ReclaimedSurrender (7 page)

He took a deep breath and straightened. Now that he
understood what the stumbling blocks were he was ready to annihilate them. She
needed to be reminded that they had certain boundaries in their relationship
and he needed to impress upon her that he was totally prepared to hold her to
them.

“Mmm…” She flexed her hips upward and dragged a seductive
hand down her rib cage, over her belly to her center. When she pressed her
fingers in and shivered with excitement a controlled calm came over him.

Sure, most men would be pleased by such an erotic display,
but the truth of the matter was he wasn’t. Alexis knew better. The fact that
she was brazen enough to try to pull a stunt like this now only reaffirmed his
suspicions. She needed to be taken in hand.

Disciplined.

“Sit up.”

She wasn’t listening and took too long to do as he told her
so he swooped down and scooped her up off the desk. With a couple of
none-too-gentle jostles he had her slung over his shoulder.

“Rene!”

Whack!

“Rene!”

“Do you want another one, Alex?”

“Put me down!”

She pulled on his shirt. He ignored her. She pushed against
his back. He shrugged it off. She kicked her legs in frustration and even added
a huff and a few puffs for good measure. He grinned while he exited his study
and stalked down the hall. It wasn’t until she yanked on a good hunk of his
hair that he smacked her ass again. Harder this time.

She gasped, “Let me go.”

“No.”

She tried to bite him. The stubborn little brat.
Whack!

“Owww.”

“Keep it up, Alex. I’ve been dying to tan your ass for
months.” He took the stairs two at a time and was sorry that she settled down
so quickly. She probably thought he was going to toss her on the bed and fuck
her brains out until she couldn’t stand up. Lord knows they’d done this kind of
thing before, but unlike those times, this time he wasn’t playing with her.

He kicked open their bedroom door and wasn’t surprised when
he bypassed the bed and she instantly started struggling again.

“Rene?”

“Quiet, Alex.”

He went into the bathroom, grabbed a towel off the rack and
snapped it open before dropping it on the floor. He spread it out with his foot
and then put her down, making sure her feet were solidly placed on the
terrycloth. “Stay put.”

He didn’t waste any time. He popped open the stand-up shower
door, leaned in and cranked on the water. When he was satisfied with the
temperature he turned on her.

“Take it off.”

“I— What did I do? I only—”

“We both know what you
only
tried to do.” His tone
was patient, but firm. “They’ll be no more attempts of you trying to hijack the
control between us. Got it?”

“I…”

He didn’t move. All he did was stare down at her for a few
charged seconds. Long enough to cause the denial poised on her lips to die and
her gaze to drop to the floor. This was the first unprompted submissive thing
she’d done for him in quite some time. It made his voice soften. “Good girl.
Now the lace, hand it over.”

Oh her eyes may have been downcast, but unwisely that was
the only part of her that deferred to him. “I’m not sorry,” she grumbled.

“You will be.”

She shot a look up and he did nothing to hide the intensity
of his gaze. He purposely allowed her to feel the full force of it. “I told
you, Alex. You don’t get to have me again until you beg. And with each little
defiance the humbling experience I have planned for you will be expanded. So,
do as you’re told and take off the lace.”

Here again, her chin may have dropped as if she couldn’t
look him in the eyes, but there was nothing subservient about her tone. It was
filled with vehement promise. “I’m not going to beg. I’m not.”

“Who are you trying to convince, me or you? You sound
worried.”

She slowly peeled off the ruined lingerie and handed it to
him. “You’re a bully.”

“You make me one. Now get in there.” He pointed to the misty
shower stall. “And wash off the fun you had for yourself.”

She scooted around him, clearly worried that he’d smack her
already reddened ass again. “I’m not doing this because you’re making me. I’m
only doing it because my skin is itchy.”

“Liar.”

“Bully.”

“Brat.” He waited for her to duck under the water spray. “A
straight wash,” he instructed. “No frills or thrills. I catch you attempting to
pleasure yourself without my permission, and you’ll be punished. Do you
understand?”

She nodded.

He gave her a few minutes under his watchful eyes before he
went to the sink and washed the oil off his hands. When he was done he changed
his shirt and headed for the door. She must have seen him because she called
out, “Rene? Where are you going?”

He stopped and spun around. “Out.”

“Out?” She paused mid-hair-scrub. He could see her frown
under the collective shampoo bubbles that slid down her face. “Do you want me
to stay home?”

He shook his head. Now she was prepared to be reasonable? He
growled and didn’t bother answering her. He needed to regroup and get the sight
of her lying on his desk slathered in oil out of his head. And there was only
one place to do that. The gym.

He threw his stuff in his workout bag and heard Alex’s phone
ring. Snatching it off the counter, he absently checked the caller ID as her
mother had the most impeccable timing, but then he did a double take and his eyes
narrowed. The name that came up was MMM… He recognized Michael’s number. And
MMM…? His head fell back and he stared up at the ceiling in the exact spot
where he imagined Alex was showering. He’d kill her.

Rene let it ring until it stopped. That’s when he noticed
she had five voice mails and ten missed calls. Michael, what an ass. He was
probably drowning at work without her.

Yeah, well you’re not faring much better here. Running
off to the gym to pound on a punching bag.

He was ready to tear his hair out. So when the doorbell rang
he was happy. He fully expected to see MMM… on his doorstep. His first thought?
He wouldn’t have to go to the gym to pound something. But he was disappointed
there was no one—

“Hi, Mr. Tanner.”

Rene blinked and looked down. Spying the dark-haired imp, he
sighed. “Hey, Cara.”

Cara lived next door to him and Alex. She sported a cheeky
smile on her face as Sylvia, her mom, came up the walk with a box in her arms.
“Hi, Rene. This is the last one.” She deposited it on the vertical stack to the
right of the door and stared at her daughter who was still grinning ear to ear.

“Did you tell Mr. Tanner?”

“You won?” He came down on a knee as he spoke. Cara was so
small it was hard to believe she was nine. Even in this position, Rene was half
a foot taller than she was.

“Yep. Mrs. McDonald said that you sure must like cookies.
You and Mrs. Tanner ordered more than our whole class put together.”

Alexis had finished showering. She was wrapped in Rene’s
robe and had towel-dried her hair when she heard the doorbell. Going to
investigate, because she thought Rene was gone, she paused at the top of the
stairs, hearing him chuckle. It warmed her to the core. Staying where she was,
she watched and listened.

“I’m sure Mrs. McDonald would give us a detention if she
knew how many cookies we ate before dinner. Don’t tell anyone, but Mrs. Tanner
eats more than I do.”

Cara giggled and pushed Rene’s shoulder. “I don’t believe
you. You’re way bigger than she is.”

“Ouch. Are you trying to tell me I’m fat? Good thing I’m
going to the gym then.”

“Thanks, Mr. Tanner and thank Mrs. Tanner too, for ordering
so many boxes. I got the ribbon and the prize and everything.”

Rene stood and Alexis could practically hear the smile in
his voice. “I’m glad. Whoa there, big fella.”

Alexis rolled her eyes as Killer made an appearance. He was
ten and half pounds of TNT who thought Rene was the dreamiest alpha-male
around. She leaned forward so she could catch a glimpse of the sweater-wrapped,
tan Chihuahua lying on its back while Rene bent over to scratch the belly of
the sucking-up canine.

“Are you sure you haven’t been feeding him a ton of cookies?
Look at this gut.” Rene’s big hand looked as if it could wrap around that
animal twice.

Cara giggled again and her mom said, “Come on, Care Bear, we
have a few more deliveries to make.”

Cara picked up Killer and said goodbye. When she was out of
earshot Rene asked her mom, “Did Vanskipe order any this year?”

“Nope, he just peered through the drapes when we knocked and
later that same week I spied him loading up on cookies at the grocery store.
But hey,” she motioned to the plethora of boxes on their front step and
shrugged, “does it really matter when we always have you guys here?”

Alexis stepped back so Rene wouldn’t see her when he shut
the door. She sank against the wall and closed her eyes. Not quite sure why
this little scene and Sylvia’s comment affected her so much.

Don’t be an idiot. You know why your heart is aching. You
want to be that couple in the neighborhood who’s always there.

* * * * *

By the time Rene pulled into the gym parking lot he was
calmer. The desire to do murder had lessened until an advertisement sign for
chocolate candies reminded him of the MMM… on Alex’s phone. What the hell was
she thinking? Not that he, for one moment, thought she’d inputted that moniker
herself. The most Alex did with her smartphone was answer it and text on it.
Which meant that she’d let Kavanagh do it. Clearly she didn’t know where the
line was to be drawn between a business partnership and guy friend. Michael was
not a guy friend of hers. Hell, even if he were it wouldn’t be okay. It seemed
as if Michael were getting a little too close to her on all fronts. Partnership
or no.

Too bad Rene hadn’t picked up on this sooner. Reading Alex’s
journals had certainly helped. True, she may have used those pages for her
personal soapbox, but buried in there were the telltale signs of her confiding
in an overeager listener. An outsider readily agreeing with her every negative
thought about her husband. The things she’d detailed that Michael had said, the
sorry-ass reasoning the guy had spouted that hugged the truth so closely and
yet missed the mark by a mile, was frightening. He thought about this latest
intrusion with his Ms on her phone and it hit him. Why, it was almost as if the
guy were—?

“Son of a bitch.” His hand came down so hard on the steering
wheel he thought he’d cracked it, but he couldn’t help his outburst. Michael
Kavanagh had all the signs of a guy looking to find an in with a woman who was
on the outs with her husband. Suddenly the asinine words and misguided advice
Alexis had been eating up for months made sense. The guy’s backward logic read
like it came right out of a player’s handbook. Not that Rene thought he was
capable of causing them serious damage, Alexis was too smart and loyal for
that, but his interference had certainly muddied the waters. Rene was sure of
it.

The more Rene tossed this theory around the angrier he got.
Halfway into his workout he was all riled up again. He couldn’t go home like
this. He needed to be in control and levelheaded to deal with this new
complication.

* * * * *

Alexis had waited the rest of the day and most of the
evening for Rene to return. After doing some detective work she surmised he’d
gone to the gym because his workout bag was missing and to the youth shelter to
drop off the cookies as they were also missing. Since that’s where they donated
the huge stash they ordered every year she figured it was a safe bet. But when
dinner came and went she was stumped. He was still a no-show. He hadn’t called.
He hadn’t sent a text.

More payback.

Finally giving up, she returned Michael’s numerous calls. He
was good at giving her the silent treatment on occasion so she picked her
battles carefully with him. He’d be mad that she had taken so long to call him
back so she dove right into business. She spoke for a good five minutes going
over things and then wrapped it up.

“I had a look at the final figures and I think you’re good
to send it now.”

“This phone-in crap is no good. I need you here.”

“I’m sorry, but today I had—it was something I had to do. I
promised Rene.”

“Rene? Really? He was home? Is he there now?”

“No.” She hated that Michael called her on things like this.
Like yesterday with Rene standing her up and now today, after he’d made her
come home, he deserted her.

“Come on, Alexis. Do you really think he’d do the same for
you? Don’t let him control you. You know how good he was at that before you got
your life back.”

Yeah, she’d gotten her life back all right, and she hated
it.

Thinking of hating, it just occurred to her how good Michael
was at berating her husband. It was one thing for her to do it because, well,
she loved Rene and needed to blow off steam once in a while, but when Michael
so openly badmouthed him to her? Well, it her got under her skin and burned.
Especially after that kiss.

“Of course he’d do it for me. He did do it for me. Last
week, as a matter of fact. Only I had to go help you close the deal in Chicago,
remember? Do you remember what happened in Chicago, Michael?”

“Settle down. I’m not the one you should be mad at. I’m not
the bad guy here. I’m present at least by phone, which is more than I can say
for your husband who needed you home today. Listen, as far as Chicago? We
needed that account. You know I wouldn’t have asked otherwise. Can I help it if
our clients like you better?”

It always came down to this with him. She had to bend to
save the day. Always agree, but not tonight and not after he ignored her
pointed reference. “They do not. You just think they do. Look, I’m going to go,
but I’ll be in first thing in the morning. We can talk about it then. We can
talk about a lot of things then.”