Authors: KC Wells
Unknown
Submitting to the Darkness
An Island Tale
K.C. Wells
This is a work of fiction
. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.
Submitting to the Darkness
Copyright © 2015 by K.C. Wells
Cover Art by A.J. Corza
Cover content is being used for illustrative purposes only and any person depicted on the cover is a model.
The trademarked products mentioned in this book are the property of their respective owners, and are recognized as such
All Rights Reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, including electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system without the written permission of the Publisher, except where permitted by law.
Table of contents
Thank you, as always, to my wonderful team of betas, which this time has some new faces!
Jason, Wulf, Bev, Debra, Michelle and Mardee – you rock!
A special thank you to two gentlemen who advised on a certain chapter:
TJ Masters and Jack Parton:
Always glad to have you around, boys.
Learning to Love
Michael & Sean
Evan & Daniel
Josh & Chris
Final Exam
Love lessons Learned
A Bond of Three
Waiting for You
Collars & Cuffs
An Unlocked Heart
Trusting Thomas
Someone to Keep Me
(K.C. Wells & Parker Williams)
A Dance with Domination
Damian’ s Discipline
(K.C. Wells & Parker Williams)
Make Me Soar
Personal
Making it Personal
Personal Changes
More than Personal
Personal Secrets
Strictly Personal
Une Affaire Personnelle
Changements Personnels
Plus Personnel
Secrets Personnels
Strictement Personnel
Una
Questione
Personale
Cambiamenti Personali
Es Wird Persö
nlich
Persönlich
e
Veränderungen
Confetti, Cake & Confessions
Confetti, Coriandoli e Confessioni
Connections
Island Tales
Waiting for a Prince
September’s Tide
Submitting to the Darkness
Le Maree di Settembre
Lightning Tales
Teach Me
Trust Me
Double or Nothing
Anthologies
Fifty Gays of Shade
Winning Will’s Heart
Burning First Kiss
Back from the Edge
Designated Bottoms
Switching it Up
Interviews were different.
Give me my sweats and a T-shirt
any
day
.
Interviews meant dressing smartly, being on his best behavior, at least
trying
to sound intelligent, and above all, making that all important first impression
count
. Paul Vaughan wasn’t sure he’d accomplished that, judging by Mrs. Lambton’s facial expression. She looked like she’d swallowed a whole load of lemon sherbet. Right then his interviewer was reading through Paul’s application and CV with such scrutiny that he began to feel uncomfortable.
Paul fidgeted with his collar. He hated wearing the dark gray suit, white shirt and dark blue tie, not to mention the tight black shoes that pinched his feet. He longed for the interview to be over, so he could go home and slough off the clothing as if he was shedding dead skin. Paul never wore shoes in the house, and when he’d attended lectures at Portsmouth University, flip-flops were the norm among his classmates.
He took a moment to take a calming breath and glance around the room. The walls were lined with bookshelves, reaching to the ornate ceiling. Behind the desk where Mrs. Lambton was seated, a long window afforded tantalizing glimpses of the sea. Paul could just about hear waves crashing on the rocks below. The desk itself was wide, with an attractive lamp and a computer monitor its only adornments. Although it was a beautiful room, Paul couldn’t help feeling it was missing something—or rather, some
one
.
There was no sign of the man mentioned in the advert, the one who needed a companion.
“Mr. Vaughan!”
If her sharp tone was anything to go by, Paul had zoned out for a moment. He sat up straight and cleared his throat. “Yes, Mrs. Lambton?” He met her scrutiny and did his best to appear alert.
She sat back in the wide leather chair, elbows resting on its arms, her gaze focused on him. “Your qualifications are eminently suitable, and the references from your college tutors are excellent.” Paul estimated her to be in her late fifties, clearly a well-educated woman judging by her speech and diction. Her gray coiffured hair was neat, her clothing elegant.
Paul smiled. “I’m glad they meet with your approval,” he responded politely. He’d known there’d be no problem with
that
element of the interview. What concerned him was that the advert hadn’t revealed much about the position, what would be expected of the successful applicant.
Her eyes narrowed. “I’ll be honest. I would have preferred to be interviewing an older candidate, but on this occasion you are the best applicant who has applied. On
paper
,” she stressed, tapping his paperwork with a thin finger.
Paul remained quiet, waiting to see where this was leading.
A noise from the next room broke the silence, the sound of furniture sliding across a hard floor, followed by a muffled raised voice. Mrs. Lambton jerked her head toward it, her forehead furrowed. After several seconds when all was quiet once more, she returned her attention to Paul, but this time her demeanor changed. She lost some of her stiffness and her regard became friendlier.
“Paul—if I may call you that?” He nodded. “Paul, I’m going to be blunt. This position is not without its… difficulties. My brother, Mr. Kent, is not an elderly man—he’s forty—but he needs to have someone constantly on hand.”
“Oh?” Paul’s interest was piqued.
Her attention seemed focused on the desk in front of her. “Adam was diagnosed as suffering from acute glaucoma three months ago. I’m sure you can imagine for yourself how devastating such a diagnosis was for an author.”
So Adam is an author
. “Is he going blind, then?”
Mrs. Lambton sat very still. “He is already blind,” she said quietly. “Three weeks after the diagnosis, in spite of various attempts to salvage the sight in one of his eyes.”
“Three weeks?” Paul couldn’t help but feel sorry for the man. Forty, an author, and suddenly his whole world had changed.
“Which brings us to the position,” she said. “There have been several companions, none of whom have lasted more than a few days.” She scowled. “The record is three hours.”
“Why is that?” Paul kept his tone even. Inside his stomach churned.
What the hell does this guy do to make people want to quit so freaking fast?
Mrs. Lambton made a noise at the back of her throat. If it hadn’t been for her ladylike demeanor throughout the interview, Paul could have sworn she’d growled.
“Perhaps it’s best that I tell you, seeing as I intend to offer you the job.”
Paul gave a little internal whoop but then tempered his joy quickly.
I’m not agreeing to take on this position until I know the whole story.
“Every person that I have hired, he has driven them to quit. He can be awkward, cantankerous and on occasion, plain pig-headed. I give you fair warning, he will resist all your efforts to help him. Indeed, he will claim that he needs no help. That is
not
the case, I assure you.”
“May I ask a question?”
Mrs. Lambton gave a cautious nod.
Paul hesitated. “Why isn’t your brother the one interviewing me? Surely if that were the case, he could ensure he approves of—”
“Adam does not want a companion,” she interjected bluntly. “And it is
I
who will be hiring you, not Adam. Personally, I feel he should not be living here alone in this huge house. It would have been a big enough undertaking if he were fit. Now that he is blind… ” She massaged her temples with her fingertips. “However, Adam has made it abundantly clear that he wishes to reside here. A live-in companion is my attempt at a compromise.” She peered at Paul. “The advert did stipulate that this is a live-in position?”
Paul nodded.
She smiled. “Then perhaps all that remains is for me to formally offer you the position. Are you willing to accept?”
Paul quickly turned over his options in his head. Jobs on the island were few and far between, and after a year of looking, he’d been panicking. He was more than ready to leave home, not that it hadn’t been useful to stay with his parents while he hunted for jobs.
But let’s face it, Dad’s more than ready for me to leave, too.
Possibly the understatement of the year.
Paul didn’t want to have to leave the Isle of Wight. He loved living there, and it had been a real wrench to study on the mainland. This position offered him the chance to live in a beautiful house, overlooking one of his favorite places on the island, Steephill Cove.
Yeah, never mind that—what about this Adam?
By the sound of it, Paul might not last long in his new job, not if Adam was determined to make him quit.
That made him stop and think. Paul had never been a quitter, and the idea of staying the course when others had fled appealed to him.
“What would the job entail, exactly?” A bit of last minute information might provide him with the push he needed.
Mrs. Lambton straightened in her chair. “You would be responsible for preparing my brother’s meals, doing the shopping, the laundry and the cleaning. You would make sure he attends any appointments with his doctor or at the hospital. You would see that all his mail is answered. In return, you will be provided with a salary, room and board, and the run of the house. But you must bear in mind that Adam’s care is your first priority.” She scowled once more. “I was more than prepared to take care of him but Adam has made it
very
clear that he does not want me living here.” She lowered her gaze to stare at the polished surface of the desk, but not before Paul caught a flash of anger.
He hesitated before speaking his mind. “It seems to me Adam doesn’t want
anyone
living here.”
Mrs. Lambton raised her chin slowly. “Am I to understand you do not wish to accept the position?” There was an undercurrent to her voice, something Paul couldn’t get a handle on. Her gaze was speculative. For one brief moment, it almost appeared that she wanted him to turn down the job. Except that didn’t make sense. But it intrigued the hell out of Paul.
He smiled. “I would be delighted to accept.” He watched her reaction carefully for any sign of the emotion he’d just witnessed, but there was nothing.
“Excellent.” She extended a hand across the desk and Paul shook it firmly. “As today is Friday, how about if we consider Monday the first day of your employment? Will that give you enough time to arrange to move your belongings here?”
He nodded. “More than adequate.” He didn’t have that much in the first place.
“Then perhaps it’s time for you to meet Adam.”
That was all it took for Paul’s heart to start racing.