Chapter 5
Chapter Five
Autumn
I awaken slowly. Luckily, I realize where I am before panic sets in. My limbs feel heavy, like I was drugged, probably because I slept hard.
Mace must have closed the blinds at some point, but I can see light around the edges, so it’s not nighttime. But how long was I asleep?
Movement in the doorway catches my eye, and I turn my head to see him coming toward me. He’s smiling as he sits on the edge of the bed. “How do you feel, sweetheart?”
I lick my dry lips. “Like shit. My father died.” I blurt the words as the events of the past twenty-four hours flood back.
Mace takes one of my hands in his and rubs my knuckles with his thumb.
“I’m so sorry. I sent a team to your house.
They recovered your father’s body and arranged for him to be moved to a facility for an autopsy.
It won’t be interesting, though. My men found the source of the poison while they were there. ”
I gasp, my eyes widening. “What was it?”
“It was a deadly drug in the water glass that was on his desk. One drop would have caused what you saw. If they had given him more, he would have died faster. Whoever did this either wanted him to linger or didn’t know what they were doing. I’m so sorry.”
I purse my lips, staring at Mace. He could have withheld some of that information, but he didn’t. He told me the truth. I hate the truth, but I would hate it more if he lied to me.
Mace continues, “It didn’t look like a single thing was missing or unusual in the house. Nothing was ransacked. My men will comb through the backup videos for the security system to see if the killer is on tape. The safe was closed, so I assume you reset it after you retrieved the envelope.”
“Yes,” I manage to whisper. “Nothing was out of place when I arrived and found him nearly dead, either. I don’t even know how they got into the house. I didn’t check the back door or any of the windows, of course. I grabbed my purse and the envelope and left soon after he passed.”
“And you drove your car to the airport?”
I wince. “Yes. It’s in long-term parking. Shit.”
“Do you have a spare set of keys in the house?”
“Yes. In the laundry room. There’s a pad with key hooks on it.”
“Do you have the location of where you’re parked?”
“Yes. It’s on a card in my purse.”
“Tomorrow, I’ll relay it to my men and have someone go get it.”
“What will happen now? When will I go home? How will I ever be able to step into that house again?” I feel panicked at the idea of going back there, but I suppose I’ll have to at some point.
It’s my home. All my belongings are there.
I’ll have to deal with my father’s estate, and…
I squeeze my eyes closed as I’m bombarded with the overwhelming task.
“Hey… Look at me, sweetheart.”
After inhaling deeply, I meet his gaze. My heart seizes. He’s being so damn kind to me. He doesn’t have to do this.
“One day at a time, Autumn, but let me answer some of your questions. Until the people who did this are found and eliminated, you’re not setting one foot outside this apartment unless it’s for a good reason and you’re glued to my side.”
My breath hitches. “That could take months or years or never happen.”
He shakes his head. “I will find who did this, and I will make them pay. It won’t take long, I promise. Black Blade Protection is the best in the country at locating people who’d like to remain hidden. Between my team and me, we will find out who did this and hunt them down.”
I swallow. He’s serious. He’s planning to kill someone or even a group of people. He said eliminated. That’s a polite way of saying dead. “What if you get caught?”
He smirks. “Autumn…” His tone is teasing. “I don’t get caught. I get even.”
I flip my hand over and squeeze his. “Surely whoever killed my father doesn’t care about me. If they had, they could have easily murdered both of us. Maybe it would be best to let this go and not take unnecessary risks.”
Mace lifts my fingers to his lips and kisses the tips. It’s so damn intimate. When he does things like that, it makes me feel like we’re in a relationship. I have to keep reminding myself we’re not.
He speaks to me while rubbing my knuckles against his lips. “Let me worry about tracking down the bad guys. You’ve been through hell. Don’t think about anything except resting, eating, and keeping your strength up. It’s what your father would want.”
I’m mesmerized by the tone of his voice and the way he’s holding my fingers. “I was at a job interview before I found him,” I say as the reminder pops into my head. My thoughts are all over the place.
He smiles. “Oh yeah? Where?”
I guess we’re making small talk now. “It was for a managerial position at a daycare chain.”
“Ah. How do you think you did?”
I shrug. He’s leading the conversation away from the topic of murder.
I’m the one who started it by recalling something so mundane as a job interview.
“Fine. I don’t know how many people they were interviewing.
Probably ten people for one spot. The competition for that job is stiff.
But I should check my phone in case they called or messaged me. ”
“Is your cell still in your purse? It’s probably dead.”
I wince. He’s right. “Yes.”
“I’ll plug it in on my desk, but you can’t take that job even if they offer it to you. It wouldn’t be safe to go back to Indianapolis.”
I slowly nod. “I can’t stay here forever, disrupting your life.”
Mace stretches our combined hands beside my head on the pillow and presses my fingers into the soft surface. He leans over me until his face is inches from mine.
After searching my eyes for long seconds, he finally speaks. “You will never disrupt my life, Baby girl. And you can stay here forever. I hope you do.”
The room spins out of control. His words make no sense. I stop breathing. “Mace…”
“I mean it, Autumn. I know you’re mourning a terrible loss right now, and you will be unnerved and confused for a while, but in the meantime, this is your home, sweetheart.
No matter what happens, this will always be your home.
If you need to return to Indianapolis at some point for closure, I’ll take you myself.
If not, I’ll have someone else retrieve what you need and manage the sale of the estate. ”
His words sound like they’re coming from above water, but my head is under the water. I’m hooked on a few key words. Baby girl. He called me Baby girl. Not sweetheart this time. Another word that stuck out was forever. That’s too unimaginable to process.
I lick my lips. “Do you feel like you owe it to my father to take care of me?”
He flinches. “Autumn, I definitely owe it to James Burke to take care of his daughter. I would give my life for his, and I would do the same for you. But my obligation to him is irrelevant. Put it out of your mind. I would do anything for you, even if I’d never met your father, because there’s an undeniable connection between us that draws me to you like a magnet. ”
I gasp. I think he’s caused that reaction from me a few times. Am I hearing him correctly?
“Do you remember what your last words were before you fell asleep, Autumn?”
My face flushes as I nod. I turn my head away again, just like I did then. I’m embarrassed.
“Look at me, Baby girl,” he orders in that commanding voice I can’t deny. When he tacks on the new endearment, I melt. Good thing I’m lying down.
“Autumn…” he warns when I don’t readily obey him.
He has no clue what he’s doing to me. I squeeze my legs together when he says my name in that same demanding tone.
What is it about his bossy instructions that turns me on?
I shouldn’t be having such illicit thoughts.
My father just died. My mind should be on him, not his protégé—a man I have a crush on. This isn’t high school. It’s real life.
“Baby…” His voice is even softer. It reaches into my soul. Meanwhile, the underlying dominance is still there. It’s always there, no matter what tone or volume he uses.
My heart is racing as I turn my head to face him.
He smiles. “Good girl.”
My cheeks heat as he says the one thing that I’ve longed to hear for years. Not from just anyone. From him.
He searches my eyes. “You’re submissive.”
I swallow hard.
“How much experience do you have in the fetish lifestyle, sweetheart?”
Did my face catch on fire?
He continues, “Do you belong to a club?”
“No, Sir,” I whisper, barely audible.
He frowns. “Have you ever been to one?”
I shake my head. How is he so totally dominating me? Am I still asleep?
Mace’s brows furrow. “How do you so easily use the word Sir, Baby?”
“Books.”
His eyes widen. “You learned about submission from reading?”
“Yes, Sir.” I have no idea how I’m so compelled to address him as Sir. It feels natural. I’ve never called anyone Sir before in my life. It’s Mace. He brings this out of me.
“Have you ever submitted to anyone before, Autumn?”
“No, Sir.”
His eyes can get larger. I’ve stunned him.
Mace slowly sits upright, releasing my hand. He’s still staring at me, but now I’m freaking out. I don’t think he’s pleased with my total ignorance. Shit. Maybe I shouldn’t have said anything. But I couldn’t have lied to him. Ever.
When he stands, I start to panic, but before I can utter a word, he pulls the covers back, leans over, scoops me into his arms, and returns to sitting with me cradled in his lap.
“Mace!” I jerk my hand down to tug on the hem of my T-shirt. It feels like it has gotten shoved halfway up my back.
Mace sets his hand on top of mine, stilling me. “Your shirt is fine, Baby girl. Look at me.”
I’m panting. Ten thousand emotions are rushing through me. Mortification is at the top of the list.
Mace leans me back and gently cups my face, forcing me to look at him.
“Put me down, Mace,” I plead.
He shakes his head. “Answer a few questions, then I will.”
I don’t think I’m going to like his questions. They’re going to embarrass me.
“Everything you know about BDSM is from reading books?”
“And the internet, yes.” I roll my eyes, like a petulant child.
If there was any chance in the universe he was interested in me as more than some girl he promised to protect, it’s surely getting squashed now.
I’m far too inexperienced for him. I’m sure he has women lining up to submit to him, women who know what the hell they’re doing.
“Yes, Sir. And don’t roll those pretty eyes at me, naughty girl.”
I gasp.
He lifts both brows, waiting.
I lick my lips. Holy shit. “Yes, Sir,” I mutter. What the hell am I going to do next?
“Good girl. How many books have you read on this subject?”
“Hundreds. They’re fiction.”
“So sassy…”
I bite into my bottom lip. When he talks to me like that… He has no idea how it affects me.
“So, romance novels?”
“Yes, Sir.” It’s a struggle not to roll my eyes again. And, so what if I do?
“Physical books? Or are they in an app on your phone?”
My breath hitches. “You are not going through my phone, Mace.”
“I like it better when you call me Sir, and I most certainly am. I bet you’d rather hand over your phone than give me a verbal list of genres you’ve read and enjoyed.” He lifts a single brow this time.
I purse my lips. He’s right. But how mortifying.
“How many men have you dated, Baby girl?”
“Mace…”
“Do you want me to flip you over and spank your naughty bottom?”
The blood drains from my face. That’s a trick question. I’d be rich if I had a dollar for every time I visualized Mace spanking my naked butt.
He groans. “That’s exactly what you want, isn’t it, naughty girl?”
I say nothing.
“Fine. We’ll come back to that. I don’t think you’re ready for me to spank you this second. Let’s table it for a while. Answer my question: How many men have you dated?”
“Some.”
“That’s not an answer. Let me narrow down the question. How many men have you had sex with?”
No. No way. I wrench myself free of his hold, twisting around so I can crawl away. When that doesn’t work, I go limp and let my body slide off the bed to the floor in front of him. The T-shirt rises far too high this time, but I jump to my feet and tug it over my butt.
I need to get away from this Dom and his questions before I’m so humiliated that I can’t ever look at myself in the mirror again.
I make it about two steps before he’s on me, wrapping his arms around me from behind. He hauls me backward, resumes sitting on the edge of the bed, and holds me between his legs, arms tight around my chest, pinning my hands to my sides.
His lips come to my ear. “I need some information, Baby girl. That information will determine my next moves. Do you understand?”
I sniffle. “Yes, Sir, but…”
“No buts. You played your card when you called me Sir. Now I’m playing mine. Maybe it was a Freudian slip. Maybe not. But some part of your conscious mind intentionally revealed your submissive tendencies. Since you’re so reluctant to share, let’s start with my secrets.”