by Avery Gale
Chapter Ten
Lawton watched Cressida’s expressions thinking about all the times he’d wondered if the light in her eyes really indicated desire or if it was just wishful thinking on his part. Something had changed during the past six months though, what he’d assumed was casual interest before had become much easier to read and he wasn’t sure why. The interest had been replaced by a hunger he’d feared she might try to sate with another man if they didn’t step up to the plate. He and Brodie had discussed it on several occasions but neither of them had been able to determine what had precipitated the change. Now, after hearing her confession to Tristan that she’d been challenged by her sister, Law couldn’t help but wonder how long her sister had been pushing her. “Sweetness, how long has it been since you’ve been in a sexual relationship?”
He hadn’t thought she would lie to him, but he was fairly certain she was going to use every trick she knew to skirt the truth, and she didn’t disappoint him. “Define sexual. Because I remember when Bill Clinton was president, the definition came into question on several occasions and some of that stuff seemed pretty sexual to me, if you know what I mean.”
Law had to give her credit, she’d just raised the bar for deflection as a means of defense, “Alright, I’m willing to play this little semantics game—for a very short time.” Since it actually played in his favor to let her slide a bit further into a medicated haze. Ahh the joys of over-the-counter pharmaceutical truth serum. “Let’s just say for the sake of argument, I’m asking you if you have ever had a man put his cock inside you.” He’d been deliberately obtuse, it was going to be fun painting her into a corner. Brodie might be the attorney, but Lawton Hill was no slouch when it came to verbal skirmishes and he was particularly adept when it involved the naked woman lying next to him.
The sparkle in her eyes as she saw the opening made him want to laugh out loud—God, but she was going to be fun. He and Brodie had shared women for years, each of them discovering unique benefits to ménage. But Cressida made it all feel entirely new—not only because they were going to be the men who introduced her to the lifestyle, but to sexual experiences in general. Thinking about all they could show her made his cock so hard it felt close to bursting.
“May 18, 2013.” The matter of fact way Cressida had stated the date raised a lot of questions, but it was his desire to know who that almost caused him to lose his focus.
“I’m assuming it was remarkably memorable since you didn’t seem to have any trouble recalling the exact date. I’m sure Master Brodie is just as interested as I am in the details, so please…” He made a gesture with his hand for her to continue and that was when he noticed her eyes were no longer glassy just from the medication she’d taken, but they were now swimming in unshed tears.
“I’m really tired, can we talk about this another time?” There was a lot more mental fatigue in that statement than physical exhaustion, and as much as he wished he could simply pull her into his arms and hold her, the Dominant in him couldn’t let her get away with it.
“No. Sorry, baby, that’s not the way this works. We’ll always expect you to be honest with yourself, and with us. The freedom to share everything is one of the elements of a Dominant/submissive relationship that first appealed to me. Now—before I ask you again, I want you to stop and think carefully, because you are the one who set this all in motion.” The minute he’d spoken the words he knew he’d made a mistake, seeing the light fade from her eyes was heart wrenching to watch, but knowing he’d hurt her almost made him physically ill. They actually knew more about her upbringing than they’d ever be willing to share with anyone outside the four owners of the company. Her father had provided for her physical needs, but had never offered her any emotional support at all, and for a woman who was a bone-deep submissive, his emotional distance had been the worst possible form of abuse.
From what they’d learned, Cressi had been forced to practically beg for even the smallest morsel of attention and then she’d been scorned as “needy”, and now he’d essentially slapped her down for once again seeking something so very basic. And the worst part was they had been trying to figure out a way for two years to get to this point. She’d been the brave one—the one who had taken the initiative, and he’d just stomped all over her heart like a complete clod.
“You’re right, of course, I did set this in motion. I don’t think I considered all the ramifications and now…well, perhaps I need to re-evaluate things.” She scooted out the end of the bed so quickly neither he nor Brodie caught her before she was on her feet.
Brodie glared at him, but the reproach wasn’t necessary, he already felt like a first class heel. And this moment was exactly why a polyamorous relationship held so much appeal—Brodie didn’t miss a beat, “Cressida, stop right now and think. Even though I have to agree that Master Lawton’s words were not well chosen, I also feel quite certain you have completely misinterpreted what he was trying to say.” She did stop and Lawton saw her eyes flicker over to him, but she wouldn’t hold his gaze.
“Baby, please listen to me. When I said you started this, what I should have said was you were far braver than we have been, because we have spent the past two years trying to figure out how to get to this point.” She didn’t look entirely convinced but at least the tears didn’t look like they were going to fall. God almighty he was a sucker for tears, well tears that weren’t a part of a scene.
All four owners of The Knight’s Club had been sexual Dominants for years—in the beginning they had traveled extensively learning everything they could from some of the most respected mentors in the world. Lawton understood how cathartic crying could be under the right circumstances, but tears resulting from hurt feelings were counterproductive to the absolute trust required for an effective D/s relationship. He’d damaged that trust and it was up to him to repair it.
Moving to stand in front of her, Lawton cupped each side of her face in his large hands, “Cressida, I know I hurt you and I can’t begin to tell you how sorry I am for that. It was not my intention, but you need to stop and think for a moment before you make a decision to walk out the door.” She didn’t respond—just stood stock-still, blinking up at him, “You know me as well as any woman ever has—have you ever known me to intentionally hurt anyone?”
For the first time since he’d fucked up he saw a bit of the light return to her eyes and he almost sagged with relief. “No, I haven’t, but I know you—both of you, and I’m willing to bet you have uncovered everything there is to know about me. You wouldn’t have hired anyone to work in your inner circle without doing a thorough background check.” He should have known she’d have easily come to that conclusion, she did, after all, see similar reports done on other potential employees. What she didn’t know was the fact their file on her was far more extensive. Once he and Brodie decided to make her their own, they’d left no stone unturned in their efforts to learn anything and everything they could. It had quickly become about gathering information that might help them make her their own as opposed to protecting the interests of the company.
He was willing to cop to the background check, but there wasn’t any reason to let her know just how invasive that investigation had been. There was very little about her life they didn’t know—hell, for several weeks after she’d been hired they knew every move she’d made, including how inadequately she’d eaten in her attempt to save money. By the time the details of her father’s treatment had come to light, he and Brodie were already falling in love with Cressida so the report they’d received had been extremely difficult to read. Lawton now believed in many ways, mental abuse was more damaging than physical because it’s so easily hidden and the victims rarely receive the support they desperately need. Cressida had made it through, largely intact emotionally because of her own tenacity and an older sister who used her favored position in the family to help her younger sibling.
Bringing his thoughts back to the moment, it was easy to see she was fading fast and Law
didn’t want her falling asleep with this between them, “Sweetheart, I’m thrilled you took the first step—and we intend to show you every physical pleasure you’ve read about and some you can’t yet begin to even imagine. But first I want you to crawl right back into bed and get some rest. Can you do that for me?” He watched her eyes flicker with something close to disappointment before she slowly nodded so he leaned down and pressed a soft kiss against the tender flesh below her ear, “When you wake up, we’re going to go over that limit list Master Tristan gave you, and then we’re going to begin.” Law was beyond pleased when she shuddered, her nipples tightening to sharp points as goose flesh raced over her ivory skin.
Pulling Cressida’s naked body against his bare chest sent molten lava through his veins. Law wanted nothing more than to sink his body into hers and show her just how thrilled he was she’d made the call to Tristan. Instead he slid his hand up to cradle the back of her head, threading his fingers through her soft tresses, and pulled gently so he could look into her eyes, “When you wake up, we’ll begin—I’m not sure how Master Brodie or I will be able to get through the night with you naked between us, but you need your rest.”
Pressing a soft kiss against her warm lips, Law leaned down to steal another sweet kiss just as he heard Brodie curse, “Incoming. Your mother is on her way up.”
*****
Forty minutes later, Cressida was fast asleep and even though he’d hated the expected intrusion, Dr. Hill had given the sweet woman lying fast asleep in front of him some much-needed mothering. Lawton’s mother had flowed so easily between physician and mother hen it had been intriguing to watch. She stormed through the door carrying an enormous box of food, her smiling husband trailing behind carrying an absurdly large floral arrangement and a bag with a Myla logo on the side. Brodie was more than a little anxious to see what Lana Hill had purchased for Cressida at one of the city’s best lingerie stores, as anxious as the good doctor was for her son to settle down, Brodie felt fairly certain there wasn’t anything flannel in the pretty bag.
Cressida had fallen asleep in the dress shirt Lawton had given her to wear when they’d known the Hills were on their way up, and even though he hated to disturb her, Brodie was going to see to it she was naked again when he climbed in behind her. He wanted to be able to feel her silky warmth pressed against his bare chest, his arms wrapped around her so her breasts were held gently in his large hands. Brodie wanted to press his nose into her citrus scented hair and let her essence be the last thing he smelled before falling asleep. Looking down at her, he wanted to smile, there were times he forgot how petite she was because her personality was bold and she was absolutely fearless when going toe-to-toe with them at work.
Rolling her gently to her side, he unbuttoned the shirt and slipped it off without waking her. Standing beside the bed gazing down on Cressida as she slept, Brodie was shocked at how complete he felt for the first time in years. Everything about her intrigued him, her sense of humor, her ability to see the larger issues even when she easily dissected the details of a contract, and her unfailing loyalty to her sister. When he looked up, Lawton was looking at her with the same expression of wonder and gratitude Brodie suspected was painted over his own face. He might not attend church regularly, but that didn’t mean he didn’t appreciate the blessing laying in front of him.
“I hate it that she’s not feeling well, but I’m damned glad Parker saw her.”
“It scares me to death to think what might have happened to her. If she had passed out in that store she’d have ended up in the hospital and no one would have been there for her. We have to make sure we’re listed in her phone as her ICE contacts.” Brodie smiled because Lawton was always reminding people to use their technology for practical purposes as well as entertainment. Having their numbers programmed in to Cressida’s phone as her in case of emergency contacts was definitely better than her sister who was so often out of the country.
“Let’s get some sleep. We have a sub to begin training tomorrow and I don’t want either of us to risk saying something wrong—again.” Brodie saw his friend cringe before he nodded. Cressida sighed contentedly and curled up against him without ever opening her eyes, and for the first time in years, Brodie was able to fall asleep almost immediately.
Chapter Eleven
Parker spent all night and most of the next day hitting dead-end after dead-end trying to back trace the man emailing Cressida Walker. At one point it had become a question of who was chasing who when he realized he was being pinged as well. By the time he’d finally managed to shake the shadow—the asshat had managed to tap into another backdoor of T.E.G.’s secure server costing Parker several additional hours of time. The fucker is slick, I’ll give him that.
Not only did Parker feel like he’d spent eighteen hours chasing his tail—he still hadn’t managed to identify the man. What he had discovered was the guy had also been tracking Cressida’s older sister, Carli. From what he’d seen, it appeared his monitoring was part of his fascination with Cressida. Oddly enough he’d had a plethora of information at his fingertips about one of the most photographed women in the world, but he’d forgone it all to highjack only those pieces that pertained to or involved Cressida, including pictures the paparazzi had snapped of the two women together.
So far, Parker’s attempts to warn Carli hadn’t been successful—not that he was particularly surprised, the woman was a nightmare to contact. He might be managing her security detail, but she’d been clear that she didn’t feel his help was necessary and therefore she wouldn’t be a “slave to his obsessive-compulsive safety issues.” God, the woman would send the Pope himself into a fit of rage. He’d placed a call to her agent instructing the man who shadowed Cressida on all her trips to contact him by voice call only. There was no way he’d discuss these concerns via text or email—both of Carli’s preferred ways of dealing with him were off the table for the foreseeable future.
Parker was not at all pleased to learn Ms. I-know-more-than-my-security-team was still not using the secure phone he’d set up for her. When he’d given it to her, she’d protested claiming she just recently mastered the phone she was using before dropping the device he meticulously programed for her into the gargantuan bag she called a purse. He’d looked the leather monstrosity over in an attempt to find the American Tourister label, certain it was a piece of luggage rather than an accessory of choice for one of the world’s leading fashion icons. The glare she’d given him let him know she evidently hadn’t gotten the memo about clutches being all the rage. So much for making sure the phone he’d gotten her was slim enough to fit in the smaller bags he’d assumed she carried. Hell, she’d be lucky to ever see the damned phone again if it settled at the bottom of her luggage bag—the damned thing should have had rollers on the bottom.
Before Parker flipped the switch to darken the screen he’d been staring at far too long, he noticed the small alert blinking in the corner. Sitting back down he opened the program and swore, “You son-of-a-bitch.” Without ever looking down at his phone, he dialed the man who’d been his best friend since their freshman year of college. Parker always marveled that a man who was so cultured and socially adept could, at the same time, harbor such an abhorrence for talking on the telephone.
“What?”
“Would it kill you to say hello?”
“Probably not. What do you want?”
“Your membership files have been compromised.” Parker’s pronouncement was met with a long moment of silence and he knew Tristan well enough to simply wait. Tristan Harris might appear to be the picture of suave perfection, but the man was the very definition of intense. The first time Parker met his best friend’s parents he’d have been convinced Tristan was adopted if he and his father hadn’t looked so much alike. In fact, they actually looked more like brothers than father and son, something Parker found remarkable—it was like the man had simply stopped aging at forty.
William and Mary Elizabeth Harris were as carefree a
nd effervescent as their son was intense and contemplative, a fact they chided their only child about at every opportunity. Parker loved visiting them and had made the trip numerous times over the years. They’d shown him some of the best London had to offer and of course their royal connections ensured they’d been able to show him places many tourists never got to see.
Tristan’s voice cut short Parker’s stroll down memory lane, “Do you know who? Or how?”
“Working on it. I found it while trying to trace a problem here at T.E.G. The only reason I even started looking was because the man appears to have become obsessed with Cressida Walker.”
“Fuck. Is she safe? Has she been able to shed any light on the situation?” The vehemence in Tristan’s voice wasn’t really a surprise—the man had earned the nickname Sir Lancelot in more ways than one. Tristan Harris was every sub’s knight in shining armor at the first sign of trouble.
“Not yet, she’d been ill, but I think she’ll be well enough for me to interview tomorrow.” After giving Tristan a brief rundown on how things had played out, he added, “Right now I’m headed back to my place. I’m wiped. I’ll get some sleep and then see about talking to her. I’ve already sent someone over to pick up a few things for her and secure her place. I’ve also contacted Kyle West, he’s sending me one of the tracking bracelets they’ve used with his wife and mother.” Parker had known the West brothers since they’d been kids and he appreciated his friends’ input and offers to help when he’d called them earlier. Parker knew about the specialized jewelry they’d made for Tobi and Lilly because Lawton had helped with the technological aspects, and he was grateful they’d offered to send everything so quickly.