Spoiling Lillian (Surrender #16)

Chapter 1

Lillian

I grin as my phone rings and hurry out of the bathroom to grab it from my nightstand. Bryson doesn’t know it, but I’ve given him his own ringtone. King of my Heart. It makes me smile every time I hear it.

Not wanting to miss his nightly call, I leap onto my bed and grab my cell. “Hey.” I try to sound nonchalant, but I’m out of breath.

“Were you running?” he teases.

“Ha. Not a chance. You’ll only find me running if someone is chasing me.”

Bryson laughs. “I thought your mother dragged you to the country club on weekends. Wasn’t there a track?”

I cringe as I flop onto my back. My mother is not my favorite topic of conversation, but Bryson likes to dig into everything there is to know about me. After a month of talking to him, he knows darn near everything. He somehow manages to pull it out of me.

“I’m sure there was, but my mother would have choked if I’d suggested using it. She thought tennis was a more appropriate sport for a debutante like myself. Do you have any idea how many hours of tennis lessons I’ve had?”

“So you’re pretty good, huh?”

I wince. “Not even close. I’m not coordinated enough, and I don’t have the patience. Most of the time, I ended up with bruises on my thighs from getting hit by the ball so many times. Or, truth be told, I often hit myself with my own racket.”

“I bet your mother loved that.” Bryson chuckles, a deep sound I’m growing to love. I shouldn’t. He’s just a friend. The thoughts I have about him are totally inappropriate.

I groan. “She still thought I should wear the cute little skirts, and she made me stand on a stool in her bathroom so she could cover the purple bruises with makeup.”

Bryson laughs hard. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t be laughing. I don’t mean to make light of your childhood. I fully understand that money does not buy happiness.”

I stare at the ceiling and twirl a lock of my hair around one finger. “Let’s talk about anything other than my mother.”

“Deal. How was your day?”

“Depends on how you look at it. I spent some time in the attendance office at the university. If I had a clue about what I wanted to study, I would register to start classes this fall, but maybe I should wait until the spring semester. Take some time to explore my options.”

“It’s not a bad idea. It’s not like you’re in a hurry. What else happened today? Your tone was off at the beginning.”

I sigh loudly. “Do you have any idea how hard it is to get a job? I’ve been turned down by every single place I’ve applied to. I didn’t realize it would be so difficult. It’s like they take one look at me and judge me. I don’t even know what it is about me that screams too stupid to hire.”

“Hey now…” Bryson’s voice switches from playful to serious as he goes all Dom on me. “What have I said about putting yourself down?”

His tone makes me tingle all over. It always does, especially when he lowers his pitch all bossy-like. I’ve started finding ways to bring that side out of him.

I roll my eyes hard. Too bad he can’t see me.

What would he do if he could? Sometimes we video call, but tonight I’m safe.

“Seriously though. I’m just a regular person.

I assume I’m okay on the eyes. It’s not like I have two heads or an extra nose.

I’ve applied everywhere, from working the cash register in the grocery store to waitressing. ”

What I want is to be normal. I want to know what it would be like to blend in. I’m twenty-one. I was brought up as a wealthy debutante. I want to trade my manicured nails and salon hair in for a ponytail, natural makeup, and torn jeans. I just want to blend in. Is that too much to ask?

“Lillian, you are more than okay on the eyes,” Bryson admonishes.

“As much as I hate to say this, the truth is you don’t have any experience doing any of the things you’re applying for.

Why the big hurry? You don’t need the job.

Take your time. You’ve been out from under the thumb of your parents for six weeks.

You have plenty of money. Don’t rush yourself. ”

I blow out a long breath. “It’s like I need to make up for lost time.”

“Well, you don’t. You’re young. You have all the time in the world.”

I kind of wish we were on a video call tonight because I’d like to see Bryson’s face. His serious, no-nonsense expressions are my favorite, though I’d never tell him that.

“Enough about me. How was your day? Did you make any headway convincing your client to include solar panels?”

Bryson is an architect. Unlike me, he wasn’t raised with a silver spoon. He worked his way through college, and he works hard at what he does. He has his own business, and I can tell he’s going to be well-known someday. His work is amazing. I’ve looked up some of his projects online.

He’s confident and kind. He likes to tease me about my wealthy upbringing, but he doesn’t come off as jealous or condescending.

The truth is the man is a Dominant. That’s how I met him.

I went to a kink club called Surrender with my sister, Simone, and Bryson was there.

He wasn’t just there. Simone and her boyfriend, Camden, asked him to watch them do a spanking scene so he could help them out with Simone’s odd kink preferences.

She’s Little. That part isn’t odd. I’ve known that for years. But apparently, she likes her Daddy to inflict quite a bit of pain on her behind, and when he does, she gets aroused.

I don’t get it. I watched for a while, but then I slipped out of the private room. After all, it was one thing to watch my sister get spanked. Educational. But when things started getting spicy, I bolted.

Bryson followed me.

I remember that night like it was yesterday. I’ll never forget the way he hunted me down to check on me. He didn’t have to do that. He could have met up with someone else. Someone his speed. Any number of women had probably been waiting for him to give them some attention that night.

Bryson has told me how it works. He arrives at Surrender, and submissives sign up for a scene with him.

Mostly women, but sometimes men. People who want him to spank them or use any number of toys for impact play.

I know all of the implements now because I’ve researched this kinky stuff for hours and hours.

I jerk out of my musing when I realize Bryson is telling me about his client and how hard it was to convince them to go for energy efficiency. It may be over my head, but it’s fucking sexy when he talks, no matter what the topic is.

I like to hear his voice.

“You still with me, Lils?”

I smile. The only other person who ever called me Lils was my sister when we were younger. Our mother hated it, and she insisted we stop using nicknames. I called her Mony. We were too young to have a clue why that one might make someone cringe.

Lils makes me feel warm and tingly when Bryson says it. “Yep. I’m still here.” There’s no place I’d rather be. I live for my chats with Bryson. I know he sees me as a charity case, someone far too young to entertain the idea of dating, but to me, he’s my world.

I’m foolish. No matter how much I research, I’ll never be able to be the sort of woman he wants for a life partner. I might be submissive. I might even be Little. But I’m not a masochist, and Bryson is not a Daddy Dom. He’s a sadist.

He’s not going to give that up for me, and I wouldn’t ask him to. It’s ridiculous of me to carry on like this, talking to him every evening as if he’s some sort of long-distance boyfriend.

I’ve only seen him in person once. It was brief. He was kind to me. I’m sure Camden and Simone asked him to check on me. But he gave me his number and told me to call him when I got home so he would know I was safe.

It’s the sweetest thing anyone has ever done for me. That’s how pitiful my stupid life is.

I called him that night. We talked for a bit, and then he called me the next night to see how my job search had gone. And the night after that, I called him to ask about the outlandish client he’d seen that day. And so on and so on until it’s become a thing.

Most nights he calls me. We’re like… I don’t know what we are. Friends? Nothing romantic ever happens between us. He teases me. I ruffle his feathers.

I’m sure it’s no big deal to him.

It’s everything to me.

“I’ve been thinking…” I say, forcing myself to continue, “I think I’ll get a membership to Surrender and start going on weekends.”

Bryson’s breath hitches. “Surrender?”

“Yeah, you know, the club you belong to. The place where we met,” I joke. The hairs on the back of my neck stand up. I don’t think I like his tone now. I bite my lip. I know he goes there often and has gone several times since I met him.

“Lils…”

I sit up. “What?”

He sighs.

“What?” I say louder. I’m feeling feisty now. “I’m an adult. I’ve done a lot of research. I’m probably even submissive. Possibly Little like my sister. I think I should explore a bit.”

Silence. I can barely hear him breathing.

“Bryson, what the hell? You’re acting funny. Do you not think I should pursue my options?” Suddenly, I’m no longer frustrated. I’m intrigued. He doesn’t want me to go to Surrender… Why?

He inhales deeply. “Of course you should pursue your options. I’m just not sure…”

I lean forward as he leaves me hanging, those last words giving me nothing.

“You’re not sure about what?” My heart is racing.

I may have found a way to push this man’s buttons.

I’ve been silently lusting after him for weeks, and now he doesn’t want me to go to a kink club?

Does he think he’s my big brother or something?

God, I hope it’s or something.

A few seconds tick by. “Are you sure it’s a good idea to join the same club your sister belongs to?”

Did he make that up on the spot? “I think it’s a great idea. It’s not like she wanders around the place naked. She mostly hangs out in the daycare. Besides, it’s safer. I at least peripherally know some people. Camden, Jameson, Natasha…” I met Jameson and Natasha through Simone and Camden.

“And me. You know me.”

“Yes. Why do you make it sound like that’s a problem?” I’m not sure where this conversation is going. I’m baffled. But I get the sense I might enjoy the outcome.

Another deep inhale from Bryson. “It’s not a problem. It’s just…weird. You and I…”

I’ve never heard him at a loss for words. Where is my confident friend Bryson? I don’t respond. He’s stewing, and I like it. If I didn’t know better, I’d say he… No. No, no, no. I’m not going to let myself even think anything. It’s dangerous.

I’m nothing to Bryson. I’m a girl he met and enjoys talking to. That’s all.

“Lillian, I think we should go out to dinner together,” he says, his words coming out fast.

My brows lift to the ceiling. I replay his words a few times in my head. Am I hearing him correctly? “Are you asking me out on a date?”

“Yeah, I guess I am.”

“Like a vanilla date?”

“Yes.”

“You don’t date vanilla women, Bryson,” I point out. I need to understand better.

“Maybe I should give it a try.”

I bite my lip again, fighting a grin even though there’s no reason to. He can’t see me. I swallow and pull myself together. “Are you trying to distract me so I’ll give up on going to Surrender?”

He sighs dramatically. I think he’s exasperated now, but I’m not sure it’s with me or himself. “Lillian, I like you. I want to spend some time with you. Trust me, I know we’re as different as night and day. I’m clear about that. Will you just say yes and have dinner with me, please?”

I smile so broadly there’s no way I’ll be able to keep it out of my voice. “Yes, Bryson. I’ll have dinner with you.”

“Tomorrow night?”

My heart is racing. “Tomorrow works.”