Completely Mine: Bliss Series, Book Four Read online

  Completely Mine

  Bliss Series, Book Four

  Deanndra Hall

  Celtic Muse Publishing, LLC

  Contents

  A word from the author …

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  About the Author

  Also by Deanndra Hall

  Completely Mine

  Bliss Series Book Four

  Copyright 2014 Deanndra Hall

  Celtic Muse Publishing, LLC

  P.O. Box 3722

  Paducah, KY 42002-3722

  All rights reserved. Except as permitted under the U.S. Copyright Act of 1976, no part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, or stored in a database or retrieval system, without the prior written permission of the author.

  This book is a work of fiction

  Names of characters, places, and events are the construction of the author, except those locations that are well-known and of general knowledge, and all are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to persons living or dead is coincidental, and great care was taken to design places, locations, or businesses that fit into the regional landscape without actual identification; as such, resemblance to actual places, locations, or businesses is coincidental. Any mention of a branded item, artistic work, or well-known business establishment, is used for authenticity in the work of fiction and was chosen by the author because of personal preference, its high quality, or the authenticity it lends to the work of fiction; the author has received no remuneration, either monetary or in-kind, for use of said product names, artistic work, or business establishments, and mention is not intended as advertising, nor does it constitute an endorsement. The author is solely responsible for content.

  Formatting and cover design by Drue Hoffman at Buoni Amici Press, LLC.

  Editing by Tick-Tock Editing.

  ISBN: 9781945370403

  Disclaimer: Material in this work of fiction is of a graphic sexual nature and is not intended for audiences under 18 years of age.

  A word from the author …

  When the idea came about to expand the Me, You, and Us series into more books and rebrand it as the Bliss series, the first character I thought of was Brian. We only heard a passing mention of him in the other books, and it was time for him to come home to the Emerald City and join the rest of the bunch.

  I had no idea what kind of guy he was, but as the story unfolded, I found a man who is smart, funny, kinky as the day is long, and trying to do what he needs to do to make a good life for himself. He’d been in some long-term relationships, but he was no longer the man he’d been when they’d broken up. Instead, he’s come to an understanding of himself and his relationships that puts him in exactly the right place to do what he needs to do. And he does.

  You’ll love Brian, I promise.

  Happy reading,

  Deanndra

  Chapter One

  “Hello?” Something tells me I’m not going to like this call.

  “Hey! How ya doin’?” that familiar voice rings out.

  “I’m good. You?”

  “Lord, I’m worn out. These two women are running me ragged. Well, at least the little one is. The bigger one is my salvation.”

  I can’t help but smile. “Yeah, that Christmas card you sent was adorable.”

  “They’re my whole world,” my best friend, Dave, says. “I never knew I could love a woman so much, and that Nadine … she’s got her old dad here wrapped around her little finger, and that’s pretty tight!”

  “Your wife is a beautiful woman, you lucky old bastard you,” I say, trying my best to be gruff. In reality, I’m so fucking jealous I could snap him in half. “How’s she doing?”

  “Olivia is amazing, Brian. I mean it. After everything she went through, she’s bounced back and just turned her whole world around.”

  “I have a feeling you have something to do with that.” I know for a fact he has everything to do with that.

  “Nah. If anything, I slowed her down. She’s done it all herself. I’m so proud of her.” I can hear the pride coming through in his voice.

  “Great. That’s great.” I can’t wait any longer. “So I’m sure this wasn’t just a bullshitting call. What’s up?”

  There’s silence for a few seconds, so I know I’m right. It comes as no surprise when he says, “It’s about the club.”

  He’s going to have to say the words. I’m not letting him off the hook that easily. “Yeah? What about the club?”

  He lets out a deep sigh and I know it’s all but over. “I love that place. You know I do. And I think I’ve done a good job of running it. But now I’ve got a new wife and a baby daughter, and I’m not young, Brian. I need to spend all the time with them that I can. My biggest fear is that I’ll die while Nadine is little and she won’t remember me.”

  “You’re in good health, Dave, and you―”

  “I know, I know. I’m fine. But I might not be next month or next year. So I really want to turn it back over to you. I hate to spring this on you, but―”

  It’s my turn to sigh. “Okay. How long are we talking here?”

  “I was thinking eight weeks and―”

  “Eight weeks? Are you serious? I can’t get my affairs in order here in eight weeks!” I almost shout into the phone. “Isn’t there anybody else?”

  “The only people I’d trust would be Clint or Steffen, and they both have jobs and families of their own now too. Can’t you do your business over the computer or something? I mean, the club’s not a big money-maker, but it holds its own, and it’s providing a valuable service to the community. I think closing it would be a mistake.” As Dave talks, I can hear his wife in the background talking to the baby, and I understand why he wants out.

  “Okay. I hear you.” I mean, what else can I say? It’s my club. It belongs to me. I owe Dave a debt of gratitude I could never repay for running it all these years and never asking for much, and I understand why he wants to spend time with his family. But I really don’t know how I’m going to handle this. “Let me see what I can do. I’d like to come a couple of weeks from now to look around and see if I can formulate some kind of plan.”

  “That’s fine. I’m not going to just run out on you, but I also don’t want you dragging your feet.” Dave’s voice is firm when he throws in that last zinger.

  Oh, he knows me so well.

  * * *

  “And get a copy of that contract over to Nelson. He wants to look it over before we do anything else for him,” I tell my assistant, Cirilla. “And make sure that change is made on page eight, the one changing it from four weeks to six weeks. He needs to initial that.”

  “Yes, sir. Anything else?” The woman is a model of efficiency.

  I hesitate for just a few seconds before I say, “Please close the door and have a seat.” I watch as she swings it shut and sits down in the chair in front of my desk. “I have some good news and some bad news,” I tell her and watch her face go blank. Cirilla has the best poker face I’ve ever seen. “Which do you want first?”

  “The bad news, please,” she says dispassionately.

  “The bad news is that I’m going to be closing this office and moving the corporation.” She doesn’t move a muscle, and I wonder if she heard me. “Do you want the good news?”

  “Yes, sir, please.”

  “The good news is that if you wan
t to move with me, I can make that happen. I’d hate to lose you. You’re the best assistant I’ve ever had, and I don’t want to have to look for someone else and try to train them.”

  “And what would this entail, sir?” she asks, still not showing a hint of emotion.

  “It would require relocation.”

  “To where, sir?”

  “Seattle.”

  There’s a pensiveness about her that surprises me. I really thought she’d turn me down instantly, but she hasn’t, so I wait. Finally, she asks, “So would you help with housing, moving costs, etcetera?”

  “I will. Be glad to.”

  She shocks me when she says, “I’ll go.”

  “Do you want to talk it over with your family?” Frankly, I’ve never known Cirilla to have any family.

  “I can, but they don’t make decisions for me. That’s my responsibility, and I’ll go to Seattle to work for you,” she answers forcefully. I almost fall out of my chair. “When do we go?”

  “I want to go in about ten days and look around. There’s a business I own that someone else has been running for me, and he finds himself in a position of no longer being able to run it. And I don’t want to close it,” I explain, and I wonder if she’ll ask me about the business.

  “I see. I can go in ten days.” There’s silence for a full minute before she asks, “Anything else, sir?”

  “No. That’s all I can think of. I’ll let you know about the arrangements closer to departure. And thank you, Cirilla. Your assistance is very valuable to me. Honestly, I’d be lost without you,” I tack on, then wonder if I’ve stepped in it. I’ve never been able to engage her in a way other than business. Personal life? I’m pretty sure she has none.

  But she rises as though I said nothing. “Thank you, sir. I appreciate you saying that. I’m going out to correct the contract for Mr. Nelson. It should be done in just a few minutes.” With that, she turns and disappears into the next room.

  Good. I have an assistant. The same accounting firm that’s been handling my work in Cincinnati can handle it in Seattle remotely. I can find another bank. That’s not a problem. I’m pretty sure housing will be available. It seems to me that I can do this fairly easily.

  But where in the world will I get the extra time in my schedule to run the club? I’ll just have to figure it out as I go along, I suppose.

  The afternoon is uneventful. Nelson accepts the contract with changes, and that means it’s a go. Brokering large real estate deals has been my business since I was in my late twenties, and that’s been … a while. Individuals and companies come to me with their requirements for property, and it’s my job to find it and make the sale or lease happen. It’s not as hard as one would think to find an inspector or contractor who’ll go out and look a property over, let me know what it needs, if anything, and report back to me. I’m able to go to the potential buyer and lay it all out. I can usually get the current owner to drop the price a little and make everybody happy while still making myself some money. Last year we took in a little over one point two million dollars.

  Not shabby.

  None of that will change in Seattle. I may have to work from wherever I’m living for a little while, but give me a post office box, a computer, a phone, and a fax machine, and I’m in business. Oh, and Cirilla. I’ve got two younger employees who’ve been scouting properties, but neither of them have a salary large enough for me to think they’ll want to move to the west coast. Besides, I can handle it myself for a few months until I can find some people who want a job. It’s time-consuming work, but not difficult

  And that brings me back to my other question. Where in the world will I find the time to run the club and do my job? Maybe I could convert one of the private rooms into an office. That way, I could work from there and still run the club.

  Boy oh boy, wonder what Cirilla would say about that?

  * * *

  The flight from Cincinnati to Seattle is uneventful. Matter of fact, it’s downright boring. I try to engage Cirilla in conversation a couple of times, but she just sticks her earbuds in and ignores me.

  As soon as we get off the plane, I rent a car and throw our luggage into it. I’m sure she thinks we’re going to the hotel first. We’re not.

  The building looks exactly as it did the last time I was there, except for the addition of a couple of planters out front and a pretty brass plaque on the front door that says one word: Bliss. Clean and straight to the point. The door opens with my key, and I make my way past the front office and check-in point, down the short hallway, and open the door to the common room. It takes me a second to find the switch, but when I do, the lights snap on and the spots around the room light up.

  I have to hand it to Dave―he’s done a great job with the place. It’s spotless. He put in a new floor a couple of years ago, an ash-colored plank flooring, and it looks amazing. The walls of the main space are painted a purple that’s almost black, and the four stages for scening are all painted a different color. There’s a lavender one, gray, red, and dark blue, and it sounds weird, but it looks spectacular. He added spots above them, and I notice that there are a few new pieces of bondage equipment. I know Dave, and because I know Dave, I know he must’ve gotten those at a good price. The man has money, but he’s always been frugal in his approach to everything, including the running of the club. I’m pondering how he’s done all he has with what little he had to run the place on when I hear something that yanks me right out of my thoughts.

  I’d forgotten she was behind me, and I turn to find Cirilla running a hand down the St. Andrew’s in the second scening area. That makes me grin. “I suppose you’d like for me to explain all this to you,” I say, trying hard not to smile.

  More straight-faced than anyone could imagine, she looks up at me and says, “No.”

  Well, that’s a shock. “No?”

  She sighs and rolls her eyes a little. “No.”

  Well, okay then. I suppose you know all about it, I want to say, but I don’t. Instead, I say, “If you change your mind, let me know.”

  “I won’t,” she says, never turning to look at me, and there’s a tone in her voice that tells me to drop it. For reasons I can’t explain, I decide that seems like a very good idea to me.

  I’m still looking around when I hear the back door open and close and a voice calls out, “Hello?”

  “Hey, old man!” I yell back, and in under a minute, Dave comes barreling out of the back hallway and grabs me in a bear hug. “How ya been?” I ask as I return the hug, slapping his back with both hands.

  “I’m great! Look at you!” he says, stepping back and eyeing me up and down. “You’re looking exceptionally buff! You’ve actually been working out!”

  “Yeah, and look at you. You’ve got all that gray going on, but you still look unnaturally youthful. My god, would you please do the rest of us the courtesy of aging appropriately?” I ask, laughing.

  “Yeah, yeah. I feel like I’m ninety, what with that little one whining and carrying on. Don’t misunderstand me―she’s a good baby. But she’s a baby. And I never had a baby before, so there’s that. And now I’m rambling because I’m actually talking to another adult, and my wife doesn’t count because she baby-talks to the baby. And I’m still rambling. Dear god,” he says, finally coming up for air.

  “Oh! I’m sorry. Cirilla?”

  “Yes, sir.”

  “This is my friend, Dave Adams. He’s been running this place for me for quite some time now. Dave, this is my assistant, Cirilla Gates,” I say, sweeping a hand toward her.

  “It’s a pleasure to meet you,” Dave says and extends a hand.

  “Likewise, sir,” she answers, her eyes appropriately downcast as she takes his hand. My own eyes meet Dave’s and he gives me a look, but I can’t say anything. He’s most likely wondering what kind of wounded puppy she is.

  “So you’re moving here too?” Dave asks her.

  She nods. “Yes, sir. Apparently Mr. Zimmer thinks I’m
a good assistant, good enough to bring with him.”

  “Excellent. I’ll have to introduce you to my daughter-in-law, her best friend, and my wife. You could have a few built-in girlfriends, and a girl can’t have too many girlfriends, right?” Dave says, his smile warm.

  Cirilla’s face is completely passive when she says, “I don’t do girlfriends. I’ve never seen the need.”

  “I see. Well, if you change your mind, Brian here knows where to find me.” He turns back to me. “Do you want to look at everything now? I would imagine you’re kinda tired from the trip.”

  “I am. I think I’ll go back to the hotel, get settled in, and try to decide what my next move is. But I do want to go over everything and see how I need to step in.” That’s when it hits me, that weariness borne of traveling. “But thanks for meeting me here.”

  “Thank you for coming so soon. Dinner at my house tomorrow night? Olivia will cook, and I’ll invite Clint, Trish, Steffen, and Sheila so you can meet Steffen and the girls. Oh, and you remember Melina, right?”

  I nod with a smile. “I do.”

  “She’s still around. I’ll invite her too. She’s been a lot of help to me over the years, and she’s still assisting with the orientations for the new subs and serving as a submissive to me when I do the Dominant orientations. You’ll need her.” He waits for a second, then asks, “So is it a date?”

  “Oh! Yes! Of course. I’d love to. Cirilla, would you like to go to Dave and Olivia’s tomorrow night for dinner?” I ask, sure of the answer.

  But she surprises me when she answers, “I’d like that very much.” Well, that’s a shocker. I figured she’d tell me she had no interest and turn back to whatever she was looking at. I swear, I never know what to expect out of her.