Undone Dom
Undone Dom
Second in the Undone Lovers series.
Alton is the ultimate Master. An expert Dom, he believes BDSM is a lifestyle and trains women to serve in every way. He recognizes Lulu’s submissive nature but his instant attraction is unexpected and unnerving. He vows to take and train her.
Lulu has been curious about BDSM since her friend met and fell in love with a Dom. When Alton comes looking for her, Lulu indulges her greatest fantasy. In Alton’s BDSM training rooms she’s bound, disciplined and above all pleasured, experiences wilder than even her fantasies. But when she goes home at night, she dreams of Alton, not the whips.
Alton’s whole life has been turned upside down. A Master must live by his rules, but with Lulu he’s breaking every one. The Dom who swore that romance had no place in BDSM has to take a crash course in wooing if he’s going to keep the sub who’s got him in knots.
Ellora’s Cave Publishing
Undone Dom
ISBN 9781419936104
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
Undone Dom Copyright © 2012 Lila Dubois
Edited by Jillian Bell
Cover art by Darrell King
Photos: zoom team/shutterstock.com
Electronic book publication May 2012
The terms Romantica® and Quickies® are registered trademarks of Ellora’s Cave Publishing.
With the exception of quotes used in reviews, this book may not be reproduced or used in whole or in part by any means existing without written permission from the publisher, Ellora’s Cave Publishing, Inc.® 1056 Home Avenue, Akron OH 44310-3502.
Warning: The unauthorized reproduction or distribution of this copyrighted work is illegal. No part of this book may be scanned, uploaded or distributed via the Internet or any other means, electronic or print, without the publisher’s permission. Criminal copyright infringement, including infringement without monetary gain, is investigated by the FBI and is punishable by up to 5 years in federal prison and a fine of $250,000. (http://www.fbi.gov/ipr/). Please purchase only authorized electronic or print editions and do not participate in or encourage the electronic piracy of copyrighted material. Your support of the author’s rights is appreciated.
This book is a work of fiction and any resemblance to persons, living or dead, or places, events or locales is purely coincidental. The characters are productions of the author’s imagination and used fictitiously.
The publisher and author(s) acknowledge the trademark status and trademark ownership of all trademarks, service marks and word marks mentioned in this book.
The publisher does not have any control over, and does not assume any responsibility for, author or third-party Web sites or their content.
Undone Dom
Lila Dubois
Chapter One
Dancing. She wanted to be dancing. She did not want to be doing paperwork.
Lulu tapped her toes against the unfinished concrete floor of her pocket-sized office in time with Tommy Love’s cover of The Hellacopters’
Carry Me Home
. Her office was off the stockroom of her rockabilly store, Lulu L’amore. She double-checked the printout she’d made from the credit card machine against the information her bookkeeping software had imported. Luckily there were no discrepancies. This month.
She hummed and wiggled her toes along with the dance music that filtered in from the shop floor. When the door alarm dinged, she looked at the video monitor. After an increase in thefts a few months ago she’d invested in internal video surveillance, which allowed her to watch the store from her office. The camera angle showed her that a lone, dark-haired man in a white shirt and black vest had entered.
On nights when she kept the shop open late—something she was testing as her stretch of Melrose Boulevard gave birth to new restaurants and accompanying late-night foot traffic—she could sit in her office and watch for customers. It was just her luck that at 8:45, fifteen minutes before closing, she’d get a browser and have to leave her office, which meant staying late to finish last month’s paperwork.
Quickly slipping on her navy-blue peep toes, Lulu hurried out of her office, through the stock and sewing rooms, where her friend and vintage-clothing goddess Addie designed and repaired the exclusive pieces she carried in the store.
“Welcome to Lulu L’amore,” she said as she emerged onto the floor. Her salesgirl smile took on a tilt of real pleasure as she looked over the place she’d built.
Lulu’s was the hip, zoot-suit wearing world of the barrio in 1940s L.A. crossed with modern retro-aesthetic and enough masculine touches to bring in male foot traffic. The walls were concrete gray, brought to life with spray-painted pinup girls, flowers, palm trees and cars in bold colors. The nearly life-size images of pinup girls painted on the walls by street artists may have had something to do with that street traffic. Out here in the retail part of the shop, the floor was wood, tossed with leopard- and zebra-print rugs. Merchandise tables were custom-built from shiny chrome car parts mounted with rounds of glass. Racks of dresses, skirts and shirts lined three of the walls, the register was on the fourth. There was a selection of guys’ items, most of which were shirts, hats and wallet chains.
The customer had been standing near the front corner of the store, examining a table of vintage-inspired bra and panty sets.
Lulu walked across the floor, heels clicking over wood, falling silent as she crossed carpet, then clicking again.
“Is there something I can help you—?”
Her customer straightened. She saw his face.
Lulu stopped, sucking air between her teeth.
She’d seen him only once before, but she couldn’t have forgotten him.
He was a six-foot-plus block of man. Black eyes glittered in the store lights under raven’s wings of straight black brows.
Alton.
More precisely,
Master
Alton.
Three months ago, Addie had taken a modeling job for a BDSM book. In her contract she’d agreed to model with three different men, all part of L.A.’s BDSM community. Addie had been reluctant to take the contract, despite the fact that there had been pages of safety precautions and that it had been very explicit that she would not be having sex with any of the men.
To Lulu it had sounded like a great adventure, a chance to be the pretty pinup getting a spanking from the stern man in the suit. It wasn’t fashionable, wasn’t feminist, but Lulu loved strong men, loved how they made her feel. Or at least she imagined they would—so far she’d only ever met controlling assholes with mommy issues, not true strong men.
Addie, who could have been a Hispanic Bettie Page, seemed more likely to be doing the spanking than receiving one, but to Lulu’s surprise she’d taken the advice and accepted the contract. And to Lulu’s shock, she’d fallen for one of the men, and was now happily in love with a man who was sweet, loving and a sex Dom.
Some girls had all the luck.
But Addie and Lane had fallen in love before she could complete the modeling job—she’d worked with only two of the three Doms. Lane had refused to let Master Alton, who Addie described as some crazy hard-core Dom, touch Addie.
Alton had come looking for Addie at the shop.
Lulu still remembered the day he’d shown up. It had taken her less than a minute to sense the danger that rolled off him in waves, and when Addie had clued her in as to who he was, Lulu had wondered if she was going to be running to call the police as Alton kidnapped Addie and took her to his dungeon. Instead, Alton had accepted Addie’s declaration that she was Lane’s.
But as he’d left, he’d said something.
Something Lulu hadn’t forgotten, but as the months passed and nothing happened she stopped thinking about it every time the door opened.
Something she stopped waiting for with fearful anticipation.
As he left he’d said he’d be back…for her.
He was back.
Alton watched her swallow, her breasts rising firm and tempting above the top of her dress as she took quick breaths. She was wearing a dress, a proper dress with a big skirt, little sleeves and a tight-fitting top.
Alton kept women naked, but that dress, or her in that dress, was strangely appealing.
“Alton.” Her voice was husky, her blue eyes wide.
“Yes.” The word came out as a growl. He hadn’t meant it to, but everything about her was calling out to him.
“You’re…here.”
“I said I’d come back.” It had been a stupid thing to say. It had been stupid for him to come looking for Lane’s sub, but he’d wanted to understand her choice to be with Lane. Lately he’d been feeling as though he didn’t understand what subs wanted, which went against his fundamental world view. His conversation with Lane’s black-haired sub had only increased the unease he’d felt. But the trip hadn’t been a waste because he’d seen the redhead. Lulu.
She was perfect, like the old-fashioned Barbies his sister collected. Strong, poised, confident and intensely feminine. Nothing about her said hidden submissive—she wasn’t overly aggressive nor did she immediately bow to his male authority. She didn’t seem like the kind of woman who needed a Master to unlock her sexuality. Yet he sensed it. Submissive. The woman was submissive.
And so he’d said he’d come back for her, and in that moment he’d meant it. He’d return and make her his.
After he’d walked out he’d barely restrained himself from banging his head on a wall. What had he said? He was too deep in the BDSM culture if he was wandering around telling people he was going to kidnap them, all because he
sensed
she might make a beautiful sex slave.
He’d tried to dismiss her from his mind. She was a normal, not a part of his world. He couldn’t have her.
But Alton’s world was off-kilter. For the past year the life he’d built felt gray and uninteresting. He didn’t like it, and it seemed endless days training pretty little sex slaves were not enough. He felt out of control. That did
not
happen. He did not allow it. He’d decided he needed a new challenge.
Lulu.
“You came back for…” She lowered her lids, watching him from under her lashes.
Alton’s hands twitched with the need to touch her, to master her.
“For you.”
Lulu didn’t know what to say.
She’d convinced herself Alton’s parting words had been to save face, nothing more. Addie and Lane had assured her that while Alton was “hard-core” he wouldn’t really come back to the shop looking for her. Lane said he’d talked to him, and Alton’s response—utter silence—had led them all to believe he’d been joking, or just trying to scare Lulu and Addie.
But here he was.
Butterflies in her stomach had her pressing her hand against her belly. He watched her movement, dark eyes intense.
“Why?” she asked.
He shook his head. “I won’t answer that.”
Lulu jerked in surprise. “What do you mean you won’t answer?”
He tipped his head forward, eyes scanning her face. “What are you asking me? Why I said I would come back? Or,” he stepped away from the display table, his bulk making her store seem small and cramped as his arms brushed against racks and displays, “did you want to ask ‘Why me?’”
Lulu waited for him to come to her. She wondered if she should back up, if she should run for a phone or the pepper spray in the cute leopard-print carrier under the counter. He stopped two feet away, just close enough for his size to be intimidating, but not so close that he’d crossed the personal space barrier.
“What did you want to ask me?” His voice rumbled pleasantly and he smelled good, like spice and earth.
Lulu thought
why me?
but asked, “Why tonight?”
Now it was his turn to jerk in surprise. That wasn’t the question he’d thought she’d ask.
“It’s been months. I started to wonder if you said it only to save face after Addie took you down a few.”
“I… You… She…” The Heathcliff-worthy brooding Master was sputtering and it was seriously cute.
Lulu bit down on the grin, managing to turn it into a closed-lip smile. She checked the slim silver watch she wore. “Would you excuse me for a moment? I need to lock up.”
Lulu locked the front doors and turned off the lights above the front window displays, but left the main lights on, just in case. She was behind the counter, crouched down to reach the controls for the music system. Taking a moment, she braced her hands on one of the under-counter shelves, looking at her fingers, at the costume pearl ring she wore. What was she doing? Why didn’t she just call Addie and Lane? They’d rush over here and get Alton out of the shop.
That was exactly why she hadn’t called them.
She’d been
waiting
for him to come back. She was curious. She was intrigued by the sexual world Addie blushingly described. She wanted to know why Alton had said he’d come back for
her
.
Lulu rose from behind the counter, smoothing her skirt. “Please accept my apologies. The store closed at nine tonight.”
“Of course.” He’d taken a seat in one of the wing-backed chairs they had in the center of the store in a small seating area meant to remind buyers of their living room. On a low table in the center of the chairs were artistically messy stacks of books and CDs—all for sale.
He sat with a straight back, knees spread, forearms resting on the arms of the chair.
“I’m going to ask you a question,” he said.
“All right.” Lulu took a seat in the chair across from him, crossing her legs at the ankle and tucking them under one side of the chair. He raised a brow at her response, and she realized he hadn’t actually asked if he
could
ask her a question, he’d told he her was going to.
“What you said implied that you were,” he leaned forward, bracing his elbows on his spread knees, “waiting for me to come back.”
Lulu took a breath. “I was.”
A smile cracked the stone mask of his face.
Whoa!
Until that moment she wouldn’t have said he was handsome. His face was too severe, his features heavy and dark, his whole bearing almost military. But that smile highlighted his chiseled lips, made lines at the corners of his eyes crinkle, and he had a dimple.
“Well, hey there, good looking,” Lulu blurted out, an answering smile on her face.
The smile disappeared. He frowned.
“Has no one ever told you how sexy your smile is? You should really smile more.”
He tipped his head to the side and examined her. “If you were any other woman I’d think you were being flippant or sarcastic, or trying to get a punishment, but you seem…genuine.”
Lulu’s breath caught at the mention of punishment. “I’m being honest. You have a really nice smile. You must not smile much if I’m the first girl to tell you that.”
“Women do not dare to make comments about my appearance.”
His words thudded down between them as if a block of stone had dropped. Lulu swallowed, pressing her hand to her stomach again.
“You mean because you’re a…Dom.”
His gaze was so intense that Lulu looked away, focusing instead on the hollow of his throat revealed by the unfastened buttons at the top of his shirt.
“Your employee told you what I am, what she is?”
“Addie, my
friend
, told me about the modeling job, about how she was supposed to model with all three of you but she never did with you. Lane stopped her.”
“Lane claimed her for his own. Once he did that it was his choice.”
Lulu’s hackles rose at his comment. “No, it was Addie’s.”
“No. Once she became Lane’s submissive she turned over control of her sexual life to him.”
Lulu felt her mouth drop open slightly. “But, but that’s…” She couldn’t decide between barbaric, horrific or sexy.
