“What about Daniel? What does he think about you driving all the way to Danbury to see me?”
For the first time since she’d met him, Liam looked embarrassed. Then he smiled a shy smile. “He doesn’t know,” he said softly. “I wanted to surprise him.”
Chapter 17
Daniel was pruning the rosebushes that grew on either side of the front door when he heard Liam’s car crunching up the gravel drive. Eagerly, he turned to wave and was surprised to see someone in the passenger seat.
It took a second before he realized who it was—Alex!
He waited by the door, not sure how to react. They climbed out of the car and Daniel saw Alex had a suitcase with her. Liam leaned toward her and said something. She nodded and remained where she stood, clutching her bag.
Liam strode toward Daniel. “Hey. I didn’t go into town. I went and got her. I brought her home to you—to us. She’s willing to give us another chance. I know I probably should have told you. I—I wanted to surprise you.”
Daniel saw the trepidation mixed with the love in Liam’s eyes. His heart melted. But he held himself in check, mindful of the girl standing a few yards away. “It’s a good surprise. A fantastic surprise.”
She was wearing the same turquoise blue sundress she’d been wearing the first time she’d showed up at their door, her butterscotch gold hair hanging in flyaway sheets around her pixie face. Daniel felt happiness welling up, surging through his body and bursting out in a broad smile. “You brought our girl home.”
The relief and happiness on Liam’s face was worth a thousand words. He nodded and turned toward Alex, waving her toward them. She dropped her suitcase and sprinted forward, flinging herself into Daniel’s arms. He caught her up and swung her around, not sure if he was laughing or crying.
She buried her head in his neck. “Daniel,” she said and again, “Daniel.” After a few moments she released her grip and he set her down. He looked into her face and realized she had been crying. Her lovely green eyes were red-rimmed and swollen. She looked exhausted.
“What’s the matter? Are you okay?” He glanced over at Liam. “Is she okay?”
Alex took a deep shuddery breath. She looked toward Liam and back to Daniel. “I did something really, really dumb. I don’t really want to talk about it right now. Not yet. If that’s okay.”
He put his arm around her and led her into the house. “Yes, sure. Of course.” Over her head he looked toward Liam with concern. Liam offered a small smile and mouthed the words, She’s okay.
They went into the kitchen and Daniel prepared a fresh pot of coffee. When Alex excused herself to use the bathroom, Liam gave Daniel a thumbnail version of what happened with Anthony.
“What the hell? How could she go to that poser asshole? After what he did to me?”
“Think about it, Daniel. She didn’t really know what happened at the party. She saw your back, yes, but you’ve been marked before, if not as severely. She wasn’t there for the scene and we didn’t talk about it in front of her.”
Liam sighed. “There’s a lot we didn’t talk about in front of her. We’ve kept her at arm’s length. It’s why she left. We were treating her like an object. We let our feelings for each other and our jealousies get in the way of giving her a truly submissive experience. We were playing games. Fun games, sure, but in the end they had a price and Alex is the one who bore most of that cost.”
Alex appeared in the doorway, looking shy and impossibly sweet. The thought of that bastard Campos hurting her made Daniel sick with anger. He didn’t want to upset her any more than she must already be, but he couldn’t help saying, “Liam told me, Alex. What that asshole did to you has nothing to do with erotic submission. You do know that, right?”
“I do.” Alex nodded and bit her lip, looking down.
Liam stood and walked over to her. He put his arm around her shoulders. “Let’s try to let that go for now. We’ll deal with him later. However we got to this point, we’re just so glad you’re here. We aren’t asking for any promises or commitments right now. Just a chance for the three of us to reconnect and regroup. Why don’t we go upstairs and lie down together a while? I need my two subs in my arms.”
My two subs. Daniel rolled the words in his mind. He hoped Liam still planned to permit him to enjoy his role as Alex’s Dom while Liam was at work. But he realized with a clarity he hadn’t before that one reason for the jealousy and confusion between them was his blurring of his own role in relation to Liam.