dakota_trace_his_christmas_gift_myrnas (2 page)

“Master Alastar, I wasn’t expecting you.” She kept
her voice respectful, but for the first time since she’d met him ten years ago,
she kept her gaze on his instead of lowering her eyes as Grant had taught her.

“I just heard at the club about Grant. Are you all
right, Myrna?” His voice was deep but smooth as he checked her over for other
signs of abuse.

Giving him a haphazard smile, she motioned with the
peas for him to come in. “I’ll be fine, Master –“

“Don’t.” His voice brooked no refusal. “I’m not your
Master, Myrna.”

She nodded, before lowering her head to hide the
sharp pain his words wrought. Shutting the door softly, she led him into her
kitchen. It stung that even Alastar, a man she’d respected as a Dom, found her
lacking. “I meant no disrespect, Mr. Alastar. I realize I no longer have a
master and wasn’t looking to replace him with you.”

She jerked when Alastar stopped her in the middle of
her kitchen, took the peas from her hand, and placed the bag against the
swelling on her face. “If it were under any other circumstances, Myrna, I would
love to have you as my submissive – but you’re in no shape to make that
decision right now. You have bigger things to worry about than finding a man to
fill Grant’s place.”

She nodded. “Caelan?”

He gave her a brief smile. “Yes Caelan. That’s the
reason I stopped by. I want you to gather up your things and Caelan’s. You’re
both going to be my invited guests for the holidays.”

When she started to protest, he leveled her with his
best Dom glare. “I won’t take no for an answer, Myrna. Once the holidays have
passed, I’ll see about helping you find both a job and new home. I’m assuming
you don’t wish to go back to your father’s.”

She shook her head. “No. Just help me find a job and
I’ll be forever grateful, Master…ah hell, what do I call you if, you don’t want
me to call you Master?”

“Alastar will work…as will Amery.” He peeled off the
peas and ‘tsked’. “I’m sorry about what happened with Grant. I tried to reason
with the man…”

Embarrassment flushed her cheeks, as the idea he knew
about her husband’s desertion before she did bothered her. Had her entire life
with Grant been public knowledge at the clubs? If so, she was never going to
step foot in one again! She took the bag of melting veggies away from him.

“It was never your battle, Alastar. I should’ve
realized this was coming, but what’s done is done, and now I must move on with
Caelan.” She pushed back from the table. “Can you give me thirty minutes to
pack?”

He nodded. “Of course, Myrna, take as much time as
you need.” When she walked out of the room, he spoke so softly only the walls
in the kitchen would’ve heard him. “I’ll wait thirty years if I have to.” The
look in his eyes would’ve scared her if she’d seen it. He wanted Myrna Doherty
and intended to have her, but he was patient. He could wait.

Chapter One

Killarney
, Ireland
– Early December, 2011

“I need your help, Alastar – please!”

Amery Alastar stood with his back to the begging
woman. His tall, thick body was outlined perfectly by the weak afternoon
sunlight as he stood at the bay window of his study. The traces of silver in
his auburn hair glimmered in the soft light while his hands shoved in his
trouser pockets gave him the look of a man deep in thought. In the distance he
could see the snow-covered hills that surrounded Lough Leane, the largest of
the Killarney Lakes. With Christmas less than a month away, the weather, which
had been mild so far this winter, had turned bitterly cold before the skies had
opened up. Now there were several inches of fresh snow on the ground, but it
wasn’t the snow that held his attention. It was the woman behind him. He’d been
waiting over thirty years for this moment and wasn’t about to ruin it with
impatience.

He knew if he turned around he’d find Myrna Doherty
standing as still as could be, directly behind him, her dark hair with its
streaks of grey pulled back from her face in the ever-familiar French braid.
The imploring look in her eyes would be his downfall for sure, if he faced her.
She was his weakness and he knew it. Hard to believe such a small curvy woman
could have much of an effect on him as she barely reached his shoulder. The
casual woolen suit she’d worn the night before would be hugging each of her
curves faithfully with nary a wrinkle in sight. His Myrna was nothing if not
fastidious about her appearance, even though she’d stayed the night under
rather unusual circumstances. It was a trait he’d looked for in a submissive
ever since he’d witnessed it during one of the rare scenes Grant Doherty had
allowed him to observe between the couple. Even when she was sweating from a
scene - she still had tidiness about her as if she’d been barely affected. It
had made him long to push her until she lost that tidy appearance and
surrendered everything - to him.

 When she’d arrived last night for their normal once
a month supper, he’d thought nothing of offering her a bed – even insisting
when the snow, which the weatherman had predicted for Sunday, began to fall two
days ahead of schedule. By the time Myrna had finished her after-dinner coffee
while he sipped on his aged scotch, there had been no possible way for her to
return to her small cottage in the city. The normal thirty minute drive to his
home on Lough Leane would’ve taken her several hours, even if the roads hadn’t
been closed by the authorities. There was no way he’d have let her leave his
home under those conditions. Secretly though, he was glad the weather had conspired
to keep them together. He saw too little of her these days. She was always busy
with one charity or another, now that she’d retired from the secretarial job
he’d helped her find all those years ago. Of course, he didn’t begrudge her the
times spent with the community in the least bit. If volunteering to help the
needy made her feel good, who was he to stop her?

“Did you hear me, Alastar?” The silky smooth voice
he’d dreamed of hearing call him Master washed over him. Behind the material of
his slacks his dick twitched at the urgency in her tone before he focused on
her words, reminding himself that now was not the time for this. The pleading
he heard in her voice wasn’t sexual in nature. It was emotional.

“Yes, I heard you, Myrna.” It was all he could do to
contain his anticipation. He needed to tread carefully here. She was expecting
him to be the experienced Dom he was and he wouldn’t – no, he couldn’t fail her
now. He was no longer a mere lad of twenty to get excited over the first woman
who offered to let him have his wicked way with her. He was a full-grown man
while this was Myrna. Not only had she been his former best friend’s
submissive, she was also the mother of the man who Amery considered to be his
own son despite their lack of blood ties. With no children of his own, Caelan
Doherty was as close as it came to being his own son. He had been the most
important male in his life since his father left him and Myrna, and he had
mentored him when he came of age into being an experienced, well-trained Dom.
Now, it was because of Caelan that Myrna had come to him to ask his assistance.
She was petrified of hurting her own son.

 In less than a month, a now grown Caelan was
scheduled to visit his mother and he was bringing along Nisey, his slave. In
fact, not only was Caelan bringing along his own slave, he was also bringing
his half-sister, Kalinda and her Doms, Josh and Dominic to Ireland for the holidays. He hadn’t been surprised when Caelan had called him to get his
opinion on the matter. In fact, it had given him a sense of pride when Caelan
had sought him out in dealing with Myrna. His fear of upsetting his mother or
losing Nisey had put the younger man in a bit of bind. Amery hadn’t hesitated
to tell Caelan to quit hiding his true nature from his mother. He was a grown
man and his mother would have to accept that fact. He’d been pleased when
Caelan had taken it to heart. Not only would Nisey finally get to meet Myrna,
which had been a bone of contention between her and Caelan, but it also pushed
Myrna back into the lifestyle she’d scorned for so long – and hopefully shoved
her right into his waiting arms.

 In a few very short weeks, just in time for
Christmas, Myrna’s small home was going to be over-running with the one thing
she’d shunned for the past thirty years: BDSM and her own buried need to
submit. As he’d expected, she finally turned to him for help but sooner than
he’d anticipated. He had less than a month to reawaken Myrna’s slumbering
submissiveness. The anticipation of fulfilling his long repressed desires had
his blood simmering. He was just the man to remind her of what she’d buried
when Grant Doherty had so cruelly walked out of her life for a younger
submissive.

“Are you sure this is what you want, Myrna?” Even
though it made him rather uncomfortable, he had to give her one last chance to
escape the fate awaiting her.

An impatient sigh was her response. He knew if he’d
bothered to look at her, she was more than likely tapping her toe. A smile
tugged at his lips at the thought.

“If I didn’t think I needed your help, I wouldn’t
have asked, Alastar. I’m not a naive sub asking you to train me, nor am I
asking you to take me on as a submissive. I simply don’t want to go to the
clubs by myself. I’ve been out of the scene for a long time and the possibility
of someone mistaking my motives for being there is great.”

He finally turned to face her. He’d been right, not a
hair was out of place despite her obvious discomfort. “So let me get this
straight. You want me to take you to the clubs, protect you as you become
reacquainted with the scene, while at the same time realizing there’s no chance
in claiming you?”

She nodded while relief filled her face with a
becoming pink tint. “You have to realize, Alastar, there’s no other I trust as
much as you. I doubt I’ll ever want another Dom to claim me. Besides, I know
you’d never allow anyone to hurt me or become overly aggressive while I try to
adjust to being around the lifestyle after being gone for so long.”

He tapped his fingers against his thigh while he
tried to deal with the naivety of the woman in front of him. “Either you’re in
serious denial,
m’gnogag
, or you credit me with more self-control than I
deserve.” For the first time in several years, he allowed his hunger for her to
become apparent. Her cheeks grew more flushed as she realized his undampened
ardor.

“Amery?” Her voice caught in her throat.

The fact she was using his first name he attributed
to the fact she was uncertain of how to respond, plus that he’d surprised her
with his blatant hunger. A fizzle of satisfaction coursed through him.
Good,
I want her to realize while we’re still friends, I want so much more for and
from her.

“Why are you so surprised, Myrna? I haven’t been
subtle about the fact I find you attractive. Nor have I hidden the fact I want
the submissive woman I know is still alive under all those barriers you’ve
tried to place between her and me. It’s been almost thirty-three years since
the stupid arse Doherty bruised your submissive heart.”

 He gave a soft, cynical laugh when a whimper escaped
her as she instinctively took a step back. “Again, why am I not surprised?
Because any time I mention the possibility of a Master-slave relationship
between us, you run away just like a timid little
luch
.” His words had
her back stiffening. She hated when he lovingly referred to her as a timid
mouse. He knew he’d basically called her out in a way he had never done before.
Waiting for the coming explosion, he crossed his arms over his chest. He fully
expected her to rail at him about how she was a victim. When she stayed silent,
he realized he was going to have to push just a bit harder.

 “Quite frankly, I’m tired of it. I’m not getting any
younger, Myrna. I’m ready to enjoy my retirement and I want to enjoy it with
you. But I’m not in the market for a submissive who can’t accept her very
nature, but instead hides behind her grown son.” He kept his satisfied smile
hidden when her hand on the door handle tightened until the knuckles turned
white.
Almost there…just a bit more and she’ll come out from behind the wall
she’s built to blast me good and proper.

A frown crossed her face before she met his gaze with
her own. For a moment he thought he glimpsed the sheen of tears in her eyes,
but when she propped her hands on her full hips, he thought he must’ve been
mistaken. Her vivid periwinkle blue eyes were snapping with barely leashed fury
while her plump raspberry-hued lips pressed into a firm no-nonsense line.

“You arrogant, dominating bastard! I ask for a simple
favor as your friend, but no – you’ve always got to have everything your way
despite who’ll end up hurt!”

Her hissed response had him stepping towards her. He
watched with narrowed eyes as she held her ground.
Good, she’s not scared of
me. That’s a start.
It had broken his heart when in the past she’d flinched
every time he’d gotten near. He stopped mere inches from her, close enough to
inhale the familiar scent of butterscotch she’d been sucking on.

“I’ll never hurt you, Myrna, but I’ll always be the
dominant in our relationship.” His hand lifted to cup a cheek. “I won’t
apologize for it either. I want you. I’ve made no bones about that, but I can’t
do what you ask. The temptation is too great. If we do this, it’ll be with the
purpose of pursuing a true Dom/sub relationship between us; not because you
want to use the occasion as a convenient shield to see if you can handle the
reality of our lifestyle.”