Laken's Surrender (Haven) Read online

  Laken’s Surrender

  By Laylah Roberts

  Copyright

  Laylah Roberts

  Laken’s Surrender

  © 2013, Laylah Roberts

  [email protected]

  [email protected]

  ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. This book contains material protected under International and Federal Copyright Laws and Treaties. Any unauthorized reprint or use of this material is prohibited. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system without express written permission from the author.

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  Prologue

  Laken put the finishing touches on the dinner she’d slaved over for hours. She’d made all his favorites. Thick slices of beef—his so rare she didn’t know why she bothered to cook it—along with garlic-mashed potatoes, steamed green beans and apple pie for dessert. Buying the ingredients had wiped her bank account clean, but it was worth it.

  Besides, soon she wouldn’t have to worry about counting her pennies. She’d just been given a promotion. She could scarcely believe it. And after just a year of working for one of New York’s fashion houses. At twenty-two, she hadn’t really believed that she would be in this position already.

  Best of all, Duncan was due back tonight. It had been four weeks since she had last seen him and she had spent every day dreaming about him, missing him. Even though she had spoken to him a number of times, she had kept her promotion a secret. She wanted to tell him in person.

  There was another reason she wanted to make tonight special. She was going to tell Duncan that she loved him. Nerves fluttered in her stomach. What if he rejected her? What if he didn’t feel the same way?

  She pushed aside her reservations and took a deep breath. Duncan loved her, she knew he did. He might never say it—he wasn’t one to talk about his feelings or emotions. He generally kept most things close to his chest, but his love was there in his eyes. She could see it in the way he watched her, as if she was something precious that he didn’t want to let out of his sight.

  It was present in the way he took care of her.

  They’d grown up in the same small town, but Duncan was six years older and they’d little to do with each other. He had always been just one of those Jones boys. There were ten of them, so keeping track was never easy. Rough, loud and wild, the brothers had been the terror of Haven. Their mother had died when the youngest was just a baby and their father had been more interested in his next drink than what his sons were doing.

  It wasn’t until they had crossed paths years later in New York that she truly noticed him. She was still shocked that he had recognized her. After all, he was no longer a poor kid with ripped clothes and untidy hair. He was the Duncan Jones, Linebacker for the New York Giants.

  Gone was the scrawny kid; in his place was a muscular, intriguing man with dark, serious eyes, smooth, tanned skin and firmly chiseled face. When his eyes focused on hers, Laken felt like she was the most important person in the world.

  It was Duncan who had introduced her to BDSM. They’d been dating for a while, meeting up whenever his schedule allowed. At first, he had slowly introduced her into his lifestyle, training her to submit to him sexually. Surprisingly, she had come to love it, to crave it.

  Her only complaint was that she didn’t see enough of him.

  Laken stepped back from the table to make sure everything looked perfect. Her budget hadn’t stretched to Champagne, but she’d managed a nice bottle of wine.

  Now, to just wait for Duncan.

  ***

  Three hours later, Laken finished off her third glass of wine and shook the bottle, wondering if she should just finish it off. Where was he? She had waited the first hour out patiently, knowing he had probably been delayed at the airport.

  Then she had texted him, worried that he’d been in an accident. No reply. She had called him and gotten his voicemail. He could have at least tried to contact her if he wasn’t going to make it.

  Laken stared at the clock on her wall, her brain sluggish. Hmm, maybe I should have eaten something instead of just chugging down that wine.

  But her appetite was gone. The food was ruined and once again, Duncan wasn’t coming. This was the third time in the last four months. The third time she had gotten excited about him visiting, often cancelling other plans just so she could see him, instead she had ended up sitting at home, waiting for him, only to get a text saying he couldn’t make it.

  This time he hadn’t even bothered to text.

  Well, screw him. She was tired of waiting around for him like a pet dog. This was it. She’d had it. Even if he did turn up, she didn’t plan to be here.

  Laken rushed into the bathroom and touched up her make-up before grabbing her bag and heading out the door.

  ***

  Twenty minutes later, Laken stepped off the bus, wobbling in her heels, a combination of alcohol and nerves making her unsteady.

  God, she hated taking public transport at night. Duncan would have an absolute fit if he knew she went out. She would be in for one hell of a spanking. It wouldn’t be playful and erotic, but a proper spanking.

  Her insides trembled at the thought.

  She clenched her butt just thinking about how he would order her to strip, and then place her over his knee. He’d use his hand, or maybe the paddle. Her clit throbbed. This would be a punishment spanking, though, so she wouldn’t be allowed to come.

  But she had no choice; she was down to her last ten dollars and couldn’t afford a taxi. She really should have eaten some dinner because she was going to be living on mashed potatoes until her next paycheck.

  Stumbling along the broken footpath, she shivered as a cool breeze went right through her threadbare coat. Her promotion couldn’t have come at a better time.

  Laken smiled as she remembered how excited her dads had been when she’d told them about her promotion. They were so proud of her. They’d always supported her, no matter what. Laken’s mom had died when she was fifteen, leaving Daniel and Sid Michaels to raise her.

  Her dads had been devastated. They had adored their wife. Their relationship wasn’t something people would easily accept outside of Haven. Her home town was very accepting and there were a number of ménage relationships.

  It had been a while since she’d been home. She missed her dads. As the only child with two dads, she knew she had been spoiled. Her dads were best friends, but they were closer than that. They’d shared the same wife, raised their daughter and tried to make success of their ranch.

  Yeah, maybe it was time for a visit home. Perhaps she could even stop into Phoenix and see Lila. Once she got some money behind her, she’d do exactly that.

  By the time Laken had reached the entrance to the private BDSM club she and Duncan often went to, she had sobered up and her temper had faded. She didn’t really want to be here, not without Duncan. What was she thinking? That she would find another Dom? For what end? To make Duncan jealous?

  Petty and stupid. There was no one for her but Duncan. She loved him. But, she was here now. Another bus wouldn’t be along for thirty minutes and she was freezing. Maybe she’d go in and warm up. Then she’d leave.

  ***

  A few hours later Laken stumbled out of the club. She’d met up with a few friends, other subs. A few Dom’s had tried to approach her, but they hadn’t made it very far. The regulars all knew who she was, and despite the fact that she didn’t wear a collar, they knew who she belonged to.

  Duncan.

  She truly didn’t want anyone but Duncan. What made submitting so spec
ial to her was, it was Duncan who she was surrendering herself to. She trusted him to care for her, to treasure her, to put her first.

  She had to resort to a bit of trickery to leave the club on her own. Right now, she wanted to be alone. The longer she spent watching how happy all her friends were, the more she’d wished Duncan were with her.

  Taking off the way she had tonight wouldn’t solve anything. She needed to grow up and approach this maturely. Talk to him. She should tell him what she needed from him.

  Laken stumbled her way towards the bus stop, trying to walk swiftly down dark, empty streets. Those cocktails at the club hadn’t been her best idea, but she hadn’t been able to turn them down when they were offered.

  Yep, she was going to go home, get some sleep, and then tackle the problem of Duncan tomorrow.

  She stumbled forward and someone grabbed her arm, steadying her.

  “Shit,” she squealed as the firm hand pulled her up, saving her from landing heavily on the pavement. As she turned to thank the person, a heavy fist slammed into the side of her head. Pain surged through her with an intensity that stole her breath. Her knees gave way as her vision went blurred around the edges.

  Stunned, she fought the blackness that threatened to engulf her as she was dragged along the ground. She struggled to get her feet underneath her, to take a deep breath to scream.

  Another blow landed. Agony engulfed her. Her insides trembled and she knew nothing.

  Chapter One

  Three years later

  Laken awoke with a gasp, sweat pouring off her skin as her body shook with deep tremors. She took slow breaths, trying to calm her racing heart. Pushing back the bed covers, she sat on the side of the bed, her head held in her hands as she slumped over.

  Damn it, she had to get over this! She’d only just gotten rid of her nightmares and then that bitch, Sara, had given her a completely new set.

  Laken rubbed her hands over her face. She couldn’t even sleep in the dark anymore. It was pathetic. She used to be independent, strong, self-reliant. Nothing like the scared woman she was now.

  She had always thought of Haven as a safe place, where nothing bad could happen—then six weeks ago Sara—a crazy stalker who’d been obsessed with Lila’s fiancé, Colin— had tried to kill Lila. It was Laken’s fault. If only she had remembered to shut and lock the damn back door of her store. But no, she had left the door open and rushed upstairs to her apartment to get a bottle of wine. Then the phone had rung and she forgot all about the danger to Lila. Instead, she only thought of getting rid of the asshole on the other end.

  Sara, the cow who had been terrorizing Lila for weeks, had snuck in and almost shot Lila.

  Luckily, Sara hadn’t succeeded, but Laken still held herself responsible. She could barely sleep and every time she ate, she felt nauseated. The guilt tore her up. Not that Lila held her responsible. Lila had always been a sweetheart; she’d never been capable of holding a grudge.

  Laken wished she could be like that. She wished she could just let things go. No matter how much she tried to tell herself she was over Duncan, her body still melted in his presence, growing wet and willing in his presence even as she knew she had to stay well away from him.

  God, she was a mess.

  Duncan Jones looked up at the light shining from Laken’s apartment.

  Damn it, she knew better than to leave her drapes open at night. Anyone could be watching her. Like him, he thought ruefully. But then, he had a legitimate reason to be here. He was working nightshift and as a sheriff’s deputy it was his job to keep all citizens of Haven safe, including one prickly, temperamental Laken Michaels—much as she might protest that she didn’t need him watching over her.

  She didn’t want anything to do with him. Every time he got close to her, she bristled, her temper firing. Surely, she wasn’t still angry over what happened three years ago. He’d missed one dinner and she had stopped answering his phone calls. When he had finally managed to get to her apartment she hadn’t been there.

  He knew that she had stormed off to the club without him that night. He’d received a number of phone calls. He had been furious and hurt that she wouldn’t even take his call. He had a good reason for standing her up, and she hadn’t even given him the chance to explain it to her.

  When he had finally spoken to her, she told him in a cold voice that she was moving on with her life, that all they’d had was sex and fun and it was time to grow up.

  He had been so furious that he hung up on her, giving up without a fight. He’d thrown himself into his career, determined to forget her. But nothing had helped. Laken had always haunted him.

  He should have fought for her. He knew that now. There was no way he would make that mistake again.

  When she arrived home a few months ago, he knew the time had come to reclaim her. She had always been his.

  Things hadn’t gone well for her in New York. That asshole Ricky, who she had dated for the last year, hadn’t been worth her time. His betrayal only showed how beneath her he was. Duncan hated how sad and down she had been when she first got home. Now she was designing clothes once more and she had lost that defeated look. Thank God, because she had been killing him.

  However, there was still something going on with her and he was determined to find out what it was.

  There was nothing he wanted more than to bundle her up in his arms and shelter her from any pain. When he thought how close he had come to losing her only a few weeks ago… He shuddered and looked down at his tightly clenched fists, trying to quell the rising fury. She allowed him close then. Just for a few minutes, she had been in his arms.

  Where she belonged, damn it.

  Laken might not realize this yet, but she was going to be his again. This time, he would make sure to treasure her. This time, he was never going to let her go.

  ***

  “Morning, sugar.”

  Laken ground her teeth, telling herself it was annoyance and not pleasure she felt bubbling through her stomach at his words.

  Without looking up, she snapped back. “Don’t call me that.”

  “Now, is that any way to greet a man bearing you gifts?” he chided softly.

  The old Duncan would have pulled her up for her tone of voice. The old Duncan would have bent her over the countertop, scolding her as he smacked her butt. Or he would have ordered her to her knees and given her mouth something to occupy itself with.

  That was something she did not miss. No way.

  So why do I keep goading him on? Why do I keep pushing, hoping for a reaction? Is there a part of me that wants him to take back control?

  She squashed that voice as she glanced up. He was holding a brown paper bag and a large coffee. Her stomach growled. She knew what was in that bag. An apple turnover.

  Her favorite, or it had been. How long since she’d had one, since she’d indulged? It seemed her life the last few years had been about work, work, work. There had been little time for fun, little room in her life for indulgences.

  “I’m not hungry.”

  His dark gaze narrowed as he looked her over.

  “You’ve had breakfast?” he asked.

  It entered her head that she could lie, but she’d never managed to successfully pull that off with him. He’d always had a sixth sense when it came to her.

  “I’m not hungry,” she repeated. “You know, you might want to get your ears cleaned out. I’ve heard wax build-up can make you really deaf.”

  Duncan placed the bag on the counter and leaned closer. Laken forced herself not to take a step back as his scent surrounded her. Hot, molten male. Her insides quivered.

  “You’re losing weight you didn’t have to lose, Laken. You need to take better care of yourself.” He ran his thumb under her eye. For a brief moment she leaned into him before pulling back. “You have bags under your eyes. Your light was on late last night, can’t you sleep?”

  Her gaze shot up to meet his concerned one. She blushed, remembering how she
hadn’t bothered to pull down her drapes last night. Most evenings she was so worn out by the time she got to bed that she barely managed to find the energy to brush her teeth. She worked all day in her store, then spent hours at night working on new designs. Some days she didn’t even leave the building.

  “Spying on me, Deputy?” She winced at the breathy tone of her voice as she tried glaring at him.

  He winked, giving her a quick grin. Her breath caught. He didn’t smile often, but when he did… well it would take a stronger woman than her to resist the appeal of that smile.

  “I was on duty last night. I just happened to be driving past.”

  That was not disappointment she felt. It was not.

  “Well, go stalk someone else,” she sniped, inwardly wincing at the acid in her tone. “I don’t need or want you looking out for me.”

  “You’re wrong, Laken,” he said in a deep voice. “You need me more than you realize. Something’s wrong and I want to know what it is. You’re not eating or sleeping. You’re snapping at everyone, even those just trying to help you. Keep up this heavy workload you’re subjecting yourself to and you’re going to end up in the hospital.”

  She snorted. “Jeez, could you be any more overdramatic? Plenty of people around here work long hours, Duncan. Do you go around lecturing all of them?”

  Duncan sighed. “Why are you so angry at me, Laken? I know I made mistakes years ago. I was too caught up in my career to give you the attention you deserved. Don’t you think I deeply regret that? But I wasn’t the only one who made mistakes. Why did you run off? You never even gave me a proper explanation for why you broke things off. I think you owe me that much, don’t you?”

  “I told you why. Things weren’t working out.” She couldn’t meet his eyes. “Do we have to rehash this over and over? You’re like a bad batch of chili; you just keep repeating yourself. We’re over, Duncan, we have been for years, and it’s time you moved on with your life. I have.”