For the last three months, she had been yelled at, screamed at, and threatened by all of them. Oh, they weren’t angry at her, but since she was the middle man, so to speak, they took their frustrations out on her. She was tired, her head hurt, and she didn’t care if they tore each other apart, as long as they left her alone. She couldn’t take the bickering and fighting anymore. Her stomach was in knots and she was starting to have trouble keeping her food down. She’d already lost some weight, and if she lost anymore, she was going to get sick.
Getting out of the tub, she had just wrapped the towel around herself, when Tristan burst through the door. Oh, and she was real tired of being barged in on. “Do you know what your brother has done now?”
“You could have knocked, Tristan,” she replied, sighing. Walking over to the linen cabinet, Violet grabbed another towel and headed for the toilet.
“He wants me to fund and build a memorial for the lives lost in the cave in. He said the town needs something to remember that day.”
“That’s not a bad idea,” she said, sitting on the toilet, drying her hair. When she looked up at Tristan and saw his face turn red, she knew she should have grabbed her hair dryer. That way she could drown out what Tristan was about to say.
“Yes it is!” Tristan shouted angrily. “My company had nothing to do with the cave in. I have proof! Besides, I’ve already paid the family’s restitution and funded the rebuilding of all the business and then some. I’ve hired several geologists to come here and inspect every damn tunnel, and paid them to bring them all up to code. I’ve had the EPA out here to make sure that my drilling equipment isn’t hurting the environment, and even moved some of them at my own cost. I refuse to give this town or your brother one more damn dime. I won’t do it, Violet. Enough is enough.”
“Tristan, you agreed to stay and help. If it helps the families of those who were hurt most to have a memorial, then I don’t see how it could hurt. They lost their love ones, sweetheart. They are still grieving,” Violet calmly replied.
“And so is my checkbook! It’s damn near weeping.” And that’s what it all boiled down to—money. According to Tristan, he had paid his debt to Treasure Cove and the families, while Gabriel said he still owed much more. If Violet had to have another discussion about money again, she was going to scream. She hated talking about money. Money was evil and it was making her family and the men she loved crazy.
Quietly getting to her feet, she said absolutely nothing as she walked past Tristan and into their spacious bedroom. She loved this room. One of the first things Tristan and Sasha did for her was build her this beautiful home. It was a dream come true for a girl who never had a home of her own. She had had a hand in every single detail of the house, especially their bedroom. She was there when construction broke ground and when the contractor gave her the keys. The house that Sasha and Tristan built her was a testament to their love and commitment to her. Only now as she looked at it, she was wondering if it was becoming a jail cell.
Sasha hadn’t slept in her bed in two weeks and Tristan was so tired when he came home, he was crashing in his office downstairs. The house which once felt like a bright new beginning was now cold and lonely. There was no balance between them anymore. Everything revolved around work and the town. She couldn’t remember the last time all three of them were together. She missed them both and wanted to see them together, not separately. Something had to give, and soon.
“Violet,” Tristan groaned, following her. “I was talking to you.”
“And I heard you clearly, Tristan.”
“You have to talk to your brother.”
“Okay, Tristan. I will.” She sighed, knowing the only way to get him to stop ranting was to give in and just do what he wanted. She learned that trick about six months ago and since then, she’d used it more frequently than she liked.
And like all the times before, Tristan smiled, walked over to her, kissed her forehead and said, “Thanks, babe, you’re a lifesaver.” Then he did an about-face and walked away.
She couldn’t do this anymore. She needed a break. Sitting on the bed, she wanted her men back, she needed them. She got that they were stressed and angry, who wasn’t? The town suffered a massive catastrophe and many were still dealing with it. However, the town was starting to thrive again, new businesses were being opened daily, and people were starting to smile again. This tension and anger between her brother and her men had to stop soon, or she was going to go insane. There needed to be a balance somewhere. Just because her men were wealthy didn’t give Gabriel the right to milk them dry. Her men needed to understand that Gabriel was only doing what he thought best for the town. Gabriel wasn’t trying to make them pay for all of their sins, he just needed help to get Treasure Cove back on its feet.
But mainly, she needed Sasha and Tristan. She was tired of the late nights alone wondering if or when they were coming home. She hated that they were sleeping apart. She missed talking with them, laughing with them, making love to them. She had spent the last year and a half comforting them, appeasing them, giving them the strength they needed to see this all through, and in that process, they had forgotten about her. She, too, needed comfort, strength, and their love. Instead, she got silent dinners and a cold, lonely bed.
After getting dressed alone, Violet walked downstairs to hear Tristan once again on his phone barking orders at some innocent person. Shaking her head, she grabbed her keys and purse and left. She couldn’t stay another minute in the house with him and be ignored.
She needed to talk to someone, anyone but them or her brother. Knowing there was only one person she could speak to, Violet got into the car Sasha bought for her and drove to see the only person who would understand.
Chapter Two
“Violet, you’re going to have to calm down. I can’t understand you,” she heard Kelly softly say through her sobs. Since arriving at Kelly’s house, Violet couldn’t contain her emotions any longer. The second she saw the cute blonde therapist, Violet broke down and let the last year of her life spill out. It was all a mess. One horrible, big-ass mess and Violet feared it was all because of her.
“They fight all the time. Everyone. My brothers, Tristan, Sasha and even some of the other residents, who don’t like what my men are doing. They are just trying to help, but everyone complains and wants more. My guys are doing the best they can, Kelly. They aren’t Gods, you know. Gabriel keeps fighting them about everything, and my men feel like they’re being backed into a corner. It’s not fair! And then when it all gets too much, they come home and take it out on me, thinking I can fix it all but I can’t! I just can’t do it anymore.”
“Who’s taking it out on you?” Kelly asked.
“Gabriel, for one. When my men don’t agree with him, he calls me and asks me to talk to them. But then I hear it from Sasha and Tristan. They ask me to do the same. I feel like a damn yo-yo! My string is about to break. I can’t take the fighting anymore. Please make it all stop. Help me.”
“How long as this been going on?”
“For months now. It started when Sasha decided to relocate his club to Treasure Cove. He’s been secretive. He doesn’t talk to me anymore and when he does, he just orders me around and expects me to fall in line with everyone else. I don’t know what to do. I feel like I’ve lost him and I’m about to lose Tristan.”
“Have you tried talking to them?”
“When? They’re never in the same place at the same time anymore. Tristan sleeps in his office and for the last three weeks, Sasha’s been sleeping at his club.”
“But the club isn’t finished. Where is he sleeping?”
“In one of the many rooms,” Violet admitted reluctantly. “The club is moving along faster than anyone expected. Sasha hired another crew from Wyoming to move it along.”
“What’s the rush?”
“Your guess is as good as mine.” Violet sighed, leaning back in the overstuffed chair. God, this chair was comfortable. She could sit in this thing f
or hours and feel perfectly at ease with everything. She loved visiting Kelly. She’d been doing a lot of that lately. So much so, Violet joked one time that maybe she should be paying Kelly for her time.
Violet felt comfortable with Kelly. She always had. Even from the very beginning, there was something sweet and innocent about Kelly that drew Violet to her. Kelly was instrumental in bringing Violet out of her shell when she first arrived in Treasure Cove all those years ago. Without her help, Violet knew she’d still be curled up on the floor somewhere, praying God would put her out of her misery. Life worked in mysterious ways. When all she wanted to do was to die, Gabriel saved her. Then when she found herself all alone in a new place, Kelly was there welcoming her. Now, she had the loves of her life and they were driving her crazy! Apparently, life wasn’t all that it was cracked up to be.
“Maybe you should talk with Sasha,” Kelly stated, holding up her hand before Violet could interrupt. “I know you said he’s distanced himself, but there must be a reason for it. What I suggest is find him and listen to him. Don’t ask too many questions, but be there. Sometimes, in a way, it’s harder for a man to talk. They need to be coddled and coaxed. Maybe with you being there, helping him, he might open up.”
Violet didn’t agree but she was willing to try anything. She hadn’t seen Sasha in weeks and she missed him dearly. She wondered how he was doing, was he eating well, when was the last time he bathed. Kelly was right about one thing, though, she did need to check on him. It didn’t matter if he was cranky and wanted to be left alone, he was part of her life and she loved him. If Sasha needed someone to lean on, then Violet was going to make herself available. “All right then. I’ll go see Sasha. I may not be able to fix them all, but I won’t know until I try.”
* * * *
Sasha Merrick sat at his makeshift desk going over stacks and stacks of papers. There was so much to do and such little time to do it in. The fact of the matter was he was running out time fast.
For the longest time he made no excuses for the life he led. He was a true businessman, a procurer. Sasha would find, acquire, and provide what the customer needed. He delivered a unique service and customers paid handsomely for it. If the consumer wanted something that wasn’t on the menu, so to speak, then it was his job to find the chef to create the meal. Making his customers happy was one of the things Sasha was good at, damn good. His generosity and services spanned the world, from far off, exotic places like the Philippines, Venezuela, and Moscow. His customers’ delights knew no bounds and he provided every form of entertainment. Sought out by the crème de la crème, he was the go-to man in the world of sexual entertainment.
He was also the man about to have his sins revealed for all to see.
Sasha received the first e-mail seven months ago. Like all the others, he thought it was just another request from another former client. Like all the others, he had planned to send a simple reply telling the customer he was no longer able to arrange for such services and put him or her in touch with another procurer who would best suit the customer’s needs. That was until he read the e-mail. Now, unless he did exactly what his customer wanted, all of his sins would come crashing forward and it would cost him everything.
He needed help, and fast. Only he didn’t know who to trust. He couldn’t go to Tristan with this matter because he was bogged down with construction and town meetings. He thought of going to Grey about it, but if she found out what he truly did, she’d be more inclined to turn his ass over to the local authorities. Then there was Gabriel. The man who for the last seven months had made it his life’s mission to interfere in everything he’d been trying to do.
His life was falling apart. He finally found the woman he wanted to spend the rest of his life with, but he couldn’t look at her and not see what he did to her. Everyone thought it was Tristan, because he knew what his brother was and what he did, but it wasn’t, it was him. He was to blame for everything and when she found out, he was going to lose her because of it.
Looking at her picture on his desk, Sasha felt like crying. He would have, too, if he hadn’t shed every tear he had already. He’d gotten angry at himself, too, and sought out Matthias for several rounds of therapeutic kickboxing. When he could get off the mat, Sasha was done. Then came the drinking. He thought if he drank enough, the memory of what he did would be erased, but that was a false hope. Because at night, while in his drunken stupor, he remembered. He remembered everything. Finally, he figured the best thing to do was to distance himself from her. If he wasn’t around her, then he couldn’t hurt her. However, that wasn’t working. No matter how long he stayed away, she would eventually come to him. He waited anxiously to see her, yet when she showed up, his anger over what he did caused him to be the bastard everyone in town believed him to be. And he was. He was hurting the one woman he loved because he couldn’t find the strength to tell her what he did.
“Sasha?”
Lowering his head, Sasha sighed. He should have known she’d show up today. She did when he was at his worst. Somehow, she always knew. Maybe it was the way he responded when he took her by the back of the neck and held her head still so he could push his tongue into her mouth. Or maybe it was the look in his eyes when he held her hands above her head against the wall and pushed his hard body against her soft one. Or maybe it was just fate. It didn’t really matter anyway. What mattered was she was here.
They’d been doing this dance for some time now. She’d broach the subject of why he was staying away and he would say nothing, but give into his desires for her. He’d satisfy his own needs and hers in the process, just enough to put a smile on her face and send her on her way. Only, when she walked into his makeshift office, Sasha knew the old game he played wasn’t going to work this time. This time, she was going to change the rules.
He sat silently behind his desk as she moved about the room, looking and touching things at random. She stopped in front of his bed and leaned down to grab his pillow. She held it close to her chest and smelled it and smiled, as if remembering something sweet. Placing the pillow back where she found it, she moved on, stopping in front of a laundry basket. He was about to say something when she turned and walked back to his bed. With her back to him, she climbed on the bed. He noticed that she reached above her head to grip the frame of the bed tightly with her hands, looking for all the world as if she wanted to be bound in that position, and Sasha knew what she wanted, what she was doing. She still hadn’t said a word, but none of that mattered. The moment she walked in, he was gone. He may be a dominant, but he was her slave.
Silently getting to his feet, he walked toward her. She was stunning as she lay in the middle of his bed, waiting, wanting him. Her soft breast slowly rose. Her nipples hardened through her shirt. Yet her face stayed impassive. He wanted to know what she was thinking. He loved hearing her voice. When he stayed silent, only then did she speak.
“You’d tell me if there was anything more I could do to please you in bed, wouldn’t you?” she asked. Sasha wasn’t sure why she asked the question, but since she said the words, a curiosity formed and he needed to know. He looked at her with some surprise. “Of course I would! There isn’t anything. Sex with you is good.”
Good was not enough. He got his words mixed up. She was acting weird. Something was wrong. She wasn’t her typical happy self. He’d read enough women’s magazines to know that when a woman starts talking about sex with her partner, there is something wrong, big time. His confidence was already in the slumps, and her discussion stung. She was baiting him. Why?
“I’d really like to know what turns you on. There must be something you’d like, some fantasy or other,” she persisted. Sasha could sense that she was a tiny bit embarrassed at the way the conversation was turning. In that moment, he knew what she was up to. She was trying to entice him, to get him to talk to her. She’d been trying for months with no success. She was tenacious to say the least, but her efforts were in vain. He wasn’t going to talk. Not ever, and the
thought of her trying to use her body to get what she wanted infuriated him. He didn’t have time to play games with her.
Sasha seized her by the shoulders, pulled her from the bed, and pushed her back against the wall and kissed her roughly. At first she squealed with surprise and started to resist instinctively, but only for a moment. Within seconds, she surrendered to his onslaught and responded to his tongue with her own. Before long, he could feel her body rubbing up against his, and no doubt she could feel the hardness of his cock growing.
He was angry with her, not believing she could play such games. He wanted to punish her. She had no right to use her sexuality against him to get what she wanted. She was his little flower, pure and innocent. The thought of her using her body was abhorrent to him. He couldn’t explain it, but in a way it felt as if she lowered herself. He wouldn’t let her do it. He refused to be the one who let her fall from grace.
“I like it when you’re...” Her voice trailed off.
“When I’m what?” He prompted.
With a sigh, she gave in. “When you’re forceful with me,” she said, with a strange abruptness that contrasted oddly with her previous reticence.
There it was. The secret was out. He had the confirmation he needed. Nothing could stop him from having his way with her now. A world of nefarious possibilities opened up to him and she might as well already be bound, gagged, and writhing helplessly at his feet.
But Sasha was a patient man and he knew rushing her would only scare her. Time was on his side today and he was going to take as much of it as he could. He couldn’t do anything about his predicament yet, but he could savor her. He pulled her in closer. “I like that, too,” he told her. “In fact, I’d like to be a bit more forceful at some point, if you don’t mind.”
She looked up at him. Sasha saw a mixture of feelings in her eyes. There was curiosity about what he might mean and there was unmistakable arousal, too. He could see that she liked the idea. But he could also sense some trepidation about how far he wanted to take it and what sort of secrets he was hiding. His little flower was smart to be concerned. He did have many secrets. Secrets that would scare her to death. Secrets that she could never find out about.
The Reluctant Submissive: Accepting the Change [The Men of Treasure Cove 15] (Siren Publishing Ménage Everlasting) Page 2