On His Knees (Stronghold Book 3) Read online

  On His Knees

  By Golden Angel

  Published by Golden Angel

  Copyright 2013 G. Angel

  This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

  A huge thank you to Queen Katherine and Sir Nick, who kept me on track with this book and made sure I didn’t leave out anything important! Another huge thank you to Crystal, who caught so many of my mistakes. As RaineyCloud9, she also put together the gorgeous cover for me!

  As always, thank you to my husband, who supports and puts up with so much… and whose well-thought out proposal is what I based Liam’s idea on. Some details have changed, but I’ll never forget the night I said yes, under the stars.

  Table of Contents

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  About the Author

  Chapter 1

  Such a simple task to be so fraught with tension. Liam rolled his shoulders, trying to work out some of the knots that seemed to have bunched up at the base of his neck. Out of the corner of his eye, Jessica gave him a look full of amusement. At least someone was enjoying this. He felt like he might break out in a cold sweat at any moment.

  There were too many choices. That was the problem.

  Shining, glittering choices, in different colors, different shapes, and different sizes. Somehow, he was supposed to pick the one.

  "You're thinking too hard about this," Jessica said, putting her hand over his and giving it an encouraging squeeze. The man behind the counter was hovering just out of ear shot, giving Liam's hand on the glass a dirty look. Probably because Liam was smudging the glass. However, he didn't approach or say anything; Liam had already scared him off about ten minutes ago, snapping that they'd call him over when they needed him. "She'll love whatever you pick out for her."

  "Oh really?" he asked tightly. With his free hand he jabbed a finger at the glass, pointing to a gaudy looking diamond shaped diamond with heart shaped rubies on either side of it. "So you think she'd be okay with that one?"

  Peering over the glass, Jessica made a face. "Well maybe not that one."

  "I thought you said she'd like whatever I got her."

  "If I didn't think it was so cute, I'd punch you for being an ass."

  "Sorry." He grunted.

  His eyes kept coming back to a display with more intricate looking bands on the rings, pretty filigree patterns that looked kind of antique. Resting his finger over the display he looked at his girlfriend's best friend. "What about these?"

  Jessica smiled at him. "I think she'd love any of those."

  Nodding, somehow feeling tenser even though they were narrowing the field, Liam looked up at the sales guy. "Alright, we're ready for you now."

  With a big, false looking smile, the guy - Jeff, his name badge said - rushed forward. "Wonderful, which one would you like?"

  Ha. Jeff wished it was that easy. So did Liam for that matter. He pointed down at the display. "Can I take a closer look at these?"

  In an impressive show of self-control, Jeff didn't let his smile drop one iota as he opened up the back of the case and pulled out the small display. The rings were laid out in three rows, five rings in each row.

  Fifteen. He'd narrowed his entire life down to fifteen choices.

  Okay, he didn't really think Hilary would say no if she didn't like the ring. But he wanted her to like the ring. He wanted her to love the ring. Picking out the right ring felt like proof that he knew her, that he knew what she liked and what she wanted, that he noticed and took the time to care about it. Picking out the right ring was the symbol of how he wanted to spend the rest of his life, taking care of Hilary and making her happy.

  Maybe Jessica was right and he was thinking too hard about this. He knew his honey-girl, inside and out. What she liked, what she didn't like; her hopes and dreams; the way she glowed when she was happy and the gleam in her eye when she was being naughty; how her voice hardened when she was pissed at him and the soft murmur that caressed his ears when she was feeling cuddly. He could do this. Closing his eyes, he took a deep breath and looked at the rings again.

  "This one," he said, pointing. Although he couldn't quite cover the hint of uncertainty in his voice.

  He glanced at Jessica. Hazel eyes bright with happy excitement, a dopey grin spread across her face, she nodded.

  ******

  Liam was acting weird.

  Not bad weird. Definitely good weird. Like, super snuggly, attentive, tender, kind of goofy in a happy way weird. The kind of weird that made a girl feel all romantic and hopeful. Especially since he was taking her on a date tomorrow and had refused to tell her where they were going or what they were doing. Just that she should look nice.

  Was he going to propose?

  They hadn't been together for quite a year yet, but then again, their relationship had moved really fast in a lot of ways. They'd vaguely talked about getting married; not necessarily about getting married to each other, but just about what they'd want from a spouse. The way they saw themselves raising their kids. Of course, both of them knew they were really talking about their own hypothetical marriage, but they didn't say it outright.

  His thumb caressed her hand as they walked towards the entrance to Stronghold, and he gave her an affectionate, almost worshipful look. Granted, she looked pretty darn good tonight, but there was just a little something extra to the way that he regarded her that made her feel like he was up to something. She was pretty sure that he wouldn't propose at the club (she really hoped not) but maybe it was coming soon. Maybe it was coming tomorrow.

  She didn't want to read too much into his behavior, but a girl could hope, right?

  The muggy summer air moistened her skin, just before the blast of AC hit her as Liam opened the front door to the club for her. Lexie was behind the desk, chatting with Mark, a submissive who came in just about every weekend, either to play or to serve drinks. She grinned at seeing them, giving Hilary a thumbs up about her outfit.

  Angel had made it for her; it was a corset dress with a fluffy, frilly skirt that puffed out. It was barely long enough to cover her butt, but the layers of ruffles underneath made it impossible to see anything. It was based off of a sexy French maid outfit, but Angel had made it entirely out of pink fabric. The sweetheart neckline, tiny puffed sleeves, and white leather belt made it look a bit more like 1950's fetish wear, kind of pin-up girl. It was so pretty that Hilary had asked Angel to make her a more family-friendly version that she could actually wear out in her day to day life. The look on Liam's face when he'd first seen it had been priceless.

  It was sexy in a prissy kind of way, and she knew how much he loved it when she got all prim and sassy. On top of that, the ruffles both turned him on and bothered him at the same time. Angel had said she might make something similar for herself, and Adam had told her that no amount of ruffles could protect her ass from him. He hadn't been a fan of the frills.

  Liam handed his bag over to Lexie. "We're in the Office tonight."

  "Yep," Lexie said, pressing a button on the computer to mark that they'd arrived. Hilary felt her nerves jitter with anticipation. She never knew what Liam brought in his bag; he liked to surprise her with it. Sometimes he didn’t even use it, but when he did, the toys that came out of there were always pleasurable. Lexie set the bag down next to her chair, giving Hilary an envious wink. Poor Lex. She'd at least been getting onto the main floor on a fairly regular basis to hang out with everyone, but ever since she'd rigged Patri
ck's door to dump a bucket of pink glitter on him, he'd had her working the front desk instead. Not exactly the punishment Lexie had had in mind when she'd done it. Although it was probably more effective than if Patrick had completely lost control, taken her over his knee and spanked the dickens out of her like Lexie had probably hoped he would.

  "Have fun you two," Lexie said, cheerful but wistful.

  "I'll see you later," Hilary promised, feeling bad that Lexie was stuck outside of where she wanted to be. Waving at her, Lexie gave her a smile that was patently false, before turning her attention back to gossiping with Mark.

  Liam propelled Hilary through the door and into the club, away from Lexie. She knew that the guys were all relieved they no longer had to watch over Lexie now that she was stuck behind the front desk. It meant they could relax while they were in the main room of the club. Andrew was behind the bar as usual, wearing matching leather pants and a vest, chatting with Adam and Angel. Olivia was over in the Lounge area, talking to two different subs, both of whom were vying for her attention. Most likely Patrick was still back in his office; Hilary knew that Jessica and her guys weren't coming tonight, and Rick had not shown up since the debacle following Maria's introduction scene. Hilary really hoped the two of them worked that out; she liked Maria a lot. All the Stronghold girls had.

  "Hey honey-girl, come back to me," Liam said softly, just loud enough to be heard over the music, as his arm wrapped around her hip, pulling her against him. She looked up at his boyishly handsome face, the barely restrained sexual hunger clear in his silvery eyes. "You're a million miles away."

  "Sorry," she said, feeling rather breathless now that she was focusing on her wonderfully dominant boyfriend again. Usually just walking into the club had that effect on her, because they usually played while they were here, using the fantasy rooms to help them enact all sorts of role-play scenarios. They could do some at home too, but she had to admit, the rooms here really helped set the scene. "Just thinking about Rick and Maria."

  "Mmm... I see. I guess I'll have to work to get you thinking about me," he said teasingly, steering her towards Angel and Adam's seats at the bar.

  Hilary smiled up at him. "I guess you will."

  Laughing, Liam turned away to greet their friends, but his hand remained on Hilary's hip, just above the flare of her skirt. She saw several other submissives checking out her outfit and knew that Angel would probably have more new customers by the end of tonight. Ever since joining Stronghold, Angel's Etsy shop had really taken off; she was swamped with orders, although she always took time to do custom designs for her friends. She called them her guinea pigs.

  Surprisingly, Angel wasn't wearing one of her own outfits. She was dressed as a school girl, with a very short pleated skirt and a white button down top that had been tied just under her breasts, exposing her midriff, and her hair was done up in a simple pony-tail.

  "You look cute," Hilary said, letting her curiosity fill her voice. Angel rolled her eyes, giggling a little bit.

  "Thanks."

  "She does, doesn't she?" Adam said, his voice filled with smug satisfaction as Angel made a face. He was wearing his regular clothes, dress pants and a button down shirt, although it was unbuttoned and the sleeves were rolled up as a concession to the summer heat outside. Even though Angel really did look adorable, Hilary suddenly realized that the outfit was some kind of punishment for something. "She's a very good little school girl. We've been having lessons in behavior, ever since she helped Lexie with that glitter prank."

  Oh, oh, oh! Hilary immediately wondered why Angel hadn't mentioned this. The pretty half-Asian didn't blush easily, not like Hilary, but her cheeks were starting to turn red. Obviously whatever Adam had been doing to her as punishment for her part in that stunt, she found it embarrassing enough that she hadn't clued in any of her friends about it.

  "Angel's going to be writing lines in the schoolroom today," Adam continued, stroking his girlfriend's back while he looked down at her. There was amusement in his voice, as well as arousal. "What are you writing, Angel?"

  For a moment, Angel just glared up at him, her jaw tense. Adam raised his eyebrow at her and then reached to her front and pinched her nipple, hard enough to make her yelp. Liam's arm around Hilary tightened, his hands splaying across her stomach as if he was thinking about doing something similar and she felt her own body respond; her insides warming as her nipples hardened slightly. Even though Adam took things farther with Angel than she would ever want to go, she couldn't help but occasionally get aroused watching them. It had been really weird at first, to see her friends in sexual situations, but somehow over the months, she'd gotten used to it enough to be turned on by it when the scenes were hot. Which, they pretty much always were.

  Angel muttered something under her breath and then looked up at Hilary, not quite meeting her eyes. "I am a naughty girl who deserves a spanking. I will learn not to disrespect the Doms."

  "Louder, sweetheart," Adam said, his eyes glinting as he caressed Angel's breast in warning. Her nipple was already pressing against the fabric of her shirt, as if asking for more.

  "I am a naughty girl who deserves a spanking. I will learn not to disrespect the Doms," Angel said more loudly, back to glaring at her own Dom as she said it. Laughter rang out around them at her words, which had been loud enough that everyone within a ten foot radius had been able to hear. Angel's face heated to an even deeper red. Hilary was impressed; Angel would hate writing lines and she would hate having to repeat that phrase publicly even more. But she loved spankings. So Adam was combining funishment with real punishment, and probably enjoying himself entirely too much along the way.

  "She's such a good little schoolgirl," Adam said, his hand sliding back up so that he could tug on her ponytail, tipping her head back. Angel's eyes glazed slightly in response as he tugged on her hair, but she still looked kind of pissed.

  "Real school girls don't have to write lines with a plug in their ass while they're being spanked," she snapped back at him.

  Adam leaned into her, bringing his mouth near her ear, but Hilary could still hear what he said. "But sweetheart, that's the part of the punishment that you like."

  The low, almost threatening tone of voice he used made both Hilary and Angel shiver. Beside her, Liam chuckled a little; he was always amused by Hilary’s fascination with watching the dynamics between other couples. Sometimes it turned her on, sometimes it didn't, but it always interested her. At first she'd been embarrassed by her voyeuristic tendencies. Now she embraced them. Liam’s hand had started caressing up and down her stomach, tracing a line from just underneath her breast, down to her hips and then back up again. Heat was gathering in the center of her body, making her skin tingle and feel more sensitive.

  Glancing up at the clock, Adam grinned wolfishly. "Lucky us... our room should be available now. Come along, Miss Jones."

  Looking simultaneously excited and annoyed, Angel popped off of the stool and started flouncing towards the stairs without a backwards glance. Watching her with appreciation, Adam sighed happily.

  "See you two later," he said, before following his girlfriend. Liam and Hilary both said goodbye, but she didn't think Adam actually heard them. He was too busy stalking after his bratty little sub with all the hungry focus of a predator.

  "I'm so glad you're not like that," Liam said, cuddling Hilary against him. "As amusing as it is to watch."

  "I'm so glad you're not like Adam," she responded truthfully as she turned into him, pressing her front against him so that they could wrap their arms around each other. Most of the time Liam was touching her in one way or another, he didn't like letting her get out of arms reach, but Hilary still loved the feeling of being so closely held against him that there wasn't an inch of space between them. She still couldn't believe how lucky she was to have found a man who was exactly what she needed; alpha, dominant, and yet not too kinky. The guys she'd dated before him had been too vanilla, the other men in Stronghold were too kink
y... sometimes she felt like the Goldilocks of sex. Liam was juuuuuust right. "Writing lines, with a plug in, while being spanked, sounds awful."

  Liam just laughed. "You know very well that Angel probably loves every second of that part. Except, maybe, what he's making her write."

  "Well I like what we do better," Hilary said, wrinkling her nose at him. She knew very well that he thought she was adorable when she did that. "Is this a good time for me to ask, what are we doing tonight?"

  Whenever they role played, Liam had a plan. If there was a particular scenario that Hilary wanted to try out, she could always tell him and he would set it up, but he was the one who ultimately decided what they did and when. She was more than satisfied with that, because he was always really good at it. While she might have a fun idea now and again, Liam was the one who put together all the details to implement it.

  A slow grin spread across his face as he put his weight fully on the bar stool he was sitting on, pulling her between his thighs so that she was trapped by his arms and legs. Hilary loved it when he made her feel small and feminine like this, crowding her space and surrounding her with his protective presence. His face might be kind of boyish, but in body and attitude he was all man. Especially when he was wearing his sexy leather pants.

  "Well honey-girl," he drawled, setting his hands on her hips and running them up and down her sides, making her shiver as he barely cupped her breasts and then moved away. "I had one idea, but once I saw your outfit, I think I came up with a better one."

  "Oh yeah?" Hilary murmured, her hands resting on his thighs so that she could lean forward, giving him a good view of her cleavage if he chose to look. Of course he did. The little bit of teasing was all part of the fun. "So what's your new idea?"

  No point in trying to badger the old one out of him. Whenever he chose a new scenario spontaneously, he refused to tell her what the one being cast aside was. Usually because being cast aside for the moment didn't mean cast aside forever.