Authors: Cassandre Dayne
Kaela’s lower lip quivered. “She’s
dead?”
“Yes.”
“How?”
Her voice was barely audible.
Angel looked down, her chest rising
and falling rapidly.
Kaela waited for a few seconds and
couldn’t take it any longer. “Tell me! If I’m going to consider a life with
this man and perhaps succumbing to him body and soul, I deserve to know.”
“Yes…yes, you do.” Angel shifted
through the top papers in the file before pulling out a single sheet. She held the
paper up in front of her face. “There have to be more details but we haven’t
been able to find them yet.”
“Just tell me.”
“Okay. The girl, her name is
Samantha Jennings. From what my guy has been able to determine, she was his
submissive for about a year.”
“I’m with you. What happened?” Kaela
whispered.
“She…she died, Kaela.”
“I know.
How?”
She moved the top pictures aside,
showing Kaela a vivid color picture hidden underneath.
Kaela sucked in her breath, a single
moan escaping her lips. As she stared at the glossy photo, tears brimmed in her
eyes. “How…I mean…”
“This is where it gets fuzzy and I
admit we have to check but…”
“Damn it! Tell me!”
“Samantha died by his hands. The
majority of the people in his hometown say it was murder, but he was never formally
charged.”
“Murder?”
There was no way. The ugly words
reverberated in her ears, echoes bouncing back and forth. For a few seconds she
was certain she was going to faint. Looking away, Kaela tried to collect
herself, tears slipping from her eyes. “That’s why…he…he left the…country?”
“Well, no one is saying that
exactly,” Angel said softly. “What do you think you’re going to do?”
Before she had a chance to answer,
there was a sharp knock on the door. “Come in.”
Brittany eased inside, her eyes
settling on Angela. “I didn’t mean to interrupt.”
“You didn’t. What do you need?”
Kaela wiped her eyes and tried to smile. Oh my God.
Murder?
“I…look, I heard what you said and I
lied. I can tell how much you care about Mr. MacGruder,” Brittany said as she
nibbled her lower lip.
“I’m sorry. What did you lie about?”
Kaela asked, more than just curious.
“He’s staying at a house on the
beach on Hilton Head Island. No one knows he owns the place. He said it’s the
only place he can be himself. I don’t know and I…I… Sorry, I have the address
for you.” Stuttering, Brittany eased a piece of paper down on Kaela’s desk.
“Thank you. I mean…” What in the
hell could she say?
Brittany nodded. “I know. You’re
welcome. For the little
it’s
worth, he watched you
every time you’re near. I can tell how much he cares about you.”
Both Angela and Kaela watched her
walk out, closing the door. Kaela picked up the piece of paper eyeing the
address. “I do care. I really do.”
“What are you going to do?” Angel
asked.
Kaela wasn’t a risk taker any longer
in her life. She lived every day in various shades of gray, but this time she
needed perhaps red. “I’m going to go to him and I honestly need your support on
this. I understand what your reports say and I appreciate what you and this
mystery man have done to find out information about him, but right now I don’t
care. I just need to try this and I need to find out what I need. I know it all
sounds nuts but…” Yes, she sounded nuts.
“In truth, I’m amazed and very happy
you’re following your gut. You’re an adult woman and I have no doubt there’s
more to this story than what we can find in print. If you’re right about this
you’re going to free whatever horrible this man from your past has on you.”
“But if I’m wrong…” Kaela didn’t
need to finish the sentence.
“I will warn you to be careful, but
I know my friend. She’s got a good head on her shoulders.”
“I understand.”
“No, I’m not sure you do. My sister
almost died at the hands of a Dom early in her life. He wasn’t a man of honor
but a sadist so I’m sensitive to fear. I’m also understanding of what women and
men need. Your instinct is strong and right on the money so go with it.”
“Why do I feel
a
but
here?” Kaela wasn’t sure what to think.
“Not
a but
.
I have one suggestion.”
“Suggestion?”
She wasn’t sure what she was doing.
“Let me introduce you to my friend.
He’s a Master Dom and can give you perhaps some understanding if nothing else,
at least in the ways of dealing with willful women and ideas to make certain he
isn’t this man in the file.” Her eyes twinkling, Angel licked her lips. “Here’s
the file for you to read everything yourself.”
“Thank you. I love you.”
“Mmm… If I were into girls…”
Chapter
Seven
Broden stood staring at the ocean,
barely cognizant of the waves lapping at his feet. The sun was just beginning
to set and while this was normally the time of day when he was very much at
peace, today he was antsy. He hadn’t been able to get either Samantha or Kaela
off his mind for a second. He could swear he’d been hearing Samantha whispering
to him, telling him to let go of her and move on. The sad truth was he was very
ready and his very instinct told him Kaela was the woman for him. There was
something powerful about his attraction to her, both mentally and physically.
What in the hell could he offer her?
He was a broken down man who had little to offer anyone. He sighed, his heart
aching as tears welled in his eyes. Clenching them closed, he tried to shut out
everything, longing to dull the pain.
“I know a man, one who is so very
powerful in everything he does, and he told me trust isn’t something you can
give, trust must be earned. He also said that opening your heart, allowing yourself
to free the demons we harbor in our souls can be done easily by holding out
your hand and asking for help.”
Shivering, he stiffened, every part
of his body shaking. “Whoever said that was wrong.”
“No, he wasn’t.”
Blinking back the tears, he turned,
shocked to see the sight of Kaela in bare feet, wind whipping through a cotton
dress. For a few seconds he remained speechless, his mind racing as to how and
why she was here. “Kaela…I…”
Kaela nodded and walked toward the
shoreline, keeping her distance away from him. As she stepped into the water,
she inhaled and tipped her head toward the waning sun. “It’s beautiful here.”
“This is my place of solace, one
special spot on earth I can relax and regroup. Try anyway.” He could barely
look at her. She’d come all this way to see him?
“I love the ocean.”
An awkward silence settled in.
Sighing, he looked toward the sky, concentrating on the tangerine clouds
floating across the sky. “I shouldn’t have left the way I did. I’m sorry. You
didn’t deserve that.”
“You had your reasons, Broden.”
Sighing, she looked away and brushed her hand through her hair.
“Not good enough.” He needed to kick
himself in the ass. Slipping his hands into his pockets, he walked toward her.
“Why did you come and find me?”
“Because I wanted
to.
Because I had to.”
“Why?”
Kaela turned to face him. “Because
we had a deal, a contract and I plan on honoring it.”
“I told you I released you.”
“No!”
“Kaela…”
“Because I’m falling in love with
you,” she interrupted.
The words weren’t what he expected.
Taken aback, Broden’s eyes darted back and forth across her face. She was being
sincere. “You can’t be.”
“Well, I am. I didn’t plan to fall
in love with you. I didn’t plan on doing anything but having a wonderful night
of passion with you but something happened along the way. Then you ran away as
if I was a horrible person.”
“”That’s not it at all. This has
nothing to do with you.
Nothing.”
“Let me finish!”
Broden sucked in his breath. Seeing
her conviction, her trust in him right here and right now was too much. “You
need to leave.”
“I’m not leaving.
Period.”
She inched closer, wrapping her hand around his forearm.
He just couldn’t do this. Gently
pulling his arm away, he turned around. He wasn’t going to put her through his
demons.
“Don’t you dare pull away from
me!
Don’t you
dare.
I came here
because I love you and I know you love me. I can see it in your eyes. I want
you to own me. I want to become your submissive, but there’s more between us.
You know it. You feel it.” Kaela’s voice was pleading, anguish in every word.
Broden stood still, his heart
thumping wildly. “I’m no good for you. Don’t you understand? I could…I could
hurt you.”
“You’re already hurting me.
Talk to me.
Share with me.”
He’d never been good sharing his
emotions and this was
gut
wrenching. “I just can’t.
You should leave.” Broden longed to be able to walk away from her, but he
couldn’t. Just couldn’t.
“I know about Samantha.”
Horror swept through him. Of course
she’d be resourceful. He fisted his forehead, his legs shaking. As much as he
wanted to run away, flee the past and the wonderful woman who had such love in
her voice, he couldn’t. Dropping onto the sand, he lowered down on his hands,
lowering his head and wept.
“Oh God, Broden.”
Falling behind him, Kaela wrapped
her arms around his waist, laying her head on his shoulder. “It’s okay. I’m
here. I won’t leave you. I won’t.”
Broden rocked back and forth, tears
of anguish and despair falling rapidly. The warmth of her body and heart was
almost too much, but he remained, refusing to leave her again. Several minutes
passed. When he was able to breathe and finally talk, he simply said the words
out loud for the first time. “Samantha was my lover and my submissive. We
explored the life together and no one knew we were embroiled in a D/s
relationship. We kept it a secret because of her family mostly. They were very
religious. She was a special and enticing woman and the more we tried things,
getting into aspects of BDSM, the more she wanted. She hungered to experience
pain. We studied together the lifestyle, went to some clubs, and she still
wanted more.”
“A pain junkie?”
Kaela eased around him, sitting on
the sand. Taking his hand into hers, she intertwined their fingers.
“I didn’t know that then but yes she
was. And she was an extremist. The more extreme she became the less I wanted
the heavy kink. I think I was falling more in love with the woman, but that’s not
what she wanted.”
“She needed the pain to feel alive?”
Kissing his fingers, she kept her voice even.
“Yes. I wanted to please her and she
had this crazy idea about some kink I honestly never wanted to try. When I told
her no, she threatened to leave.”
“Asphyxiation?
That’s what she wanted to try?”
Shocked, he tipped up his head. “You
know.”
“Breath play.
Very dangerous.”
“She lost her life because I gave in
and tried it with her. I didn’t know what I was doing. I…I killed her.” Broden
growled and raised his fist to the sky.
She crawled onto her knees, cupping
his face in her hands. “You’re wrong.”
“I was there. I know what happened.
I know.” He could barely say the words.
Kaela shook her head and leaned
forward, brushing her lips across his. When she eased back she refused to let
him go. “She died because she had asthma and never should have been attempting
something so dangerous.”
Opening his mouth, he gasped.
“What?”
“You didn’t know, did you?”
His body shaking, he tugged his
hands away and stumbled to his feet, backing away. “No! No. I would have
known.”
“Yes, it was in the medical report
but the final report wasn’t issued until after you left. You ran thinking you
were the reason. She had an asthma attack. That’s why you were never charged.
It was truly an accident.”
“But I allowed the shit to happen.”
“Yes, you did!” Kaela challenged.
“Maybe you shouldn’t have but you can’t blame yourself for the rest of your
life because she pushed the envelope. Samantha did, knowing what could happen.
Don’t you understand?”
“Yeah, but that doesn’t matter. I
should be punished for…”
“Being stupid? Not knowing what you
were getting into? Okay maybe but you’ve blamed yourself for almost two years
and you refuse to live, preferring to live your life in the past and with a
dead woman. I’m alive and breathing and ready to give you all of me. Do you get
it at all?” Kaela walked toward him, her eyes full of fear and frustration.
“Don’t you?”