Little Rainbows (32 page)
He abruptly withdrew his fingers again and sat up. Without a word, he held his hand up in front of her face and she knew she’d lost the fight. His fingers were glistening with her arousal. He’d made his point. Even she couldn’t deny the obvious evidence of her body’s betrayal.
Jake watched Frankie’s face change from defiance to shock as he held her eyes with his own. He
knew
it! Once a submissive, always a submissive, just like he would always be a Dom. But he couldn’t be too complacent. He may have won round one, but there was a long way to go before Frankie would agree to the things he had planned for her this weekend.
And he needed to tell her about Marco. He knew she would instantly recognize their old friend when they went down to join the other guests later. Marco was very memorable—tough, even taller than himself, with muscles to match those of any professional rugby player. He’d heard plenty of women talk about his edgy good looks and powerful presence, so it was no surprise that Marco had submissives literally throwing themselves at his feet. Even Frankie hadn’t been immune to his rough charm and had happily submitted when they had both topped her a couple of times in the past.
Frankie would realize that Marco’s presence at this hotel wouldn’t be coincidental. It was time to come clean. He looked at her outraged face and his heart contracted painfully. God, he loved her. He just prayed that she loved him enough to agree to his demands one more time.
“Jake…”
“Shut up, Frankie. For once in your life, just listen without judging or interrupting.” He could hear the steel in his own voice and knew the effect it would be having on her right now. She never could resist the uncompromising tone he used as a Dom.
Her mouth opened then shut again, and he gave an inward sigh of relief that she would at least hear him out. Not that he was giving her much choice.
“I know your work is important to you, but there was a time when I was important to you too.” He wanted to make his point without causing too much pain so he’d decided to completely avoid bringing up the trauma of the baby. It was too painful for both of them and stirring up the grief again might do more harm than good. No, he’d keep this simple.
“Frankie, we can’t go on like this. We’re like two strangers living under the same roof—we don’t talk, laugh or even cry together anymore. I still love you though—a lot—and I want to try to see if there’s any way we can save our marriage.” He ignored her intake of breath and continued before she had a chance to make some sort of cutting remark.
“I’ve brought you here to try to rekindle the spark I believe is still there.” He paused for effect and took a deep breath before speaking the words that could make or break them.
“I want you to submit to me one more time this weekend. I mean unconditionally, for the whole weekend. If, after that, you don’t feel there’s any chance of a reconciliation, I’ll leave, if that’s what you want.”
“Why do you want me to submit to you? Why don’t we just talk?” growled Frankie, her eyes flashing dangerously.
Jake sighed. If only it were that easy. “That’s the problem. We never talk these days and I know you’ll only try to fob me off with shit you think I want to hear. I think the only way for any honesty is to break down some of those barriers you’ve built up, and the only way I know of that can do that is for you to submit again. If, after that, we can work things out but you don’t want to resume our D/s relationship, I’ll accept that. But, right now, it all comes down to a sad but simple choice or we’ll end up another divorce statistic.”
She flinched at the word ‘divorce’. He’d used it deliberately to see if there would be any reaction, and he was relieved to see there had been. He could tell she was struggling to take it all in. Her eyes were darting around the room, looking everywhere but at him, and she was twisting her wedding ring, the way she always did when she was unsure.
“What exactly is this place?” she asked, quietly. Whether she was genuinely interested or she was just buying some extra time, he couldn’t tell.
“Remember Marco Alessi?”
Her eyes widened, telling him that she did remember. He wasn’t an easy person to forget. Slowly, she nodded.
“Well, Marco owns this hotel. During the week it’s a business and conference center, but at weekends the East Wing opens as an exclusive BDSM hotel. The theme this weekend is Vanilla Spice.”
She giggled—a sound he hadn’t heard in a while. “Vanilla Spice?”
He couldn’t help grinning back as he nodded. “It’s aimed at BDSM beginners or people who are a little rusty in the lifestyle. The emphasis will be on Dominance and submission as opposed to S & M. Nothing hardcore.” It didn’t pass him by that the first time they’d both smiled in a long while was when the subject of BDSM had come up.
“How long have you been planning this?” She sounded calmer now, less agitated.
“I bumped into Marco when I was here for the writing workshop and he invited us to visit.” He saw a frown crease her brow and quickly added, “He doesn’t know anything about our current relationship other than the fact that it’s been a while since we played.”
“Oh.”
He straightened his shoulders, making sure he towered over her while she remained on the bed. Then he crossed his arms and gave her his sternest look, the one that used to turn her legs to jelly.
“So, Frankie. What’s it to be? Submit or divorce?”
He held his breath as he waited for her reply and, when she opened her mouth to speak, it took all his strength not to gather her in his arms in the hope that it would affect her decision.
About the Author
Helena Stone is a Dutch national who followed her husband to Ireland where they now enjoy peace and quiet in the middle of nowhere. She has been reviewing books for years but only recently decided to try her hand at writing romantic fiction. She enjoys walking, wine, a wide variety of music genres and anything book related. Her biggest treasures are her husband, daughter and dog.
Helena indulges her fantasies in her writing. She enjoys giving her characters their happy ever after even while she gives them obstacles and heartbreak to overcome first.
She made her debut in ‘The First Annual BDSM Writers Conference Anthology’, with a short story titled ‘A Virgin Again’.
Email:
[email protected]
Helena loves to hear from readers. You can find her contact information, website and author biography at
http://www.totallybound.com
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Totally Bound Publishing
