Reclaiming His Submissive (7 page)

God, the pain in her eyes before
he even answered started to shred his heart. His need to
compartmentalize his life had taken a toll on her and he’d not
even noticed.
Fuck.

After several seconds went by
before he answered, Harper scrambled to her feet and headed back to
the water’s edge. Alex sighed. He knew he had to open up to her
about the rest of his life or they’d never move on together.
But the anger forcing it’s way to the surface made his temper
short.

“
My family doesn’t
know because most of them are shallow, judgmental snobs who don’t
deserve to know a woman like you.” They were only a few feet
apart but he’d raised his voice to ensure she heard him.

She whirled back to face him.
“What?”

“
Seriously, Harper. My
father’s a single minded prick who only cares about making more
money than God and nailing every young chick who walks into his
office. My brother… Well, let’s just say he went to the
dark side years ago and is always one day away from serious trouble.
Even my mother has become so jaded by our life that she’s
bought into the societal obligations that seem to come with wealth.
Or at least that’s what she keeps trying to tell me.
Unfortunately her attitude can make her just as hateful as the others
if you catch her at the wrong time. Which is pretty much anytime
actually. Becoming more than my submissive means taking on the
responsibility of sharing the other less pleasant parts of my life.”
He took a breath and held it. Most of what he’d been trying to
explain to her had tumbled out in a jumbled mess. He’d made
them sound one step away from a psycho ward.

Harper stepped closer and
collapsed onto her knees in the sand in front of him. “What
family doesn’t come with baggage? I’ve told you plenty of
times how crazy mine is. Life is messy.”

“
Crazy in an annoying and
charming Southern way hardly compares to the dark spot of my twisted
family. Over the years tabloids have published rumors here and there
about my lifestyle and my father goes ballistic. As far as he’s
concerned he’s already lost one son and he has no interest in a
second twisted fuck. More than once he’s offered to buy me out
and cut me loose.” Alex rubbed his neck as so many unpleasant
memories flooded his mind. “If it wasn’t for the shitty
way he treats my mother and her refusal to leave him, I would have
left long ago.”

Harper cupped both his cheeks and
brought their faces together until they touched from forehead to
nose. “You keep too much inside.” Her warm breath
caressed his face. “It can get dark in there and if you’re
not careful that darkness will consume you.”

“
You don’t
understand. I can’t bear the thought of my family touching you.
At the very least they’ll do something to embarrass you and
that’s unacceptable. You’re mine. Mine to protect. I want
your life to be perfect. That’s what you deserve.”

Harper leaned back. “I’m
not perfect, Alex. Far from it. I’ve done plenty to embarrass
myself all on my own. And while your desire to protect me feels
really good, I don’t need it. I’m more than capable of
taking care of myself.”

He studied her for a moment,
considering his response. The sounds of the ocean behind her gave him
a renewed sense of peace. Something that only Harper brought to his
life. The fact that for the first time in forever he wasn’t
mired in some business drama in the city was an amazing bonus.

Harper’s work ethic turned
him on. In fact, he loved that she had a thriving bakery chain. It
made him even more proud to be her Dom.

Was that it? Was that all he was?
The idea definitely didn’t sit well anymore. Like it or not,
that night he whipped her had changed everything between them. She
might be confused now, but she loved him and as long as she loved him
he had a chance to find a way to make this work.

“
Kitten, I’m proud of
how capable you are. You are equally smart and beautiful. That
doesn’t mean you don’t need my protection, especially
from my own family. I’m responsible for any harm they cause.
Trust me, I know what I’m talking about and they will hurt
you.” Not that he cared for it.

“
We don’t get to
choose our family, Alex. We get what we get and some people have to
do the best they can with what they’ve been dealt. That’s
the kind of man I see you as. The one who surveys those around him
and then, once armed with the facts, uses that information to improve
the situation.”

“
Is that your nice way of
saying I like to manipulate those around me?” He reached around
her hip and pinched her scantily clad butt. She might not love the
bathing suit he’d picked out, but he did. It gave him more
opportunity to stare at the lush curves he loved so much. His mouth
watered and his dick started to harden.

“
Hey!” She swatted at
his hand and rolled a few feet out of his reach. “That’s
not exactly what I meant but if the shoe fits…” She
jumped up and started to run toward the water.

“
All right, Harper. Game on
now!” He scrambled to his feet and surged after her.

In several fast strides he caught
up with her and scooped her from the water’s edge and into his
arms.

“
Alex!” she cried. “I
wanted to go in the water.”

“
I’m sure you do.
However, what you need is entirely different from what you want. Did
you really think you could run from me and I wouldn’t come
after you?” Her eyes darkened at his words. They both knew he
meant more than her simple flight on the beach. He dropped to the
sand and laid her out in front of him. Being outdoors in the sun with
a half-naked submissive growing more and more compliant by the second
turned him on. “You’re mine, kitten. If you need me to
keep reminding you of that I will. Whatever it takes.”

He spread her legs and moved in
between them, coming down over her until his hardened cock came in
contact with the sensitive apex of her thighs.

She gasped.

“
Running away from me is
your way of teasing me.”

She flushed a pretty shade of
pink, which simply made him think of the blush of her pussy when he
licked it. “Not true,” she denied.

“
Mmm hmm.” He licked
at the side of her neck to the hollow at her throat. “I’m
not sure what happened to my sweet, obedient submissive, but I’m
up to the challenge of taming a feisty one.” He continued to
nip at her skin until she writhed under him trying to get him to get
her off.

He shifted, allowing for some
space between their upper bodies so he could watch the warm sunshine
brush her baby soft skin. Aching for more of her, he stretched the
skimpy fabric that covered her so that her breasts were exposed to
his gaze. He drank in the sight of them while the hardened nipples
bunched tighter under his perusal.

For a long moment neither of them
said anything as he studied and stroked her curves from the indent of
her waist all the way to her eyes that were riveted by his actions.

“
You’re right that we
don’t get to pick the family who birthed us, but we do get to
pick who we want to make our own family with.”

Suddenly her body stiffened
beneath him and her eyes widened in apparent alarm. Her reactions
made no sense. He thought she’d be happy to hear this.

He bent forward and captured her
lips, taking advantage of her surprise to delve his tongue in her
mouth. As he kissed her, he took the opportunity to cup her breast
and flick her nipple through the fabric of her swimsuit.

She gasped, urging him to take
her deeper. He now held her nipple between his fingers and pinched
until she offered him a moan. Yes, much better.

When he detected the slight
tremble of her limbs he eased back and stared down at her. “You
are so damn beautiful, kitten. I’ll never get enough. Ever.”

He leaned forwarded and rested
his forehead against hers. The connection between them was beyond
palpable. His pulse quickened and the ache in his cock became
constant. With every passing minute the need to fuck her here on the
beach became more imminent.

He lifted his head and met her
gaze once again. “I do love you, Harper. You have to know
that.”

For one stunned moment she stared
at him in complete shock before she began to struggle.

“
I have to know that? What
the hell, Alex?”

He grabbed her flailing arms by
the wrists and pinned them above her head with one hand. “I
know I hurt you after our last scene, but you caught me off guard.”
He slid his free hand to her hip and sunk his fingers into her flesh
in a tight grip. “That doesn’t mean my feelings are not
strong.” He bent forward and set his teeth at her throat. He
paused for only a moment before he bit down and sucked hard.
Everything inside him clamored to mark her in every way possible. By
the time he lifted his head, her eyes were closed and her jaw had
gone slack in pleasure. “I am still your Master and by the time
we leave this island you’ll either surrender to me once and for
all or we’ll part as friends. It will be your choice.”

He gave her nipple one last tug
before he stood and lifted her to her feet. It took her a moment to
regain her equilibrium and he steadied her with his arm wrapped
around her. “You’re still my girl and I’m feeling
pretty damned possessive right now.” He pressed his mouth to
the top of her head. “I didn’t expect to find a woman
like you, someone as beautiful on the inside as she is on the
outside. Your submission has been the most precious gift I’ve
ever received and the thought of losing it makes me a little crazy.”

“
Oh, Alex,” she
started.

He shook his head and pressed his
finger to her lips. “Not yet. You need some time to think
without my influence.”

“
I don’t think that’s
possible.”

Sliding a hand around her nape,
he bent forward and gave her a quick hard kiss. “Try. Take some
time to enjoy the soaker tub in the house and then meet me down on
the dock for dinner. We’ll do something special.”

She started to follow his
directions and turned back as if she wanted to say something.

“
No. Go now before I change
my mind and tie you to a tree.” He winked, doing his best to
lighten the tension between them despite the churning in his gut.

“
Yes, Sir,” she
whispered.

As he watched her walk toward the
main house in the center of the island he recounted their
conversation. It was easy for her to say that she could handle his
family and his life because she didn’t know better. There were
some obstacles he wasn’t sure love could overcome. They both
had a choice to make today. He could walk away from Harper forever,
let her find a new Dom and never have to deal with his family, or tie
her to him forever and have faith that together they’d make it
through.

He knew what he wanted.

Chapter
Six

Harper leaned back in the tub and
sighed as the heated water began caressing her skin. She still felt
every touch from Alex as if it were happening now. That’s how
wound up he’d gotten her. Of course she didn’t want to
leave him. Taking off her collar had been the hardest thing she’d
ever done. Actually, until the moment she’d unbuckled it she’d
had no idea how much it had come to mean to her.

Everything.

Still stunned by his confession
of love, she didn’t know what to think. If he’d
discovered the pregnancy test then all the emotions he was feeling
right now were being swayed by the possibility of her carrying his
child. She placed her hands on her bare stomach and sighed. Pregnant.
She still couldn’t believe it could be true.

A boy that looked just like Alex
would be adorable and then he’d grow up to be just as
commanding as his father. And a girl… It didn’t take
much to imagine how doting and possessive he would be with a
daughter. Lord help the first boy who came after her when she became
a teenager.

Harper covered her mouth and
suppressed a giggle. She was getting ahead of herself. She’d
removed the test from her purse once again but it still sat on the
bathroom counter untouched. Once again she rubbed her belly and tried
to imagine it growing larger and larger each day. She had a feeling
that if Alex really meant what he’d said then he’d enjoy
her pregnant body. The rumors of a woman’s sex drive during
this time alone would drive him mad. Now that was an idea she could
get behind. Driving Alex mad. Turn about would be fair play since he
enjoyed driving her crazy so often.

Thoughts of him not being able to
keep his hands off her made her nipples bunch tight. Before Alex
she’d never imagined herself as this insatiable sexual woman.
Others may not understand why a woman like her would choose to submit
to a man like Alex, but that was only because they didn’t
understand the sense of freedom that comes with surrendering to
another.

Harper closed her eyes and
imagined her dark-haired Dom towering over her as she knelt on her
knees with his flogger across her lap. Or better yet, the rose crop
he’d given her for their first date. Butterflies erupted in her
stomach when the provocative image formed in her mind. He’d
command her to stand and bend for his appraisal. There were many
facets to her Master but she could always count on one thing. He’d
make certain she exposed herself to him completely every time they
were together and he always told her how hard she made him.