His Submissive (Boston Doms Book 2)

by Jane Henry

  "You were the one who insisted on making sure I couldn't remember what Slay's kiss had felt like," she reminded him helpfully, pressing her swollen lips together at the memory. He'd been exceptionally thorough.

  He stopped short just in front of the entrance, causing Hillary to knock into him from behind, and looked back over his shoulder at her.

  "And you were the one who kept reminding me that you have an excellent memory," he told her, his gorgeous green eyes twinkling.

  "That's true," she admitted, smiling at him. "But I didn't expect you to have to take me back to bed to make 'extra sure'."

  He turned around to face her more fully and wrapped his arms around her waist, the heat of him sinking through the thin material of her frilly dress and light sweater. "Babe, if there's an opportunity for me to take you to bed, you can pretty much expect I'm going to take it."

  Hillary laughed, and set her hands on his shoulders, which looked broader than ever in his gray suit jacket. "So you're saying I just have to give you an opportunity?" she challenged.

  His eyes narrowed. "Behave yourself," he told her, squeezing her ass just enough to remind her of the punishment she'd received earlier in the day. "And I'll find my own opportunity… later."

  Hillary squirmed. "Yes, sir," she whispered. "I'm going to be a perfect angel."

  He rolled his eyes as he grabbed the door handle and ushered her inside. "This I've gotta see."

  Then they were inside the dark lobby, and Hillary couldn't reply, at least not in a meaningful way.

  She and Matt had discussed it, and decided that they wouldn't go public with their relationship just yet. They were committed to one another, no doubt, but they were bound to raise a few eyebrows at first, and they didn't want to cause any more drama before Heidi and Dom's wedding. It had seemed simple enough, but as Matt took a careful step away from her, she had to fight her instinct to close the distance and touch him again. She could tell from his scowl that Matt felt the same way.

  "Sooner we get in there, the sooner we'll be done," he whispered.

  Hillary nodded.

  But before she could take a step towards the dining room where the wedding was to be held, Tessa ran out, sobbing, crashing into Hillary and almost knocking her over.

  "Oh, God, I'm so sorry, Hillie," Tess said. "I just need to…" She lifted a hand towards the ladies' room, which was located off the lobby.

  "Tess, what happened?" Hillary asked, sliding an arm around the other woman's waist.

  Tess shook her head and ran toward the bathroom, just as a very pissed-off Tony and a very soggy-looking Valerie emerged from the dining room.

  "This is absolutely the last straw, Tony!" Val screeched. "Just look at what that bitch did! Red wine will never come out! And this dress is Balenciaga!"

  The front of Val's hair was clinging to her face in wet clumps, her tight, white strapless dress was liberally splashed with purple, and Val seemed to have trouble standing upright in her shoes.

  Hillary bit her lip to keep from giggling, but Matteo didn't bother—he snorted outright.

  Tony rounded on Val, shaking his head. "Well, maybe if you hadn't accused her of trying to seduce me in front of the whole party, she wouldn't have! Jesus, Valerie." Beneath the deep current of anger in his voice, there was exhaustion and resignation.

  Turning to Matteo and Hillary, he asked, "Did you see where Tess went? I need to talk to her and sort this out."

  "Um… ladies' room," Hillary said quietly.

  Tony looked at the ladies' room door hesitantly for a moment, as though he was contemplating barging inside, but thought better of it. He ran a hand through his hair and sighed.

  "You guys are late," he said, looking back and forth between them, a frown on his face.

  But Val didn't want to be ignored. Before Matt or Hillary could say a word, Val stepped in front of Tony and crossed her arms over her chest. "You don't see what I see, Tony. That woman has been after you from the moment she darkened your door, and you're blind to it! You treat her like she's the second coming, for God's sake. 'Tessa says this' and 'Tess told me that'. Well, what about me, Tony?"

  Tony sighed wearily. "What about you, Val?"

  Valerie's eyes sparked fire. "I try to give you advice! I try to offer you my encouragement! But you don't want it. You'd rather spend your time with that… that… Do you even know what she's like, Tony? Do you know what she likes to do with her spare time?"

  Beside Hillary, Matteo stiffened. She glanced quickly at his face to find that his eyes had narrowed on Valerie.

  "I really don't care what she does in her spare time, Val. She's a good person. And she's a damn good manager," Tony said hotly.

  But Val continued as though he hadn't spoken, a sickening air of triumph in her voice. "She goes to a club for sexual deviants! One of the girls from my salon saw her there. She likes to be tied up and beaten and who knows what! That the kind of woman you want, Tony?"

  Tony gaped at Valerie dumbly, his mouth hanging open, and Hillary felt her own face mirror his. Was Tessa a submissive?

  Matteo stepped forward and put his hand on Valerie's elbow.

  "Enough," he said firmly. "Tess is a friend of mine. It's time for you to go."

  "Fuck you!" Val said, ripping her elbow from his grasp. "This is Tony's restaurant, not yours!"

  Hillary could see that Val was unsteady on her feet, and wondered how much wine Val had consumed before Tessa had finally snapped.

  Matteo looked at Tony, expecting him to take charge of the situation, but Tony was still staring at Val in shock.

  "Are you one of them?" Val asked Matteo, her voice slurred.

  "I don't even want to know what you're talking about," Matteo said coldly. "It's definitely time for you to—"

  "You are! You're one of those sick bastards!" Val accused, cradling her elbow as though Matteo had injured her. "You get off on abusing women!"

  "Tony, for Christ's sake, get her out of here!" Matteo barked, frustrated when Tony still didn't seem to hear him.

  Hillary understood his frustration. Val was causing a scene, but Matteo would no more physically restrain Valerie against her will than he would fly—it went against everything he believed in.

  But it suddenly occurred to Hillary that she had no such constraints.

  She stepped forward and pushed Val firmly in the chest, knocking the other woman back a step.

  "You shut your filthy mouth!" Hillary hissed. "You don't have the first idea what you're talking about. Matteo doesn't abuse women—if he did, your ass would be out in the middle of the street right now."

  "Hillary," Matteo said in a warning tone, wrapping his arm around her waist from behind. But Hillary ignored him. It was stupid stuff like what Val was spouting that made women afraid to ask for what they wanted from men, afraid they'd be called deviants, or worse. And it was that fear, that need to hide, that made them easy prey for the truly perverted people, like Marauder.

  "Your ignorance is appalling," Hillary continued. "Dominance is not about abuse. Submission isn't about liking to be beaten. It's about freedom and trust and unconditional love. It's beautiful! There is nothing wrong with that. What you do to Tony, on the other hand, is fucking abusive! You use him for his money, you don't care about what he wants, and you try to bully him—"

  "Enough," Matt growled in her ear. "Tink! You have an audience."

  Hillary's gaze flew up to see Heidi, Dom, Paul, John, and… oh, crap!... her parents, standing in the doorway to the dining room. Every eye was trained on her as she stood in Matteo's arms, defending submission at the top of her lungs.

  So much for keeping things low key until after the wedding. Great job avoiding drama, Hillary.

  Her parents looked confused. Heidi was biting her lip anxiously. Paul looked amused. His boyfriend, John, winked at Hillary and clapped silently. And Dom… oh, Lord. Dom looked like he was about to have a stroke.

  Just then, someone in the dining room cleared his throat loudly, and the cr
owd in the doorway parted to show the baffled-looking minister.

  "Mr. Angelico? Miss Morrow?" he asked impatiently. "Are you ready to begin?"

  Heidi turned to beam at the man, a manic gleam in her eyes. "Yes, sir! Everyone's here, so we'll be ready to begin, uh… in one minute."

  The minister nodded and stepped back into the dining room.

  "Mom, Dad—um, could you please wait with Dr. Epping?" Heidi begged. And when it seemed like their mother was about to protest, she interjected, "Tell him about your new African water charity! I'm sure he'd be thrilled." Frances's eyes lit up and she scurried off after the man.

  "And Paul, why don't you, um, escort Valerie to her car?" Heidi said, her tone hardening.

  Paul nodded, but before he could step forward, Tony snapped out of his reverie and held up a hand.

  "That won't be necessary," he told Paul. Then, turning back to Val, he said, "You've had too much to drink. You can't drive. I'm calling you a cab."

  Valerie's face turned white, then quickly flushed a deep purple.

  "No fucking way," she whispered harshly. "Didn't you hear the way she talked to me, Tony? Did you see the way he grabbed me? It's completely unacceptable! If you kick me out, I'll… I'll…"

  Tony looked at her as though he'd never seen her before. "You'll what? Never forgive me? Fine. Trash me to your friends? I'm used to it. Frankly, Val, I just don't give a shit anymore."

  Val's eyes widened with shock and hurt. "You'd better take a minute to think about what you're saying!" she cried. "Because if you tell me to go, if you choose them over me, I'm never coming back."

  Tony rubbed his hand over his eyes.

  "Fine," he said, sighing. "Fine. Val, you've been giving me ultimatums from the beginning. It's like some kind of game with you—testing me, waiting to see if I'm going to pick you, like you've been waiting for me to fail you." He shook his head sadly. "I swear, I thought if I just picked you often enough… But I realize now that it'll never be enough, will it? There will always be another test. I will never make you happy."

  As Val watched in horror, Tony strode over to the reception desk, picked up the phone, and hit a number on speed-dial.

  "I'm calling from Cara on Hanover Street," he said into the receiver. "I need a cab." Then he looked at Val. "Grab your purse. I'll wait with you outside."

  "Don't bother," Val spat, and she stomped out the door. Tony stood by the window and watched her go.

  A strained silence followed her departure. John mumbled something to Paul, and then made his way to the ladies' room. Checking on Tessa.

  Hillary shook her head. Damn. She'd honestly hoped to see Tony end things a long time ago, but gosh… not like this. And she felt more than a little responsible for the way things had escalated.

  Hillary darted a look at Matteo. She knew she'd be in trouble for losing her temper at Val the way she had, but she wasn't sure exactly how mad he'd be…

  But Matteo wasn't looking at her. His arm was still locked around her waist, but he was staring across the lobby at Dom, who looked ready to commit murder.

  Damn, again.

  Heidi touched Dom's arm. "Dom, honey, please? Dr. Epping is waiting for us. We can discuss all this later."

  Dom nodded, then his eyes flicked down to Heidi, and narrowed. "You don't seem very surprised about seeing your sister with my brother, Heidi," he said.

  Heidi flushed and stammered, and Hillary mentally rolled her eyes. Could Heidi possibly look any guiltier?

  "Dom, I, um… Well, I had suspicions…"

  Dom raised an eyebrow and looked at Heidi with a kind of reined-in anger that reminded Hillary of Matteo.

  "We'll discuss this later, Heidi," he told her, and Heidi nodded meekly. Hillary shivered in sympathy. Heidi would be getting punished.

  Matteo put his hand on Hillary's back and led her toward the dining room.

  "And you and I will have a discussion later, too, Matteo," Dom said in a low voice, as they came close.

  Matteo raised his chin. "You wanna talk, we'll talk, Dom. But I'm telling you now, it's not going to change anything."

  Dom inhaled sharply. "You promised me…"

  Matteo nodded. "I did. And I shouldn't have. I knew even then that this was different, that Hillary was different."

  Dom narrowed his eyes skeptically and opened his mouth to retort, but Tony came up behind them looking haggard and tired.

  "Guys, I think the minister's waiting," he told them firmly, stepping between them. "It's your fucking wedding rehearsal, Dom!" he said with uncharacteristic aggression, when it seemed like Dom would speak.

  Dom inhaled sharply and looked away from Matteo. "Ready, baby?" he asked Heidi.

  Heidi nodded. "So ready," she told him.

  And together they made their way toward the minister, where he waited under the flower-draped arch on the far side of the room.

  The rehearsal passed quickly and uneventfully, after its disastrous start. Dom and Heidi, flanked by Matteo and Hillary, walked through their entrances and exits. Heidi's happiness and excitement were palpable, and seemed to diffuse some of Dom's anger… though not all of it. At one point, Hillary noticed Dom looking at Matteo stonily as Matteo took Hillary's arm to lead her up the aisle.

  "Maybe if I talked to him?" Hillary offered Matteo in a whisper. "I appreciate that he's being all protective and brotherly. But maybe if I explained that he doesn't need to be?"

  Matteo shook his head firmly. "Nah. Dom knows that. Or if he doesn't, he'll figure it out. Don't worry, baby. It's gonna be fine."

  Hillary wasn't so sure, but she nodded. She trusted that Matteo would find a way to make it so.

  Immediately after the rehearsal, Tony ushered everyone into the function room off the dining room, where a single long table had been set up. She was seated near her mother and Matteo on one end of the table, while Dom, Heidi, and her father were at the other end, and Paul, John, Tony, and Tess, who had been dragged from the ladies' room and cajoled into attending, formed a buffer in the middle.

  John and Paul were as charming as she'd ever seen them, and her parents were, thank God, on their best behavior, but the tension around the table was still thick. Tess ate nothing and barely spoke, Tony was watchful, Matteo's quick humor was missing, Dom was even quieter than usual, and Hillary's sore backside had been aching since the moment she sat down. Finally, as the wait staff cleared away the plates of chicken picatta and prepared to serve dessert, Tony stood up and cleared his throat.

  "So, um… Usually the best man or the father of the bride is supposed to give a toast at the rehearsal dinner," he said, glancing around at all of them. "But hopefully Matt and Charles don't mind if I butt in first?"

  Matteo shook his head, and so did Hillary's father.

  Tony nodded and cleared his throat again.

  "I'm sitting here thinking about family—both the family we're born into," he looked at Dom and Matt, "and the family we choose," he said, nodding at Paul and John and Tess. "You all know that Dom and Matt and I come from this big Italian family. You've met most of them and Lord knows you'll meet all of them tomorrow…"

  "God help us all," Matteo muttered, and everyone, including Tony, chuckled.

  "Exactly. But it just kind of occurred to me that there are some people missing from our table tonight. Some people who should be here, but can't be. Our mom. Our dad. Our Nana Angelico."

  The table fell silent, everyone staring at Tony.

  "My mom would've loved you, Heidi," he told her, his voice ringing with emotion. "She would've loved your big heart, your generosity, your strength, and the way you work hard to take care of everyone you love. My Nana, well… she would've loved the way you love Dom. The way he loves you."

  Heidi smiled and bit her lip.

  "And it sucks that you'll never get to know her. So I, um… thought I'd tell you guys a story."

  He cleared his throat once more.

  "There's this legend in our family," he began. "That our Nana Angelico used to
be known as a witch."

  Dom snorted and Hillary saw Matteo roll his eyes.

  Tony chuckled. "Right, well, she wasn't really a witch, obviously, but she was a hell of an entrepreneur. Back when she was a young widow in Italy, raising my dad and all his sisters, she made a living for their family by casting 'love spells' for all the girls in the village."

  "No. Way!" Hillary said. She looked at Matt for confirmation, and he nodded reluctantly. How cool was that?

  Tony laughed again.

  "Seriously. At first, young girls would come to her saying, 'I can't get this guy to like me,' and she'd give the girl advice, help her find true love. And she got so good at it, that people would come from other villages—not just teenage girls coming for advice, but their parents coming, ready to pay big bucks to get their girls a good husband."

  "And it worked?" Heidi asked incredulously.

  Tony smiled. "Every time. She was famous for being a matchmaker."

  "So, what happened?" Hillary's dad asked. "You said she used to be known as a witch."

  Tony nodded. "One day, after my dad was grown and his sisters were all married off—to loving, eligible men, of course—this girl and her parents came to visit my Nana. Now, most of Nana's business had dried up by this time. We're talking 1970-something, right? Girls were thinking of college or careers in the city, not getting married to some guy from the next village. But this girl's parents were extremely wealthy. And their only daughter, Teresa, who was just nineteen, was known far and wide for her beauty. They were already inundated with offers from various guys. But they didn't want a good match for her. They wanted an excellent match. They wanted a perfect match. And they had a really good idea of what that would entail, of course. Someone rich, of course. Someone good looking…"

  "Don't wanna take a chance on ugly grandkids," John said, and everyone snickered.

  "Right! And you know, as a secondary consideration, maybe someone with more brains than a potato who wasn't a serial killer," Tony continued.

  Hillary's mother gasped in outrage. "That poor girl!"

  Tony nodded. "That's what my Nana thought. And the more she talked with the girl, the more sympathetic she became. The girl didn't want a rich man, or a distinguished man, she wanted a loving man. Someone she could trust."