Submissive Beauty (27 page)

“What is it, Gabrielle? Are you okay?”

Metal scraped on metal—a key going in the lock. The knob was twisted, and the door pushed in. The all too familiar scrape her uneven door made across the threshold sounded in her ears, deafening her.

“Oh God. No, no! Please tell me we aren’t at my house. Please, Thomas!” Her voice shrieked immeasurably loud even to her own ears. Her heart thumped against her breastbone and full panic took over. She grabbed frantically at her blindfold and ripped it off, blinking at the bright light shining in her eyes.

“Gabrielle, what’s wrong? Tell me, god dammit!” The hard edge of Thomas’s demand was unmistakable.

She blinked against the burning light until her eyes finally adjusted, and she stood staring at her front door. David stood in front of her, his face creased with worry.

“Oh my God, did anyone see us? I’m not safe. We aren’t safe. Fuck, we have to get out of here. Hurry.” Words tumbled from her mouth too quickly, she wasn’t even sure if they made sense. She tried to pull away from Thomas, to run but he wouldn’t let her go. Instead, he pulled her into his arms and carried her into the house. She kicked and clawed at his face and shoulders, desperate to get away. Run. She had to run before Scott found her like this. He would hurt them. Hurt her.

“Gabrielle, calm down. Fuck!” He walked quickly to her couch and dumped her on the cushions. The air whooshed out of her lungs, and she grabbed at her chest unable to breath.

“Jesus Christ, she’s having a panic attack.” David grabbed her arms pinning them down. “Grab her legs before she hurts herself or one of us.”

“Let me go,” she yelled. She wanted to hide, turn out the lights, maybe huddle in the corner. Anything other than sit here on display.

“If you can calm down, we’ll let you go.” David growled at her.

Gabby reached for that shred of sanity she still possessed and willed her body still. Her heart still beat wildly and breath sawed in and out of her lungs but she’d stopped kicking and scratching. “Please, let me go.”

Both men immediately released her, and she curled into a tight ball and pulled the afghan draped across the back of the couch over her body.

“You need to tell us what’s going on and tell us right now. Why are you so afraid? This is irrational. What the hell are we missing?” Thomas towered over her, waiting for an answer.

As the tears dried on her face and her breathing slowed to normal, her head darted around the room checking to ensure the blinds were still closed and nothing seemed out of place.

“You need to check and see if anyone is in the house.”

“What? Why would you think someone is here?” David hesitated and glanced around. “Why the fuck do I feel like we’ve just been dropped into the Twilight Zone.”

“Please, just check. Then I promise I’ll tell you everything.”

Chapter Eighteen

Thomas walked into the bedroom he assumed was Gabrielle’s and checked the closet and bathroom. She obviously took a lot of care in decorating this room and bathroom. Everything was well organized and done in a rich, dark shade of purple. It reminded him of eggplant. She had a king size bed that dominated the space and a stack of books on the nightstand. He hoped she didn’t miss reading in bed too much because he didn’t foresee her returning to that nighttime activity any time soon, if ever.

He wanted to picture her, lying on the bed, spread out for him, but all he could see was the stark fear in her eyes when she’d started screaming about not being at her house. What the hell could have happened? He sat down hard on the bed, scrubbing his hands over his face. When had he lost control of the situation? He and David had planned tonight carefully, giving her all the time and space she needed this afternoon and they’d both garnered from their time with her here and at his house that she loved the home she’d built here. So what then? She didn’t want to taint the space with her kink? No, he didn’t believe that for a second. That wasn’t the kind of woman she was.

He rubbed his palms along the lengths of his thighs and took one last look around. He wanted to know who the hell she thought was lurking in her house and why. He could drive himself crazy trying to figure out the small mistakes he might have made, or he could confront her and demand answers.

After a quick glance in the closet to confirm it was indeed empty, he headed through the door and down the short hall to the living room where David squatted next to her, rubbing her back and calming her with his more gentle ways. Thomas’ first impulse had been to command an answer before she’d even had a chance to calm down. Not because he was a dickhead but because sometimes hysteria needed a firm hand. Luckily, David was the other side of the coin from him and saw reason instead of sheer fear.

“The house is all clear.”

Gabrielle blinked up at him. Sadness tinged with fear shining in her eyes. He wanted to take away whatever had done that to her. But what if it was him who’d managed to scare her off. He blew out a rough breath and sat on the couch not far from her head. He needed to touch her, to feel the warmth inside her and feed her his strength if that’s what she needed.

“Can we talk now?”

She nodded.

“Good. Now, tell us what happened. What has you so frightened?”

“I came home today to dozens of voicemails. Threatening.”

David’s face clouded over. “What? From who?”

“My ex. I haven’t heard from him in months, and now, all of a sudden he’s following me around.”

“Wait. He’s following you around, too?”

“I don’t think I can repeat everything he said. The recorder is on the desk in the hall. You can listen to them for yourself.”

“And I will. But answer me something first.” He paused, waiting for her full attention. “Why didn’t you tell us about this sooner?”

“I-I didn’t want to involve you. It’s not fair.”

“Not involve me? Are you not wearing a collar around your neck? Have you decided you want to take it off? What the hell, Gabrielle?”

David grabbed his arm and pulled him from the couch as fresh tears washed from her eyes. “Thomas, stop. Not yet.”

“She doesn’t fucking trust us,” he managed through clenched teeth.

“Save it. I know how you feel, but first things first. I’ll take care of her, and you can listen to the messages. Then we’ll decide what to do. Agreed?”

Of course, David was right. It didn’t make him feel any better, which wasn’t the point right now anyway. He walked over to the desk and lifted his finger, hovering over the button.

“Wait.” Gabrielle struggled to a sitting position, holding tight to the blanket around her as if it would provide security instead of him. This was definitely going to be a long night and nothing like he’d planned. Troy had already received his instructions to return the town car to Sanctuary as soon as they’d settled in the house. So they were all staying here tonight unless someone called a cab.

“What is it, sweetheart?” David dropped a soothing kiss on the top of her head.

“I don’t want to hear them again. Once was enough.”

“How about a hot bath then?”

Gabby looked up into David’s face and gave him a tentative smile. Thomas’ gut twisted at the innocent expression she carried. They did have some issues to work through, but damn if he had any intention of letting her get away. Somehow, she’d worked her way inside him and he wanted to keep her there.

“That actually sounds good. I’ll be fine on my own if you want to stay here and listen with Thomas,” she offered.

“Maybe after I get you settled and comfortable first. I’m not leaving you alone until I’m sure you’re ready.”

“I’m not a child, and this isn’t the first time I’ve dealt with this,” she said bitterly.

Thomas’ head lifted sharply at her words, a pissed off comment on the tip of his tongue. Luckily, he caught David’s signal and squelched the urge to berate her. But she definitely had some serious punishment coming her way as soon as they got this straightened out. If she thought she could shut him out, she had another thing coming.

David led Gabrielle out of the room, and when Thomas heard the soft click of the bathroom door closing behind them, he pressed play. The first message came and the man’s voice sounded reasonable and calm, but he had a hunch that after dozens of calls that had degraded quickly.

Letting her recorder continue, he paced to the light switches near the doorway and turned them all off, drowning the room in darkness. From memory, he made his way to the front curtains and lifted the side edge a fraction, only enough to allow him to see out and not catch the eye of anyone who might be watching the house.

He stood there for a long while as the messages continued, and his anger built layer by layer after each subsequent call. Unfortunately, this was not the first time in his life he’d dealt with a man like this, and if he wasn’t careful, he’d find himself heading down the slippery slope into his past. As the owner of Sanctuary, he’d seen just about every domestic situation that existed, and this asshole on the recorder was a textbook case of a husband who’d cut his wife loose then when the fresh pussy dried up, came back home, looking to place blame on the woman he’d been married to.

How many men like this existed in the world? Not only did they need to be taught a lesson or two but so did the fucking parents who’d raised them to be like this. His childhood had been majorly fucked up, yet he didn’t use it as an excuse to become abusive toward women. He laughed at that thought. How many people had called him just that to his face because of his proclivity to the harder kink? He liked to take risks, and he often used pain to bring submissives to their greatest pleasure.

Not that giving pain didn’t give him pleasure, because it did. He didn’t love much more than seeing a sub’s needy reaction to the kiss of a whip or the fall of a flogger’s tails. The marks he left behind gave them both a sense of pride. He’d seen some of that with Gabrielle so far, but they’d barely begun to scratch the surface. Now, they were backtracking. She didn’t trust him enough to tell her about these phone calls…to confide her fear…then how would she be able to tell him what she wanted from a Dom or when he’d gone too far? Would she let him push her past the point she could take then never forgive him for it?

He rested his forehead against the cool wood trim of the window, not taking his eyes from the darkness outside. The messages continued, escalating until as he’d feared her ex had begun to seek her out at home uninvited. The bastard was stalking her in the middle of the night and beyond, and more than likely, he was out there right now or would be soon. He didn’t sound like the kind of man who would just drop it.

“Did I hear what I fucking think I did?” David spoke from the hallway pass through, hopefully out of Gabrielle’s hearing.

“Yes. He’s been here. Possibly inside. And he left her a gift. Did she mention anything like that to you?”

“No. We didn’t talk about it all. I wanted her to relax.”

“Fine, I’ll go ask her.” Thomas strode across the room and stepped into the hall. David’s arm came up to block his path.

“I don’t think it’s a good idea to confront her right now.”

“I’m not trying to confront her. I only want to know what that bastard left here for her,” he growled.

David raised his eyebrow. The universal gesture for
yeah right
.

“Don’t you want to know? Aren’t you curious to know the extent of the danger she’s in? I have half a mind to yank her out of that tub and drag her back to my house where I know I can keep her safe.”

“Which is exactly why you don’t want to go in there right now. If you walk through that door, guns blazing, she’s going to stiffen that spine of hers and shoot you down so fast we’ll both find ourselves outside on our asses.”

Thomas snorted.

“She’s scared to death, but I don’t think either of us should discount just how pissed off she is.”

Thomas turned and leaned his upper body against the wall. A rough breath escaping his lips. “I can’t stand by and do nothing. Fuck, man. She’s more than just a sub from the club.”

“I know. To me, too. Lucky for all of us, this is exactly the kind of thing I do and do well. I’ll have that asshole figured out within twenty-four hours and then we can decide what to do. Give me that much, at least. Trust me to do what needs to be done.”

What had started as a lighthearted jest had turned down right icy on David’s last words. Menace radiated from within and glittered in his eyes. David was right, of course. He was the perfect man for this job. It just wasn’t like Thomas to do nothing.

“I have to do something.” He pushed off the wall and walked into the living room. “I studied the area outside the front window and so far there’s no sign of anyone out there casing the place.”

“We’re probably dealing with a shithead amateur. Easy enough to handle as long as we get a hold of him before he goes off and does something stupid.”

No way would Thomas give anyone the opportunity to get that close to Gabrielle. She might fight him on his ideas of security, but she’d listen in the end because he would make her. Keeping her safe and in his bed were of the utmost priorities. Now, keeping her out of his heart had become another matter altogether. He could try to fight it, but he suspected he’d already lost the battle.