Submission Under the Mistletoe (15 page)

“
Using the dragontail is not a
hurried activity. Slow and steady will achieve a lot more for you
and your sub than just slashing it about as most inept Doms
do.”

The first snap went out and Brad found himself
transfixed in the skill and grace of Dom K. His heart began to
pause and beat in the rhythm of the each throw in the session as he
imagined him and China Doll together in a similar position.

~YH~

“
Mommy.” China entered her
family’s home and wrapped her arms around her mother who opened the
door for her. She’d called the house thirty minutes ago to let them
know she was pulling out of the airport in her rental.

“
Gabriella, oh, sweetie, I have
missed you.” Her mother kissed her several times on the
cheek.

“
I’ve missed you and Dad, too.”
She leaned back and looked at her mother who was now sixty-two
years old, who was still fit and active. “You look
fantastic.”

Her mom waved the comment away. “Just a little water
aerobics three times a week at the Y to keep myself in shape.

“
It is working.” Her mother was
where she got her coloring and height, Gabriella was the oldest
child but the shortest of all her siblings.

“
I’m glad your home. You sound so
stressed on the phone.” Her mother placed a hand on Gabriella’s
cheek and assessed her.

“
I’m good, Mommy.” Gabriella told
her, seeing the questions in her mother’s eyes.

“
Okay. When are you going to bring
your Dom home to meet your family?”

Holding in the sigh, that wanted to escape,
Gabriella pressed a smile on her lips, hoping it pacified her
mother for the moment. “As soon as I have a permanent one worthy
enough I will.”

“
Is that my, baby girl?” Donovan
Mitchem, a tall dark-skinned man, with a full head of gray hair
came around the corner and saved his oldest daughter from any
further inquires.

“
Daddy!” Moving away from her
mother, she let her father sweep her into a bear hug. “I have not
been your baby since Marc came along.”

Marc was her brother, the second Mitchem
offspring.

“
You all are my babies. The boys
just get all edgy when I say it to them.” Her father kissed her on
the top of her head as he set her feet back on the
ground.

She laughed. “I’m sure. Marc, Devon and Christopher
had to contend with six sisters they had to show they were
men.”

“
Did I hear my name?” Her brother
Marc led the line of her brothers coming from the kitchen
area.

Soon, she was hugged and kissed by so many siblings,
in-laws and nieces and nephews it made her eyes water. She really
loved her family and they were the perfect medicine to ease the
ache in her heart over Brad.

“
I think someone wants to meet
you.” Josie, number nine, baby of the family, was walking gingerly
escorted down the stairs by her husband, Kyle a white man with
bright red hair and even brighter grin. He moved slowly as if he
thought at any moment his wife would need his
assistance.

Gabriella smiled at her brother in-law, but her
heart soared as she saw the small bundle in her sister arms. “Oh,
my goodness. When did you have the baby?” She rushed toward
them.

“
Three days ago. Mom wanted it to
be a surprise for everyone.” Josie met her at the bottom step. “My
doctor advised me not to travel from Philly, but there was no way I
was missing Christmas.”

Getting the baby from her little sister, Gabriella
peeled back the soft white blanket and saw the little face wearing
a blue cap. “He’s beautiful.”

“
Gabriel Lincoln Stevenson,” Josie
told her.

Tears of joy rolled along her cheek as Gabriella
glanced up from her nephew to her sister. “After me?”

“
Yup. I thought a first son needed
the name of his first aunt. Merry Christmas.”

Lifting a little hand, Gabriella kissed the back of
it. “Oh, Gabriel, I’m going to have to tell you all about how much
a pain your mother was when she was a little girl.”

The room exploded with laughter.

“
Don’t you dare, Gabriella!” Josie
stomped her foot appearing like the contrary child she had been at
two.

That just made the rest of the
family laugh even harder.

chapter
eleven

When her cell phone went off two days after
Christmas Gabriella just wanted to toss it across the room. She’d
arrived back home late last night from Maine and just wanted to
sleep. Why she had signed up for prep this morning she didn’t
know.

“
Foolish woman,” she chided
herself as she shoved herself into a sitting position. She blinked
slowly and stared around her room waiting for her brain to wake up,
before she rose.

Normally, she enjoyed the solitude of her apartment,
but after being in the bosom of the Mitchem clan for three days she
longed to have someone to talk to. Alone wasn’t all it was chalked
up to be.

Finally rising, she padded into the kitchen first
and started the coffee maker. She would need the boost once she got
out of the shower. Yawning she headed into the bathroom to start
her morning routine.

An hour and forty-five minutes later she walked into
Strong Blends, in slacks and a blouse, her hair back in a plain bun
with her make-up subdued.

“
Hi, Rodney.” Grabbing a fresh
apron, she tied it around her waist as she spoke to the black guy
who was wheeling the cart of bread to the prep station. “I guess
I’m on deserts.”

“
Not as bad as you are with
designing the icing, Gabriella,” he teased.

But, Gabriella knew what they all knew, she was
terrible, her hand wasn’t steady enough to do the job well.

Sticking her tongue at him, “She said, well it will
have to do with only the two of us here.”

“
No, you’re not.” Dillon, a brown
hair white man, came out of the cooler carrying a tray of
cupcakes.

She looked from one man to the other. “Did I have
the schedule wrong? Before I left for my Christmas trip I thought I
was on for this morning.”

“
There’s been a change.” Kenmore
stood at the opening of her office.

“
Oh.” Gabriella looked at the shop
manager and wished someone would have told her before now she could
have still been catching Zs. “Well, I guess I can go
home.”

“
Master Genuine would like to see
you downstairs, China Doll.” Kenmore told her with a smile on her
face that Gabriella could not describe as anything else but wicked.
“Leave your apron.”

“
What does he
want to see me about?”
Am I getting
fired?
Gabriella removed her apron and
hung it back on the peg with the other workers who were not there
and took her purse down.

“
You will see, soon.”

Taking a fortify breath, Gabriella walked around the
other three and moved back into the main dining area and went down
the back hall past the customer bathroom and entered the
combination to the dungeon door.

“
Hi, China Doll. Belated Christmas
greetings.” Pepper stood on the landing with a large box in her
hands when the door opened.

Titling her head, she stared at her friend who was
smiling like a cat who knew where the hidden bowl of cream was
located.

“
You too, Pepper. How was the
holiday for you and Meyo.”

“
We’ll discuss that later. This
box is for you. Let me escort you to Master Genuine.” Pepper passed
the box to her and led the way.

Following her friend, Gabrielle ran a million and
one thoughts through her mind on what could be going on. Her
birthday was in July so all the secretiveness made no sense to
her.

At Genuine’s office door in the dungeon beside the
stairs, Pepper gave one firm knock. When a deep voice called out
from inside, her friend opened the door dipped with a small nod and
stepped aside.

Carrying the box, Gabriella entered the office and
heard the door close behind her, leaving her alone with her boss
and club owner. She bowed her head low and waited for the older man
to acknowledge her.

“
China Doll, welcome
back.”

“
Thank you, Master Genuine. I was
told you wanted to see me, Sir.”

“
Yes. Please look at me,” he
instructed her.

Rising her gaze, she took in the features of the man
she respected like an uncle.

“
You’ve had quite a few years with
us. I’ve watched you over that time. I think it is time you found a
Dom that cared about you, respected you and would sacrifice his own
needs to ensure yours were fulfilled.”

Perplexed, she didn’t know what he was leading to.
He had Kenmore and everyone knew he didn’t take on other subs. She
stood silent, her body beginning to tremble.

Is he going to revoke his permissive covering and
put me out of the dungeon?

“
Do you want the same
thing?”

“
Yes, Sir.” Her voice
quivered.

He gave a brisk nod. “I thought as much. Please, go
into the locker room and change and come out when you are
done.”

“
Yes, Sir.” She didn’t
move.

“
You are dismissed,” he
granted.

“
Thank you, Sir.” She turned and
exited the office.

She noted the shake in her legs as she crossed the
large empty dungeon floor.

Once she was in the women’s locker room, she set the
box on one end of the long bench. Removing the lid, she peered
inside and saw a note sitting on the tissue paper. It read:

China Doll,

Dress in nothing, but what is inside. Put on your
make up. Don’t forget the red lipstick. Do not delay.

She didn’t waste a lot of time trying to understand
the unsigned note. Instead, she immediately stripped off her
clothing and placed them in a locker then peeled away the tissue
paper and pulled out the single item inside. Moving the paper, she
found blue and black flower, other than that the box now empty.

Holding the garment up, she recognized the apparel.
It was a 1960’s vintage-style mod swing coat. Laying it on the
bench, she grabbed her purse and went to the mirror and pulled out
her makeup. It took her no time to blacken her high arched
eyebrows, add a soft gray eye shadow, eyeliner on her top lids and
mascara. Her final touch was the requested catwalk red color-stay
lipstick.

Running a comb through her bangs, she added the
flower directly above her left ear. Dumping her purse in the locker
she shut it and picked up the coat. Fastening the two big buttons,
she stepped back to the mirror and checked her appearance.

Because of her short stature, the coat landed mid
thigh, concealing her bare body beneath. Not that she would have
had any problem moving around the dungeon nude. As a sub, you
learned quickly that modesty had no place. In the community they
adored all body-types, in all forms and sizes.

Exiting the locker room, she was surprised to be
greeted by Master Pam.

“
Hello, darling.” Unlike normal,
Master Pam was dressed in a corset and slack.

Nodding her head, Gabriella said, “Hello,
Ma’am.”

“
Come with me, please, China
Doll.” Not waiting for her agreement, the Domme turned and headed
toward the back hallway of the dungeon where the play rooms were
located.

With each step behind the other woman, Gabriella
felt her heart pounding faster.

They passed the sharps play room, the medical room
and arrived at a private session area. Inside her feet stuttered.
Not because of the people setting in chairs, which included Master
Pam who took her seat and guided Marigold to her knee. Also, Master
Geniune, Kenmore kneeling beside him, Pepper kneeling beside Dom
Meyo, Delilah sitting on the floor beside Dom Steel and Alesha on
the front row on her knees between her two Doms; Ursus and Mustang.
Finally, she saw a man standing to the side, in the shadows that
appeared uncomfortable and out of place as Brad had the day she met
him, she knew though it was his brother Brian.

Because center stage was the man she never expected
to see again, Brad. He stood beside a St. Andrews cross in a navy
blue t-shirt and black jeans holding a dragontail whip.

The quivering of her body became a full shake as a
cry broke passed her lips.

“
Come here, China Doll,” Brad
commanded. His gaze on her was intense and his voice brokered no
argument.

Swallowing, she blinked the water from her eyes and
moved slowly toward the man before her. When she stood in front of
him, he cupped her face and kissed her. Everyone else in the room
faded away; it was just the two of them.

Leaning away, from her, he said, “I missed you.”

Silent, she stared at him, not believing he was not
only still in Charlotte, but that he was dressed like he was and
where he was.

“
Did you miss me, China
Doll?”

“
Yes, I missed you.”

His eyebrow rose slowly.

She realized in her excitement what she’d missed
saying. “I missed you, Sir.”

He gave her a small smile and caressed the side of
her face. She felt the calm stead touch to her soul.

“
I love you.” His words were clear
and the emotions shinning in his eyes were just as bold. “Do you
love me, China Doll?”