Brie's Christmas Pearls (Submissive in Love, #3) (2 page)

“Although I know what’s happened with his mother, I don’t know Thane’s reaction to it. He hasn’t spoken to anyone—and that distresses me.”

Brie suddenly felt ashamed. The whole time she’d been fuming about being shut out, not once had she considered Sir’s emotional state. Something dreadful must have happened for him to isolate himself.

She told Master Anderson with renewed conviction, “Sir has called me home to talk. I trust we can work through it, whatever we face.”

“You’d better, young Brie, or I will lose hope that true love exists.”

She smiled. “It does, Mr. Anderson, and your turn is coming.”

He picked Brie up, and she squealed when his strong arms lifted her off the floor. “What? Are you convinced that if you keep saying that, it’ll make it come true?”

She met his gaze under the brim of his cowboy hat. “I only speak the truth, Mr. Anderson.”

He chuckled as he put her back down, spanking her lightly on the bottom as if she were a child. “Run along, young Brie, and bring comfort to your man.”

She scooted towards the line but looked back at him, struck by how handsome he looked. “Thank you for this week…and for the talk.”

He tipped his hat to her. “Anytime, little heifer.”

She giggled, finding it humorous that he’d just called her a cow—and she liked it. “Be off with you, Mr. Cowboy. Go find yourself a new heifer to play with.”

He nodded towards two girls at a magazine rack nearby, who’d been staring at him. “Actually, I’ve just spied my next conquest.”

Brie waved one last time as she settled into line, smiling to herself as she watched him heading towards the girls. Her smiled faded when he walked past the two and headed out the doors. She sighed with frustration but sent out a thought to him.
Don’t lose hope, Master Anderson.
Your day is coming.

She got on the plane feeling more hopeful than she had before because of Master Anderson’s talk. She truly believed that condor love was an impenetrable force, but she’d forgotten that in her shock.

Seeds of doubt sprang up again when Sir’s text message met her when she landed in LA.

I will meet you at home.

Brie frowned, disappointed that he would not be picking her up at the airport, but she took solace in the word ‘home’. It spoke of warmth and comfort—a safe place in the storm.

She felt a mixture of excitement and dread as she entered their apartment. She longed to see Sir again, but did not want to face the confrontation about to happen. However, it was a dark and silent apartment that greeted her.

Brie set her luggage down in the lonely hallway, noting that the smell of Sir lingered, which hinted at the fact that he’d been there recently. She glanced around their place and was startled to see her journal haphazardly thrown on the coffee table, along with other items from his recent trip. She walked over to her beloved journal and picked up the wrapped package. Sir had never even opened it.

What did that mean?

She walked into the bedroom and placed it in its normal resting place in the drawer of her nightstand. Brie turned away, feeling profoundly hurt. A sense of foreboding gnawed at her heart. Whatever Sir was hiding truly had the potential to tear them apart.

What had Ruth done? How was the witch planning to ruin their lives now?

She decided to do the only thing that would bring her peace. After unpacking her things, she lit a fragrant candle and turned out the lights. Then she slowly undressed and knelt at the front door, waiting for Sir.

Brie closed her eyes and commanded herself not to dwell on the
what ifs
. Instead she thought back to the last time they’d been together, reliving it in her mind. The night before she’d left Japan—a precious memory.

“Let me make love to you before we say goodbye,” Sir told her, pushing Brie gently onto the bed. “Death has a way of helping you to appreciate what you have…”

She closed her eyes as he undressed her, desperate for the healing power of his touch.

“Right now all that exists is you, me and this moment in time.”

Her heart melted when he growled those words into her ear. She needed this cherished intimacy with him before she left his side, bound for Denver.

Things had been difficult with the passing of Tono’s father—so many raw emotions exposed—but it was knowing that Tono would not be returning to America that absolutely crushed her. It was tragic that the talented Dom would be staying in Japan to care for his ungrateful mother, giving up everything he loved.

Brie hadn’t been able to shake off the feeling of grief until Sir wrapped her in his loving embrace.

“This is all I need,” she confessed.

He kissed her tenderly. “I agree.”

Brie mulled over those simple words now, as she knelt waiting for him in the dark. They held more significance now that she understood. That night he’d kept his terrible secret inside as he made love to her, finding his escape in her embrace—and she had been oblivious. Instead of concentrating on his own pain, he had focused on relieving hers.

She remembered how time had seemed to stop when he’d begun kissing her lightly, trailing a path from her neck down to her stomach, making a leisurely detour to kiss and suckle her breasts.

“You have gorgeous breasts, babygirl.” He kneaded and rolled them in his fingertips, sucking and flicking his tongue against her erect nipples until her pussy ached with need. Continuing lower, he licked and nibbled her stomach, causing her entire body to focus on that mouth and anticipate his wicked attention to her clit.

That first, long, drawn-out lick made her shudder with desire. Sir tasting her wetness, seeming to savor it, made her feel sexually irresistible. She pressed her mound against his talented tongue, begging for more attention.

Sir grabbed her ass cheeks and dived into her with his mouth, lapping, sucking and teasing her. It was obvious that he took as much pleasure in eating her as she did in sucking him. She tilted her head back as she grasped his head, surrendering to his skilled tongue.

“You will come many times tonight,” he informed her. “Not because I command it, but because I plan to love your body well.”

She moaned as the first orgasm began to build inside her.

“Don’t resist me tonight, Brie. Let your body respond freely.”

She closed her eyes, overwhelmed by the love flowing from him. She let her climax build until it reached a glorious level before letting go, needing him to feel how intensely he pleased her.

“That’s my good girl…” he murmured between her legs. Sir rode out her orgasm with his tongue pressed against her pulsating clit, then moved slowly down her legs, teasing her with light kisses and nibbles. He stopped at her feet, tickling them until she giggled and squirmed. Sir paused, looking at her intently, the smile on his lips about doing her in.

“Lie still and let me have my way with you.”

She willingly opened her legs to him again and purred, “Have your way, Thane.”

Using his given name had a definite effect on Sir. He hesitated for a second before crawling between her legs. He stopped to gaze down at Brie before taking her.

“I count on your love more than you know.”

At the time, she’d thought he meant it as a sweet nothing, but now she understood he’d been speaking from a heart overwhelmed with pain.

Brie was brought back to reality by that revelation. She swallowed back the tears, straightening her posture. As she continued to kneel on the floor waiting for him, one thought echoed through her mind.

Sir needed me that night.

She’d been blind to his pain, receiving the love he offered greedily, ravenous for its healing power. All the tension and sadness caused by her week in Tokyo had dissolved the moment he’d entered her. Afterwards she’d lain in his arms, exhausted but content, reflecting on his earlier statement that death can help one to appreciate what they have.

She distinctly remembered looking at his handsome face as she caressed his strong jaw, and being filled with a deep sense of gratitude.

In response, he’d taken her hand and placed it over the brand on his chest.

The Truth

W
hen she heard the jingle of keys and the door being unlocked, her heart almost stopped. This unbearable moment before confrontation was excruciating; the knowledge that it could either end well or in complete disaster.

Think before you speak, but don’t hold back,
she commanded herself.

The door swung open and Sir lingered for a moment in the hallway before entering the apartment. He shut the door and walked over to her, placing his hand on her head. A flood of energy passed between them, even though neither spoke. When he removed his hand, she looked up at him expectantly.

“Stand, Brie.”

The use of her given name was significant in this situation. Although he had accepted her submission by placing his hand on her head, Sir wanted to speak to her as an equal.

Brie stood gracefully, keeping her head bowed, suddenly aware how naked she felt standing before him—it was a new and unwelcome feeling.

In a move uncharacteristic of Sir, he took off his jacket and covered her with it. Rather than it being a tender gesture meant as comfort, it made her feel cold inside. Something was fundamentally wrong between them.

“Would you like a drink?” he asked.

It was only ten in the morning, but she realized he must still be on Japan time. “No thank you, Sir.”

He gestured that she should take a seat on the couch while he fixed himself a martini. She listened to the ice clinking in the metal shaker. Normally the sound of his vigorous shaking brought a thrill, but today it only brought a sense of concern.

Sir needs a drink to talk to me…

When he came out of the kitchen, he avoided looking at her as he walked to the window and gazed at the expansive city below. Sir took several sips of his drink before speaking.

“I know this was unfair to you.”

Brie let out a sigh of relief. At least he acknowledged it. “I want to know what happened.”

He shook his head, taking another sip. She sensed his emotional walls go up with that simple request. Was he going to keep it from her even now?

“I deserve to know, Sir.”

He glanced at her briefly, then looked back over the city. “How much do you already know?”

Brie got up from the couch and walked over to him, unhappy with the distance between them, both physical and emotional.

“Almost nothing, because no one would talk to me about it. However, I’m certain it involves your mother, because I was told it made the national news.”

“I didn’t anticipate that. Why the hell would it make the news?” he muttered, tilting his glass back to finish the rest of its contents.

Brie pulled at the long sleeves of Sir’s jacket to expose her hands, then she drew near to him, touching him lightly on the arm. He lowered his head, a look of torment clouding his eyes.

“Tell me…please,” she whispered, standing on tiptoes to kiss him on the mouth.

His lips were unresponsive but she saw tears in his eyes. “I’m a mess, Brie.”

“Condors, Sir.”

He stared at her for a moment before nodding. Sir put down his glass and led her to the kitchen. He pulled out a chair for her at the table, then went into the pantry, bringing out the bag of rice. He plopped it on the kitchen table, sitting on the chair opposite her. “When I’m done, if you deem it necessary, I will kneel on rice.”