Reclaiming His Submissive by Eliza Gayle

Chapter
One
    Harper Allison stared up the full
height of the metal and glass twenty-five story building towering in
front of her like a bearer of doom. She imagined Alex hidden away in
his elegant home office with his Bluetooth headset glued to his ear
as he handled the myriad details someone in his position took care
of. As CEO of some corporate conglomerate she didn’t begin to
understand, he spent an inordinate amount of time conducting business
on the telephone. In between today’s business calls he’d
attempted to reach her more than once.
    Her hand tightened on the cell
phone she’d yet to answer for fear she’d say something
she couldn’t take back. Not that seeing him in person would
make any of this any easier but she owed him more than a phone
conversation. The insistent buzz of another voicemail vibrated in her
hand, shredding her nerves even more.
    Like it or not, this night had
been coming for weeks now. Tonight she had to take off her collar and
ask her Master to release her. Tears burned at the back of her eyes
and the constant pain in her chest tightened. The thought of telling
the man she loved that she didn’t want to see him again made
her sick to her stomach.
    Although not as sick as the night
she’d confessed her true feelings to a room that turned so
silent when she spoke the ill-timed words, she could have heard a pin
drop. Harper growled in frustration and wiped frantically at the lone
tear that had escaped onto her cheek. No. This wasn’t going to
happen this way. She had more backbone than that.
    Somewhere.
    The scene Alex had prepared for
them that night had gone perfectly. Her Master had an obsessive eye
for detail and he’d gone all out for her first time with a
whip. An elegant meal hand fed to her, no cell phones to interrupt
them, and a hungry look in her Master’s eyes that made her want
to fall at his feet.
    Her eyes slid closed as the
memory overtook her. She barely remembered the song that played in
the background, only that her nude and shackled body had swayed to
the rhythmic beat, getting lost in the energy. The soft glow of the
candlelight had filled the now fully furnished dungeon in Alex’s
penthouse condo.
    As much as he’d reassured
her that he’d take the scene slow, fear had kept her muscles
tight with anticipation until the first light kisses of his whip on
her shoulders had taken her breath away. Not because they were
painful. On the contrary. She’d expected a much harsher bite
the first time he struck her skin. His whip had felt like a million
butterfly kisses erupting across her skin, which eventually morphed
into enough pain to send her flying.
    With the soft scene music weaving
through her mind, the strikes were timed perfectly with the beat and
she’d quickly succumbed to Alex’s masterful touch. As
with most of their scenes, time had stood still and she’d spent
several hours as the sole focus of his attention.
    Her shoulders sagged.
    If only that were the case beyond
the scenes.
    In the early days of their
relationship it had been shiny and new for them both. He’d
barely allowed her out of bed long enough to run her bakery. But as
months passed and some of the newness wore off, so did Alex’s
attention.
    Not that she blamed him per se.
Running businesses that size came with heavy responsibilities that
left a man like him with little personal life. In the beginning she
hadn’t minded. Her bakery had taken off pretty quickly and
she’d had her own fair share of growing pains to contend with.
    In fact, not long ago she’d
finally hired a business manager to help her maintain her small chain
of three New York stores. Business was surprisingly good and she had
no complaints in that regard. Now she had the opportunity to take
some time for herself.
    Harper wrapped her arms around
her stomach. Lately her thoughts had turned toward more than just
business. The thought of getting married again and starting a family
had begun to haunt her. She loved him and