by Thianna D
“She’s fucking gorgeous,” Kendrick said and her eyes flew to him in surprise. “Beautiful. Sweet. Lovely. And submissive as hell. What did you say to her?”
She gaped at him and her eyes widened as if she finally understood. “She’s your sub?” she squeaked.
“If you haven’t fucked things up,” he said and stepped around Craig. “You are going to tell me right now what you said to her. Or you won’t get another chance. Craig, if she doesn’t open her mouth, she’s all yours.” Craig leaned forward and something in his movement must have finally convinced Denise she should talk.
“I don’t remember. I was getting ready for you to get here and then there was this sub all dolled up, obviously hoping she would have a chance with you,” she said nervously as she wrapped her arms around herself. “And I needed to get her to back off. So I told her I was your sub, had been for years, and that I wasn’t supposed to get here until August but was able to get away early.” She glanced at him and then away. “She left after I took the food to the table. And that’s all that happened. I swear.”
And because he hadn’t told Becca he loved her and that he wanted her to stay, she’d had no reason to believe in him. Their contract was up August first and given Denise’s words, she would have taken them as the truth. Fuck. “Is there anything else you need to tell us?” he asked through clenched teeth. “Anyone else you’ve talked to?”
She shook her head.
“Craig, she’s all yours.”
“Wait,” she screeched but Craig took a firm hold on her arm and marched her out of the cabin. Alice followed them.
For a long moment there was complete silence in the room.
“Becca must have been devastated,” Ryan said quietly. “She looked like someone died.”
More pain filled Kendrick’s chest. It was a good thing Craig would take care of Denise’s punishment and get her off the island. She’d caused his girl pain and that infuriated him. But he also knew that he was partially at fault for not talking to her sooner. “I’m going to Seattle tomorrow,” Kendrick said. “I’d go tonight but there’s no boat. Maybe it will give her a little time to calm down so she’ll listen to me.” And once she’d heard him out, he could only hope she’d understand… and that she would be willing to trust him again and come home where she belonged.
Chapter Twenty-One
“I’ll be fine,” she said in a dull voice as Master Rob sat beside her on her sofa. She’d stayed at his house the night before. He’d insisted upon it and kept her close. As mostly what she’d done was cry, sniffle, and feel bad, she couldn’t have been good company, but he didn’t show any sign of wanting to be rid of her. In fact, she’d insisted on coming home this morning.
“Rebecca,” he said in a slightly scolding voice. “Don’t lie to me, but mostly don’t lie to yourself. You love him. And that’s going to take time to get over, especially since it seems he kept a few things from you.”
With a sigh she nodded and leaned against him. “Part of me doesn’t want to believe it all happened. I’m usually pretty good at spotting lies. Something at least pings in the back of my head so once a lie is revealed I can look back and it makes sense. But he never said anything that made me think he had a sub already.” And it hurt that that blonde was his type. Becca never would have pegged the sub as someone Kendrick would go for. There was something so… fake about her. Or maybe Becca was searching for ways to hate her when the only real reason was that she had Kendrick and Becca didn’t.
“You’ll be fine,” he assured her, pressing a kiss to the top of her head. “I’m going to give you three days to work through your thoughts. Then you’ll start getting out.”
She groaned. “I’ve got to find a one month position to get me through July.” Nobody would hire her for the kind of money Elan Isle was paying for only a month.
“You’ll do it,” he said, as if there was no doubt in his mind of that fact. “In the meantime, you’ll attend my dinner party Sunday evening. We could use another serving dish and you set a table beautifully. Be there at four so they can prepare you.”
There was no question, just a quiet command, and while she wanted to argue, she didn’t. “Yes, Master Rob.” They would never be a couple, but she knew he cared for her, just like he cared for all of his past subs.
“Good girl. Now I suggest you get some sleep, imbibe in that rich chocolate drink you love, and curl up with a good book. If you need me, call.”
“Yes, Master Rob.”
He pulled her into a tight hug that she returned. His hugs always helped, but in this case, it only covered the pain in a warm blanket. The moment he released her, the blanket was taken away and she was left with the ache.
Once he left, she made herself a cup of European Hot Chocolate and curled up on her couch under a fluffy blanket. She drifted in and out of sleep, but was awakened abruptly by someone banging on her front door. Becca blinked at it in confusion. Who would knock on her door? Cassidy would but she was on Elan Isle. Unless she left.
Becca kicked off the blanket and went to the door. She pulled it open and wanted to slam it again. Kendrick stood on the other side, his blue eyes almost completely gray with deep emotion and a hard expression on his face. “May I come in?” he asked.
Why would he come all the way to Seattle to inform her of what she already knew? There was only one way to find out. “Okay.” She walked back to the sofa and curled up into the blanket while he stepped inside and shut the door behind him.
Chapter Twenty-Two
Becca looked like hell. Her eyes were bloodshot and her nose was a bright red. Denise should pay for that as well, but first off, he was partially at fault for the circumstances and second, she’d paid dearly all night long. Craig had ended up cuffing her to a chain in the dungeon so that she had to stand on the balls of her feet. Then he’d invited all Doms and subs on the island to watch if they wanted to. Denise loved sensation play but she hated anything that approached pain. So he didn’t need to resort to anything drastic.
From what Kendrick heard, Craig used canes and an extremely stingy flogger off and on for several hours until she was a sweat-soaked ball of crying brat with no marks on her at all. Added to it, Craig had taken several revealing photos that he would release online if she so much as said anything against the contract she’d signed. It wasn’t something Kendrick would have done, but then he wasn’t a sadist. It was one of the reasons he gratefully left discipline in Craig’s hands. From the sound of it, Denise would not be returning any century soon.
But now he had a sub to console and talk to. “Becca,” he said as he crossed the small living room and sat on the sofa as close as he could get. She was backed up to the arm and had her legs between them. He wouldn’t move closer until she gave him the okay. She’d removed her collar and he would never cross that particular line. “It took several hours to unravel what happened last night. I would like to hear how things went down from your side, but first let me tell you mine.”
She kept her eyes on the blanket and he pushed on.
“Denise O’Holloran is a sub I played with five years ago. We played once. And only once.” She glanced up in surprise. “She was never my sub, Becca. In fact, she’s not even a sub. She likes to play at the lifestyle and loves sensation play, but she became fixated on me after we played and is one of those types of people that figures if she wants something, she should have it. Yesterday.” Her attention stayed on him, so he plunged forward, hoping he wouldn’t mess it up. “Part of the whole misunderstanding is mine. We had our contract set so that it expired when you went back to work in Seattle. I had something very important to talk to you about yesterday.” He gave a self-deprecating laugh. “If I’d only told you before you ran into Denise, you never would have believed her. But I wanted to tell you in the right way. So I was waiting for the perfect time. Turns out, there is no such thing.”
She leaned forward slightly. “She’s not your sub?”
“No. Denise has never bee
n my sub, Becca. I promise.”
No relief colored her face as she pulled the blanket around her. “What did you want to tell me?”
There it was. The information he was a chicken shit about. Grow some balls, Finleigh. “Becca, the relationship we’ve built over the five weeks we’ve been together has been unlike any one I’ve ever had. It didn’t take long before I knew I felt more for you than I had for any girl before. But it wasn’t until our scene that one day in the woods that I realized I was in love with you.” Becca gasped and her sad eyes filled with tears. “I should have told you then. But I’ve never been in love, Becca. Ever. It sounds crazy but I didn’t know how to say it. Those three little words are packed with a whole lot of meaning.”
She swallowed and plucked at the blanket. “What do they mean to you?”
The air was filled with what felt like hope, so he took the chance and lifted her onto his lap. She didn’t curl into him, but she didn’t stiffen up and pull away either. “They mean that I want to go to bed with you at night and wake up next to you in the morning. I want you to live on Elan Isle as my girl and my sub. They mean I have no fucking clue what’s going to happen in the future, but for now I want to share my life with you.” He took a deep breath and lifted her chin so that she looked him in the eye. “I love you, Rebecca Hesse. And if you give me the chance, I’d love to take you home.”
A sound that could have either been a sob or a shout left Becca’s lips and she wrapped her arms around him and kissed him. Relieved, he kissed her back, holding her close as he nibbled along her delectable lips. When she opened them to give him further access, though, he pulled back. She drew away, obviously confused. “Becca, I need to know how things went from your side. We need to get the air clear so we can move on. Yes?”
She trembled but nodded. “First off,” she said in a soft voice. “I love you, too.” Joy replaced the former ache in his chest and he wanted nothing more than to lay her out on the floor and make love to her. But he waited. “I realized it about the same time you did, but know a lot of Doms don’t like it when a sub falls in love with them. So I didn’t say anything.” She placed her fingers on his shirt and drew little designs with her fingers. “I think my doubts were clouding my mind. I kept thinking I should let you know, but then worried if I did that you would push me away. And I thought if I only had until August with you that I could at least have that.”
He pulled her close, needing to offer her comfort, and this time, she curled up to him and tucked her head under his chin. The previous day unfolded from her point of view and as he listened, he wanted to smack himself. Shit. He’d acted like an utter fool around her. More of the blame for the problem settled at his feet. Craig was going to lord it over him once he found out. He loved being right.
“I’m going to have to have a word with Rob,” he said after she finished. “He never should have removed you from the island.”
“He was just trying to help me,” she said quickly. “And I thought you had another sub.”
“Yes, but he has enough experience he should have at least wanted to ball me out. If that had happened, you wouldn’t have spent the night crying your eyes out and I wouldn’t have spent a sleepless night waiting to come after you.”
She pulled back slightly. “I’m sorry?”
He shook his head in amusement and nuzzled against her nose. “I know there were extenuating circumstances, and I screwed up. But you didn’t give me a chance to explain.”
“I know.” She sat back a little. “I think it was the shock of it. When I first saw her, I ran off and got my head on straight enough to face you. But then I ran into her in your cabin and all the things I thought went straight out the door.” Becca looked him in the eyes again. “I’m sorry, Kendrick. I think we both have a lot to learn about relationships.”
That was true enough. He settled back into her sofa and considered the matter. “Since we both fucked up, it wouldn’t be fair of me to punish you. However, how do you feel about it?”
A small frown made the spot between her eyebrows wrinkle. He’d never noticed that before. It was cute. “Yes, you made a mistake, but your mistake was in waiting to tell me. My mistake was bigger,” she said, her voice growing firmer. Her eyes rose to meet his again. “I’m sure the whole island knows by now.”
“No doubt. Considering they were all invited to watch Craig punish Denise for her part in all this.”
Her eyes widened. “You know, the thought of Craig and punishment in the same sentence is scary.”
He laughed. “I’ve already decided he’s in charge of discipline. He scares subs and Doms alike.”
The corners of her lips twitched and she pulled away. She stood up and slid gracefully to her knees in front of him. Damn she was beautiful. Becca looked up at him and gave him a soft smile. “I want there to be no doubt in anyone’s mind that I’m your girl. I…” She took a deep breath and let it out. “I want you to show everyone that I’m yours. Whether that’s through public discipline or something else, I’m leaving that up to you. Because while I might have had some doubts due to the Denise-debacle, I don’t doubt you, Kendrick. I trust you.”
Pride filled him and he took her hands in his. “Becca, if you come back as my sub, it’s not just until August first.”
“I know.”
He needed to be sure she understood. “You’ll be staying on the island year round, which means you’ll have to give up your job.”
Her smile widened, reaching her eyes. “I know.”
Hope filled his chest but he had to push further, make sure she knew exactly what he meant. He reached forward, threaded his fingers into her soft hair, and looked into her gorgeous eyes. “Full time, day in, day out, you’ll be my girl, my sub, my lover. Can you live with that?”
A beautiful soft laugh left her lips. “Yes.”
That was all he needed to know and he pulled her up and into his arms. Kissing her senseless was the first order of business. Then they would have to clear her apartment. He wasn’t going to allow her out of his sight for a long time.
Chapter Twenty-Three
It was a good thing that Becca wasn’t a things person. She had very little to pack up and by early evening, she had given notice to her apartment and the school system and all of her things were packed up and in the back of his truck. One word to Master Rob and he called people he knew. Her furniture, which she would have had to dump, was picked up and the apartment was one big empty by the time she locked the door and turned in the key.
Kendrick held her hand in the drive around the peninsula to his garage space near Sequim. It felt a bit surreal. It was less than two months ago that she had brought with her the bare minimum to work at a kinky fair and now she was moving to the island to live in a 24/7 D/s relationship.
“I’ve ordered you a few outfits,” Kendrick said as they packed her boxes into the boat that would carry them to the island.
“Oh?” She liked his taste in kinky clothes. They were always unique, fun, and showed off her assets.
“Yes. Originally, the thought was I would be called The Master at Arms, but that just wasn’t me. Alice decided that at least for this summer, I’ll be the Pirate Lord. And I’ve agreed.”
Becca smiled, her heart beating a little faster at the image that came to mind. “I can see it. Tight pants, thigh high boots, a loose white shirt. You’ll look like the pirate king in Pirates of Penzance.”
“I’m hoping that’s a good thing,” he said when they loaded the last box.
“Oh, it’s a very good thing,” she assured him, picturing his muscled body in exactly that outfit. The subs would go crazy.
“Good. Because you’ll be wearing a naughty wench costume that will leave your legs bare and most of your chest exposed.” He shot her a grin. “And there will be openings everywhere I might want entrance.”
Her body zinged with desire and she nodded. “Sounds good, Sir.”
He kissed her. “Good. Now let’s go home.”
They took seats and waited for the boat to back up. She leaned against him. “So who will Neil, Craig, and Alice be?”
Kendrick chuckled. “Alice will be Queen Alice. She’s looking forward to lording it over her subjects. Neil’s taken the Master at Arms title and Craig will be Discipline Master.”
“What about Joseph?” He was a sub, but he was also a full partner in their venture.
“Oh Joseph has had some fun as well. He’s Her Highness’s Jester, which means he gets to play things up a bit. They both look forward to the results of that.”
She snickered. “I love that they’ve been together for so long and can still have fun.”
He pressed a kiss to her mouth. “It’s all about trying new things and mixing things up, Becca. And we’ve got two people who we can look to if we ever feel things are getting boring.”
“Not just them,” she said dryly. “All we have to do is look at the Faire and we can come up with something.”
Chapter Twenty-Four
The sun was going down by the time they exited the boat. Kendrick could tell that Becca was a little uncomfortable by the crowd the rushed toward them. But he understood that until they scened in front of everyone, she would not feel settled.
“Welcome back,” Alice said and gave Becca a hug. Then, in true Alice fashion, she picked up one of the boxes and walked away without pressing for more information. She always seemed to know when not to get involved. The rest of the intrepid crew who had come with her picked up boxes, welcomed Becca back, and then took her stuff away.
“To my cabin,” he shouted after them.
“That was a given,” Craig shouted back.
Yes. His friend was going to crow over the fact he was right for ages. Bastard. Kendrick grinned.
The cabin was much as he left it, though any signs Denise had been there were removed. Becca stood off to the side in the living room and her discomfort was tangible. Once all the boxes were delivered, Kendrick cleared his throat. “Meet us at the dungeon.”
