Submit and Surrender

chapter 10


Ford barely tasted his food. He was thinking about what Adra tasted like. He couldn’t believe he hadn’t taken the opportunity to try her again.

He’d fix that later.

She sat across from him at this weird dinner that Roman had set up, her brown eyes big and soft, barely able to conceal what she was thinking about. She kept looking at him. It was hard not to just pick her up and take her to the nearest room.

Christ, it was like he’d been starving all this time and now he could have whatever he wanted, whenever he wanted. It was tough not to be a barbarian about it.

Hell, maybe he would be a barbarian about it.

She was still looking at him. Her lips were parted. He knew her well enough to know she was about to lick them, and he knew his cock would jump when she did.

And he was interrupted.

“I hear you let a photographer get on the grounds,” Derrick said pointedly.

Ford turned his head. While Adra had spent most of the meal locking eyes with Ford, Ford had noticed that Derrick had spent most of his time watching Adra. Something that also did not escape the notice of his girlfriend, Ellen.

“A photographer made it onto the grounds, yes,” Ford said. “Whoever leaked the location of the shoot made that inevitable.”

“You know what? We were promised security, and this is bullshit. You can’t understand what it’s like. I can’t go anywhere without getting mobbed,” Derrick said.

He seemed kind of satisfied with that fact. Like he was complaining in order to brag. Out of the corner of his eye, Ford saw Olivia roll her eyes.

“The studio is responsible for security,” Ford said. “They’re actually in breach of contract right now, though they are working on it. But if you’re feeling frightened, Derrick, I can accompany you on set.”

Derrick's face reddened.

“I don’t need you as a bodyguard,” he said.

“Glad to hear it,” Ford said.

Adra smiled at that. Derrick saw. And Derrick got even angrier.

Derrick Duvall was the worst kind of Dom, because he wasn’t really a Dom at all. He was all about ego. That alone wasn’t necessarily a problem; domination was often about ego. But with Derrick it came from a place of insecurity, of needing validation, and that made him f*cking dangerous.

Ford hated the idea that a man like that had ever come anywhere near Adra.

And Derrick seemed to know it.

“Adra, how’s Charlie doing?” Derrick said, looking at Ford for a reaction.

Subtle.

Still, Ford wracked his brain to remember everything he knew about Charlie. He was Adra’s brother. But still not someone she had talked about enough that Ford felt the need to check in on his well-being.

Worse, Adra seemed distracted by the question. Upset, even. She was looking down at her plate, denying Ford those brown eyes.

What the hell did Derrick Duvall know about Adra’s brother?

“He’s fine,” Adra said, staring at her food. “Doing well. Everyone’s doing well.”

So not fine, actually. Ford wanted to curse. There had been something wrong with her family for long enough for this jackass in a Dom costume to know about it, and Ford had not only been largely ignorant of it all, he hadn’t done anything to help.

That was another thing he was going to fix.

It looked like Derrick was going to launch another attack when his long suffering girlfriend stepped in, demanding, in that friendly, dinner party kind of way, that Olivia and Derrick walk her through the drama of the day’s shoot. The relief emanating from Adra was palpable. She’d been stuck interacting with the movie people while Roman and Lola, on the other side of the table, had been in their own little world.

But now she was staring at Ford again.

And for the life of him, Ford could not look away. Why would he want to? Every second he took in her beautiful face, he thought of another thing he wanted to do to her. Wondered what that pale skin would look like properly bound, wondered how red her ass could get, wondered how many times he could make her come when he took his time. Wondered how big he could make those brown eyes.

She licked her lips, and Ford gripped the side of the table.

“Ford,” Roman said.

“What?” Ford asked. He was actually annoyed to have to look anywhere else but at Adra’s face.

“I asked if this Olivia woman knows yet,” Roman said, his voice lowered.

“That she’s a sub?” Ford said. “I don’t know, I didn’t spend the day with her.”

“She doesn’t, but she’s finding out,” Lola said with a broad smile. “I always love watching that process. It’s like my favorite thing.”

Adra smiled at Ford, her eyes shining, and he thought, Yeah, that’s a pretty fun activity.

Too late, Ford realized that Lola was watching them. That woman had an eagle eye, and he and Adra hadn’t discussed whether their new arrangement should be public.

Damn.

“So what’s up with you guys?” Lola asked, leaning her head on her hand. Looking devious.

“Working together is going well, I trust?” Roman added.

Adra started to blush.

“We’ve worked out a pretty good system,” Ford said.

“No news?”

“None,” Adra said quickly. “I mean, just that everything is good. The movie is challenging and everything, but Ford is really good at taking charge, so…everything is good. It’s good.”

“So it looks like everything is good,” Lola said with a smile.

“Great, even,” said Ford.

“Definitely great,” Adra said.

Her voice had dropped to this throaty, velvety pitch. Ford’s cock was ready to punch through steel. The tension between them was unbearable.

He’d show her great.

“Glad it’s working out,” Roman said, pouring himself—and Ford—another glass of wine. “Because Claudia and Jesse have applied for membership.”

“Roman!” Lola said.

“It has to come up some time,” Roman said, shrugging. “And it’s not like Ford objects.”

“Of course not,” Ford said. There wasn’t a bone left in his body that cared about what Claudia and Jesse chose to do. They were like strangers to him now. In fact, they’d proven themselves to be strangers to him.


Adra, on the other hand, seemed to care.

“Who?” she said.

Then it dawned on her.

“Oh, your ex-wife,” she said softly.

“I’m fine with it,” Ford said gently.

“They asked if we had a nursery at the club,” Roman said darkly. “A nursery.”

For the first time in years, Ford felt a pang of loss. A stabbing, icy pain piercing his chest, reminding him of what it had felt like when Claudia first told him the truth. He had not counted on the kid being around. He had not counted on having to face that particular loss all over again. Already he could feel that hardened cynicism begin to takeover, to calcify over his heart, to…

F*ck.

He didn’t want to be that guy. He wanted to be able to trust people. He wanted to believe that people were worthy of trust.

“Well, if I can’t get a nursery in this place, Ford’s cheating ex-wife and former best friend aren’t getting a goddamn nursery for their kid,” Lola said, stabbing at the last piece of her chicken.

For a second, Lola seemed just genuinely annoyed at the idea of Claudia’s presumption. Then she realized what she’d said.

“Oh God, I’m so sorry,” she said.

But Ford wasn’t looking at her. He was looking at Adra. Adra, who’s face had fallen, who’d looked more hurt than he had at that particular revelation. Adra, whose heart was just too big to fit into the world on most days of the week.

“Ford, I have no idea what I was thinking,” Lola was saying. “Hormones make me a crazy person half the time. I am so, so sorry.”

Roman was smiling, knowing Ford didn’t give a crap. “You can’t blame everything on pregnancy, sweetheart.”

“Yes I can. Shut up,” Lola whispered.

“It’s ancient history,” Ford said. “Don’t worry about it, Lola.” Then he looked directly at Adra, who still looked like she might be about to cry sympathy tears. “I don’t talk much about it because it’s not relevant to my life anymore. That’s all. That’s why I’m not blackballing their membership. It’s just not important.”

Slowly, Adra smiled at him, a soft smile. Gentle. Then she turned to look at Roman, her face just as sweet as ever, and said in a voice like steel, “Can I blackball them if Ford is too good to do it?”

Ford stared at her.

Then he burst out laughing. He wasn’t used to a woman getting protective over him, but he had to admit, it had its perks.

He’d show her those perks soon.

Sooner, rather than later.

Actually, as soon as possible.

“Well, no one is getting a nursery,” Roman said. “The licensing issues alone are ridiculous.” He looked at his wife. “I’ll buy one down the street.”

“See, Adra?” Lola said. “You can—”

“Sorry,” Adra said, getting up quickly, her eyes locked on Ford’s. “I’m just… I’ll be back.”

They all fell silent while Adra walked away, Roman and Lola clearly having no idea what was going on. Ford wasn’t sure he knew what was going on either, other than that Adra was upset.

Whatever it was, he would find out.

“Excuse me,” he said, getting up to follow Adra. He ignored the quizzical looks of Roman and Lola; he wasn’t interested, and he certainly wasn’t interested in helping them play nice with the movie people. Besides, they could handle themselves just fine.

It was Adra he was worried about.

He found her in the hallway off the main corridor leading from the Volare dining room to the main room. She was leaning against the wall, her back arched a bit, her hands clasped behind her, her head tilted back. Jesus. She looked almost like she had when he’d bound her wrists with his belt. Was that unconscious?

It was f*cking beautiful.

Down, boy.

She was upset. He could tell from her expression; she looked almost pained. Her eyes were closed. She thought she was alone.

“Adra,” he said.

She didn’t seem surprised. Just smiled, laughed softly. “Hi, Ford,” she said.

“What’s going on?” he asked, joining her in her wall leaning. It reminded him of high school, leaning against rows of lockers, talking to a girl. He smiled.

“Nothin’,” she said, smirking up at him. “What’s going on with you?”

“Adra,” he said, laughing. “Come on.”

She bit her lip and looked down at her feet.

“I’m not sure,” she said. “I’m just… God, that was so overwhelming.”

“Dinner?”

“Dinner with you,” she said. “And the rest of them. I mean, we’re keeping it secret right? Not that I’m ashamed or anything. Oh God, I didn’t mean…shit.”

Ford tried not to smile too hard.

“It might be better if we kept it to ourselves until we were more sure of its shape,” he said carefully. “If that’s important to you, I have no problem with it.”

“I didn’t mean…”

“I know you didn’t, Adra,” he said, pushing off the wall and turning to face her. He planted his hands on either side of her body and looked her over. The charge between them was immediate.

“I’m just… I mean, I keep learning all these things, and my family, and…oh God, you don’t even really know about Charlie, or my Dad,” she said, her eyes getting bigger, the words tumbling out in a rush. “And I don’t know anything about your ex-wife! I have no idea what’s going through your head, except that I think I do, and that makes no sense at all. And isn’t that already more complicated than this is supposed to be? Like, by hour three? I mean, are we doing this wrong? And the whole time, the whole time, all I can think about, all I can even…breathe…is—”

Adra stopped talking when Ford kissed her.

He took her mouth in his again, the way he had back in his office, the way he’d been wanting to all damn night. He kissed her until her body started to go slack and then pressed into his, until her hands came out and around his neck, on his chest, his back. Until he was sure she’d forgotten she was freaking out.

“You’re thinking too much,” he said as he pulled away. She reached for him, and he pushed her back against the wall, just hard enough to make her squirm.

She was breathing hard.

“I’ll tell you whatever it is you need to know,” he said, and realized, as he said it, that it was completely true. He wouldn’t hide anything from her. There wasn’t anything worth protecting more than her.

He held her face in his hand.

“No secrets,” he said.

He slipped his hand down her neck.

“No games,” he said.

His slid his hand over her breast and savored the noise she made.

“No pressure,” he said.

His hand crossed her abdomen, leaving fluttering waves of contractions in its wake.

“And I can tell you right now,” he said, slipping his hand beneath her second skirt of the day, between her legs, and under the fabric of her underwear where he could feel her wetness. “We’re not doing this wrong.”

She moaned.

Ford watched her face, watched the change in her. She’d gone from overwhelmed and vaguely panicked to the kind of calm that only a submissive seemed to achieve, and he knew that he’d been right: she needed order imposed on the chaos. So did he. This was something he could do for her.

He removed his hand, and licked her juices from his fingers. Then he leaned forward, and whispered into her ear.

“Right now you’re going to go home,” he said. “Immediately. You’re not saying goodbye, you’re not bothering with anyone else. You’re getting away. You’re going to run yourself a bath, and you are going to soak until you start to relax. And then you are going to touch yourself. And you’re not going to come until I call and tell you to. Understood?”

Adra let out a long, soft sigh, her hands digging into his shoulders.

“Yes, sir,” she said. She looked relieved. Happy.

She looked perfect.

“Don’t forget your phone,” he told her.