enjoy it, too, but she didn’t want him to know that. Trying to keep her expression unreadable she made her way over to him. “I’m ready.”

“Good.” He placed the keys on the paddle and then pointed to the stairs. “Here’s your choice. You may go upstairs and walk to the end of the hall where you’ll find the double doors to my room open. To the left of the master bed, there’s a door and through that there’s the room you’ll be sleeping in. Or you can choose this.” He placed his palm over the keys and added, “The paddle, the stool and the way out of the belt.”

Not what she’d been expecting. She should have known he’d mix things up a little. The fire snapped and crackled as the light it cast haloed around him. She wanted to believe it was the shadows and flares of light that made him look different, but it wasn’t. He didn’t
appear
to be different. He
was
different. His demeanor and the way he stood. Even the husky tone of his voice caused tiny tingles to skitter down her spine.