“Did they find Tideway?” I asked.
“Better. James just got a call from a friend at the precinct. Chicago PD picked up Davis Walker at his house about forty-five minutes ago.”
A huge smile spread over my lips as relief flooded my veins. “We can go home now.”
Joshua shook his head. “Not until they pick up Tideway, baby.”
“James will fill you in when you get downstairs,” Ian promised, then rushed back out.
“I would love to be in the room when they interrogate him.” A flash of retribution zipped through my veins as Joshua eased off me and stood. Rolling out of bed behind him, we quickly re-dressed.
“I’d rather have a two-by-four and five minutes alone with the prick,” he sneered.
Back downstairs, Sanna wore a knowing grin. I gave her a wink and blew her a kiss as Joshua sat down on the couch and pulled me into his lap. James sat across from us in one of the big leather chairs talking on his cell phone as we silently listened to the one-sided conversation.
“Did he have a burner phone on him? Well, shit. That’s not the news I wanted to hear.” With a disgruntled expression, James shook his head. “Let me know if he gives up any info about Tideway.”
Joshua combed his fingers through my hair in a calming touch as James ended his call and sighed.
“Walker’s attorney showed up demanding the captain charge Davis with something or let him go. He cooperated fully while our guys checked his alibi. Several people corroborate that Davis had in fact been in China on business for the past two weeks. So, my captain had to let him go. Davis handed over his cell phone and wasn’t a damn thing on it… no messages of any kind to Mellie, even in his deleted files. Of course he could have wiped them off, but right now the mother fucker has an iron-clad alibi.”
“Dammit,” I whispered as I scrubbed my fingertips on my forehead. “Did they ask him about Tideway?”
“Yep, and Davis claims he’s never heard of the guy. My buddy Tommy, who I was just on the phone with, shares an apartment with one of the detectives. They’re looking under every rock and sewer lid for anything that ties Davis to Tideway, but they haven’t found a damn thing yet.” James exhaled a heavy sigh. “I really thought this house of cards would fold once they brought in Walker, but I was wrong. I’m sorry, Mellie.”
“It’s not your fault. I appreciate everything that you’re doing, James. I really do.” With a weary sigh, I painted on a smile. “Well, I guess we’ll be staying here for a little bit longer then. Anyone up for a game of ‘go fish’?”
Turning his head, James scowled at Drake. “Speaking of fish, where’s my food?”
“You’re lucky I like you. It’s in the oven, asswipe,” Drake chuckled.
‘Yes,” James hissed, gave a fist pump in the air before racing off toward the kitchen. He quickly returned with a heaping plate of food and devoured it in minutes flat. Patting his belly, he grinned. “Dylan and Nick, you two need to open a damn restaurant. I’d be your best customer… as in nightly.”
“I agree.” I nodded with a grin. “Of course, anyone that cooks for me is a god in my book.”
“No, the hours are too long. Besides, we’d rather spend our time cooking up ways to heat Savannah up.” Nick let out a low, raspy chuckle.
“Can’t argue that reason,” James agreed. “Speaking of bed, I need to get my stuff out of the car.”
“I’ll go with you,” Ian offered, grabbing his gun before following James.
Pulling the sturdy wooden door open, James lunged back. “What the fuck?”
My heart skipped a beat as I tried to peer between their muscular bodies, worried that another dead rabbit was hanging on the porch.
Pushing past him, Ian stuck his head outside peering to the left first, then to the right. Fear lined his face. “Son of a bitch,” he spat, reaching for his phone.
“What’s going on?” Dylan demanded, racing toward the door.
“Fire. The whole fucking woods are on fire and I think it’s moving this way,” James relayed.
Joshua set me on the floor, stood and gripped my hand as we all clustered around the portal. The night sky was filled in a smoky haze. A flickering red and orange glow crept toward us on the horizon in a slithering, fiery snake of destruction. Surrounded on all three sides, I prayed the fire wasn’t edging in on us from the back of lodge as well. The distant crackle of dry, dead timber being consumed sent a chill up my spine. Red twinkling embers whipped through the air, landing in the nearby trees, and on the fringes of the manicured lawn.
James pushed us back and slammed the door as Ian frantically alerted the fire officials. Joshua slid his arm around my waist as we numbly stared at one another, unsure of what we needed to do.
Shoving his phone into his pocket, Ian studied us with a worried expression. “We’re pretty remote out here, so it’s going to take the volunteer fire department a while to get to us. We should start saturating the ground around the place with the garden hoses…make a fire line as best we can until they get here. Hell, we might even have to evacuate. I just don’t know yet.”
“We need to think about this for a minute. The fire may have been set on purpose to flush us out of the house and into the open. We might be playing into Tideway’s hands if he’s behind this.” Joshua voiced the same worries that were rolling around in my own head—and likely the others, too.
“I’d say there’s a real good chance of that. Dylan and I did some recon over the past couple days. We didn’t come across any campers, and it hasn’t rained in a week up here, so we know lightning didn’t start it.” Ian’s suspicious tone made me tremble.
Slinging his rifle over his shoulder, Dylan stomped across the room, stopping at the bottom of the stairs. Turning, he pinned Sanna with a stern look. “Stay glued to Nick, kitten.” Then with a tortured expression he stared at Nick. “Keep her safe, bro. I’m going up on the roof to see if I can get a bead on anyone with my scope. I’ll be back in a few.”
“With my life, man,” Nick vowed. “Keep the target off your back. Got it?”
Dylan gave a solemn nod.
“I’ll go with you. Two eyes are better than one,” James announced. Nodding at the rifle in Drake’s hand, he grinned. “Mind if I borrow that?”
“Help yourself. I’ll get another, there’s plenty more,” the big Dom assured himas he handed James his gun.
“I’m going with you two. I want to see how close this goddamn fire is,” Ian stated. “You all sit tight. I’ll be back in a few. I need to figure out if we’re going to chance going outside or not.”
As the three men raced up the stairs, Drake ambled over to a pile of duffle bags heaped in the corner. Nick and Joshua led Sanna and me back to the couch, both eyeing their handguns poised on the coffee table and at the ready. Drake retrieved another big rifle and began to pace. I reached out, gripping Sanna’s hand in mine.
“We’re going to be fine,” I said with a tight smile, uncertain who I was trying to convince, her or me.
“I know,” she replied with a resolute nod, but I could still see her fear.
The others had been on the roof for only a few short minutes, but it seemed like hours. Joshua did his best to calm my riotous nerves, massaging the back of my neck, but I couldn’t keep my mind from looping with worst-case scenarios. Was someone actually lurking outside waiting for us to abandon our sanctuary so they could pick us off, one by one? Or was our only physical threat the raging fire crawling in around us?
Not knowing what we were truly up against was nerve racking, and the palpable vibe emanating off the four of us seated on the couch told me I wasn’t alone. Drake’s incessant pacing, pausing now and then to peer up the staircase, wasn’t helping either. I wanted to scream for the burly Dom to sit the hell down, but there was enough tension in the room, I didn’t need to add any fuel to the proverbial fire.
Suddenly the entire lodge shook with a deafening boom. Sanna and I screamed, clutching our arms around each other in terror. Leaping to their feet, Nick and Joshua snatched up their guns. Eyes wild, they swiveled their heads back and forth searching for signs of danger inside the room. The sound of breaking glass from somewhere on the second floor, filtered down the staircase, only to be drowned out by thunderous footsteps echoing from the roof overhead.
“What the fuck?” Drake barked.
We could hear the men above us shouting, but couldn’t make out what they were saying.
“What was that?” Sanna gasped.
“It sounded like an explosion,” Joshua replied.
A gunshot rang out, followed by yet another, and a muffled cry of terror peeled from my throat. Sanna squeezed me tighter as more shouts and heavy footfalls reverberated through the lodge. A cacophony of chaos had erupted above us.
Joshua knelt down in front of me, fear dancing in his gorgeous eyes. “Don’t get split up from me. Don’t leave my sight. Understood?”
“I won’t, I promise,” I swore as fear surged through my veins. “Joshua, I’m scared.”
“Don’t be.” He shook his head. “I’ll keep you safe. If I have to fight the devil himself, I will, because I’m not going to lose another woman I love.”
“You… you love me?” I whispered.
Flashing me that incredible heart-melting smile of his, Joshua grunted. “You bet your sexy little ass I do.”
My heart fiercely galloped in a combination of bliss and fear. Dazed by his admission, I remembered what my little voice had told me: “You’ve searched for him your whole life… Deep down you knew that you’d never be whole until you found that perfect person.”
Releasing Sanna, I wrapped my arms around Joshua’s neck and kissed him, pouring the depths of my heart and soul into it. As I pulled away, the three words I’d never spoken to a man, besides my father, sat poised on the tip of my tongue.
Ian came bounding into the room, his eyes wide and his expression grim. Skidding to a halt on the polished wooden floor at the base of the stairs, he sucked in a quick breath. “Somebody just blew up Mellie’s car.”
“That was my car?” I screeched.
“Yeah,” Ian nodded hastily. “But Dylan clipped the guy good as he ran back into the trees. Come on. Grab some flashlights out of the bags. We need to track him down. Hopefully all we’ll find is a fucking dead body.”
Drake, Nick and Joshua nodded before Ian glanced at Sanna and me. “You two run upstairs and start packing up. The fire’s getting too close for comfort. Throw what you can in your suitcases and line them up by the door. As soon as we find this fucknut, we’ll be back to start loading them into the cars. Dylan and James are still on the roof. Holler if you need them.”
“Keep the doors locked,” Nick instructed Sanna before he kissed her hard.
“I’ll be right back, little one. You stay safe,” Joshua ordered. For once I didn’t argue.
“You too,” I cautioned. Joshua gave me a quick, forceful kiss then Sanna and I watched them rush out the front door.
Following behind them, I locked the deadbolt and pulled Sanna to my side. “Come on. Let’s get our stuff packed up so we’re all ready to go when they come back.”
“So, do you?” She asked with a cheesy grin.
“Do I what?”
“Love him, too?” She rolled her eyes and shook her head, mocking my question.
I grinned. “Yeah, I do.”
“I knew it. I knew it,” she squealed. “Can I say it now?”
“Say what?” I asked as we walked up the stairs.
“I told you sooooooo,” she giggled.
“Shut up,” I laughed then gave her a quick kiss before we each dashed into our rooms.
Tossing clothes back into our suitcases like a wild woman, I couldn’t help but grin.
“So that means you are moving to Chicago, right?” Sanna called from the other room.
“Looks like it,” I laughed.
“Fuck yeah,” she screamed.
I just laughed. Even though we were probably surrounded by fire and going to have to run for our lives, I knew the guys would find Tideway’s body and this surreal nightmare would be over. Joshua and I could begin a new journey in our lives… together.
I heard a thud, followed by a howl as Sanna let out a curse.
“You okay?” I hollered out, as fear slammed the joy from me.
“Yeah, just stubbed my toe,” she growled.
I sighed with relief and finished filling the suitcases. After packing the last bag, I lifted a box in one arm and gripped a suitcase in my hand before heading down the stairs. Lining them up by the door, as Ian had instructed, I turned, ready to go back up for more when a strange noise from the back door caught my attention. It was a quiet tapping sound. Cautiously, I eased closer toward the door, trying to peer through the small crack in the hurricane shutter, but could only see darkness. There was another tap and I flinched.
“Mel. Mel. Open up,” Sanna whispered in a soft, scared tone.
Gripping the knob, she called to me again.
“Mel. Hurry, open the damn door,” she whispered, her tone more frantic than before.
Leaning in close to the crack I frowned. “Sanna? What the hell are you doing outside? I thought you were upstairs?”
“Shhh,” she instructed. “I climbed out the window, Mel. He’s inside the lodge. Open the door and get out. We’ll hide in the forest until the guys get back.”
With a snap of my head, I shot a terrified glance over my shoulder. How’d he gotten in? I was standing out in the open. Tideway would easily find me and slit my throat on Davis’ behalf if I didn’t get moving. My mind whirled. I needed to stay with Sanna, find a safe place away from the fire and hide.
“Mel,” she hissed. “Hurry.”
Nervously fumbling with the locks, I yanked opened the door but Sanna was gone. My heart thundered in my chest. Had Tideway followed her out the window? Had he discovered her tapping on the door? Oh god, had my questions bought him precious seconds to capture Sanna instead of me?
Seized with a gut-wrenching panic, I raced onto the back porch. Turning to the left, I frantically called for Sanna in a terse whisper. Spinning around, I jumped, then froze as a figure dressed in black raised a gun to my head. Edging back slowly, we both stepped into the light that poured onto the porch from the open kitchen doorway. It was a woman whose hair had been tucked beneath a black ski cap, but instantly, I recognized the face.
Carnation.
“Don’t make a fucking sound, Mel,” she warned with a demented whisper, sounding so much like Sanna, I blinked in surprise. “Lace your hands behind your head and don’t move.”
My whole body vibrated in a petrified quiver. “Why are you doing this? What do you want?”
“I said don’t make a sound, cunt,” she snarled on an evil hiss. “I told you you’d be sorry if I had to hunt you down, didn’t I, bunny?”
Oh my god. All this time… I’d thought it had been Davis, when all along it had been Carnation. She’d slashed Joshua’s tires. She’d probably hired Tideway to smash up my house and plant the cameras and microphones. She’d been the one sending me all the threatening texts. The bitch was certifiably insane, one hundred and ten percent bat-shit crazy, but how did she know about my connection with Davis?
“Surprise,” she giggled as her face scrunched up in a demonic grin. Sliding the barrel of the gun around my temple to the back of my head, she stepped in behind me. “Now shut the fuck up before I blow your brains out right here. Walk to the end of the porch and turn the corner. Don’t even think about running, or I’ll kill you right now.”
My mind swirled with questions. How had she found out about Joshua and me? What could I do to buy myself some time? The barrel of the gun pressed hard against my head, making it impossible for me to focus on anything other than fear.
Had Carnation sent the flowers or had they truly been from Davis? I needed to get that damn gun off the back of my head so I could think. I could stumble and fall, cry out maybe. Glancing up, I inwardly cursed. The fascia covering the porch shielded the two of us from being seen by Dylan and James. Coupled with the darkness, I would be dead long before either man figured out what was going on.
Moving at a snail’s pace, I tried to think of a way to draw attention to the bat-shit bitch without ending up in the morgue. Turning the corner, advancing along the west side of the lodge, she whispered for me to stop as she jabbed the gun against my scalp. Flicking on a tiny flashlight, Carnation shone a faint beam on a set of stairs, leading to a storm shelter or an underground root cellar.
“Go down the steps and get inside. Not a fucking peep, whore,” Carnation hissed in a seething tone.
My head screamed ‘No’, but my body obeyed. Praying that somehow one of the men would catch glimpse of the tiny light, I quickly scanned the horizon. My hope dwindled. I couldn’t see anything but the glow of the encroaching fire. The guys were out there somewhere, blinded within the thick forest of trees. Help wasn’t coming.
Stepping into the musty smelling room with the gun to my head, Carnation eased the door shut behind us. Shining the tiny penlight around the earthen room, she handed me a battery-operated camping lantern and ordered me to turn it on.
As light flooded the room, she ripped off the stocking cap and shook out her long blonde curls while staring at me with a venomous look.
“Down on your knees. You’ve had a lot of practice in that position, now haven’t you?” she chortled with a derisive sneer.
As I crouched down and knelt on the hard dirt floor, Carnation raced in toward me, slamming the gun against the side of my head with a brutal blow. Pain exploded through my brain and I struggled against the swelling blackness devouring my vision. Blinking rapidly, I tried to clear the spots as I attempted to rise back up, but Carnation stomped a heavy boot into the small of my back, pinning me to the dark soil of the floor.
Gripping my wrist, she twisted one arm behind my back. Fight or flight took over and I struggled against her claim, ripping my arm from her grip. She landed another agonizing blow to the back of my head and the darkness won me over.
Slowly rising from the inky veil, I blinked against the bright light. I didn’t know how long I’d been unconscious, but as I tried to move I discovered I was laying on the ground with my hands bound behind my back.
“You’ve caused me a lot of trouble and shit load of money, you know that?” Carnation bitched as she gnashed her teeth on the end of a long white zip tie. I was sure that’s what she’d used to bind my wrists. “Do you have any idea how much it costs to hire a goddamn hit man? I should have let him blow your brains out instead of ordering him to fuck with you for a little while.”
“Why do you want to hurt me?” I murmured. “Who are you?”
“Don’t play dumb with me, you fucking bitch. You know exactly who I am, just like I know who you are,” she sneered. “I was sitting in my car outside the church that day of the stupid wedding. I saw him all over you in the parking lot. And I know you fucked him at the club. I still have a good friend at Genesis. She told me all about the scene Master Kerr made when my Master took pity on you and spanked your pathetic ass. I also know you fucked him that night. I would have thought Master Stephen had better taste, but obviously he’ll fuck any hole. So I had to slash his tires,” she boasted.
She’d been watching Joshua and me… had a spy inside the club watching us, too.
“When I asked my friend to cozy up to Kerr, I found out that my Master Stephen had told him to leave you alone. Poor Master Kerr was dumbfounded and still pissed that Mika asked him to leave that night. Stupid prick. Kerr thought you were playing games with him. That’s when I hatched my plot to get rid of you.” The terrifying gleam in her eyes made my blood turn to ice. “Then when my friend told me she was sad that Kerr was leaving the country on business... well, it made my job that much easier.”
“You could have come to me and told me you still loved him. I would have stepped aside,” I lied.
Carnation snorted with a sarcastic scoff. “As long as you’re alive, he’ll always want you. He doesn’t love you. He’s never loved anyone but me. You know that, right? He loves me, and he always will.”
Agree with her. Play along with her irrational rambling. Buy yourself some time.
“You’re right. Joshua doesn’t love me and I don’t love him. We’re only friends,” I fibbed.
“Who the fuck is Joshua?” she snarled. “I’m talking about Master, my Master… Master Stephen.”
“Oh, right,” I whispered as my head screamed in pain.
“Humph, I must have hit you harder than I thought. Are you trying to pull some psychological mumbo-jumbo on me, whore? It won’t work. A couple dozen shrinks have already tried. I’m not crazy.” She paused and narrowed her eyes. “You think I’m crazy, don’t you? Just like all those other fucking bitch subs at Genesis. They always talked about me behind my back….Always thought they were better than me. But I’ll show them. Master Stephen will take me back and he’ll force that weasel-prick Mika to reinstate my membership. I’ll be back, goddammit. Even if I have to kill them all.”
“In your fucking dreams,” I murmured. Fuzzy and sick to my stomach, I wasn’t sure if I’d actually said the words aloud or simply thought them.
Carnation gripped a fist in my hair and yanked my head back. I cried out in pain as she kicked me in the ribs. I grunted, biting back a howl of agony.
“My dreams are none of your fucking business, whore. Let me tell you something. You’ve spread your legs for my Master for the last time. I’m going to cut your nasty cunt out and shove it down your throat. Now shut the hell up. My fun with you is just getting started,” she cackled in a dry, brittle whisper.
“How did you find us here?” I whispered, hoping I could keep her talking long enough that someone would find me.
She chuckled. “Might as well tell you the truth. You’ll be taking it to the grave, anyway. My Master Stephen used to bring me here sometimes with Ian,” she preened. “I was special enough that he wanted to share me. Show the other less fortunate Doms what a special girl I was. Ian loves me too. Don’t think he doesn’t.”
I wanted to gag. She was beyond delusional. Outside I could hear voices calling my name. Oh thank god. They’re looking for me.
“Fuck,” Carnation hissed. “That didn’t take as long as I’d hoped. Be quiet now, bunny, or I’ll have to slit your throat.”
Snatching a knife off a long wooden workbench, Carnation squatted down near my face.
“How did you like my texts? Pretty convincing, huh?” she snickered. “It was fun and so damn easy. I played you like a damn fiddle. All this time you thought it was your old Master after your ass. God, that’s classic. Sorry, bitch, but Kerr doesn’t want you anymore, and neither do I. Looks like you’re going to have to die, bunny. You’re in my way.”
The more Carnation confessed, the more the pieces began falling into place. She was obsessed with Joshua. And in her twisted, totally fucked-up mind she truly thought he would take her back. I wasn’t about to start arguing with her.
Pulling a blue bandanna out of her pants pocket, she tried to shove the cotton cloth into my mouth. Clenching my jaws, I jerked my head back. A new wave of pain crashed through my brain, but I refused to open my mouth.
Landing a fist to my cheek bone, then another, she cursed me under her breath. White lights exploded behind my eyes. I cried out, but my wail was instantly muffled as she crammed the bandana inside my mouth. Pressing her knee against my lips, she peeled off a strip of duct tape. Where the roll had come from, I didn’t know.
My vision faded in and out and I fought the urge to vomit as she slapped the adhesive over my mouth. I knew I was going to die in the cold, musty room. I just didn’t know when or how. I prayed she wouldn’t make me suffer long, that she’d put a bullet in my head before she beat me to a bloody pulp or began to dismember my body.
Why hadn’t I told Joshua that I loved him when I had the chance? How was he going to survive losing two women that he loved? Would he ever risk his heart again? Tears stung my eyes and made the throbbing in my head expand with a gut-churning spike.
Sanna’s frantic cries for me grew loud. I groaned as I raised my head off the floor and looked toward the door.
“Do you want sissy to come in and play with us?” Carnation asked in a manic whisper.
Grunting, I shook my head no. My brain felt like it was lined with spikes, and my movement sent the barbs piercing inward with an agonizing stab.
“Oh, but I’d like for little Sanna baby to have just as much fun as you are. Wouldn’t you?”
A pitiful moan burned in the back of my throat, and I shook my head more adamantly sending shards of white-hot pain piercing inside my brain.
Long minutes later, I heard Joshua call my name in a tone so rife with panic, it shattered my heart. He called out again. His voice was louder… more demanding. God, I didn’t want to die. Not here. Not now. I’d finally found the man who made me complete. Fate couldn’t be so cruel and take it all away so soon… could it?
“We don’t want him playing with us,” Carnation whispered. “If he knew what I was doing to you, he might not want me back. He can’t find us, because I won’t be able to finish what I started. And I’ve been looking forward to making you suffer for a long, long time.” The sound of her vile, hissed cackle made my skin crawl.
Joshua screamed my name again. He was close, so close it sounded as if he were in the room. I knew Carnation would make me pay, and might very well kill me on the spot, but I had to do something to draw Joshua’s attention.
As the mentally unstable bitch stared pensively at the door, I drew my leg back and kicked her in the shin as hard as I could. She let out a scream that intensified the ringing in my ears. Then as if realizing her mistake, she slapped a hand over her mouth and lunged toward me. My life would be over in a matter of seconds.
The weathered worn door exploded with a deafening crack as Joshua burst into the room, gun drawn and pointed. A look of absolute shock registered on his face when he realized he was aiming his weapon at his former sub. As she raised her gun and started to point it to my head, Joshua fired. Carnation sailed backward with a shriek of pain that crashed through my thundering head.
Loud footsteps running overhead mixed with the cacophony echoing in my ears. Closing my eyes I tried to combat the pain vibrating in my head.
“Down here,” Joshua yelled.
The agony inside my skull grew unbearable. With a whimper, I faded into the darkness.
“Come on, baby, wake up. Please come back to me,” Joshua’s poignant plea coaxed me toward the surface.
Opening my eyes, I tried to blink the blurry fog away. The light from the room felt like daggers, stabbing unmercifully into my skull. Squinting I saw Joshua sitting next to me on the couch, a tiny smile of relief tugged his lips, but his eyes still wore a veil of fear. Leaning over the back of the leather divan, Sanna gazed down at me as tears spilled down her cheeks. Reaching down, she softly caressed her hand over mine. Briefly closing my eyes, I savored her loving touch before realizing something cold and wet lay pressed around my head.
“Did you kill her?” I asked Joshua licking my lips.
“No,” he murmured. His tone was contrite.
I raised a hand toward my throbbing head, but Joshua reached out and tenderly drew it back down. Static buzzed in my ears as commotion and chaos seemed to ripple all around me, making it hard to focus.
Glancing over Joshua’s shoulder, I saw Carnation tied to a kitchen chair in the middle of the room. A silver strip of duct tape covered her mouth. Drake pressed a thick pad of gauze to her blood-stained shoulder as she jerked and thrashed, fighting his attempt to offer first-aid.
A part of me wanted him to let her bleed out, while another part of me felt nothing but pity for the twisted and demented girl. Locking gazes with me, Carnation stopped struggling and shot me a hateful glare. Turning her attention on Joshua, she stared at his back; longing and rejection filled her tormented eyes.
A few feet away, a heavyset man lay face down on the floor, hog-tied and silenced with another strip of tape. White gauze had been wrapped around his thigh. Blood seeped into a bright red circle, marking the spot where Dylan had shot him. Tideway. As if resigned to his fate, he didn’t struggle against his awkward position, but the dark evil flashing in eyes promised retribution.
Anger chiseled Nick’s features. He looked deadly standing guard, gun aimed on the stalker as if ready to blow him away if given half a chance. A shiver raced up my spine.
“Can we go home now?” I asked.
“Soon, baby. Soon,” Sanna cooed.
It seemed that Dylan had appeared out of nowhere. As he crouched next to my head, he set something on the floor and leaned in close to my face. Lifting each of my eyelids, he flashed a small light into my eyes and I winced.
“How’s the head, sweetheart?” he asked in a soft, concerned tone.
“Hurts,” I affirmed. “Can we go home now?”
“Baby, I told you already, soon,” Sanna sniffed and shot Dylan a worried look.
“She’s asked the same question before?” he quizzed my sister, who nodded. “Concussion. Don’t be alarmed if she asks it again, kitten.”
I didn’t remember repeating myself, but my thoughts felt scattered like confetti in the breeze. I could pluck them out, but couldn’t hold onto them.
“This is going to be a little cold, and it might sting. I’m going to put some betadine solution on your head. You’ve got a couple pretty good lacerations there, sweetheart,” Dylan explained as he pulled the cold, wet compress off my head.
Alarmed at the amount of blood saturating the thick squares of gauze, I gasped.
“It’s all right, baby. Head wounds bleed a lot.” Joshua’s soothing words contradicted the tension vibrating from his body. “Dylan is trying to minimize the risk of infection. Let him work on you, okay?”
“Okay.”
Dylan trickled the cold solution over my scalp and I hissed as the liquid stung my open lesions.
The front door opened and James rushed in, followed by two white-shirted paramedics with Ian close behind. Quickly darting a glance at Tideway and Carnation, incapacitated and guarded by two men toting large rifles, the first-aid responders exchanged a nervous glance.
“Check her out first,” Ian instructed as he herded the two men my way. “She’s a victim of the other two.”
“I’m not a victim,” I corrected softly, as Dylan stood and stepped aside. “I’m a survivor.”
Joshua grinned, a true grin that lit up his face and reached his eyes. “That you are, my love. That you are.”
“Can we go home now?” I asked.
“Oh, Mellie,” Sanna moaned. “Do something for her. Fix her. I want my sister back,” she instructed the paramedics as fat tears streamed down her cheeks.
Dylan stepped around the couch, pulling her into his arms as she broke down in pitiful sobs.
“I’m right here, sis. I’m fine,” I confirmed, wondering why she was coming so unhinged. “I got a couple bumps on the head, but I’m fine.”
“You will be, little one,” Joshua assured.
Two more paramedics, several firemen, and a couple of police officers paraded through the front door. Joshua stood up as the men in white slowly helped me sit up. I closed my eyes. There was too much motion in the room, and being in a vertical position made my stomach churn and my head spin.
“Mellie?” Joshua softly called to me. Lifting my heavy lids, I peered up at him… all tall, handsome, and strong—and mine. “I’m right here if you need me, sweetheart.”
“I’ll always need you,” I promised with a tiny smile before closing my eyes again.
Listening to the conversations going on around me was hard, but I garnered bits and pieces of them. The fire had been contained and was purposefully set, but the lodge was no longer in danger. Someone had removed the duct tape over Carnation and Tideway’s mouths as they both responded ‘yes’ after being Mirandized.
One of the paramedics told Joshua that I needed to go to the hospital, but that Tideway’s and Carnation’s gunshot wounds took precedence over my concussion. A derisive string of curses erupted from my sister’s mouth. Neither Dylan nor Nick reprimanded her, but a few soft chuckles resounded in the room. Even Joshua chuckled as he cradled me in his arms. Peeking up, I watched Sanna storm across the room, going toe-to-toe with one of the paramedics as she demanded I be transported in one of the ambulances. A tiny smile curled on my lips. We were indeed cut from the same cloth.
Several minutes later, I lay nuzzled up in Joshua’s arms, but this time in the back seat of Nick’s truck as he drove us back to Chicago, to the hospital. Dylan peered over his shoulder in the passenger’s seat, watching me with a worried expression and gazing lovingly at Sanna as she sat next to me skimming her hand up and down my leg. Ian, James, and Drake remained behind to finish answering the sheriff’s questions and to lock up the lodge.
“Hey, Mel,” Sanna grinned, with a mischievous twinkle in her eyes. “We’re going home now.”
#
Two days later I sat in Joshua’s massive bed, loopy on pain meds and looking like I’d been in a cage match with a gorilla as he spoon-fed me soup that Sanna and her Masters had brought over earlier. Joshua had pampered me non-stop since I’d been released from the hospital the day before. My heart swelled at the adoration brimming in his eyes and the care he gave, tirelessly.
It was time. Time to tell him the things I thought I’d be taking to my grave in that dank, cold cellar.
“There’s something I need to say to you,” I announced, nervously.
His brows furrowed slightly. “Okay. Tell me.”
Swallowing tightly, a quivering smile fluttered on my lips. “I love you.”
Joshua’s face fell lax in a bewildered sort of amazement, and he dropped the spoon. It landed with a clatter inside the glass bowl and I giggled.
A stunned smile crawled across his lips, growing wider and brighter before he placed the soup on the nightstand and repositioned himself next to me. Carefully dragging me onto his lap, as if afraid he’d break me, he fluttered his skillful hands around my cheeks and stared at me… studying every freckle and pore.
Leaning in, he brushed his lips to mine. “It’s about damn time, little one,” he whispered against my mouth. “I love you, too.”
Sliding toward the center of the bed, he drew the covers over us and held me in his arms. Neither of us said anything for a long time; we simply savored the strange and newly fortified connection that bound us to each other.
When nighttime came, he helped me into a long silk robe and carried me down the stairs, out the loft and all the way to the rose garden behind Christian’s gallery… the place where it all began. Seated on the padded bench, Joshua slung his arm around my waist, and we stared up at the stars.
“When you were in England, I came here every night,” he confessed.
The thought of him coming to this special place night after night took my breath away.
“You did?”
“Yes. I’d spend hours in my studio, working—”
“You still haven’t shown me your surprise,” I interrupted.
“Tomorrow, little one... I’ll let you see it tomorrow.” He grinned.
“I’m sorry, go on,”
“Working with my hands wasn’t enough to process everything,” he began again. “I came here to remember the touch of your skin, the taste of your lips, and how you sweet you smelled.”
His expression turned solemn. I knew there was more he wanted to say, but struggled with the words, or the courage to say them.
“I also came here to talk to Veronica and Camille; to tell them good-bye, and to let them go.”
A fat tear slipped down my cheek as I leaned in and rested my head on his shoulder.
“I meant what I said at the lodge. I want to start a new chapter of my life with you, Mellie. And now that Carnation and Tideway are locked up, I need to know if you really, truly want the same. I love you and I know you love me, but we’re not young and naïve. We both know that sometimes, love isn’t enough.”
Sitting back up, I stared at him. He was worried… Worried that I didn’t need him anymore. Or that I didn’t love him enough to make the necessary sacrifices and changes in my life for him… for us. How could he think such a thing?
Umm, maybe because your track record isn’t the greatest, and even though you’ve turned over a new leaf, maybe he wants a guarantee that you’re not going to flip back out and float away on the wind. He wants a commitment, dumbass. You know… that thing you swore you’d never give any man? Seriously, do you blame him?
“I didn’t keep you by my side as an emotional safety net, Joshua. I stayed with you because I wanted you… needed you, far beyond the circumstances we were forced into. I still do. I meant it, too when I told you that I love you.” Joy flashed in his eyes. “I want to start a new chapter, too…with you. Change and grow, so we can live happily ever after. I might be your fantasy, but you’re my fairy tale.”
“I thought girls grew into women, and reality conquered their childish fantasies,” he quipped with a knowing grin.
I chuckled, wondering how he’d remembered the words I’d said to him that night. But maybe they’d been branded in his soul, just as every moment I’d spent with him had been branded into mine.
“They do, but if the girl is smart, she saves one, just in case… fairy tales do come true.”
“I knew you were a wise woman,” he whispered as he brushed another kiss over my lips. Closing my eyes, I welcomed the tingling sensation and the profound sense of peace that filled me. I finally knew what love felt like… it was like I’d always dreamed it would be.
Bright and early the next morning, as Joshua snored in my ear, I bit back a giggle and kissed him awake.
“Mmmm,” he rumbled as he pulled me in closer, warming me with his lean body.
“It’s tomorrow. You know what that means. Come on. You promised you’d show me,” I reminded him with an excited lilt in my voice.
Popping one eye open, he looked at me and frowned. “It’s not going anywhere, little one.”
“I know, but I can’t wait any longer.”
He chuckled. “I can’t wait to see you on Christmas morning, little one. You’re so cute.” With a mock scowl he shook his head. “But you need long hours of patience training. If I was a stern and hardnosed Master, I’d make you wait until tonight.”
“But you won’t, because you love me and you know it will make me happy to see it now.”
Joshua closed his eye and shook his head. “I’ve created a monster,” he murmured with a grin.
Hoping a different tactic might work, I slid my tongue over his nipple. “Come on, Master Stephen, pleaseeeee.”
Opening both eyes, he looked down at me and scowled, in earnest. “Don’t even play that shit, girl. I won’t have you manipulating my Dominance to get what you want. Topping from the bottom isn’t going to get you anything but a sore, red ass. Understood?”
His reprimand bordered on stirring my guilt and enticing my submission, both of which flickered to life in a heated rush, and I sobered.
Satisfied he’d made his point, Joshua leaned over me, studying my face. “The swelling’s gone down a little bit around your eye, but the bruising is getting brighter. There are some green tinges spreading out from the purple area and the blood in your sclera isn’t as dark.”
“Marvelous.” I pouted. “So I look like a mixture of Barney and Kermit with a raging case of pink eye. Is what you’re saying?”
“Not at all. You look like the woman I love.” With a tiny smirk he raised his brows. “I believe you woke me up to ask me something, little one?”
There it was; the not so subtle lesson he wanted me to learn. Communication.
“Yes, Sir. May we please go up to your studio so I can see the surprise you’ve been working on?”
“Indeed we can, since you asked so sweetly.” He smiled. “After we’ve had some coffee.”
I frowned. “So I guess tempting you with my body falls under the topping from the bottom category, right?”
“Yes it does. But there’ll be no sex, at least not for a little while. We need to give your brain time to heal, girl.”
“Then why do they call it sexual healing?” I challenged with a sly grin.
Joshua laughed. “God, I love you.”
Easing out from the covers, he stood and extended his hand.
“Coffee? Really?” I asked, curling my lips in a melodramatic pout.
“Yes,” he replied in that nipple-hardening Dominant tone.
Our simple cup of coffee turned into a huge breakfast. Tempering my impatience as we ate, I leaned back and sipped my coffee while Joshua chomped on his last bite of pancakes. With a wicked grin he turned and glanced at the dirty pans and mixing bowls lining the counter tops of the big kitchen and sighed.
“I suppose the dishes can wait,” he teased.
“Yes, they can. I’ll even help you clean up… after.”
“After? After what, little one?”
“Arrggghh,” I groaned, then flashed him a knowing smile. “After you decide if I can see the surprise in your studio now or not, Master.”
“Now you’re catching on. I think I’ve made you wait long enough.” He laughed. “Come on, girl. It’s time.”
I jumped up from my chair and a sharp blade of pain pierced my skull. Quickly sitting back down, I gripped my hands around my head and groaned.
“I think you need to go lay back down,” Joshua whispered as he rushed to my side.
“No, I just need to stop acting on impulse and take it slow.”
Halfway up the first floor, Joshua lifted me into his arms and carried me the rest of the way. Once on the third floor, he eased me to my feet and told me to close my eyes. I bit back the urge to argue, since I’d barely gotten a glimpse of his studio, and did as he instructed.
As he led me through what felt like a maze, my anticipation built, and when he pulled me to a stop, my excitement swelled.
“Open your eyes, Mellie,” he whispered.
When I did a soft gasp cooled my throat. On a tall pedestal before me sat the sculpture of a beautiful four- poster bed, painstakingly carved and glazed in a rich masculine chocolate color. A woman lay bound and naked upon an intricately etched blanket.
A slow smile tugged my lips as I realized it was an exact replica of Joshua’s bed. The piece appeared to be about the size of my computer bag: about a half a foot long, maybe a foot or so wide, and about six or seven inches tall.
She lay on her back with her wrists bound in long, braided rope, stretching her arms open wide, while her long, slender legs remained free. One knee was bent, and I followed the smooth ivory flesh to find her toes pointed and slightly tucked behind the calf of her other leg, resting on the bed. Her right hip thrust forward as if frozen in time while she writhed in ecstasy. Her shoulder blades pressed against the blanket, thrusting her full breasts and beaded nipples outward, in silent supplication for her Master’s tongue, lips, and teeth. She looked so lifelike and real I almost expected her to move… to moan.
“Oh, wow,” I murmured.
“Look closer, little one,” Joshua urged as he pointed toward her face.
Moving in closer, I gazed at her features. It was me… from the top of her head to the tiny scar on her chin, the one I got when I wiped out on my skateboard the summer I turned ten. Awestruck, I blinked and leaned in even closer. My heart skittered in my chest as I stared at the expression poised on her face. It was hauntingly identical to the overwhelming serenity I’d witnessed the night Joshua pressed me over the marble vanity and brought me face to face with the submissive inside me.
The woman on the bed was me… soaring in sexual splendor lost in submissive bliss. Her hooded lids, heavy in seduction, partially concealed her glassy, unfocused gaze. Long, billowing curls spilled over the pillow, fanning across her delicate shoulders. Her swollen lips glistened—as if freshly kissed—parted and pursed in a silent cry to please. Though I couldn’t visibly see it, or tangibly touch it, a palpable energy emanated from the flawless figure. She was readily handing over her soul to the Master who owned and controlled her.
The vision of unadulterated submission was so moving; I couldn’t hold back my tears.
“It’s… it’s…” I sobbed.
“It’s you, my love. It’s the way I see you… the way I’ve always seen you in my dreams, in my fantasies.”
“Oh, Master.” Wrapping my arms around him, I wept.
My heart, mind, body, and soul had been swept away by this remarkable man… a feat I’d thought possible. Joshua Lars had taken my forsaken desires, cupped them in the palm of his hand, and sculpted them back to life.
My amazing and gifted Master had made good on his promise…
He’d saved my submission.