by Ivy Nelson
“Hey, wake up,” a voice said gruffly. Carrie popped one eye open.
“What time is it?” she said when she adjusted to the dim light.
“Just after five. We need to leave soon baby if you’re riding to work with me,” Peter said, planting a kiss on her forehead. “Did you work all night?”
Carrie sat up and nodded as she stretched. It wasn’t a lie, she just hadn’t been working the way he probably thought she had. The tug of guilt was back, and she did her best to press it down. She had a job to do. Once she’d done her own digging into who Ripley was, she would ask Peter about him and confess to her late-night adventure. For now, though, she was keeping it to herself.
26
♥♥♥
Peter stood at his post outside Corbit Upwood’s office cursing the fact that he wasn’t enjoying his thirty days off. If he had wanted to, he could have insisted he get the free time and Higgins would have given it to him. But he was still eying the promotion, so he was doing his best to keep his focus there and not on the fact that he had been working for over a month straight.
Normally, it wouldn’t bother him, but the way Carrie had been opening up to him as a submissive the last few days had changed everything. If he was going to make this work, he needed to devote some time to getting to know her better so that maybe someday they could begin her training in earnest. His shift was nearly over, maybe they could spend some quality time together before bed. This morning when he had woken her from the couch, her eyes were sunken and she looked pale as if she had only been asleep for an hour or two. The girl needed someone to take care of her.
As he made preparations to leave, his phone buzzed. It was a text from Carrie saying she needed to work late tonight. He tapped out a response.
I’ll bring dinner by
Her response came a few minutes later.
Don’t worry about me. I’ll grab a snack from the vending machine, and I’ll see you at home later.
Just how did she plan on getting home? He scowled at the phone as he walked to his SUV. As he approached the vehicle, he noticed something under his windshield wiper. It was an envelope he had come to recognize. Inside he found a single note.
Your journalist friend is being reckless. Keep an eye on her for the next few days or she’ll wind up dead. I’m this close to being able to pass her everything.
RIP
Damn it. What was she doing that was reckless? Should he tell her about the note? If the roles were reversed, he would be pissed if she kept a note like this from him. Staring at the note, he concluded that he needed to take a few days off. There was no way he could properly keep an eye on her if he was working sixteen-hour days.
Turning, he walked back into the CIA building where he knew Director Upwood was still working in his office.
“Forget something boss?” Ellerman asked when he approached.
“Just need to have a word with the director. Is he with anyone?”
Ellerman shook his head and Peter knocked on the door.
Upwood shouted for him to enter and Peter stepped inside.
“Good evening Sir, sorry to interrupt, but I need to ask you a favor. I’ve got some things that need my attention. I was planning to deal with them on my thirty off, but your request to keep me on your detail has prevented that. Will you be OK if I take a few days of personal time? Agent Lathen will be in charge and I won’t be leaving the city so I’m only a phone call away if you need to call me back in.”
The old man sat back in his chair and contemplated Peter’s request.
“As long as it’s OK with your boss, that’s fine by me. I’m sorry to be screwing up your schedule this way. I just think you’re more competent than some of these other yahoos they’ve got working in the Secret Service.”
Peter kept a straight face at that remark and politely thanked him before stepping out again.
Now for the fun of confronting Carrie about the note from their friend. He called her cell phone but got no answer. He knew the Post staffed the reception desk until nine, so he called and asked to be transferred to her phone.
“Carrie Davenport,” she answered in a cheery customer service voice he hadn’t heard before. If he weren’t in a hurry to talk to her, he would have fucked with her for a minute to see how long he could go before she figured out it was him. Instead, he jumped right to the point, not bothering to hide his irritation.
“Is there something you want to tell me, young lady?”
“Excuse me?” She sounded bewildered and confused.
“I got a note from our friend RIP telling me to keep an eye on you because you’re being reckless. I would like to know what he means.”
There was a brief pause on the other end before she said, “honest Peter I don’t know. I’m just doing my job.”
If she were in front of him, he would have had an easier time telling if she were lying. Maybe he should have waited to confront her. Too late now.
“I’m not playing around with your safety, little one. I’ve taken a few days of personal leave and I’m going to arrange private security for you.”
“Peter no! A security detail will interfere with my job, you know that.”
Peter scowled as he climbed into his car. “Sorry honey. I would rather interfere with your job than see you dead. This is not up for debate.”
“Do you really want to fight over the phone? I’m not agreeing to this.”
Peter sighed. There was so much work to do to teach her how to submit properly. Fighting was the last thing he wanted, but she was getting protection whether or not she liked it. “You’re sure there’s nothing you want to tell me?” he asked as his engine roared to life.
Carrie hesitated a moment too long before she said no, and now he knew she was hiding something. Damn it. Why wouldn’t she trust him?
“I’m coming to pick you up. Be ready to leave in twenty minutes,” he snapped before ending the call.
Twenty minutes later, he pulled up in front of the newspaper and sent her a text letting her know he was waiting. Her response was instant.
I told you I’m working. Go home Peter.
His mind wandered to the last time she’d told him she was working late. Was she up there, or was she somewhere she wasn’t supposed to be? He shut the engine off and stalked into the building. The security guard working was the same one from the other night, and thanks to their lax policies he just waved Peter through. Just one more reason he needed to have someone professional watching her. Clearly their friend Rip was watching her too and he wasn’t sure how he felt about that.
At her cubicle he breathed a sigh of relief when he saw her hunched over her computer screen. It was short lived though. He scowled at the four empty energy drink cans he saw. The woman was going to put herself in an early grave drinking that much of that crap. Controlling a subs diet had never been high on his list of things to do before, but he was coming this close to making demands regarding her caffeine habit.
“We’re leaving,” he said, his voice tense as he glared at the back of her head. She whirled around in her chair, a glare of her own plastered on her face.
“I’m working. Or didn’t you get my text?”
“Oh, I got it little girl. But you are not staying here. That lame excuse of a security guard downstairs didn’t even bother checking my ID before he let me through.” As he spoke, he entered her cubicle fully and slammed the note he’d been left on her desk.
When she read it, he watched her demeanor change. With slumped shoulders, she reached over and switched off the monitor on her computer.
“Fine. I’ll come home. I’m sorry. You could have told me what the note said from the beginning.”
“Or you could have done the submissive thing and trusted me to not fuck around with your safety,” he said, still frowning.
She started to reach under her desk for the half empty case of energy drinks, but he put his hand on her shoulder and stopped her. “Leave those. Looks like you’ve had enough alr
eady.” At first, he thought she was going to argue, but she stood up without the drinks and followed him out of the building instead. That was a good start anyway, he thought.
In the car, they were quiet for the first few minutes. Once they were into traffic, Carrie started to speak. “I need to tell you something and you’ll probably be mad, so let me just start with saying you can punish me however you see fit.”
That sent Peter’s pulse into overdrive. If she was agreeing to punishment before she even made her confession, that wasn’t good. “Spit it out, young lady,” he said, his hands gripping the steering wheel.
Beside him, she took a deep breath. “First, I need to ask you a question. Do you know anyone named Ripley?”
Peter inhaled sharply. “Son of a bitch. Where did you hear that name?”
“So, you do know him.”
“I know him as Boomer, and I can’t say anything more but yes. I know him. Fuck. I don’t know why he didn’t occur to me sooner. We all call him Boomer.” They were at a red light, so turned his gaze to her and fisted his hand into her hair. “You have about thirty seconds to start talking little one or when we get home, I’ll blister your ass so you can’t sit for a week.”
Carrie winced under his grip as he pulled her hair. Then she shocked him by saying, “You’ll probably do that anyway once I tell you my story so just let me take my time.”
“Not making things better for yourself woman. Start talking.”
Carrie took a deep breath as he let go of her hair and returned his focus to the road.
“OK so last night when I said I had been working all night, it wasn’t technically a lie, but I wasn’t on the couch all night either. I went to the Doll House.”
“Are you fucking kidding me, Carrie?”
“I’m sorry,” she whispered. “I just needed to get some answers, so I got Olivia to put me in disguise and I went in undercover since they seem to know who I am.”
Peter could practically feel his blood boiling. Of all the stupid things for her to do. Reckless was putting it mildly, he thought. If Boomer knew Carrie was his submissive, he probably would have told Peter to beat her ass. That almost made him smile. Almost.
“But really, can you be that angry with me? We know who the whistle-blower is don’t we? The girls I talked to say he works as a bouncer and personal bodyguard for Dino Carranza. Who is this guy Peter?”
The absurdity of what she was saying had him laughing. “Oh, little one you do not understand how angry I am right now. But you’re right, I’m almost certain we know who our little friend is and let me tell you something about him. If he knew you were my submissive, he would have dragged you out of there and beat your ass himself last night.” He watched as her eyes went wide as he shut the car off and climbed out. To her credit, she waited for him to open her door.
“Are you going to spank me?” she whispered as he helped her down. He chuckled darkly.
“You have no idea how much trouble you’re in, young lady. A spanking is the least of your worries. But first we have to feed you and talk about a few things.”
"I'm not really hungry."
After shutting her door, he captured her chin in his grasp and glared down at her. "Too bad, because you're eating, and if I see you so much as look at a coffee cup or an energy drink again tonight, you’re in even more trouble. Is that clear?"
Carrie's eyes narrowed and she pursed her lips, but she didn't argue. That was a good sign. It meant she understood the gravity of this situation. Dropping her chin, he picked up her hand and led her inside where she wandered into the living room as soon as she was into the apartment.
Locking his front door, he turned and crooked a finger at her, motioning for her to come closer to him. When she was in arms reach, he jerked her toward him and stared down at her. "Until I say otherwise, you will follow me anywhere I go. If I'm staying in one place, you'll kneel at my feet. If I go to the bathroom, you follow me and kneel outside the door. While I'm cooking, you kneel where I can see you at all times unless you're given different instructions. Understood?"
Carrie’s nostrils flared as she exhaled a long breath before nodding.
“You can answer me better than that, young lady.”
“Yes, Sir.” She turned her head to the side, avoiding his gaze.
He had one hand encircling her waist, so he used his free hand to turn her head toward him again. When her eyes met his, they were glistening. Bending his head, he pressed a kiss to her lips, coaxing her gently to open to him. Her lips parted and he plunged his tongue between them, deepening their kiss. The taste of salt hit his tongue and he realized she was crying. Breaking away he cradled her face in his hands.
"What is it, gorgeous?"
Her voice trembled. "I just wasn't expecting you to be nice to me let alone kiss me that way after I told you what I did."
Whoa. Poor girl. His lips flitted across her forehead and he led her to the couch where he quietly told her to kneel facing him.
When she was settled, he spoke. "Yes, you're in big trouble. But that doesn't change how I feel about you. In fact, it's because of how I feel that you find yourself in the trouble you're in. That being said, I will never withhold affection from you as punishment. In my opinion that's cruel and defeats the purpose of discipline." He paused, giving her the opportunity to speak if she wanted. When she didn't, he continued. "Besides, I enjoy kissing you, and just because you're being punished doesn't mean I shouldn't enjoy you." He winked and leaned down to kiss her once more.
“Now, aside from my previous instructions, we’re going to talk about your security.” Her lips parted and he could tell she was going to protest so he shushed her with a finger pressed against her mouth. “You’re getting security little one. I’m not hiring a full-blown detail though because I respect that it would interfere with your job. Instead, I’ve got a mutual friend in mind. He’s got security experience and he’s a Dom. I’m going to call him and tell him what’s going on and you’re going to tell him what you did.”
Carrie’s mouth fell open. “Who is this mutual friend?” she asked after her shock wore off.
“You’ll see.” Peter pulled out his phone and dialed a number.
27
♥♥♥
Carrie kneeled on the floor staring up at Peter as he waited for someone to answer his call. Her heart was pounding at the thought of having to confess her sins to someone other than the man sitting in front of her.
“Gary, hey, I’ve got an odd question for you,” Peter said into the phone.
Oh God. Not Gary. Carrie shrank away from Peter, willing the floor to swallow her up.
“I know you’re retired, but how would you like a job?” Hearing only one side of the conversation was making Carrie’s stomach do flips. What was Peter up to?
She listened as he explained that Carrie was in danger and needed protection. Everyone knew Gary was ex-military and a former Texas police officer, but other than that, he was a bit of a mystery. As far as Carrie knew, he spent most of his time philandering with young submissive types and making bondage gear. Peter tapped a button on his phone and set it on the couch next to him.
“What’s Carrie have to say about this?” Gary’s voice came over the loudspeaker.
Peter looked at her expectantly, and she cleared her throat. “Not a lot Gary. I don’t want security because it will interfere with my job.”
“And?” Peter prodded. “Tell him why we’re calling him.”
When she didn’t answer, Peter tilted her chin upward and said, “tell him, or he can listen to you getting your ass spanked.”
Carrie bowed her head, embarrassment heating her cheeks. “Because I screwed up,” she finally whispered.
Gary’s voice came over the phone again. “I’m listening Carrie. What happened?” His voice, though kind held an unmistakable dominant threat in it.
“I kind of snuck out of the house and went to a club where I know people want me dead. But I was in disguise,” she ad
ded quickly.
Gary whistled. “I hope you lit her ass up man.”
Carrie crinkled her nose. “He hasn’t yet. He’s torturing me and making me wait.”
Gary chuckled. “Let’s get together and talk tomorrow OK? Are you safe for tonight?”
Peter picked the phone up and took it off speaker. “She’s safe tonight. I’ve got the next few days off to come up with a game plan, so come on over first thing in the morning and we’ll arrange all the details.”
Carrie kept her head lowered as he ended the phone call. There were so many mixed emotions roiling through her. Submitting to Peter had proven fun so far, but this was different. Not bad, just not exactly what she envisioned. His obsession with her safety was sweet but smothering. On the other hand, she didn’t blame him for being angry about her sneaking out. Considering the circumstances, it had been a stupid thing to do and deep down she’d known that when she did it. Now she was paying the price.
“Are you coming?” Peter’s voice came from behind her and Carrie whirled her head around. She hadn’t even felt him get up from the couch. Scrambling to her feet, she moved to his side and walked with him into the kitchen where he pointed to the floor at the end of the island.
