by Poppy Flynn
Of course, Laurel didn't know that for absolute certain. But she was 99% convinced. Connor had alluded to as much. Not that he'd actually mentioned Desirae by name, but Laurel wasn't stupid. She'd seen them get into that car together.
Not that Connor owed her anything; Laurel knew that in her more rational moments but, until now, it had always seemed that they were enjoying more than just a casual D/s play relationship. Granted, they didn't have any contact when he went back home to the south coast but that wasn't usually for more than a few days. And it was true that he hadn't made any attempt to move them into a more permanent D/s relationship. Heck, he hadn't even made any promises of exclusivity. But, damn it, what they had was special! She knew it was.
Except maybe it wasn't quite so special to him as it was to her.
No! It had to be. She couldn't be feeling this all on her own. There was just no way! It surely wasn't possible for everything they had experienced together to be so one sided.
And he kept coming back, didn't he? They had been playing together for weeks now—months. And she had stayed faithful to him. She wouldn't—couldn't—think of playing with anyone else. Just as she had feared, Connor had spoiled her for any other man. The thought of another Dom just revolted her.
Except that she knew Connor had come back to the east coast for the Business Charity Ball on Saturday night. Not that he'd asked her to go with him or even been in touch to say that he was back.
She knew, deep inside, that Connor wasn't ready for commitment, that he was wary of relationships. That had become all too clear, the more time they had spent together, the more they talked. Because, yes, damn it! They did more together than just fuck!
She just couldn't help the way she felt about him. She had fallen hard and fast and didn't mind admitting it, if only to herself. She tried not to push. She really did. It wasn't what Connor wanted, and she knew she risked chasing him away if she came on too strong, but she was used to getting what she wanted, and she would be damned if any other woman got in her way.
Even if that woman was her boss and maybe even her friend in a loose sense of the word and had shown her a level of respect that few others had ever granted.
Connor was hers and nothing and nobody was coming between them! Not work, not distance, and definitely not another woman.
Laurel was still in a foul mood when Jake Blackwood sauntered past her work station late that afternoon. It had been one hell of a day with the shock announcement that The Blackwood Corporation was going ahead and mounting a hostile takeover bid against Universal Holdings. The whole company was in uproar, the directors arguing between themselves. There were a whole lot of allegations and recrimination going on about executive shares that had been unwittingly sold to the competition, and the buzz on each and every floor was that Blackwood planned to bring in their own team and that the subsequent employment cull was going to be drastic to the point of being brutal.
Jumping up from her desk, Laurel barrelled across the floor and barred Jake's access to the corridor leading to Desirae's office, secretly glad to have someone to take her frustrations out on.
"I don't think Ms. Harper has any interest in seeing a Blackwood today. You're not welcome in this building right now, so I think you had better leave."
"I'm sure Desi will be agreeable to seeing her fiancé," Jake retaliated, catching Laurel completely off guard.
"Desi? Fiancé?" she repeated inanely.
Desi hurried out of her office, obviously keen to defuse the situation that must have been evident from her office.
"Rae?" Laurel queried uncertainly, using the nickname she usually shortened Desirae's name to as she swivelled her head from one to the other.
"Please," her boss implored. "Call me Desi."
Desi moved around the one-woman human blockade Laurel had established herself as in the hallway and slipped her arm around Jake's waist.
"And, yes, Jake and I got engaged this weekend. Unfortunately, with the news of the hostile takeover, there hasn't really been a good time to make that announcement, so perhaps you could keep it quiet for now, hmm?" she appealed, trying for some damage limitation.
"You got engaged?" Laurel repeated. "To him?" She pointed at Jake, and Desi waited for the eruption of anger and betrayal she was certain was coming, but Laurel surprised them both.
"Oh!" she squealed, jumping up and down in delight. "That's wonderful!"
Impulsively, she reached out to Desi and hugged her, then she did the same to Jake.
"Oh, I'm so happy…for you, I'm so happy for you."
Desi frowned at the qualifier, but chose not to dwell on it, more relieved that Laurel wasn't ranting and raging about her lack of loyalty undermining the company.
Laurel couldn't believe the depth of light and happiness that suddenly captured her soul despite the aura of doom that had surrounded everybody for the entire day. It was inappropriate, she knew, but the news that Desirae Harper had become engaged to Jake Blackwood, and obviously no longer posed a threat to her relationship with Connor, had Laurel dancing on air.
Now she just had to figure out a scheme to come up on Connor's blind side, to wheedle her way into his life so completely that he'd never be able to live without her. And she already had the germ of an idea; she just needed to become his perfect submissive, to be everything and do anything that he required of her. But that might just involve taking a step back, first, in order to keep him comfortable.
Chapter 6
Another few weeks, another few bombshells. Laurel sat at her desk in what was set to become The Blackwood Universal Corporation. Not through a takeover, though. Oh, no! Over the course of what had been just twenty-four hours, things had diverged almost unimaginably.
Jake had used his position at Blackwood and shamelessly manipulated the family connection to persuade his uncle, CEO and majority shareholder, to reconsider his stance on the planned hostile takeover, citing its potential threat to his planned marriage to her boss, and Joseph Blackwood had capitulated in favour of a merger that everyone seemed to be happy with.
Jake and Desi had what was possibly the shortest engagement in history, when Joel took exception to the proposed matrimony and finally came to his senses, begging Desi to forgive him…well, that was the word through the gossip mill, anyway, and there must be some truth in it since Joel Blackwood and Desi Harper had officially announced their own wedding date, taking place in just a few weeks' time.
Desi had asked Laurel to be part of the wedding party, to which Laurel had wholeheartedly agreed and then dived into helping and organising and doing whatever she could to help facilitate the upcoming festivities. She was going above and beyond whatever expectations Desi might have had, but of course, a lot of that originated from guilt. Laurel had been a complete bitch because of all the unfounded fear she had regarding Desi and Connor. It had made her completely irrational. Laurel could see that in retrospect, and now she was doing her best to make amends, including with Connor.
She had backed off completely, concentrating, instead, on being the best submissive she could possibly be, even if it went slightly against the grain to be quite so agreeable to a Dom.
Still, Connor was obviously comfortable with the situation. He always got in touch with her as soon as he came back into town after he'd been away, and Laurel determinedly shoved down any urge she had to contact him, herself. So much so that the ball was always with him. She didn't phone, she didn't visit, and she didn't message him. It took every ounce of her willpower not to initiate communication, but it had certainly paid off. He was far more relaxed than he had been previously, but in return, that had made him all the more inclined to open up around her. She was there when he wanted company, she was available if he wanted to scene, she listened when he wanted to talk, and she was quiet when he seemed particularly pensive. She was agreeable when he wanted to play, she cooked when he complained about always eating out, and she accompanied him if he wanted to party. Laurel was playing her hand as if her life de
pended on it and, while that might be a slight exaggeration, her future happiness, the future she was determined to secure with Connor, certainly did. To that end, she had absolutely no compunction, whatsoever, at manipulating the situation so that she got exactly what she wanted from Connor, no matter how much she had to scheme and squeeze herself into what she believed he wanted. Connor Griffin was hers; he might not realise it yet, but she was determined, and if that meant playing him at his own game, presenting herself as exactly what he wanted so he viewed her as his perfect partner, then so be it. She could play the long game because she sure as hell wasn't letting him get away.
Connor shook his head in disbelief. Everything was coming together perfectly. Too perfectly, almost. So much so that he kept waiting for the other shoe to drop, but so far, any fears he had seemed completely unfounded. In fact, it almost seemed that he had indeed misjudged Laurel in the first instance. It seemed clear now that she really had just been trying to be his friend and that he had blown her advances out of all proportion. He was trying to make up for that now, feeling guilty for how he had made such unfounded accusations against her. The girl really was just trying to make a new friend, away from home, feel comfortable in new surroundings.
Right now, everything was pretty perfect. They scened together, sometimes she cooked for him, but only if he'd been griping about how bored he was with the restaurant scene. In fact, after a few such conversations, she had offered to cook for him once a week if he was in town, and he had been comfortable enough to take her up on that offer.
Of course, they inevitably spent the ensuing evening chatting and laughing, and he invariably stayed the night. She'd even shyly offered him free use of her kitchen on the off-chance that he might want to do his own cooking, even going so far as to tell him that she could stay out of his way if he didn't want company during those times, but he wasn't so much of a bastard that he would do that to her. He remembered the interlude fondly.
Laurel was pottering around her kitchen, cleaning up after the fantastic meal she had prepared for him, and he'd been happily helping her out.
"You really are quite house trained," she joked as they worked side by side, making quick work of the chores.
"Hey, I know my way 'round a kitchen, I'll have you know!" he scolded good-humouredly. "My own gets its fair share of use. You know how much I hate eating out all the time. The only answer was to learn to cook. I'm a dab hand if I do say so myself."
Laurel stopped stacking the crockery in the dishwasher and just looked at him, and Connor couldn't help laughing at the astonishment that was obvious on her captivating face. Damn, she was cute when she acted without artifice.
Wiping her hands on a towel once she'd finished with dishes, Laurel turned and considered him once again.
"You know, you're always welcome to come over and use my kitchen if you have the overwhelming desire to do some cooking…" She paused when he threw a suspicious look her way and faltered slightly.
"I mean, you don't have to cook for me; I didn't mean it like that. In fact, I could make myself scarce if you didn't want company." The words tumbled out of her mouth in a rush and she stumbled to a halt, blushing adorably.
"Why do you say that?" Connor asked softly.
"Well," Laurel sucked in a breath and frowned, not meeting his eye. "I wouldn't want you to think I'm being presumptuous. I wasn't angling after anything. I just meant that…you know…you could come here and just do your own thing without any interruption."
There was a forlorn kind of sadness in the way she stammered it out. Ah hell, he'd been so down on her that now she didn't even feel like she could be herself around him without him jumping to the wrong conclusion.
Taking her by the hand, Connor led Laurel into the living room. It was a cheerful space, full of bright, vibrant colours, just like the woman who lived there.
Settling his big frame down on the couch, Connor adopted a strict expression while he left Laurel standing in front of him, studying her feet intently, and fiddling with the rings that adorned her manicured fingers.
"I'm very displeased—" Connor started, his voice dropping to an even deeper tone than usual.
Laurel sucked in a breath at the sound of his sexy Dom voice. "I'm really sorry; I didn't mean it—"
"You're taking back your offer?" he interrupted.
"Yes, I mean, no," Laurel flustered. "I just…I didn't mean to imply…" She sucked in a breath.
"Laurel!"
She started visibly at the sternness of his tone and scrunched up her face. Damn it all. She'd been being so damn careful to stay on his approving side. Now she'd gone and blown it. The offer had been a genuine one, too, not one of the many things she concocted to lure him in and make him lower his guard.
"Now I'm doubly disappointed that you're trying to rescind your very generous offer. I think you need a good spanking."
"What? But, Sir…" She slipped into the honorific so naturally that his heart swelled with pride at the seamless way she moved from household routine into D/s play.
"I didn't mean any offense; I just wanted to make you feel at home, and I wasn't trying to go back on my offer. I just wanted you to understand that there weren't any strings—"
"Adopt the position, Fluff," Connor commanded.
Snapping her mouth closed, Laurel scurried to place herself over his knee. She'd never known him to play like this outside the club, but Perversions had been sold and the anonymous new owners were undertaking a major refurbishment of the premises, so it was closed indefinitely. Oh, they had sex, of course, and it was always intense but not structured into a D/s scene.
Arranging herself, Laurel relaxed into him, a tiny smile curving her lips that Connor felt comfortable enough to let himself go like this.
"Lack of confidence has never been one of your issues, Fluff," he admonished. "You should never allow anyone to take it away from you, not even a Dom. Not even me," he finished so softly she had to strain to hear him. "That kind of behaviour earns you a spanking, young lady."
So saying, he stripped her comfy leggings and jersey boy shorts down around her thighs and captured her legs between his own to limit her movement. With a heavy hand at the small of her back, and without any kind of warm up, he started spanking her in earnest.
"Ow, ow, oww!" Laurel screeched, trying vainly to kick her legs and instinctively reaching a hand back to protect herself from the sudden onslaught.
Connor grasped her flailing arm and twisted it gently behind her back, holding it as easily as he held the rest of her, without so much as a pause in the tempo his hand rained down on her vulnerable, naked flesh.
"Connor, what are you doing?" Laurel yelped as he peppered stinging blows across her buttocks and down her thighs, never easing up the intensity. There was a subtle difference between this and the erotic spankings he had given her at the club; she just couldn't quite work out what it was while he had her unsettled like this.
"Naughty girls need discipline!" he told her, directing his blows to her sensitive sit spot. "Now stop wriggling, or you'll just make it worse for yourself."
When he finally finished, her backside was on fire and hot tears streamed down her face and dripped off her chin, but she felt oddly free in a way she'd never experienced during a normal scene, not even with him. Maybe it was because the punishment went some way to free her of the guilt she sometimes felt at manipulating him the way she did.
Connor moved her bodily from draping over his knee to draping over the back of the couch. For a moment, Laurel wasn't sure if her legs would hold her and leaned heavily on the piece of furniture.
"Do you want me, little girl?" Connor murmured seductively. "Did that spanking make you wet for me?" He dragged his fingers through her soaking folds and smeared her juices around her aching clit.
"Yes!" she gasped when everything seemed to stop for too long a pause. "Oh, God, yes! Please!" she begged.
A second later, Connor slammed his cock into her dripping pussy. Laurel hadn't
even realised how wet she was. The spanking he'd given might had been punishing, but it had turned her on, nonetheless. There was something decidedly decadent about the fact that she was sprawled with all her clothes still on, her leggings and panties stretched taut around her knees while Connor pounded into her from behind, gripping her hips unwaveringly and still wearing the expensive suit he had worn to work that day as if he wanted her far too desperately to even wait to get undressed.
Afterward, Connor had led her to the bedroom and proceeded to make love to her gently and exquisitely. There were no other words for what they had shared, in Laurel's mind.
It might have been the start of a beautiful new chapter in their relationship, except, of course, Connor had never allowed it to happen again. It was as if he had shocked himself with the tenderness and familiarity they had shared.
Connor sighed at the memory, surprised at how right things had felt. He normally kept D/s play strictly limited to club visits. He was blurring the lines here, but he couldn't bring himself to regret it. In fact, it was almost liberating to step outside of one of his self-imposed boxes. But he guessed he was doing rather a lot of that with Laurel. Before her, he would never have spent the night with a lover, so he supposed there had been a natural progression.
They had developed an easy but casual friendship, which was uncomplicated and didn't seem to have any strings attached. Connor had been sceptical of her motives at the start, but she hadn't hassled him. She never made any attempts to contact him when he was back home, even if his time away became protracted. She didn't ask for anything from him. She didn't make any demands whatsoever, in fact.
At first, Connor had thought that was suspicious in itself, but then he had shaken his head at his own mistrustful behaviour and laughed at his cynicism. He couldn't have it both ways, that just wasn't fair to Laurel. He couldn't rail at her on the one hand for coming on too strong then distrust her on the other hand when she backed off like he wanted. He really was being overly paranoid! Thank God he'd finally learned to relax and just have fun around her. And in truth, he enjoyed their time together. He had become closer to Laurel than he had to any other woman in his life. Sure, sometimes there was a little frisson of unease and apprehension that he had allowed her as close as he had, but truth be known, he was fond of the girl. Her companionship was all he needed, and while it had been hard at first, he had come to embrace and appreciate it.