Choosing Rena

eXcessica publishing

Choosing Rena
© August 2012 by Dakota Trace

All rights reserved under the
International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. No part of
this book
may be reproduced or transmitted
in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including
photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and
retrieval system, without permission in writing from the
publisher.

This is a work of fiction. Names, places,
characters and incidents are either the product of the author’s
imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to any
actual persons, living or dead, organizations, events or locales is
entirely coincidental. All sexually active characters in this work
are 18 years of age or older.

This book is for sale to ADULT AUDIENCES ONLY.
It contains substantial sexually explicit scenes and graphic
language which may be considered offensive by some readers. Please
store your files where they cannot be access by minors.

Excessica LLC

P.O. Box 127

Alpena, MI 49707

To order additional copies of this book,
contact:

[email protected]

www.excessica.com

Cover design © 2012 Dakota
Trace

First Edition August
2012

Smashwords Edition

Warning: the unauthorized reproduction or
distribution of this copyrighted work is illegal. Criminal
copyright infringement, including infringement without monetary
gain, is investigated by the FBI and is punishable by up to 5 years
in prison and a fine of $250,000.

Dedication

I’d like to thank not only
my beta readers, Gloria and Sheri for taking time out of their busy
schedules to read and correct my numerous errors but I’d also like
to thank A.J. for spending several hours with me on a Sunday night
to go over my final manuscript with a fine tooth comb. Without
these special friends, this book would’ve never been completed. I
can’t thank you enough for putting up with my dyslexic butt. Rena,
Jackson and I thank you!

Prologue

Rena MacAllister watched as the snow
continued to softly fall. Curled up in the picture window of the
apartment she shared with her sister, she stared out over Lake
Michigan. In the glass she could see her own reflection, and she’d
seen better days. Her long braids were in messy array, she had huge
bags under her dark eyes, and even her normally mocha hued skin
seemed lackluster. She hadn’t been the same since she’d come back
from Alabama. While down there she’d come to a decision. She
couldn’t stay.

Staring out at lights
reflecting off Navy Pier, she sighed. Wondering what tomorrow would
bring, she wished she’d dared to join her co-workers and friends
just north of the city. Across town everyone was attending the
collaring ceremony of Jude Larson and Micah Beaumont. If anyone
deserved to be happy it was Olivia Metjka. The owner and top Domme
of
Olivia’s
had
been through hell and back to claim her men and Rena wished them no
ill will, but found she couldn’t handle being in the same room with
Jackson Levough.

As not only Jude’s best
friend but his partner at their security firm, there was no way the
playboy Cajun wouldn’t be there to witness his friend commit his
life, love and submission.
Which is why
I’m not there.
She idly twined several of
the small braids next to her ear between her fingers as she
contemplated her next move. After following her sister to Chicago
from New York, she wasn’t prepared to move again but didn’t see
much of choice.

A knock on the door drew her out of
her morbid thoughts. “Sis?” The sound of her sister’s voice wasn’t
a surprise.

“Hey, girl. I’m surprised Eddie let
you out of his sight.” She barely glanced over her
shoulder.

Waddling up towards her, Keisha
crowded close. “You mean the big teddy bear who claims to be my
husband? He fell asleep watching the game.” Moving her legs, Rena
made room for her to sit. At seven months pregnant, it took several
moments for her to settle in. Once she did, Rena shared her
blanket. A pair of long sighs filled the space.

“So you want to tell me about it,
Sissy?”

“Not particularly.” Rena gazed out the
window. “I was foolish and I don’t think I can do this any
longer.”

Keisha cocked her head. “Do what? Sit
here with me and watch the stars? Or regret the fact you didn’t
have the courage to take what you want?” Her voice softened. “You
should’ve gone, Rena. Don’t let him drive you away – they’re your
friends too.”

Rena pressed her cheek against the
cool glass, uncertain how to address her sister’s concerns or if
she even should. While Keisha had always been supportive of her big
sister’s lifestyle, she’d never quite understood Rena’s need to
submit, to serve. “It doesn’t matter, Keisha.”

“What do you mean it
doesn’t matter? You’ve made very few friends since you’ve come to
Chicago and you were just coming out of your shell after what that
asshole…” Her sister’s sass had a chuckle escaping Rena, but she
didn’t want to go over for the millionth time what had happened
between her and Louis Andre Vayarti III.
Or try to place the blame on anyone else but me. I was too
outspoken for him in public and too needy in the bedroom. Oh and
let us not forget I wouldn’t share…

“Enough…” Rena held up a hand. “It
doesn’t matter, because I’ve already handed in my
resignation.”

“You what?”
Keisha swung her legs around to stand and Rena
winced. This was it – her sister was going to come
unglued.

“Calm down, Keisha. This is my
decision and probably one of my better ones.” Rena picked at the
nonexistent lint on the cushion beneath her. “I should’ve quit the
first time that damned Cajun playboy got out of line.”

Crossing her arms over her swollen
belly, her sister glared at her. “You’ve never been one to back
down from a challenge. What the hell happened?”

Sighing, Rena slowly unfolded her body
from the window seat. “What happened? I finally faced the reality
of working for Larson Securities and decided it wasn’t worth the
price I’d pay.” Folding the blanket up, she walked out of the room,
ignoring her sister’s protests. Her resignation was
non-negotiable.

* * * *

Jude Larson yawned as he shook the
mouse on his desk, waking up his computer. Last night had been
phenomenal. Their mistress had worked both him and Micah over
thoroughly – pleasuring, hell even torturing them until they had
screamed for mercy, all the while assuring them of her love for
them. If he lived to be a hundred, he’d never forget a single
moment of the collaring ceremony he had shared with Micah and
Olivia. In fact, if it hadn’t been for paperwork which had been
neglected since his return from New Orleans, Jude would’ve stayed
curled up in their bed. So instead of snuggling close to his
lovers, he was sitting in his office across town, trying to wake up
with a strong double latte, cursing his partner for leaving him so
much paperwork – not that it could be helped. Jackson was still
recovering from a nasty bout of influenza.

Logging on to his computer,
he methodically began organizing it; deleting the ads for discount
drugs, filing away the requests for new bids on security services
in their corresponding folders, while automated bills went into yet
another. Then he ran across it. His hand paused on the mouse, dread
filling him. Even without opening it he knew an email from Rena
MacAllister with the words “TERMINATION REQUESTED” in the subject
line was not good news. Jackson was going to go through the
roof.
And just when I hoped my life would
settle down.

Chapter One

Two months
later

“Rena!”

Ignoring the commanding
call behind her, Rena slipped in between two vendor stands setup in
the center of the Atrium Mall.
Located in
the heart of the Loop, she’d been lucky to find this job so quickly
after she’d left her last job with no job reference. It wasn’t like
Jude wouldn’t have given her a stellar review – no, she knew he
would - it was the idea of his partner knowing where she worked
which scared her. She wouldn’t put it past Jackson to do exactly
what he was doing right now; chasing her across the mall, making a
huge scene, and all because he couldn’t accept the fact she just
wasn’t meant to be his submissive despite the red hot chemistry
they shared. Whether she truly believed her own B.S. or not was
beside the point, she needed this job to pay for her new unlisted
apartment.

Too busy looking over her shoulder,
she grunted when she suddenly slammed into the tall muscular body
she’d been trying to avoid. Jackson must've ducked through the
narrow aisles between the vendors to cut her off in front of the
phone kiosk. A muffled gasp escaped her as he pulled her up tight
against his body, before spinning her around.

“Gotcha.” His blue eyes
narrowed.

“I don’t think so, White Boy. Let me
go. I’m trying to work here.” She was going to kill Keisha if her
sister spilled the beans about where she worked. At least she knew
her sister wouldn’t be able to tell anyone where she lived. She’d
kept it a secret even from her family. She needed breathing room –
from everything, everyone, loving family included. She had to get
her head on straight before she did something stupid, like offering
this particular man not only her body but her heart.

He sighed, holding her more firmly.
She fought to ignore the familiar sparks of attraction flaring up
between them. She couldn’t give into him, even if her body longed
for it. There were simply too many unresolved issues between them.
Ones which were caused by her past, but he’d have to torture them
out of her before she’d admit how vulnerable he made her
feel.

“Do you know what I’ve gone through to
find you, Rena?” His voice was muffled against the crown of her
head.

She gritted her teeth. “I can only
imagine. I was very careful not to leave a paper trail. If Keisha
hadn’t spilled the beans, you still wouldn’t know where I
went.”

His finger lifted her chin. Gazing up
into his face, she noticed for the first time the bags under his
eyes, the haggard look on his face, even the appearance of a five
o’clock shadow. For one as fair as he was, he had to have gone
several days without shaving for his facial hair to even show. In
short, he looked like hell warmed over. More than anything she
wanted to take him home, tuck him into bed, and make him some of
her momma’s homemade chicken soup. It was obvious he hadn’t quite
recovered from the RSV, which had laid him low nearly a month ago.
But instead of acting on her urge to take care of him, she lashed
out - anything to drive him away from her.

“What happened to you? Partying too
hard or has your latest submissive been keeping you up all night
trying to satisfy her?”

A low growl escaped Jackson. “That was
completely uncalled for and beneath you, Rena. If I look rundown,
it’s because I’ve been tracking your sexy black ass all over
Chicago, instead of getting my full eight hours of sleep at night.”
Releasing her from his embrace, he wrapped a firm hand around her
upper arm. “But I have the solution. I’m gonna chain your
submissive little body to my bed and maybe then I’ll get more than
four hours of sleep a night.”

Her traitorous body leapt at the idea
of him binding her. It had been so long since she’d felt the
familiar feel of leather sliding against not only her wrists and
ankles, but her back, ass and thighs. She loved nothing more than a
good Dom who knew how to wield a flogger or better yet a
paddle.

He continued to chew her
ass, as he led her back the way they’d come. “Do you know how
worried I was – no, how
pissed off
I was when Jude told me you
e-mailed
your resignation? You
couldn’t even have the common courtesy to come into the office and
quit like a normal person? Or take into consideration no one, not
even your pregnant sister knew where to find you?”