Capturing Callie (9 page)

Mitch had never wanted to hurt a woman like he wanted to hurt Callie Reece’s mother. How any woman could treat her daughter so callously was lost on him. But to do so because of possible damage to your perceived social standing was even more incomprehensible. He waited a few seconds so she wouldn’t feel his words were trite and spur of the moment, it was important that she understood he
had
really been listening and his words were the result of the information she’d just given, not hours of previous research. “Callie, first of all, please call me Mitch. I’m curious, why do you think your mom would do that?”

She laughed, but it certainly wasn’t a sound of joy. “My mom knew if I reported it, her social standing would be forever damaged. And trust me, Mitch, that was and always will be much more important to my mother than justice for me. She isn’t a very nice person, let’s just leave it at that. Anyway, I moved in with relatives for my senior year, and they were wonderful to me. For the first time, someone cared more about me than they cared about whether or not they were going to be invited to the Snow Ball at the Country Club.” Mitch was relieved when the waves of anxiety that had been coming from Callie during the first part of their talk changed to warmth and love as she spoke about her time with her aunt and uncle.

“Tell me about the family that you moved in with.” He wanted to give her a chance to regroup a bit and spending time recalling that time was obviously filled with happy memories and a great way for her to relax.

As she related stories about her time with a family that obviously treated her well, he listened as much to what she didn’t say as to what she did. Not once did she mention a visit from her mother or sister. She did mention that she’d talked to her father on the phone weekly, but she’d been fairly sure that had been her aunt’s doing.

When he’d asked Callie if she had been contacted by either of the perpetrators or a representative for either of them, her anxiety level went straight through the roof. She said that she hadn’t, and Mitch knew she was telling the truth, but he also knew she feared that it was inevitable. He also noticed that she hadn’t mentioned the accident that had claimed Charlie Ives’s life or the obvious implications that held for her. As an intelligent woman, she would make the connection quickly. But that was news for Ian to share. Mitch’s job was to listen.

It had been several days since Callie had spoken with Mitch Grayson, and she had seemed to relax more after their conversation. He was glad they had been able to remove the sutures from her hand because he had outdoor plans for his little sub. Ian was grateful for the time Mitch had spent with Callie. She had disclosed more than either of them had expected and then had agreed to let Mitch share all of the information with both Ian and Jace. And while Ian would have liked to have heard it directly from her, Mitch had made it abundantly clear that it was more common than not for disclosure to a disinterested third party to be much easier. Mitch had said, “Loved ones react—even when they don’t intend to—and victims are very sensitive to those reactions.” It actually made perfect sense once Mitch had explained it, but there was still a small piece of him that was a Dom to the core and that Dom demanded her unconditional surrender.

Jace had reminded him that surrender involves trust and trust has to be earned. Damned if he didn’t hate it when someone else was right. He didn’t remember how many times he’d told the Doms he was training at Club Isola that very same thing—probably hundreds—but that didn’t make it any easier to hear.

Ian had been particularly relieved when Mitch assured him that Callie was not lying about anything that he could determine. Mitch had promised to forward all his information immediately, and he’d smiled at Ian before asking, “Weren’t you looking for a manager for a resort you were planning to build if the right person came along?”

“Smart-ass. Yes, you know I have been looking, and yes, I am interested in talking to her about the position if things work out to that end.” When he looked at Mitch’s smiling face, he just shook his head.
Christ, is everybody a fucking matchmaker all the sudden. My friends start getting married, and all of the sudden they paint a target on me as well.

Ian had sent Callie up to the bedroom with instructions to take a short nap and then dress in the swimsuit he’d laid out for her. He and Jace had both laughed when she’d looked baffled and then said, “But I didn’t pack a swimsuit. I don’t even own one anymore because in my neighborhood that wouldn’t even be something I’d want anyone to know I had, let alone I’d actually wear anywhere.”

* * * *

Walking toward the beach, Ian kept a hand on Callie at all times. It was a standard training technique, but it was also something he enjoyed doing with the submissives he’d trained because he found it kept them grounded to him and made his commands easier for them to follow. But today there was something different. He didn’t feel like he had with other subs. It wasn’t the same when he had known that he was training them with the intent to hand them over to another Dom. The thought of any Dom other than Jace commanding Callie made each and every muscle in his body become tense and something akin to jealousy surge through his blood.

As he led her down the stone steps to the sandy beach, he’d been talking to her about the importance of honesty and full disclosure in D/s relationships. “I want you to understand that the dynamics of a Dominant and submissive’s relationship is significantly more intense than that of two people who are just dating for several reasons. The level of trust required is exponentially higher because there are levels of play that can result in severe injury if certain safety measures aren’t followed strictly. Knowing exactly what a scene is going to entail through negotiation is an important element, particularly in the beginning.” He chuckled and drew her into his arms for a swift hug before adding, “Now, your situation is unique, my lovely pet, because you aren’t at liberty to pick and choose which Dom you get to play with like an uncollared sub at a club ordinarily would. Oh no, my little
Carlin
, you belong only to me.”

Ian couldn’t resist her for another minute, he leaned down and pressed his lips against hers and kissed her. What started as a sweet kiss quickly turned into pure lustful desire. When he pulled back, he looked thoughtfully into her eyes and said, “I would like nothing more than to sink into your silken heat right now, but I have a plan and I’m going to follow it.” And then more to himself than to her, he added, “Even if it fucking kills me.”

Callie giggled as they continued walking toward the water’s edge, and Ian simply smiled. “You laugh now, pet, but you’ll see soon enough that I’m not very patient when comes to fucking you when the notion strikes me. And you’ll always be at my command, and you’ll always make sure I have unfettered access to what is now mine.” When they reached a large blanket laid out on the sand, he motioned for her to join him.

“I mentioned the importance of complete honesty, and I want you to know that works both ways—at least as it relates to life events, etc. I will reserve the right to withhold information I feel may cause you harm or something I’m keeping secret for a surprise, but I won’t ever lie to you, and I’ll tell you things I know that are of importance to you, even if I’d rather spare you the emotional upset I’m sure they are going to cause.” He could see her eyes go wide with concern, and he hated the fact that he was going to have to tell her things he knew were going to be devastating to the tiny angel in front of him.

As he proceeded to explain what her sister had recently revealed to friends about the money their mother had demanded from the Westmore and Ives families, he saw her emotions swing from disbelief to horror and then to rage. “I can’t begin to tell you how sorry I am to tell you these things about your family, but I can’t very well demand your honesty if I’m not willing to give you the same.” Stroking his fingers lightly over her cheek, he wiped away her tears.

“How could she do something so horrible? She all but told them I was pregnant and going to need the money to raise the child. Oh my God, what if people thought I was going to get an abortion? How could she be so callous? I mean, I knew she blamed me for everything that happened, but this? This is so much worse. And Chrissy knew this and didn’t tell me?”

Sighing deeply, Ian pulled Callie on to his lap. “About your sister—it appears that she is not, nor has she ever been a college student. She is in fact working as an exotic dancer in Miami and making an obscene amount of money, I might add. After some investigation we know exactly how much money you have given her over the years, and I promise you, pet, she is going to be made accountable for each and every cent.” His heart was nearly torn in two as her tiny body was racked by great gulping sobs. There wasn’t anything he could say, he just held her and let her purge the emotion from her soul.

When she finally began to quiet down, he pulled her back so that he was looking into her face again, and as if sensing he had more to say, she started crying again. “Please, oh please don’t tell me there is more. I can’t take any more, I swear to you, I just can’t.”

“The rest is not so bad, pet, I promise you. And I want all of this garbage out on the table so we can start with each other with a clean slate.” When he saw acceptance in her eyes, he continued. “Now, the tabloid you work for is wholly owned by McGregor Holdings, Inc.” He smiled when her eyes went wide. “Oh yes, I can see it in your eyes, you understand exactly what that means don’t you, pet?” Laughing at her slow nod, he went on, “Well, not only does it mean you are, for the indeterminate future, assigned to this project, it also means that your boss is no longer employed by the paper I had been considering dismantling anyway. His days of bullying you are over, and he was none too happy with how it all went down, I can assure you. Quite frankly, Mitch, Jace, and I all feel it’s likely he was already working for Senator Westmore and that his efforts to get you hurt were actually orchestrated attempts to tie up loose ends to ease his son’s political progress.”

Ian would have given anything at that moment to have been able to wipe away the utter defeat he saw in her expression. “I hope you don’t dismantle the paper entirely. There are a lot of good people working there, and without Bob assigning ridiculous stories, I think they can do some good things for the community. Some of those people have been working there a long time, and it would difficult for them to find other jobs in this economy.”

Wrapping his arms around her, he gave her a tight squeeze. “Do your friends realize how lucky they are to have you? You never cease to amaze me. Your concern for others warms my heart. Considering all of the various types of people that I deal with, you are a very welcome change. But, we need to get back to our training or things aren’t going to go well for you tonight. Up you go.”

After Ian had gotten up, he reached into the small box sitting at the edge of the blanket and pulled out a bottle of water. “Drink this, you’re going to need to stay hydrated, I have a lot planned for you in the hours to come.” Once she’d downed most of the bottle, he set it aside and turned to her and simply said, “Strip.”

* * * *

When they had left the house earlier, Callie had searched his eyes for any sort of clue as to what Ian was thinking. As they approached a beautiful expanse of glistening white sand, Callie worried about the tension that seemed to be radiating off him. No doubt, Mitch Grayson had already shared everything she’d told him. Likely he was just leading her out here in order to let her know he was no longer interested. After all, her mom had told her time and again that if any man found out what had happened he would consider her tainted goods and wouldn’t want her. So her only questions now were, how do I keep him at a safe distance?
If I take myself out it hurts less than being rejected.
And now how do I get the story?

As Ian had continued what he kept referring to as a lesson in trust, she’d become more and more depressed. How could her family have betrayed her on so many levels? Truthfully, the information about her mother wasn’t all that surprising since Callie had always known her mother had only cared about herself, but her sister’s betrayal was devastating. She didn’t have any idea how to even begin to deal with that situation.
Do I confront her? Do I demand she return the money? Damn, I lived in that hellhole so I could help her. Why would she do this to me?
She suddenly realized she’d been speaking out loud, and when she looked up into Ian’s eyes, they were blazing with frustration.

“We have a problem,
Carlin
. You aren’t ‘present,’ and I need you to be here with me or we can’t do this, do you understand?” She could only manage to nod her head, and then he continued speaking. “Nods and shakes of the head are not good enough, pet. You must always speak your answers so that we maintain clear lines of communication and there is no doubt that you understood the question. So, try again, and the proper answer is always ‘Yes, Sir’ or ‘Yes, Master Ian.’”

Callie wasn’t surprised by the instruction, she had done enough research that she knew some of the rules and protocol. She hadn’t needed to learn it for the story, but she’d gotten so caught up in it as she was reading that she hadn’t been able to stop at the bare minimum that might have been needed. Looking directly at him, she spoke softly, but clearly. “Yes, Master, I understand.” She could tell her answer pleased him by the smile that went over his face, and suddenly pleasing him became her sole objective for the rest of this scene.