Free Two Doms for Christmas by Kat Barrett Page A

the last three years, she had run her life into the ground and
stomped on it.
    Austin knocked on the door. “Haley,
can I come in? Please?”
    “It’s not locked.” The door actually
had no lock. Jack had removed it one night when he thought she was suicidal.
    Austin came in and sat down across
from her on the edge of the tub. He gently lifted her face with his palms,
holding her chin. Looking deeply into her eyes, he stroked her cheek with one
palm. “Why did you do that?”
    “Do what?”
    “Get up and run in here? Don’t you
think I would rather comfort you and give you strength than to see you hide
from me?”
    “This is my safe room, my place to
deal with things alone. I would come in here to sit and calm down or just to
cry, because…I don’t know. Sometimes I didn’t agree with what Jack was doing.
He would shut me out and I only had one of two options, I could back down or
make an issue out of it. That gets complicated when you have a little girl
running around who is watching everything you do. I had very little say in
household matters. A lot of times, our impasses would be over Jane. He was too
lenient with her.”
    His hands slid down to hers and he
held them tightly in his palms. “I don’t want you to ever feel you have to run
from me. It is my place to be responsible for you and protect you, not demean
you or make you feel as if you are backed into a corner. Why did you stay with
Jack if things were so bad?”
    “That was part of the problem, they
weren’t bad. I mean, yeah we had our disagreements, but everyone does. Even the
perfect sub is entitled to an opinion from time to time.”
    “Of course they are.”
    “Was your ex-wife a sub?”
    He sighed deeply and slowly shook
his head. “No. I was trying to convince myself my lifestyle was simply that, a
life choice. I’ve discovered I can no more change what I am than a homosexual
male can start loving sex with women. Of course, that knowledge wasn’t
particularly helpful when I had distanced myself from the life to try and make
my marriage work. I need a woman who can allow me to be in control. I thrive on
it and without it, I feel empty and incomplete. I can run my own life just
fine, but to see a willing sub grow and thrive under my guidance is amazing.”
    “What happened to the sad, slightly
insecure man of last night? Was he just for show to make me feel sorry for
you?”
    The hurt that shadowed his eyes
made her feel like running again. “He’s very real. I was just hoping I had found
a beautiful, sensitive woman who could understand that no man is a mountain
unto himself. I guess I was wrong.”
    The cold, flat tone of his voice
made her wince as he got to his feet. “I’m going down to put the clothes in the
dryer. When they are done, I will leave.”
    Austin walked from the room,
lightly shutting the door behind him. Haley felt horrible for the inconsiderate
comment. There were so many other ways she could have worded it without
sounding so accusatory. Just because he was a Dom didn’t mean he didn’t have
feelings.
    Pushing herself to her feet, she
walked out into the hall and down the stairs. Austin was leaning against the
wall, waiting for the cycle to stop. Kneeling before him, she put her forehead
to his thighs. “I’m sorry. That was a completely inconsiderate thing to say. I
didn’t mean to accuse you of anything. I’m just a bit rattled.”
    He stroked her hair softly like a
man caressing a worry-stone. She remained silent, waiting to hear what he might
say. The feel of the basement floor against her knees brought back long past
memories. Jack had once punished her for her insolence by making her crawl
while doing her chores. She was allowed to walk on the stairs, but once she hit
the bottom, she was on her knees. It was not a pleasant memory and made her
shiver. Of course that was long ago before her knees had stated aching during
bad weather.
    After a minute or so, he sighed. “I
would prefer it if you stand