The Submission of Alistair Ingram by Kelli Maine

I’d never hurt you.”
    Still
locked inside herself, she felt her head nodding, stiffly.
    Alistair’s
hands cupped her face, and he stared into her eyes. “Where are you? Come back
to me.” He crushed his lips into hers, and she let her eyes fall shut. His
hands were warm on her cheeks, his lips soft and firm, insistent and urgent.
His thumbs stroked her cheeks, and his tongue sought entrance between her lips.
She let him in, desperate for him to make the chill of fear recede.
    He
slid his hands back into her hair, cupping her head and tilting it back. His
kisses left her lips and found her jaw, her ear, her neck. She felt herself
melting into him, relaxing in his arms.
    How
long would he do this—put up with her shit like Kent put up with his? Why would
he bother? And what was she even doing here? Nobody was going to buy into the
story that she was training him as a Dom. She couldn’t even keep control of him
for more than ten minutes—hell she couldn’t keep control of herself at all.
    Everything
she’d ever known, or thought she knew, about men went right out the window with
Alistair Ingram. She knew nothing.
    She
knew his kiss, the way he touched her…was everything.
    God
help her, she was losing this battle, mind and body.

 
     
     
     
     
     
    Rot
and Ruin
     
    Standing
in front of The Hollywood Harpy offices, Alistair shielded his eyes with
his hand and glanced around. “I thought there was a smoothie place right across
the street.” The only thing he saw was office building after office building.
“I must be thinking of somewhere else. There has to be a Starbucks on the
corner though.”
    “He’s
hopelessly addicted to caffeine.” Heather Winston stepped up beside Bethany on
the sidewalk, and Alistair’s stomach dropped into his shoes. “I hear she’s
staying in our house.” Heather’s eyes bore into Alistair’s. “Word travels
fast.”
    The
panic he felt intensified when Bethany turned to Heather with a smile and held
out her hand. He wasn’t sure if this was an introduction or if she’d throw
Heather on the ground and teach her a thing or two about having a smart mouth.
    Reluctantly,
Heather took her hand.
    “Bethany
Stavars. Nice to meet you.”
    Stavars.
How could this be the first he’d learned her last name? God, good thing she was
introducing herself because that could’ve been embarrassing.
    “Heather
Winston. Of course, you know that from the news coverage by now.”
    Alistair
opened his mouth to intervene, but didn’t get—or need—the chance.
    “I
saw quite a bit of the coverage,” Bethany said, still smiling brightly with a
hint of the-cat-who-ate-the-canary at the corners of her lips. “The mint
bowl—nice throw. You have a good arm. I bet you were a force to be reckoned
with in middle school dodge ball.”
    All
of Heather’s features drew in, like she was honing in on her target. “I’m still
a force to be reckoned with.”
    “What
are you doing here?” Alistair asked, not able to take it anymore. He stepped
between the two women, making Bethany take a step back behind him. He knew he’d
pay for that one later.
    Heather’s
face brightened, like she’d just won the lottery and was about to tell him.
“This interview is with both of us, Darling. An exclusive tell-all, of course.”
She stepped to the side, making eye contact with Bethany again. “You’re coming
too, right? It seems only fitting to get your side of the story—you know—since
I haven’t.” The last word was spoken so sharply, Alistair could see it cutting
the air. Crazily, he pictured a ninja star spinning toward Bethany’s jugular
and almost laughed.
    Ninja
star words from Heather Winston. Jesus, he had absolutely lost it. After this
mess was cleared up, he’d take a nice long vacation. Lay on a beach with clear
blue water sipping Mai Tai’s in the sun.
    “Alistair
and I have the same story,” Bethany said. “There’s not much I can add.”
    Thank
God. She stuck with the plan.