Requested Surrender Read Online Free PDF Page B

Pembrook?”
    “Yes?” She turned and couldn’t help frowning when she noticed he was empty handed. “Where are my bags? I thought the driver said he was going to get them to you?”
    “Oh, he did. Not to worry, all your things have been installed.”
    “Excuse me?”
    “I’m sure Mr. Hollan will explain. He’s ready to see you.”
     “Thank you. Point me in the direction because I’m ready to see him as well.”
    “Yes ma’am. Follow me.”
    He swept by her in such a swift and professional manner that she lost some of her newly built confidence. Hadn’t she decided to play things by ear? Test the waters for a little while and see if David changed his mind about wanting her to stay here. First though, she needed to get him to undo the belt. It had taken her the better part of the afternoon to conclude that she’d never make a good locksmith. Her fingers were still cramped from holding those two straightened paperclips like chopsticks in one of the keyholes. She really had no idea what she was supposed to do to spring the locking mechanism, but it had looked easy enough when McGyver picked locks on TV. After her every attempt in that endeavor failed however, she’d spent the rest of the afternoon learning how to sit without cursing him. She hadn’t quite mastered that so she intended to stand when she was in the company of others. Certainly made following this guy easy.
    “Ms. Pembrook?”
    The butler pushed the doors open and when she spied the interior, a shiver raced down her back. Laid out in front of her was a phenomenal expanse of the same black and white marble floor. Only in this room it was installed in a checkerboard pattern. She looked up, examining the high arched ceiling shot through with elegant wood beams, and trim-work with an intricate profile and knew for sure that Joe hadn’t done that. It was more artwork than mere carpentry.
    Off to the left was a wide staircase that had several long skinny windows graduating up the wall on one side—framed in that same gloss-finished mahogany—while on the other side, was a thick wood railing supported by black wrought iron that boasted large fleur-de-lis cutouts every linear foot or so. The grandeur of it all instantly had her thinking about Architectural Digest magazine. This place would make a great cover. Recalling her manners, she gave herself a mental shake and refocused.
    “Thank you…” She just realized she didn’t even know the guy’s name. Pulling her gaze away, while at the same time hoping she hadn’t made too much of an ass of herself as she stood there gawking, she turned. “I’m sorry, I don’t even know your—” She stopped her apology when she saw the that the doors had been firmly closed and the butler was gone.
    “Lacy?”
    She spun around and put a hand to her chest. Scanning the room, she found him. “David.”
    He didn’t move, and it was no wonder she hadn’t immediately spied him. He was standing in front of a fireplace that lit the shadows with a golden shine off in the farthest corner in the room. Even as she stood there, the collection of overhead chandeliers dimmed, and with each deepening degree of darkness, he became more visible.
    The first thing she noticed was the way he was dressed. She’d never seen him without a suit on and yet there he was. Dressed in a pair of snugly tailored black slacks and a white shirt he’d made more casual by turning up the sleeves. Strange that he looked bigger somehow, dressed as he was, and yet she would have guessed the effect being the other way around if asked. She took a step toward him and then stopped when her eyes fully adjusted to the dusky light.
    Immediately she was treated to not only him, but the things around him. Two items in particular made her nervous. The stool that was positioned right in front of him and the wooden paddle lying across the top of it. When her gaze met his, she knew without a doubt he meant business. He pulled out the keys to the belt,