“We have no member named Mercy Duncan,” Mr. Lyons said. “You mentioned your sister was a reporter. Would she have been working undercover? Was she, perhaps, writing a story about my club?”
That thought had never occurred to Colleen. The question was easy enough, though, for her to answer because she’d seen journalistic zeal in her sister, and what Mercy had displayed as she’d talked about coming here to this club had not been that.
“No, I’m pretty sure not.” She shut her eyes for a moment, bracing herself for what she was about to say. “Mercy, as I said, was curious. She didn’t have a boyfriend, but she had a group of friends she spent time with and went out with. One of them, a young man, was, according to Mercy, working on what she referred to as his inner Dom. She told me that she’d been interested in finding out about…well, about BDSM, for some time. She thought her friend would be someone with whom it would be safe for her to do so. It’s my understanding that he brought her here for that purpose.”
“One of our junior Doms, then,” Mr. Lyons said. “He wouldn’t have been left alone with your sister, at least not here in the club. He wouldn’t yet have that privilege. Do you know the man’s name?”
“Bradley Thomas. I have a phone number for him, but I haven’t been able to reach him.”
“He said her name was Liz.” Daniel sat forward and looked at Mr. Lyons. Then he turned to her. She couldn’t say why, but when he looked directly at her, she felt as if…well, as if she wasn’t alone. I’ve been all alone since Mom and Dad died. Yes, when it came to handling everything, she had, but this…Colleen cut off any more thoughts in that direction. Instead, she decided that, when she got home tonight, she’d take a sleeping pill. She did that only in extreme circumstances. Thinking the sensations coursing through her at the moment were tiny little urgings to kneel at Daniel Welsh’s feet and let him handle everything for her most definitely qualified as an extreme circumstance.
“Bradley Thomas has been mentoring under Rob and me for the last couple of months. He brought one young woman here about two weeks ago, and they played together—under our supervision. Do you have a picture of your sister?”
Colleen did indeed have one in her phone. Again, it hadn’t occurred to her to lead with that. She really did need the help of a professional. She was a surgeon, not an investigator.
She dug into her purse and pulled out her cell phone. The picture of the two of them she brought up had been taken in the spring, at a local coffee shop. Sometimes, Colleen’s schedule was so busy that they missed each other. When that happened, they got together somewhere for either breakfast or lunch. She handed the phone over to Daniel. He looked at it and held it out for his friend to see. His friend—Rob—nodded.
“Yes, that’s her. He did call her Liz.”
Colleen blinked. Rob’s confirmation sank in. “Mercy’s middle name is Elizabeth.”
“What can you tell me about the dynamic between the two as they played?”
Colleen wondered why Mr. Lyons would ask Daniel such a question.
“They were friends, and Liz—sorry, Mercy—had no experience in the lifestyle.” Daniel turned his attention to Colleen as he handed her phone back to her. “Before they could begin to play, I had to be certain they both understood what was about to happen. They both said they were friends and that there would be no sex involved. When I asked her what she hoped to discover, Mercy told me she’d been drawn to the concept of D/s—Dominance and submission—for some time. She wanted to know if it was just an intellectual attraction or if she was, in fact, a submissive.” He seemed to focus on her for a long moment, as if he was weighing his words. He nodded. “She wanted, specifically, to try impact play. Do you know what that is?”
Colleen tilted her head to the side. “Not really. I’m sorry, I don’t know anything about…”
Daniel waved her apology away. “No need. Most people in the general public don’t know anything about our lifestyle. Impact play is exactly that—impact. Usually, but not limited to, the bottom and using a hand, a paddle, a flogger…and, for some, a whip.”
Colleen couldn’t control her wince on that last word.
“What did Mercy choose?” Mr. Lyons asked.
“A flogger, and Bradley was pleased with himself because he sent Mercy into subspace.”
“What does that mean?” Colleen asked the question, even though she was pretty sure she knew what the answer was. And a part of her really hoped that these men would tell her something different, something other than what she suspected. She couldn’t even say why she was afraid of the answer she knew was coming, but she was.
“Colleen, it means that Mercy is a submissive. What she experienced with Bradley met a need within her.”
That was why Mercy had been less than forthcoming about her experience here. It wasn’t that she’d hated it or didn’t want to hear Colleen say “I told you so.” It was because whatever had happened meant something powerful to her and Mercy hadn’t sorted it out yet.
“I’d still like to talk to Bradley. I want him to tell me to my face he doesn’t know where Mercy is.”
Mr. Lyons nodded. He leaned forward, his hands steepled before him. “I completely understand. Daniel, do you know where he is?”
Daniel nodded. “Yes. Bradley Thomas is currently on an oil platform in the Gulf, which is why you haven’t been able to reach him. I think he’s been on that platform since two days after he brought your sister here. He mentioned to me that he more or less goes off the grid when he’s working. I should tell you that I know for certain he’s telling the truth. I happen to know his supervisor. We ran a thorough background check on him before I agreed to mentor him.”
“Oh.” Colleen sighed. “I guess I really should hire a private investigator, then. I don’t know what else to do. Mercy is missing, and I’m afraid…” Colleen clamped down on the rest of that thought. She needed sleep, and she needed someone, a professional, who could come up with a plan.
Mr. Lyons nodded. “I would, if I were in your position.” Then he looked at Daniel, one eyebrow raised. She didn’t have to wait long to find out the content of the non-verbal communication that seemed to be traveling between the two very dominant men.
Daniel shifted his focus and met her gaze.
“You could hire me.”
Colleen opened her mouth to answer but was interrupted by a knock on the door and the entry of another man she didn’t know.
Mr. Lyons got to his feet to greet the newcomer. But that wasn’t the most notable thing that happened just then.
Rob Conrad adjusted his position on the love seat, edging slightly closer to her. She furrowed her brow, pinned him with a stare, and opened her mouth to ask him to get out of her personal space.
But she said nothing because Daniel Welsh picked up her hand and gave it a gentle squeeze. Then he nodded toward the man who’d just entered. “Colleen, I’d like you to meet Detective Carter of the Houston Police Department.”
* * * *
Daniel couldn’t have explained his actions just then and would forever be grateful no one, including the unexpectedly appealing Dr. Colleen Duncan, asked him to. When Rob had moved closer to her, she’d been about to give his best friend a blast. But the moment Daniel took her hand in his, she…submitted.
There was no other word to describe the way her body reacted to him. Damn it, he didn’t want a submissive, not a full-time one. But Colleen was more than a submissive. She was a woman with a desperate situation on her hands, one she couldn’t handle on her own, one she shouldn’t have to handle on her own.
Oh, he’d bet that very fact irked her to no end. He could just imagine what her life had been like these last many years as she’d been forced by circumstance to handle everything that had been thrown at her by life.
He’d seen this kind of situation before. How many women, natural submissives, had been forced by circumstances to behave like dominants? Daniel was no sexist. There were men who were natural submissives, as well,
and he ached for anyone—female or male—who’d been pushed by society’s expectations to be the dominant members of their households.
People came in all shapes and sizes and inclinations. He was a male, heterosexual dominant, and he knew beyond a doubt he’d been born that way. Some were born gay, some were born straight, some as dominants, and some as submissives.
The lucky ones, he thought, would be those who were switches and those who were bisexual.
“I took a few moments to review the report you filed, Dr. Duncan, after Christopher called me. I also took the time to hunt down the officers you’ve been dealing with up until now.” Detective Carter met Daniel’s gaze for a long moment and gave a very slight nod. Then he turned his attention back to Colleen. “From now on, Detective Joanne Morrissey is in charge of your sister’s case. She’ll give you a call in the morning, after she’s had a chance to get up to speed and chase down a few leads. And while I don’t generally work missing persons cases, I’ve cleared it with Joanne to work this one.”
“Thank you.” She tilted her head as she looked at Daniel, and then she fixed her attention on Chris.
“Mr. Lyons, may I ask you a question?”
“It’s Christopher, or Chris if you prefer, and you can ask me anything you like.”
“Can I trust these two men?”
The question grated, but under the circumstances, he understood it. He raised one eyebrow when Chris looked his way.
“I’ve known both of them for a very long time. Daniel is a former U.S. Army Ranger. I know him to be a man of honor. Rob is a bit younger, more of a nerd and a charmer, but he has a good heart. Yes, you can trust them.”
“I’ll add my endorsement to Christopher’s,” Carter said. “Daniel has worked with the HPD on occasion. As well, he’s a serious Dom. There’s no effort he won’t expend to protect a submissive.” He met Daniel’s gaze. “That last qualification actually describes every man in this room. There’s not much any of us wouldn’t do to accomplish that goal.”
Something here. Daniel made a note to call Chance later, though sudden insight told him why the man was interested in helping to find Mercy Duncan. He’d thought his interest was focused on Colleen when he’d entered the room. But then he recalled the night Mercy was at the Lyon’s Den, and he knew that wasn’t it at all. And then he recalled who’d been with Chance at the time and understood something very important. Rob was going to have to make a phone call and get one more person on board.
Colleen turned and looked at him. “In that case, Mr. Welsh, you’re hired.”
Daniel put his thoughts back on the moment and the compelling woman whose hand he still held. “We have to talk about that first, Colleen. Then, if you agree to my terms, I’ll accept the job.”
He’d surprised her, and that was a good thing. If Colleen thought she was just going to brush him off, to use him for his investigative expertise and then go on her merry way, she had another think coming.
As far as Daniel was concerned, he had two very important tasks ahead of him. The first and most pressing, time-wise, was locating Colleen’s sister, Mercy. The second would be more of an ongoing mission. Daniel looked over at Rob. That man never wavered and appeared as serious as he’d ever seen him. He also understood completely what Daniel had meant by terms. He nodded, once, and it was settled. As to the second very important task, a quick look at the half-smile the Master of the Lyon’s Den wore told him it was something he wouldn’t need to explain, except of course, to Colleen.
While Daniel and Rob organized the search for Mercy Duncan, they’d also work together at showing Colleen what it was she needed from two dominants—and then seeing to it that she got it.
Chapter Three
It wasn’t that late, barely ten, but Colleen felt exhausted right down to the bone. The problem wasn’t that she needed sleep, exactly. She was used to functioning on very little of the commodity. No one survived surgical residency without acquiring that ability. If she was looking for an excuse for the impulsive offer she’d made, she’d have to look elsewhere than blaming it on exhaustion.
Colleen knew she needed to hear Daniel’s terms for taking on her case because she wanted him on the case immediately. Whatever it was about these two men that told her they were the right ones for the job, well, she couldn’t articulate that, either. All she knew was that, deep inside, just being in their presence seemed to help.
It was the strangest—and the most amazing—thing she’d ever experienced.
In the aftermath of her visit to the Lyon’s Den, and needing familiar territory, she’d invited them to her house. She didn’t even have second thoughts as these two men she’d just met walked through her front door, and that wasn’t like her, either. She rarely invited people over.
Maybe a lack of sleep was to blame, after all.
Colleen had called ahead as she’d driven from downtown Houston to the two-story suburban home she’d lived in all her life. Ellie met her at the door and gave nothing away when she shook hands with the two men who followed in her wake.
“There’s a fresh pot of coffee on the dining room table, as well as a plate of sandwiches.” Ellie looked from Daniel and Rob and then focused on Colleen. She didn’t have a moment to wonder about the assessing look her long-time housekeeper gave to not only the two men but to her because Ellie’s next words made her eyes pop wide open. “Perhaps now that you’ve found someone to help, you’ll have something to eat and get some sleep. I’ll be in the den watching television, if you need me.”
Daniel waited until the three of them were alone. Then he stared at her. “You’ve not been eating?” His direct gaze didn’t make her want to squirm, exactly. It did, however, make her less inclined to give him a vague, if polite response.
Life is just bizarre. Colleen shrugged. “Every time I’ve put food in my stomach the last few days, it wants to come back up again. Seems a waste of time.”
She led the way to the dining room. When Rob held her chair for her as she sat, she didn’t know how to respond. Fortunately, Daniel didn’t give her much time to ruminate on anything.
“Have half a sandwich and milk instead of coffee. Small bites, lots of chewing.”
She thought his directions to be a bit over the top, but again, she found herself reaching for a sandwich on the plate. Rob poured milk into her coffee cup.
Daniel pulled out his wallet and retrieved a card, which he set before her. “My card has my P.I. license on it so you know I am actually a licensed investigator. I also have a permit to carry a concealed weapon. I’ve operated my own business for the last couple of years since leaving the army.”
Colleen wouldn’t know a fake I.D. if it bit her on the ass. She accepted that Daniel was indeed a qualified private investigator. That wasn’t just gut instinct. Detective Carter nodded his agreement when he’d heard Daniel would be working for her.
“I accept that you’re qualified.” She’d taken two small bites of her half-sandwich so far, and her stomach wasn’t rebelling.
“I haven’t lied to you, and it’s important, going forward, that you believe me when I tell you that I will never lie to you. Neither of us will. We may refuse to answer a question. We may tell you the answer you’re trying to get from us isn’t for you to know at that time. But we will not lie.”
Colleen held his gaze for a long moment. She nodded, slowly, then turned her head to look at Rob.
“I’ll second that. I design stuff.” Rob smiled. “Stuff that gets used by government agencies, mostly, to assist them in their…business. And what I design, Daniel helps me field test. In return, I help him with his cases. We’ve been friends forever. Actually, we’re more like brothers than just friends.”
Daniel looked at Rob. “Yes, we’re more like brothers.”
Colleen had the sense that she’d just witnessed a significant moment between the two men. Things were getting stranger by the moment. She wanted to move this process forward, so she decided to pull the conversation back
to the very urgent matter at hand. “You mentioned terms. I’m very comfortable, financially. Perhaps negotiating with someone isn’t a time to assert something like that, but I wanted you to know that I can afford your rates, whatever they are.”
Daniel poured himself a cup of coffee then used his cup as a pointer. Colleen looked down at the remainder of the sandwich in her hand. She wasn’t going to fuss. He’d been right about eating slowly and chewing well. So far what she’d eaten felt as if it was going to stay put. More, it actually tasted good.
Colleen took another bite and chewed.
“What do you know about the Dominant/submissive dynamic?” Daniel asked.
That wasn’t the question she expected. Having left the Lyon’s Den behind, Colleen had pretty much put that place, and what it represented, out of her thoughts.
She shrugged. “I guess I don’t really know anything about it. I’ve impressions, but I got the distinct feeling, tonight, that my impressions are mostly…wrong.”
Rob had looked completely relaxed the entire time she’d been in his company. She couldn’t put her finger on what was different, but it seemed as if that had been a cloak that he’d worn and now put off. He sat forward and folded his hands on the table.
“Unfortunately, there’s been a fair amount of negative press about our lifestyle in recent years. Some think claiming to be a Dominant allows them a free hand to abuse women. The truth is the exact opposite. Dominants are those who enjoy nothing more than meeting the needs of their submissives, and I don’t mean only their sexual needs. Submissives are not doormats. They’re people who themselves live to care for others, to put others first. They’re the ones who, in our lifestyle, ensure that those they love or cared for are nurtured.”
“It sounds to me as if there’s not much difference between the two—dominants and submissives.”
Daniel tilted his head. “There really isn’t. Except in one crucial area. The biggest difference is that submissives languish under the burden of making decisions and being in charge, of having to assume total control of their environments, both professionally and personally, whereas Dominants thrive on being in control, sometimes of every single aspect of their lives and the lives of their submissives.”
Collaring Colleen [Tales from the Lyon's Den 2] Page 3