Requested Surrender

by Riley Murphy

  “Kind of. I noticed that when I insisted that he do things he was in a better mood. So when I said I didn’t like something or I wouldn’t live with the changes he was trying to make, he wasn’t as shitty about it. It was pretty easy until I had to start planning the chores. ”

  That’s when the whole conversation turned to shit and had Lacy almost wishing she had told them the truth. For the next half hour she was grilled about what she’d made him do. She didn’t think things could get any worse, but then they did when Alex changed the subject.

  “Hate to be the wet blanket, but I’m going to have to go soon and I want to say something before I do. It’s about you and David.”

  That got Lacy’s attention.

  “Rene mentioned that he spoke to David this morning about relationship stuff. He wouldn’t go into details, I tried, but when that didn’t work I asked him if he gave him good advice at least. He said he did and kind of chuckled. That got me curious so I puffed up his ego some until he had to share how clever he was with me.”

  She didn’t like the way Alex was grinning. “What? Tell me.”

  “You, my dear, are in for an interesting afternoon. Rene says that once David finishes dealing with his business he plans on taking you to the interrogation room. I hope you’re secret isn’t too big, because that room has a way of turning one’s will to clam up into a confessional.”

  “S-secret?” Lacy face flushed as she worked hard to keep the word Guilty from showing up on her forehead.

  “If you have one, you won’t have it for very much longer. That room kicked my ass. Last time there? I would have told Ethan where Hoffa was buried if I known the location.”

  Lacy looked at Jo, hoping that she’d tell her not to worry. But Jo scowled instead. “I think it’s the cement floors. Could be the block walls—”

  “It’s the two-way mirror that freaked me out. The first time in there, Ethan had—well, never mind. Let’s just say the room is intimidating.”

  “Oh, stop. You guys are making her nervous.”

  Alex turned and patted her hand. “When Rene and I were here last time, we played in there. It was intense.” She shot a mocking glare at Colin. “Not intimidating.”

  Lacy was sitting there having her own nuclear meltdown when Alex gave her hand a squeeze. “Stop worrying. Rene thinks you’re going to be good for David. He said David lived with a woman once who nearly wrecked him. That he’s been closed off ever since things fell apart with her. Until you came along. And on this, I think my husband is right. You can help David heal that old wound.”

  Lacy’s heart actually ached. She would have given anything to turn back time and not have gone in his closet. Stumbling on finding that letter…

  She couldn’t look any of them in the eyes, so she turned away and whispered, “I don’t think so.”

  “I do. Why, you’re the first woman in years to be invited into his home.”

  And look at how she’d inadvertently abused that privilege.

  “You’ll have to learn how to manage him.”

  She highly doubted that. “I really don’t think that’s possible.”

  “Sure it is.” Colin nodded. “And we can help. What kind of Dom is he?”

  “I don’t know.”

  Colin frowned. “You gotta give us something. Does he make you eat things you don’t like?” Lacy shook her head and Colin’s shoulders dropped. “I’m out.”

  Jo sat forward. “Does he act like a dick and make you sign contracts?”

  “He is a dick sometimes,” Lacy answered. “But no contracts.”

  “Well then.” Jo sighed. “I got nothing.”

  “Has he made you do things for him?”

  Alex couldn’t be serious, but when Lacy realized she was, her eyes widened. “Well, duh! That’s a given.”

  But then Alex added, “Non-sexual stuff like ironing his shirts or shelving the books in his library?”

  “Yes!” Lacy stabbed a finger at her. “Exactly.”

  “Oh, in that case, just anticipate his needs.” Lacy blinked and when Alex saw her, she continued. “You know. Do things for him before you’re asked.”

  “That’s it?”

  “Yeah, men aren’t hard to figure out if you know how to manage them. Take Rene, for instance. He seems like a real bear, doesn’t he? But he’s not because I know his secret.”

  Even Colin and Jo leaned in but it was Lacy who asked, “Secret?”

  “Yep, he loves me. And when dominant men love their woman there isn’t much that’s going to get in the way of that except their over inflated egos. All you have to do is find the release pin and tug on it once in a while, so they still stay inflated but not so much they’d blow up. Show you need them and you’re good. Speaking of needing.” Alex looked down at her watch. “Damn it, nearly two o’clock. I have to go meet Rene.”

  Lacy groaned. “Can’t you call him and tell him you want to stay for a bit?”

  “No can do. It’d be embarrassing if I stayed. I’d be leaking.” She pointed to her chest.

  Colin stood and stretched her back, her stomach coming dangerously close to punching Lacy in the face.

  Lacy leaned back. “Hey!”

  “Oh. Sorry.” Colin moved to the right and then turned to Alex. “I thought you gave up breast feeding Bea?”

  Alex gave them all a look. Her head tilted as if she were peering over an imaginary pair of readers at them, before she said, “Bea? Yes, I did.”

  That remark was greeted with a collective silence. Rare. Very rare when they were altogether, but even lightning strikes twice once in a while.

  Lacy wanted to be clear. “You’re…ah.” She waved a hand in the direction of Alexis’ breasts. “Rene?”

  Colin gasped.

  “Don’t knock it. I’m kind of liking it. Every afternoon like clockwork I get Rene all to myself.”

  Jo made a gagging noise as Alex brushed past her, prompting Alex to laugh. “I’ll make sure I tell my honey to speak to yours about how great this kind of kink is.”

  “I don’t fucking care,” Jo called at her back. “I’ll put my foot down .”

  “Very hard to do when you’re on your knees.”

  The door slammed and Jo shook her head. “I knew I never should have liked that woman.”

  “I think she’s a trip.”

  “Wait.” Lacy stood up as her friends headed for the door. “Where are you two going?”

  “I have to meet Ethan.”

  “Ted and I are booked for hydro-wraps at 2:15.”

  “Oh.” Lacy looked around praying the walls of the boathouse didn’t close in on her.

  Colin hesitated. “Do you want me to stay and help you tidy up?”

  “There’s four fucking glasses. I’m sure she can manage. Right?”

  Lacy nodded at Jo, and then said, “I’ll catch up with you guys later.”

  “For sure,” Colin shouted as Jo took her arm and pulled her out the door. “I’ll want to hear how you like the tapas rooms.”

  Lacy waited until they’d gone and the front door was closed before she collapsed back down on the couch. David had said he wouldn’t be finished until 4:00 which meant she had two hours to figure out what she was going to do. What could she tell him? She worked out every scenario she could surrounding the truth, but each of them turned out bad. If only the letter hadn’t been so personal. That’s what someone else’s letters are. Personal. Why did she continue reading?

  Disgusted with herself, she got up and washed the few glasses and put them away while she continued to play mental ping-pong with the topic. No further ahead than she was when she’d first begun. And she knew why. If David got her in that room—screw that, any room—and was determined to unearth her secret, he’d succeed. But she couldn’t let him win this time. Because this time if he did, it would be a loss for the both of them.

  She walked over to the window and watched the steel-blue waves kiss the dock. Ethan’s Sea Ray was a bit of overkill for Silver Lake,
but it did look great up on the lift and shining in the early afternoon sun.

  Why was David hanging onto those letters?

  She would have loved to have gotten her posse’s thoughts on this, but that was impossible without coming clean—Google it. She heard Jo’s earlier suggestion as clear as a bell in her head. One upside to the new phone she’d had to get after she threw her old one at David? She had Wi-Fi. A blessing and a curse because the answers she found when doing a general search of: Boyfriend holds onto ex-girlfriend’s unopened letters, was not encouraging. They all pointed to the same thing. Unresolved issues. She couldn’t even be happy in the knowledge that she wasn’t the only one in their relationship who had problems, as the last issue she wanted David to have was him carrying a torch for his ex-flame.

  “Oh!” She jerked when her phone vibrated. Then she read.

  Meet me in the lobby at 4.

  Damn. She scrunched her eyes shut and let her head fall back. Only because he’d included a smiley face. Not a regular one either. This one sported a Mohawk and had one brow arched in a high bow over an eye. It should have made her laugh and instead she found herself almost crying. It was an omen. Him being cute. Of all the time…

  “God damn it, Lacy Pembrook! You’re not going to fuck this up.” She opened her eyes and stood. Turning to stare out at that boat again, she wished she could take off in it. Better that than having to…

  Suddenly a germ of an idea started to form and she took another peek at the smiley face. Did she dare? David would be furious. So furious he’d forget about everything, but her breaking his rules and breaking her promise to him. The awful gnawing in the pit of her stomach started to ease as she considered simply leaving to go for a walk. A long walk so that he’d know she was gone. So that he’d be in the lobby waiting for her when she got back. By then he’d be too mad at her to want to unearth secrets. His only concern would be why she’d left after she promised not to.

  What about tomorrow and the next day and the next day after that?

  She crushed that little voice, silencing it with a willpower she didn’t know she had. Then as she left the boathouse and made her way back up to the resort, she repeated a vow over and over. A vow of silence. She would never let David know she’d read that letter. She’d never admit that she’d stumbled on where he kept his pain and disappointment. At least she hoped that’s what the shoebox housed because the only other alternative was unrequited love. She wasn’t going to think about that possibility. No. She couldn’t afford that luxury. From now on she was going to be too busy keeping David’s hands full so he’d never learn the truth.

  “Do you need a driver, Ms. Pembrook?”

  Lacy smiled at the doorman. She still wasn’t used to everyone around here knowing her name and kissing her ass. Dating one of the owners certainly came with its fair share of perks. “No, thank you, Richard. I’m going for a walk.”

  She didn’t look back as she headed down the expansive steps, around the massive fountain and though the wrought iron gates of the property. She wasn’t looking back anymore. Only forward from now on.

  Chapter Nineteen

  David looked up from the contract he was reading and saw Ted scanning the floor, looking for Phil. “He’s not here.”

  “Great.” He came into the main office and threw himself into the leather chair opposite the desk. “Although it’s nice to see you here, what gives?”

  David put the paper he was holding down and answered, “I thought it would be a nice break for Lacy.”

  “Bullshit on that.” His friend pulled two mini-bar fridge sized bottles of Chivas out of his pocket and offered, “Drink?”

  “No thanks. I’ve got plans for this afternoon. Need a clear head.” David waited for him to open one of those bottles. When he shoved them back in his pocket instead, it could only mean one thing. T was here to do some mining.

  “So why did you come? And just so you know, you’ve got to make this quick. Jo thinks I’m under some wet Egyptian sheets back there.”

  He hiked a thumb in the direction of the day spa and David grinned. “Good to know. The sheets are muslin, by the way. Not that it will matter if Jo finds out you went AWOL on her.”

  He ignored the dig and said, “So? You going to answer?”

  David knew his friend wasn’t going to let him get away from skirting the issue. “The house. This thing with Lacy. It’s bringing back memories I don’t care to revisit.”

  “Elaina?”

  He nodded. “Yes.”

  “She was a long time ago, buddy.”

  David sat back and sighed. “You better than anyone should know that the shitty stuff sticks.”

  Ted stared right at him. “Sure, but was it that shitty? She left you, I know. I also know she went back to her drug-pushing boyfriend for a time, but eventually she went straight. Isn’t she married to a bank manager or something? She has kids, no?”

  Thankfully, all that was true which made his feelings of failure that much more difficult to swallow. The one time in his life he needed to succeed and he’d blown it.

  “She has two boys. Her husband’s a loan officer.”

  Ted sat forward. “You see? She’s happy.”

  But she wasn’t. He’d never forget the look on her face when she showed up on his doorstep for a third time, looking for him to take her back. As he’d done before. But he couldn’t do it again so he’d turned her away. Then later, when he ran into her and her new husband. All he’d seen in her eyes was resignation. She wasn’t happy, she was surviving. Coping. Lying in the bed she’d made for herself and it broke his heart. There’d been a time when they’d both been free of fear. When she didn’t shy away from life’s challenges and he hadn’t shied away from trusting her. But then their collective failure robbed them of that luxury. She went on to live an ordinary life. Steeped in mediocrity and shelved on the read pile. A woman who had the potential to live an epic story but was too afraid to try because the one person she’d wanted to please the most would have nothing to do with her. And him? He’d thought he’d never trust again…until he’d found Lacy. But could he trust her? Ever since the Joe incident he’d been haunted by bad dreams and old heartache. Fuck.

  “Maybe she is happy. I hope.”

  Ted was in the process of getting up when he collapsed back down in the chair. “Fuck. E was right. This past shit isn’t the only thing bothering you.”

  “No, there are certain issues.” He didn’t add because of the past shit. “Things I should be facing with Lacy, but I’m putting off. Which is not like me at all.”

  “Are you that serious about her?”

  David didn’t want to answer. Not verbally anyway, as he’d probably say more on that topic than he should. So he nodded.

  “Understandable. If the issues are little shit. Like attitude and behavior stuff. You’ll know when you’ll need to step up to the spanking horse and do some flogging, but if the issues are deeper than that, deal with them now. Don’t do what I did and put them aside. They don’t go away and the longer you leave them, the worse they get. I came this close”—he held up his thumb and forefinger and made an imaginary measurement, reminding David of Lacy last night. “This close to losing Jo and she’s the best fucking thing that’s ever happened to me.”

  David nodded again and then changed the subject. “How are things going with Kavanagh?”

  “Great. Well, on the mentoring front, that is. E nearly blew a gasket when he started asking about Laren.”

  Relieved that Ted didn’t push to stay on the Lacy topic, he asked, “Who’s that?”

  “Rene and Alex’s friend. She came up with them to help out with little Bea.”

  Even though it wasn’t any of his business that didn’t stop T from explaining, “After what Kavanagh tried to do with Rene and Alex, E’s a little sensitive.”

  David remembered how Michael Kavanagh tried to wedge himself between Rene and his wife, but that was a long time ago now and Michael was a different man. A
reputable Dom. He wouldn’t pull something like that again, now that he knew better. “Is she married or something?”

  “In the middle of a divorce, but E doesn’t want any problems so he’s banned the guy from speaking with her.”

  “Yeah, like that’ll work.” David was going to say more, but Ethan came through the door.

  “Either of you guys seen my keys?”

  David shook his head and Ted called over his shoulder, “No.”

  “I thought I left them—are the two of you blind?” When Ethan stalked over and scooped his keys out of the monkey dish on the corner of the desk, David frowned.

  “Must be. I didn’t even notice them.”

  “Jesus fuck. Me neith—”

  “Hey, watch the language.”

  David turned, easing his scowl when he saw Rene in the entrance with Beatrice in his arms. He stood at the same time Ted did. Ethan only turned around while they all remained quiet. Too quiet, until Rene grinned and readjusted his girl. “She’s a baby, not the Anit-Christ. You can wipe the stricken looks off your faces.”

  Ted blew out a breath. “Shit.”

  “Hey, now.” Rene glared. “Language.” He threw a curt nod down to his girl.

  “Sorry.”

  David was amazed at how big she’d gotten since the last time he saw her. He headed right for her, and when she noticed she smiled so wide her pacifier dropped out of her mouth. He’d barely gotten to Rene’s side when she fell forward toward him. He didn’t even ask permission. He took her right from her dad’s arms and held her up. “How’s my little pumpkin?”

  “Pumpkin? She’s not a pumpkin,” Ted cooed in the goofiest voice David had ever heard. “She’s a Princess.”

  When he was standing right beside them, Ted laughed and David looked down. Little Bea had extended her leg and tried to curl her toes on Ted’s arm. Only the skin was so tight she couldn’t. “A flirt, too.”

  “You’re crowding her,” Ethan said. He shouldered his way through the three of them and swiftly took Bea from David arms. “You see? She’s scared.”

  She didn’t look scared. In fact she was tugging so tightly on Ethan’s hair at the moment, trying to stick some of it in her mouth, that his friend’s eyes were watering. David bet Bea was the only female to ever do that to him.