Gale, Avery - Jenna's Submission [The ShadowDance Club 2] (Siren Publishing Ménage and More) (29 page)

“What are you smiling about? You have a cat-that-swallowed-the-canary grin that always worries me.” Dylan chuckled and reached over from his lounger next to hers and squeezed her hand.

“I was just thinking about Kat and how glad I am that I’m going to already have a girlfriend when we return to Climax. Kat was always so timid when I’d see her with Cal Robertson, but from what I overheard of your conversation with her, it sounds as if she’s come out of her shell.” Mia had laughed at Kat’s high-pitched scream when Dylan had told her they’d already remarried and during his multiple attempts to assure her that she would still get to play hostess.

Dylan returned Mia’s smile. “Oh, indeed, Mrs. Katarina Lamont might be small, but she packs a powerful punch. Hell, both Alex and Zach have always been two of the strictest Doms at their Club, but rest assured that little bit of a woman leads them on a merry chase. And if Grayson is right and she’s carrying multiples, oh hell, this is going to be priceless to watch.” They lay back in companionable silence for a long time, just enjoying each other’s company and the sound of the waves beating against the white sandy beach. The soft breeze carried the sweet scent of orchids and the gentle strains of an acoustic guitar playing in the lounge a few yards up the beach.

They’d spent the past couple of days making sweet love so often they’d barely made it out of their cottage. There wouldn’t be any BDSM play for a while yet, Mia’s shoulder was healing nicely, but any strain might well have caused a setback Dylan wasn’t willing to risk. So for now, he was perfectly happy to slide his aching sex into her wet velvet pussy and take them both over the edge of ecstasy again and again. They’d have the rest of their lives for scenes, well, at least until he managed to plant his seed deep within her. God, but he couldn’t wait to see her round with his child. She was going to be an amazing mother.

Finally Mia broke the silence. “I’ve loved being here with you, you’ve made this time together so perfect. I’m going to spend the rest of my life showing you how much I love you, Dylan Marshall. And as much as I love this lost paradise, I’m ready to go home. I’m ready to go back to Climax and begin our life together.”

Dylan squeezed her hand gently before answering. “I can’t think of a single thing I’d like more.”

Chapter 34

Jenna was lying alongside the rock-lined stream, trailing her fingers in small circles through the crystal-clear water as it made lazy, bubbling progress on its way down the mountain. She had always known there wasn’t any other place on earth she felt as settled as ShadowDance Mountain, and everything that had happened since her return home recently had just underscored how empty her life had been without the joy that could only be found with family and friends. She’d traveled all over the world, met thousands of people, seen everything from the Eiffel Tower to the Great Barrier Reef to the Great Wall of China to the Corcovado in Rio and she knew in her heart she would trade it all for the chance to experience the type of love and acceptance she saw reflected in the eyes of her brothers and her best friend.

The leaves were awash of brilliant gold and vibrant shades of orange. Hell, even their reflection in the water was something to behold. Jenna knew she would have to make a decision soon, but even after everything they had shared Jenna wasn’t secure enough in her relationship with Colt to make a life-altering decision just on the outside chance that he might have really meant all those things he’d said about her belonging to him. One of the things she had always hated the most about Ted Scott’s attack was the self-doubt he’d been able to instill so deeply in her soul. Being beaten and raped had been trauma enough to overcome, but she still struggled with the lingering effects of insecurities born of his actions and words. And if she was really honest with herself, she would admit that the only person who had ever been able to reach through all that and see her heart had been Colt Matthews.

* * * *

Colt stood in the shadows watching as Jenna lay stretched out on the flat rocks beside the mountain stream. She was a vision surrounded by the fall splendor of the mountains, lost in thought. Colt knew he would never forget the picture of her at this moment. Standing still and watching the play of expressions move over her beautiful face, he etched the moment firmly into his memory, knowing that someday he’d be able to tell his grandchildren about how amazing their grandmother had looked as he’d approached her with the most important question he’d ever asked another person. He knew he would have to be honest with those beautiful blessings to come and tell them just how scared he’d been about asking her to become his wife, but he’d also tell them that he would have never taken no for an answer either.

Wondering at what she was thinking, he smiled to himself knowing he wouldn’t be able to figure out the workings of the female mind if he lived to be five hundred years old, and that was just one of the things about Jenna Lamont that made her the most captivating woman he’d ever known.

Colt knew just how lost in thought she was when he walked right up to her and sat down alongside her before she ever registered his presence. The lover in him was thrilled that her first reaction to his touch was immediate recognition, but the Dom was much less than thrilled with her lack of awareness of her surroundings.
Looks like we’ll be having another discussion about how important I consider your safety won’t we, my sweet love? Oh…but I am so looking forward to revisiting that lesson.

When Jenna started to move to a sitting position, Colt stilled her with a palm to her back. “No, please, stay still for a moment. Seeing you surrounded by the beauty of the mountain, lost in the peace I know you feel here is just about the most amazing thing I have ever seen.” He smiled at the softness he saw in her eyes at his words of praise.
She is so perfect it’s as if she was created just for me. As much as I hate to admit it, Grayson is right, I’ve never done anything that makes me worthy of this gift.

Colt ran his fingers through the soft length of Jenna’s hair as it trailed over her shoulders and down her back, marveling at the silky slide of it through his fingers. Her hair was the same midnight color as her brothers’, showing the Native American heritage they all inherited from their father, but her striking beauty was a genetic gift from her mother. Catherine Lamont had been a model and was still a beauty even as she was preparing to become a grandmother.

They remained in companionable silence for several minutes before Colt finally leaned over and scooped Jenna up into his arms and cradled her in his lap. When she leaned into his broad chest and sighed in contentment, he wasn’t sure but thought his heart might well burst right out of his chest.

Jenna finally broke the silence by asking, “What have you been up to this fine afternoon? You disappeared after lunch, and I wasn’t sure where you had gone, so I decided to come out here. This was always one of my favorite places to escape and relax. It is just so peaceful here…no matter the season, this must be one of the most beautiful spots in the entire world.” Colt recognized the wistful tone in her words and knew his sweet sub was struggling to find the balance that subs missed when they weren’t held close to their Masters’ hearts.

A submissive whose desire to please her Master was as deeply ingrained as Jenna’s would always struggle with melancholy moods and a strong sense of disconnection when they felt they were drifting freely without the security of the anchor they found in their Dom and knowing they were loved and cherished above all else by the man they entrusted their heart to. Colt had always been amazed that the truest submissives were usually viewed by the outside world as the most intelligent and independent women. Only the best Doms understood the value of earning the trust and submission of the strongest woman, that those were the deepest ties and the most-enduring relationships.

Colt sat Jenna to his side so that she was facing him and took her small hands in his and raised them to his lips, kissing away the last of the cool mountain water. “Well, my love, I had a very important call to make and it took me a little while to track down the couple I wanted to talk to. You see, they are busy people and travel a lot, so they are often hard to catch up with.” Smiling at her puzzled expression he continued before she could ask him anything. “But I finally caught up with them as they were getting ready to board a flight in Paris with a couple of young ladies in tow. They sounded exhausted but absolutely over the moon about their two new ‘adopted’ daughters.” Colt knew he’d just given her the hints she’d needed to figure out he had talked to her parents.

Daniel and Catherine Lamont had been thrilled when he’d finally caught up with them as they made their way back with the two young women Jenna had arranged to have stay with them while they studied in the United States. Colt had spoken to Catherine first because she had known for years how much he loved her daughter. He and Catherine had sat at the kitchen table one night over a year ago talking as they’d made short work of bottle of Daniel’s best wine they had hijacked from the mansion’s well-stocked wine cellar. They’d talked long into the night, and she’d finally gotten him to admit to his feelings for Jenna.

Catherine had warned him that there was a heart of pure gold in her sweet daughter, but that something had changed in her, and neither she nor Jenna’s father had ever known exactly why, but she’d cautioned Colt that timing was going to be paramount. Colt had recalled that late-night conversation with Catherine many times, and it had been months before he’d truly understood that the underlying message had been one of acceptance.

Daniel Lamont had gotten on the phone when he’d seen tears racing down his wife’s cheeks, even though their relationship wasn’t as overtly Ds as their sons’ it was still obvious by the stern questions Colt heard coming from his future father-in-law. Daniel had demanded to know exactly what Colt had said to make his sweet wife cry, and Colt hadn’t wasted anytime in asking him for his daughter’s hand in marriage. Daniel had gone completely silent for just enough time to have Colt feeling a bit unsettled when he’d finally sighed and said, “Damn, son, it’s about fucking time.”

Colt had let out the breath he hadn’t even realized he was holding and laughingly agreed. They’d talked briefly about the recent events at ShadowDance before their flight had been called, and they’d all said their good-byes.

Watching as realization lit Jenna’s eyes, he smiled down at her and watched as the sunlight filtered through the trees and danced around her. “You are so beautiful you take my breath away…and your beauty is soul deep, sweet Jenna.” Pausing for a few seconds to try to calm his racing heart, he finally continued. “I love you with every beat of my heart, and I can’t even imagine living the rest of my life without you as my wife.”

Pulling a small velvet box from his pocket, he held it up and opened it. When he looked up into Jenna’s eyes, he nearly drowned in the love he saw filling them. Leaning forward, he kissed away the tears that had fallen before asking, “Will you marry me, Jenna? I want to spend the rest of my life showing you what it feels like to be the center of my universe. I want to share every joy and sorrow that life brings us and know that I’ve been blessed beyond measure to have the most amazing woman I’ve ever known love me in return. I want to raise a family with you, and I’d very much like to do that right here on the mountain I know you love because I believe in my heart this is the one place you are the most at peace…but if your heart truly wants to live somewhere else, I want you to know that I would follow you to the end of the earth if it meant sharing my life with you.”

Staring up into Colt’s face, Jenna was lost in the love she felt coming from him like warm waves washing over her soul. For a few seconds she had to make herself concentrate enough to take in the words he’d spoken. It was almost too much to take in that after all she’d been through. All the years of suffering and struggling in silence, and now she was being given the very thing she had always been too afraid to even wish for.

She’d loved Colt for years, but she had never felt worthy until he’d shown her the freedom that she could find in submission. Last night when she hadn’t been able to sleep, she’d made her way down to the kitchen and found Zach making hot cocoa for Kat. He’d taken the steaming cup up to his wife then come back downstairs to talk to her. When he’d finally gotten her to open up about what was troubling her, she’d laid her soul bare and asked him to explain the sense of the inconsistency she felt.

Zach had done his best to explain the dynamics of Ds relationship, but it hadn’t been until Alex had stepped into the room and wrapped his arms around her from the back in a hug and told her that she didn’t need to “slice and dice it”…that she should just follow her heart, that she had finally realized sometimes things were just too significant to try to explain.

Jenna didn’t realize how lost she’d become in thought until she noticed Colt’s intense look just before he spoke. “God but I would love to know where you just went.” Chuckling, he quickly added, “The expression of pure love that washed over your sweet face was something to behold. Care to share? And by the way, I’m still waiting for an answer to my question, pet.”