by Ivy Nelson
She closed her eyes. Her head hurt too much for this conversation.
“What do you need, baby?”
“Water,” she whispered.
“Of course.” He stood and walked to the door. “I’m going to find a nurse, be back in a second.”
When he left, Darci started to assess her injuries. Her face felt bruised and her left shoulder was stinging. It was wrapped in a thick gauze. The memories of Kaden waving the knife came flooding back, and a tear slid down her cheek. Bradley came in with a cup of water.
“Oh, baby. Please don’t cry. You’re going to be OK, and the bastard is dead.” The tears flowed freely now. “Here, drink some water. Don’t cry,” he said again.
“I was so scared,” she sobbed.
“Me too, baby.” He held the straw in front of her mouth. “Drink.”
The command calmed her. She took a ragged breath.
“Still bossy as ever,” she teased before taking a sip.
“I have a good memory, Darci. Give me any lip and I won’t hesitate to take you over my knee once you’re healed.”
“I’m not sure you get to do that anymore,” she said, taking the glass from him.
“I know you’re angry with me, Darci, but it’s Sean Atleigh you need to be pissed at. I need to explain everything to you but I don’t want to overwhelm you right now, so I need you to promise that you’ll hear me out when you’ve gotten your strength back.”
“I guess I can do that,” Darci said.
The door opened a few seconds later, and a nurse came in.
“Miss Sanders. It’s good to see you’re awake. I’m going to check your vitals. We want to keep you for observation overnight, but you should be good to go home tomorrow.”
Darci smiled weakly. “Home sounds nice.” Her heart ached watching Bradley sit next to her. She was still in love with him, but how could she trust him? The nurse wrapped the blood pressure cuff around her uninjured arm, stuck a thermometer under her tongue, and noted the numbers. Finally, she left them alone after pushing pain medication into Darci’s IV.
“I should let you sleep, baby. But I need to say something before you do.” He held her hand and waited for her to look at him. She drew in a deep breath and met his eyes with her own. “I left the senator’s office. I had nothing to do with his statement last week. I didn’t even know he was planning to speak to the press.” Darci’s eyes drifted shut as the pain medication took its toll.
“Sorry,” she whispered. “Getting sleepy. I’m glad you told me.”
“Sleep, baby. I’ll be here when you wake up.” True to his word, Bradley stayed by her side. She drifted in and out of sleep over the course of the day and evening. Visitors flowed in and out, but she barely recalled who they were. Peter stopped by long enough to make sure she was OK. He had to get back to Carrie in California, but he promised to send her back to D.C. soon. Before he left, he kissed her cheek and whispered, “Give him a chance, Kitten.”
Bradley helped her sip water, fed her when dinner arrived, and made sure she was comfortable, but he didn’t push her to talk about their relationship. Darci was grateful.
At noon the next day, the doctor released Darci. Bradley had stepped out to take a phone call when Michael walked in. “Hey, sweetheart. I hear they’re letting you out of here. Want me to take you back to my house, or are you going home with Bradley?”
“I’m not sure. Can’t I just go to my place?”
Michael hesitated. “What is it?” she asked.
“It’s just, well your apartment isn’t exactly ready. You know, since the break-in and Elise.” She closed her eyes, fighting back tears at the memory of her friend.
“Then I guess you can take me to your house.”
“Bullshit. You’re coming home with me.” Bradley’s voice came from just inside her door.
“I think that’s up to her, man,” Michael said in an even tone.
“Bradley please. I promise I heard what you told me, and I promise we’ll talk. Just give me some time.”
He sighed heavily. “I guess that’s fair, but if I think you’re ignoring me I’m going to come get you.”
“I won’t, I swear. Just let me have a couple of days please. I need to sleep, and I need to think.”
A hospital volunteer arrived with a wheelchair. “Ready to go, Miss Sanders?”
She smiled fondly at him. “Yes, please.”
Michael told him where he was parked, and Bradley followed them out. When she climbed into Michaels SUV, Bradley came to the door and gently touched her face. “I love you. Remember that. I’ll be waiting for you.” He leaned in and gently kissed her cheek and shut the door.
Chapter Forty-Six
It had been two days since Bradley kissed her cheek and let Michael drive her away. He knew she needed space. He understood she had been through yet another traumatic ordeal, but he hated not being able to see her. Michael was good about sending him text updates to let him know how she was doing, but he didn’t tell him if she was any closer to wanting to talk to him. He was going out of his mind with no work to do.
Kaden Larimore’s D.C. apartment had been searched and solid evidence that he was the killer was found. Tessa Heath, AKA Theresa Holden had also been found in the apartment and was arrested as an accomplice. The two had been living together, plotting revenge against Darci for the last two years. The day the woman had called Darci, posing as a rape victim, she had made sure she got alone time in Darci’s office. She managed to grant herself access to Darci’s calendar and make a copy of her apartment key. Why she wanted to be with a man like Kaden was anybody’s guess. Bradley just hoped Darci wasn’t feeling too betrayed by the fake rape report. She was so passionate about what she did at work. He would hate for this to dampen her fire.
News that Senator Sean Atleigh’s nephew was a serial killer was not doing good things for his campaign numbers. Bradley’s own association with the whole thing kept him from getting any solid job offers. His dad still told him he was welcome to come work for him, but he didn’t want to bring his dad’s campaign down before it even got started.
No, he needed to figure out something else to do. But first, he had to figure out how to get Darci to talk to him. He considered giving some sort of statement to the press, but he wasn’t sure what to say, so he kept his head down and waited for word from Darci.
At ten o’clock at night, on day two of not seeing Darci, his e-mail alert sounded on his phone. It was from Adara.
Hey Boss,
If you don’t have anything to do for breakfast tomorrow
would you mind having breakfast with me at the Blue Duck? Let me know.
Thanks,
Adara
Odd. Why wouldn’t she just call me? He thought to himself. Maybe she was worried he would be sleeping. He fired back that he would love to have breakfast with her and how did eight in the morning work. The next morning, he had a town car take him to the Blue Duck. On his way, he thought back to his accidental first date with Darci there. It made him smile. He was lost in thought as he stepped out of the car and walked toward the restaurant.
“You really should watch where you’re going, Sir.”
The voice jerked him out of his thoughts, and he looked down in the direction it came from.
“Darci? What are you doing here?”
She giggled. “Haven’t we had this conversation before?”
“I don’t understand. I got an e-mail from Adara asking me...” his voice trailed off as realization dawned on his face. “Please tell me this isn’t a breakup breakfast, Darci.”
She just smiled. “Our table is ready.”
• • •
The look on Bradley’s face was priceless when he realized he had been set up. It was worth the favor Darci was going to owe Adara for sending the e-mail. Bradley followed her and the hostess to the same table they sat at weeks ago and a server was there to take their order almost immediately. When he left, Bradley spoke. “You’re killing me, Darci.
I’ve been dying to talk to you, hold you, just be in the same room with you, but I’ve been trying to give you some space. Now you’ve got me here so talk.”
“No, this isn’t a breakup breakfast. I’m still confused about some things, but one thing I’m not confused about is that I love you.”
“Oh, Darci. I love you so fucking much, baby. I’ve been dying without you. Where do we start? How do I make sure we’re OK?”
Bradley was, as always, ready to dive into the heavy stuff that she wasn’t ready for yet. She would be by the end of breakfast, she assured herself. But not quite yet.
“Can we just talk for now? Not about us? Just talk, catch up, enjoy breakfast.”
Bradley smiled tenderly at her. “Of course we can. Tell me everything about Michael and Adara. How did you get her to write me that e-mail?”
Darci giggled, grateful that Bradley knew exactly what she needed. “That was pretty clever of me, you have to admit.”
“You’re very clever indeed, baby.”
For a few minutes they carried on comparing notes about their two friends and whether they thought the relationship between Michael and Adara would work out. Soon however, the conversation turned to Tessa and Kaden.
“It’s hard to believe they went to all that trouble just to torment me. All because I had the balls to name him as my rapist. It’s scary how easy it was for them though. They both worked for the same temp agency. After Tessa got into my calendar, all she had to do was make sure she or Kaden was assigned to work at whatever event I was going to.” Bradley picked up her hand while she rambled.
“Don’t blame yourself for this, baby.”
A tear escaped her eyes and rolled down her cheek.
“I know deep down it’s not my fault, but three people are dead and parts of me can’t help but think I’m to blame.”
“Baby, no.” He squeezed her hand tighter and handed her a napkin.
“It’s going to take time for me to get that idea out of my head.”
“I’m here to help, baby. You know that.”
Darci did know that. Time to have the serious talk. She dabbed her eyes and set the napkin aside.
“I’m broken, Bradley. But...” she paused and took a deep breath, “I think you can help me put myself back together. Kaden said some really awful things while he held me captive and along with all the guilt over Marlie, Peggy, and Elise, I can’t get them out of my head.”
“You don’t need to take anything that fucker said seriously.”
“I know, but it’s hard. He said things that made me question my lifestyle choices. For just a minute he made me feel like a whore asking to be raped. I fought like hell to get that out of my mind years ago when he raped me. It pisses me off that he got into my head again, so I need your help. I don’t want him to have that power over me.
“I’m also pissed at Theresa, Tessa, whatever. I don’t understand how anyone could be with someone like Kaden, let alone do everything she did to help him. I feel dumb for not recognizing her. I hate that my alarm bells didn’t go off stronger when I ran into them in random places. There is so much about all of this that I hate, and I need for it not to control me. I need to take that power away from them.”
“You know I’ll help you, baby. Just tell me what you need and I’m so there. I promise. If we need to leave the kink out of things for a while or hell, forever, we will. If you need to just be friends for a while, we can do that. It will be hell not touching you, but I’m here for you. Anything you need.” She let him talk, but she was shaking her head. When he finally took a breath, she interrupted him.
“Actually, I need the opposite.”
“Opposite? What do you mean?”
“I think if I’m ever going to escape the hold Kaden has on my thoughts, the power he’s still clinging to even from the grave, I need... how do I say this?” She suddenly felt shy and awkward as she always did when she talked about the things she needed. She blew out a puff of air and continued. “I need to surrender power to someone else.”
Understanding spread across Bradley’s face, and Darci felt relief that she had gotten it out.
“I think I understand what you’re saying, baby, but I’m going to ask you to spell it out for me.”
Just then the waiter came back with their food.
When he left, Bradley waited for Darci to speak, keeping his steady gaze locked on her. When she didn’t speak, he said, “talk to me, pet.”
She looked down at her plate of food and fiddled nervously with the cloth napkin.
“Eyes up here, baby girl.”
She lifted her head to look at him and whispered, “I’m saying I want to surrender power to you.” Her voice got stronger as she continued speaking. “We explored our kinks, and I was submissive, but I want to make a more serious commitment.”
He smiled kindly at her. “Oh, baby girl. I love you so much. I want to take everything you’re offering, and I want to give you so much more.”
“I can’t promise not to freak out sometimes. He’s still in my head.”
He gripped her hand. “I’ll be there for the freak outs, for the nightmares, for everything.”
She squeezed his fingers. “I’m sorry I left,” she said with a sad voice. “He wouldn’t have been able to grab me if I hadn’t freaked out and fired everyone but Peter.”
“That’s in the past. I hate that he got you, but we might have never caught him if he hadn’t. Now finish your breakfast so I can take you home.”
Before she realized what she was doing, her tongue was out of her mouth. She decided to blame it on the pain medication she was still taking.
“You’re lucky we’re in a public place, pet. I was going to make you come for me a few times when we get home but perhaps it’s a spanking you’re after.”
She shook her head vigorously.
He scooped up a forkful of her pancakes and lifted it to her mouth. “Is it up to you, pet?” he asked as he waited for her to swallow the bite. She shook her head and lifted her coffee to her lips.
“Excuse me?”
A grin spread across her face. “No, Sir. It’s not up to me.”
He chuckled. “Good girl. Now finish your food and let’s go home.”
Chapter Forty-Seven
(Epilogue)
Darci stood in front of the mirror in the restroom at club Exposure. It was a day she had dreamed of for weeks and it was finally here. Bradley was going to put his collar around her neck. She had no idea what the collar looked like; she just knew he had picked it out himself because it reminded him of her. Like the first time they came here together, Darci wore a simple black dress and nothing else. The dress would come off during the ceremony. It was an open play night at Exposure so the crowd would be large. After the ceremony, play would commence as usual. As she was touching up her lipstick, Michael poked his head in the door.
“Hey, sweetheart. Things are just about ready out here. How are you doing?
She smiled warmly at him in the mirror. “I’m wonderful. This day couldn’t get any better.”
“I think you might find that it can get a little bit better,” he said with a wink. “Come on. I’ll walk you out.”
She took the arm he offered and together, they walked out of the bathroom. He led her down the hall and through the doors into the main play space. Her breath caught when she saw who was standing near the small platform that had been set up for the occasion.
“Peter and Carrie are here?”
Michael grinned down at her. “Bradley arranged it a couple of weeks ago.”
“God, I love that man.”
He chuckled. “I sure hope so.”
Glancing at his watch, he said, “It’s time, sweetheart. You better get to your spot.” He kissed her cheek and released her arm so she could move to the stage. She blew a kiss at Carrie on her way.
Not having a hand in planning the ceremony was hard for her, but Bradley had asked her to give him this power and she had agreed. She was on
ly following directions when she took her place standing on the left side of the stage. The butterflies in her stomach seemed to multiply as she stood and observed people milling about the dungeon talking and laughing. She had no idea where Bradley was, and she found herself wondering if this is what the groom felt like at a traditional wedding. Gary came to the stage and took the microphone that was laying on a small table. He switched it on and offered her a wink before speaking.
“Can I have your attention please. Bradley and Darci want to say thank you for coming. If you would please find a place to sit so we can get started, I would like to invite one of our own to the stage to officiate the ceremony.” He looked in Peter’s direction and offered him the microphone.
Peter moved onto the stage and took it from him. Into the mic he said, “Hey, Kitten.” She smiled through the tears that had begun to fall and offered him a tiny wave.
“Hi.”
“Come on over here and let’s get this party started.” She giggled and walked into his open arms.
“I’m so glad you’re here.”
As Peter released her from his hug, Bradley stepped out of one of the side rooms and her pulse quickened. He was wearing a black button-down shirt and a pair of gray slacks that hugged his hips just right. In his hand, he held a small velvet jewelry bag, and she knew that was the collar he intended to place around her neck. The rest of the room faded away as he made his way to the stage. Once he was in place, Peter began to speak.
“We are here today to celebrate two people coming together in a unique way. Many of you already know how special the bond is between a Dominant and their submissive, and it is that bond we are honoring today. I’m just here to make things look official. Bradley and Darci are the ones doing the real work.”
She grinned at him as Bradley squeezed her hand.
“Bradley, let’s start with you since I hear you wouldn’t let your girl plan any of this.”
Bradley chuckled and took the mic. “Strip and kneel, baby.”
Her hands shook as she lifted her dress off and let it fall to the floor near them. She slowly sank to her knees and looked up at him.
