Continental Life (14 page)

“That man can have anyone woman he wants at anytime. Do you really think only one woman can keep him happy?
And that the
one
woman is you? Wake up, Bella. It’s time to move on.” She stood and moved toward her like a predatory fighter.

The mental picture of LB bobbing and weaving flashed before Bella’s eyes and she
stood in response, not backing down. “I’m only going to say this once…” she began, but was swiftly cut off by Svetlana.

“If you were woman enough for him, he wouldn’t have been out on Monday
night with someone else,” she jabbed.

So much for discreet.
By the look on LB’s makeup caked face, she had hoped her words would cut Bella deeply. They didn’t and Bella smiled at her absurd conjecture. “I set him up with that woman because I believe in keeping
my
man happy,” she countered.

Svetlana
huffed and her eyes flared up they moved up and down the length of Bella’s body, but she recovered quickly. “You’re such a sad, sad little girl, Bella for thinking that man is going to marry you.”

And there it was: LB’s haymaker.

“…if you come near Xander again…” Bella continued with her previously interrupted statement.

“He h
asn’t set a date yet, has he?”

The words hit home and
Bella’s composure faltered when LB unleashed her right hook. Her lips parted as she tried to recall what she had started to say.

“
Why do you think that is?” LB mocked, delivering another low blow.

Pull it together,
Bella screamed silently at herself.

“He wouldn’
t set a date with me either, so there you have it. It seems we have something in common after all. He asked me to marry him, just like he’s asked you. We were betrothed, too, but…” she dramatically sighed and slumped down onto the desk again. “…he just kept avoiding the discussion and leading me on.”

Bella could feel the bile rising in her throat. Xander had never mentioned being engaged to Svetlana. How could he keep that from her?
Why
would he keep that from her? She had to be lying.
Please let her be lying.

L
B’s catlike gray-green eyes scanned her own Miu Miu pumps. She picked fretfully at the coral-colored nail shellac that matched her Gucci strapless romper that was barely held up by her small B cup breasts. She let out an exaggerated breath again as if in despair, but her quick glance upward at the ring on Bella’s hand and the look of deceit on her face told Bella what she needed to know: this woman was not to be trusted and she would do anything to get Xander back. She wasn’t sure whether or not LB was lying about being engaged to Xander, but at the moment she didn’t care. She picked herself up from the flash knockdown and put herself right back in the fight because there was no way in hell she was going to leave without delivering a swift kick to LB’s fat ego.

“
Regardless: if you come near Xander again, I promise you that I’ll do everything in my power to convince him to file a restraining order against you.”

Svetlana’s look of faux dejection promptly changed to agitation as she rose
to her feet once more. Her body hardened as she glowered at Bella. “He’d never agree to that.”

“Are you sure about that
?” Bella pushed her chin out and crossed her arms over her chest, and LB’s bitchy stare turned to uncertainty. “Whether or not you can come to terms with it, I
am
going to be Xander’s wife, and as such, my words will hold power. He’s a man of reason and if I present the facts to him in a logical fashion, he’ll eventually see that the only way deal with you is legally.”

“You little cunt…”
she rushed at Bella.

Reinforcing her stance,
Bella fisted her hands and braced herself for a
real
fight. When LB realized she wasn’t going to run the other way, she stopped just inches away from her. Standing toe-to-toe in their overpriced, designer heels, Bella beamed at the affect she had on Svetlana.

“How do you think a restraini
ng order from your most prominent and influential client will look on your business profile, Svetlana? Tell me… how will it affect business? How will your partners react to that? 3P just doesn’t have the same ring, does it?”

Svetlana’s
mouth hung open, revealing her ludicrously colossal veneers. Satisfied she had made her point, Bella ambled to the door, sashaying her
efficient
hips in LB’s direction and delighting in the click of her heels on the concrete floor that drowned out the stunned silence that had enveloped the room. Reaching the threshold of the door, she glanced over her shoulder to deliver the knockout punch.

“Your middle name might be
discreet
,
but mine is resourceful
, Darling
.”

***

Speeding up to the front of 4P, Xander slammed on the brakes. When he received the text from Bella as to her location, he had hoped to talk her out of whatever she had planned. No such luck. She didn’t respond to his next several messages and when he checked her phone, he found it had been turned off. She could be so damned stubborn sometimes. He would make damn well sure her ass would be sore tonight.

N
ot wanting Dante to be involved in whatever hell was about to break loose, he drove himself, all the while his mind racing as to what could be happening in Svetlana’s office. He half expected to get a phone call from the 4P security team notifying him that Bella had kicked the ass of one of the company’s owners. Or worse yet, a phone call from the SFPD to come bail his fiancé out of jail for assault and battery.
God damn it
. Why the hell did he tell her all the details of him and Svetlana’s conversation?

Not giving a damn that he was parked in a no-parking zone, he threw his door open and jumped out. Just as he reached the curb, Bella came walking out of the front entrance
, carrying herself with vigor and grace. The gleam in her eyes and the glow in her cheeks told him that whatever happened went in her favor. His practiced masculine eyes took in every detail of her physique and demeanor. Her self-assurance was so stunning, all his movement ceased as he watched her hips sway seductively as she approached the side walk. She looked damned tasty in the sheer dress that hit her just above the knees and the same heels he had fucked her in only a few months back. For a split second he forgot about his irritation and smiled. This beautiful, refined, and punish-worthy woman was going to be
his
wife. Her eyes scanned the street and when she saw him, her cool confidence turned to ice as she froze.

He motioned to her with his finger. “You and I need to talk.”

Her face was firmly set in deep thought. “Yes, we do.”

He wasn’t sure what was going
on in that head of hers, but what he saw staring back at him was something other than what it should be – regret, sorrow or even remorse for having turned her phone off, worrying him and making him leave mid conference call. He wasn’t upset that she had confronted Svetlana, in fact, he was proud of her. Hell, he had pretty much given her permission by stating that he would do irreparable damage to anyone who did the same to her. He just didn’t expect Bella to make it happen so soon or to go barging into Svetlana’s office. He had to give her credit, though. Her determination and fearlessness was awe inspiring.

God, what he wouldn’t have given to
be a fly on the wall in Svetlana’s office to see the final act

Holding the door open for her
, he waited for her to climb in. He strolled around to the other side of the car, slid into the driver’s seat and revved the engine as he stared ahead, not yet ready to deliver his wrath.

Turning his head, he met her gaze. “Did you accomplish what you wanted?” With arched eyebrows, she hesitantly shrugged. “That’s not an answer,” he sniped as he drove away from 4P and pulled into traffic. “I hope it was worth the pain in your ass you’re going to be feeling very shortly.”

“It was.”

He clasped his hands around the leather steering wheel tightly from her
curt response. Cars sped past them and a helicopter wheeled far above them like a vulture seeking the kill, and other than the sounds of the traffic, only their hushed breathing could be heard.

“I have to ask you something and I don’t quite know how to approach this…”

He stiffened at the question and quiet emphasis of her voice. When he glanced at her again, her large blue eyes were vivid and questioning. “What’s your hesitation? You know you can speak freely.”

Her eyes darted from his eyes to his mouth and back, then to her hands that sat in her lap.

She ran her tongue over her lips in a nervous gesture. “I know, but I don’t want you to feel like I’m accusing you of anything by this question because that’s not my intention. I just need to know the truth.”

Suspicion stirred in his gut and his belly clenched.
What lies had Svetlana told her?

Pulling over at the next available stop, he parked the car and squarely faced her.

She squirmed under his piercing green gaze and knotted her hands before finally speaking. “Were you engaged to Leggy… I mean Svetlana?” Her small voice held a sulky tone.

The tremor in her voice
and childlike quality she had taken on upset him, but not as much as the question itself. All of a sudden, his tongue felt too thick to form the response.

Inner conflict
tightened his neck tendons and the answer to her question stuck in his throat, but he forced it out. “Yes.”

She was the first to look
away, breaking the gut wrenching tension between them. He had no excuses to give her as to why he had left out that little fact. He tried to rationalize it by telling himself that because they hadn’t announced it to anyone, it wasn’t official. He had convinced himself that it wasn’t really a marriage proposal at all and that it was just another possible
merger.
But he had not only lied to himself, he had lied to Bella. Their engagement was official and he damned well knew it.

With each passing second, her expression became more remote.

Her voice was barely a squeak as she stared at a spot on the dashboard. “You should have told me.”

“
Yes,” he answered in a husky whisper of a sound.

He had reprimanded her for doubting and questioning him
and when she had given him the benefit of the doubt, all he had done was validate her fears by admitting he had omitted the details of his past.

He reached a hand out to draw her close, but she physically withdrew from him
and turned her face to the passenger side window. Her rejection lacerated his heart. He tried to remain calm and steady, but his insides were rioting with panic at the look of betrayal on her face.

“Bella…” his velvet to
ne was meant to soothe her and acknowledge her pain.

“
Just take me home and get my punishment over with.”

A haze of shame muddled his thoughts. There would be no spanking today. Bella had been punished enough.

In spite of her resolve, inexorably, Bella’s mind kept returning to Xander’s confession. His mellow voice drifted in and out as he spoke to the class about
the importance of written contracts and consistency in following through with Head of Household’s plan of action while weaving in and out of the students. His admission of having been engaged to LB had an emotional resonance that lingered and she was finding it difficult to concentrate. There had been no spanking after leaving 4P, but she almost wished Xander had gone through with it to take her mind off of the dreadfulness of his disclosure.

She hadn’t even given him her letter of confession and all the notes she had written to him in a heartfelt daze. They were all still
folded in her purse, unread and unacknowledged. With everything that had happened since writing them, she hadn’t found the right moment to hand them over.

Standing
next to her, the heat from Xander’s body and his scent cascaded over her. The man was
exquisite
in his Victorian era uniform. There was no other word for it. He had a body built for action and an inborn strength to act on his desires and proclivities. His voice and wisdom had always infused her with new hope, but not this day.

He had left her at the curb without answering her unspoken question.
Why?
He gave no explanation. No reason. All he left her with was less than ten words to deliberate on -
it was wrong of me not to tell you.
It didn’t make any sense. What was the purpose of keeping that kind of information from her? Her cynical inner voice brought others question to mind:
what else was Xander holding back? What was his real reason for not setting a wedding date?
Svetlana couldn’t be right about him… she couldn’t be…

The hour and a half long class seemed to drag on. She was only a few
feet away from Xander, but she had never felt more distance between them than at that moment. As she answered the questions to the quiz, she could feel Xander’s eyes on her, demanding her to meet his gaze. Lifting her eyes, she became entranced in the glimmer of his malachite eyes.
What was he thinking about?
Always the professional, his stoic countenance revealed nothing. Did he care that he had hurt her by not telling her about his engagement to Svetlana?
Didn’t he trust her enough to know that it made no difference to her? She loved him regardless of who he was affianced to.

His eyes never deviated from hers
and his authoritative aura washed over. Color and heat stained her cheeks. Her heart was aching and still she couldn’t deny the effect he had on her or the way her body answered to him. Maybe it was just a conditioned response. No… it was more than that.
She loved him
.

Forcing h
erself to look away, she focused her attention on the piece of paper in front of her. Consistency… rules… discipline… None of it mattered.

Dalberg’s lecture was even less interesting than Hutchens had been, and it seemed as if all the instructors had gotten together and plotted
out their dull evening as some sort of passive-aggressive form of discipline. The only highlight of the night was seeing Ju back in her seat and her confidence and exuberance restored.

Just before Dalberg’s session, she slipped back into Xander’s classroom and placed the letter and notes on his desk. There was no point in holding on to them regardless of what
he had done. The secrets contained on the parchment belonged to him and they would do her no good to keep them to herself.

As they all moved to the stairs to depart to the basement, Ju was separated from them and left arm in arm with Xander. She watched
grudgingly until they disappeared into a room at the end of the hall. It wasn’t even Ju’s night for discipline. Conflicted thoughts stirred her emotions. With all her self-pitying and wallowing, she had forgotten all about the night’s planned exercises and the possibility that Xander would have his hands on another woman. Now, she really wished he had gone through with his threat of making her ass sore.

A dull ringing in her ears had been present since the commencement of class and now, as they gathered in the basement, it ricocheted through her head and sliced through her frontal lobe.

“I feel a headache coming on, Lord Dalberg,” she tugged on his coat sleeve.

“You’re not getting out of it,” he simply stated without looking at her.

She wasn’t trying to get out of anything. Even after their little talk, he was still assuming the worst of her. Bella rolled her eyes and mumbled under her breath
whatever.

“What was that?” he turned on his heel with a
serious look very similar to the one that Xander gave her just before his hand met her tush.

Her mouth dropped open and she sighed. “I’m sorry to be disrespectful, Sir. I just had a really bad day. Maybe a good spanking is exactly what I need to clear my mind.”

His eyebrows shot up and the corners of his lips curled upward. “I’m glad you feel that way. I drew your name tonight and I can’t tell you how happy it makes me knowing I’ll be the one to brighten that pretty little bottom of yours; especially considering you have a problem following rules.”

Bella swallowed loudly and backed away nervously.
Who was this man and what rule had she broken now?
“I think I like the old Dalberg better: the one who didn’t like me,” she whispered.

Dalberg’s icy blue eyes radiated amusement and he gave her a conspiratorial wink. “I always liked you, Bella. You demonstrate both spirit and subservie
nce without compromising one over the other. I just believe that adversity makes people stronger.”

Bella was getting her fair share of adversity alright. A short discussion on a few new implements later, Dalberg walked Bella over to a table with various items.

“You’ve indicated you prefer spanking, however, you already received one last week. Are you opposed to trying something new?”

Bella eyed the tools warily. She wasn’t fond of the idea of trying anything new with anyone other than Xander.

She turned away and stared up at him. “Surprise me.”

Dalberg shook his head.
“It’s not my job to surprise you. I’m here to teach and guide you. Please look them over again.”

“They all look the same.”

“Ahh, but they’re not,” he smiled down at her then swept his audience with a piercing glance. “Everyone tolerates pain differently...” he waved his hand for the rest of the class to come over. “These discipline instruments were given to a test group of fifty people, all with different pain tolerances – some high, some low, and they were asked to rate them on a pain scale of one to ten. The ranking system was based on varying degrees of intensity both before and after the spanking, effectiveness in terms of behavior modification, and how feared the item was. With all that information, I gave each of them a ranking.”

Astounded at his dedication, Bella stood staring at Dalberg with new found respect. He was truly a Lord of Discipline.

“You should be proud of yourself, Ms. Darcy. You withstood the highest ranked item here. The wooden paddle with holes ranks an 8.5.”

The other students gasped in amazement and Christopher slapped her on the back. “Way to go, Bella.”

“Don’t give her too much credit…” Hutchens chimed in with a mischievous look in his eyes. “She only took eight swats. That scale was based on an average of 20-30 swats with three-quarter strength. I only gave her half-strength.”

All at once, every student hissed through their teeth at the shocking statement.
Twenty to thirty swats?
Just thinking about it, Bella flinched.

Dalberg chuckled and rubbed Bella’s shoulder. “Don’t worry. You did fine. Not everyone
delivering punishment is a sadist, Ms. Darcy.”

Sadist?
Her eyes darted to Hutchens again who was grinning at her.
Hutchens was a sadist?
Bella stared at him in stunned silence. She had it all backwards. Her preconceptions of who Dalberg and Hutchens were had been proven wrong and their roles reversed right before her eyes.

“Are you a masochist, Ms. Darcy?” Hutchens asked and it was hard to miss the desire in his voice for her positive response.

Everyone’s eyes converged on her and her body heated from embarrassment. “I don’t think so. I mean… no?”

“You mean you don’t know?” Clarissa called out from behind her.

“I’ve never experimented with pain so… I guess I don’t really know if I am or not.”

She and Xander had never gone that route. Ever. The most pain he had cause
d her was nearly two years ago on a night she now refers to as
Bristlegate.
Xander had come home late one night and told her to wait in the bedroom. Not only was he going to punish her, but he had a surprise planned. Thinking back, she couldn’t even remember what the offending action was that brought on the spanking as it had all blurred together.

When he came into the room, he had
a riding crop and a wooden bath brush in his hand. Her first thought had been that he was going to ask her to engage in pony play of some sort; ride her hard, slap her ass, then brush her mane. It was laughable to think about now because she had never been more wrong. After stripping down and getting on her hands in knees on the bed, he came down hard with the first strike using the riding crop. It stung instantly but it was tolerable.

She had
hoped her punishment would end there, but he had other plans. He grabbed the bath brush allowed her to look it over closely before beginning. He must have anticipated that she would try to squirm out from underneath of him or escape his wrath because he wrapped his arm around her waist and held her firmly. Closing her eyes, she readied herself for the blow. When it came, the pain jolted through her like nothing she had ever felt before or since. The wooden paddle from the previous week didn’t even come close, but then again, she had received twenty swats with the bath brush. As soon as she voiced her objection and began to beg and plead uncontrollably for him to stop, he laid the brush down, held her close as his hands caressed her bottom while he kissed her tears away.

The brush had proven to be too intense and they both agreed to never
use it again.

“How badly do you want to forget about your bad day?”
Dalberg’s voice cut in.

She answered his question with a question.
“Where does the hand spanking rank on the pain scale?” Bella asked.

“Two,” Hutchens responded.

Two? That was all?
It sure felt like more than a two when delivered by Xander’s large masculine hands. Wanting to desperately forget out Xander’s betrayal of her trust, she looked to Hutchens and foolishly answered. “You choose, Sir.”

His eyes lit up and he gave Dalberg a side glance. “Do I have your permission to choose for her?”

“If that’s what she wants.”

“I guess tonight we’ll find out if you’re a masochist or not.”

***

Xander’s hands roamed over Julianna’s scarred and pock-marked body carefully and gently. Her eyes were shielded, and her ankles and wrists loosely bound with a crimson colored satin scarf. The man who had done this to her should face the firing squad as far as he was concerned. But in spite of the blemishes,
her beauty was undeniable. There would be no punishment this night for Ms. Breslin either; only an exercise in trust.

“You have beautiful skin tone, Ms. Breslin,” he whispered into her ear. “Like a pale rose.”

Ghosts
by Gabrielle Aplin played softly on repeat in the background as he reached for the handmade velvet and suede flogger designed and crafted by Dominic. Its purpose was for light pain with interspersed pleasure.

He
began delivering a light barrage of whips to her belly as he envisioned Bella’s serene face and intense blue eyes.

Pausing to kiss
Julianna’s collar bone, he reached up and ran his index finger over her lips, telling himself that they were Bella’s while staying grounded to Ms. Breslin. “A real man will never hurt you.”

He closed his eyes. The smell of summer and sea air drifted in from the half-open window. Wet grass… the faint undertone of ash and smoke from Dominic’s cigar… Opening his eyes, he looked at Ms. Breslin. She came here for strength and guidance, like all the rest had. Like Bella had. It was his duty to give Bella strength and guidance above all else. Above
everyone
else.

“Color?”

“Green…” Julianna breathed out with the sweetest smile on her mouth.

He stepped back
and slapped her thighs a little more intensely and a lusty breath fluttered past her lips. Her nipples hardened and her body tensed under his manipulation and his mind drifted to Bella once again.

Julianna needed his attention. This scene
demanded
his attention. Harder he lashed her breasts with the velvet and suede until her breathing became ragged.

“Color?”

“Bright green…” she moaned out as her body began to tremble. Dropping the flogger to the floor, he pressed his body against her and slipped his fingers into her to give her the release her body was begging for.