Craving His Command - A Doms Of Genesis Novella

by Jenna Jacob

  Even before Kellan’s strong hands gripped her shoulders, Mercy felt the heat of his body enveloping her from behind. She ached for his comfort but loathed it at the same time. She didn’t want to feel weak or victimized. Kerr had stolen too much of her power, her control, and her peace of mind. She refused to crumble and give him even more.

  Kellan leaned in close to her ear. “Stop, sweetheart. I’ll make a phone call…we’ll have this all cleaned up in a day or two. Come. Let’s go sit down in the living room. Officer Amblin is here and needs to talk to you.”

  Mercy shoved the handle of the broom away, sending it crashing to the floor, then turned and jerked her chin up at him. “Fine. Let’s go.”

  He stood like a statue, silently studying the contours of her face. Kellan stroked a finger down her cheek and along her jaw before leaning in close to her lips.

  “I’m not the enemy. I know you’re upset and if you need to, I’ll turn you loose on the heavy bag in my gym, let you work the anger from your system. But until then, lose the attitude toward me.”

  Though his tone was deceivingly placid, his compelling command was bold and strong. For the first time since stepping into her apartment, Mercy felt as if she had a foundation under her feet. Kellan didn’t expect or want her to deal with this infuriating carnage alone.

  She briefly closed her eyes and nodded, then lifted on her toes and pressed her lips to his. “Thank you.”

  He simply winked and led her to the living room.

  After answering a litany of questions and watching officers comb over her apartment like ants, she and Kellan were finally alone. Though she’d slept off and on most of the morning, it was past lunchtime and Mercy was exhausted.

  “I’m taking you home and tucking you into bed,” Kellan began. “I’ll also be keeping the spare key to your apartment on my ring. Kerr doesn’t need to redecorate a second time. Tell me what you’d like to take back to the house tonight, and I’ll pack everything up for you.”

  With a knee-jerk reaction, Mercy opened her mouth to tell him she’d do it, but quickly snapped it shut.

  “Good save, sweetheart.” A knowing grin speared his lips.

  “I am trying.”

  “You’re doing fine.”

  His praise warmed her as they started toward the bedroom.

  The storm had passed by the time they filled the trunk of Kellan’s car with what few belongings she had left. Gray, dank clouds—matching Mercy’s mood—scuttled overhead. As they made the short drive back to his house, she folded her hands in her lap and tried to relax. Just as she closed her eyes, her cell phone rang. When she pulled the device from her bag, Kellan held out his palm.

  “No electronic devices. Remember?”

  “But it’s…” She snapped her mouth shut. Without even looking at the caller ID, she slapped the phone in his palm.

  Kellan glanced at the screen. He placed the device facedown on his lap and continued driving while ignoring the incessant ring.

  “Who is it?”

  “Kerr.”

  Anger surged as she reached for the phone. As if anticipating her action, Kellan gripped her wrist and shook his head. “Let it go to voice mail, angel. If he leaves a message, it will likely be a threat. Those are admissible as evidence in a court of law.”

  Like a firefighter, Kellan’s words extinguished the flames of anger inside her.

  “Thank you, Your Honor. I didn’t think of that. With the mess and the cops and chaos, I haven’t had time to check my messages. If we’re lucky, he’s left a slew of them.”

  “One would do the job, but if there are more, that’s all the better.”

  After arriving back at Kellan’s house, he hauled her things up to the guest room, then they sat together on the couch and listened to the thirty-seven messages on her cell phone. All were from Kerr, except for the one call from her mom. As expected, the tone of the madman’s threats grew exponentially gruesome and violent. Finally, Kellan turned the phone off and set it on the coffee table.

  “I want you to rest. You’ve had a rough day. I’ll phone something in for dinner and wake you when it arrives.”

  The fact that Kellan was instructing rather than asking didn’t escape her attention, nor did the submissive thrills that shot through her.

  “I’d like that. Thank you, Sir.”

  She desperately wanted to ask if he’d had a change of heart. If this was the beginning of the Dominance she’d hoped and prayed he’d bestow on her. But Mercy was afraid of jinxing the future…of him deciding instead to scoop up the breadcrumbs she’d been starving to sample.

  She eased back on the couch and stretched out. The look of pride etched on his face when he draped the blanket over her was answer enough, for now.

  “If you wake before dinner, I’ll be in my office. I need to make some phone calls.”

  When he caressed his fingers over her cheek, Mercy captured his hand and placed a soft kiss in the center of his palm. “Thank you, for everything.”

  She watched his chest expand as he inhaled a deep breath. His blue eyes flickered with something deep and potent. Like a butterfly emerging from its cocoon, a flutter of hope unfurled inside her, and on fragile wings, it took flight.

  “You don’t need to thank me for wanting to keep you safe, angel. Now, sleep.”

  The house was silent but for Kellan’s deep, rich voice resonating in the distance. Knowing he was near filled her with not only a sense of security but also contentment. She closed her eyes intending to simply rest but drifted off to sleep. Thankfully this time, Kerr didn’t visit her dreams.

  She woke to find Kellan sitting in a maroon wingback chair, reading a leather-bound book. When she sat up, he set the book in his lap and sent her a tender smile. Her pulse quickened. Mercy inwardly chided herself for being so ridiculously enchanted by the man.

  “Did you sleep well?”

  “Yes. Like a rock.”

  “I know.” His smile turned into a wicked grin. “You were snoring so loudly, I came in to see if the furniture was moving.”

  “Ha ha.” Mercy rolled her eyes. “I don’t snore.”

  “How do you know?”

  Just as the playful banter started getting fun, the doorbell rang. She shot him an anxious look.

  “Relax. It’s our dinner.”

  “How did they get through the gate?”

  “I opened it from the security panel in the kitchen a few minutes ago. I’ll get the door. Grab a bottle of white wine from the cooler in the kitchen. I’ll meet you there in a minute.” He stood and headed toward the foyer.

  Mercy grinned at his retreating form. Oh, he loved giving out orders, but she loved following them even more. She hurried to the kitchen, opened the glass door of the cooler, and selected a bottle of Cape Mentelle Sauvignon Blanc.

  Kellan entered the kitchen and she raised a quizzical brow. “Is this one all right?”

  “Perfect. Glasses are in the cabinet to your right and the opener’s in the top drawer on your left.”

  Mercy opened the wine while he set dinner out on the table. The scent of seared beef, garlic, and other mouth-watering scents filled the room. Her stomach was gurgling as she removed the cork from the bottle. Moving in behind him, she placed the glasses at their plates and the wine in the center of the table.

  He turned and gazed into her eyes. “Pour for me, little one.”

  As she filled his glass, Kellan sat down. His dissecting stare—the same one he always wore at the club—warmed her to the bone. She placed his glass beside his plate and slid into the chair across from him, anxious to lift the molded aluminum cover crimped over her food.

  “Do you know how to perform a proper serve, angel?”

  Proper serve?

  “No, Sir. I didn’t know there was such a thing, but I’d appreciate it if you’d tell me.”

  “Why don’t I walk you through it?”

  She could barely contain her elation. He was doing it…training her.

  “I�
��d like that…like it very much.”

  When she was on her knees beside his chair, head lowered and thighs spread, thrusting the glass up to him with both hands, Mercy didn’t like it…she fucking loved the peace enveloping her.

  “Beautiful,” Kellan whispered, lifting the glass from her fingers. “Simply stunning.”

  Mercy didn’t want to move. She wanted to stay right there at his feet, wrapped in the glow of contentment and basking in the bliss of his approval.

  She felt his fingers beneath her chin and raised her head. Kellan pressed the rim of the glass to her lips. “Take a sip.”

  As his Dominant gaze seared her flesh, the cold liquid flowed over her tongue. Her taste buds awakened beneath the fruity-tart flavor while her soul awakened to a new sense of submission. If Mercy possessed the power to stop time, this would be the one moment she’d want to be frozen in, forever.

  “You’ll be serving me a lot from now on, angel.”

  “I can’t wait.” She softly smiled.

  “You may rise and enjoy your meal now.”

  Enjoy her meal? Butterflies were having a free-for-all in her stomach. Mercy wasn’t sure she could even choke down a bite. Easing into her chair, she lifted the foil to find a slab of grilled steak, loaded baked potato, and steamed broccoli. Suddenly, she was famished.

  “I know how much you love steak.” Kellan smirked.

  “How do you know that?”

  “You told me on the way home from the hospital.”

  She didn’t remember anything until he’d helped her out of his car in the garage.

  “Why do I have a feeling that I said a lot of things I shouldn’t have?”

  “Tomorrow night, I’ll order calzone for dinner,” he said with a laugh.

  “You’re an evil, evil man,” she giggled.

  He shot her a wickedly sensual smile. “Like you can’t imagine.”

  Oh, she could imagine…imagine him doing all kinds of dirty things to her. Mercy only hoped that one day he’d decide to make all her naughty fantasies come true.

  Kellan woke early the next morning and peeked in on Mercy. She was still sleeping, so he padded to the kitchen to make coffee. He’d hoped that focusing on the mundane task might lessen the perpetual hard-on, determined to split the seam of his sweat pants.

  It didn’t.

  If anything, knowing the intriguing sub would be beside him twenty-four seven for the next six days made him hornier than a sixteen-year-old.

  He stood in the family room sipping coffee and looked out over the lake as another dreary, cloudy day dawned. Kellan had gone to sleep with the vision of Mercy on her knees during his impromptu lesson at dinner and had awakened with the same stunning sight filling his brain. While he wanted to dismiss it as nothing more than a passing whim, he couldn’t. The staunch desire to guide her further pressed in all around him.

  Mentoring her would take a heavy toll on his self-restraint and probably drive him to insanity, but watching her submissive beauty unfold had filled the dark and empty places inside him. The life she breathed into him was addicting.

  “Son of a bitch,” he muttered in resignation. “I have to train her.”

  Kellan’s mind began to whirl with topics he intended to discuss with her. Things like safe words, limits, Dom and sub responsibilities, the sanctity of a collar, and a litany of fetishes. He was curious if the bold submissive had a few ubër-kinky triggers. God, he hoped so.

  After last night, he needed to keep her off her knees as much as possible or risk annihilating what little resolve he had left. Of course, the hungry Dominant beast within ached for her to be at his feet as he taught her how to kneel in both formal and informal settings, how to kneel up, how to center herself before a session, and the proper time to lift her head and address a Dom.

  Not a Dom…him!

  But most of all, Kellan wanted to teach her how to find serenity, confidence, and peace inside her submissive skin.

  Some of her lessons were going to be downright torture.

  Maybe you’re a closet masochist, his subconscious taunted.

  Kellan scoffed and shook his head.

  “Good morning.”

  Mercy’s husky sleepy voice seeped through his pores and sent a jolt to his system more potent than an entire pot of coffee. Kellan turned and smiled. Her eyelids were still heavy and her hair tousled. He knew then what she’d look like after a long night of unbridled sex.

  Enticing.

  Erotic.

  All over again, fuckable.

  Mercy dragged her fingers through her hair, attempting to tame the disheveled mass. “I know I look a sight, but I needed coffee before a shower.”

  “You look beautiful, as always.”

  A smile kicked up one corner of her mouth. “I bet you say that to all the girls.”

  “No. Just you, and Hannah, of course.”

  And Leena.

  “Uh-huh,” Mercy dubiously answered before disappearing into the kitchen.

  Kellan knew he had to tell her about his wife, but not today. They had too much to do. He’d called Mika last night while Mercy was resting. The two men contacted a few others from Genesis. The plan was for everyone to meet up at her apartment in a few hours and clean up the destruction Kerr had left behind.

  After they’d showered and dressed, Mercy whipped up a quick breakfast before heading to her place. She seemed hesitant to enter her apartment.

  “You don’t have to come in if you’re not ready yet.”

  “No. I’m fine. It’s just…I’m getting pissed again.”

  “I have a toy bag in my trunk. Do I need to go out and get a ball gag?” he teased.

  She arched her brows at him. “I’ll behave.”

  Surprisingly she did, at least until later in the afternoon, when the pizza arrived and Mercy reached in the freezer to retrieve ice for everyone’s soda.

  “Oh, my god,” she growled.

  “What?” He hurried to her side.

  A rush of rage pelted his system as he stared at a photo of Mercy bent over a table with a cock shoved inside her ass.

  “Don’t look at…” Her words died out as she turned to see his eyes pinned to the picture. “I can’t believe that bastard took pictures of…this.”

  “You didn’t know he was photographing you?”

  “No. Hell no!” Her lips were set in a flat, tight line as she began to tear the paper.

  “Stop!” Kellan barked and lifted the photo from her hands. “That’s evidence.”

  “There is no way I’m going to let a judge or jury see me like that. It’s too embarrassing.”

  Kellan worked to tamp down the possessive jealousy coursing through his veins.

  “I don’t want this photo passed around a courtroom anymore than you do. But I’d hang on to it just in case…”

  “In case of what?” she countered in a terse whisper. Mercy darted a quick glance toward the entrance to the kitchen. Either Mika, Drake, Max, Joshua, Dylan, Nick, Ian, James and their subs hadn’t heard Mercy’s gasp at the discovery of the photo or they remained out of sight, granting them privacy. “There are plenty of witnesses from the club who saw Kerr point the damn gun to my head.”

  “Yes, but unless Amblin’s team was able to lift any of Kerr’s fingerprints yesterday, we don’t have proof that he was the one responsible for the vandalism.”

  The mighty exhale that gushed from Mercy’s lips expelled the bulk of indignation from her system as well. She moaned in defeat and dropped her forehead to Kellan’s chest.

  “I just wish this whole mess was over instead of beginning.”

  He wrapped his arms around her and held her tight. “I do, too, angel.”

  It was sometime after lunch that Mercy emerged from her embarrassed funk. Of course, Savannah, Julianna, Trevor, Samantha, Mellie, and Liz were the obvious reason. It somehow helped when Trevor shared his feelings on the abuse he’d endured, and Mellie’s experiences with Kerr. At least Mercy knew she wasn’t the only vic
tim of an unjust world.

  When they were finished removing all traces of Kerr from her apartment, Julianna rubbed her barely visible baby bump and promised to bring her computer by the house in a few days and help order new bedding and dishes.

  “No electronics,” Kellan reminded with a stern expression.

  “I’ll get an idea of what she’s looking for and limit the time she can look at any images to five seconds.” Julianna grinned. “Will that be acceptable, Sir?”

  “Welcome to my world,” Mika mumbled to Kellan with a crooked grin.

  “Subs. I swear!” Kellan rolled his eyes. “Yes, girl. That is permissible, but not a second over five, understood?”

  Julianna drew an X over her heart with her finger. “Absolutely, Sir.”

  “I want to come over and cyber shop, too,” Trevor pouted.

  “Why don’t all of you come over? I’ll grill some burgers if it’s not raining,” Kellan suggested.

  “I think he just wants to keep an eye on you, sis,” Trevor whispered then started to giggle. “Hide all the clocks and watches you can find tonight after he goes to bed.”

  “Boy!” Drake thundered in warning. “If you don’t stop trying to cause trouble, I’ll bring a world of hurt down on you.”

  Trevor purred softly. “Promise?”

  “Like you won’t be able to stand, boy. Don’t push me, you sassy slut. Or I’ll be the only one reading Hope a story before bed.”

  Trevor paled at Drake’s threat to ban him from tucking in their infant daughter.

  “Forget I said anything,” he whispered to Mercy loud enough for everyone to hear.

  Though she laughed along with the others, Kellan could see confusion swimming in her eyes.

  After many thanks when the work was finished, and a round of good-byes, Kellan and Mercy drove toward his house. He held her hand as the skies above them grew darker.

  “What was bothering you earlier…when Drake and Trevor were bantering?”