Page 75 of Auctioned Surrender

“All the rules, then the consequence.”

“Rule two.You’ll defer to me on all things related to your protection. There will be safety specific rules that you may or may not like, but they will be for your protection, especially since we know that R.J. and his goons will be looking for you if for no other reason than him wishing to flex his muscles. These include letting me know where you would like to go and making arrangements to keep you secure. It does not mean, by any stretch of the imagination, you disappear without a word, not letting anyone know where you plan to be, or that you are safe. I will never be talking to you on the phone without knowing exactly where you are and that the establishment you’re in has been cleared and is fully guarded. I hope I’ve made myself clear on this because there is no room for negotiating this or any of my rules.”

There’s a brief pause, but he doesn’t ask me a question, and before I start to fill the silence, he continues.

“Rule three. You should expect to live in your skin adorned with trinkets of my choosing the majority of the time when at home. Rarely anything else.

“Rule four. We don’t need to spend a great deal of time on health as you take excellent care of your physical body. Still, it would be remiss not to ensure you know the parameters include regular preventative checkups, medical and dental, balanced nutrition, and exercise.

“Rule five. My tendencies as a dominant do not lean toward sadism. While consequences will occur for infractions of the rules, they will not be of the harsh variety. Although intended to correct behavior, and make no mistake they will do that, they will not be severe or come as a surprise. We will discuss them at length later, but before you agree to submit, you will havean opportunity to talk over any hard limits you have before deciding. If we experiment with something, a new punishment or scene, and you ask me to stop, I will. We can identify safe words if you like, but as I said, if you say stop, I stop. In all things of this nature, your well-being and safety will be my utmost concern. I won’t ever take it lightly or for granted if you put your trust in me.”

I let out a breath I didn’t realize that I had been holding until now.

“Any questions so far, Layla?”

“You explained them pretty well. Do you enjoy punishing your submissives?”

“I don’t especially derive enjoyment from that, Layla. I’m not looking for someone who acts out to get that particular reaction from her dominant, but if done right, the consequence can be effective and arousing for both parties.”

“I like the sound of that,” I tell him, barely able to get the words out through the emotion that’s causing my voice to crack.

“I’m glad to hear that, princess. Ready to continue?”

“Yes.”

“Rule Six. This particular rule has taken me considerable time to determine. I don’t want to stifle your creativity, especially after seeing how much you love the dance and how incredibly talented you are at creating and executing it, but I am not interested in having my submissive display her body to anyone but me.”

I breathe in deep because this is the place he can’t go, but he’s not even pausing, already barrelling headfirst right over the barrier. “I realize your profession is important and that you may need time to contemplate the options, but let me assure you I’ve given a great deal of thought to other alternatives for your consideration. You can open a studio, teach, do whatever it is in the dance world that you want, except taking your clothes off forother men. I’ve given this a lot of thought, Layla, and it’s non-negotiable for me.”

I wipe the tear that has slowly begun to trickle down my face, and then the next, but the tears by now have gathered, falling too fast to keep up. I was hoping Dereck’s rules wouldn’t rip me away from my goal, wouldn’t prohibit the one thing I’m unable to walk away from, at least until I find my sister, but they did. His rule leaves no room for negotiation, and there’s simply nothing left to say. The persona that has always managed to conceal my emotions, kept people from seeing the real me, and kept my heart protected slips silently into place. “Sorry to hear that, papi, because that rule is a deal-breaker for me.”

Chapter 17

Dereck

I glance at the silent phone in my hand, the one disconnected by the fiery beauty who was on the other end of the line one minute and just as quickly now gone. A deal-breaker. Having to quit dancing topless is a deal-breaker for Layla. A hard limit, and I hadn’t even thought of her not wanting to give it up. I knew introducing the subject of not dancing would be a no go, and I would never want, or ask, her to give that up. I thought she would welcome an opportunity to dance without having to undress after finding her sister.

I ring her back, but there’s no answer, and the call eventually goes to voicemail. “Layla, this is Dereck. Call me back, princess. We need to discuss the dancing and the rules about hanging up on me in the middle of a conversation.”

A message pops up on my cell almost immediately.

Message: There’s nothing to discuss, papi.

I’ll give her time and space to deal with her feelings, but not without protection. I expected her to be using an alias when I called the hotels since she chose not to use her credit card, assuming she didn’t want to be tracked. But she’s registered as Layla Contreras, confirming that nothing adds up where Layla is concerned.

I call Trent and Liam, and we rearrange schedules to make sure there’s a team outside the hotel to keep an eye out for anything suspicious overnight and keep her safe in case R.J. has managed to track her down too. I’ve just gathered up the plans for tomorrow and am signing onto a conference call with the team working on the Bryanna case when I get the confirmation text. A group of four men is in place at the hotel to safeguard Layla for the night.

It’s late by the time we end, and there still hasn’t been a call from Layla. Sleep does not come easy. I’ve always prided myself on fairness and the ability to consider other people’s feelings. While having Layla continue to dance was never an issue, having her do it nude is not something I will allow if she’s going to be mine. The problem is, I’ve already begun thinking about the fiery beauty as mine. I find her not returning my call completely unacceptable, but that attitude came about quickly, way too fast. Something else is going on. Layla tends to cop an attitude when she’s on the defensive.What are you hiding, my fiery little submissive?Whatever it is, I fully intend to learn her secrets, even if it takes busting through every defense mechanism she throws my way, in order to get through.

The next day, it’s almost five in the afternoon before I hear from the guards that Layla is on the move. She’s laid low, had room service delivered to her room twice, once for breakfast and then a late lunch, but otherwise had no physical contact with anyone else all day. She’s not heading to the west side club because the real shows don’t start until after eight o'clock tonight. I have a team she won’t recognize discreetly follow her while Trent,Liam, and I work on getting things in place and set up without being recognized around the small club before Layla arrives.

It’s obvious Layla fully intends to use the club and her exceptional dancing skills to get close to Sammy and Bernatelli. Anywhere that Bernatelli is, he’s sure to have his underboss with him, along with an army of soldiers to do his bidding, so being prepared is essential. If I could stop this and know that my fiery beauty wouldn’t just try a different way again, I would. But that’s not Layla’s style. She’s just going to keep going, doing what she believes she needs to do to find her sister until we do. At least she won’t be in the limelight long. A few minutes is longer than I would like, but the plan we’ve developed will assure she’s secured quickly and that we get her out of the situation before anyone is the wiser.

The guards check in an hour later to let me know Layla is at an adult costume shop and is buying lingerie. Even though I know Layla fully intends to dance for the fuckers at the bar, my jaw tightens, regardless of how I feel about the situation. I contemplate stopping her, but this is something she needs to do herself. I need to find out exactly why she has different aliases because nothing about that in our line of business is good.

I’ll give her space to figure out her future, but I won’t allow harm to come to the woman who can’t seem to keep herself out of trouble and who has managed to consume my thoughts since the very first time I saw her. It’s much later when I get a text to let me know she’s heading to the club, and that’s my cue to head back there myself.

I give her time, knowing she’s safe and secure with my team and all the bugs we’ve put in place in preparation for tonight, before I walk in. It’s just about showtime and impossible to miss Layla. She’s at the bar chatting up the bartender, toying with a mixed drink, and wearing an impossibly short black skirt and alow cut red and black halter that leave the strings of her bikini top beneath in full view.

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