by Ivy Nelson
“I’m fond of it,” he said.
He dropped the bag on the bed and turned to face her. “Is there a reason you’re not taking your clothes off?”
Austin shook her head and lifted her dress over her head.
“Better. Now kneel on the rug.”
He pointed to an orange and white rug at the foot of the bed and she sank to her knees on it.
Patrick surprised her by dropping to one knee in front of her and lifting her chin. “Care to explain your little outburst out there?”
“I just don’t like the idea of being Lance’s sub. I know very little about him. Back up trainer is one thing.”
Patrick sighed and caressed her cheek. “You weren’t listening very well then, baby girl.”
“What do you mean?” she whispered, as she leaned into his touch.
“I was talking about on paper and in club related documents. It may be too late to keep us from being connected, but it may not be. We don’t know how much information this journalist has yet. I’ll still be your Dom and you’ll still be my sub. You just might have to wear a green bracelet instead of my orange one.”
Austin wrinkled her nose. “I don’t really like green.”
Patrick laughed. “Of course you don’t,” he said as he stood and sat on the edge of the bed.
“Am I in trouble?” she asked, suddenly nervous.
He reached behind him and pulled the hairbrush from his toy bag. “What do you think?”
Austin dropped her head and twisted her hands together. “I’m sorry. You just scared me. I like what we have. I don’t want it with anyone else.”
Patrick ran a hand through her hair. “I like what we have too, and that’s exactly why I have to punish you. We’ll talk more about it after you’ve had your spanking. Over my lap, baby girl”
Austin stood and crawled across his lap, resigned to her fate. This was not how she’d intended their weekend to go.
His hand rested on the small of her back as she settled into place. “This will be hard and fast, so we can put this behind us and move on with our weekend.”
He gave her no time to respond, and the brush crashed against her bottom.
Austin cried out from the shock of it. Spanking was a favorite of hers, but this didn’t feel good, and she was soon in tears. True to his word though, the spanking was over quickly, and he hauled her up and onto the bed with him where he wiped at her tears and held her close.
“I’m sorry. I’m just so overwhelmed by all of this, Sir,” she whispered as she cried into his chest.
Chapter Nineteen
Patrick held Austin tightly to him as she cried. Punishing her had not been his plan for the start of their weekend together, but she’d left him little choice.
“I’m sorry I had to do that baby girl,” he murmured when her crying had subsided.
Austin gave him a small shrug. “I was a brat. I deserved it. Maybe now we can have a less emotionally charged conversation about all of this now?”
Patrick smiled. “That’s a wise idea. Start with your main concerns.”
Austin shuddered. “I just don’t want things to change between us.”
Patrick tipped her chin up. “Change how?”
Austin’s eyes wandered everywhere but his face and he chuckled. “You wanted to talk.”
“I know. I just…”
He waited patiently for her to continue.
“I wasn’t expecting to get so attached to you when I agreed to be a house sub. I thought I was helping Solitaire out, and it turns out it’s something I needed for me too. I just didn’t know it. And now, I care about you, Patrick. I know… I know I’m not your girlfriend, I’m just your sub, but I like what we have.”
Patrick frowned. “I’m going to stop you right there. You’re not just my sub. This is a relationship I take very seriously. I care for you too. I would like to think if we weren’t in the middle of a legal situation, I would be taking you on dates and telling the world you’re my girlfriend. It may be unconventional, but we’re still in a relationship.”
“So why would you let me wear Lance’s bracelet?”
Patrick closed his eyes. “It’s not that I want to, baby. Believe me, I already threatened his balls if he touches you sexually.”
Austin giggled. “I can picture that.”
Patrick just shook his head and continued. “The other alternative is that you leave the house submissive program.”
Austin shook her head. “I want to finish. I like the stuff I’m learning about dominance and submission. Things I’d never thought about before. I just want to finish it with you, and I want to help with the masked gala like I said I would.”
Patrick smiled. That was his Austin. She kept her promises.
“If we moved your training to Lance, he would not be your Dom. Not the way I have been. That role will still fall to me, because you’re mine. We would just have to keep this part of us to the privacy of bedroom stuff. In the club, you would just be a house submissive and wear Lance’s bracelet. In here, I still own your body, baby girl.”
“Would Lance be the one to punish me?”
“Only if I’m not here. He will however have free rein to decide if you need to be punished just as I do.”
Austin considered it for a minute. “And this would just be until we figure out who’s leaking membership information?”
Patrick nodded.
‘Does that mean we can’t play in the dungeon?”
Patrick grimaced. I’m afraid so, baby girl. I hate it too. We might still do our demo, but we’ll need to think about that. We’ve gone to a lot of work to avoid the press knowing we’re dating. If there’s someone here leaking information, we have to be careful.”
Austin blew out a breath. He could tell none of this was sitting well with her.
“Is this what you want?” she asked.
He caressed her cheek. “It’s not what I want, but it is what I think is best.”
She closed her eyes. “OK. I’ll agree.”
“That’s a good girl. I’m sorry it has to be like this.” He gently nudged her from his lap and stood.
“I would love to tie you up and fuck you again, but Eli, Hunter, and some of the others are here for an emergency board meeting and we need you to attend.”
Austin nodded. “You’re not going to make me go down there naked, are you?”
Patrick laughed. “No, baby girl. If I can’t play with you down there, you’re damn sure not going downstairs naked.”
He watched her shoulders sag. He felt much the same way, but he knew he had to put on a brave face for her. He was starting to think spending the weekend here had been a bad idea.
When they were dressed, they went downstairs where Lance, Dakota, Eli, Holly, and Matthew were waiting. Hunter was on his way up the road according to Dakota. Garrett and Samuel would call in. Russell was unavailable but would be at the party later to get caught up.
Patrick asked Holly to stay as well because she had so much experience with the media.
When they were all settled around the table, with Garrett and Samuel on video on the screen on the wall, Eli called the meeting to order.
He let Lance and Patrick give the group a rundown of what happened before he spoke again.
“First of all, Austin, I’m very sorry this has happened to you. We take the privacy of our members very seriously. Are there steps you would like to see us take to make you feel better about any of this?”
Austin shook her head and Patrick worried. It wasn’t like her to be so quiet. She was a take charge kind of person.
Eli gave her a smile. “Just let us know if you think of something. I don’t know what all we can do, but we’re working on plugging this leak as quickly as possible.”
Dakota spoke up next. “How much do we need to tell the membership about this? It seems pretty fucking serious.”
Lance looked up from his computer. “I think we should keep a tight lid on this until the weekend is over. W
e’ll park someone at the gate and keep it closed. Only verified members will get in. I’ve already sent out an email to the members stating that no guests will be let in tonight.”
It was a smart move. Verified members were subject to lawsuits if they leaked any personal information, so if the leak wasn’t electronic, it could have come from a guest who hadn’t become a member yet.
“Do we have a list of guests from the last few weeks?” Samuel asked.
“We have the list of all guests ever. We’re going to focus on those who haven’t become vetted members and we’re going back six months as a place to start,” Patrick told him.
“Four months,” Lance corrected, still typing. “I’m doing four months because that’s when Nicholas Sutton got arrested. This all seems to be connected to that as far as I’m concerned. If I don’t drag anything up from that time frame, I’ll widen my search.”
Everyone murmured their agreement.
“What about our electronic security?” Matthew asked.
Lance scowled. “I’m doing a deep dive of our system, been at it all day. So far, I’m not seeing where anyone was in the system who shouldn’t have been, but I’m not done yet. It’s a massive amount of code to dig through.”
Lance had built their system from scratch and wrote the code himself. It was supposed to be virtually impenetrable, so if someone got through it was going to be a sore spot for Lance.
“What if the information was gathered from Austin’s electronics?” Garrett asked.
Lance’s fingers paused on the keys. “I’m a fucking moron,” he blurted. “I was so angry that someone might have penetrated my firewalls that I didn’t even think about that. Yes, it’s entirely possible.”
Under the table, Patrick squeezed Austin’s hand.
“Shit,” Austin muttered. “It hadn’t crossed my mind either. What do you need to find out?”
“Do all your devices back up to the same cloud account?” Lance asked.
Austin frowned. “I… I’m afraid I don’t know. I know we have the cloud at the office, but I’m not sure how it all works.”
Lance shook his head. “People who don’t back up their electronics should be kicked in the rear-end,” he muttered. “I guess I’ll just need your devices then.”
“I’ve only got my tablet with me.”
“Go get it,” Lance said, tersely.
Patrick watched Austin’s hackles raise. She was submissive to him, but she didn’t like taking orders outside of the bedroom.
Dakota, ever observant, cleared her throat. “Lance, honey, why don’t you pull your head out of the damn computer for two minutes and explain to Austin what it is you want to do with her devices before she just hands them over. She’s already been compromised on some level, she might have trust issues.”
Patrick mouthed, “Thank you,” in her direction and she gave him a thumbs up.
Lance rolled his eyes at Dakota and shoved his laptop aside. “I could just hack into them, but since I’m a mostly ethical hacker, I won’t do that. If I run scans on your devices, I could see if your information leaked somewhere it shouldn’t have.”
Austin stood. “I get it. I’m just not quite ready to have you ordering me around, Master Lance,” she said, attitude dripping from her tone.
Lance glanced at Patrick, expecting him to scold her, but he shook his head. Austin was struggling, they didn’t need to push her, and she’d remembered his title, so that was something.
Lance chuckled. “Very well, Miss Austin. You have a point. May I please borrow your phone and your tablet?”
Austin gave him a sweet smile. “Of course you can. I’ll just run get them.”
Dakota smirked as Austin walked out. “I like her.”
“Of course you do,” Patrick said. “I’m rather fond of her too, but we’re asking her to do something difficult given the circumstances, so I’m going to ask you dickheads not to be too hard on her. Someone pass that along to Russell too.”
Dakota looked around. “What are you asking her to do? I feel like I missed something.”
“Sorry. We hadn’t gotten that far yet. On paper, Austin is going to be Lance’s trainee. In private, she still belongs to me, but until we know where the leak came from, we’re not taking risks by connecting the two of us. It will cause too many problems with the media, and it might make her asshole boss fire her.”
Everyone was solemn then. Samuel spoke up. “What if we gave her a bracelet like the one Dakota wears when she’s playing house sub?”
Patrick hadn’t thought of that. “It would put her in a weird situation. Lance is the only one she’s comfortable with besides me, but it’s not a bad idea. We’ll give her a choice.”
Holly had remained quiet the entire meeting. “How do you feel about this Patrick?”
He smiled. Of course his sister would be concerned about him. “I’m not a fan. I’ve grown attached to her, and I like playing with her in the dungeon. But I’m not going to risk her career or her safety. I’m facing potential prison time. I don’t need that stress hanging over me as well.”
“So are your legal troubles as serious as all that?” Dakota asked.
Patrick nodded. “It would seem that way. I don’t think it’s quite sunk in yet. We have a few months until the trial, so I’m trying not to focus on it.”
“I have another idea,” Holly said. “Hunter, you might have some opinions on this one.”
The man leaned forward to listen, as did Patrick.
“Provided Austin is up for it, I think y’all should quit worrying about whether or not people think you’re a couple. In fact, I think you should go in the opposite direction and make sure they know you’re a couple. Tell the reporter who asked about her membership here that she doesn’t comment on her personal life and ignore them. Just go about your life and date each other publicly. Take her to a red-carpet event, or some other highly publicized function.”
Patrick frowned. “Why?”
“Because, the press loves a good love story.”
“Woah, slow down. We’ve barely been together for two weeks.”
Holly rolled her eyes. “I’m not saying you have to get engaged, I’m just saying kiss her in public or something.”
“I’m all for it,” Austin said as she came back with her phone and tablet, “But aside from the press potentially turning our romance into something sleezy, my boss has a clause that says I can’t date my clients. I would get fired and wouldn’t be able to take my client list with me.”
Patrick hated that he was even considering this, but he smiled up at her and said, “so quit and start your own firm. We can have the paperwork filed on Monday.”
She rolled her eyes, but Patrick let it go.
After she handed the tablet and phone to Lance, she took her place next to Patrick. She looked exhausted. She would be taking a nap later.
Hunter steepled his fingers, his elbows on the table. “Holly makes a good point. Obviously, if you’re not comfortable doing it, you shouldn’t. But I think it would have fewer negative ramifications than you think. The public does love a good romance, so I say give it to them.”
Austin leaned back in her chair. “I’m not against the idea, other than, I’m not sure I’m ready to lose my job or start my own firm yet.”
Hunter smiled. “I get it. Branching out on your own is scary sometimes, but I have faith in you. I’m pretty sure everyone in this room does.”
Elijah cleared his throat. “Speaking of faith, how would you feel about sitting on the board?”
“Of Solitaire?” Austin asked, her eyes going wide.
“Yes, of course. Then if you still wanted to participate in the house submissive program, you would wear a house bracelet that has all the colors in it.”
Austin smiled. “Like the one Dakota sometimes wears.”
Dakota grinned. “Yep. These goons don’t like it when I want to do the whole house submissive thing, but I actually think it’s good for the board to have submiss
ives that participate in the program along with everyone else.”
Austin nodded. “I like it. I’m not sure I like the idea of taking Patrick’s bracelet off. I know we’re worried about whoever leaked my membership information. I want to complete the house submissive program though. I’m very torn right now.”
Patrick picked up her hand. “Wearing the house bracelet would give you the illusion of not having me as your Dom to the membership. The house bracelet signifies that you answer to all the house Doms, but we would all know better. You’re still mine,” he said with a wink, hoping to relax her.
It worked, and her lips curled upward. “OK. If that will make you feel better about the potential mole, I’ll do it.”
“Can I keep this one?” she whispered, holding up her wrist.
Patrick felt his heart swell. “Of course, baby girl.”
When the group had finished their discussion of welcoming Austin to the board, Lance kicked everyone but Austin and Patrick out so he could work on her devices.
“Austin,” Lance said, patting the chair next to him. “Come sit over here in case I need passwords.”
Austin snorted. “Do you actually need passwords?”
Lance chuckled. “Ethical hacker, babe. I’m trying not to be a total creep about digging into all your private information.
Austin gave him a small smile. “I appreciate it.”
Patrick looked on while Lance worked. Changing her bracelet felt as if he were losing part of what they had, but he knew it needed to be done.
While Lance and Austin talked quietly about her online habits, Patrick zoned out and read through his own email until Lance raised his voice a level.
“I swear to Christ if you were mine, I would spank you and take away all your electronics until you learned some basic fucking computer safety.”
Patrick winced as he watched Austin shrink back in her chair, but he didn’t say anything, wanting to see how she would respond.
“I’m sorry, Master Lance,” she whispered.
Lance just shook his head and kept typing. “I’m going to set you up with a few basic safety features, and when things have settled down, we’re going to have a long talk about how to keep yourself safe. If this leak was electronic, I wouldn’t be surprised if it came from a two-bit hacker trying to make a buck off a reporter.”
