Surrender (15 page)

“He’s soooooo handsome,” Ashley observed in a very audible whisper. “Is he a prince, mommy?”

I felt blood pulse in my cheeks as I sent Kaelen an agonized glance. He was grinning. Obviously, there was nothing wrong with his hearing. “She loves fairytales,” I said uncomfortably.

My mother, who had followed the girls onto the porch, drew our attention by inviting us in. I looked at Kaelen questioningly, feeling certain he wouldn’t want to be dragged into trying to entertain my mother and fend off her probing questions, but I had forgotten he had no experience with mothers, poor baby. He agreed easily, and we all went into the house.

I felt my stomach tighten as it dawned on me that he had brought me for a visit, but intended to take me back, as well. Dismissing it, I let the girls drag me to their room to see the kitty and left Kaelen to fend for himself.

He was good. I had to give him that. Within a few minutes he had sloughed my mother off and come to join us, leaning against the doorframe. I saw his gaze move around the room curiously. It was nice enough but cramped because all our worldly possessions were stuffed into the one room me and the girls shared. I tried to hide my embarrassment by focusing my attention on the girls and pretending I hadn’t noticed his SURRENDER Kimberly Zant 67

interest.

“I see you’ve got a tiger,” he said after a moment.

Alexis giggled. “He’s not a tiger! He’s a kitten. Mommy got him for us to keep us company while she was gone.”

“Ah,” he responded, nodding. “I thought it was a tiger. You’re certain it isn’t a tiger?”

“Tigers are bigger, and they have great, big teeth. Mommy took us to see them at the zoo.”

“You like the zoo?” he asked with interest.

Dread filled me. Obviously the poor man had no idea what that sort of question meant to a child.

“Can we go?” Alexis squealed, jumping up and down.

Ashley wasn’t entirely sure of what the excitement was all about, but she began pingponging off the floor because Alexis was.

I sent Kaelen a helpless, pitying look. He grinned at me. “I was just about to ask you if you wanted to.”

“Oh!” I exclaimed, shaking my head. “No, no. You don’t want to do that!” He gave me a look. “I believe I do.”

Alexis immediately dove into her clothes drawer, searching for something suitable to wear and emptying most of the contents on the floor in spite of my efforts to pick the clothes up and stuff them back in. I sent Kaelen a harassed look and finally straightened, half pushing half pulling him from the room. “This is so sweet of you to offer,” I said in distress, “but you have no idea how wild they get when they’re excited.

Believe me, you’ll regret the invitation.”

“Get them ready.”

I stared after him as he turned and headed back toward the living room. Shaking my head finally at the folly of men who had no experience with children, I went back into the room and helped the girls dress.

They were so awed when I settled them in the back seat and fastened them in I didn’t hear much more than a peep out of them throughout the drive. Kaelen seemed impressed with their good behavior, but I knew it was just a matter of time before they overcame their wonder and resumed their typical behavior.

Not that they were bad. They were children, though, young children, which meant they were as yet untamed little savages. When we released them from the tethers of the seatbelts upon arriving at the zoo, they showed their true colors. I had grabbed one hand of each girl, and they promptly ran in a circle around me. Kaelen caught Ashley beneath the arms before they could twist me into a pretzel and hefted her into the cradle of one arm. She went catatonic, staring at him owl eyed.

I wasn’t sure if she was terrified that the strange man had picked her up, or enthralled, but at least she was quiet. Taking Alexis’ hand, I held her firmly as the four of us trooped to the ticket shack and Kaelen forked up the entrance fees.

We spent the day at the zoo. It was actually not as much of an ordeal as I had expected. The chimpanzees were enjoying an orgy when we arrived at the monkey cages. Covering Alexis’ eyes, I made an about face and headed toward the gorilla cage.

Kaelen laughed when Alexis complained loudly about wanting to watch the chimpanzees play piggy back. Biting my lip to keep from joining him, I sent him a SURRENDER Kimberly Zant 68

censorious look and directed Alexis’ attention to the big monkey.

I decided, maybe, he knew a little bit more about children than I had guessed. He was aided, of course, by the awe the girls felt toward him, but he still handled them well, except that he was perfectly willing to drag his wallet out every time they saw a sign indicating the sale of snacks and beverages. I had to call a halt to that quickly to prevent them from sugar overload.

But we walked around and around, watching the animals until both of the girls were completely exhausted. I had to carry Ashley out because she had finally nodded off. Alexis was dragging, whining, and complaining until Kaelen picked her up. “I’m a big girl,” she informed him immediately. “I’m supposed to walk.”

“Except this time,” Kaelen responded.

She hadn’t wanted to walk. Looping her arms around his neck, she clung to him, dropping her head to his shoulder.

As a plan, it couldn’t have been better executed. The girls were so tired still when we got home that I was able to settle them down for a nap without much protest from either one, even though Alexis rarely took naps anymore. When I had tucked them in, I settled on the edge of the bed for a few moments, watching their angelic, sleeping faces—the only time they really looked, or behaved, like little angels.

Sighing after a moment, I leaned down to kiss them and got up to leave.

Kaelen was leaning against the doorframe watching me when I turned around, his expression unreadable. “Ready?” he asked when I had joined him.

Nodding, I glanced back at the girls again and finally followed him out.

Yielding to impulse when we reached the car and he opened the door for me, I slipped my arms around his waist and hugged him. “Thank you!” He stiffened in surprise, and I released my hold almost as abruptly as I had grabbed him, climbing into the car quickly.

He glanced at me as he got into the driver’s seat and started the car. “You’re welcome.”

I smiled at him at the acknowledgement, relieved that he hadn’t been annoyed or embarrassed by my outburst and focused on fastening my belt. I felt like the silence between us on the trip back was more companionable. I don’t know if it was or not, but I was relaxed, and tired, and I fell asleep, only rousing when the car finally stopped.

The gang, I discovered when we went inside, was back. They looked me and Kaelen both over speculatively as we came in. I was glad to see them but, still exhausted, I merely smiled at them and headed up to my room. Between the day at the zoo and the night with Kaelen, I was tired enough to tumble into my bed and actually sleep when I saw that someone had been in while we were gone and made up my bed.

I was content when I woke—more than that, happy. I lay where I was for a while, going back over the day in my mind, pleased that the girls had behaved so well. I didn’t know why Kaelen had decided to give me the day with them, but I was grateful.

I shouldn’t have given in to the impulse to hug him, though, I realized in dismay.

I shouldn’t have
felt
the impulse to hug him.

A little dismayed at the affection imparted in that gesture, I got up and went to shower and change for dinner. In the course of that, I remembered the way the guys had looked me over as I came in and felt amusement tickle at me as I realized how glum they had looked.

SURRENDER Kimberly Zant 69

As Kaelen had pointed out, though, I wasn’t
completely
out of commission.

When I had finished my bath, I went into the bedroom to see what I could find that might help their feelings. One of the bustiers was a must. I was in a sweat by the time I managed to wrestle into it by myself, my arms cramping from reaching behind me, but I managed it.

I glanced at the plug on the bedside table, but there was no way in hell I was going to insert that thing. One plug was enough. Moving to the table, I scooped it up and dropped it into the drawer and then went back to studying the contents of the armoire.

I found a long, flowing pair of dress pants I had thought at first was a skirt. The crotch, I wasn’t surprised to discover, was open, but it still covered my lower half. It was black, and by happy circumstance, I had a pair of black panties to wear under it. The top was another matter. I finally decided, though, that the dress I had worn to dinner my first night in the mansion would work fine as a tunic. I studied my reflection in the full length mirror when I had finished and decided it was a clear enough message even for men.

Kaelen looked at me in surprise when I entered the game room where Cameron, Gareth, Chance, and Dev were half heartedly shooting balls around the pool table. His gaze was appreciative, however, when he had surveyed me from top to bottom. Gareth glanced at me and did a double take.

His reaction drew everyone else’s attention, and they turned and looked me over with interest. Looking far less stepped on, they finally returned their attention to the game they were playing. By the time we had finished dining, they were in much better spirits.

Two days of blow jobs later, I felt as if my jaw was going to drop off, but the upside was that everyone else was relatively happy—not completely happy, but reasonably content to wait until I was fully operational again.

I ran afoul of Kaelen’s temper my first day ‘back on the job’, though.

I was wrestling with the bustier I had picked out when Kaelen came into the room. He checked when he saw I was already in the process of getting dressed. His expression tightening with irritation, he crossed the room in long strides after that brief hesitation, heading toward the bathroom.

“I already bathed and … uh … douched,” I announced as he reached the door, certain that was what he had intended to check on.

He halted, swiveling around to give me a look that I swiftly interpreted as displeasure. I wasn’t certain if it was because I had spoken out of turn or because I had bathed without him, but I thought it was probably both. I stopped fighting with the bustier and gave him a wide eyed look I hoped looked properly repentant and then bowed my head submissively when he started toward me.

He cupped my buttocks, dragging me up against his body. Catching my chin in his hand, he tipped my head up so that I was looking him eye to eye as he delved between the cheeks of my ass and stroked a finger over my rectum. My eyes widened.

“You’re not wearing the plug.”

I blinked, searching my mind for an excuse. “I forgot,” I lied, trying to will the blood away as I felt it filling my cheeks—the ones on my face.

His dark brows rose. “Forgot? When did you last wear it?” My blush darkened. “I just took it out to bathe,” I lied again.

“And forgot to put it back?”

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I gulped, nodding as he released my chin at last. “You’ve grown that used to it, then? That you don’t even notice?”

I had a bad feeling my lies were getting me deeper and deeper, but I couldn’t bring myself to admit I had lied to begin with. I nodded.

He studied my face for a long moment. “Good,” he finally said, “turn around and bend over.”

Feeling more than a little shaky, I turned and presented him with my ass. He moved to the bedside table, stared at the contents for a moment, and pulled a plug from it.

It wasn’t the one I had been wearing, though. It wasn’t even the next size up. I stared at the thing in horrified fascination as he lubed it.
Now
was the time to tell him I had lied, I thought a little wildly.

I couldn’t get the words out as he parted my buttocks and stroked his finger over the bud, smoothing the excess lube on my skin. “Relax and bear down,” he murmured as he breached the opening with the small tip. I tried, but I was panting for breath by the time he had it halfway in. I could feel sweat pop from my pores as the discomfort increased to the point of pain. I felt faint by the time he had pushed it fully inside of me.

He stroked his hand almost soothingly over my buttocks. “Good girl.” When he left to wash his hands, I gritted my teeth and pushed myself upright.

Despite all the lube he had lathed the thing with I discovered there wasn’t much danger of me ‘accidentally’ pushing the damned thing out. I couldn’t even comfortably put my legs together. It was going to be hell trying to sit with this thing stuck up my ass.

When he returned, he straightened the bustier and fixed the closure I had fastened up crookedly, then tightened the lacings and attached the restraint to the back edge. He caught my face in his hand again when he had turned me around to face him. “You look a little pale,” he murmured. “Did I get the lacing too tight?” I swallowed with an effort, struggled with a rise of temper. He knew damned well why I was pale, the ass! He knew I had been lying! I struggled with my stubbornness for a moment and finally shook my head when he released his hold on my chin.

He lifted his brows, waiting for me to admit the lie, but I merely stared back at him, trying to pretend I wasn’t miserably uncomfortable.

Humor gleamed in his eyes when I remained stubbornly silent. Instead of moving away, he slipped an arm around me, pulling me against his length and reaching down to caress my bare buttocks with one hand. Delving the cleft, he stroked his fingers along it, running one finger over the end of the plug caressingly. Splaying his free hand along my cheek, he hooked his thumb beneath my chin and tipped my face up until my gaze met his once more. I saw the amusement had vanished from his eyes. “As much as I enjoy watching you with the others, seeing your face fill with ecstasy as they caress your beautiful tits and pussy, as much as I enjoy fucking your tight, hot little pussy myself, this is mine and no one else’s,” he murmured huskily. “I
will
claim it before we’re done here.” He leaned closer, placing his cheek near mine and whispering near my ear. “I want you screaming with ecstasy when I shove my dick up you and fuck you senseless baby, not pain. Don’t lie to me again. And don’t ‘forget’ to keep the plug right where it is. I want you ready for me. I want you hot when I take you. I want you to cum so hard you scream.”