by Sienna Snow
After a few minutes Max broke the silence. “I don’t think he believed a word we said. You know he isn’t going to let this go. Ari told me how he got each of you to agree in the first place.”
“I’m already on it. Our contacts at the agency have been scanning the data since our girl genius activated the program.”
“So why the secrecy with the general?” Max’s grip tightened on my hand.
“Because there’s suspicion that someone from the general’s group tipped off Christof.”
“Fucking hell, Lex. Were you going to let me know any of this?”
“Arya thought the less you knew, the safer you’d be. This way you wouldn’t be lying when questioned. I’m a former gangster’s grandson. I’ve trained from birth to skate the truth. You, on the other hand, need lessons. Especially when playing with the big dogs.”
“Can the jokes right now, Duncan.”
Lex ignored the reprimand. “You’ve been under surveillance since the kidnapping. All of us have, but some of us know how to maneuver around tails. Plus, letting them keep tabs on you allowed me to transfer the data to the right hands.”
Lex and his connections. A small twinge of a smile tugged at my lips, but the rest of me remained immobile. This sucked.
“I swear to God, as soon as she awakes I am going to wring her neck. If I didn’t know how much she loved me, I’d think she didn’t trust me.”
Lips brushed my forehead, helping me conjure the strength to speak. “Are you—” my throat burned from dryness “—are you going to kiss me every time you want to choke me?”
“Arya, baby. You’re awake.” Max sobbed, gathering me in his arms. He ran more kisses over my face and held me to his chest. His body trembled against mine, and his love for me radiated into my being.
Why did I ever think to keep us apart?
My eyes still weighted heavily, but I managed to open them a little. The light pierced my vision and I winced, closing them again.
“Rest and take it slow,” he whispered against my hair, rocking me back and forth. “God, Ari, I thought I’d lost you. We all did.”
“Not me,” interjected Lex. “You’re resilient. I’ve always known that.”
“Shut up, Lex. You’re such a kiss-ass.”
I tried laughing at their relieved banter but grimaced at the contraction of my abs. “Holy shit. Everything hurts like a bitch.”
“And she’s back.” Max chuckled and his grip loosened. “What are we going to tell our kiddos about your potty mouth?”
I opened my eyes, ignoring the discomfort and stared in confusion. “What?”
Max gave me a sheepish grin. “We’ll discuss that in a minute. Right now we need to talk about keeping secrets from your husband.”
EPILOGUE
This celibate thing is pissing me off, Carm. I’m not going to break. It has been three months since the explosion.”
“Stop right there. I do not—let me repeat—I do not want to hear about my brother’s sex life.”
“Well, deal. Milla’s off in Italy with her family, and I won’t risk having her superconservative mother listening to our conversations.”
“What about Lex?”
“He’s nursing a broken heart. I’m not adding to his pain.” Sometimes I wanted to strangle my stupid best friend.
“Hey, I have a broken heart, too.”
“That doesn’t count. You did the breaking up for stupid-ass reasons, something you and Mil have in common.”
“Fine,” Carmen groaned through the phone. “Here’s my advice.”
“Okay, I’m listening.”
“Seduce him.”
“What?”
“You heard me. Max is freaked out about harming you or the babies.”
My heart warmed at the mention of my miracles. Max was right. Virtually impossible meant “slightly possible.” “He’d keep me wrapped in a bubble if I’d let him. You wouldn’t believe the argument we had when I told him I was going back to the office.”
“I can imagine. You told me the doctors cleared you for all activity. I’m assuming sex is included?”
“Yes. She doesn’t see any restrictions until close to the end of the second trimester. With the scars on my uterus, she thinks I shouldn’t risk too much activity after twenty-three weeks, but until then, I’m home free.”
“Good. Then go put on one of those outfits and knock his socks off. I’m not going to tell you what to do or say, because that’s gross.”
I leaned against the windowsill and gazed out at the grounds of Max’s estate. I guessed it was my estate as well. “What if I fuck it up?”
“In the words of our MIA Milla, you’re supposed to fuck it up, with an emphasis on fuck.”
I groaned. “Not helping.”
Carmen laughed. “Relax. Enjoy yourself. Make sure to get as much as you can, because you’re in for a lengthy drought in a few months.”
“Yes, yes, I know. Love you.”
“Love you, too.”
I set the phone down and checked my watch. I had exactly one hour before Max would be home. Thank goodness, I’d given the staff the weekend off. I wouldn’t want any of them seeing me running around the house like a crazy person.
I pressed my palm against the identification plate, and the playroom’s wooden door unlocked. My heartbeat accelerated, but I couldn’t understand why. This space wasn’t taboo or forbidden, but I still felt I was breaking some kind of rule.
I strolled into the dressing area of the playroom and went straight for the corset ensemble Max had selected for our night at the club. I slid over the soft, silky material and closed my eyes as the image of lying across the bench popped into my head. My mouth watered at the memory of Max, bare-chested, administering my punishment. I gasped as my core contracted, shaking me from my daydream.
I glanced at the clock; I’d lingered in the same spot for twenty minutes, leaving me only forty to get ready.
I dressed as quickly as possible, but I kept the ties around my stomach loose. My swollen breasts spilled over the tops of the bra cups as I clipped my stockings, making me laugh. I very nearly felt like a buxom burlesque dancer with these melons.
I moved over to the vanity, removed my makeup, since Max preferred me with a natural face, and released my hair from its bun. Giving myself one last survey, I slipped on my shoes and walked back into the playroom. As gracefully as possible with my growing belly keeping me off balance, I lowered myself onto the sapphire-blue kneeling pillow.
I flinched as the beep of the lock alerted me to Max’s arrival. He was early.
Please let this work.
I lowered my head and waited for Max to approach with my heart close to beating out of my chest. His breath hitched when he entered the room and my confidence increased.
“What’re you doing?” he questioned with a gruff voice.
“Waiting, Sir.” I kept my head down.
He approached and traced his fingers down the back of my neck. Goose bumps prickled my skin. “Why?”
“Because you need this.” My lips trembled. “I need this.”
He released a sharp groan. “Do you realize you’re trying to top me? You forget. I decide when we use this room, not you.”
His harsh tone cut deep, and my shoulders slumped in response as tears burned the back of my eyes and throat.
Rejected.
Not looking toward him, I rose, filled with resignation. “I’ll go change.”
I was already moving toward the dressing room when he grasped my arm. “Baby, don’t cry.”
I struggled. “Please Max, let me go. I feel humiliated enough.”
He gathered me against his chest. “I’m never letting you go,” he whispered. “This isn’t how I planned for this weekend to start.” He leaned over to the counter, while keeping me in his hold. “Now open this box before you jump to any more conclusions.”
“What is it?”
“Something I bought after a conversation I had with Dr. Morr
is.”
“Why would you need to talk to my obstetrician?”
“Arya, open the box,” he commanded, not hiding his frustration.
“Fine.” I took the box from his hands, set it on the table, and peeked inside. “Oh.”
“That’s right, oh.”
A delicate pink lace-and-satin bustled-back slip with garter sat nested in tissue. He hadn’t rejected me.
I’m an idiot. Stupid pregnancy hormones. I moved toward him. “I’m—”
“Shhh.” Max placed a gentle kiss on my lips, silencing me. “I don’t want anything too constrictive against your body.” He stepped back, shaking his head. “This won’t do.”
“Max!” I gasped as he ripped my bustier from top to bottom.
He caressed my back, trailing his fingers over my spine and around to the slight swell of my belly. I leaned into his touch, no longer ashamed of my scars.
“I love your naked body, especially these.” He cupped my heavy breasts. “I’ve been dying to taste them.” He licked the tips and drew back.
A moaned protest escaped my mouth.
“Go put on your present while I prepare your punishment.”
I stared into his desire-glazed emerald eyes. “What did I do?”
He arched a brow, gave me a slight smile, and pointed to the pillow. “For thinking you could top me into playing.”
It worked, didn’t it?
He walked over to the cabinet, slid a drawer open, and extracted his instrument for discipline.
My breath hitched as excitement ran through my body and wetness pooled between my legs.
The slap of the paddle against his palm echoed throughout the room. “You wanted to play, Mrs. Dane. Let’s play.”
Want to know what happens next for Milla and Lex? Please see the next page for a preview of Book Two!
Thirty minutes later, I came out of the shower and examined my reflection in the vanity mirror. Hazel eyes speckled with green stared back at me. Good genes gave me a more youthful appearance than most twenty-nine-year-olds, but the last few months had taken their toll on my body.
I shifted my hips from side to side and grimaced. The sexy curves I’d become notorious for were a thing of the past. I’d lost so much weight that I no longer resembled the wild-child heiress of one of the world’s greatest shipping fortunes. The outspoken and independent woman, on whom the tabloids loved to report, had disappeared.
The fire is still in there Milla. You just need to find it.
Who was I kidding? I had never been the girl everyone believed. My forthright manner was the only true aspect of all the reports. What would the world think if they knew I’d had only one lover my entire life and not the numerous suitors everyone assumed I’d had, or that I hadn’t engaged in any of the scandalous things I’d given the press to print?
The only people who knew the real me were my best friends, Arya and Carmen, and even they didn’t know me as well as…I closed my eyes and inhaled.
Lex.
He understood who I was and accepted me, flaws and all.
My phone beeped, reminding me I was already late and had spent too much time reflecting. I hurried to the closet, pulled out the couture gown the tailor had refitted earlier in the morning, and dressed. I moved to the oversized vanity in the bathroom and sat down to apply my makeup.
“A little concealer will hide those depressing circles, Mil. Let’s sex it up for our last gala in Italy,” I mumbled to myself.
I loved my cosmetics, clothes, and glamour. It wasn’t as if I couldn’t live without it, but it was so much fun putting on a new shade of eye shadow to enhance an outfit. Tonight I’d use my products to help cover the sadness and to pretend the past six months had never happened.
Emotionally broken or not, I had to put on my big-girl panties and represent the firm Arya and I had worked our asses off to build from scratch.
I smiled to myself. Two girls from completely different backgrounds became best friends and created the world’s first female-founded billion-dollar technology-development firm. Ditching high school was the only thing on our agendas the day we met, and now we couldn’t imagine a life without each other.
As I finished the final touches on my face, I realized I hadn’t slipped on the one piece of jewelry I always wore somewhere on my body.
I walked into my room and toward the childhood picture of me with my siblings, which was positioned on the far wall of my bedroom. The mischievous smirks we displayed paid tribute to the love we shared. I tapped the side of the portrait and it shifted to the side, revealing a safe tucked into the wall. I disengaged the lock with my fingerprint and opened the door. Slowly I pulled out a purple velvet pouch. I loosened the string and tipped the contents into my palm. A banded ring in platinum with marquise and round, brilliant-cut diamonds fell out.
I sighed, clutching the ring in my fist, and held it to my heart.
What we have is special, Milla. I won’t touch you until you wear my ring and belong to me completely.
At nineteen, I held no comprehension of the great significance of those words, but I had taken the ring and made the vows. Now at twenty-nine, and with six months of reflection and healing, I understood the depth of what those words meant to him and how much hurt I caused him over the years by withholding what we’d shared from everyone.
He’d made no secret that he wanted a very public relationship, not just a private one, but I was too selfish and enjoyed playing the rebel too much to care.
A shiver crept up my body and I shuddered as a hiccup escaped my lips.
I had finally agreed to wear the ring at all times when my world fell apart. He deserved better than me.
What is wrong with you, Milla? Where has the confident, no-holds-barred girl gone?
I shook my head, trying to clear another rebuke from my mind. I couldn’t lie to myself. I had to find that girl again. I knew she was hiding somewhere deep inside. Besides, if she didn’t make an appearance soon, Arya was going to kick my ass trying to get her back.
My phone ran with the “Jingle Bells” tune and I squealed. Speak of the devil. Well not really speak, but think. I rushed to answer it.
“Hello.”
“Hey there, mera behna. I miss you.”
My heart lit up at the sound of my best friend’s voice and the standard Hindi greeting she gave me.
Arya Rey Dane was my sister in everything but blood. I quickly strung the ring on a thin platinum chain and slid it around my neck, making sure to hide it under the high collar of the gown.
“What’s wrong?”
How would she know that I was feeling sad?
“Huh? What makes you think something is up?”
“Well, for one you responded to my question with a question. Second, your voice gave it away. Third, you didn’t answer me with your haughty Italian heiress greeting of ‘Pronto.’ You said ‘hello.’”
I never used that phrase and she knew it. It was a running joke between us. It was our way of telling all the pretentious Italians from us ruffians.
“Yes, yes, Miss Genius I. Q. I forgot my Italian etiquette. I’ve been hanging out with your half-Indian ass too long.”
“My ass is huge right now, and you would know that if you were home. And don’t say we video-conference, because it isn’t the same. I need the deliverer of my chocolate croissants here in Boston with me. Max doesn’t go to the same bakery as you do.”
I couldn’t help but smile at the joy hidden around the whining I heard in her words. She finally was going to have the family she’d wanted all her life.
She’d spent five years building herself up following the deterioration of her relationship and devastating loss of her babies. Finally, she had her fairy tale. After reuniting with the love of her life, she was expecting twins again.
“I know, bella. I will be home to see the giant whale you have become with those boys.”
“I miss you. He misses you.”
My breath hitched. “Why would Max miss
me? Isn’t he your husband?”
“Don’t be a smart-ass.” Her voice grew stern. “You know who I mean.”
“I know, Ari. I just don’t know what to say to him or what to do to make it better. How is he?”
“How do you expect? He’s been with the same woman for a decade and she left him. Something we still haven’t discussed, by the way.”
I winced. I’d avoided any conversation regarding my relationship with Lex Duncan. Especially the part where I’d never told her he was the Dom I’d been with for years. Or that he was even more then my Dom.
“Is he…is he…?”
Do I really want to ask this question?
“No, he isn’t seeing anyone, you moron. For some reason he loves you and takes the commitment he made to you seriously.”
Relief flooded me. “Pregnancy is making you bitchy.”
“Ya, well let me count the ways I am pissed off at the whole lot of you. First, my two best friends lied to me for years, pretending to see different people when they were together the whole time. Surrounding me with overwhelming sexual tension and making me think it was love unfulfilled.”
I cringed. “Yeah, well, there were personal reasons for all of that.”
“Second, when I found out they were a couple, they left out a tiny detail that they were more than Dominant and submissive.”
“Well you see—”
“Shut up. I’m not done.”
“Sorry I’ll zip it.”
“Third, my other best friend and sister-in-law, Carmen, has become a complete workaholic and has no time for me. Fourth, I don’t have you here to keep me sane while I’m on bed rest and prevent me from killing my overprotective husband. And fifth—” Arya sniffed and her voice cracked “—I’m scared out of my mind that I will lose these babies, too.”
My heart ached for her. She’d been through so much, and by some miracle she was pregnant again. “Don’t cry, mia sorella. I’ll be home soon.”
“I’m sorry. I’m just a big, pregnant, hormonal, fucking mess.”
I shook my head. “Language! Max is going to kill you if the first words those kids utter are fuck or shit. For someone so proper you have the mouth of a sailor.”
