Melting Her Dom's Heart [Dark Desires 3] (Siren Publishing Sensations) Read online

  Stacy shook her head when he told her what he’d done. She felt sure something would go wrong and said so, but Dan stayed optimistic. Still they were both nervous as the clock headed for seven. When the doorbell rang Dan had kissed Stacy “for luck” and went to open the door.

  It was Kallie, dressed in a simple dark blue dress. Dan thought she looked amazing. He ushered her into the large sitting room, where Stacy waited. Kallie had a bottle of wine and a huge bunch of flowers for Stacy.

  “Hi. This is so nice of you.” She handed over her gifts. “For you both.”

  “Thank you, Kallie. You didn’t have to do this, but it’s lovely.”

  Stacy buried her face in the flowers then left to put them into a vase taking the wine with her. Dan took Kallie on a guided tour while Stacy checked on their meal. The back area of the house was built on a rise, and you could see the ocean from it.

  “This is a lovely house, Dan. Have you been here long?”

  “Owned the land for over twenty-five years. I built the house about eighteen years ago.”

  They returned to the family room, and Dan had got her settled on one of the large couches when Stacy returned. She’d just sat down when they heard Alex greet Lucia, their housekeeper and cook. As usual, he’d come in through the kitchen, and they could hear him flirting with her. She and her husband had been looking after the house since just after Dan built it. They were a friendly Italian couple who doted on Stacy and Dan. Lucia and Alex’s Marie were actually sisters.

  Alex entered the family room. He hadn’t noticed Kallie. Smiling and full of animation, he dropped a kiss on Stacy’s head.

  “How’s the most beautiful sub in the whole world?”

  “Hi, Alex. Have you been flirting with my housekeeper again?”

  “Alas, she won’t leave Aldo for me.” He held a hand over his head and bowed his head. “I’m brokenhearted. You won’t be my sub and leave Dan and Lucia won’t either.”

  Stacy laughed. “I don’t think Lucia is sub material, Alex.”

  “Maybe if I threaten her with a rolling pin or garlic crusher?” He shook his head with a laugh. “No, I think you’re right. I’ll just have to keep looking.”

  Dan stepped forward. “Alex, this is Kallista Robins. She is that amazing voice on the promo.”

  It looked as if someone else had entered Alex’s body. At once the flirting laughing man disappeared, and in his place the cold, aloof Dom appeared. He scowled at Dan before turning to Kallie, who had risen.

  Dan noticed Alex had started slightly. He had his back to Dan as he recovered and shook her hand.

  “Ms. Robins. Thank you for your work on our promo.”

  “You’re welcome, sir. Please call me Kallie.”

  Alex moved away and stood close to the fireplace. The conversation seemed to completely stop. Dan tried to engage everyone by talking about the convention they’d attended. Alex stayed silent as the other three began speaking.

  When Lucia announced dinner, Dan was very happy, but his happiness was short-lived. Alex barely uttered a word throughout dinner, and when he did, he used mainly monosyllables. Dinner turned into an ordeal, and Dan regretted his decision in trying to get Alex and Kallie together. Stacy was right. He’d been a fool to think this would be any different.

  Alex insisted on calling Kallie “Ms. Robins” whenever he did speak to her, but that was hardly ever. By the time they’d all finished their coffee, it was easy to see Alex’s terse mood had rubbed off on the others.

  They sat back in the family room for another hour, dragging out conversation and trying to ignore Mr. Moody. Finally rising, Kallie apologised and said she had an early meeting in the morning and would go back to her hotel. She went to leave the room when Alex asked her how she intended getting home.

  “I’ll call a cab.”

  He went to the door and shouted. “Charles!” His driver arrived. “Please take Ms. Robins back to her hotel. I shall walk home.”

  “Certainly, Mr. Harrison.”

  “That’s not necessary, Alex.”

  “Charles will drive you, Ms. Robins.”

  Kallie looked slightly taken aback by his curt manner. “Oh.”

  She looked at the other two puzzled. Dan shrugged.

  Alex cleared his throat. “Ms. Robins, would you care to have dinner tomorrow night?”

  “With you?” she asked in amazement.

  “Yes, with me.”

  “Sorry, I have a reservation to dine at McDonald’s.”

  Dan noticed Stacy smother a giggle.

  “Most amusing, Ms. Robins. I shall meet you in the foyer of your hotel at seven.”

  “Pardon?”

  “You heard me.”

  The two of them stood glaring at each other. Kallie looked so tiny in front of Alex, but she appeared to be trying to stand up to him.

  “No.”

  The Dom was in full force as Alex commanded, “Yes.”

  With that single word, he turned away. Kallie stood confused as if she wondered what on earth had just happened. Alex had deliberately ignored her. She shook her head confused as she said good-bye to Dan and Stacy, hugging them both. When she came to say good-bye to Alex, she held out her hand and shook his.

  “I’m not interested in dining with you at all, Mr. Harrison.”

  “Indeed, Ms. Robins, I gathered that. Nevertheless, you will. I shall see you at seven.”

  Standing in front of him, she looked disturbed but then turned and followed Charles from the room. Dan was furious. He knew Alex was as well but did he have to be so arrogant and domineering? “Could you have been any ruder, Alex?”

  “Possibly.”

  “And what was that ridiculous business about dining with her?”

  “You should be pleased I am.”

  “Pleased? Fuck, Alex, you ignored her most of the night. You wouldn’t even call her by her name. Then you have the audacity to order her to eat with you. You didn’t even ask her!”

  Alex looked at his friend. He walked over to where Stacy sat, bent over, and kissed her. “Good night, Stace. It’s been an interesting evening to say the least.” He walked out of the room.

  “Fuck you, Alex!” Dan shouted at his back.

  “You, too, Dan!” Alex shouted back without turning and raised his middle finger.

  Infuriated, Dan turned to Stacy.

  “Stop fuming, Dan. Look at you! Leave him be. It’s his problem.”

  “Fucking idiot! I don’t know why I bother. Stupid fucking idiot. Now he’s going to walk home along the fucking beach in the fucking dark!”

  “Calm down. It isn’t as if neither of you wanders along the beach at night.”

  “I shouldn’t have invited him.”

  “At least they’re going on a date.” Stacy laughed.

  “Very funny.”

  “I mean it. I’d love to be a fly on the wall tomorrow night.”

  Dan looked down at his wife. She grinned up at him.

  “Come on, old man, you can tie me up and flog me if it’ll make you feel better.”

  He looked at her with love. “Bloody pushy sub! Just for that I will!” He grabbed her hand and pulled her out of the couch, but he then picked her up and threw her over his shoulder. He headed up the stairs to their bedroom with her laughter ringing in his ear.

  Chapter Four

  Kallie had dressed with care for her dinner date with Dan and his lovely wife. She’d been delighted to find out Stacy was a sub. As soon as she’d seen the collar with the tiny lock on it when they were having coffee, she’d guessed correctly. When Stacy confirmed it, Kallie felt an immediate sense of camaraderie. The two of them had started talking, but Dan came back too early. She hoped there would be time when she and Stacy could talk tonight.

  Dan and Stacy had greeted her warmly, and then Dan took her on a tour of the house. It was just as lovely inside as out, and she complimented him honestly on it. They’d returned to the family room and just as she settled into a chair she heard a deep
male voice, a very sexy one that made her sit up and listen carefully.

  When the man entered the room, Kallie had to admit to herself the man lived up to the voice—very tall and exceedingly handsome, with medium brown hair that was graying at the temples. His casual dark blue shirt couldn’t disguise the play of toned muscles. She’d had the urge to rip open that shirt so she could run her hands across his chest. He looked exceedingly fit and despite herself Kallie felt a surge of sexual attraction especially when he began talking about subs.

  It puzzled her when he went from flirtatious and charming to cold and abrupt in a split second—as soon as his attention was directed at her. Yet when they’d shaken hands she knew she felt a tingle of excitement as their palms met. His amazing green eyes seemed to bore into hers.

  Unfortunately he turned out to be the most disagreeable man she’d ever had the misfortune to meet. Insisting his driver take her back to her hotel, he then had had the audacity to ask her to dinner. When she’d virtually insulted him and refused, he ignored the refusal and essentially ordered her to attend. She’d left the house very unsettled and very confused.

  Why on earth did he want to have dinner with her when he could barely speak with her?

  Well, she just wouldn’t turn up tomorrow night. He could wait in the foyer until the cows came home. She wouldn’t be having dinner with Mr. Dom Alex Harrison no matter how handsome he was.

  All through the next day Kallie felt nervous about the evening to come. Even though she’d decided to ignore him she couldn’t stop her mind being filled with thoughts of him naked.

  She held a meeting with the staff at Sonic Max. She would be dealing with these people on a daily basis now she was back. Most were new to her, and she wanted to introduce herself. The staff all knew her as the major stockholder, and Kallie wanted to show she was not there to change things. The branch was working successfully, and Kallie had no intention of changing anything when things were running smoothly. She would have to find someone as her PA. Kallie hoped one of the existing staff would be interested in the position.

  She would be just another recording engineer and doing the odd voice-over even if she had the responsibility for the entire studio. She’d been in England for the past eight years, but it was so good to be back. Peter had taken over the running of the England branch with her as his second in charge, but then he’d gotten cancer. They had both stepped down, and she had cared for him until his death.

  Afterward she’d slowly returned to work, doing the occasional narration and helping in the sound studios until she felt herself enough to be back to so-called normal. This last year or so she’d mainly worked in the actual studios as a recording engineer as well as organising and training a staff member to run the branch once she returned home.

  Kallie owned a lovely house here. When she finally decided things were organised enough in England for her to come back, she’d arranged for the house to be repainted, the kitchen to be completely renovated, new carpet to be laid in some rooms, and the entire house cleaned. While she’d been away, she had rented it out, and now she wanted it perfect for her return. Also, her own furniture had been in storage so that would have to come back now. The painters wouldn’t be finished until today, and then the carpet people and kitchen installers would take over.

  She hoped the kitchen would look great. It had been hard selecting colours and designs from the other side of the world, but she was fairly confident that it would be as good as the photographs. Thankfully the company had sent actual samples of colours and finishes so Kallie was able to see them in normal light rather than in pictures.

  Now she was booked into the Hilton for two weeks. Kallie had chosen to stay there because it was within walking distance of the convention centre and only a short cab ride to the studios. It made complete sense. Still she would be glad to be back in her own home hopefully by the end of next week.

  She missed her house and its seclusion. Her home was about fifty kilometres from the city and almost in the middle of nowhere. She owned seven hectares but most of it wild bushland on Spencer’s Mountain. She’d designed her house to blend in with its surroundings and actually had it off-grid, with her own solar and wind power and water tanks. Only the landline was still connected to the outside world, giving her Internet, as well as phone, access. On top of the ridge above her house, a mobile tower gave her cell phone access.

  Her staff meetings lasted most of the day. She was tired and determined to spend the evening relaxing, yet when Kallie returned to the hotel she looked at her remaining bags. Most of her luggage had been sent on. She had arranged for it to be held until she was back in her house. She’d kept these two cases with her. Now she looked at the one holding her evening underwear. Kallie glanced at her watch.

  Six ten.

  Damn him!

  Damn the man!

  “Fuck him!” she shouted and clenched her fists. She accepted feeling torn. Part of her wanted to ignore him, but part of her, the sub part, wanted to obey him. He was so in control or sure of himself. Unfortunately she realised the sub part was winning. She slammed the lid down on the suitcase and walked back and forth in the bedroom of her suite.

  Why on why did she have to be a sub?

  Why on earth couldn’t she be one of those sweet little women who enjoyed a vanilla lifestyle?

  She cursed him again.

  She’d lived the past three years alone. When Peter died, she’d felt so lost. He had been her Dom for eight years, and they’d been happy together. She knew that Peter had loved her passionately, much more than she cared for him, but their relationship was a good one. It suited them both.

  When he’d died, she’d been surprised to discover he’d left everything to her including his shares in Sonic Max. With her own shares, she now owned 65 percent of the company. She was now a wealthy woman.

  That was when she discovered a lot of men showing interest in her.

  She got the impression the money was more of the attraction than she was. There had always been men who had flirted with her but they’d known of her involvement with Peter. Once he’d gone she felt as if she were in some sort of catalogue. Men began hounding her. At first she’d ignored them, wrapped up in her grief, but then when she began living again, she realised she needed to do something about it. She decided she’d keep her collar on, telling people she had met someone and was now unavailable and attached. It enabled her to ignore everyone by pretending she was no longer available.

  Of course, those men who were genuinely interested in her and not her money were put off, but Kallie didn’t care. She no longer wanted to be involved with anyone. Going through losing a partner had shaken her, and now she wanted to protect herself from it happening again. Anyway, she’d not met anyone who held any interest for her.

  She looked down at her watch again.

  Six thirty.

  “Fuck Alex Harrison!” she yelled at the window. Then she used every curse word she could think of, including several in other languages. It didn’t work. In the end she picked up her bag and flung it open again. She rummaged through it, pulled out her good underwear, and went into the bathroom.

  After a quick shower, she carefully made up her face, dressed in the set of black lacy underwear, and then pulled on her little black dress. Demure at the front with a round neckline, it had three-quarter sleeves and landed mid-thigh, but when she turned around it had a low cowl scooped back that just finished above the back of her brassiere. She finished off the outfit with black lace-topped stockings and a pair of black Louboutin stiletto pumps.

  While she dressed, under her breath, she still worked her way through her repertoire of curse words, all directed at Alex. When she finished dressing, she picked up a small black clutch and practically rammed her phone, wallet, and the hotel card key into it. Then she looked at herself in a mirror.

  She looked hot!

  Even she had to admit it. Her lovely curves would tease any man who enjoyed seeing a full-figured woman. The
black dress hid enough to make any man wonder what was underneath. When she turned the bare flesh that showed from her neck to just mid back hinted at hidden delights. The black set off her golden collar perfectly. Then with the black stockings and black shoes, she was ready to take on the world.

  She looked at her watch, which showed her two minutes to seven. She headed out the suite and to the lifts still muttering about arrogant Doms and stupid subs under her breath. When the lift doors opened in the foyer and she exited, she felt her stomach drop.

  Why on earth was she doing this? This was absolute madness!

  Turning on her heel she pressed the Up button. Serve him right!

  As she waited for the elevator to return she heard someone come up behind her.

  “Did you forget something, Ms. Robins?”

  Kallie closed her eyes for a second and took a deep breath then turned around. He looked even better than he had last night. The dark charcoal suit set off those gorgeous green eyes perfectly. His medium brown hair made her itch to run her fingers through it.

  He stood waiting, and she realised she hadn’t answered him. “No.”

  “Ah, I see.”

  And she thought he did. She thought he knew exactly what she was thinking.

  “Shall we?”

  He held out his arm, and Kallie decided in a small act of defiance to ignore it. She stepped forward and began to walk. She thought she heard him chuckle as he stepped alongside her and then felt him place a hand on the small of her back, guiding her through the busy foyer toward the restaurant entrance. It sent a shiver of excitement through her.

  A lovely woman was coming toward them. Kallie noticed that she looked shocked when she saw them and staggered slightly. As she got closer, the woman narrowed her eyes at Kallie and then looked at Alex. When she reached them, once more she looked at Kallie focusing on the collar around her neck.

  “Good evening, Pamela.”

  The woman lashed out with one hand and slapped Alex swiftly across the face as hard as she could. “Bastard!” She spat caustically as she pushed passed them practically running from the foyer.