Page 57 of Submitting to Them

I flip over onto my back so I can look at him.His hazel eyes are fierce as he looks me over.His shirt is off, exposing his tattoos—except for where the bandage on his abs is taped.

Reaching up, I touch the edge of the bandage.“You didn’t overdo it, did you?”

“Nope,” he says.“If King wants to talk about your schedule some more, I could probably even go again.I’ve missed fucking you, princess.”

“I’ve missed it, too,” I say.“Especially both of you with me at the same time.”

“It’s settled, then,” Kingston says over the phone.“More fucking for all of us.”

“How about after Naked Dinner tonight?”I suggest.

Kingston chuckles.“Sure, little one.I’ll try to get home early for it, too.”

I can’t wait.

Ella

Every step I take causes my silky panties to slide against my spanked ass.I freaking love it—it makes me feel so sexy, so alive.

As soon as I get to Dorado Terrace, I get straight to work.My mind whirls with music.Every so often, I have to stop what I’m doing to make a note on my phone of a verse or melody.The studio Sebastian set up for me is a dream come true.It doesn’t have a full keyboard, but I can record the piano music at the university, then sing to it in the studio.I can do a little bit using the MIDI keyboard, too, although it isn’t the same.But in every other respect, the little studio is exactly what I would’ve chosen if I’d picked everything out myself.His thoughtfulness is astounding.

As I’m wiping a toddler’s grubby handprints from the wall, the elevator opens and a familiar head of curly brown hair sticks out to look down the corridor—first in the other direction, and then toward me.

“Tommy?”I say.

His blue eyes crinkle in a smile.“Ella!Happy birthday!”

Pissed as I am at him, I miss my brother.I pull him in for a hug.“That was Saturday, you butthole.”

“Sorry.”He squeezes me before stepping back.“I miss you, E.”

“How on earth did you even find me here?”I ask.

“You told me you started working here, when we visited Dad’s grave.”He shrugs and gives me a sheepish smile.“I wanted to say hi and was just hoping to run into you.”

“Well, hi,” I say.I’m cautiously optimistic about this conversation, because it’s not like him to go to such lengths to find me unless he wants something from me.

“Can you take a break?”he asks.

“No, sorry.”

“Okay, cool.I’ll be quick, then.I was wondering, do you know what Dad’s first car was?”

“Like, make and model?”I ask, scrunching my nose.

“Yeah.”

I shake my head and give the handprints on the wall another scrub, obliterating them from existence.“No idea.He might’ve mentioned having a pick-up truck at one point, but I can’t remember if that was his first car, or what.That’s a weird question.”

“Yeah, I guess.I was just thinking about him the other day.Like about before we knew him.He had a dog as a kid, didn’t he?Spike, or Bruiser, or something?”

“Frank,” I say.“He had a dog named Frank.Did you never listen to his stories?”

“Of course.”Tommy smiles.“Just forgot the dog’s name, that’s all.”

“You’re being weird.”I shove his shoulder, and he shoves me back.

The move causes my mind to flash back to the alley last Saturday.I can’t ignore it any longer, as much as I wish I could just push it into the dark corners of my memory.Tommy’s involvement with those guys caused them to come after me.And as a result of that altercation, Sebastian ended up in the hospital.