Reluctant Surrender (33 page)

She tapped his arm. “I think I get it now.”

“Get what?” He was happy for the distraction.

“You.”

“Really?”

“You have to control everything around you now because weren’t able to control what happened to your parents.”

“You think so?” His heart beat a little faster.

“Sure. It’s textbook psychology.”

Textbook— For a full year after his parents’ accident, the court had set him up with a plethora of shrinks. None of whom mentioned anything about his emotional pain being textbook anything other than something that time would heal. What a lie that had been. In fact, now that he thought about it, none of them had come close to this kind of truth. Hell, maybe they had, but he’d been too young to listen. The grief too fresh. But he was listening now. Colin was touching on something pertinent. He was sure of it. Otherwise his heart wouldn’t be beating out of his chest.

“You blame yourself for your parents’ deaths because you wanted them out of the house so that you could,” she waved her hand, “well, you know. So tell me, do you participate in the lifestyle to torture yourself regularly?”

“No. That’s ridiculous.”

“Of course it’s ridiculous. You were kinky inclined long before you lost your parents. So, why did you feel the need to make the lifestyle your business? I mean two huge sex clubs and a resort. What’s next, an airport for the kinky-inclined flyer?”

He had to catch himself. He’d almost mouthed the word “wow”. He was less concerned about her rubbing off on him than he was with her powers of deduction. Damn, she was wicked smart.

“Why else do you think you push yourself to be the best at it? You should be able to enjoy yourself more, ya know? You’re kind of…”

“What?”

“Intense about it all. In my opinion you need to lighten up a little.”

Ethan thought about what she was saying. There was a certain truth to it. Hadn’t he been thinking about how nice it was to laugh again? To feel some levity? Mulling it over, he decided maybe he had been subconsciously punishing himself. Pushing to make it more for him than what it was originally.

He pulled her up until she was looking into his eyes. “What about you, Miss Smarty Pants? Why don’t we spend a moment trying to figure out how fucked up you are?”

“Umm…” She waved her hand again, only this time she nearly hit him in the nose. “Sorry.” Pressing a finger against his cheek she mused, “We don’t have to because there’s no need.”

He arched a brow. “What? Are you telling me you’re perfect?”

Just as he’d planned, his dubious tone made her laugh. “No.” Then after a moment, she added, “Well, maybe.”

“Maybe?” He reached out and tickled her until she rolled to one side of him and begged.

“Stop! I only meant—” She paused here to catch her breath. “That I figured a few things out the other night on the dock after our talk.”

He held his hand up and motioned for her to tell him. It was a clear case of misery loving company, so he’d force her if need be. “Okay, after spilling my booze-soaked guts the other night and later thinking about my feelings, I’ve decided that my dad, don’t get me wrong, I love him, is weak. So me and John? With or without Marlene’s interference we wouldn’t have worked.” She leaned up to his ear and whispered, “John likes to be the girl in the relationship.” Settling back down she sighed. “Long story short? My mom married a weak man and it didn’t last so it’s no wonder I’m only attracted to strong men.”

“I love that about you.”

“What? That I’m super smart and intuitive?”

“No, that you freely admit that you love strong men. It will make it easier when it comes time to face one.”

“Face one?” Her head came up and she frowned. “I am facing one. You.”

He tightened his arm around her to get her to pay attention to him. “I haven’t had to be strong with you yet, Colin. You haven’t met my version of strong. But you will.”

“Seriously?”

He relaxed his grip, giving her an encouraging squeeze. “Scared you, huh?”

“N-no. Why would you say that?”

He grinned. “No nose scrunch.”

“Hmm…” She closed her eyes when he kissed her ear. “I’m trying to wean myself off them.”

“Don’t.”

“But—”

“Shh. The discipline I mete out when the time comes will not be unbearable. Uncomfortable?” He bit her lobe and she flinched. “Definitely, but not too hard that you won’t go down on your knees afterward and suck my cock. That’s your reward, Colin. If you take your punishment without complaint and work through it with grace, I’ll let you slide this beautiful mouth over my naked dick until you swallow my cum.”

He rubbed his thumb across her lower lip and when her breath hitched, he smiled. “Is your heart pounding, baby girl?”

“Yes.”

“Let me see…”

Chapter Eighteen

Ethan had finished his errands early and hoped to surprise Colin with his return, but he was the one who wound up surprised. He halted as he arrived at his office doorway.

“Colin.”

The second he called her name, she barked out a laugh, which drowned his greeting. That didn’t interest him as much as where she’d chosen to sit. The chair may have been turned so the back was facing him, but he saw her all right. She was sprawled out in his maroon leather chair with her bare feet braced against the windowsill. She had a pencil in her right hand and was waving it as if she were conducting an orchestra while she chatted on her cell.

“Yeah I called my real estate agent back and left him a message. I’m worried. He sounded upset. I know you’re probably right.”

Ethan was just about to clear his throat when he changed his mind as he heard her say, “Ethan? Nope, creampuff. I know, I know. You could have knocked me over with a toothpick. He looks like trouble, but he’s really sweet.”

Hearing this, his sweetness crossed his arms over his chest and leaned against the door frame. He was grinning until he heard her next words.

“Alpha? Umm.” She paused mid-pencil twirl and then jabbed it out as if she were literally making a point. “I’m not sure. Aren’t they supposed to be mean dudes that roar and growl all the time?”

Creampuff?
Not sure?

He’d heard enough. Without breaking stride he walked to the desk and stood there, knowing she’d eventually see his reflection in the glass. Once she got her head out of her ass, that was.

It didn’t take her long. “Jo.” Her feet shot off the sill and she sat right up. “I gotta go!”

He waited.

“Ethan.” She swiveled around in his huge leather chair. “I didn’t expect you back so fast.”

“I gathered that.”

She went to put her phone in her pocket and he shook his head. “Hand it over.”

“My phone?”

“Yes.” He reached for it. “Good, now please stand up. I think I told you, you weren’t to sit in my chair or at my desk.”

“I know.” She stood and had the decency to eye the desktop as she grumbled, “Sorry.” When he didn’t reply, she hastily looked up. “I said sorry.”

He continued to scowl at her, purposely making her uncomfortable.

“Gee, I guess this is you being the ‘strong man’ you were talking about last night.”

“Not even close.” He turned her phone off and tossed it on the desk before he pulled his own out and did the same. “Follow me, Colin.”

He didn’t wait for her. He just went directly to the kitchen. Once there he got out his black gloves and dug around for another pair. Finding them, he handed them to her. “Put these on and have a seat on the stool.”

He was glad when she didn’t question him. He went to the fridge and retrieved the bag with the ripened ginger in it. “We’re going to carve this. I’m going to show you how, but first I’m going to tell you why we’re carving it.”

Collecting two paring knives, he shut the cutlery drawer with his hip and handed one over to her.

“Thanks, but first I want to explain.”

“No.”

“What do you mean no? Yes.”

He stared her down. “No.” Her scowl made him sigh. “I suppose you want to tell me that you didn’t see the harm. That you thought I’d be gone to the store and I wouldn’t be the wiser about you sitting at my desk.”

Her scowl eased into a frown.

“And as far as what I heard you say about me to your friend, I imagine you want to tell me that she thinks poorly of me and you were trying to smooth things over with her on my account.”

She mouthed the word “wow” and said, “How do you know all this stuff?”

“I’m the next Steven Hawking. You may want to bump me up on that scale of yours from a seven to a nine. Put the gloves on.”

He waited until she had them on before he said, “Now, would you like to know why we’re going to peel some of that gingerroot in the bag?”

“No.”

“Colin.”

“What? It’s the truth. I don’t want to know. You’re mad and…this?” She held up the root. “Looks scary.”

He took the swinging bag from her hand and after he removed the ginger, he began to prepare it. Slowly, he shaped the root, cutting two of the three fingers off before he smoothed the remaining one. He methodically peeled the stem down three-quarters of its length, leaving a good inch of peel on the bottom. Just above that line of skin, he cut a sizable groove.

“Your turn.” He passed it to her and waited for the questions to start.

“Why do you leave this part at the bottom alone?”

Reaching forward, he adjusted her hands and said, “Careful. You don’t want any nicks. You want it smooth as glass.” She nodded as he let go. “Unpeeled, ginger is harmless. That’s what you can hold on to without a glove.”

“Done.” She held it up and her pleased expression soon turned to shock. “This looks like a—wait, is this the BDSM version of washing my mouth out with soap?”

He’d been expecting her to say something, but this definitely wasn’t in the realm of what he’d anticipated. “Excuse me?”

“For breaking the rules you’re going to make me suck on it, aren’t you?”

“No.” He snatched it from her gloved hand before she dropped it, watching as she nearly wilted over the counter in obvious relief.

“Thank God. I was worried about that now that I know ginger burns.”

“I know.”

Her eyes narrowed. “Maybe you better tell me why we’re peeling it?”

“I’ve told you before, I’m old school. I’m going to spank you for breaking the rules and when I do,” he held up the ginger, “this is going to help you learn how to take the spanking I give you.”

She slapped her palms on the counter and pushed up until her shoulders were aligned in a perfect T. “We’ll address the spanking part in a minute, but for now? Teach me to take it? How?”

“Once inserted, it will stop you from clenching your ass when I spank you.”

She gasped.

“What?” He dropped the ginger plug into a fresh baggie and tilted his head as he eyed her. “Is that too much creampuff for you?”

Apparently she was too stunned to mouth her patented “wow”. Her eyes did widen, though. “You heard that? You’ve had this ginger since the first day I arrived. And being that it’s Thursday…” She looked away and then her head snapped back around. “I remember, you know. You said that the ginger wasn’t ready until today. How did— You somehow knew I’d break the rules today, didn’t you?”

“No. I’m actually surprised it took this long for me to have a reason to put you over my knee.”

“You say that like it’s nothing.”

“No, it’s definitely something.” He leaned forward and pushed a lengthy curl behind her ear. Once it was secure he looked down into her worried eyes. “What?”

“I-inserted?”

“Yes,” he whispered.

She slammed her eyes shut so hard she nearly fell backward.

“Colin. Colin!” She finally looked at him and he said, “I want you to go into my office and stand beside my leather chair. I want you to take down your pants and panties. You’re not to take them all the way off. I want them bunched around your knees when I get there.”

“I c-can’t do that. It’s humiliating.”

“Nothing is humiliating between you and me. Especially anything that I tell you to do. Go and do it. Now.”

She slid off the chair and when she looked as if she were going to say something in way of a denial, he shook his head. “You will get ten strikes with the flat of my palm. Go and get ready.”

He waited until she was gone before he pulled the ginger out of the bag. Carefully, he trimmed the width and length a good deal more and put it back. Checking his watch, he leaned against the counter and waited.

Colin stood there feeling miserable on the one hand and vibrantly alive on the other. Her every thought centered on Ethan and what he planned to do. One thing was for sure, she’d never sit in that stupid chair again, so maybe his madness did have a certain method to it.

“Are you ready, Colin?”

She didn’t look up. “Yes.”

“Good.” He sat in the chair and patted his lap. All she could hear was her heartbeat pounding in her ears. She barely made out his next words. “I want you bent over my left knee.”

“Okay.”

Once she’d done as he directed he took the time to adjust her. “You need to relax, Colin. Palms on the floor. That’s right.” His hand pressed against the small of her back and she let out a squeak of surprise. “Relax. You’ll know everything I’m going to do before I do it.”

Blood was rushing to her head and the heat of his thigh was scorching her worse than the burn of her embarrassment. “You don’t have to explain. Let’s just get this over with.”

“Ah, but what would be the point of that? This is a lesson and the best lessons are hard. Grueling. A challenge to endure.”

She heard the crinkle of a bag and even though she knew what it was she still twisted sideways to ask, “What’s that?”

“The ginger. Turn back around, please.”

She’d just gotten her cheek snuggled against his calf, when—

“Yikes!”

“Colin.” His voice was steady and calm. “Relax.”

That was easy for him to say. He was easing the ginger into her and it was heating her up, but not burning, thank God.

“You can expect the heat from the ginger to slowly increase. Unless you’re—”