Trust

by Sherri Hayes

  I nodded. “Yes, Sir.”

  Twenty minutes later, we sat down in front of the television, me on Stephan’s lap. The weatherman was talking about a large snow storm that was going to be coming through in the next few days. A minute later, the camera switched to a woman behind the anchor desk.

  “And now we go live to Marcy who is standing outside the courthouse. Marcy?”

  A female reporter came on the screen. She was bundled up in a heavy coat and a stylish hat to try and ward off the cold, but the wind seemed to be getting the better of her as her hair blew into her face over and over again even as she tried to move it out of the way. Behind her, I could see people. Lots of people. Some were going inside the courthouse. Many others, were standing outside, braving the cold. It wasn’t every day that a local man went on trial for human trafficking.

  “Good morning. I’m standing outside the courthouse where we are awaiting the arrival of the accused, Ian Pierce. Pierce is well known in the art community, and he has a reputation for dealing in rare and expensive artifacts. And although some of those priceless pieces have put him in the spotlight before, the attention he’s getting now is of a different sort. This business mogul is accused of several counts of abduction, rape, human trafficking, murder, as well as money laundering and receiving stolen goods.”

  There was a long list of charges against Ian. Agent Marco had read them off to me, but I’d lost track given the enormity. They were expecting the trial to last for at least six weeks. I wasn’t looking forward to it. I didn’t want to see Ian any more than I had to.

  The prosecution felt my testimony would be the most damaging, so I was going to take the stand last. They also warned me Ian’s attorney would try his best to discredit me or catch me in a lie. Emma told me to be completely honest and not to hold back on my descriptions unless I didn’t think I could keep myself together. Even then, she told me to ask for a break if I felt I needed one. I was dreading it.

  I tried to pay attention to what the reporter was saying, but I was distracted by the people behind her. All too soon, it would be my turn to go to the courthouse. I’d have to face not only Ian, but all of those people.

  Stephan nuzzled my ear, and I turned to look at him. “Is what she’s saying upsetting you?”

  “No. I . . . I wasn’t really paying attention to what she was saying.”

  He raised one eyebrow.

  “I was looking at all the people. There are so many.”

  “There are. This is a big case, and it’s drawn a lot of attention.”

  Before I could respond, I heard the reporter say Ian’s name, and I redirected my attention toward the screen. There he was. He was in a van, but he was looking out the window, so I could see his face clearly as the cameraman zoomed in to get a better picture. A shiver ran down my spine, and I felt cold.

  Stephan saw him, too, and he hugged me tighter. His arms felt like a cage around my body, shielding me . . . protecting me.

  The camera followed the van as it made its way around the side of the building. Moments before it disappeared out of sight, Ian turned toward the camera, and I saw the look on his face. It was smug, yet slightly irritated. I’d seen that look from him many times, and it had never boded well for me.

  The screen went blank.

  Whipping my head around, I looked at Stephan. There was an angry crease in his brow, and he held his lips in a hard line. I could see the pulse pounding in his neck and felt his fingers flexing against my leg.

  “Sir?”

  Stephan blinked and frowned. Closing his eyes, he took a deep breath before relaxing his fingers and cradling my head against his shoulder.

  His breath blew gently through my hair, and he shuddered. “Are you all right?”

  I nodded.

  Stephan released a sigh and leaned back to look at me once more. He held my face between his hands. After a few minutes of silence, he pulled me against his chest again and started petting my hair. It was as if he couldn’t decide whether or not to hold me close or have me in a position where he could look directly into my eyes. “I want to tell you something, but I’m afraid it will scare you.”

  “You promised no more secrets.”

  “This isn’t a secret exactly.”

  I could feel the tension in his body, and I tried my best to soothe him as he attempted to do the same for me. This was love, I realized. Being there for the other person when they needed you. Being there for each other. “Please, tell me?”

  He ran his lips along my forehead before tilting his head back to look up at the ceiling. “I want to kill him. There have been many times when I’ve wanted to hurt him for what he did to you, but just now? Seeing him riding in that van all smug and looking as if this is nothing more than an annoyance to him? I can honestly say that I wanted him to die.”

  I didn’t respond. There was no need. Maybe Stephan’s declaration should have scared me, but it didn’t. I knew him, and he wasn’t a violent man. As much as he wanted to see Ian dead, he would never go that far. Stephan didn’t have it in him. It was against his nature. He wasn’t that type of man.

  Stephan

  It took me a while to calm down after seeing Ian Pierce’s face on the news. The first time I met him, he’d given me the creeps. Then, I had no idea as to the damage he’d done to the woman who’d now become the most important person in my life. Now, I knew that he’d almost destroyed this beautiful woman—nearly reduced her to a mindless zombie.

  I held Brianna, drawing on the peace only she could bring me. It worked, and I caressed her hair, enjoying the feel of it between my fingers. She was here, and she was mine. That was what mattered.

  We sat there until I glanced up at the clock and realized over an hour had gone by. I needed to check my e-mail and call Jamie. Although I’d made arrangements not to go in to the office while the trial was taking place, there was no way I could walk away completely for a month or more.

  Cupping the side of her face, I lowered my mouth to hers and slipped my tongue inside her parted lips. There was still a hint of the orange juice she’d had this morning mixed with her own distinct taste as I slowly explored her mouth.

  When Brianna ran her hand down the front of my chest, I knew I needed to stop. While I was always up for sex with her, there were things I needed to get done today. Giving in this early in the day would make it too tempting to blow everything off and go back to bed.

  Moving my lips from her mouth to the side of her neck, I continued to place soft kisses along her skin. “I need to get some work done.”

  “Mmm. Okay.”

  I chuckled as her hand on my chest continued to descend. Wrapping my fingers around her wrist, I stopped her progress. “That’s not helping.”

  She giggled, and it vibrated her entire body, which didn’t help the state of my cock either.

  Sighing, I leaned back, separating us a little. She was still on my lap, but at least I couldn’t feel her breasts brushing against my chest as she moved. I needed a distraction—for both of us. And I needed to get to work. “Why don’t you go get one of your books and read for a bit while I work? It shouldn’t take me too long, and then we can do something together.”

  Brianna looked slightly disappointed, but she nodded and stood. These next few weeks were going to be interesting if they all began like this one.

  Over the next two weeks, I tried for normalcy as much as possible. We worked out in the gym upstairs, read together, watched movies, and I helped her in the kitchen whenever I didn’t receive a call from work that needed my attention. Richard had rearranged his patients so that he was able to spend three days a week at The Coleman Foundation. I hadn’t asked. He’d offered. It was completely unexpected. The downside, however, was that Richard no longer had a hand in the day-to-day operations of the foundation. He was doing the best he could, but there were some decisions he wasn’t comfortable making without my input.

  It was the day before Brianna and I had to go to the courthouse for the first
time. The prosecutor had called earlier in the day to say there was a good possibility I would be testifying. There was also a chance they’d be ready for Brianna, as well, so he wanted both of us there just in case. I’d already called Logan and Lily, along with Cal and Jade, to let them know. Logan was currently out of town, but I had a feeling he’d be there regardless. I knew the other three would as well.

  I’d gone into my bedroom to take a call from my uncle and Jamie. They were having difficulty finding a report I’d been working on. As it turned out, I had a copy of it on my laptop and was easily able to e-mail it over to them. Unfortunately, that discovery had taken longer than I’d expected. Confident Jamie and Richard had the document they needed and could handle things from there, I said good-bye and strolled out into the living room to find Brianna.

  She wasn’t there.

  She wasn’t in the kitchen either.

  “Brianna?”

  No response.

  Peeking my head into her room, I saw no sign of her. That only left upstairs.

  Trudging up the stairs, I’d fully expected to find her in the study going through the bookshelves. When given time to read, Brianna could easily get through a book in a single day. Lily had brought other another large bag full of books last week, and Brianna had already made a sizable dent in them.

  Brianna wasn’t in the study.

  My anxiety was building. Where was she?

  Walking up the additional three stairs that took me up to both the gym and the playroom, my heart rate went into overdrive as I saw the door to the playroom standing open.

  I stood out in the hall, almost afraid to go inside in case I would startle her. It was the first time since Christmas that she’d come near the playroom. I’d been inside a handful of times to retrieve and replace various items, but for the most part, the room had sat undisturbed.

  Brianna stood roughly halfway inside the room, and she looked as if she were ready to bolt at any given moment. Instead of confronting her, I decided to stand back and watch. I wanted to see what she’d do on her own.

  Nothing much happened over the next ten minutes. She barely moved, with the exception of a few nods of her head. I figured out that she was talking to herself. I couldn’t hear what she was saying, but I had to wonder if she was giving herself a pep talk given the nodding.

  Just when I thought all she was going to do was stand there in the center of the room, Brianna took a step forward. Then another. And another.

  I held my breath as she stopped in front of the rack that held my floggers and crops.

  Brianna reached out her right hand and hesitated, dropping her arm back down to her side and turning away quickly. When she turned around, however, her gaze fell on me standing in the doorway. She gasped and looked around, frantic. I wasn’t sure if her reaction was because she thought she was in trouble, or because my presence made her feel trapped. I was hoping it was the former.

  “May I join you?”

  She wrapped her arms around her waist protectively and looked down.

  I strolled into the room, taking my time, hoping not to spook her further. She never glanced up.

  I stopped directly in front of her and waited.

  “I’m sorry, Sir. I didn’t mean . . .” Brianna still didn’t change her stance.

  Gently taking hold of first one hand and then the other, I brought her palms up to rest on my chest. “Look at me.”

  Tentatively, she looked up—first through her lashes and then by raising her head.

  “Good girl.” Leaving her hands where they were, I reached up and caressed her face with the back of my right hand. “I didn’t expect to find you in here.”

  She started to lower her eyes.

  “No. You are not to look down. I want to see your eyes.”

  Brianna snapped her gaze back to meet mine.

  I had no idea what she was doing in here, but I had a feeling it was significant. “I don’t care that you’re in here, Brianna. I told you before that you could enter whenever you wanted.”

  “I wanted . . . I wanted to see if I could do it.”

  We were going to the courthouse tomorrow, and it was possible that she would see Ian again for the first time since that night in his study. I knew she was terrified about it, and I wondered if stepping inside this room—something that also scared her—was her way of coping. “You wanted to see if you could face your fear?”

  She nodded. “Yes.”

  Smiling, I brushed my thumb over her bottom lip. “Do you want to stay or leave? It’s up to you.”

  Brianna swallowed. “What . . . what happens if we stay?”

  I shrugged, wanting to reassure her that there was no pressure. “I thought maybe we could look around some more. Maybe you’d want to touch some things. Ask questions.”

  She pressed her lips together in a tight line, and I knew she was thinking about what I’d said. “We won’t . . . play?”

  “No. And you don’t have to touch anything you don’t want to.”

  There was a long stretch of silence, and then she nodded. “Okay. I’d like to stay.”

  I bent to give her a brief kiss before straightening and grabbing hold of her hands again. “How about we start over there?” I motioned toward the row of floggers and crops behind her that she’d been examining.

  As patiently as possible, I waited for her to make the first move. I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t anxious. This was what I’d been waiting for. It was the first step in getting Brianna over her fear of this room. I wasn’t going to kid myself, though. We still had a very long way to go. Her being able to walk into the room on her own wasn’t the same as her being comfortable enough to allow me to use any of my equipment with her.

  Brianna turned back around, and I stepped to the side so that I wasn’t directly behind her. I wasn’t sure how she’d react to that should she begin to panic. She mimicked the position she’d been in earlier. “Remember, they’re just things.”

  She took a deep breath and released it before cautiously grazing the tips of her fingers over one of the floggers. The one she’d directed her attention to was one of my heavier ones. “Does it hurt?”

  I stood at her side, holding her left hand in mine while she continued to touch the flogger with her right. “It can. It can also be used to tickle and tease.”

  “Tickle?” She scrunched up her nose.

  “Yes, tickle. If I hold the flogger in both my hands and just run the tips of it along your back, it would create a tickling sensation.”

  Brianna didn’t respond to that and after a few minutes moved on to one with much narrower falls. “What about this one?”

  “This one can be used to tease and tickle as well, but when it’s thrown, it has more of a sting. Think of someone snapping a rubber band against your wrist.”

  She cringed a little.

  “Remember what I told you before. Pain is relative.”

  “So you think I might like it.” There was a remoteness to her voice that I didn’t like.

  “Maybe. Maybe not. It’s difficult to tell what you’ll like a few years from now.”

  Brianna looked up at me, eyes wide. “Years?”

  I cocked my head to the side. “Months, years, decades. This goes at your pace, Brianna. Just like with the rope, we aren’t going to try something if you’re not ready. Plus, unlike the rope, these things have sounds that come along with using them, and we both saw how hearing Lily being spanked affected you. You’re not ready for that kind of sound stimulation yet.”

  Swallowing, she took another brief glance at the floggers and then turned toward my spanking bench. “May I touch it?”

  “Of course. You can touch anything you want to in this room.”

  Bravely, she walked forward. I stayed behind her and off to the side, letting her go at her own pace.

  Like with the floggers, she reached out a hand and softly caressed the leather. She looked back at me. “It’s padded.”

  “Yes.”

&nbs
p; “Ian’s . . .” She swallowed. “Ian’s wasn’t padded.”

  “Ian was out to cause pain. That’s not my primary objective. I’ve always wanted my submissives to enjoy themselves.”

  Brianna thought about that for a minute. “You . . . played . . . with Tami in here?”

  “Yes. And the one time I played with Lily was in here as well.” I wasn’t going to keep secrets from her ever again, and especially not about this.

  She nodded and to my surprise, she strolled over to my Saint Andrew’s cross. “What is it?”

  “It’s called a Saint Andrew’s cross. The shape allows a person to be tied spread-eagle to it for teasing, flogging, whipping . . . whatever the Dominant has in mind.”

  There was a long pause as Brianna considered my explanation. “His was different.”

  “Different how?”

  “It was wood, like this, but it wasn’t shaped like an X.”

  Brianna was talking, and that was good. It meant she was here with me and not lost in her thoughts.

  She continued. “It was tall. Straight. But it had two metal rods sticking out of the top.”

  I thought about what she was describing, and a whipping post came to mind. It made sense. Ian was about force, and pain. Although it wasn’t impossible to get someone attached to a Saint Andrew’s cross without their cooperation, it was more challenging. With a whipping post, all that was needed was to have the intended’s hands bound together. After that, their wrists could be attached to the top of the pole. It stretched them out, making for an easy target. “A whipping post.”

  “Yes.” Brianna closed her eyes for a moment and then turned to face me. “I’m ready to leave now.”

  Nodding, I extended my arm, and she gave me her hand. She’d made another huge leap today. Tomorrow, she’d take another. It was one step at a time, and I was okay with that.

  Chapter 46

  Brianna

  I pumped my arms harder, faster, trying to get away. There were trees everywhere, leaves and branches brushing and scraping against my legs as I ran. Where was I? I couldn’t see anything but trees, trees, and more trees.