Six Months Later

 

Julian turned his Audi R8 Spyder down what appeared to be Main Street. The June air was warm on his skin, but he still felt the strange restlessness that had been plaguing him for the last few years. Being alone had only seemed to make it worse. His recent string of bad luck incidents had convinced him that he needed a more radical change. First his car had been vandalized. Then there had been a fire in his building. He’d had a nosy reporter on his case about the possibility of an underground sex club in the Dallas area.

Of course, there was an underground sex club. He ran it, but he certainly didn’t want publicity. The car had been a mere nuisance. He simply bought another one, and the fire was apparently an accident. Still, it all added up to serious stress, so Julian was doing something he hadn’t done in years.

He was taking a vacation.

He glanced around the small town. It looked like something out of a Norman Rockwell painting. It was three o’clock on a Saturday afternoon, and Julian seriously expected to be assaulted by visions of boys and their faithful dogs, perhaps playing stickball and trading baseball cards. Willow Fork, Texas, was a sleepy town.

His car purred as he moved down the street. He had the top down. It was a stunning day outside, but he was rapidly discovering that, with no one to share it with, the days seemed to blend together. Each was as empty as the next. Julian stopped at a stoplight. He drummed his fingers along the steering wheel. It wasn’t that he missed any one person in particular, but rather that he didn’t like to be alone. Perhaps he’d spent too much of his childhood in that state that now he simply couldn’t stand the silence. He’d been on edge for six months, but he wasn’t sure how to get off. The last thing he wanted was another pretty-faced sub in his bed who didn’t challenge him at all.

But he was tempted. It had become a bit of a game at The Club to see which sub could find his or her way into the Master’s bed. It wasn’t that he didn’t want sex. He was horny as hell. He simply wasn’t interested in anyone in particular, and sex for sex’s sake had gotten boring.

He blamed Jackson. His former protégé had found something magical. He was living happily with his two subs, Samuel and Abigail. He’d started a family. He had a life beyond work. Julian couldn’t get Jackson’s words out of his head. A few years back, Jackson had given him a bit of advice. He’d warned Julian not to let his rules run his life. He’d warned him that rules might keep him from something wonderful. So far, Julian hadn’t found anything wonderful. He’d only found sexual frustration and loneliness.

He hit the gas and drove past some sort of church. He intended to use this week to reconnect with old friends. When he got back to Dallas, he would get on with his life. He would spend this vacation deciding on whom to take as his new subs. He would stop putting it off and select based on logic. He would pick one man and one woman, and then begin training them to suit his needs. He was done waiting for some mysterious thing to happen to him.

The light in front of him turned red. It looked like he was going to hit every single one. He thought about the stack of files he had in his luggage. He was sure Jackson would be horrified by the way he intended to choose his new lovers. He had a system. He would weigh the pros and cons of each, input the numbers into a spreadsheet, and presto, he would have two lovely bodies in his bed. The one time he’d followed his heart and offered a permanent contract to a sub, the man had declined and run off…with Jackson Barnes. He wished Samuel Fleetwood well, but he had learned his lesson. He wasn’t a man who would have something as elusive as love.

His cell phone trilled. Julian looked down and saw a picture of his longtime personal assistant. Candice was almost sixty. Her stern face was a comfort to him. Nothing got by her. Julian moved his thumb across the slide bar to answer the call. “This is Lodge.”

“Mr. Lodge, that reporter called again.” The normally unflappable Candice sounded distinctly flapped.

“Have security block her number.” The nosy Morning News reporter would undoubtedly try again. If she gave him too much trouble, he would simply change his number. It would cause a headache, but it would be worth it if it got rid of her. The last thing Julian needed was an exposé run on his underground activities. There was a reason he kept a low profile.

“You don’t understand. She called your private line, Mr. Lodge.”

The light turned green, but Julian didn’t care. He sat there, his foot firmly on the brake as her words settled in. He jealously guarded his private line. It wasn’t a number he gave out to his business associates or people from The Club. Only close friends and his submissives had that line. “Did you ask her how she got that number?”

“Yes, sir. She said she has an inside source.” Candice’s voice softened. “Mr. Lodge, I don’t think it’s anything you should worry about. She’s asking questions. That’s all. It’s not the first time this has happened. There are always rumors. I merely wanted you to know before I called the boys in.”

He took a deep breath. The “boys” in this case was how Candice referred to his security team. McKay-Taggart was actually made up of a bunch of ex-Special Forces soldiers and an extremely competent former FBI agent who happened to be female. But Candice hadn’t worked with Eve St. James. She did, however, dote on the men when they came in. He rather thought his secretary found them both attractive and amusing. What they were was highly reliable.

The light changed back to red. He was lucky there was no one on the road. “Are you sure? Perhaps I should come home and coordinate with Taggart.”

Maybe it was for the best. He wasn’t sure what he was doing out here anyway.

“No, no, you promised me you would take a vacation.” Now she was stern and unmoving.

Julian felt his lips tug up into a small smile. When she talked to him like that, he could almost see her the way she was thirty years before. Candice Holloway had been the tenth nanny his uncle had hired. He’d run through nine in the years after his parents died in a car accident. He’d intended to run her off as well. She’d flatly refused to be dismissed. She’d told him she wasn’t going anywhere, no matter how hard he tried to push her away. Candice promised that she would never leave him, and she never had. When he no longer needed a nanny, he’d convinced her he needed an assistant. Along the way he’d managed to convince her to let him pay for her children’s college education and set up a retirement plan for her. He believed in gratitude. “It isn’t much of a vacation spot.”

“That will be good for you, sir.” She sounded more relaxed now. “A little peace and quiet is exactly what the doctor ordered.”

Something caught Julian’s attention in the rearview mirror. On the hill behind him it looked like a wedding party was breaking up. He would need to move soon. He didn’t like to talk and drive. He believed in concentration. “The doctor didn’t order anything. You did. I’m almost to the ranch if my GPS is to be believed. Do call Taggart and have him attempt to figure out how that woman got my phone number. Is there anything else I should know?”

Julian watched as a ball of white appeared on the sidewalk several blocks down from him.

“Lucas Cameron was in the dungeon last night.”

Nothing odd there. Jackson Barnes’s younger brother had become a regular at The Club ever since he finished law school and began working at a prestigious firm in Dallas. It hadn’t hurt the young man’s chances that he came with a small, but lucrative client list made up of Barnes-Fleetwood and Julian himself. Julian sighed as he realized why Candice would mention it. “He brought Lexi with him?”

“Yes, sir. I thought you would like to know. They performed a scene and left. Ms. Moore was reportedly very upset.”

Julian’s hands tightened on the steering wheel. Lexi Moore was rapidly becoming a problem. He wasn’t sure what he was going to do about those two. He’d thought about calling her mother, but Lexi was twenty-three. Though she didn’t have a membership at The Club, Lucas did, and he acted as her Dom. Unless he was willing to seriously argue with Lucas, he had to allow it to continue. He’d offered to talk to Lucas. Lucas had declined. That boy was wading into dangerous waters. Lexi Moore was on an emotional ledge after breaking up with her fiancée, and she and Lucas seemed to think they could solve her problems with public spankings. Julian sighed and felt tired at the thought of trying to deal with it. If he revoked Lucas’s membership, he and Lexi would more than likely find another, perhaps more dangerous club. Julian didn’t like the thought of that. At least this way, he and Leo could keep an eye on the situation.

“Thank you for telling me, Candice. Please call me if the situations, either of them, worsen. I’ll see you in a week. Until then, I will enjoy my vacation. You needn’t worry. It appears absolutely nothing interesting ever happens in this town.”

He hung up the phone as he looked in the rearview mirror again. He felt his eyes widen. It appeared as though a large marshmallow was barreling down Main Street. The frothy confection had a blonde head sticking out of it. Julian stared in the rearview, unable to look away. A man raced after the white puff ball. He wore a tuxedo and screamed something that sounded like “Annie” at the top of his lungs. A large crowd was pouring out of the church. Very interesting. He wondered if the marshmallow intended to run all the way to Mexico to get out of her wedding. Julian didn’t blame her. He probably would do the same thing if he had been foolish enough to agree to something like a wedding.

He had to admit that the puff ball had stamina. Though he couldn’t see her legs through the sea of taffeta surrounding them, he knew they had to be pumping overtime. As she came into sharp view, Julian could see that her mascara was running in dark rivers down her face. Her ridiculously long train trailed behind her. The man, who seemed to be the groom, tried to chase down his frothy prize. He would probably make it. All he had to do was get within twenty feet of the fleeing bride and he could put a foot down on the satin trail behind her. If he had any sense at all, he would have a length of rope on him. Julian always had a length of rope. The groom could tie up the fleeing bride and drag her back to the church. If he was really serious about this whole marriage thing, he would spank her first to start the marriage on the right foot.

Julian sighed. It wasn’t his concern. Still, he enjoyed a good train wreck as much as the next person.

The marshmallow steamrolled down the sidewalk. Her arms pumped, her legs strained. Her eyes widened and locked on…him. Before Julian could think to gun the engine, he was assaulted by a sea of satin and lace.

“Drive!” The woman practically screamed the words as she threw herself into the front seat.

Julian struggled to find his way through the cloud he found himself caught in. Why hadn’t he thought to keep the top on? Oh, yes, because it was a beautiful day and he hadn’t expected a stranger would jump in and attempt the high-jack him. “Excuse me?”

“I said drive.” The words were strong, but the tone was shaky.

“Yes, I speak English. I wasn’t asking what you said. I was rather shocked that you had said it. Were you raised in a barn?” He shoved down the mountain of fabric that covered his face. He looked at the woman now in the seat beside him.

“Please drive,” she beseeched him. Her tearstained face went straight to his gut. “I am begging you to please drive and quickly.” She hiccupped through her tears and managed one last word. “Sir.”

Julian practically growled. She’d said the one thing that he couldn’t ignore. She’d called him Sir in that oh so sweet way that let him know she would be soft and submissive if he played her properly. She would submit and lie beneath him with no demands of her own except to please him. Perversely, it made him damned determined to meet her needs. She’d done the one thing guaranteed to manipulate him each and every time.

He thought about it. Waiting would do the trick. The tuxedoed groom was close. Another few steps and he would haul this sugary piece of trouble right out of his convertible. Then Julian could drive on to Jack’s ranch and spend the next week catching up with friends. He wouldn’t get involved. He wouldn’t get in trouble.

“Please, Sir. I am begging you.” Her breath hitched and blue eyes pleaded with him.

The groom closed in as Julian gunned the engine.

Trouble, it seemed, just followed him.

 

* * * *

 

The man beside her finally gunned the engine and took off down Main Street. Dani took a deep breath and tried to get her hands to stop shaking.

What the hell had she done? She’d panicked and fled, leaving 122 wedding guests sitting in the pews at the First Methodist Church of Willow Fork. Only they hadn’t been in pews at the end. She’d looked back long enough to see the wave of people coming out of the large doors to gawk at the idiot running out of her own wedding.

She tried to shove down the ridiculous amount of satin and lace currently assaulting her. God, she couldn’t breathe. She glanced out the rearview mirror of her handy getaway vehicle. Finn had stopped running. He stood at the stoplight, his face contorted in concern. She turned to look back at him.

“Dani!”

She shook her head as best she could with Jimbo Smart’s great-grandmother’s monstrosity of a veil. It had been bedazzled within an inch of its sad little life. Of course, the whole damn dress was that way. She had rhinestones everywhere. She weighed an extra fifty pounds. Finn was running a hand through his dark hair and pulling out his cell. She knew who he was calling, but she couldn’t answer. Her phone, along with her purse and everything else she had brought, was in the bride’s room at the church.

She’d run out on her wedding. She’d run out on her whole freaking future.

What had she done? What the hell had she done? Her chest ached.

“Breathe.”

Dani turned to look at the man driving the car. She hadn’t thought that through, either. She’d known that Finn was going to catch her, and she couldn’t face him. She was with a complete stranger. Her hands shook, and her breath hitched again.

“Calm down and breathe. Focus on one thing and one thing only. Let the world narrow to a single point.”

It wasn’t a suggestion. The man next to her commanded. His deep voice ran over her like warm, rich chocolate. She took a long, steadying breath, filling her lungs with humid air. She gripped the door but found herself doing exactly as he ordered. She settled her eyes on the air conditioner vent. Four little lines. That was all that mattered. She stared at them.

“Excellent. Now concentrate on slowing your breathing. Flex your hands. Remind yourself that you are in control of your body. It does not control you. Say the words for me. Hear them for yourself. I am in control.”

“I am in control.” The words felt foreign. She hadn’t been in control for a long time, most of her life. Most of her life had been about outside forces controlling her.

Her concentration slipped. Panic threatened again. She panted. What was she going to do?

The car came to an abrupt stop. Dani looked around. They were on the edge of town, just off the highway. Was he going to leave her here?

The man beside her turned in his seat, and Dani got her first good look at him. Holy crap, she’d gotten in the car of some damn movie star. He had to be. He was absolutely perfect. She felt her jaw drop. He had dark brown hair that was pulled in a low ponytail at the back of his neck. His silvery eyes dominated a face made of strong bones and sharp angles. From what she could see, his body was long and lean. His shoulders were encased in an expensive-looking dress shirt, though he wore no tie, leaving a V of smooth, tanned skin exposed.

He looked a bit like an angel, but one who had fallen from grace long ago.

He took her hand, sliding it between both of his. Her hand, so cold a moment before, was surrounded by warmth now, and that warmth started creeping up her skin.

“Focus on me, Annie.”

She thought about correcting him, but the panic was a tidal wave threatening to drown her again. It had been like this for six months. The panic attacks were getting worse. She’d nearly passed out the night before. Finn had held her and asked her over and over if she was sure she wanted to do this. Damn it. Finn was part of her problem.

She’d started down that aisle, and he’d been beautiful standing there. Her groom. Finally she was where she belonged, walking down the aisle toward her love, Finn. Only Finn wasn’t there for her. He never had been, not that way. Jimbo was the one standing there, and he’d been wrestling with his bow tie.

In that instant she’d seen her whole life play out like some tragic movie. She would have a few kids. He would drink a lot and go out with his buddies while she took care of the kids. He would do as he liked and she would do her duty. She would waste her life on him. She would spend all the good years either taking care of kids or nursing him because he would drink and party his life away.

She would still be alone, even with a ring on her finger.

She’d turned and ran, and now she was in a car with a gorgeous god of a man who might be a serial killer. The way her luck went, he probably was. She would end up chopped up and buried all across East Texas.

And it still might be better than the life she would have had with Jimbo.

“Oh, you are such trouble.” He sighed, those gray eyes rolling, and then he pulled her close. “Luckily, I know how to handle you.” He let go of her hand and twisted in his seat. One hand captured her face, cupping her cheek, and the other went to her waist. He pulled her in, a mountain of tulle between them. “The key is giving you something to focus on.”

She was focused all right. But if his plan was to get her heart rate under control, he was going about it all wrong. She could feel it pound, though not in panic anymore. It was something else, anticipation. Was he going to kiss her? He leaned in. She could see the dark beard beginning to come in all along his jaw. She could smell the mint on his breath and feel the heat of his body. She was completely paralyzed as he pressed his mouth against hers. He moved his soft lips along her mouth gently, as though simply exploring. Dani felt her shoulders relax. This was so nice. This was in another league from Jimbo’s sloppy, halfhearted attempts at kissing before he gave up and simply stuck his penis in. This was meltingly sweet. Dani gasped a bit, and her mouth opened.

He took immediate advantage, his strong tongue invading. Dani heard herself groan and let her whole body go soft in his hands. As his tongue danced around hers, she realized she’d never been kissed, not once in her life. She’d been pecked and assaulted by men who didn’t know what they were doing, but this, oh, this was a kiss. This was an overwhelming request for her every sense to come alive for him. His hands didn’t move, but she wanted them on her skin. She wanted to be under him. She wanted this to never, ever end. She didn’t know his name. He didn’t really know hers. It didn’t matter because for the first time in her life, she wanted, really wanted, to spread her legs and let someone in.

Not even Finn affected her the way this stranger did. He’d never wanted her physically, but this man was kissing her five minutes after they’d met. She felt her nipples get hard, begging for his lips to find their way there.

He raised his head in a smooth motion. Dani stared at him. Her skin felt flushed and alive.

“Now, are you more in control, Annie?”

Nope. Not a bit. But he was. As far as Dani could tell, he was completely unaffected by the kiss that had blown her mind and had her body begging for more. She swallowed and nodded her head, turning back in her seat. “Yes. I am feeling much better. Thank you.”

“So polite,” he murmured. His hand found the stick shift again. “I don’t suppose there’s anywhere I can take you, Annie?”

“It’s Dani. Danielle.” Her mind raced, but the panic was gone. She needed to think straight. Lust was not an option. “Just drop me off at the diner. It’s called Christa’s Café. It’s a couple of blocks over.”

It was where the bus stopped. Although she didn’t actually have any money for a bus. Maybe she could call from there and her sister could bring her the purse and bag she’d left at the church. She couldn’t face Finn. She might never be able to face Finn again.

“Hungry, are you?”

“No.”

“Then why should you go there?”

It was none of his business, and yet she answered immediately. And then felt bad because she was being rude. “It’s where the bus stops.”

Not that she knew where she would go. The bus could take her to San Antonio or Austin one way. The other way went to Dallas and up to Oklahoma City.

Would she really run that far?

“Ah, you intend to flee for good, then. Well, you’ll have to buy two tickets because I doubt that, um, dress you’re wearing will fit in one. Buy the whole row, little one.” He put the car in first gear and the sports car purred down the road. He turned onto the highway, away from town.

She watched as the street he needed to turn down was left behind. “Hey, the diner is back that way.”

He nodded. “Yes, you mentioned that.”

The car kept on its path.

“You’re not taking me to the diner, are you?” She found herself settling into the seat, relaxing. Any more time in this car with him meant another moment before she had to face the fact that she no longer had a home to go to, or a future. She knew she was being an idiot. She could hear her sister bitching at her. She didn’t think about anything. She wasn’t careful about selecting her friends. She didn’t fit. She was an embarrassment. Now that she thought about it, maybe she wouldn’t call Val at all.

It was easy to push aside her sister’s constant complaints as he drove. She looked up at the wide Texas sky and something eased inside her. She found herself actually smiling. “Where are we going?”

It didn’t matter. Somehow, someway, she knew she would be safe with him. After a lifetime of doing everything that was asked of her and getting next to nothing in return, she felt like she didn’t know what her next day would be like. It was exciting.

His head turned, and he arched an elegant eyebrow as he looked at her. The left side of his face tugged up slightly, and the sweetest dimple formed in his cheek. “We’re going on vacation. You should be glad I packed light since I seem to have found a bit of extra baggage along the way. My name is Julian Lodge, though I suspect by the end of the night, you’ll call me Sir.”

“Yes, Sir.”

Dani had no idea why, but it seemed to fit him.

She sat back and let Julian Lodge take the reins.