Fire and Ice
Page 13
Without any thought as to how she would look, Tanya dropped to her knees beside the bed, her head bent. “I was scared and made a stupid decision, but I realized running away wasn’t the answer and came back.”
“I see.”
His curt answer angered her. She lifted her head to stare at him. “No, I don’t think you do. I’m not perfect. I made a mistake. But I’m trying to rectify it.”
He sat up and crossed his arms. “So what was the mistake, agreeing to be my submissive in the first place?”
“No, that was the best decision I made.” She sighed heavily. “I thought I could agree to be your submissive for one week, and when that time was over, we could go back to the way things were before.”
He shrugged. “Well, the week is over, and you left. You did just what you said you would do. So what made you decide to return?”
“Running away without talking to you was my mistake. This week has been…the most intense experience of my life.”
“Congratulations. You got a great experience.” The words were cold, but she could practically see his anger simmering just under the surface.
“I want more than that.” She gave in to an impulse and stood, then grabbed the collar off the bedside table. Then she joined him on the bed. “I want to remain your submissive, if you’ll have me.” She handed him the collar then, her hand shaking, and waited for his answer.
He sat there for a silent moment, transferring the collar from hand to hand. “This collar was given to you to mark my possession of you for our week together. We used this collar in play.” He shook his head. “I won’t give it back to you now.”
As his words sank in, Tanya could feel her body shaking. This was the end.
He doesn’t want me.
Tanya wondered if the taxi driver would even come back after she’d sent him away once already. She stumbled to her feet but was immediately brought to a halt.
“Stop. Sit back down and don’t move.” She had no reason to listen to him. He’d just told her he no longer wanted her to be his submissive. But she sat back down on the bed just as he ordered.
“What do you want from me?” She could feel tears pricking at her eyelids. The one thing she didn’t want to do was to break down in front of him.
“I want you to listen to me for a minute.” He took her hands in his, and even though she fought against it, she looked deep into his eyes. “When I asked you to be my submissive, it was for one week, but I wanted more. Much more. I’ve known since Christmas you were my other half, I just needed this week to convince you. When you left, I thought I had failed in my quest.”
Her emotions were in turmoil. When he refused to return her collar, she’d been devastated. Now she was soaring, and she still found it difficult to believe it was true. “You never said anything, and when I woke up this morning and realized the week was over…” She trailed off.
“I told you I wanted to be the man to prove you wrong.” He rubbed his thumb over her cheek, wiping away a tear she didn’t even know had escaped. “I planned to talk to you last night, to explain I wanted forever with you, but we both fell asleep.”
If he wanted her forever, his earlier actions didn’t make any sense. “Then why—” She gestured to the collar.
“I have something else for you, if you are interested.” She opened her mouth to immediately give her agreement, but once again he stopped her. “No, wait, I want you to know what you’re getting into. If you truly agree to be my submissive, then I would want you with me, move in here permanently.”
“Would I ever have a say in anything?”
“Yes, I’m not completely unreasonable, you know. I understand that living this way in real life requires compromise and discussion. On the other hand, when it comes to the playroom, since we’ve already discussed your limits, it’s my rules, my way. Is that something you can live with?”
“Yes, Sir.”
He growled and pushed her down on the bed, rolling her underneath him. She could feel the length of his erection pressing against her, even through her clothing. “You know how to make me wild, don’t you, my sweet little submissive?”
“It just felt right. I…had to say it.”
“Damn right. In fact, I think it’s a new rule. Anytime we’re alone, you need to call me Sir.”
A little smile graced her lips. “Yes, Sir.”
He pinned her hands to the bed and lowered his head to capture her lips in a kiss. His tongue thrust into her mouth again and again as he kissed her hard and deep. Just when she was losing all thought, he released her. “You are a distraction.”
“Sorry, Sir.”
His eyes flared, but he didn’t say anything. Instead he rolled off her and leaned over to open the bedside table on the opposite side of the bed. He pulled out a medium-sized square box. Sitting up, he pulled her into a seated position as well and handed her the box. “Open it.”
When she removed the lid, she revealed a gold and platinum bracelet. He pulled out the bracelet and opened it with what looked like a small screwdriver-type key. “If you accept this, it will be the permanent mark of my ownership of you. You will wear it always, because I’ll keep the key. Do you accept this?”
“Yes, Sir. I accept you as my master and I want your mark of ownership forever.”
He clasped the bracelet around her wrist and then closed it. At the sound of the metal locking into place, Tanya lost the thin thread holding her emotions. Tears started to run down her cheeks as she stared at the bracelet. She was his, for always. In some ways it didn’t make any sense, but she suddenly felt free.
“Hey now, what are these for?” He wiped the tears from her face.
“I’m sorry; I’m just emotional. I can’t even explain how much this means to me.”
“Just so you know, this means a lot to me as well. When you walked out of here this morning, I had to fight back my urge to come after you. Thank God you came back.”
Confusion furrowed her brow. “Wait a minute. You knew I was leaving?”
“I knew as soon as you left the bed. But I allowed you to make your own decisions.”
“What if I hadn’t come back?”
He took a deep breath. “I’d like to say I would have just let you go. But honestly, I would have probably showed up at your house in a couple of hours and hauled your ass back here.”
“So we would have had the same outcome?”
“Oh no. You would have spent a few days in the playroom being punished for your bad decision.”
She chuckled. “I don’t know if I should be happy or sad about that.”
“Don’t worry, we’ll have plenty of time in the playroom that hopefully won’t involve punishment.”
“And will I be able to wear my collar?” Even with her bracelet, she still desired the black leather collar around her neck.
“Oh yes, my sweet submissive, you will have your collar.”
“Then it’s all good.” Tanya had never wanted to admit to her submission, but now that she had, and wore the mark of Victor’s ownership, she finally felt as if she was where she belonged.
THE END
Liz Andrews
Liz Andrews is a critically acclaimed, multi-published author who enjoys writing erotic romance almost as much as she enjoys reading it. A romantic at heart, Liz is a fierce believer in happily ever after and heroes who make the heart swoon. When not writing, the Ohio native enjoys reading, going to the movies and hosting dinner parties for her friends.
She can be reached at her website, http://www.lizandrews.net, or you can email her directly at msliz@lizandrews.net. See what’s happening with Liz by checking out her newsletter, http://www.lizandrews.net/newsletter/current.htm.
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