Page 110 of The Donovan Dynasty

An hour before the alarm clock rang, Lara gave up the battle and climbed out of bed.As she moved, her abdominal muscles protested the quick movement.In fact, her entire body carried reminders of the weekend.Her buttocks hurt, from his spankings as well as his single tail.Her pussy was tender.Even her ass felt a little sensitive from being reamed by his finger.

She paused for a moment, unable to decide whether a shower or a cup of coffee was the first order of business.

Shower, she eventually decided, since it would help with the soreness in her shoulder muscles.It seemed no part of her body had escaped his particular brand of torment.

And damn it, she’d enjoyed it all.

She turned the shower spray on full blast and set the heat to as high as she could tolerate.

Last night, she’d hardly slept, and she’d awakened a dozen times.She’d tossed, turned, punched the pillow, tried to shove away thoughts of Connor.Even when she’d drifted off, thoughts of him had haunted her.She’d recalled his touch, the feel of his hand blazing across her bare buttocks, the bite from the alligator clamps, the salty taste of his pre-cum spilling into her mouth, the constriction of her vaginal muscles as she’d sat in his lap and ridden him.

In the middle of the night, his words about their potential marriage had returned to haunt her.

And now, she had to face them.

Like Connor had said, if she were serious about moving BHI forward, she needed to commit to a plan of action with him.

She’d recognized that he was right.Once a course of action was set, it made sense not to deviate unless a compelling reason presented itself.

That meant signing their agreement.

So what was she willing to concede?

The whole submission thing?Living arrangements?The next few years of her life?

The weekend had shown her how difficult things might be, and not because she disliked him, but because she was starting to care about him.Watching television together, snuggling, oohing and ahhing over Indy’s antics—particularly the ones that involved his kangaroo-hide bullwhip had been fun—more fun than she’d ever had with a man.For someone so rigid, he’d laughed with her, teased her.The way he’d interacted with her mother and his family had shown her how much respect he had for other people.His reaction to Suzy-Q’s enthusiasm had been the magical ingredient that had really melted her heart.

Even now, she craved his touch.

She took a minute to consider the thoughts that had loomed so large last night.Other than her feminine fear of Connor and the power he would wield in her life, there was no reason for her to abandon her course of action.That didn’t mean the threat he posed wasn’t real.It just meant that she had to figure out how to deal with him, give him just enough for him to feel as if he had what he needed.At the same time, that meant she had to figure out how to protect her emotions.

That, she realized, would be the most difficult thing of all.

No matter what, Connor was determined not to fall in love.She understood, particularly after being around his family, understanding the dynamics, his very real obligations and the loss they’d all endured.But none of that made it easier for her.

The water ran cold before she turned it off.

Still, she had obligations, as well, to herself, to BHI, to her father, to their thousands of employees.And being with Connor for a few years would provide real, solid solutions.She could sacrifice for a while.Learn to compartmentalize the way he did.

With a new sense of determination, she dried off.

Connor’s shirt was draped across one of the rods in her closet.Instead of putting on a robe, she reached for the shirt and fastened only the middle few buttons.

Since it was still early, she waited for the coffee to brew then took her first cup out onto the patio, along with her phone.

There was a message from her mother saying she’d already contacted the board members and that they would be at the meeting.As Lara had expected, her mother had wasted no time.

But Connor hadn’t sent either an email or a text.Though it didn’t surprise her, it left her somewhat disappointed.She told herself that maybe he was waiting for her to reach out to him with a firm decision.She understood that he wasn’t a man who liked to waste time.Then again, maybe he hadn’t spent the entire night thinking about her the way she’d been consumed by him.

A small part of her wished she’d spent the night.None of these thoughts would be burrowing around in her brain.No matter what she battled, she knew he’d be there with her.And it was so damn easy to give in to the temptation of turning to him.

The sun had lightened the sky enough for her to walk around the yard, deadheading flowers and watering the potted plants.She fed the few fish that remained in the pond then grabbed her empty cup and phone and went inside to finish getting ready for the day.All the while, she expected Connor to contact her, but he didn’t.

She drove to a coffee shop for an extra-large, quadruple-shot caramel latte and a breakfast sandwich.After one sip, she knew she would have preferred one of Thompson’s excellent coffees.Funny, until now, a latte had been her daily favorite.

At nine o’clock, she grabbed the report she’d put together after Friday’s meeting with the VP of Technology and walked to the conference room for her regular Monday meeting with her father.

When he hadn’t arrived by ten after the hour, she wandered down to his office.