Reclaiming His Submissive by Eliza Gayle Page A

with the treasured way he
treated her when they were together she’d dropped her guard.
Despite all her best efforts not to let it go too far, she’d
begun to believe in something more permanent. That last night with
Alex had turned all of her perceptions upside down.
    These days her emotions were all
over the map, leaving her irritable and exhausted. The idea of
getting away for a while had begun to get under her skin and after
tonight she planned on at least a week-long vacation somewhere nice
and warm. She already had the ticket in her purse. A small deserted
island sounded ideal, but a quiet resort with a limited number of
other guests at one of the small Florida Keys would have to do.
    It was somewhere she could get
over Alex.
    She sighed. The idea of that
happening anytime soon seemed impossible. At night when she lay in
bed, her mind conjured the sound of the whip cracking close to her
ear. It didn’t take much to imagine the whoosh of air through
her hair as the whip flew through the air behind her.
    The scene that would not be
forgotten had heightened her emotions to the point of confession, but
the feelings she’d expressed had been a long time coming. In so
many small ways Alex treasured her as his submissive. There were
stolen moments when she least expected them, phone calls because he
just wanted to hear her voice, gifts for no good reason, and on the
nights they spent together he held her in his arms with her ear
pressed to his chest so the sound of his heartbeat lulled her to
sleep. He’d understood the comfort she needed and provided it
in spades on nights like those.
    Harper wiped more tears from her
face and sucked in several deep breaths in an attempt to control the
threatening flood. For months she’d held back from telling him
what he meant to her. There was something about the way he purposely
skirted certain conversations that told her the truth would not be
welcome. Like his family. He never wanted to talk about them so
everything she’d learned had come from gossip magazines and
business publications. So far she hadn’t liked what she’d
read and prayed they were more than what they appeared on paper.
    Time had marched on while she’d
suffered in silence as they grew apart. His company related trips,
her business emergencies. They’d both had their fair share of
reasons why they hadn’t seen each other. All of it taking a
toll.
    Until tonight.
    Harper wanted to stomp her foot
and curse. They were both mature adults, so this not talking about
the growing elephant between them had to end. Up to now, her
cowardice had run rampant roughshod over her psyche, taunting her
with the very real possibility that he didn’t have the same
depth of feelings she carried. Even now fear paralyzed her. The very
thought of Alex allowing her to walk away made her chest ache with
dread and her instinct to turn and run shook through every limb.
Harper tightened her sweater across her chest and shivered against
the cool night air.
    “ Ms. Allison, are you all
right?”
    The sound of someone speaking her
name finally dragged Harper from her maudlin thoughts. On a slow
exhale she returned her gaze to ground level and came eye to eye with
a very concerned Charlie, Alex’s doorman. She’d been so
lost in thought she’d missed him coming out of the building and
walking up to her. She glanced around, relieved to see no one else
had noticed her.
    “ Hi, Charlie.” She
stepped forward and wrapped her arms around the portly man who’d
faithfully offered her a smile every time he opened the door for her.
For a second he went rigid in her embrace before she felt his muscles
relax and his arms come around her shoulders for a quick hug. “I’ve
missed seeing you. I hope life is treating you well, kind sir.”
    “ It’s wonderful to
see you here again too, Ms. Allison, and yes, life is good. I love
the city this time of year. Early spring is the perfect time of
renewal.”
    Charlie’s ability to savor
the small