Releasing Hannah Read online

  “Yes, because giving people disclaimers are my forte. I’m curious and I feel…out of sorts.” She groaned, wanting to bounce her head off the bar a couple of times.

  Jude rubbed her knee, “There is absolutely nothing wrong with you. The quicker you figure that out, the easier all of this becomes. Plus, it’s quite titillating once you let go.” He winked at her and dived into his burger.

  “Says the man who had someone helping him through the whole process,” she grumbled. Though she never met him, she’d heard about Micah helping Jude. Without Micah, Jude may never have found his way with Olivia.

  Jude sighed and put his burger down. “Fine, use me. If you have any questions or are confused by something, call me. I know you have my number still. Use it. If it’s something I don’t know, ask Nisey. Just don’t get it into your mind we’re” —he pointed between himself and Micah— “are doing any scenes with you. It’s not going to happen.” Nisey happened to be Caelan’s wife and his collared submissive. Their relationship, from what she heard hadn’t always been rainbows and gumdrops. It took time to work out the kinks and get them where they are today. Happy and in love.

  I wonder if I’ll ever find the same for myself?

  She made a face. “Eww, Jude, that’s just gross. I would never ask.” Hannah shuddered.

  “Would never ask him what, Hannah?” Caelan’s voice made her jump.

  Fuck, how did he pull off those ninja squirrel moves? Hannah took a deep steadying breath, “To share a scene with them.” She hooked her thumb at the other men.

  “Pet, is there something you want to tell me?” Jude’s eyes went wide at Olivia’s voice from behind them, and Hannah sucked in a breath. How the hell did this spin out of control?

  Jude glared at Hannah. “Nope we’re good. I explained to Hannah that I’m open to talk to about whatever she may need, but I draw the line at sceneing with her.” Olivia ran her hand up over the back of his neck.

  Hannah squirmed in her chair as she watched the interplay between them. Their interaction was natural, unforced, each one complimented the other. Caelan cleared his throat, and Olivia glanced up at him.

  “Is something the matter?”

  “Nope, nothing at all,” he chuckled, pulling a piece of paper out of his back pocket before placed it in front of Hannah. “Here are the directions to my place, I wrote my cell at the bottom.” He laid his hand on her shoulder and squeezed.

  Hannah nodded. “Are you sure you want me to stay with you and Nisey? I can always find a hotel close nearby. It’s not a big deal.”

  “I wouldn’t have offered if I didn’t want you to stay with us.” The deep timbre of Caelan’s voice reverberated through her.

  “Okay,” she answered. “I’ll head over when I’m done eating.”

  “Good. I’ll see you later.”

  Hannah read over the directions as she finished her meal. At some point, Olivia left taking Jude and Micah with her. Well, I guess it’s time to go. I should be there by dinner. After taking the last sip of her drink, she walked out of the club.

  Hannah pulled up to the townhouse that looked more like a brownstone. She pulled her bags out, walked up the cement stairs and let herself in. She wasn’t exactly sure what she’d say to Nisey, other than ‘hi’ and ‘can you help me with these.’

  “Hannah! You made it!” Nisey exclaimed as she opened the door and hugged Hannah, almost knocking her backwards. “Come on in.”

  “Yes, I did, and thanks, I think.” Hannah stepped over the threshold and dropped her bags on the floor.

  “Are those all clothes?” she asked.

  “Among other things. You can never be prepared enough.” Glancing around the room, Hannah whistled. “You got a good setup here.”

  “Prepared for what?” Nisey asked, dragging Hannah over to the couch.

  “A wayward Dom or two,” Hannah said with a laugh. “Don’t need them getting too grabby or too big for their britches.”

  Nisey mulled over Hannah’s statement for a moment before laughing, “You’re going to fit in here perfectly.”

  Hannah relaxed into the couch. “That’s not a good thing, Nisey.” She teased.

  “You don’t know some of the Doms I do.” She shivered. Hannah had heard bits and pieces of what happened to Nisey, but nothing concrete. As she sat next to the other girl, she knew some of it must be true.

  “Would you like a tour of the place?” Nisey asked, changing the subject.

  “Sure, I’d love one.” Hannah said standing. “First, where should I leave these?” She pointed to the two bags by the door.

  “Your room, come on let’s drop them off.” Nisey led Hannah through the townhouse and to a bedroom.

  “Obviously this is your room. There is a bathroom just up the hall.” Nisey told her as they dropped off the bags.

  Hannah nodded. The room was pretty nice. A king-size bed rested against the back wall of the room with a small walk-in closet and dresser to its right. It was sparse, but she would make do, “Now where to?” she asked.

  Nisey smiled slyly, “Máister’s playroom.”

  Hannah followed Nisey down the hall and through a door leading to the townhouse’s basement. The steps were narrow and steep. Someone could easily break their neck if they weren’t careful. “There’s a flashlight on the fire extinguisher. Kalinda made the mistake of trying to hurry down the stairs without it and just about broke her ankle.” Picking up the flashlight, they made their way down.

  The mention of Nisey’s best friend brought back memories of a feisty woman, who didn’t take shit from anyone. She’d fallen for two men, Josh and Dominic. Both were pushy and both had it bad for the woman. How she kept up with the both of them or the twins who were—shit—five or six years old, Hannah didn’t know.

  “Why was she in a hurry?” Hannah asked holding onto the banister.

  “Well, she didn’t know Máister was training with Master Josh. She heard a woman moaning…” Hannah cut her off.

  “She thought she was being hurt,” Hannah shook her head. “Damn that sucks. I’ll have to remember you can hear people from down here.” When they got to the bottom, she followed Nisey to the end of the short hall.

  “This is the play room, just respect it, okay?” Nisey said quickly as she turned the handle and opened the door. The room was instantly illuminated, and Hannah gasped. She’d never seen anything like this. Sure there were toys at the club, but this, this was an amusement park in a room the size of a master bedroom.

  “Holy shit,” Hannah crossed the threshold and began to wander around.

  “Yeah, something like that,” Nisey agreed, moving with her.

  Hannah ran her fingers along everything in the room and settled herself into the swing. Her feet dangled not quite touching the floor. “Nisey, how did you know you needed a Dom? How did you know Master Caelan was right for you?”

  “Let’s just say, I wasn’t looking for him when bumped into him that fateful morning. In fact, I wanted nothing to do with Doms or BDSM….”

  Chapter Two

  Hannah woke to knocking on her door. She didn’t know when she’d fallen asleep. It had to have been sometime between hearing Nisey’s pleas for more and popping in her ear buds. Just as Nisey began to explain how and why she fell for Caelan, he had come home and broke up their ‘girl time.’ Unable to sit and watch them, she feigned exhaustion and went to bed. She knew it was shitty on her part, but the way Nisey’s eye lit up when she gazed at Caelan and the simple affection between them made Hannah feel as though she was intruding on their life.

  “Go away. I don’t want to buy your ranger girl cookies,” she called out from under the blankets.

  The door opened, “Wakie, wakie, eggs and bakie.” Jude’s voice filled the darkness. “You’ve got a job to report to today.”

  “And you are one sick, sadistic man. Are you sure you’re submissive?” Hannah shot back at him, not moving for her warm bed.

  “Oh, I’m submissive all right. You
should have seen what Olivia and I did with Micah last night.” He groaned softly.

  Hannah curled in a tight ball and whimpered, “Please stop. It’s bad enough I had to hear Caelan and Nisey last night, I don’t need to know about you, Micah and Olivia.”

  “How titillating for you,” he chuckled.

  Hannah sighed. Throwing back the covers before she got out of bed with a huff of impatience, she curled her lip. “Fine. I’m up.” She hadn’t been prepared to go to work, but if Jude needed her, she’d help him. “Wherever we’re going, they better have tons of coffee,” she snapped, walking out of the room.

  “Oh I’m sure there will be,” he laughed.

  She hadn’t considered working when she hopped a flight and headed for Chicago. But, thinking about it as she showered, she hoped having this job would keep her mind busy. God only knew she could use the distraction.

  “We’re burning daylight, let’s hit the road,” she said coming out of the bathroom.

  “I was the one all ready to go. I had to wait for your slow ass to get up.” Jude nudged her as he followed. “Come on this way is closer and we won’t wake Caelan or Nisey.” He headed through the living room to a door she’d seen, but never questioned where it led. The early morning air greeted her when it opened.

  “So this is how you got into the apartment without anyone knowing,” she stated. “I’ll have to do something about that when I come back here.”

  Jude kept pace beside her. “Yeah, well it also helps having the security code too.” He unlocked his car and opened the door for her.

  “Oh, isn’t that convenient.” Her words dripped with sarcasm.

  As the sun came up over the horizon, Jude pulled into the parking lot of Larson Securities. He stopped at the security shack where her arch nemesis waited to check in vehicles. Shit. Hannah sank down into her seat, unable to look at the other woman. The woman wanted to gouge Hannah’s eyes out—with a rusty hook, no less—or had wanted to, at one point. The worse part, she couldn’t blame her. Rena was possessive with a capital P. They’re married now. Five years is a long time. Things have changed. You’ve changed.

  “What up, white girl?” Rena said, when Jude rolled down his window. “You’re brave coming back here.” The chill in Rena’s voice settled like a heavy weight in her stomach.

  Hannah lifted her chin in greeting, “S’up?”

  Jude sat back in his seat and gripped the steering wheel. “I swear to God, if either of you throw down while on the job, I will have Jackson” —he pointed to Rena— “redden your ass and you” —he pointed back at Hannah— “I’ll find the biggest, baddest Dom to make you come all over yourself. Don’t fucking tempt me!”

  “I guess it means we get to play away from work, doesn’t it?” Rena purred.

  “Just don’t go crying to Jackson when I wipe the floor with you.” Hannah blew her a kiss and winked.

  “Oh my God! Both of you are going to be the death of me. Rena if you don’t mind, make another sweep of the property and then meet me in my office. We have some things to discuss. Like Hannah here being our newest employee.” Jude pulled away from the gate.

  From the passenger mirror Hannah watched as Rena flipped her off with a grin. She chuckled, unable to hold back. Even though the woman might still make her wince a time or two, she was stronger now. “Someone seriously needs to get the panties out of their ass crack. Maybe, I’ll have a talk with Jackson. He should be able to remove them.” She winked at him.

  “You like to instigate shit, don’t you?” Jude asked.

  “In this situation, yes,” She answered smugly. “Come on Jude, Jackson never gave me the time of day whether sixteen or twenty-seven.” Hannah met Jude and Jackson when she was sixteen. Though they were much older than her, the connection between them had been instant. The guys treated her like family and helped her as much as they could. They told her about their plans to open a security company and how they knew who their clientele would be. Their surety had convinced her they’d do it. A few years later, they’d opened the door, working mostly with high-end clientele. They also did work for the military. And, when they needed Hannah, she helped out.

  She could still picture both men walking into her new home, her adoptive parents inviting them over to meet her. Hannah’s breath had hitched, as her first crush formed. At over six feet tall, Jackson had a lean athletic body. From his shoulder-length blonde hair to his dark brown eyes, her fool heart had twitterpated. Throw in Jude, with his easy smile and sparkling blue eyes, well, she had sworn she’d won the jackpot. Although they weren’t there long, Hannah had spent as much time with both of them as she could, but moreso with Jackson. Of course he hadn’t given her the time of day. She’d been too young. However, she’d hoped that when she got older, he would change his mind. It didn’t happen though. He loved Rena.

  “Maybe not, but you’ve been in our lives a hell of a lot longer than her. It can be intimidating,” Jude said, while they stepped inside the building, and headed toward his office.

  Hannah walked with him grumbling the whole way, “Yes, because she makes it so easy to talk to. I have to wonder if she still wants my head on a pike.”

  “Who wants your head on a pike?” Jackson inquired.

  “Your wife,” she said, sitting down across from Jackson. “I’ve missed you. Don’t mind me. Someone woke me up way too early this morning. That same person promised coffee, but so far, nada.”

  “Damn, and I thought I was a bitch without coffee,” Rena quipped, coming into the offices minutes later. “Jude get this girl some coffee.”

  “I thought I told you to make another round,” Jude said, narrowing his eyes.

  “I did” she replied. “About five minutes before you pulled up, I made a spot check of the whole building and parking lot. Everything is copasetic.”

  “Rena!” Jackson’s warning had Hannah biting back a chuckle. “Don’t start, little girl. You might be family, but I’ll still put you over my lap and spank your ass.”

  “Promise?” She swallowed a giggle when Rena’s head snapped toward her.

  “Always pushing those buttons, aren’t you, white girl?” Rena stared at her for another minute before cozying up to Jackson.

  “Have you given him the puppy eyes yet?” she asked, hooking her thumb at Jackson.

  “No,” his wife said. “Why?”

  “Works every time,” she answered. “Trust me. I got extra treats because of it.” See, she could play nice, when it suited her.

  “I’ll take it under advisement.”

  “So, what’s this assignment you have for me?” Hannah cracked her knuckles then flexed her fingers. “If you’re not going to feed me coffee and food, I might as well get to work.”

  Jackson gave Jude a look then nodded. “Well, first we have a few things you need to watch. Then we’ll go from there.”

  “Excellent, bring it on.” She placed her hand on Jude’s arm. “I’m still going to need that coffee though. Two sugars and cream.”

  After watching the fifth video, Hannah was ready to strangle Jude. When he said a couple, she thought two not ten. The videos ranged from how to greet a customer to how to install the MX9000, the newest security system money could buy. If she was supposed to be the cat burglar, why did she have to watch all of the stupid movies?

  “Ready for lunch?” Jude asked popping his head in the door.

  “Yes, anything to get me away from here.” She groaned sliding her hands over the table before standing up to stretch.

  “They’re not that bad, even Jackson and I had to sit through them.”

  Hannah arched her brow, “Really Jude? Not that bad? I would rather have my eyes gouged out with rusty spoons, than have to sit through another hour of these movies.”

  “You’re so melodramatic.” He laughed as they walked out to his waiting car. “Now, what would you like for lunch?”

  “Well, they say Chicago is the home of stuffed pizza, let’s get that,” she said as they exited
the building.

  “Sounds good to me.” Jude led her over to his car, then opened the door for her. “You know, for what it’s worth, I’m glad you came home. We have missed you.”

  “Are you going to get misty eyed on me now?” she teased.

  “You’re still a little shit.”

  “I’ll take that as a compliment,” Hannah replied, getting into the car.

  “You would.”

  Watching as the city grew closer, Hannah glanced over at Jude and then back at the road. She had so many questions for the man she considered brother. However, knowing where to start, was a different story. Might as well jump in with both feet. “How do you deal with your sub side when you’re at the club? I mean you could get overly stimulated there.”

  “Talk about laying it out there. Have you been thinking about shit to ask me all day?”

  She shrugged. “Maybe not all day. I guess I’m curious is all. When I tried to find a club in Atlanta, I felt…out of my element. Like, I couldn’t find myself.”

  “Out of body experience?” he questioned. “Almost as if you’re watching yourself, observe everyone else?”

  “Exactly,” she agreed. “And, when I did get asked to scene, I didn’t feel the urge.”

  “Have you stopped to consider it isn’t you, or it’s your way of protecting yourself from making a horrible mistake?”

  Hannah considered Jude’s question, then nodded. “Makes sense.” Perhaps her body had been steeps ahead of her brain. “So, you’re saying my mind has concluded I’m safer here than with people I don’t know?”

  He made some non-committed noise. “I’d say it’s more along the lines of you already get it, but you’re being stubborn about it.” Hannah opened her mouth to refute what he said, but Jude stopped her. “You didn’t leave under the best of circumstances. You wanted to be on your own and try this lifestyle out on your own terms. I understand. But, you could have been seriously hurt because you had no one to guide you or watch your back.”