FrankenDom

  “Rachel Anne McBride,” he said sternly, “stop right there.”

  The tears fell anyway. “I’m sorry, Sir,” I sobbed. “I was so wrong.”

  Turning his chair so that he faced me, Julian leaned forward and took my jaw in a bruising grip. “Rachel, silence.”

  Shutting my eyes to block out his anger, I bit my swollen lips.

  Julian gave me a little shake. “Look at me.”

  I obeyed reluctantly.

  “First off, I didn’t do the right thing. If anything, I did the wrong thing, but it was the only thing I could live with.”

  “I know that, Sir, and it scared me.” When he frowned, I added, “Not because I was afraid of you. But you are so strong, Sir, so…intense. So immovable. And I’m so…not. It’s like we operate on almost totally different planes of existence, you up there with the gods and me down here with the commoners. I felt—”

  His hand moved to cover my mouth. “If you say unworthy, I’ll have to spank you for being trite and ridiculous, and it won’t be pleasant.”

  My eyes widened. That was exactly what I’d intended to say.

  “This is your submission talking, Rachel. It’s not uncommon for there to be an element of worship between a Dom and a sub, not because one is inherently better but because our personalities and our desires complement one another so beautifully. Yes, we’re different in many ways. My hardheaded, inflexible, devious dominance worships your ability to submit—your openness, your giving nature, your courage and your trusting heart.”

  Behind his hand, I smiled at his description of himself. It certainly lowered him to a more human, if not exactly common, level.

  “But in the outside world, you and I are simply physicians. You are an empathetic, hands-on healer with high ethical standards, while I am an intimidating boor who lives in a lab with lots of rats and disregards my patients’ directives when it suits me. Which of us do you suppose most patients would see as the better physician?”

  A huff of laughter escaped me but he didn’t take his hand away to hear my answer.

  “As far as your sister having Bain’s, there’s no way for you to know what you’d do in that situation so you really can’t beat yourself up for it. Respecting her wishes and letting her die might very well be the right thing for both of you. If you’d asked me as little as a year ago, I’d have said there was no way in hell I would ever disregard my brother’s wishes, much less compromise my professional integrity so completely. But I could never have imagined this exact scenario, or my brother’s being so damn hardheaded.”

  When I nodded my understanding, he let his hand drop to his lap and leaned back.

  “I’m still sorry I said all those horrible things to you and ran away, Sir,” I told him. “I hurt you both because I was scared and hurting and I didn’t know how to deal with it.”

  He shook his head. “Sometimes a strategic retreat is necessary when you’re too close to the conflict be objective. That’s why I let you go without a fight, and why I wouldn’t let Colin speak to you that morning.”

  I glanced at Colin out of the corner of my eye. So that was why he’d seemed ready to explode.

  “Besides,” Julian continued, “it’s not as if your accusations were unfounded. Colin had warned me time and again that I was taking too much upon myself, that finding a cure for Bain’s wouldn’t bring my father back, or my mother, but I dismissed his concerns as a lover’s overprotectiveness. My obsession controlled me, and after my brother’s diagnosis, I actually believed that I alone was responsible for saving him.”

  “It must have been awful for you.”

  “Yes, such a monumental ego is a dreadful thing to carry around year after year,” he said dryly.

  “It’s not ego,” I protested.

  “That’s exactly what it was, and the closer I got to the surgery, the more I realized I was buckling under the weight of the expectations I’d placed on myself. But by then I was trapped and couldn’t see any way out until Jordan himself forced me out. I assume you know about our arrangement?” he added.

  When I nodded, Julian sighed. “I doubt he’ll ever believe I don’t resent his removing that weight from me, that I’m actually grateful to him for taking control of my research.”

  “He will eventually, Sir,” Colin said.

  This time when I looked up, he was looking down at me, and I was unnerved to see that his fury didn’t seem to have abated in the least.

  Looking at Julian, I asked, “So what now, Sir?”

  “That will be up to you. I believe Colin has a few wrinkles to iron out with you as well. But first…” He rolled forward until I was between his spread knees and crooked his finger at me.

  Hope ignited in my chest as I knelt up.

  He leaned down and took my face in both hands. “I love you, Rachel, and I’m so very sorry I put you through such hell. Can you ever forgive me?”

  “You have to ask?”

  “Yes, I do. In fact, I should be the one on my knees.”

  “No, Sir, you shouldn’t. I forgave you weeks ago, so just…please kiss me.”

  He pressed his lips to mine and I sighed, breathing in the simple sweetness of it. My heart thumped with joy…and fear that joy would be fleeting. Colin was so angry.

  When Julian backed away, he looked at Colin. “Well, my love, I believe Rachel and I have worked out our issues. What would you like to do?”

  Colin stared down at me for a minute, then said, “I’d like to have her for slave training for one full week, Sir. With no safe words and no limits on what I can do to her or require of her.”

  There was dead silence in the room for several seconds as the world fell away beneath me. I was glad to be kneeling, otherwise I’d have fallen down.

  Julian made a sound somewhere between a laugh and a cough. “My dear boy, you do continue to surprise and delight me.”

  “I try, Sir.”

  “No limits is an overbroad requirement, though.”

  “Of course I mean no limits except those that protect her basic human rights, which I’d outline in a formal contract.”

  “A contract that would be no more enforceable than the personal conduct agreement she signed for me.”

  “I realize that, Sir. This isn’t about enforcement. It’s about trust.”

  Julian deliberated for a moment while I watched him with wide eyes, my heart pounding in my throat. Then he looked down at me, his expression inscrutable. “I suppose I can allow that, as long as I get to approve the contract and Rachel signs it of her own free will.”

  My pulse kicked up. “Sir?”

  “Actually, I’m not your Sir anymore, Rachel,” Julian replied gently. “The agreement you had with me was signed without full disclosure on my part and I’m unworthy of the honor. You’ll have to straighten out your relationship with Colin before we can decide where to go from here.”

  Sighing raggedly, I nodded.

  Then he looked at Colin. “I won’t let you break her. If you go too far, I will call a halt.”

  Colin’s expression shuttered. “Maybe she needs to be broken, Sir.”

  “Colin…”

  “I promise, Sir, I won’t give her anything more than you gave me.”

  After a pregnant pause, Julian asked, “Is that supposed to reassure me?”

  I cringed, unintentionally leaning closer to Julian.

  When Colin didn’t reply, he sighed. “All right then, my love. Go ahead. I’ll see you this evening.”

  * * * * *

  Driving another Camaro, only much newer and nicer than the one he’d had at UW, Colin took me to my hotel to pick up the rest of my things. He accompanied me to my room and made me double-check that I hadn’t left anything in the bathroom, the closet, or the drawers and then grabbed the unopened bottle of water by the coffee pot. Once he’d put my suitcase and laptop in the trunk, he handed me the water and told me to drink it all. Then he got onto the interstate heading east out of the city.

  It was a lo
ng, silent ride during which my imagination had plenty of time to run riot. I drained the water bottle, hoping it didn’t mean we were going to start out with extreme electrical play. What did he mean by slave training? Was it just sexual, or would I be a genuine slave with household or outdoor chores? If he expected me to cook and clean, it was going to be a long, hard week for both of us. I’d never been much of a housekeeper and I’d never had the time to learn to cook.

  By the time we turned off an isolated stretch of gravel road onto a winding driveway, I was about to snap from the tension.

  My mouth dropped open when we pulled up in front of a beautiful country house with a huge lawn. “I thought Julian had to give Jordan everything.”

  “He did,” Colin said, pulling into the three-car garage and turning off the ignition. “I didn’t.”

  I blinked as he got out. It hadn’t even occurred to me that Colin had probably profited handsomely from their research too.

  Before I recovered, he’d opened my door and reached for my hand.

  I let him help me out of the car. “Does it bother Julian that you’re—”

  “No,” he said flatly. “That’s enough questions, Rachel. Slaves are to be seen and not heard. Don’t speak unless I give you permission.”

  Refusing to be hurt by his brusqueness, I nodded and followed him. I had to expect him to remain angry and unreachable until he’d had a chance to get everything that was bothering him off his chest. He had to do that in his own time.

  When we stepped into the kitchen entry, he pulled a plastic grocery bag from a cupboard. “Strip and put everything including your purse and jewelry in here. Slaves don’t have anything their masters don’t provide.”

  And so it started. I sighed and undressed while he stood there watching me with his arms crossed over his chest. I folded my blouse and slacks before putting them into the bag on top of my shoes. My bra and panties followed, and then my purse, watch, rings and earrings.

  “The hair clip, too.”

  I obeyed at once, shaking out my hair as I did so.

  Knotting the bag’s handles, he picked it up and said, “This way.”

  I followed him through the gorgeous modern kitchen and into a large, open living room, where he pointed to a spot on the floor beside a large easy chair. “Kneel here with your knees apart and your hands on your thighs. Back straight. Eyes on the floor.”

  He nudged my knees further apart and told me to sit back on my heels. “Get comfortable, slave. You’re going to be here a while. Now stay.”

  He left the room then, and I sighed again. Staying and getting comfortable were mutually exclusive propositions, so I followed the one I knew he meant and didn’t move from my assigned spot. After a while, I grew bored and began looking around furtively. The clock on the mantel said it was eleven fifteen, which surprised me. It felt more like late afternoon. Obviously this was going to be an incredibly long week.

  Eventually I began to squirm a little and realized I hadn’t used the bathroom since first thing in the morning. Not good. I’d had coffee, water and juice with breakfast, and then twenty-four ounces of water in the car.

  I looked around again. A house this large had to have at least three or four bathrooms, but I had no idea where they were and no permission to look. Colin had better come back soon or I’d have to start out with some sort of horrible punishment for disobeying orders and finding one.

  Ten minutes later, I was rocking and squeezing my thighs together. Colin, please come back. Please!

  As if he’d heard me, Colin walked back into the room from a hallway and sat on the couch, laying a stack of papers on the coffee table before him. He’d changed into jeans and a tight blue tee shirt, and in his hand was a leather collar.

  “Come here, slave,” he said, pointing to the floor beside his sneakers.

  Shivering in reaction to his overwhelming presence and more aware of my nudity now, I moved quickly to obey. At his command, I held up my hair while he fastened the collar around my neck and locked the little padlock. Its presence would take some getting used to—I’d never been one for necklaces or turtlenecks because my neck was so sensitive.

  His eyes lingered on my nipples, which had tightened to hard points, and then he said, “Here’s the contract. I emailed it to Julian and he’s approved it. I want you to read every single word and make sure you understand what you’re agreeing to before you sign it. Nod if you understand.”

  My eyes widened. There had to be at least twenty pages there, and I needed to pee badly.

  “I don’t see your head moving, slave. Is there something about my instructions you don’t understand?”

  I hesitated again and then nodded.

  “Speak then.”

  Relieved he’d phrased it that way, I said in a rush, “I really have to go to the bathroom, Sir.”

  His eyes narrowed. “That’s not a question about my instructions, slave. Apparently I’ll have to be more specific in my language. If you understand my instructions, then begin reading. If not, ask me for clarification.”

  Dismayed, I stared back. He really wasn’t going to let me go to the bathroom before I read the contract?

  “Read, slave. And don’t even think about pissing on my carpet or I’ll rub your nose in it and beat your ass.”

  Steeling myself, I picked up the pages and began to read quickly. The first two pages were a lot of stuff about his rights and responsibilities as master and mine as slave. It certainly seemed like he had a lot more rights and I had a lot more responsibilities, but that was nothing more than I’d expected. His only responsibilities were my only rights—basically, he had to keep me alive and reasonably healthy, not maim or permanently disfigure me, not damage me emotionally, and not jeopardize my career. While that list was somewhat reassuring, it left a lot of room for extreme discomfort on my part.

  The ensuing pages contained a detailed explanation of Master/slave etiquette, detailed descriptions of postures, a detailed list of required reading with synopses for all the books, and an extensive list of websites, along with a description of every page I was to visit at each.

  “No skimming,” Colin barked. “Read every word.”

  God damn it, how had he known? “I’m a fast reader, Sir!”

  “Did I give you permission to speak, slave?”

  My eyes closed. Oh hell.

  “No, Sir.”

  “Stand up. Now.”

  I obeyed. Figuring I was going to be punished anyway, I rushed on, “Colin, please, I’m going to have an accident if you—”

  “Quiet! No more talking, slave. Bend over the arm of the couch and put your hands on the cushion.”

  Whimpering with frustration and anxiety, I started to bend over and then paused. What was I doing? There was no way I could live like this for a week.

  I straightened and crossed my arms, looking him in the eye. “No, Sir. I’ve had a UTI before and it wasn’t fun. I refuse to suffer through another one just so you can get your revenge. Now show me the bathroom or get out of my way and I’ll find it myself.”

  His scowl turned ferocious, but not before I saw a flash of amusement in his eyes. “Topping from the bottom is not a good way to start out the week, slave.”

  I didn’t budge. “I’m not topping from the bottom, Sir. I’m asserting my right to a healthy urinary tract.”

  “Very well,” he said in a clipped tone distinctly reminiscent of Julian. “Come with me then.”

  Right on his heels, I followed him to the sliding glass door and out onto the hot flagstone patio. I looked around quickly to reassure myself there were no neighbors. As far as I could tell, there was no one around for miles. Was my room in sort of guest house? I hoped it wasn’t too damn far because it was hot out here and I was seriously about to burst.

  He led me across the yard to a wire strung between two tall trees probably a hundred feet apart. Attached to it by a snap hook was a thick nylon cord that reached the ground, and I froze when he picked up the snap hook a
t the other end.

  It was a dog run.

  When he went to hook the cord to my collar, I jumped back several steps. “Colin!”

  “Rachel!” he mimicked, holding up the hook with his brows raised in expectation.

  My heart thundered. That was my Colin shining through the mean-ass master act and I wanted him back.

  “I’m not a dog,” I finally said.

  “No, you’re a beautiful surgeon who’s being introduced to puppy play.”

  Puppy play? Really?

  Stiffening my spine, I stomped forward. “Fine. But I’m only doing this because I love you, Colin Carter.”

  He attached the hook under my chin and then yanked me forward, kissing me hard. I didn’t have time to melt into him before he lifted his mouth and stared at me with blazing blue eyes.

  “I’m only doing this because I love you too, Rachel Anne. You’re mine now. Mine.” He tugged on the hook to emphasize the point. “Everything about you is mine, and you will keep no part of yourself from me. Ever. Do you understand?”

  Chapter Nineteen

  Stunned, I nodded. All the bone in my legs had turned to wobbly gelatin. “Yes, Sir.”

  He held onto me for another few seconds and then let go of the hook and stepped back, spreading his feet and crossing his arms, obviously prepared to wait as long as it took.

  Submission poured over me like thick, warm syrup, sliding slowly down my skin in the hot sunlight. The sensation triggered a critical need, and after a quick check to make sure I was facing downhill, I squatted on my toes and released my bladder, keeping my eyes on the ground.

  The relief was almost orgasmic, sending chills over my skin in spite of the heat, and I couldn’t hold back a soft moan.

  “Good girl,” Colin said.

  I gave him a wry look from under my lashes. Like this was something every person on the planet didn’t do several times a day.

  “You’re not even blushing, Rachel.”

  I wasn’t, was I? “Because it’s you, Sir.”

  “I know. And now you know.”

  “Yes, Sir. Would you really have rubbed my nose in it if I couldn’t hold it?”