by Jane Henry
Paul and Dom exchanged a knowing look and a smile. Heidi giggled.
"Well, it should come as no surprise that our guys are pretty tough negotiators," Heidi told John.
His eyes widened and he nodded.
"There wasn't enough evidence for a confession," Paul said. "But there was definitely enough to tarnish the Divris name. So, Dom and I went to Mr. Divris, Senior, otherwise known as the Head of the Board of Directors. He was happy to make a personal donation large enough to cover the shortfall, as long as we kept the story out of the media."
"Not to mention, he now gets a reputation as quite a philanthropist," Dom said dryly.
Heidi agreed. And she also privately felt that Mr. Divris, whose family had attended Easterbrook for generations and who had been genuinely appalled at his son's behavior, had been moved to write the check for sentimental reasons—for the good of the school.
"Well, no wonder you decided to move on!" John told Dom. "Get away from the drama."
Dom shrugged. "I never liked dealing with the board, so I won't miss that BS. But I'll miss the kids."
Heidi squeezed his hands where they rested at her waist and felt him squeeze her in return. She knew the decision to leave Easterbrook for his new role as Head of Financial Aid for the New England Association of Private Schools had been a difficult one for him. Helping kids was the whole reason he'd been drawn to education in the first place. But as she'd gently reminded him, now he'd be in a position to help even more deserving kids obtain scholarships and help them succeed.
"Congratulations, brother," Matteo said as he joined their group, batting aside more of the crepe paper that hung like Spanish moss from the ceiling so he could clap Dom on the shoulder. "Happy for you."
He nodded a greeting at Paul and John, then ducked his head to give Heidi a kiss on the cheek, handing her a flute of champagne.
"Looking pretty as a picture today, Heids," he told her. Then he glanced pointedly at her shoulder, where her stupid strap had fallen down again.
She tugged it back into place and shook her head. Matteo was a pain in the ass, but he was a lovable one.
"Thanks, Matt," she said. "I'm so glad you could come."
"Wouldn't miss it," he said sincerely. "But honey, could you have toned down these decorations?" He swiped at the multicolored paper and ribbons hanging from the ceiling. "Trees gave their lives for these things," he teased.
Heidi smothered a laugh.
"Don't look at me! My contributions to this party were the 'Congratulations!' banner and the cake from the bakery," she said with a smile, sipping her champagne as she leaned her head against Dom's throat. "Tony coordinated everything."
"Tony did this?" Matteo looked around, bewildered. "Where did we go wrong with him, Dom? We're going to have to stage an intervention."
John snickered.
"Hush! It wasn't his idea. It was Val's," Heidi told them in a low voice. "She told Tony it 'needed pizazz,' and she ran to Party Plaza."
"Jesus," Dom said. She could feel him shaking his head. "And I bet she got his credit card first."
"You can imagine how she felt about Tessa's ideas for redecorating this place next month," John interjected. "Tessa is going for classic, clean lines—that's what draws a high-end clientele these days. But Val said it needs more color, and she's harping on Tony to bring in some interior designer she knows. Tessa's too professional to say so, but I'm pretty sure she's ready to commit murder."
Matteo shot Dom a worried glance.
"We really might need to stage an intervention," he said, and Heidi could feel Dom nod.
Then Hillary walked into the room, brushing aside streamers with an annoyed frown, and all of them stopped talking to watch her. She started towards Heidi and Dom, a smile on her face, then seemed to notice the other members of their group and stopped short. She gave a little wave, abruptly turned and walked in the opposite direction. Heidi frowned.
"How's she doing?" Paul asked, a thread of concern in his voice.
"I don't know," Heidi admitted. "Most of the time, she seems to be fine, but then…" Heidi blew out a breath. "I think graduating from college and moving down here is going to be good for her, but it'll be a big adjustment for her, too. I'm worried that she'll have a hard time finding a job. I'm worried that she'll have trouble with guys…" She shook her head, then turned to look at Matteo. "You know, Matt, I've actually been meaning to ask you—could you keep an eye on her, maybe?"
Dom stiffened behind her, and Matteo's eyes widened with uncharacteristic dread.
"Uh… me? You know, Heidi, honey, I don't think I'm really the best one to—"
"Please," she begged. "I know Hillie likes you, trusts you. You helped her so much in the days after… well, after what happened last spring. And I think it would be easier for her to have someone around who wasn't her big sister… or like a big brother," she added, squeezing Dom's arm. "Someone who could just be a friend, you know?"
Matteo looked at Dom helplessly and swallowed hard. "Well, I… yeah, I guess I could do that. I could keep an eye on her."
"In a friendly sort of way," Dom reminded him.
"Right, exactly. Obviously," Matteo agreed.
"Thanks, Matt," she said, stepping away from Dom and standing on tiptoe to press a kiss to Matteo's cheek.
"Uh… sure," he said. "No problem." Then, turning quickly to John and Paul, he asked, "Can I buy you gents a drink?"
As the others wandered off to the bar, Heidi turned to face Dom and wrapped her arm around his waist while she took another sip of champagne.
"I feel like I've hardly seen you today," she commented.
"Mmm," he agreed. He lifted a hand to pull up the strap of her dress which had fallen once more. "Showing a lot of skin there, baby."
Heidi pressed her lips together to bite back a retort that might earn her a swat.
"Yes. Because these dress straps don't stay up. Which is what I told you this morning, when you picked out this dress, sir," she reminded him sweetly.
He wrapped both his hands around her waist, and his eyes sparkled. "Hmmm… I think I do remember you telling me that."
Heidi smiled. Adorable, infuriating man.
"So, if you heard me tell you that, why did you have me wear it?" she asked.
"Maybe," he said, leaning down to nuzzle her neck, "because I like when you show a little skin."
Heidi shivered. She would never get used to this man, never take this magic for granted. Hillary's words from earlier came back to her. It was time to tell him…
"Dom…" she began hesitantly. "I need to tell you, I—"
At the last moment, her resolve failed her—she couldn't force the words past a lump in her throat. She nervously threw back the rest of her drink, gathering her courage.
Dom frowned.
"That's enough champagne," he warned her.
"Yes, okay," she agreed easily. "It's just… I want to say that…"
"I'm not kidding," he interrupted, grabbing the glass from her hand and setting it on a nearby table with a click. "No more drinking today, Heidi."
She inhaled deeply and gathered her patience. He was ruining her perfect moment!
"Another rule?" she asked crossly.
His eyes narrowed at her tone. "Yeah," he confirmed. "Another rule. Problem?"
Heidi blew out a breath.
"No," she said. Then, seeing his raised eyebrow, grudgingly added, "Sir."
Dom eyed her speculatively for a moment, and a knot formed in Heidi's stomach—a combination of anxiety and anticipation. She was being disrespectful and she knew better, but he wouldn't punish her here, would he? With all of their friends and family around? The knot in her belly grew tighter as she realized that he definitely would. And the rest of the restaurant was empty…
"So, Hillie's moving to Boston in a few weeks," he said, the abrupt change of subject jolting her from her thoughts.
Shoot. Was he waiting so that he could punish her more thoroughly back at home later
? If so, that would make it doubly bad—the anticipation would kill her. But she couldn't ask without inviting more punishment and he knew it. His eyes fairly sparkled. Drat.
She was so distracted she almost neglected to reply—and that would've bought her even more trouble, for not listening.
"Uh… Two weeks from tomorrow. Right," Heidi confirmed. "She's going to be staying on my sofa, like we talked about. Now that you and Paul have finally gotten me to buy furniture for the place." She added the last in a teasing tone, inviting him to smile.
It didn't work.
"She needs a place of her own," he told her firmly.
Heidi stepped back to look at him, her surprise no doubt reflected on her face.
"But… Dom, how can she afford it? She doesn't have a—"
"Are you arguing with me, little girl?" he asked.
Crap.
"No, sir," she whispered. "I'm just… um… expressing a concern. She doesn't have a job and—"
"I'm aware of that, Heidi. Which is why I think she should live at your place," he said, his eyes sparkling.
"I… Okay, I'm confused," Heidi admitted. "Isn't that what I just said?"
Dom laughed. "Hillary can live at your place, and you can move in with me."
"Y-you… and I?" Heidi stammered, a spark of hope igniting in her chest.
It was the first step in a future she'd been thinking about practically since their first meeting—moving in together, getting married, having a family—seeing how their relationship would change and grow at each stage of the journey, how they'd work together to make it beautiful. Still, the idea of it happening, of it starting right now took her breath away.
"You're there practically every night anyway," he reminded her.
"Well, yes, that's true…"
"Princess's bowl is in my kitchen, and my key is on your key ring," he added.
"I know, you're right, it's just…"
"Just what, baby?"
"It's just… I didn't think you'd want to do it so soon! We've only been together four months!"
"So?"
"So! So—that's—only four months!"
He shrugged. "Four months is long enough when you love someone."
He said it as if it were a simple statement of fact, a given.
"When you… love someone?" she repeated. She felt tears come to her eyes, and her face softened as he looked at her.
He led her to the furthest corner of the room, a darkened alcove mercifully free of decoration, and pushed her gently back against the wall, bracing a hand above her head so that his body blocked her view of the room.
"Heidi," he said, lifting his free hand to stroke his thumb over her cheek. "Why do I give you all those rules, baby?"
Heidi glanced up at him, and his tender expression nearly brought her to her knees.
Why did he give her rules? So many reasons, and they all swam in her head. He liked being in control, that was the simplest answer—the smartass answer she'd have given him when they first met. But now she knew that was only the smallest part of his motivation. He was a dominant because he had a need to protect—he gave her rules because he wanted to keep her safe. And, she admitted to herself, he had known, even before she was ready to admit it, that she liked giving him control, needed to give him control… and he met that need for her.
"Because…" she licked her dry lips. "Because you… want to take care of me and keep me safe, and because you know I need those rules."
He nodded, his fingers playing with the hair at her temple.
"I've never wanted to do that for anyone before," he said. "Not this way. I never felt the need to protect someone, to take care of someone, the way I do for you. I love you."
Heidi's breath caught in her throat and a rush of emotion that threatened to overwhelm her. Happiness, possessiveness, relief, joy, protective tenderness, unbreakable connection… She'd once thought those emotions were for other people, until Dom. This man made her feel so much!
"And why do you follow the rules, Heidi? Why don't you tell me to back off? Why do you put your phone away before you drive? Baby, why are you wearing this dress?"
Heidi took a deep breath and found that she didn't need champagne courage, or a perfect moment, she just needed to trust Dom. And she did, in every part of her. She always had.
She slid her hands up around his neck and looked directly into his eyes.
"Because I love you, too," she said. Her voice was low, but she spoke the words clearly and confidently. They were a statement of fact. It was a given.
Still, she could tell by the fire in his eyes that Dom had needed to hear it.
"Yeah," he said softly. "You do."
Heidi burst out laughing, her arms tightening around his neck as he leaned down to brush his lips gently over hers.
"Later," he promised her, when she would have deepened the kiss.
He stepped back, smiled at her, then oh-so-slowly slid the strap of her dress back into place once again.
She felt her nipples tighten at the caress, and knew by his smirk that it was one hundred percent intentional. He knew exactly what he was doing to her.
Her eyes narrowed. Submissive she might be, but two could play at this game.
As Dom wrapped an arm around her waist and led her back to the party, Heidi signaled to one of the many waiters circulating with trays of drinks and hors d'oeuvres, who immediately approached and offered her a glass of champagne.
"Thank you," Heidi told the waiter with a bright smile, accepting the glass.
The waiter nodded and moved on, but Dom had frozen solid beside her.
"Was I not clear about the rule?" he asked, his voice deceptively casual while his eyes surveyed the room.
"The rule?" Heidi pursed her lips and pretended to think about it. "Oh! The brand new no-more-drinking rule!"
"That's the one," he said, turning his head to look at her. "And I warn you, little girl, that was no joke."
It just wasn't fair the way his stern voice did things to her belly!
"No joke?" she asked, infusing her voice with just the right amount of innocent disappointment. "So, you're saying that if I take even one teeny, tiny sip of this champagne," she swirled the bubbly liquid for effect, "you'll have to punish me?"
"I will," he said, and his tone left no doubt that he was serious… even as his eyes lit with excitement he couldn't contain.
"I understand, sir," she told him meekly.
Then she drained her glass.
The End
His Submissive
Book Two in the Boston Doms series
Matteo Angelico is an experienced, long-term dominant who he knows what he likes—sexy, submissive women who do what they're told and are willing and able to give him the control he craves. He's much more interested in taking a girl across his lap than he is in taking on the demands of a full-time relationship. He's happy to leave the flowery romance to his twin brother Dominic, and Dom's fiancée, Heidi. So why can't he get the one girl who wants it all out of his head?
Hillary Morrow knows all too well that D/s relationships don't always have fairy tale endings. The last dominant she met online betrayed her trust in every possible way. But that still hasn't stopped her from giving her heart away to the sexiest, bossiest dominant she's ever known, who just so happens to also be the most commitment-phobic dominant in Boston. So when Matteo offers to give Hillary the accountability and discipline she needs, she eagerly accepts. A part-time dom is better than none, right?
As Hillary and Matteo are pulled along in their siblings' wedding plans, they find themselves in frustratingly romantic scenarios. However, when Hillary finds herself the target of a stalker, she and Matteo are thrown together. Hillary trusts Matteo to keep her safe from the stalker. But who will protect Hillary's heart from Matteo?
About the Author
Jane Henry
Jane has been writing since her early teens, dabbling in short stories and poetry. When she married and began having chil
dren, her pen was laid to rest for several years, until the National Novel Writing Challenge (NaNoWriMo) in 2010 awakened in her the desire to write again. That year, she wrote her first novel, and has been writing ever since. In 2012, she became interested in the D/s lifestyle, and has discovered her love for writing romance with a D/s twist. With a houseful of children, she finds time to write in the early hours of the morning, squirreled away with a laptop, blanket, and cup of hot coffee. Years ago, she heard the wise advice, “Write the book you want to read,” and has taken it to heart. She sincerely hopes you also enjoy the books she likes to read.
Visit her blog here:
http://janehenrywriter.blogspot.com
And her co-blog with Maisy Archer here: https://janeandmaisy.com/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/JaneHenryAuthor
Facebook: Jane Henry Author
https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100010937346139
Please contact her via email:
[email protected]
Don’t miss these exciting titles by Jane Henry and Blushing Books!
A Thousand Yesses
Begin Again: Bound To You Book 1
Come Back To Me: Bound To You Book 2
Complete Me: Bound To You Book 3
By Jane Henry and Maisy Archer:
My Dom: Boston Doms Book 1
His Submissive: Boston Doms Book 2
Her Protector: Boston Doms Book 3
Anthologies:
Sunstrokes
About the Author
Maisy Archer
Maisy is an unabashed book nerd who has been in love with romance since reading her first Julie Garwood novel at the tender age of 12. After a decade as a technical writer, she finally made the leap into writing fiction several years ago and has never looked back. Like her other great loves - coffee, caramel, beach vacations, yoga pants, and her amazing family - her love of words has only continued to grow... in a manner inversely proportional to her love of exercise, house cleaning, and large social gatherings. She loves to hear from fellow romance lovers, and is always on the hunt for her next great read.
