Siren in Bloom Read online

  That was one amazing-looking bag. Her own paled in comparison. And the laptop bag at the woman’s side was a work of art, too.

  “Well, I can see I have nothing on a pretty purse.” There was a wealth of masculine deprecation in the words.

  She looked up into laughing gray eyes. Damn. She’d been terribly rude. “Sorry. It’s a stunning bag.”

  “Thanks,” the woman beside her said, patting the $2500 bag. Shelley had checked the price tag and remembered that she didn’t have her husband’s blood money to rely on anymore. Not that he’d shared it. She’d been forced to work in a bar just to pay her mother’s medical bills.

  “I saw it just a couple of days ago. I couldn’t help but admire it,” Shelley said, trying not to think about a life that hadn’t been real in the first place.

  The cool blonde nodded and held the bag to her chest. “Normally I wouldn’t carry it on the train. My ride got stuck at the firm, and I had a long day in court. I wasn’t willing to wait, but now I’m wondering. I feel like I need an armed escort.”

  The handsome man in front of them saluted with a little flair. “I’ll be happy to apply for the job, ma’am. Steve Holder. Non-active duty Navy SEAL.”

  The woman next to Shelley blushed and muttered something about feeling so much safer.

  “Hi. I’m Shelley McNamara. I seem to be surrounded by ex-SEALs these days,” Shelley said, shaking her head as a young man in a hoodie took the seat across from Designer Bag Lady. He kept his head down, bobbing to music only he could hear.

  Holder laughed a bit. He had a jagged scar that ran down his cheek, but his smile seemed genuine. Shelley could definitely buy that he was ex-military. He looked like he’d kept up the workout regime. His shoulders were massive, his neck corded with muscle. “There’s no such thing as an ex-SEAL, ma’am. A SEAL’s a SEAL. We old guys just don’t get to play anymore. But it’s funny you should say that. I can’t seem to find any. I was in town talking to some clients and tried to look up an old teammate of mine. He works at a club now as a therapist.”

  Seriously? No. She sighed and asked the question anyway. “Leo Meyer?”

  Holder pointed at her, his eyes widening in surprise. “Yeah. Wow. You know Leo?”

  Leo seemed to be everywhere today. “We work for the same man.”

  “Julian Lodge.” Holder nodded his head. “Yeah, I read up on him when I found out Leo was working for him. He’s an interesting man. He’s got quite the reputation, though I wonder how much is hype and how much is true.”

  Designer Bag Lady looked up, her perfectly painted mouth dropping open. “You work for Julian Lodge? The infamous Julian Lodge? Tell me something—is that man as hot in person as he is in pictures?”

  Shelley smiled and nodded. Her boss was a lovely man. “I’m redecorating his building. Yes, he’s gorgeous, but he’s also happily married.” And to more than one person. She didn’t say that out loud. Julian jealously guarded his privacy. “And his wife is pregnant.”

  That was one he hadn’t been able to hide. Pictures of Dani had made the society pages just the week before.

  “Damn it. All the hot ones are taken.” She grinned. “It doesn’t hurt that he’s also a billionaire.”

  Her cell phone rang, and she picked it up, leaving Shelley alone, talking to Holder.

  “So how is Leo doing?” Holder asked, his big, callused hands on his knees. He leaned forward, curiosity on his face.

  How was Leo? He was gorgeous and remote and impossible to forget. “He’s fine. He’s made a good life for himself. He was my brother’s therapist. I can safely say the man is a miracle worker.”

  She didn’t mention that the club he worked at was an infamously private BDSM club. She glanced out the window as the train stopped again. Two stops left, and then she would get out and walk the block and a half to her place and try to convince herself she wasn’t making a horrible mistake. She didn’t have long until Wolf would knock on her door.

  Why hadn’t he let her come back on her own?

  Holder continued on. “I can believe it. He was the go-to guy when you needed a good talk. He would listen to everyone. Man, I remember Leo. He was always a flirt. He was a great guy, but he was all about the chase, you know what I mean? I was surprised when I found out he got married.”

  Her heart nearly stopped. She turned back to Holder, praying she wasn’t flushing. Leo had been married? He’d never once mentioned he’d been married. And she’d never noticed him flirting with other women. He’d always been so focused on her when he’d been around her. “I never thought of him as a flirt.”

  Holder snorted a little. “God, he was the biggest flirt on the team. We called him Casanova. And he preferred his women to be unavailable. I don’t think he ever actually cheated with any of them, but he liked to play around when there wasn’t any possibility of commitment.”

  She felt her whole body go hot with embarrassment. She was torturing herself over a man who hadn’t bothered to mention that he was divorced. She’d told him almost everything. She’d spent hours on the phone with him. Ostensibly they had been talking about Trev and how to handle him and how to deal with his drug and alcohol problems, but she’d found herself telling the handsome counselor everything about her life.

  And he hadn’t really talked about his life. Maybe because she wasn’t really important.

  “And he was great at riding in and saving women,” Holder continued. “He was a white knight, if you know what I mean. I remember this town we were liberating from the Taliban. There were bombs going off everywhere. We were taking crazy fire and Leo’s running through the flames of a house carrying a woman and her baby. I really admired the hell out of him.”

  She’d been in trouble, and Leo had tried to ride in. He was a Dom with deep protective instincts. She’d been everything he couldn’t resist. She’d been right. If she’d laid her problems at Leo’s feet, he likely would have gone straight to Bryce and gotten himself killed.

  She had to let him go. He’d been good to her. She couldn’t blame him for not loving her back. It wasn’t his fault, but she could damn well blame herself for not moving on. She’d been standing still for over a year. Everyone thought she’d been mourning her marriage, but it had been Leo she’d mourned.

  And it was time to move on.

  She gave Holder what she hoped was a gracious smile as the train began to slow. “This is my stop. It was nice to meet you.”

  Holder held out his hand and she shook it. He passed her his business card. “You, too, ma’am. And if you see Leo, give him my card. Let him know I’d just like to have lunch, catch up. His secretary seemed a little confused, so I’m not sure he got my message.”

  Kitten Taylor. Yeah. She was a trip. She was absolutely the subbiest woman Shelley had ever met. She made Beth look like a warrior princess. She’d probably gotten flustered at Holder’s commanding voice. “I’ll let him know.” She slipped the card into her purse. She nodded to Designer Bag Lady and stood just as the doors opened.

  And immediately was back in her seat as the young man in the hoodie shoved out, his hands slamming against her chest. There were startled gasps as the young man grabbed the beaten-up leather laptop bag at her feet and leapt off the train, shoving passengers aside. Shelley scrambled to get up, reaching for the bar at the end of the seat. He’d taken her bag. She clutched at her purse, her heart pounding, a rage starting to take over. She got to her feet and pushed her way out. Her heels hit the concrete and she looked around, searching for the little shit who had her bag, and more importantly, her laptop.

  He was rushing down the stairs, pushing aside anyone in his way. A woman got knocked down. He simply leapt over the railing and ran toward the street.

  She had to catch that little shit. Why was she wearing three-inch heels? She was going to try anyway.

  “Don’t.” A hand held her back. Holder stood behind her as the train rushed away.

  “He has my laptop.” It had all her work on it. All her designs
. All her thoughts. All the pictures she’d taken and sketches she’d made. Damn it. Her life was on that laptop.

  “He also might have a knife or a gun,” Holder said, his grasp on her arm tightening. “I’ve already called the cops. They’re on their way.”

  She could hear the sirens, but it would be too late. The thief was gone. She searched the crowd below, but he’d run toward the shopping center with its stores and restaurants and businesses. It was thick with rush-hour traffic. She couldn’t see him.

  She clenched her fists and waited for the cops.

  Chapter Five

  Wolf slammed the door to his massive black truck and looked at the little townhouse Shelley was living in. According to what he’d heard, it was much smaller than the huge, rambling near-mansion she’d shared with her husband before the feds had seized most of their assets.

  Did she miss it? The wealth? The standing in her community? He couldn’t give her either.

  He was a guest in his brother’s condo.

  And it looked like she had a guest, too.

  Her door opened, and a man stepped out. He was a large, bulky man. Even from his place in the parking lot, he could see that the man was at least former military if not still in the service. Shelley nodded at something he said and then he patted her shoulder and turned.

  Fuck all. Steve Holder. What the hell was Holder doing with his sub?

  Holder’s gaze seemed to focus, and a little smile came over his harsh face. “Wolf fucking Meyer. Small world.”

  Holder walked toward him, his hand out.

  Yeah, it was way too fucking small a world. What the hell was Holder doing here? Everyone in the military knew Steve Holder had set up a “security” company named White Acres based in Atlanta. He loved to recruit special ops guys, though it always had seemed a little shady to Wolf. He turned to Shelley and saw telltale signs that she’d been upset.

  “Sweetheart, you want to tell me what’s going on?” Wolf asked, checking his first instinct to get in Holder’s face.

  “My laptop bag got stolen,” she said, her hand on the doorsill. Her warm brown eyes were wary as she looked between the two men.

  “I was sitting across from her on the train. I saw the whole thing happen. I tried to help her out,” Holder explained.

  “You didn’t stop the thief?” Wolf asked, a little surprised. Holder might not be a SEAL anymore, but Wolf knew damn well he’d kept up his training.

  Holder laughed a little. “You obviously have never been on DART at rush hour. I couldn’t get to him. And, honestly, I’ve been behind a desk for too long.” He turned back to Shelley. “I’m sorry. I really should have been able to catch the little fuck, but my knees aren’t what they used to be.”

  Wolf seriously doubted that. And why the hell was he just hearing about this now? It had been several hours since Shelley had left The Club. He’d walked her out himself, standing on the platform with her until the train had come. He should have driven her home, but he’d had a meeting with Julian.

  Holder pulled out a card and held it out to Wolf. “Look, man, I’m sorry. I had no idea you were involved with her. If I had, I would have found a way to call you. Actually, I was trying to get in touch with Leo, but he was in session apparently, whatever that means.”

  Wolf took the card. “He’s a shrink.”

  “Yeah, I’d heard that he made it through some serious school.”

  In an amazing period of time. Leo had gotten the majority of the brains in their family. Wolf could still remember the call he’d gotten when he’d announced he was skipping college to follow his brother into the Navy.

  Why the fuck do you think I’m here, Wolf? So you don’t have to be.

  “I’ll let him know you’re here,” Wolf said, pocketing the card.

  “And I’d love to talk to you, man. How long have you been out?” Holder asked.

  Wolf didn’t have to ask out of what. “Almost a year since I got the boot.”

  Holder shrugged. “Your career doesn’t have to be over. I’m always looking for good men, and I don’t give a shit that you have a plate in your leg. I think there’s a lot of good time left in you, Wolf. Give me a call. We can talk. Shelley, nice to meet you.”

  Holder nodded and walked away.

  “Is that man what I think he is?” Shelley asked, her eyes trailing after Holder.

  “He’s a soldier of fortune, if you want to use a romantic term. I would call him a mercenary.”

  “And he wants you to be a mercenary, too. Wolf, I don’t think that’s a good idea.”

  Oh, so the little sub wanted to put her two cents in? He took a step forward, crowding her. “What happened?”

  Her eyes flared for a minute, and then she backed up. “Just what I said. I was on the train and this little punk jerk-face stole my briefcase. The idiot didn’t even have a good eye. There was a $2500 Versace bag right in front of him. My bag was worth crap. I sincerely hope he enjoys my crappy laptop and all the things he’ll find inside. He must really have needed emergency tampons and cinnamon gum. And my energy drink. I just bought that.”

  Wolf followed her inside, not giving an inch. He was satisfied that she seemed deeply aware of him finally. “Did he take your phone?”

  She backed up a bit, her legs finally meeting with her coffee table. “No. I was lucky. I had put that in my purse. I’m glad I kept them apart today. I went to lunch with Kitten earlier, and I didn’t want to haul my laptop bag around so I brought my purse today. He didn’t get my wallet, thank god. Just my computer, which good luck with that, buddy. It’s on its last leg. I bought that sucker from a pawn shop because…”

  She stopped, her face flushing.

  “Because the feds took yours?”

  She nodded. “They haven’t seen fit to get that back to me. Anything, really. I guess this isn’t my first time getting robbed.”

  “But it is your first time getting robbed with a contract in place. Would you like to explain to me why you’ve already violated our contract not three hours after we signed it?”

  “What are you talking about?” Shelley asked, her voice going low. “I didn’t do anything.”

  And that was the problem. He leaned in. She didn’t have anywhere left to go. Her chest brushed against his. “The emergency clause. In the event of an emergency, the submissive will make every attempt to get herself out of immediate danger by calling the proper authorities, but the submissive will call the Dominant the first chance she gets in order to give the Dominant every opportunity to perform his main role—to protect and shelter the submissive.”

  Her lip trembled. “I forgot.”

  “Yes, you did, thereby taking away my right to perform my main duty.”

  “To protect and shelter me?”

  He could feel the heat of her body, but he wasn’t about to give in and do what he wanted to do. They had a few things to work out. “Yes. Instead, I discover you here hours after the crime was committed. And I find you with another man.”

  She shook her head. “But he just wanted to stay with me when I talked to the cops, who, by the way, were fairly useless. And then I was still a little shaky, so he walked me home.”

  All things that should have been Wolf’s responsibility. “Thereby taking away my right to perform my main duty.”

  “Crap.” Her face fell. She looked down. “Am I in trouble?”

  Finally she understood. “Oh, yes. Unless, you’ve changed your mind and you don’t wish to be protected and sheltered. If you want me to leave, tell me to go.”

  Her eyes widened. “Wolf, that’s not fair. I’m just finding my feet with this. I want to try it.”

  He took a long step back, giving her the space she would need. “Then we begin as we mean to go. Pull down your pants and lay your hands flat on the coffee table, ass in the air.”

  “Why would I do that?” The question had an air of hushed horror to it.

  “The better to spank you, my dear.”

  She frowned. “Big,
bad Wolf, huh?”

  “That’s me, sweetheart,” he shot back. “And I’m not happy right now. I’m very much pissed off that you didn’t even think to call me.”

  “How is spanking me going to fix that?”

  “Well, first off, it will make me feel infinitely better. Second, it might serve as a reminder that the next time something bad happens, you’re supposed to call your Dom right away.”

  Her mouth pouted in the sweetest, sexiest way. “I know I should have called you. I’m sorry. I’m just not used to relying on someone.”

  She batted those big brown doe eyes. It wasn’t going to work on him. Oh, he wanted to haul her in his arms and promise everything would be okay, but that wouldn’t make his point. “It’s a count of ten right now. Would you like to go for twenty, sweetheart?”

  “Damn it, Wolf. I’ve been through a lot today.” She practically stomped her foot.

  “Twenty it is, then.”

  She pushed at him, and for a minute he thought she would shove him out of her townhouse and tell him to go hell. But she frowned and her hand went to clasp of her pants. Her eyes teared up a little. “Can I go change first?”

  Odd request. “No. Pull them down.”

  A little sniffle. “I’m not wearing anything pretty. I…I have a girdle on.”

  He checked his laugh. She was worried about that? “Do you need help getting out of it?”

  Her mouth firmed in a stubborn pout. “No. I think I can handle it.”

  Her hands went to the waistband, and she unbuttoned her slacks. They fell to her ankles but she wasn’t on display yet. A nude colored form of underwear covered her from just above her waist down to her thighs. She hooked her thumbs under what looked to be some feminine torture device. She pushed at the spandex that wrapped around her waist.

  “Stop.”

  She stopped, her eyes widening. “You don’t want to spank me anymore, do you?”