Total Submission (4 page)

But you didn’t. You got out, and saved
yourself the heartache.

Now, what he’s proposing is madness. The two
of us… alone in his apartment…

I can’t take the risk again. It’s crazy. I
have my ticket all booked, I should just slam the door in Eddie’s
face and leave for the airport without turning back.

But something makes me pause.

I need to get my things, I bargain with
myself. I can keep it together that long, surely?

“The car is waiting downstairs.” Eddie
stands aside.

Reluctantly, I lock up and follow him
out.

* * *

By the time we pull up outside Cam’s
building, my trepidation has turned into blazing anger. What gives
Cam the right to summon me like this? To just steal my bags and
send his driver to collect me like I’m a piece of property he can
demand at will? Our contract is over; I’m not his sub anymore. And
I’m sick of being treated like a toy by everybody.

I charge out of the elevator and through the
front door.

“Cam!” I call, furious. “Where are you?
Cameron McCullough, answer me!”

But he doesn’t. The apartment is silent.

Confused, I head for the guest bedroom where
I slept the last time I stayed. But my things aren’t in here. It’s
as tidy and impersonal as a hotel room.

Where has he put everything?

I search the apartment, my anger growing. I
don’t have time for these games, not with a plane to catch. And
even though I hate to admit it, I’m disappointed he’s not here to
greet me either. As much as I’m nervous about his effect on me, my
heart aches to see him again.

Finally, I reach his bedroom. It’s his
personal sanctuary, off-limits without invitation. Even when I was
staying here with him, I was hardly ever allowed to set foot
inside, and I feel a rebellious surge as I fling open the door.

I stop dead.

My things are here, all of them. Unpacked
and arranged with care, like they’ve been here all along. Like they
belong in this room.

My photo album and perfume bottles sit on
the dresser, my clothes hanging neatly beside his suits in the huge
walk-in dressing room.

He’s even folded up my favorite throw
blanket and laid it across the foot of the bed.

Suddenly, it’s not Cam’s room anymore. It’s
our
room.

Sadness hits me like an anvil.

This is what it would look like, sharing my
life with him. Waking up every morning in this bed – together.
Going to sleep in each other’s arms at night.

My body floods with longing, for the life
I’ll never have.

I sink onto the bed and look around at my
things so proudly displayed in Cam’s personal space. For the first
time, I wonder what it would be like to stop running away.

Stop the lies, and the fear, and the pain.
Stop turning my back on my problems, and face them head on.

But how can I? Brent still knows the truth
about me, and you can bet he wouldn’t hesitate to use it the minute
he finds out I’m with Cam again.

At least if I run, I’ll be a thousand miles
away when the truth comes out.

I reluctantly get up. Scanning the room one
last time, my gaze falls on the polished dresser table. There’s a
note there, and a key.

Come upstairs
.

A shiver runs through me. His playroom on
the top floor. He’s given me the key. He’s inviting me into his
most private retreat.

I should drop the key and go. Take advantage
of my head start, skip town before anyone realizes I’m missing.
Because this new life I need? It starts now. All I have to do is
turn around, collect my things and walk out that door.

But I know what this key represents, what
the room represents. This means everything to him. How can I
refuse?

In a daze, I go into the hallway and climb
the stairs. My hand trembles with excitement as I reach to slide my
key into the lock at the top.

The door swings open, and there he is:
sitting in a leather chair by the windows. Waiting for me.

My body tightens with lust. God, he looks
good. His eyes rake over me, and I can feel the gaze like a caress.
Immediately, my nipples tighten and heat rushes through my
blood.

“Isabelle,” he says coolly, “welcome back.
It’s nice to see you can still follow orders.”

My anger flares back to life. “I’m not your
property to call at will,” I protest. “Our contract is over,
remember?”

He rises to his feet. “But is it?”

I stop. My heart is in my throat just at the
sight of him. God, why does he have this hold over me? I wish I
could just walk away.

I wish it was so easy to tell him ‘no.’

“I can’t stay,” I whisper, my resolve
faltering.

“You can. And you will.”

Cam paces closer. I shiver. “What are you
playing at?” I ask again.

He shakes his head. “This isn’t a game to
me, Isabelle. I’ve let you down, I realize that now. I never should
have let you go back to him.”

I open my mouth to protest, but he holds up
a hand, silencing me. “I know that Brent has something over you,
and I know that you don’t trust me yet enough to let me in on your
secrets. But I’m your Master. It’s my duty to protect you, and I
won’t ever forget that again.”

His words wash over me. Confident.
Reassuring. Looking at him here, a king in his own domain, I can’t
help but believe everything he says.

Believe him, and want him too.

“Don’t run,” he murmurs to me, and it
settles over me like an order. “Stay, see this through. I promise,
I’ll take care of you. Take care of everything you need.”

Cam prowls closer, and now I’m helpless in
the intensity of his gaze. “Material needs,” he says, reaching me.
“And physical needs, too. What does your body tell you? What does
your heart want?”

His touch is electric. I jolt back. “It’s
too late.”

“It’s never too late, Isabelle,” Cam
corrects me. “I’m not letting you throw your life away and
run.”

I gasp. “How do you know?”

“I know because it’s my business to know,”
Cam counters, and now he’s so close I can see the determination
radiating from him. The clench of his jaw, the coiled power in his
body. “You’re my business now, Isabelle. My precious, darling girl.
You belong to me. You never stopped being mine.”

I exhale in a shiver. God, I want him so
much. He’s never been so sexy as right now, that fierce light of
passion in his eyes. For me. It’s all for me.

And right then, I feel something shift
inside me. My last defenses crumbling to the ground.

Because the truth is, I want to surrender. I
want to submit. I want to trust him, believe him, give myself up
and know he’ll make it all OK.

I’ve never wanted anything so much in my
life before.

Cam stands proudly in front of me, as if he
can see the release he’s just unlocked.

“You know what to do, Isabelle,” he says
firmly. “You know what I want from you.”

Yes
.

Slowly, my heart racing, I sink to my
knees.

Assuming the sub’s position, just the way
Cam taught me to.

My body lightens with relief. His eyes blaze
with tenderness. The whole world falls away, until it’s just the
two of us.

This is the answer. This is who I was made
to be.

No more running. No more games. Just the
truest thing I’ve ever known.

I bow my head in blissful surrender.

“I’m ready, Master.”

Isabelle awaits my word. Supplicant on her
knees, her head bowed in obedience.

Master
.

Just the sound of the word on her lips is
the strongest aphrodisiac I’ve ever known. And this is only the
beginning.

Never again will I question my instincts.
Never again will I let what I want walk away. She’s mine now, and
that’s all the matters.

The only thing left is to claim her for
good. Show her the true sweetness of surrender, when her body is
shattered in release, gasping for my cock. I can’t wait for her
thighs to open to me, for her to come screaming my name.

But first, she deserves a real dom. One who
won’t tolerate disobedience, who can give her the structure and
rules she so clearly needs.

I let my emotions get the better of me once.
I won’t make that mistake again.

I pace back and forth before Isabelle,
tracing my finger over a leather riding crop that hangs on the
wall, a pair of handcuffs, a scarf. I hear her inhale sharply in
anticipation, and I have to fight back a smile.
Control
.

In the end, I choose none of these tools:
I’m teasing her right now, taking pleasure in drawing this out. I
turn back towards her and cross my arms.. “You disobeyed me by
going back to Brent.”

“Yes, Master.” Isabelle breathes again. Her
chest heaves, and from my vantage point above her, I can see her
creamy breasts straining against the simple silk T-shirt hugging
her curves.

I can’t wait to taste her, every inch. Strap
her up in leather and tests the limits of her pleasure with clamps
and chains. I tilt her chin up, searching those blue eyes for the
anger and doubt I saw there just moments ago, but now all I find in
her gaze is lust, need, and a willingness to please. She’s
perfect.

“What happens when you disobey me?” I
growl.

Her breath catches. “I get punished.”

Isabelle’s body quivers with anticipation. I
won’t disappoint her this time.

“Get up. Take off your clothes.”

She scrambles to her feet. I can see the
desire on her face, her cheeks flushed pink. She quickly strips off
her T-shirt and jeans, leaving her in just a set of white lace
underwear. Isabelle reaches to take off her bra.

“Stop,” I command her. “I want to look at
you.”

Her hands drop to her sides. Slowly, I prowl
in a circle around her, examining every inch of her luscious, taut
flesh. The swell of her breasts, the nipples straining pink behind
the lace. The curve of her ass, and the tapered muscles of her
thighs.

Fuck, she’s incredible.

I lean close to murmur in her ear, still not
touching her. “Have you missed me?”

Isabelle shudders. “Yes, oh yes.”

“Did you lay awake at night, thinking about
me?” I continue, letting my breath fall hotly on her skin. She
tries to sway back against me, but I stay out of reach. “Did you
touch yourself, and imagine my hands on you? My cock thrusting deep
inside your slick cunt, your body pushed to breaking point?”

She moans, and I can smell the desire on
her. I know that she’s wet for me, clenching to keep control.

“Admit it, darling,” I murmur. “Tell me all
the wicked, filthy things you did to your sweet body imagining it
was me.”

“Yes,” she gasps. “I touched myself. God, I
missed you so much. I went crazy without you.”

The way she’s talking, it’s all I can do to
keep from touching her, so I force myself to pull back. I make my
voice tender now, so Isabelle can hear how much I want her,
too.

“You don’t have to suffer anymore. I’m here
now, and I promise you, you’ll get exactly what you deserve.”

“Yes, Master.”

I step back and take a seat on my chair
again. “Come here,” I order her. “Bend over my lap.”

Isabelle’s head lifts. Her eyes flash with
excitement. “Are you going to spank me?” she asks, a tremor of
excitement in her voice. I remember how hot she got the last time I
spanked her, and fuck, blood rushes straight to my cock.

“Are you questioning me?” I counter.

Immediately, she flushes. “No, of course
not.”

Isabelle scurries over and arranges herself
over my lap. Her stomach presses against the top of my thighs, and
her ass juts up, barely covered by a scrap of lace.

I slowly stroke the delicious curve, dipping
back between her legs to nudge at her sodden pussy. She whimpers in
response.

Fuck. It takes all my hard-won control to
keep from yanking those panties down and just fucking her right
here: driving deep inside her until I’m branding her with my cock
from the inside out.

But that isn’t what she needs from me right
now. Now, she needs me to take care of her. She needs to know I’m
in complete control.

“You disobeyed me,” I remind her. “Your
punishment is ten slaps. If you move, or make a sound, that will be
doubled.”

I feel her freeze against me.

“Are you ready?”

This time, her voice has a tremor of fear.
“Yes, Master.”

“Good.”

I don’t give her any more warning before I
yank down her panties and land a stinging blow on that gorgeous
peach of an ass.

Isabelle jolts against the pain, but she
bites back her cry.

I spank her again, hard, a series of
devastatingly accurate blows that leave my palm print branded red
on her flesh. With every slap, my heart pounds, steady, until
nothing in the world exists but the careful force of my hand,
measured just enough to sting and pain but not more than she can
take.

I knot her silky hair in my other hand,
holding her in place as the punishment continues.

“You don’t question me,” I say loudly,
moving to spank the back of her thighs. “You don’t protest, and you
don’t object. Those are the rules of our contract, my darling, and
don’t think for one moment I won’t hold you to account from now
on.”

Isabelle’s body is shaking, as she silently
sobs with every strike. But I know that her body is primed now for
pleasure, and that when I take her to the edge, it will be even
more intense than before.

“Do you understand?” I demand, punctuating
the words with another spank. “Answer me now!”

“Yes!” Isabelle sobs, gasping. “I
understand!”

I smooth her tender flesh, and tease her
clit through her panties. A bit of pleasure for my sexy minx.

“Good.”

In a single move, I rise from the chair and
spin her around to face me. I yank open my belt and shove my
trousers down, freeing my engorged, aching cock.