TRUTH (24 page)

“Then why haven’t you?”

His chest vibrated beneath me with his laughter. “You’ve had a rough couple of nights emotionally, sweetheart. I was giving you time to adjust.”

“Okay.” I knew I didn’t sound convincing, but it was the best I could do.

Then, before I knew what was happening, I was lying flat on my back and Stephan was hovering over me. He dragged my arms over my head and held them down with one hand as he reached between us with the other. The feeling of being surrounded by him permeated my bones, and all the stress and anxiety of the day faded away. For the first time in the last few hours, I could breathe.

Chapter 17

Stephan

I hadn’t expected the night to turn out the way it had. I had thought I was protecting Brianna by not initiating sex the last two nights, but instead I’d made her feel insecure. That wasn’t what I’d wanted at all. Quite the opposite, in fact.
 

Last night, I’d realized she was even stronger than what I’d understood her to be, yet she needed something from me. Brianna was submissive, at least to me. She trusted that I would take care of her, and there was nothing that said that more than the way her body became relaxed and pliant beneath me when I dominated her sexually.
 

She came twice—once with my fingers, once with my mouth—before I’d taken her. The instant connection I felt to her once we’d come together was hard to describe. It got better every time.
 

Her sleep had been interrupted only once during the night, which wasn’t bad considering. She’d woken up screaming, not knowing where she was, just after two in the morning. Once I’d got her to calm down, I’d held her until she’d fallen back to sleep.

She was smiling as she served me breakfast, all signs of her distress gone. It was always difficult to leave her, but I also knew she would be waiting for me when I came home. The thought of her not being there one day was inconceivable to me, and I hoped it never happened. Until then, however, I would be there for her in whatever capacity she needed me to be, and at the moment, that included protecting her from her father.

To be safe, I stopped by the front desk to check in with Tom before going to my car. He was just getting in for the day.
 

“Hello, Mr. Coleman. How are you this morning?”

“I’m good, Tom. And you?”

“Can’t complain. How is Miss Reeves?”

“She’s doing well. I wanted to see if you’d heard or seen anything of Jonathan Reeves since the restraining order was issued.”
 

“No. Nothing in the last three days.”

“Good. I hope it stays that way.”

“If I see him, sir, I’ll call you.”

“You’re a good man, Tom. Thank you.”

“No thanks needed, Mr. Coleman.”

My morning at work went quickly. The pile on my desk didn’t appear to be going away anytime soon, but at least I was making progress.
 

At eleven forty-five, I let Jamie know I was going out and headed to the local restaurant where Logan and I were meeting for lunch. It was almost exactly half the distance between my office and his, so it was perfect for these midday meetings. Plus, it was a little hole-in-the-wall place that was busier for dinner than lunch, which would mean more privacy for our conversation.
 

When I arrived, Logan was already seated at a small table in the back. I took a seat across from him. Before either of us was able to say anything, our server appeared to get my drink order.
 

“I think she may be new,” Logan said, the minute our server left. “She was here within seconds of me sitting down as well.”

“Nothing wrong with being prompt.” He smiled, knowing how anal I could be sometimes about people being on time. I didn’t have many pet peeves, but tardiness was one of them. “How was your trip?”

“New York is the same as always. It would have been nicer if Lily had been able to come with me.”

“I’m sure. Unfortunately, she’s up to her eyeballs in last-minute details for the fall fundraiser. October will be here before we know it.”
 

“I know. I arrived home Saturday night to find our dining room table had disappeared. She’d covered it with fabric samples, different types and colors of paper, ribbons, sketches . . . I know there was a method to her madness, but I couldn’t find it.”

I laughed. “Sounds like her desk. I was down there last week and almost didn’t find my way out.”
 

He smiled. “You seem happy. Things must be going well with Brianna.”

I didn’t get to answer him before our server came back to the table with my water. We both placed our orders, and I waited until she’d disappeared again behind the partition.

“She’s still having some issues, but I’m not sure those will ever completely go away. Our relationship, however, has improved, yes. That’s what I wanted to talk to you about.”

“Shoot.”

“I’d like to have Brianna watch you and Lily in a scene.” Logan nearly spit out his water, but I ignored him and continued. “Nothing overly complicated, of course. I was thinking some simple bondage. Spanking. That kind of thing.”

“You don’t think seeing us like that will freak her out?”

Feeling the need to be honest, I answered in the only way I could. “I truly don’t know. She’s asked about my ropes. She saw me use them on her father. I’ve also given her a swat on the ass here and there.”

“There’s a big difference between a swat and a spanking, Stephan, and you know it.”

“Yes, I do, which is why I think it would be good for her to see a spanking involving a couple she knows, who are in a consensual, loving relationship. Brianna’s seen and experienced so much negative. I’m only beginning to scratch the surface in getting her to realize that much of what she’s experienced as negative can be positive when done the right way and with the right person.”

“And you think her seeing Lily submit to me would do that?”

“I think it could help, yes.”

Logan took several drinks of his soda before responding. “When did you want to do this?”

“Next weekend. I’d say this weekend, but we have some things to deal with that can’t be put off.”

“Okay.”

“You’ll do it?”

“I need to talk to Lily first, but I don’t see a problem, no. We’ve played together at parties, so she’s not opposed to people watching. My only concern is
her
concern for Brianna’s mental well-being. If we’re in a scene, I need to know she will be focused on me, not Brianna.”

“I understand. I’d feel the same way.”

We spent the next half hour catching up on our lives over lunch. Logan was rarely home anymore for longer than a week or two at a time. When he was home, he was catching up on things at the hospital and spending time with Lily. It didn’t leave much room for anything else. Even now, he was planning to go on a quick trip to Chicago next week. Luckily, he’d only be gone until Thursday, and he wasn’t leaving again for at least another week.

Stepping off the elevator back at the office, I noticed the new CFO waiting with the finance manager outside my office. Neither looked very happy, so I was hoping they didn’t have bad news.
 

“Hello, Michael. Sheila.”

“Sorry to catch you just coming back from lunch, but we needed to talk to you.”

“Sure. Let’s go in my office.” I motioned for them to go ahead inside while I instructed Jamie to please hold my calls.

Sheila appeared rather nervous when I entered my office. Michael’s expression was more confused. I took a seat behind my desk and waited for one of them to start.

“We were going over some of the numbers for the second quarter. Specifically the ones allocated to the fall fundraiser.” Michael handed the papers to me. “The highlighted parts are what I’m most concerned about. We’re going to go over the numbers again, but there’s money that can’t be accounted for.”

I looked over the figures in front of me. It wouldn’t be obvious unless one compared the pages carefully. “Have you double-checked the first quarter reports?”

He nodded. “So far we haven’t found anything, but we’re still looking.”

“I’m sorry, Mr. Coleman. I should have caught this before. All the reports had to cross my desk before they came upstairs.”

“I’m sure you didn’t do it on purpose, Sheila. Do you think you’ll be able to track down the source?”

“Given enough time, yes. I’ll need to work with the IT department and see if we can figure out whose computer made the changes.”

“Do what you need to do. If it was Karl Walker, then we’ll pass the information along to legal and let them deal with him. But if not, we need to find out who and if they are still working here.”

“Agreed.”

“Do you mind if I keep this?” I asked. “I’d like to look over it a little more. I can bring it by your office before I leave.”

“Of course.”

I spent the rest of my day reading over the report. The more I went over the numbers, the more I was convinced it was Walker. All the withdrawals coincided with those Lily made but in roughly half the amounts. It’s no wonder Sheila hadn’t noticed them. Anyone would think they were payments for supplies. The only thing that signaled that wasn’t the case was the account number the money was charged to. It was a single digit off the one Lily used.

A knock on my door caused me to look up. It was Jamie. “Sorry, Sir. I thought you’d like to know it’s almost five.”

Glancing over at my computer, I realized she was right. I thanked my assistant, laid the report aside for a moment, and checked my e-mail. Unfortunately, there were a handful that needed my attention before I could leave. Once they were taken care of, I shut everything down, slipped my jacket on, and grabbed the report from my desk.
 

By the time I made it to Michael’s office, he was already gone. Laying the report directly in front of his chair, I left. After the day I’d had, I couldn’t wait to get home to Brianna.

Brianna

While Stephan was at work, I spent some more time exploring his toy drawer. The rope was soft as I wound it around my hand. I remembered how Stephan secured it at my father’s wrists and wondered if he’d do the same thing to me.
 

There was a man at a party Ian had taken me and Alex to who had tied intricate knots all over this woman’s body, and then he’d used even more rope to hoist her up into the air. I hadn’t gotten to see what happened after that. Ian hadn’t been happy I was watching and forced me to spend the rest of the party with my head on the floor under his boot. I refused to think about what had happened later.
 

A chill ran though me as I pushed the memory aside and glanced up at the ceiling to see if there were any signs of hooks where ropes could be attached. There was nothing.
 

Moving on, I picked up what to me was the scariest thing in his drawer. It was shaped like a penis. I held it in my hand, trying to remember what Stephan told me. It was just a thing.
 

As I touched it, I realized it didn’t feel all that much like a real penis. I knew male parts came in all shapes and sizes, but this was harder, stiffer. There was no give to it. When I touched Stephan, I could feel him pulse in my hand. This . . . thing . . . was lifeless.
 

After spending over an hour looking at his toys, I wasn’t as scared as I had been. I still wasn’t sure about his using them on me, but he was right—they were just things.
 

I was a little nervous what would happen after dinner. For the last two nights, Stephan had made me write in my journal about very unpleasant things. Last night, I’d had a nightmare about a time I’d been with two of the men Ian had loaned me out to. I’d been chained to a bench, unable to move. The two men took turns ramming their penises down my throat while spitting on me and calling me names. I was a thing to them. Just a thing.

When I’d woken up screaming, I’d thought I was there, tied to that bench. It was only Stephan’s soothing words that brought me back to the present and calmed me. He always made everything better.

I was setting the table when Stephan walked through the door. He looked like he’d had a rough day, and as soon as he saw me across the room, he hurried toward me. Before I knew it, we were kissing, and I almost burnt dinner.