Collaring Colleen [Tales from the Lyon's Den 2] Read online

  That man nodded. “‘Box of Secrets’ doesn’t use the SSN and can be paid for using MoneyBuddy, so it’s one site that generally doesn’t show up in that kind of a sweep.”

  They worked quietly, the small spare bedroom serving them well. There would have been more working room if they’d set up in the dining room, but they wanted the smaller enclosure because they were going to be very careful about the information they shared with Colleen, at least for the time being.

  That had been Daniel’s call, and until they knew for certain Mercy was alive, Damion agreed it was the right one.

  Daniel and Rob were doing their jobs as Colleen’s Doms—even if she didn’t quite realize yet that they were her Doms—to take care of her. They wouldn’t let Colleen think anything except that Mercy was alive and they would find her. Quest decided he’d adopt that thinking, himself. He and Chance Carter had only recently met Mercy, had only begun to get to know her. He supposed anyone not in the lifestyle would scoff that the few conversations they’d shared were barely enough to begin a relationship.

  But he and Chance had known. After their conversations—the first over water at the Club and the next two over coffee dates in public coffee shops—they’d known.

  They hadn’t had any intention of going forward without a vital exchange of information, an exchange they needed to conduct away from the Lyon’s Den, away from anyone who knew them. When they’d shared a very important secret with her, they’d taken the biggest gamble of their lives.

  Mercy’s response had been all they could have hoped for. She’d not only accepted them, she’d been completely turned on by their disclosure. And she’d told them she wanted them to please help her to discover her submissive side.

  Both of them—he and Chance—refused to believe they would not be able to find her, that they would not be able to deliver on all the things they’d promised…

  I’m torturing myself. Damion closed off the personal and did his damnedest to focus on the case, to think of this as only another case.

  “She has a lot of interesting articles saved,” Rob said. “Interesting sites listed in her ‘personal’ file.”

  Damion had gone to the folder marked “research,” avoiding the personal. He scanned the contents and began opening documents. “I imagine you’re finding that the most recent documents in her personal file have to do with lifestyle research.”

  “Yeah. I kind of figured you’d know about that.”

  He allowed himself a small smile. “Know about it? We ordered it. We told her she needed to be completely certain she wanted to take that next step with us.”

  “If you’d arrived early enough that night to have watched her with Brad, you’d have seen her slide ever so sweetly into subspace. That sight never gets old.”

  “Brad mentioned it when he introduced us.” He felt Rob’s gaze on him but didn’t look up. Instead, he read through the list of documents in the “research” file. He’d thought to focus on just the most recent, but one caught his attention right off the bat—because it was in research and not in her personal folder.

  On sight alone, it really should have been in the personal folder.

  “Her friend who died, the one you mentioned just after I got here. What was her name?” He only wanted to confirm that he was right.

  “Julie Armstrong. Why?”

  Damion clicked on the document entitled “Julie.” “Because there’s a document in her research folder with that name on it.” He started reading, and his internal senses immediately began to vibrate.

  “Maybe she misfiled it,” Rob said.

  He flicked a quick look over at Rob. That man hadn’t even looked up from his computer screen. “No. No, I’m pretty certain she didn’t.” Damion started again at the top of the page, and this time, he read it aloud.

  “Everyone has told me how it happens sometimes. Colleen said that heart defects can go undetected for all of a person’s life until, at some cosmically determined day, the timer goes off and the person simply drops dead. Gone. Sudden catastrophic myocardial infarction. And I looked into that and discovered that, yes, that did happen. There are some interesting examples of people, young, in prime health—some who were even famous athletes—who’ve suddenly dropped dead.

  “But that isn’t what happened to Julie. I know it didn’t happen to her quite that way. It’s that intuition thingy inside of me, a force I’ve never understood, but one that’s been right every single time.

  “Julie didn’t die because of an inborn heart defect. She was murdered, and I think I know who killed her. All I have to do is prove it.”

  * * * *

  By the time they headed back to the house after their second round of interviews, Colleen realized Daniel had been absolutely right. Together, they’d spoken face to face with every one of Mercy’s friends she had called earlier. He asked questions she hadn’t, some of which she didn’t understand why he would. Despite her lack of understanding, everyone they spoke to happily answered those questions. As a result, she knew a lot more about what was going on with her sister than she had when she’d awakened that morning.

  Ellie had prepared chicken enchiladas with refried beans and Spanish rice for supper. When they stepped into the house, the aroma of the food made Colleen’s stomach growl. Wasting no time, she headed for supper. Ellie had set the dining room table for four, and she and Rob were in the process of bringing the last of the food and sitting down.

  “What about Mr. Quest?” Colleen had wanted an opportunity to speak a bit more to the man who’d shown up earlier and then gotten right down to business. He’d been in the spare bedroom working away earlier while she’d been in her home office, doing some research online that Daniel had asked her to do. After a couple of hours, Daniel had announced it was time to head out once more, and she’d gone with him. Now here she was finally at home again, and Mr. Quest was nowhere to be found!

  “He and Detective Carter are going to be chasing down leads this evening,” Rob said.

  “There are leads?” Excitement coursed through her.

  “Nothing concrete,” Rob said. “They’ll let us know when they have something. I know this is hard for you, Colleen.”

  Daniel reached for her hand and brought it to his lips. “Investigation involves thousands of mundane details. It involves a lot of legwork and brain work, following every single thread, however slender, eliminating those that don’t matter and focusing on those that do. They’re damned good, Carter and Quest, at their jobs.”

  She tilted her head. “So, was that busy work today? You were keeping me occupied so my mind wasn’t worrying the situation?”

  “Absolutely not.” Daniel set his fork down and turned so that he faced her. He still had her hand, and she tried not to think about how good it felt when he touched her. “What did we hear from every single person we spoke to?”

  She didn’t have to think about it. “That Mercy was really upset about—almost preoccupied—with Julie’s death.” There was more, and Colleen couldn’t help the blush she felt overtaking her face and neck. “And she was really intrigued with the D/s dynamic and had decided to uncover her inner sub.”

  “So, we heard that consistently and can now confirm those two things were uppermost in her mind.”

  Rob leaned forward. “She wasn’t just preoccupied, Colleen. She was investigating Julie’s death. She had a list of people she had already interviewed, what she considered to be her preliminary investigation. Those are the files we accessed today, and Carter and Quest are chasing down the rest of those threads, tonight.”

  “We’ll hear from them in the morning,” Daniel said. “You might not realize it, but a lot of people are working, right now, on finding Mercy.” He leaned forward, tilted her chin up, and met her gaze.

  She’d never felt such heat from a man’s gaze before, never known that a look, or a gentle touch, could stir so many emotions inside her. When he laid his lips on hers, she tasted the food he’d just eaten and something f
ar more elusive. She tasted man, and she tasted safety.

  Daniel lifted his lips, but before she could say a word, Rob turned her toward him. His kiss was as gentle, and as arousing, as Daniel’s. She was being drawn out of herself and into…something else, something that both relaxed her and set her on edge.

  Despite everything that was going on around her, it was a something she very much wanted to explore.

  “We’ve accomplished quite a bit today. There’s nothing more the three of us can do until tomorrow, until we hear from Carter and Quest and get pointed in a new direction. So, we’re going to eat our very delicious supper here, relax in the living room listening to some soothing music, and unwind for a while, and then, pet, Rob and I are going to begin to introduce you to your submissive side—and this lifestyle that has been waiting for you to find it. Did you check out those websites we asked you to? Did you learn a few more things?”

  Colleen blushed because she’d done as they’d asked and had gotten quite an introduction into what it meant to be submissive.

  Daniel’s words, that the lifestyle had been waiting for her to find it, was a strange way to put it. Yesterday, Colleen would have called that a toss-away comment. Thinking about the last twenty-four hours, seeing the look not only in his eyes but in Rob’s, she barely suppressed a shiver.

  Colleen dared a little peek at Ellie and didn’t know what to think when she saw that slight smile on her face. The older woman appeared to have her attention on her plate, but Colleen knew she’d been listening to every word Daniel had said and had witnessed both men kissing her.

  The fact that Ellie hadn’t objected was noteworthy. As if sensing her gaze, she looked up. Her smile soft, she nodded to Colleen.

  “Rob has a good hand in the kitchen. I won’t worry about what all y’all will be eating while I head up to Abilene and visit with my sister for the next week or so.” She switched her attention to Daniel. “You have my cell phone number. I will look for regular updates on the search for our Mercy.”

  “You’ll have them. You don’t have to leave on our account, Ellie. We won’t embarrass you.”

  “I’m not easily embarrassed, and I’m not leaving on your account…at least, not exactly. I’ve not seen Mary for over six months, and that’s too long to go without spending good quality sister time together. You’re here now, the two of you, and I know I don’t have to worry about one of my girls.” Then she looked back at Colleen. “I think you’ll be more comfortable if I’m not here, at least for the next little while.” She reached her hand out, and Colleen took the offering. Ellie squeezed hard. “You seize this opportunity, sweetheart. You seize it and see if it doesn’t suit you right down to the bone.”

  Colleen hadn’t asked Ellie if she thought she was a submissive, and maybe she should have. Well, she certainly had the answer now.

  Colleen squeezed back then nodded. “Yes, I will. But you can’t leave until after we’ve had dessert. I heard a rumor of key lime pie.”

  “Of course, there’s key lime pie,” Ellie said. She looked over at Rob. “It’s Colleen’s favorite.”

  Chapter Eight

  Soft music played on the sound system wired into the living room. Daniel hadn’t been kidding when he’d said they were going to sit here after supper for a while, relax, and just listen to music. Her head back against the sofa, Colleen had closed her eyes and practiced an old exercise, consciously relaxing herself from her toes to her shoulders. She couldn’t say that she’d ever made a habit of just sitting and relaxing and doing nothing. Not that she didn’t take time for herself. She’d spent time in the den, watching television, and she’d even sat here reading, mostly catching up on medical journals but, every once in a while, indulging in a good book.

  The three of them were alone in the house. Ellie had left practically as soon as the pie had been served. Colleen would have been worried about her driving such a long distance, starting out so late in the day. But Ellie assured her she was going to Austin, first, to visit with a friend before heading off early the next morning for Abilene.

  That woman really wanted to give us some personal space, and quickly.

  Colleen had no idea how much time had passed while they’d listened to the barely audible piano magic of Lorie Line. Why am I worried about how much time has passed? Maybe it was time she learned to let go and just be.

  “We don’t, either of us, expect protocol except during scenes, wherever we have them, and, of course, at all times at the club.” Daniel’s voice had sounded as relaxed as she felt.

  “I think you mentioned that to me before. I’m not certain I understand what you mean by ‘protocol.’”

  “That’s as good a place as any for us to start,” Rob said.

  “It is.” Daniel reached over and took Colleen’s hand in his. When she opened her eyes and met his gaze, he gave her a just-barely-there smile.

  “Rob is going to show you how we want you to kneel for us. This is something you’ll do at the commencement of a scene, when you join us at the club, or whenever we ask you to. Some Doms have a number of ‘presenting positions’ they want their subs to memorize. We just have the one. If we want you to present yourself any other way, we’ll let you know at the time.”

  Because she’d done a fair bit of research and reading that afternoon, she wasn’t surprised by the request. “All right.” She sat forward and stretched and then got to her feet and looked at Rob, waiting for his first instruction.

  “Remove your clothing, first,” Daniel said. “Every last stitch of it.”

  Colleen had wondered what she’d feel when this moment came. It wasn’t as if she hadn’t been warned that it would—or that she hadn’t agreed, but more than that had secretly, been looking forward to it. She had, and she was.

  Colleen had of course been naked before. She was also a doctor and had long since lost any precept of false modesty she may have had about human skin. A body was a body. Colleen had also had sex before. As far as she was concerned, therefore, there was no reason for the fluttering that began in her belly in response to Daniel’s command.

  Yet right at that moment, standing there in front of these two virile men, she felt as if she really hadn’t been naked or had sex, ever.

  I think that feeling is real because I really haven’t been naked or had sex. Not like I’m about to.

  The only other thing she knew, and this one fact really was key, was that she wanted, very much, to be naked and have sex with these two men. She wanted to experience some of the things she’d read about earlier in her research on the D/s dynamic. Some of the things she’d learned about this afternoon had drawn her. Some had just flat-out turned her on.

  Colleen didn’t perform a striptease. She simply undressed. Since he held a hand out, she gave her clothing to Rob as she removed each piece.

  Huh. A body is a body, but for the first time, I’m wondering what the men looking at me think of mine. If other woman experienced this sense of uncertainty, no wonder some of them had body-image issues! She supposed that, technically speaking, she should be one of them. Her stomach wasn’t flat, and her breasts weren’t spectacular. A not very skinny waist flared to curvy hips. It took some effort, but Colleen focused on the moment when Rob set her clothes aside and faced her.

  “Okay, sweetheart, on your knees, right there, facing Daniel.” Rob pointed to a spot on the area rug that was directly in front of Daniel, practically at his feet.

  She turned off her thoughts and simply did as she was told.

  “Back straight, knees slightly apart, good. Turn your palms up, with the backs of your hands resting on your thighs. Very good. Here’s the second part of our protocol. From here on out, until we tell you our scene is over, or tell you that you can, you will speak only when asked a direct question, and you will address each of us as sir. Does this position, on your knees, cause you any pain or discomfort?”

  “No, Sir.” What happened to the affable man who’d been so charming throughout dinner? He was nowhe
re to be seen. In his place Rob had morphed into a Dom, one every bit as commanding, as was Daniel.

  “Eyes on me.”

  Colleen’s body obeyed before she’d even processed Daniel’s command.

  “Did you check out those websites from the list I gave you earlier?”

  “Yes, Sir.”

  “Of everything you read, was there anything that seemed to call to you? Anything that you were curious enough about that you’d like to try?”

  “There were a couple of things, yes, Sir.” Daniel nodded, so Colleen continued. “I don’t know if it was because you mentioned it when I was at the club, but impact play…when I read one of those articles written by a sub about how she enjoys being spanked, I got a shiver of arousal.”

  “Is that the only thing that attracted you?”

  “No, Sir.” Colleen licked her lips because, whereas the idea of a good spanking got her hot, this next thing pulled to her on a much more deeply emotional level.

  “Please tell us.”

  “I read an article by a submissive who was bound and then paddled. When she spoke of having relinquished control by being tied up and then the slide into subspace…” Colleen didn’t understand the soft smile on Daniel’s face. So she pressed on. “I understand the chemistry behind that…behind what you call subspace. It has to do with endorphins entering the bloodstream, so that makes sense to me. But the sense of joy that submissive described…” Colleen felt her face turn hot with her blush and couldn’t stop herself from dropping her gaze.

  She felt pressure on her chin, lifting, and she gave in to it. Daniel’s gaze was sharp on hers. A part of her wanted to shrink away from it because she had the sense he saw way too much. But she couldn’t look away. “You feel guilty for craving that, for wishing to just be able to relinquish control completely.”

  How did he know that? A part of her thought to hide that truth from him. But another part of her simply spoke up. “Yes, Sir, I do.”