A Sub to Love [Club of Dominance 4] (Siren Publishing Menage Everlasting) Read online

  Justine eased herself into a seat that was placed in front of and between the two desks. She wasn’t really feeling well and being off her feet helped.

  Derrick looked up and roared, “Jesus fucking Christ, I’ll call you back.”

  He slammed the phone down and was around his desk and on his knees in front of her within the blink of an eye. When he reached up for her sunglasses she leaned back away from him.

  “Don’t move,” he said in a deep, commanding voice, and even though she was still in a great deal of pain, the tone and the timbre of his voice caused her to shiver with sexual awareness. But it also made her freeze into compliance.

  What is up with that?

  Derrick removed her sunglasses and gasped. “Who did this to you?”

  “Fuck,” Garth yelled and hurried to her side. He reached out to touch her face but drew back when she flinched. “I would never hurt you, Justine. What the hell happened to you?”

  She drew a shaky breath and blinked, trying to control the tears that were forming at the back of her eyes. She opened her mouth to begin explaining, but before she could, another masculine voice drew the Jackson brothers’ attention.

  “What the hell is wrong with you?” Matt asked angrily. “You nearly ruptured my fucking eardrum. My ear is still fucking ringing.”

  Justine didn’t dare look at Matt. It was bad enough that her bosses hadn’t taken their eyes off of her, but then he was standing behind Derrick and she slowly met his gaze.

  “Shit. Who the hell hit you?” She flinched since it seemed like his anger was now directed at her.

  “No one in this office would ever hurt someone weaker than they are, Justine.” Derrick cupped her chin. “Please don’t be scared of us. We’re worried about you, honey. Now tell me who hurt you.”

  His voice was so deep and demanding she didn’t stand a chance. Justine found herself telling the three men about last night and wondered why she all of a sudden felt so numb. By the time she had finished explaining, the pounding in her head had intensified and she felt physically sick. She was swaying in her seat, cold to the bone and shaking like a leaf.

  “Whoa.” Derrick gripped her shoulders to keep her from falling and she was truly grateful, because she felt like she could have fallen to the floor like a puddle of melted ice. “Garth, call Nate Charleston I want her checked over.”

  “Have you seen a doctor, baby?”

  It took her a moment to register that Garth was talking to her. The paramedics who had taken Mark’s body away had given her a cursory medical exam, had told her nothing was broken, then advised her to put ice on her eye and cheek and to get some rest. That hadn’t been possible. Justine had spent hours going over what had happened with the police and coroner, and by the time they had left, all she wanted to do was shower and fall into bed. She’d showered but the rest had been pushed aside because she’d had to get to work.

  She shook her head when she remembered she hadn’t answered Garth and groaned because the movement only increased the pain in her cheek, eyes, and head, and made the dizziness worse. She reached up to clutch her head, but her arm felt so damn heavy she could barely lift it. Her vision became blurry and began to diminish. The coffee she’d had that morning roiled in her stomach and she was thankful she hadn’t eaten anything. Her stomach heaved and she knew she was going to be ill. She opened her mouth to warn them but lost the contents of her stomach instead, and then she fainted for the first time in her life.

  * * * *

  “Fuck. Get her upstairs to our apartment,” Garth said and pulled his cell phone from his pocket and began talking to Dr. Nathan Charleston. Derrick had never been so glad in his life that Nate’s clinic was only two buildings from theirs and hoped that their friend would hurry.

  Derrick gently lifted Justine into his arms and headed for the door. “Matt can you stay down here and direct Nate up to our rooms when he arrives?”

  “Sure, I’ll clean up, too.”

  “Thank you.” Derrick didn’t spare his friend and employee another glance but hurried out of the office and to the locked door at the back of the building. Garth used his thumbprint to open the door and then held it so he could carry Justine through. He rushed up the stairs to the top floor, which had been converted into a large apartment, and stepped aside so Garth could open that door, too.

  Derrick carried Justine straight to the large bathroom and with his brother’s help, removed her soiled clothes, handed her over to Garth, turned the shower on and adjusted the temperature. Once he, too, had stripped down, he took Justine back and stepped into the running water. He’d hoped the water would help revive her, but she didn’t even stir and he was becoming very worried.

  “Garth, I’m going to need your help in here.”

  Garth removed his clothes and got into the shower. Between the two of them, they washed Justine’s hair and body and themselves. Garth got out first, dried off and hurried out to the bedrooms to get some clothes. They dried her off and dressed her in one of Derrick’s T-shirts. Garth shifted her in his arms and out to the bedroom while Derrick dried and dressed in clean clothes.

  Derrick pulled the covers up over Justine just as the doorbell to their apartment rang. Garth hurried out to let Nate in.

  “What’s the problem? Who is the woman?” Dr. Nate Charleston walked toward the bed.

  Derrick explained and then waited with bated breath as Nate examined Justine. He took her blood pressure, listened to her heart, and examined her swollen black eye and cheek.

  “I don’t think there is anything seriously wrong with her, apart from the swollen eye and bruised cheek. Do you know if she has eaten anything today?”

  “No clue,” Garth answered.

  “You said she spent hours talking to the cops. Maybe she didn’t have any sleep, and if she hasn’t eaten, she would be feeling pretty drained.” Nate sat on the edge of the bed and turned toward Garth. “I’d say she is probably suffering shock, too. She found her brother on the living room floor with a hole in his chest and she was there when he passed away. Considering everything she’s just been through, she must be totally exhausted. Let her sleep for a couple of hours and if she doesn’t wake up, call me. I have to get back to the clinic. I have patients to see.”

  “Thanks, Nate.” Garth walked Nate to the door. Once their doctor friend had left, Derrick pulled a chair from near the wall to close to the bed and sat down. Garth did the same.

  “God, she’s beautiful,” Garth whispered. “I have never seen such a gorgeous woman.”

  “Yeah, you have,” Derrick replied. “You’re just drawn to her the same way I am.”

  “I’m glad it’s not just me. I’ve been hard since the moment she walked into the office.”

  “Me, too,” Derrick sighed. “She is naturally so damn submissive and I don’t think she has a clue.”

  “There’s more of a story with her brother than she’s told us.”

  “Yeah, I got that from her phone conversation with the asshole and his fucking friend yesterday.”

  “Shit.” Garth looked at him. “She could still be in danger.”

  “Fuck. I’d forgotten about that bastard. I wonder if the cops have picked him up yet?”

  “Only one way to find out.” Garth rose to his feet, pulling his cell from his pocket, and walked toward the bedroom door. “I’ll see what I can find out. Gary Wade may be able to fill us in, and if he isn’t aware of her situation, he can do some digging.”

  Derrick nodded and felt a little of the tension ease away. He and Garth were Dominants and members of Club of Dominance. They were friends with a lot of the other Doms and often hung out with their friends at the club. Gary Wade was also a detective and a Dom. If he couldn’t tell them anything, then no one could.

  Justine moaned and he pushed to his feet and rushed over to the bed. He hated that she was in pain and sick. He wanted to wrap her up in his arms and hold her tight, but she had only just met him and his brother, so if they wanted a relations
hip with her, they were going to have to take things slow. He just hoped that what had happened to her didn’t have her running scared from them.

  Derrick sat on the side of the bed near her hip, reached up, and gently brushed the hair away from her face. She sighed and then her eyelids lifted. She blinked a few times and then stared at him with a frown.

  “How are you feeling, Justine?”

  “What happened?” Her frown intensified and then memory must have returned, because her face went bright pink. “Oh shit. Did I throw up on you?”

  “Don’t worry about that, baby. What’s a little vomit between friends?”

  “Oh God. I’m sorry.”

  “Hey don’t worry about it, sweetie. Are you feeling any better?”

  “Yes.” She looked about the room. “Where am I?”

  “You’re in our upstairs apartment. We called our doctor friend to come and check you over.”

  “Thank you, but I’m fine.”

  “No, you’re fucking not,” Garth said as he walked into the room. “Your eye is almost swollen shut and your cheek is terribly bruised. When was the last time you ate?”

  “Um…”

  “That’s what I thought,” Garth snapped. Derrick frowned at Garth, trying to get him to back off, but he knew his brother wasn’t about to. They were both very attracted to Justine, and now that she worked for them, she also came under their protection.

  Justine pushed the covers down, her intention to get out of bed clear, but she gasped when she saw the cotton material covering her chest. She lifted the quilt and peered down at her body.

  “You were covered in vomit, Justine. We had to clean you up before putting you to bed.”

  She frowned and blushed and then pulled the covers back up and nodded at Derrick.

  “I’ve put your clothes in the washing machine.” Garth sighed and scrubbed a hand over his face. “You can have them back after they’ve been through the dryer.”

  “Thank you.”

  Garth nodded. “I’m going to fix you something to eat. How’s your stomach?”

  “Fine.”

  Garth had turned away, obviously heading for the kitchen, but he spun back. “You’d say that even if you weren’t fine. Wouldn’t you, Justine?”

  Derrick watched his brother stalk toward the bed, anger radiating out of every pore. He stepped in front of Garth, halting his brother’s progress and spoke low enough that Justine wouldn’t hear him.

  “Not yet, brother. She’s not ready.”

  Garth let out a frustrated sigh and spun back around and left the room without a backward glance. Derrick sat on the side of the bed and watched her intently. He wanted some honesty from Justine and he wasn’t going to put up with any lies.

  “How much pain are you in?”

  She met his gaze, pulled her lips in tight and looked away. He reached over and gently gripped her chin so she couldn’t glance away again.

  “Fine,” she snapped. “My eye and cheek are throbbing like a bitch. I have a headache, and I am so damn tired I can barely think straight.”

  “Good…”

  “Good?” she screeched. “You think it’s good that I feel like shit?”

  Her cheeks flushed with her fit of pique and her eyes gleamed with an inner fire. He was seeing a bit of the real Justine Downey and couldn’t wait until he had all of her. Derrick had no intention of letting her get away from him. Not when he’d just found the woman who could be “the one” for them.

  “Quiet,” he said in his Dom voice and was pleased when she closed her mouth and glared at him.

  “I’m not happy that you are in pain and aren’t feeling well, baby. I’m happy that you were finally honest with me.” He caressed her cheek with his thumb and then withdrew his hand from her face. “After you’ve eaten, I’ll give you some pain killers and you can take another nap.”

  “No, I need to get dressed and get back to work. You’re not paying me to stay in bed all day.”

  “Enough,” Garth said as he walked into the bedroom, carrying a tray. “You will be taking the rest of the day off. If I had my way, you would take the next two weeks to recuperate.”

  “I can’t do that. I need to work,” Justine snapped and folded her arms over her chest.

  “We’ll discuss it later.” Garth placed the tray over her lap. “For now you need to eat and rest.”

  Derrick was pleased that Garth hadn’t brought Justine anything too heavy to eat. The soup and toast should be okay for her to keep down. They sat silently and watched her eat and although he could tell she was a little uncomfortable at their silent vigil, he wasn’t about to leave. He needed to know that she was cared for and he wasn’t going to let her get away without finishing everything Garth had prepared for her. By the time she’d finished, her eyelids were drooping again so he removed the tray and placed it on the bedside table. He went to the bathroom, shook out two painkillers from the bottle, and filled a glass with water, and when he was back at her bedside, he handed her the medicine and watched as she swallowed them.

  “Close your eyes and rest, Justine. Your body needs sleep to recuperate.” Derrick was pleased when she moved down the bed with her head once more on the pillow. It wasn’t long before her breathing evened out.

  “Gary called me while I was getting Justine’s food.” Garth ran a hand through his hair. He only ever did that if he was really worried about something. “That bastard Bart Devrees is still at large. I don’t want her out of our sight until he’s caught. That fucker was going to rape her and when her brother found him and tried to kick him out, he killed him. He’s dangerous.”

  “Do the police have any leads? Do they have any idea where he may have gone?”

  “No, he doesn’t have a rap sheet. I’d say he’s been damn lucky to avoid the cops. A leopard doesn’t change its spots overnight. I have a bad feeling about this dude.”

  “Yeah, me, too.” Derrick sighed. “I don’t want her going back home.”

  “Me either, but how the hell are we going to keep her here or get her to come to the house with us? She’s going to baulk if we suggest she should stay with us.”

  “Maybe, but her safety is more important than her anger. We’ll just have to tell her the truth. We can’t keep this from her, Garth. She needs to be aware of the danger she’s in.”

  “You really think this fucker Bart is going to come back for her?”

  “I’d bet my life on it.”

  Chapter Four

  “What do you mean I can’t go home? The police have finished doing whatever they needed to. One of the policemen called me to tell me it was okay to go back.” Justine frowned at her new bosses. She had spent the entire day in bed and felt much better. Although she’d never admit it to them, the thought of going home made her feel ill. She still hadn’t cleaned up the blood from the floor and she was so damn scared Bart would come back for her. He had a key so he would have no problem getting into the house, and there was no way she could afford to have all the locks changed. If she was able to sleep, she may not hear him come in and would be a sitting duck.

  “Justine, I know you aren’t stupid. There is blood all over the place and I’m sure you don’t want to have to deal with that.” When Derrick reached for her hand, she felt all the blood drain from her face and she shivered. He pulled her into his arms and held her close.

  Justine wanted to stay where she was and soak up his strength and comfort, but she had learned to depend on no one, and if she gave in, she was scared that she would enjoy letting them take control and wouldn’t be able to stand on her own two feet again. When she pushed against his chest, he released her. She took a deep, shaky breath and released it slowly.

  “Did the officer also tell you they haven’t found Bart?” Garth asked.

  “Yes.”

  “Goddamn it, Justine,” Garth said angrily. “What the hell are you thinking? You know damn well that he could come after you. Do you know how to protect yourself against someone like that? He
killed you brother, damn it. He shot him in cold blood.”

  Justine turned her back on the two men. She’d been trying to hold it together, but tears leaked out of her eyes and ran down her face. Although she hadn’t liked what her brother had become, she’d still loved him and now she would never see him again. Her chest was tight with pain, a knot of grief so big she didn’t think she could contain it anymore. The first sob caught her by surprise, and even though she tried to hold it in, she couldn’t.

  Sinking to her knees as pain overwhelmed her, she wrapped her arms around her waist and gave in. Justine cried and cried and cried. She so was scared that she would never be able to stop that she was barely aware of arms wrapping around her and lifting her up. Finally the pain in her chest eased slightly and her tears began to dry up. An occasional hiccup wracked her body and she became aware of the warmth wrapped around her and the hard thighs beneath her ass. Her fingers were twisted in the material of a shirt and she unwound them and let the fabric go. She had been clutching it like it was her only lifeline, and at that moment it had been.

  She wiped her face and sniffed but kept her forehead pressed against the warm, hard chest it was resting on. She needed a tissue in the worst way, but she was embarrassed over her breakdown and didn’t want to see their faces.

  When a wad of clean tissues was placed into her hand, she nodded gratefully and blew her nose. A large, warm hand was caressing up and down her back and another was rubbing over her shoulder and down her arm. Neither of the men said anything and for that she was thankful. She didn’t want to hear their pity, because it would probably set her off again. Taking a deep shuddering breath, she finally gathered her courage and lifted her head. What she saw in their eyes as she connected with each of their gazes made her fall a little in love with them. There was no pity, only concern, and it was all for her. No one besides her parents had ever worried about her. Not even her brother. For the first time since she was eleven years old, she was being held and didn’t want to let go.