Total Submission Read Online Free PDF Page A

bedroom. It’s his
personal sanctuary, off-limits without invitation. Even when I was
staying here with him, I was hardly ever allowed to set foot
inside, and I feel a rebellious surge as I fling open the door.
    I stop dead.
    My things are here, all of them. Unpacked
and arranged with care, like they’ve been here all along. Like they
belong in this room.
    My photo album and perfume bottles sit on
the dresser, my clothes hanging neatly beside his suits in the huge
walk-in dressing room.
    He’s even folded up my favorite throw
blanket and laid it across the foot of the bed.
    Suddenly, it’s not Cam’s room anymore. It’s our room.
    Sadness hits me like an anvil.
    This is what it would look like, sharing my
life with him. Waking up every morning in this bed – together.
Going to sleep in each other’s arms at night.
    My body floods with longing, for the life
I’ll never have.
    I sink onto the bed and look around at my
things so proudly displayed in Cam’s personal space. For the first
time, I wonder what it would be like to stop running away.
    Stop the lies, and the fear, and the pain.
Stop turning my back on my problems, and face them head on.
    But how can I? Brent still knows the truth
about me, and you can bet he wouldn’t hesitate to use it the minute
he finds out I’m with Cam again.
    At least if I run, I’ll be a thousand miles
away when the truth comes out.
    I reluctantly get up. Scanning the room one
last time, my gaze falls on the polished dresser table. There’s a
note there, and a key.
    Come upstairs .
    A shiver runs through me. His playroom on
the top floor. He’s given me the key. He’s inviting me into his
most private retreat.
    I should drop the key and go. Take advantage
of my head start, skip town before anyone realizes I’m missing.
Because this new life I need? It starts now. All I have to do is
turn around, collect my things and walk out that door.
    But I know what this key represents, what
the room represents. This means everything to him. How can I
refuse?
    In a daze, I go into the hallway and climb
the stairs. My hand trembles with excitement as I reach to slide my
key into the lock at the top.
    The door swings open, and there he is:
sitting in a leather chair by the windows. Waiting for me.
    My body tightens with lust. God, he looks
good. His eyes rake over me, and I can feel the gaze like a caress.
Immediately, my nipples tighten and heat rushes through my
blood.
    “Isabelle,” he says coolly, “welcome back.
It’s nice to see you can still follow orders.”
    My anger flares back to life. “I’m not your
property to call at will,” I protest. “Our contract is over,
remember?”
    He rises to his feet. “But is it?”
    I stop. My heart is in my throat just at the
sight of him. God, why does he have this hold over me? I wish I
could just walk away.
    I wish it was so easy to tell him ‘no.’
    “I can’t stay,” I whisper, my resolve
faltering.
    “You can. And you will.”
    Cam paces closer. I shiver. “What are you
playing at?” I ask again.
    He shakes his head. “This isn’t a game to
me, Isabelle. I’ve let you down, I realize that now. I never should
have let you go back to him.”
    I open my mouth to protest, but he holds up
a hand, silencing me. “I know that Brent has something over you,
and I know that you don’t trust me yet enough to let me in on your
secrets. But I’m your Master. It’s my duty to protect you, and I
won’t ever forget that again.”
    His words wash over me. Confident.
Reassuring. Looking at him here, a king in his own domain, I can’t
help but believe everything he says.
    Believe him, and want him too.
    “Don’t run,” he murmurs to me, and it
settles over me like an order. “Stay, see this through. I promise,
I’ll take care of you. Take care of everything you need.”
    Cam prowls closer, and now I’m helpless in
the intensity of his gaze. “Material needs,” he says, reaching me.
“And physical needs, too. What does your body