Hope's First Christmas (Brie's Submission Book 19) Read online

  Brie was suddenly struck by a thought. “Have you ever talked to Marquis Gray about this? He might be able to help.”

  Ms. Clark huffed. “I haven’t opened up to another person besides Thane about what happened until tonight. I am not about to bare my soul to that man.”

  “I believe he can help you,” Brie gently offered.

  Ms. Clark pursed her lips, saying nothing.

  “Since you’ve been so open with me, I think you should know this. Even though you hurt Rytsar all those years ago, you saved his life in Russia when no one else could.” Tears came to Brie’s eyes when she confessed, “I will be forever grateful to you for that.”

  The Domme gazed directly into Brie’s eyes. “I could never have lived with myself if I hadn’t.”

  Brie nodded, believing her.

  “So,” Ms. Clark huffed. “There is no reason for you to be grateful to me.”

  “But I am,” Brie insisted, picking up Hope, who had fallen asleep during their conversation. Cradling her daughter against her, Brie kissed the top of Hope’s head.

  “Thank you for indulging me this evening, Mrs. Davis,” Ms. Clark stating in a formal voice.

  Brie understood by her tone that they had returned to their normal dynamic. However, she now had personal insight into the Domme that she’d never had before, and it made the woman’s abrasive demeanor easier to accept.

  Brie was uncertain about what impact it might have moving forward, but tonight’s conversation had changed her feelings toward Ms. Clark forever.

  Ghost from the Past

  When Mary asked Brie to meet at a coffee shop, she knew something was up.

  Instead of the heart-to-heart Brie was hoping for, Mary invited her to a holiday party being held in downtown LA for all the top Hollywood bigwigs in the film industry.

  “Stinks, you need to get out so important people in the industry start putting a face to your name. Besides, I’m so fucking sick of these people. I need you as a distraction.”

  Brie snorted, taking a sip of her latte. “Is that the real reason you want me to go?”

  Mary pursed her lips, rolling her eyes. “Of course not. I’m planning my second line of defense if Greg gives you any shit about your film.”

  Brie appreciated having Mary on her side. The girl was exceptionally smart, even if she was a salty bitch.

  “I’ll ask Sir if the date works for him.”

  “It’s best if you didn’t.”

  Brie frowned. “Why?”

  “Greg is iffy about Sir Davis. He gets that way around any strong Dominant. I think he needs to feel like he’s the top dog in the room.”

  Brie could totally imagine that, having worked with Greg Holloway in the past. The man wanted things his way or no way. It was going to make working with him to complete and release the newest documentary extremely challenging. Even though she was a submissive, when it came to this film, she could already feel her alpha side coming out.

  “How should I dress for the party?”

  “To the hilt, girl. This one is a big deal.”

  “Well, that should be fun. I always like an excuse to get dolled up.”

  Mary leaned in, telling her, “I highly recommend getting your hair and makeup done professionally. You need to look flawless.”

  “You’re making it sound more like a job interview.”

  “It is, Stinks.”

  Brie frowned, taking another sip of her latte. “Well, that doesn’t sound like any fun at all.”

  “It won’t be, but that’s not why you’re going. Remember that.”

  Brie asked Sir to pick out her dress, trusting in his tastes for the important event. Although he disliked the fact that he wasn’t invited, Sir agreed with Mary that it was important for Brie to attend.

  “Be charming and confident, but make them exceedingly aware that you are a gifted director, not just another pretty face.”

  “I will, Sir.”

  He helped her into the dress he had chosen, careful not to mess up her hair or makeup. The formfitting dress was a crimson full-length gown with long sleeves. It fully covered her front but had a low draping back.

  Conservative but elegant.

  Putting his arms around her as they both gazed into the mirror, Sir said, “I don’t want them staring at your breasts while you talk.” He kissed her lightly on the neck. “I want them to know you are not only fully woman, but intelligent, talented, and fiercely determined.”

  Brie smiled, gazing at Sir’s reflection. “I love you, Sir.”

  He stared back at her with admiration. “My goddess.”

  When Brie left for the party, she felt ready to take on the world. Sir insisted she take his Lotus, which made her feel like a total badass when she pulled up and gave the valet the keys.

  She headed up the elevator, feeling strangely calm but excited about the night ahead. With a confidence born of drive, passion, and the strength of Sir’s love, she walked into the party and surveyed the crowd.

  Mary immediately sauntered up to her. “Well, shit, Stinks. You clean up nice.”

  Brie played with Sir’s collar around her neck. “You told me to dress for success.”

  “Well, you’ll definitely be turning heads in that dress,” Mary said. She suddenly grabbed Brie’s hand. “And your red nails match your lipstick perfectly.”

  “I took inspiration from Ms. Clark.”

  Mary nodded in approval. “I have a good feeling about tonight.”

  “Me, too,” Brie agreed, thrilled to be in a room with such important people.

  Instead of nerves, Brie was charged with purpose. Not only was she about to show Greg Holloway how serious she was, but everyone in attendance would soon know the depth of passion she felt for her newest film.

  Mary started making the rounds, introducing her to the people she felt Brie needed to meet.

  Brie felt like a natural, handling each conversation with ease as she steered the discussion toward her documentary. She was pleased to learn that many of them were familiar with her first film.

  To Mary’s credit, she stuck by Brie’s side, eliminating any bystanders who tried to join the conversation, wanting to redirect the focus on themselves.

  Two hours into it, Mary declared it was time for a break. Heading to the private bar, she asked Brie what she wanted to drink.

  “What do they have?”

  “All the traditional stuff plus some holiday specialty drinks.”

  “Those sound like fun.”

  Mary looked at the list at the bar. “Looks like they have Fireside Glogg, Naughty Nog, Peppermint Punch, and a Santa’s Kiss.

  “Oh, I’ll take Santa’s Kiss.”

  “You got it.”

  While they waited for their drinks, Brie observed a group of women snorting coke at a coffee table.

  “It’s a staple at these things,” Mary explained nonchalantly. “Everyone in Hollywood is always looking for the next buzz.” Mary turned away from them and took the drinks the bartender handed her.

  Brie looked around the room at all the people with their fake smiles and laughter and said, “You’d think BDSM would be enough of a high.”

  Mary laughed, handing Brie her drink. “Any here are just wannabes. I told you. Greg doesn’t like competition.”

  Directing Brie to a table laden with expensive hors d’oeuvres, Mary grabbed a plate and started loading it up.

  Brie took her own plate, excited to try a bite of everything on the table.

  When Mary saw what foods she was taking, she stopped Brie. “Keep it simple, Stinks. Shrimp and raw vegetables. Easy finger food. We’re not here to eat. We’re here to socialize.”

  “But it all looks so delicious.”

  “You need to look classy at all times, and you definitely don’t want to be caught with something in your teeth when you’re talking to these people.”

  “Heard,” Brie answered, reluctantly dumping the spinach quiche and caviar off her plate.

  Mary directed her to a quiet area and asked, “So what do you think of the evening so far?”

  Brie looked over the room. “I’m enjoying myself. There’s certainly a lot of influential people here. I can’t thank you enough for all the introductions.”

  “You’re seriously killing it, and we’re not done yet.” Mary nodded to an unassuming young man wearing a black cap with the words “I’m not okay”.

  “I like the hat,” Brie said, chuckling.

  “He’s our next target. Finn Jamison may not look like much, but the last two films he produced were blockbusters. He’s definitely someone you want to know.”

  Brie took a sip of her Santa’s Kiss out of the martini glass rimmed with fine sugar and purred, “Yum! Raspberry and lemon with a kiss of coconut and something else I can’t quite put my finger on…”

  “Stop analyzing your damn drink and suck it down, woman,” Mary ordered. Downing her own, Mary ate one more shrimp before handing her plate and glass over to a server passing by.

  Brie rolled her eyes. “You’re such a slave driver.”

  “I’m not the one who needs to meet these people.”

  Taking the hint, Brie quickly finished her drink, popping a carrot into her mouth.

  Before they could make their way to Finn, however, Greg Holloway showed up. Slipping an arm around Mary in a possessive manner, he said to Brie, “I see you’ve hijacked my arm candy this evening.”

  “Mary’s been kind enough to keep me company,” Brie answered lightly even though his presence instantly caused her defenses to go up.

  Holloway looked her up and down. “I find it hard to believe that you are the same Brie Bennett I worked with a few years ago.”

  Brie lifted her chin slightly. “I’m not. As you know, I’m married now and my name is Mrs. Davis.”

  “Heh…” He chuckled, pressing Mary against him. “So, tell me, is that Master of yours doing a good job of keeping you in line?”

  Brie found his comment offensive and was about to correct him when Mary bumped her hip against the man in a playful manner. “Hey, Tiger, Rodney was asking for you. He didn’t happen to catch you by any chance?”

  “No.” Holloway’s brow furrowed as he scanned the room. He let go of Mary, muttering, “I’d better find that little shit and see what the hell went wrong now…”

  After he left, Mary smiled slyly. “Lucky for me, he’s an easy man to distract.”

  Brie wanted to talk more about him, but Mary grabbed Brie’s arm. “Now’s our chance.”

  The two walked up to Finn, who lit up the instant he saw Mary. “Hey, good looking. Where’s the boss man?”

  “Greg’s chasing Rodney down.”

  “Poor Rodney.”

  Mary gave him a charming smile before turning to Brie. “Finn, I’d like to introduce you to Brie Davis. She’s got a documentary about BDSM, which I happen to star in, that she’s looking to release.”

  Brie found Finn easy to talk to and down to Earth, making for an interesting conversation. Everything seemed to be going well until she caught someone out of the corner of her eye as he walked past her.

  The instant Brie saw Darius, her heart stopped and she felt the blood drain from her face.

  “What’s wrong, Brie?” Mary whispered.

  Her stomach twisted into knots, and she suddenly felt like she was going to be sick.

  Mary grabbed her arm and asked Finn to excuse them as she raced Brie to the bathroom. Once inside, she locked the door and asked, “Are you all right?”

  Brie barely made it to the toilet before she heaved.

  “What happened out there?” Mary demanded with concern.

  After Brie finished heaving up her drink, she got to her feet slowly, feeling as if she was having an out-of-body experience as she washed her hands and mouth.

  “There is someone here who assaulted me when I was young.”

  “Who the hell is he? I’ll fucking kick his ass.”

  Brie stood there, staring at her reflection in the mirror while all those terrible feelings came rushing back. She relived the horror of that moment when Darius forced her to the ground and choked her senseless while he kissed her and groped her young breasts.

  Mary turned her around and hugged her, holding her tight.

  Her open compassion broke the dam of emotions inside Brie, and she started to cry.

  Mary growled. “I’m about to go apeshit all over somebody’s ass in a second. Just tell me what he looks like.”

  As much as she wanted to take Mary up on the offer, Brie knew what she needed to do.

  Building up her courage, Brie wiped away her tears and fixed her makeup. Straightening her back, she took a deep breath before unlocking the door and opening it.

  “Darius doesn’t get to control me anymore.”

  With her head held high, Brie walked out the door. She wasn’t sure what she would do once she found him, but she needed to confront the man who had haunted her nightmares for years.

  However, Brie felt both dismay and relief when someone informed Mary that Darius had left with a large group of people just minutes before.

  “What do you want to do, Stinks?” Mary asked.

  “I want to go home.”

  “You got it. I’ll beat the shit out of that motherfucker another day.”

  Brie smiled, knowing that Mary really would if Brie asked.

  As she was leaving, Finn Jamison came up and stopped her. “Hey, Brie, I’d like to talk to you again.” Handing her his business card, he said, “Give me a ring and we’ll set something up.”

  Brie smiled and thanked Finn. “I look forward to it.”

  Mary walked her out and waited beside her as the valet went to get her car. “I’d be happy to drive you home, if you want.”

  “I’ll be fine,” Brie said.

  After a brief pause, Mary told her, “If you ever want to talk, day or night, you’ve got my number.”

  “I appreciate that.”

  Smiling sadly, Brie turned to her and added, “I really did enjoy tonight.”

  “I did, too, Stinks. You absolutely killed it by scoring the biggest coup of them all. Getting Finn’s number is a major victory.”

  As the car pulled up, Brie told her, “Tonight was about the film. Darius doesn’t get to steal that from me.”

  “No, he doesn’t,” Mary agreed. “I think you just became my new hero.”

  As Brie drove home, she made a New Year’s resolution to herself. Rather than live her life dreading the day she might run into Darius again, she would seek him out and confront the man on her own terms.

  Christmas Kittens

  The following week, Brie got an exciting text from Master Anderson.

  They’re here, and I must say they’re darn cute.

  The kittens?

  Yes. She had two.

  Oh my goodness, can I come over to see them?

  I insist!

  Brie walked into Sir’s office. “Cayenne just had her babies, Sir.”

  Sir glanced up from his computer. “Don’t tell me. He wants you to rush over to see them?”

  “Master Anderson insisted.”

  He chuckled. “I find it strange that my friend can have such paternal feelings toward his cats, but he openly dislikes babies.”

  “I think it’s a case of self-denial, Sir. We both know he would be over the moon if he ever became a father.”

  Sir snorted. “After seeing how he is with the cats, he’s certain to be completely obnoxious about it.”

  Brie smiled. “But, he’d be adorable.”

  “Let me finish up here and I’ll join you. Tell him we’ll both see him in a few hours.”

  “Oh, my goodness. I can’t wait! Shey is going to be so surprised when she finds out.”

  Sir looked back at his screen, chuckling. “Funny what a man will do for love.”

  Brie looked over at Shadow, remembering when Master Anderson called her two months ago with his shocking proposal.

  “Young Brie, I have a confession to make.”

  She giggled into the phone. “What, Master Anderson?”

  “I never had Cayenne spayed.”

  Her jaw literally dropped. “What? You do you realize she could get pregnant by one of her own kittens?”

  “There’s no worry about that. I had them all fixed as soon as they were old enough.”

  “Why didn’t you spay Cayenne, too?”

  “Uh…” He laughed uncomfortably. “She’s such a good mother. I didn’t want to take that away from her.”

  Brie shook her head, grinning. “Well, Cayenne must be in heat a lot.”

  “She is. In fact, she’s in heat right now and it’s driving me nuts.”

  Brie laughed. “You have only yourself to blame.”

  “I know, I know. But, it got me thinking. Shey is leaving to take care of her mother in a few weeks.”

  “Is something wrong?” Brie asked in concern.

  “No, but her mother is having a double knee replacement and will be completely incapacitated for several weeks and afterward, she will need help with rehabilitation until she can take care of herself and her household again.”

  “It’s wonderful Shey can be there for her mom, but that must be hard to be separated for so long.”

  “Shey is dreading being away for such an extended amount of time, and is especially unhappy that we are going to miss Christmas together. So, I thought, what better way to bring a smile to her face every day she’s gone than a cute baby kitten.”

  “Are you serious?”

  “Completely. I’ll surprise her on Christmas morning with a video and take the kitten to her myself once it’s weaned.”

  “What are you going to do with the other kittens?”

  He shrugged. “I’m certain I can find homes for them.”

  “You aren’t planning to keep them too, are you, Master Anderson?” she teased.

  He chuckled. “Heck no. My hands are full enough as it is. But if you’re in the market for a tiny addition, I’ll be happy to share the love.”

  Brie giggled. “I definitely don’t see Sir adopting another animal anytime soon.”

  “His loss. So, you’ll swing by then?”

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