Make Me Stay (2 page)

He took the paper from her and nodded. “Nice neighborhood. It’s not far from my house.”

She gently kissed his cheek. “See you then.”

She walked out of his office, closed the door, and then leaned against it for a moment trying to compose herself. She allowed a huge smile to spread across her face.

Step one complete.

Chapter 2

Fuck!

Cade collapsed into his chair and dropped his head onto the desk. What the hell just happened? Thirty minutes ago he was minding his business, signing papers and getting ready to call it a night. He ran his fingers through his hair and tried to calm his mind.

He let her go. He told her to leave. He wasn’t right for her. They’d hooked up when she was eighteen. He was five years older and had already graduated from college when they got together. She’d had a fucked up childhood. Her father abandoned them when she was three and her mother took off with some guy when Gracie was seventeen. Gracie was sleeping on a friend’s couch when he met her at the restaurant where she was waitressing to put herself through community college.

He remembered the first time he looked into those warm amber eyes. He was done for. She was so sweet and innocent. She’d do anything he told her to. That was the problem. He was a young, cocky, immature bastard and he used her body in ways that were unforgivable.

He’d done it again. She was there all of five minutes and he was slamming into her. What was wrong with him? Why did she unleash that side of him?

“Hey, man,” his brother Marc said as he came through the door. “What are you still doing here?”

“Working.”

Cade wasn’t in the mood for his pain-in-the-ass brother. Marc had recently graduated college and their father made Cade hire him. He’d only been there four months and he’d already been switched to three different departments. Cade had seriously considered transferring him to a small firm he’d started in Chicago, but he was afraid Marc would screw that up too. At least here Cade could keep an eye on him.

“You look like shit. Your hair is a mess and your shirt’s wrinkled.” He glanced at the couch and Cade noticed the cushions were all disheveled. “Ah, fuck, did you have sex in here?”

“Shut up,” Cade said.

“You did. Was it that hot intern? She’s kinda young for you, but man is she sexy.”

“No, I didn’t have sex with an intern. Are you out of your mind?” His brother was an idiot.

“Well, then who?” Marc sat down on the couch. “I’m not leaving until you tell me, so speak up.”

“Gracie Miller.” He winced because he knew how absurd that sounded.

“Your Gracie? The one you hired a PI to find?”

He nodded.

“The same girl you threw out of your house in the middle of the night and then you made yourself sick when she did what you asked and left?”

“Yeah, that Gracie Miller.” Cade still couldn’t believe she’d shown up here. If he wasn’t rocked by that fuck-awesome orgasm he would have thought it was a dream.

“Dude, that’s fucked up.”

“Tell me about it.”

“Where was she all this time?”

“I’m taking her to dinner tomorrow night. She’s going to fill me in then.” Cade intended on making her explain everything. There hadn’t been a day that he hadn’t wondered what became of her. His brother was right. Cade had been literally sick over her disappearance.

“So, she came here and had sex with you? Just like that?”

“I don’t want to talk about it.” Cade shut down his computer. He wanted to go home, take a hot shower, and forget about what had happened in his office. Tomorrow they could start over.

“You never want to talk about Gracie.” Marc waved his hand in the air. “You never told us why you made her leave. Then you went crazy when she did.”

“We were having problems. Things weren’t working out between us, but I never thought she’d up and leave town in the middle of the night.” Cade’s chest tightened when he remembered the night he realized she was gone for good. She’d left her cellphone in the kitchen and the car he’d bought her in the driveway. He hired a private investigator because he was afraid something had happened to her. He had been worried sick, but after a year the guy said apparently she didn’t want to be found and advised Cade to forget about her. He may have stopped the investigation, but he never forgot about her.

“What are you going to do?”

“Nothing.” Cade ran his fingers through his hair. “I’ll take her to dinner, make sure she’s okay, and then we’ll go about our business.”

“She’s not a client,” Marc said. “She’s a woman you regretted ditching from the second she left. She’s back and you’re gonna screw it up.”

“Mind your business.” He didn’t want to talk about Gracie. “You don’t know anything about what the two of us were to one another. We didn’t work then and we won’t work now.”

“You’ve been miserable since the day she walked out of your life. You want to know what I do know?” Marc stood and pointed his finger at his brother.

Cade rolled his eyes. “I’m sure you’re going to tell me.”

“I lost my brother the day you lost her. You were never the same after that. Whatever happened between the two of you is in the past. She wouldn’t be here if she didn’t think so too.” Marc headed for the door. “Do the right thing,” he said as he walked out.

“I plan to,” Cade mumbled.

* * * *

Cade pulled into the driveway of the house Gracie was renting. The cottage was larger than he’d pictured, nestled in the woods on property backed up to a lake. It was in a pretty exclusive part of town. He wondered how she’d pulled that off.

He walked up the stone path to the front door and knocked. Gracie came to the door in a pretty, little pale yellow sundress. Her long brown hair flowed down her back and her golden eyes lit up when she saw him.

“Hey.” She smiled. “You’re early.” She opened the door and motioned for him to come inside.

“Just by a few minutes.” He looked around the warm, inviting cottage. “This is a really nice place. The wedding consultant business pays well, I guess?”

She laughed but didn’t reply.

“Are you ready?” he asked.

“I just want to grab my sweater.”

She headed for the closet, but he reached for her hand and pulled her toward him. He stroked her cheek. “You look beautiful.” He gently kissed her lips, the way he should’ve yesterday, instead of attacking her like an animal.

“I’m glad I came back.” She looked down at her feet. “But there are things you need to know before we can move forward.”

“Gracie, I don’t know if we can move forward.” He’d tossed and turned all night thinking about her. He had to stop himself three times from getting in his car and heading to her house.

“Don’t say that.” She pressed her fingers to his lips. “Let’s talk first.”

“Okay. Get your sweater so we can go.”

Ten minutes later they were seated at a quaint restaurant in the center of town. Cade had requested a quiet table in the back so they wouldn’t be interrupted. He was confused enough and didn’t need any distractions. Being a well-known businessman, he was always running into people who wanted to have a drink with him. Gracie’s return would probably be the talk of the town in a matter of days.

Once they ordered dinner and the waitress poured their wine he’d had enough small talk. He wanted answers.

“Why did you come back?”

“I told you.” Gracie sipped her wine. “I took a job here.”

“Do you think I’m stupid?”

“Of course not.” She lowered her head.

“Don’t do that.”

“Do what?”

“Just look at me.” He was puzzled over her return and her elusiveness frustrated him.

She quickly raised her gaze, meeting his eyes.

“You walked away from this town without a trace. I don’t believe you would come back after all this time to consult. Something isn’t right.”

“You told me to leave.”

“Me!” He tapped his chest. “I told you to leave me. I never expected you to disappear. I thought I’d know where you were and what you were doing.” Even though he told her to go, he’d always intended to take care of her.

“Without you, there wasn’t anything here for me. You were everything. I had no family. I lived in your house. Where did you expect me to go?”

“We could have figured it out together. I would have made sure you were taken care of.” She’d always been his responsibility and when she left he panicked she’d end up on the street.

“I needed to go. I had to figure out who I was. That’s what you wanted.”

“I wanted you to be happy.”

“I am.” She smiled. “I told you, I met someone who helped me.”

“Then why aren’t you with him?” He didn’t like to think about her with another man. It infuriated him to know someone else touched what was his, even if he did let her go. “Are you running from him? Is that why you’re back here? Do you need my help?”

She laughed. “I could never run from Martin.”

He hated knowing
his
name. “So, Martin was your boyfriend?”

“Not really.” She took another sip of her wine.

Her mysterious behavior pissed him off. She’d better start talking and fast.

“Your husband?” He felt his blood boil. Could she have gotten married?

“Cade,” she said as she reached for his hand. “I don’t want you to freak, but Martin was my Dom. I was his submissive.”

Chapter 3

Gracie felt relieved to get that out into the open. Cade needed to know what she’d been doing for the past two years. He wasn’t going to like it, but she needed to tell him.

“What?” The muscles in his jaw tensed and he tightened his hold on her hand. “What do you mean you were his submissive?”

“We met at a BDSM club in New Your City. My friend Roxy introduced me to him.”

“What the hell were you doing in a place like that? Oh God.” He let go of her hand and pounded the table. “This is my fault. I never should have told you to leave.”

“I needed to leave.”

“Did that son of a bitch hurt you? Did he torture you?”

“No.” Gracie stated firmly. “He was kind and gentle and knew how to push my limits and bring me more pleasure than I ever could have imagined possible.”

She saw the disgust on his face, but he needed to hear what she’d learned. What she’d done for him.

“He brainwashed you. But don’t worry. I’m never going to let him hurt you again.” He pulled out his phone. “What’s his full name and where does he live? I’m going to kill him.”

“I wasn’t forced into being with him. As a matter of fact, I lived with him for two months before we acted out our first scene. He wanted me to be comfortable. We never did anything I didn’t want to.”

“Gracie,” he said. “You need to explain to me how you ended up submitting to another man.”

“I’m trying.”

“Try harder.” He motioned for the waitress. “I need something stronger from the bar. Please bring me a Jack and then don’t disturb us again until I ask for you.”

“Of course, Mr. Jameson. I’ll tell the chef to hold your dinner until you’re ready.”

“Thank you,” he said.

Gracie felt her nipples harden against the thin material of her sundress. She loved when Cade slipped into his dominant role. He was a natural.

“Do you know how sexy you are right now?” She licked her lips.

“Don’t speak until I tell you to.”

The waitress placed his drink in front of him and then quickly walked out of sight. Cade kicked back his drink, slamming the glass down on the table when he was finished. He swallowed hard, never taking his eyes away from hers. “I told you to leave me because I was afraid I was too hard on you sexually. You were young and impressionable. I molded you into what I wanted you to be.”

“I was always submissive. I just didn’t understand what it meant.”

“Did I tell you to speak?”

She shook her head and let him take control. She knew he needed it just as much as she needed to submit. That was why they were perfect for one another.

“I let you go because I didn’t think I was good enough for you. But tell me if I understand correctly…you walked away from me and sought out the first freak you could find?”

“Are you going to let me explain?” She knew he wouldn’t react well, but she hoped he’d hear her out. “I was devastated when you said it was over. You were my entire world, and it hurt to know you were letting me go because you didn’t think you were good enough for me. You assumed I let you treat me the way you did in the bedroom because I didn’t know any better. Did it ever occur to you that I liked it? I craved your dominance?”

“What?”

“It broke my heart when you started to pull away and wouldn’t touch me anymore. I couldn’t understand what I’d done to deserve your rejection. I tried to be everything you needed in a woman, but you didn’t want me.”

“I never stopped wanting you.”

“We didn’t have sex for a month, and then you said it was over. I didn’t think I was submissive enough for you.”

“So you went and found a Dom?”

“I was depressed and lonely. Roxy had been hanging out with people in the lifestyle and she took me to a party. People were acting out scenes and it intrigued me. I wanted to try it. I wanted to learn to be submissive for you. I didn’t think I’d end up being collared by the most sought after Dom in the club.”

“How did that happen?”

“Martin owned the club and made sure no one got out of hand or hurt. He helped girls like me by hooking them up with compatible Doms. Taking on new submissives wasn’t his thing. He only played with experienced subs. But there was something about me he wanted. He asked me right up-front what I was doing there, and I told him what had happened between the two of us. I told him I wanted to be the submissive you needed. He said he would teach me.”

“I don’t believe you put yourself through this for me.” His expression transformed from rage to hurt. “Why didn’t you call me and let me come get you?”

“Because we never would’ve made it. I needed to be with Martin. Not only was he my Dom, but he helped me in ways I didn’t even know I needed help in. He got me therapy for the things that happened in my childhood.”