A Princess Submits [Safeword LLC 4] (Siren Publishing Sensations) Read online

  “Quit your griping,” Owen said, walking over to the door. He opened it a crack, appeasing his cousin, but knowing the cats weren’t going to leave. The young imps loved playing with the pens that Landon had scattered all over his desk. “I spoke with Suzanne last night. She’s happy with her placement. Kennedy chose two Doms for her down in Missouri who love the fact that she’s a brat.”

  “I’m happy for her. She was giving me gray hair.” Landon hit a button on his keyboard and immediately, the quiet whir of his printer attracted the attention of the banded fur balls. He picked up the papers and started to scan them. “Take a look at this and tell me what you think. Are you heading into the office today?”

  “Yes, I have a meeting with Stan regarding that payroll application he’s been developing,” Owen replied, walking back over and collecting the papers.

  Owen crossed the room and sat down on the brown leather couch, reviewing a request from Lane and Ross Ellison to create a user-friendly analysis software for their financial company with numerous detailed personal attributes. Looking over their requirements, Owen knew it was doable. He would discuss it with Stan, since he was better at designing this type of application. Hansel, the male cat, jumped up on the couch and let it be known he wanted more affection straightaway.

  “Stan or Lacy?”

  “Stan,” Owen answered, folding up the papers and running his hand down Hansel’s fur. The cat arched his back, savoring in the attention. “E-mail the request to him and copy me. I’ll speak to him about it this afternoon. We were going to have Lacy start developing the software for that new free clinic downtown, remember that pro bono gig we discussed last weekend?”

  Landon nodded, immediately taking care of the task at hand. His fingers clicked across the keyboard with a practiced hand, forwarding the e-mail. Owen watched him, knowing that he liked working from home and away from the distractions that the office usually caused him. Landon craved the peace and quiet of their home outside of the city, and Owen didn’t blame him. It actually worked out nicely since Owen needed to be in the thick of things. They got the best of both worlds and benefitted from twice the applied business sense, each in his own element. Thus far, the success they enjoyed from their dual proprietorship of what had grown to be the vanguard software development firm in the region, was directly attributable to their unusual management style.

  “You don’t have gray hair,” Owen said, knowing damn well that Landon didn’t have a gray strand on his head. “But I get what you’re saying. Suzanne wasn’t the sub for us, but you have to admit, she was fun to play with.”

  Landon looked up from his computer. Owen laughed when he gave up the pretense of being able to work. He smiled, knowing that Landon hated it when he disturbed his morning routine. He would have gone straight into the office, if it hadn’t been for the call that he’d gotten fifteen minutes ago.

  “I know that she was looking for something more stable than we could offer her. And yes,” Landon lamented, finally admitting to it, “she was fun, but not what we wanted really.”

  “Speaking of what we want,” Owen said, carefully trying to craft his words, “I had a conversation with Kennedy a little bit ago.”

  Landon shook his head and adjusted his seat so that he was facing his computer. “Really, Owen? One, we aren’t in the market for a permanent sub. Two, we have too much on our plate businesswise to give a sub the attention she deserves, even if we wanted one. Hell, that was the reason Suzy went to Kennedy in the first place.”

  Owen knew it was time to clear the air, so he laid the papers next to him on the couch and sat forward, placing his elbows on his knees. Hansel became annoyed that he wasn’t the center of attention anymore and jumped down. Owen idly fingered his cuff links, sorting out the words in his head. He needed to make sure that Landon was on the same page, especially after the call he got from Kennedy.

  “The business is practically running itself, so your second theory doesn’t hold water. The only thing we have in the works that requires our attention is the takeover of Philip Zanier’s business. And that’s pretty much a done deal once the lawyers sort out the few remaining filings. The title contracts are signed, we got what we wanted, and now it’s time to focus on merging the remaining employees with our own.”

  Landon rubbed the back of his neck and gave an audible sigh. He stood and walked around his desk to where a small stand was kept for his coffee. Gretel made the jump from his desk to the side table, but Landon brushed her down to the floor. He picked up a mug and filled it with steaming brown liquid.

  “This is why we should have those creatures vacuumed regularly!” Landon exclaimed. He grimaced as he fished out a few stray hairs that must have been floating in his mug.

  Owen made a smug face, never having cared for the stuff himself, even without the added kitty condiments. He preferred soda, along with the majority of his software developers at the office. He sat silent, not wanting to continue before Landon responded to the first part of his segue into a deeper conversation.

  “What’s your point, Owen? Our business requires a lot of our time, whether or not it runs smoothly. And that still doesn’t negate the fact that we don’t want a permanent submissive. You said so yourself that Suzy wasn’t for us.”

  “I did,” Owen said in agreement. “But I didn’t say I wasn’t ready for someone permanent. Suzy assumed that was the case, as did you. Which leads me to that night a year ago when Lisa had too much to drink and we helped her up to her apartment.”

  “Don’t.” Landon walked over to the window that faced the lake. He brought the mug up to his mouth and took a furtive drink. Owen winced at thinking of how the coffee had probably burned the inside of his mouth. “I’d had too much to drink myself. I was talking out of my ass. It was nothing.”

  “You said, and I quote, ‘Lisa is the exact woman we could settle down with, if only she lived the lifestyle.’”

  “See?” Landon turned and walked back to his desk as if his point had been made and there was no need for further discussion. “Then we have nothing to worry about. She isn’t, and never will be, involved with BDSM. Now, I’m going to spend the rest of the day vetting Zanier’s personnel files to see where we can fit our newly acquired employees within the ranks of our existing staff.”

  “You don’t think I can’t see you comparing other women to her? I sure as hell have. It’s Lisa we want, which is why we haven’t settled down. As much as we liked Suzy, she wasn’t Lisa.”

  “Think what you want. We’re in our early thirties. Who the hell says we have to settle down?”

  “Then maybe this will change your mind. Lisa went to Kennedy shortly after that night. She filled out an application and was waiting for placement when we took over Zanier’s company.”

  Landon’s coffee spilled all over his pant leg. “Son of a bitch, Owen!”

  “I just found this out, so don’t you fucking get pissed at me.” Owen finally stood and walked over to the side table where there were napkins kept alongside the carafe. He went over to the desk and threw them down, watching as the brown liquid was immediately absorbed. “There’s more. When Suzy put in her submission, I mentioned to Kennedy that although we weren’t formally putting in an application, that she keep an eye out for a submissive that might suit us. I thought maybe she could find someone with Lisa’s attributes. It never occurred to me that it would be Lisa herself.”

  “Owen—”

  “Just let me finish. Kennedy hasn’t said anything to me since then regarding my request, so as I said, I didn’t know Lisa was utilizing Safeword LLC’s services. But she called me this morning. Kennedy had a change of heart regarding Lisa’s application and told her this morning that she was retracting her submission. It didn’t go over well, although I’m not privy to their conversation. Kennedy did inform me that Lisa discovered who she’d chosen for her and left the office rather quickly.”

  “Stop,” Landon spit out, slamming his mug down. Hansel decided that he’d bette
r lap up what coffee was left on the desk before it was wiped away. “For fuck’s sake, just stop. Who gave you the right to go to Kennedy in the first place? Wait. Never mind. It doesn’t matter. But if you’re going to stand there and tell me that Kennedy was going to place Lisa with us, then there should be no problem. Lisa wouldn’t even take your calls during the takeover. Hell, she wouldn’t even look at us when we were in those meetings. It’s safe to say that she won’t have a fucking thing to do with us, regardless that the takeover was for her protection, because she’ll never know that.”

  “All I’m saying is that she’s the one we’ve coveted for a damn long time.” Owen walked back over to the couch and grabbed the papers. He knew that Landon would need time to digest this information before proceeding, but Owen had no doubt what would happen in the end. Lisa would be theirs. “We have a meeting with Kennedy at five o’clock today. We can either formally fill out an application and hope like hell Lisa has the courage to accept us as her Masters, or we decline and Kennedy gives in to her friend, finding her another placement which I’m sure is what Lisa’s hoping for. Are you willing to take the chance of losing her before we ever really have a chance to claim her?”

  * * * *

  Lisa curled up on her plush cream couch, holding on to her wine glass as if it was her salvation to this hellish day. Maybe it was, she thought, taking a sip. She could finish off the bottle and maybe magically the day’s events would disappear. The silence of her apartment was deafening, but she had no energy to get up and turn on some music. She’d changed into her favorite light blue silk pajamas upon arriving home an hour ago, but hadn’t been hungry. The bottle of wine had been calling her name anyway. She lifted the glass again as images of today ran through her mind.

  “What is this?” Lisa asked, shocked by seeing the two names written in the margin of her application. Her eyes sought out Kennedy’s. “You can’t be serious?”

  “Lisa, it’s just scribble,” Kennedy said, shaking her head. “That was six months ago. Things have changed, and as I said, I should never have allowed this in the first place. It’s a conflict of interest.”

  “Owen and Landon? They’re looking for a permanent sub?”

  “That’s not your concern. Lisa, take the time I’m suggesting. Research the lifestyle in another fashion. The two clubs I mentioned are reputable and will keep your membership information confidential.”

  “You’re never wrong in your placements,” Lisa whispered, looking back down at the black ink on the pristine white paper.

  “You’re wrong,” Kennedy replied, her voice having turned to stone. Lisa glanced up to find that her friend had stood and was walking around the desk. Her face showed no emotion, and her blue eyes seemed to have turned to steel. She held out her hand for the file. “No one is perfect, especially me.”

  Lisa gradually closed the manila folder and turned it over to Kennedy. Her words and manner signified the past she had yet to share, but Lisa knew now wasn’t the time to push her. She never should have opened that file.

  “I need to go,” Lisa said, standing up and walking over to the couch where she had left her Hermes clutch. She couldn’t sort out her emotions at the moment, and anything she said would only make Kennedy angry. Shock was still radiating through Lisa at seeing whom she’d chosen. She walked toward the door and with her hand on the handle, turned back to her friend. “I’m begging you, don’t pull my application. There’s got to be another set of Doms that you could place me with.”

  Lisa twirled the stem of the wineglass, watching as the burgundy liquid tried to catch up with the movement. Life seemed to be like that as well. It never stopped moving, never gave her a chance to breathe, and left stains that would never come out. Lisa knew that people looked at her like she had the perfect existence. She was wealthy, on the cover of the society pages practically every Saturday, able to head the charity foundations she supported, and never aired her dirty laundry. To the public, her life and appearance were impeccable. If only they knew the truth.

  Submitting an application to Safeword LLC had been the most outrageous thing she’d ever done in her life. Hearing Kennedy talk of such successful placements and how nothing made her days better than knowing she’d helped in establishing a connection between three people made Lisa see how lonely her life really was. Attending social functions every weekend did not constitute having a life. It was a shallow existence.

  An image of what was written in her file flashed through her thoughts. Why them? Why did Kennedy seem to think she would be the right submissive for Owen and Landon? What they did to her father was vicious and appalling, yet she couldn’t deny that her body had responded in an inappropriate way upon seeing their names. Her clit tingled at imagining Owen’s fingers brushing up against her damp curls. Thinking of Landon suckling on her nipples caused her breasts to swell. How could her body betray her, knowing what they’d done?

  Brrring.

  Lisa reached over the back of the couch, where her phone lay on the sofa table. She picked it up and looked at the screen. Closing her eyes, she took a moment to try and eradicate the sensations running through her. She took a deep breath before connecting the call.

  “Hi, Dad.”

  “Lisa, I’m going to need you to meet me at the weekend house tomorrow. I’ve been poring over my financials and I may need your help.” Philip Zanier’s voice boomed through the tiny microphone in her phone. The vibrations pulsated against her ear. “Does ten o’clock sound good to you?”

  “Dad, tomorrow is Friday. I have the charity gathering in the evening regarding the new pediatric wing. I’ll be busy all day, but I’m sure I can swing by on Saturday.”

  “I want to avoid bankruptcy, if I can. Your mother would be rolling over in her grave right now at what’s being done to our last name.”

  Lisa cringed and sat up, carefully placing her wine on the coffee table. She hated when he mentioned her mother in such a way. “Dad, I thought you said your CPA believed you didn’t have a choice in regards to bankruptcy? Remember, Mom placed restrictions on my funds. There’s only so much I can take out for various reasons.”

  “I’ve had Harvey check into that. There may be a way around them, but you’ll need to bring any and all papers with you associated with the trust. Your mother’s lawyer won’t issue me a copy of the paperwork without your consent. I’m sure you have your own facsimile.”

  “I’ll call Stewart first thing in the morning. If there’s a way for me to help you, you know that I will.”

  “Ah, baby girl. I knew I could count on you.” Lisa heard some muffling in the background, and wondered whom he was speaking to. She didn’t have long to wait. “Millie gives her best.”

  Lisa smiled, picturing the older woman bustling around her father and making sure he had his nightly brandy. When her mother had passed away during childbirth, Millie had been the one to care for Lisa while her father built his empire. He’d done a damn good job of it until Owen and Landon had ripped it out from under him. Her smile dissipated.

  “I will. You’ll see her on Saturday,” her father said, responding to something Millie said. He then lowered his voice. “I would hate to lose Millie, Lisa. We need to do what we can to make sure she stays a part of our family.”

  Lisa felt a sharp pain in her chest at the thought of Millie not being around their weekend home. Well, it was technically her father’s, since Lisa only made it out there maybe one weekend every other month. But it would still cause everyone heartbreak to have to let Millie go and Lisa would do whatever it took to make sure that didn’t happen.

  Lisa wasn’t clueless when it came to her father. She knew that her father loved money. Her mother had known that as well and gone out of her way to protect those in her family. It wasn’t that he was a bad man, but his weakness tended to lead him.

  “Dad, we’ll figure something out. Don’t worry.”

  “Have fun at your charity function, and I’ll see you Saturday. And try to keep the press focus
ed on the purpose of the event and not our personal lives.”

  “I know, Dad,” Lisa said, trying to assure him of something she knew she had no control over. “Good night.”

  Lisa laid down the phone next to her glass on the coffee table. She suddenly lost her desire for the red wine. Her body was still humming and betraying every thought that crossed her mind. Why did she feel the pressure of having to make a decision? It wasn’t as if Kennedy was giving her an option. She could simply forget she’d ever filled out an application, the way Kennedy suggested. Lisa looked down at the ring on her right hand and started to twist the silver band. The problem was, she couldn’t forget. She wanted—needed—to see if this was what she’d been missing from her life.

  If she went to Kennedy and demanded she place her with another set of Doms, would she? Lisa already knew the answer to that and found herself between a rock and a hard place. She wondered what it would really feel like to be between Owen and Landon. Maybe it was time to speak with them about why they’d targeted her father. Would they have a solid reason to give her? Did she even want to hear what they had to say? Lisa knew that her body did, but could she convince her heart?

  Chapter Three

  Lisa spent her entire Friday ensuring that the hotel and the organizers had everything under control for the evening’s festivities. Alicia, her event coordinator for several of the charities that Lisa cochaired, had just handed her this evening’s guest list. She knew people would start arriving within ten minutes and had changed into an evening gown earlier. The gold silk material lay flat against her skin, molding itself to give off the appearance that it had been purposely fitted. It had been, as the seamstress said her beauty and elegancy radiated like the sun.

  Her feet already ached in the arches, but Lisa was used to it. She grabbed a chair and sat down, nonchalantly slipping them off and curling her toes for relief. She started at the top of the list and worked her way down, nodding her head at the wealthier couples attending. They would part with a substantial amount, especially the specialized surgeons who would want to be recognized for their charity. She gave a sardonic smile, knowing that appearances meant the world to some of these people. Lisa wasn’t one to talk, considering she was part of this elite society circle, but she took comfort in knowing that the majority would give their time and money whenever they could and as long as their name was discreetly mentioned as one of the top donors. Vanity was often society’s favorite sin.