Submit to Me (The Dungeon Fantasy Club Book 7) Page 10

  Her Ma came out with a bag of goodies then, and handed them to her. "Thanks, Ma. Da." Veronica nodded, afraid that if she said anything more, it would burst out of her like a banshee's scream.

  "Come on, kiddo, let's go." She angled her arm around him and shuttled Colin out of the pub. The stop had taken longer than she would have liked but she felt her shoulders relax as they climbed into her car. All the way home, Colin chattered about his weekend with his grandparents.

  They made it home in less than fifteen minutes, even though they lived on the outskirts of town in a little house near the sea. They pulled into the drive just as the winter sun started its trip toward the horizon, a spate of clouds scuttling by, casting the world into shadows as they flirted with the sun. Colin beat her to the front door in his excitement at being home. She loved their white house, where the front windows faced the sea, with its peace and quiet. It was partially why she'd chosen this spot.

  It seemed to take no time at all to slip back into their routine. Colin dropped his rucksack near the laundry on her orders, and washed up for lunch in his bathroom upstairs. In her tiny eat-in kitchen, they had a lovely repast, with her father's rather famous Guinness beef stew and brown bread. Even Colin loved it.

  The afternoon sped by, with Colin giving her a full recounting of his weekend with Oma and Opa. By the time he had been fed dinner, bathed, his suitcase unpacked, been read his bedtime story, and finally fallen asleep, Veronica was beyond exhausted. As much as she felt it was time to tell Colin about his father, she was too dog-tired to delve into that quagmire. Tomorrow, or one day later this week, they'd have a real sit-down. Depending upon Colin's reaction, she may let him decide whether he wanted to meet Hunter or not.

  If he wanted to meet Hunter, she'd figure out a way to contact him. Declan or Jared—someone at the club would have his number. Tonight, she wouldn't worry about the fact that she didn't even have a way to contact him. They'd not gone that far in whatever it was they'd had this past weekend. Deep down, she didn't regret it. Had it ended poorly, as it always seemed to with them? Absolutely. Although, even despite the blundering way he had discovered they had a son together, it felt like a gargantuan weight had finally been lifted from her shoulders, one that she'd been carrying for far too long. It was rather liberating not to be hindered by the secret anymore.

  Near drooping, Veronica readied herself for bed, changing into her warm flannel pajamas, and unpacked her suitcase. Removing her toiletries, shoes, and her club gear from her bag, she dumped the remnants into her clothes hamper. As she was on her way down the stairs, carrying the laundry to her washroom, there was a knock on her front door.

  Who the heck could it be at this time of night? If her Da had come here to blast her, she'd slam the door in his face. She and her dad had always been an oil and water mix, but lately he'd been harder on her, more so than usual.

  Colin had just fallen asleep. If her Da came in her all blustering mad, it would catapult her night and the last few days into the dumpster.

  At the incessant knock, she muttered, "Cool your jets, Da. If you wake up—" She opened the front door and froze.

  It wasn't her dad.

  Hunter.

  Hunter, looking more devastatingly handsome than normal, stood on her doorstep with a fierce expression on his face and holding a suitcase, which sent her stomach into loop de loops before it dropped into her toes. He couldn't be here.

  "Roni." That was the only warning he provided as he shouldered past her, carrying his luggage into her home. When she pivoted to intercept his forward progression, she caught him absorbing the surrounding space as he placed his bag near the sofa. Veronica wanted to bang her head against the wall for wondering what he thought of her home.

  "I want to meet Colin. Where is he?" he demanded, swiveling back in her direction. His emerald eyes blazed with resentment, and fury suffused his big frame. He controlled it, just like she knew he would. A Dom never lost control, but it didn't make his anger any less potent.

  She stared, dumbfounded, for all of two seconds, before she said, "He just went to bed. You'll not be disturbing him tonight. Please leave, Hunter. You can see him in the morning."

  He seemed to absorb that bit of news and take it in stride before he said, "I'll be staying here, then."

  Like bleeding hell he will!

  Stay in her home? Absolutely not!

  She sputtered, "You will not. This is my home. Please leave. You can meet Colin in the morning, Hunter. I'm not going to explain to my son why there's a strange man in the house in the morning. You can visit once he's awake. Give me a number where I can reach you, and I'll phone you once he's up."

  Hunter's laugh was dark and insidious. "How can I trust that you won't run the moment I leave? Oh wait, I can't, can I? I'll be staying the night. Just try and make me leave. I dare you, Roni. Try to deny me my son."

  She shook her head, clenching her hands against the trembling fear as it clawed at her composure. This couldn't be happening. "Be reasonable, please. For Colin's sake, it would be best if you stayed at one of the inns in town."

  The man shot her a fierce glance that reminded her of storm clouds rolling in. It chilled her on the spot.

  "Be reasonable," he muttered sardonically. "I waited ten damn years for you to be reasonable and inform me about my son's existence. Oh, wait, you didn't, and likely wouldn't have except for Declan mentioning him in my presence. I'm past being reasonable, Roni. It's your turn, don't you think? Not only will I be staying here, but I will be making damn sure that you can't run out on me again before we can discuss terms for our son."

  Horrified that Hunter would attempt to take Colin, she started backing away toward the stairs as a sharp gleam entered in his eyes while he stalked her. Putting her hands up defensively as she backpedaled, she attempted to calm the furious Dom.

  "Hunter, I did what I thought was best. You can't possibly understand."

  "You never gave me the chance."

  Veronica blinked. It all happened so fast. One minute she had neared the base of the stairwell and was about to charge up the steps. In the next breath, Hunter had rushed her with a forward tackle and hoisted her body over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes. When her stomach connected with his shoulder, it knocked the breath from her diaphragm, cutting her scream into more of a muffled squeak. He clamped his arm around her thighs as she attempted to wiggle and kick her way from his hold as he carried her up the stairs.

  Veronica's hair cascaded in front of her face, blinding her as he ascended the steps, hefting her in tow. This was not fair. He couldn't act like a caveman just because he had been treated unfairly. She knew she'd messed up rather epically where Hunter and Colin were concerned. But that didn't mean she would lie down and take whatever he doled out. She pounded her fists against his back. He landed a swat against her butt that echoed in the stairwell.

  "Keep it up, Roni. There's a lot more where that came from. What room is yours?"

  "Put me down. Let me go. Don't do this, please." Her panic rose in waves, threatening to choke her. Two more hard smacks fell against her butt, all courtesy of Hunter's large hand, making her gasp at the pain before he restarted his climb up the stairs.

  "Not going to tell me? Fine. I'll figure it out on my own."

  She had made it rather easy for him. Originally, she'd planned to be back upstairs and climbing into bed after getting a load of laundry started in the wash. But then he had rudely interrupted her night. Veronica had left the light on, and he headed that way like it was a beacon. With casual aplomb, as if he owned the place, Hunter trudged into her bedroom. Her world spun as he tossed her, none too gently, onto the bed, where she bounced once and then attempted to scramble off. Except Hunter was faster. He followed her down onto the mattress, withdrawing a pair of cuffs from the back pocket of his jeans. He straddled her, using his heavier weight and strength to keep her pinned as she fought him. He couldn't do this to her and take him. Her son was all that mattered to her.

&
nbsp; Tears streamed down her face and her chest heaved as he managed to fasten each wrist into a cuff and then used her wrought iron headboard bars to secure them above her head. He clipped each one to a separate bar, making it nigh on impossible for her to undo them herself.

  "Don't go anywhere," he muttered darkly. Then he left her stranded, tied to her bed. Fear unlike anything she'd ever known took hold. Would he take her son away from her? Was he so angry that he would deny her, out of a sense of retribution?

  Veronica struggled against her restraints as tears poured down her face.

  *****

  Hunter left Roni tied to her bed. Now that he was so close to his goal, to seeing his son for the first time, his hands shook. There were four doors on the second floor, including the one to Roni's bedroom. He found Colin's at the other end of the hall.

  Stepping into the smaller bedroom, a nightlight illuminating his forward progress, Hunter silently trod over to the bed. His heart lodged in his throat he stopped at the edge of Colin's bed. Nestled in the sheets, one arm tossed above his head, lay his son. Hunter's knees almost gave out.

  Colin was the most beautiful thing he'd ever seen, a son any man would be lucky to call his own. He stood stationary and stared for an eternity as he fell in love with the boy.

  I love you. I will always be there for you, no matter what. I don't give a damn what your mother wants, you will have my name, and know me.

  Hunter stroked the boy's soft, downy hair, careful not to wake him. Colin slept the slumber of a child without a care in the world. Hunter pulled his hand back and it was trembling. He studied Colin's room. It had been decorated with spaceships, robots and, of all things, dinosaurs. There were a few superhero action figures and books on a nearby shelf. Some of the titles he recognized, mainly those that had been made into film, but he was so curious about Colin. What was his favorite book? Favorite color? Favorite food? What did his laughter sound like?

  Hunter didn't know how much time had passed since he entered, but he couldn't seem to tear himself away from Colin, and just stared at him. There was so much to absorb. Above a wooden dresser there was a corkboard with pictures pinned to it. He quietly walked over, and in the shadowed illumination from the nightlight, saw a progression of images. Colin as a baby with Roni. Colin laughing in a swing at maybe no more than four. Colin with a spoon in his mouth rimmed with chocolate.

  It reminded him how much he had missed of his son's life. The betrayal cut deep into the very heart of him.

  Christ! He rubbed the ache in his chest.

  With one more glance at his son, he rolled his shoulders and left the boy's room. He had to go deal with Roni, and felt more like a boxer about to enter the ring. Try all she wanted, he would never allow her to shut him out of Colin's life again. If he had to take her to court, he would, but he would try a bit of coercion first.

  With his mind set on the upcoming battle, Hunter strode back into Roni's room after retrieving his suitcase from the first floor. She struggled against the cuffs, her eyes red-rimmed, and in a near-panic state as she rattled the wrought iron headboard.

  When she spied him in the doorway, she sputtered, "I won't let you take him from me. Just because you're a celebrity, I won't allow you to kidnap my son. Damn you, Hunter, let me up."

  Hunter shut the door behind him. "I'm not kidnapping my son, so you can relax on that front."

  Her shoulders sagged at his words. "Then what?"

  "Silence. You will not address me unless I give you permission to, or your punishment will be worse. Understood?"

  "What! Hunter? What do you think you are doing?"

  Hunter could only deal with this situation one way, as he would deal with a disobedient sub. And as the offended Dom in this scenario, he was going to give her the spanking of her life. Roni would feel it tomorrow. Her punishment would appease the beast rattling its cage inside him. He wouldn't beat her, he abhorred any man who did such a thing, but he would make sure she understood in no uncertain terms that what she'd done was unacceptable. And he wanted the truth out of her. He needed to understand why she'd cut him out of his son's life.

  Hunter didn't say a word as he walked around her room. He climbed onto her bed, the mattress dipping under his heavier weight, and stripped her pajama bottoms off her legs. She was gorgeous. He hadn't lied to her when he'd said she had the prettiest pussy he'd ever seen. It had been the truth.

  "Don't even think about it, Hunter," she screeched.

  Even as furious as he was, one of the things that had become markedly clear was that he still loved her. He cast her a stern glance as he shoved her top up her chest, exposing her breasts. "Roni, stop fidgeting."

  "Get off me. You think after all this, that I will just lie here and take it?"

  "Actually, yes. You deliberately lied to a Dom in the DFC. As policy states, I have the right to discipline you as I see fit."

  "But we're not at the club." She bucked her hips, trying to unseat him.

  "Semantics, Roni. You deliberately kept our son's existence from me. For that, for lying about it when I confronted you, and for leaving the manor house this morning without so much as a word, you will be punished."

  She squirmed and fought him, but in the end he was able to use his superior strength to undress her completely and reposition her on the bed so that she was lying on her stomach. He fetched the Velcro bed restraints and fastened her ankles. By the time he was finished, she was positioned spread-eagled on the bed, with her lush ass canted up in the air. He'd positioned a bunch of pillows under her midsection, elevating her rear up into the perfect spanking position.

  "Dammit, Hunter, let me go, you asshole!"

  "I'll gag you if I must, Roni, you do not have my permission to speak or make a sound of any kind unless I allow it. Understood? You are not in control here."

  "Damn you, don't pull that Dom crap on me, I don't—"

  "Don't what? Deserve it? That's real funny. And yes, I am a Dom. And right now, I'm your Dom and you will obey me. No talking or making sounds of any kind while I discipline you. I don't want you to wake my son."

  "Hunter, that's not—"

  He thwacked his hand across the creamy white globes of her ass. "Don't push me. Silence."

  He knelt next to her beautiful body, placing one hand on the curve of her lower back. Then he pulled his arm back and set about tanning her hide. Each crack of his hand against her flesh settled the rage monster going all destructo inside him. They both needed this discipline session in order to move forward with their relationship. It would wipe the slate clean between them.

  He loved the way her pale skin reddened beneath his touch as he walloped another stroke directly between her cheeks. She muffled her cries as he swatted her butt. Whether it was because she didn't want to wake their son or because she didn't want him to use the gag, it made no difference to him.

  He didn't stop until her rear was ruby red from his attentions. His hand burned as he massaged the enflamed globes. When his fingers felt the wetness seeping from her pussy, he hid his groan. She really was a sub in every sense of the word.

  Here, away from the club, every instinct inside him claimed her. She belonged to him. As angry as he'd been at her—and still was—it didn't diminish the fact that he still loved her. He had to know why she'd done it, why she'd kept Colin from him with no walls or defenses.

  He left the bed and retrieved his black leather flogger from his toy bag.

  He climbed back onto the bed, trailing the leather strands along the delicate lines of her back. At her whimper, he said, "Relax. You know the safeword. You'll have thirty lashes of the flogger before your punishment is over."

  When she nodded her head and closed her eyes, something lodged itself in his chest. She capitulated, handing him the control, and it was a heady drug, almost as potent as her sighs when he was buried in her pretty pussy. He set up a rhythm with his flogger, the black leather strands leaving red marks in their wake. By the time he landed the last stroke, Veronic
a was making little mewling sounds and trying to thrust her hips.

  He sucked in a sharp breath at the moisture drenching her pussy. Hunter wanted nothing more than to sink inside her flesh. But first, he needed answers.

  "You did well, Roni. Why didn't you tell me about Colin?"

  She shook her head in refusal. He stroked her labia, running his hands through the slick folds. At her guttural moan, he pushed two fingers inside her slick heat, stroking her.

  He stopped and asked again. "Why did you keep Colin's existence from me, Roni?"

  She whimpered, straining against her bonds, wanting the release his hand could provide her and avoiding the question.

  "I promise I will give your body the release it seeks, you just have to be honest with me."

  When she said nothing, refusing to talk, he withdrew his fingers and vacated the bed in retreat.

  "Hunter, I'm sorry. I never meant not to. The day I found out I was pregnant, I discovered photos of you kissing Layla Drake in one of the tabloids at the market," she cried, tears streaming down her cheeks.

  What a selfish bastard he'd been! Was it any wonder she didn't tell him?

  "I wanted to tell you. But every time I tried to, I kept seeing you with her, and I just couldn't. I love you so much, and I was so afraid that if I told you about him, you'd deny he was yours. That it would somehow negate and pollute the two months we were together. And I love Colin, more than anything. I didn't want to break his heart like you did mine."

  In a single swipe, she'd all but pummeled his self-righteous anger into dust. Love? Could it be that, after all this time they'd spent apart, she still loved him—even with the way he'd bungled things all those years ago?

  "You said you love me. Did you mean it?"

  That stopped her tears. With a glance that pinned him and arrowed straight through his chest, Roni replied, "I never say anything I don't mean. Yes, I do love you. Always have."