He didn’t respond immediately.
“It’s the right thing to do,” I hurried to say. “We can’t just—”
Talon pulled me into his arms, cupping my face with one big hand. “We go get him,” he agreed, speaking softly. “If that’s what you want to do, that’s what we do.”
“Really?”
“Of course.”
I stepped back, feeling the need to pace but managing to keep still. “Zion said this hasn’t happened before.”
“As far as I’m aware, no, it hasn’t.”
“But we should have a contingency plan for things like this. A way for the possession to get in touch with us.”
Talon pulled me into him again, obviously hearing the worry in my voice. The only thing I could think about was Jones sitting alone in that motel—God only knows what kind of crap hole it was. He’d given up his entire life to become someone else’s possession, which meant he had nowhere to go, no one to turn to. What was he going to do when they kicked him out of the motel?
“It’s all right,” Talon said soothingly, stepping back and taking my hand. “Where is he now?”
“Bowling Green, Kentucky,” I answered, letting him lead me back to my desk.
I sat down, pulled up the information on my laptop. “At least, that’s where the Owner’s residence is. He’s in a motel right now. I’m supposed to call him back.”
“I actually have a training facility just outside of Nashville,” he informed me. “How far is that from where he is?”
I keyed in the information. “Sixty miles?”
“The jet’s in Chicago.”
I nodded, all of it coming together in my mind as I worked to solve this problem.
“Okay.” I keyed in some more information. “Two-hour flight from Chicago to Nashville. Probably take an hour, maybe an hour and a half to drive him from Bowling Green.”
“You can order a car service,” Talon said. “We’ve got numbers for many across the US.”
I felt my breathing slow, the panic dissipating. I looked up at Talon, could feel the tears hovering behind my eyes.
“I don’t want him to sit there alone, Talon. He has no one.”
“He clearly has you.” Talon stroked my face with his fingers. “You’ve got all the tools at your disposal. Bring him home, baby. Once he’s here, you can figure out how to proceed.”
A tear escaped but it was one of relief. I hated thinking about this man having lost his Owner and he had no backup plan to ensure he would be taken care of. At the very least, the Owner should plan for that. Or we should. The company.
I nodded because I knew what needed to be done.
*
TALON
While Braelyn dealt with her first real issue as an employee of Owned, I went through my day, keeping an eye on her from afar. Only because I wanted to be available if she needed me.
Turned out, my girl was rather adept at handling problems. Once she’d learned she had whatever she needed at her disposal, it hadn’t taken long for her to get the possession transported to the airstrip where the jet was waiting to retrieve him and deliver him back to Sapphire Island. He wouldn’t arrive for another hour, just after midnight, and I figured Braelyn would be up waiting for him to get here.
She had honestly surprised me with her concern. Not because she was concerned. That was a given. Braelyn was a woman with a huge heart.
No, my surprise came from how she was handling it. As though she understood the possession was still a possession. Not necessarily from our viewpoint, but from his. She was treating him as though this was what he needed, to be returned to where he’d started so he could be placed again. Which was exactly how anyone at Owned, Incorporated would’ve handled it.
In fact, I’d already seen a proposal come through from her, one that outlined what steps should be taken to ensure possessions were returned here if and when something happened to their Owner, or their Owner could no longer care for them. Admittedly, that was a step we’d missed, and it bothered me that no one had thought about it before.
“I didn’t realize you were still here.”
I looked up from my desk, noticed Braelyn standing in the doorway, watching me.
I smiled. “Reviewing your proposal.”
“Is there a problem with it?”
“Not that I can tell,” I admitted, relaxing back in my chair. “I’ve got some things to add, but I like what you have.”
She remained in the doorway, looking scrumptious, wearing a whisper-thin white tank top over a black bikini top and a pair of frayed-edge jean shorts, some of the most recent pieces I’d had delivered. It didn’t surprise me that she’d gotten comfortable. We’d had dinner, and she’d disappeared for a little while before coming back down to the office. She was the reason I was still here, figuring I would wait to see if she needed anything when the possession arrived.
“What about you?” I asked. “Why’re you here?”
“Just keeping track of Jones. I want to make sure he arrives safely.” She smiled, as though anticipating my next comment. “Don’t worry. I won’t coddle him. I’ve already notified Gideon, told him I wanted Jones picked up and delivered to a private room. At least for the night. Give him a chance to sleep, which I wonder if he’s even done since his Owner passed.”
It was possible he hadn’t. I had reviewed the file on Jones after it was brought to my attention. Gwyneth Mills had established a close relationship with her possession. They had boundaries, but they were more lax than most. Jones would’ve cared deeply for her.
Braelyn’s amber eyes swept the room. “Where’s Taurus? I thought he’d be standing sentry, waiting for a task.”
“Sent him up to the house. Told him I’d call him if I needed him. Why? Would you prefer I bring him down here to join us?”
Her cheeks took on that rosy hue as she shook her head.
I’d noticed Taurus keeping a closer eye on Braelyn over the past week. He wasn’t overstepping his boundaries, which was a surprise, but he was updating details of her whereabouts, proving he cared what she was doing and that she didn’t need anything. I’d noticed the same from Ari and Sim, both possessions taking a keen interest in my girl. I was glad to see it, honestly.
And I knew she was getting to know them, talking to them, going up to visit the fourth floor, to hang out. Once I’d even found her playing video games with Ari. They were bonding in a way I’d never bonded with them, and I found I approved.
“Why’re you looking at me like that?” Braelyn asked, her voice slightly hoarser than before.
“Like what?”
“Like I’m dessert and you’re hungry.”
I grinned, letting my gaze rake over her lithe body. “Now that you mention it…”
“I should let you get back to work,” she said quickly as she turned to leave.
“Stop.”
She paused in the doorway but didn’t look back. “I didn’t mean to disturb you.”
I got to my feet, heading toward her, unable to resist the temptation she presented.
“I think you came here for another reason,” I said as I came to a stop behind her, pressing my chest to her back. “Is that the case?”
Her response was a barely audible, “Maybe.”
“Because you know I can’t resist you?” I teased.
She inhaled sharply when I curled my hand around her neck, holding firmly as I pulled her back against me.
“Tell me, dirty girl.”
“Yes. Yes, I was hoping you’d…”
I spun her around, pinned her between my bigger body and the doorjamb. Her jaw went slack, her eyes glazing over.
Yeah, this was what she’d been waiting for. Braelyn needed me to take control because that was what she craved. I’d noticed our interactions were getting hotter, as though she was exploring this new side she’d discovered. Ever since the night in the ballroom, she’d gotten more brazen.
Leaning in close, I bit her lower lip. “Tell. Me.”
>
“Fuck me,” she rasped, glaring up at me.
“That’s what you need?” Sliding my hands down her neck, I kept going, flattening my palms on her chest.
Braelyn nodded.
“I’m right here. All you have to do is say please and I’ll give you the relief you need.”
Her lips slammed shut, and I knew she was holding back the words. She wanted what I offered as much as she ever had, but she was trying to temper her response to me, to pretend she wasn’t as desperate and eager as I was.
Gripping the thin fabric of her tank top, I jerked, ripping it right down the front. I wasn’t gentle, but Braelyn didn’t want gentle. She was a wildcat, craved rough, dirty sex, and admittedly, I’d refrained somewhat, not wanting to push too hard.
“Oh, God,” she sighed, the words tinged with lust.
With my eyes still locked with hers, I grabbed the bikini top, yanked down so her firm breasts lifted over the cups. My fingers went to her nipples, pinching and twisting, applying just enough pain to have her eyes glazing over, her mouth opening once more.
“Unbutton the shorts, dirty girl,” I demanded, continuing to torment her nipples.
And that right there … that was the moment I knew she didn’t need me to refrain. She needed me to unleash on her.
Her eyes flashed with heat, but she only hesitated for a moment before her hands were moving, her shorts loosening.
“Push them down.”
She did.
“Bikini bottoms, too.”
She followed my instructions, then stepped out of them, leaving her naked from the waist down.
Applying more pressure to her nipples, I held still, leaned in. “Say please, dirty girl. Say it now.”
“Please,” she whimpered.
Without wasting a second, I went to my knees before her, lifting one leg up and draping it over my shoulder as I spread her pussy lips wide. I let her desperate moans fuel me as I devoured her cunt, licking, sucking, flicking. I continued as she begged and pleaded, her hands gripping my hair as she rode my face like a wild woman.
And when I sucked her clit between my lips and thrust two fingers into her slick heat, my sweet, dirty girl came so beautifully, I knew she was the one I would spend the rest of my life with.
FORTY
Braelyn
I couldn’t believe how much I wanted this man, how hot he made me with a simple look or a heated word.
He’d brought out a side of me I hadn’t even known I had. And more importantly, he seemed to encourage that side of me, like it even.
I’d begun to crave the incredible sensations he plied me with simply by taking control, dominating my body with such ease. I’d never met a man who could break me down and build me back up at the same time. No one except for Talon. He could treat me like a dirty slut and still make me feel like a queen at the same time.
Now that my orgasm had receded, the desire hadn’t waned. It was still banked, the embers glowing hot even though the flame had died down.
Talon stood tall, pressing his much larger body against me, pinning me to the doorjamb. “I’m not done with you yet.”
I leaned into him. “I hoped you weren’t.”
“You like this? When I treat you like a dirty little slut?”
I inhaled sharply as those sparks turned to flame again. This was the Talon I’d fallen in love with, the one I—
Oh, crap.
I’d gone and done it. Fallen in love with him.
When had that happened?
As though he’d heard my admission, he stepped back, met my gaze, and the next thing I knew, he was stripping me bare. My shirt and bikini top hit the ground with the rest of my clothes, then Talon picked me up, tossing me over his shoulder before he commanded the lights off in his office and carried me—naked—through the office.
He’d obviously done it on purpose, because we both knew the loft in his office connected to his bedroom. There was no need to make me a public display.
Except for the fact it turned me on and I had no idea why.
Talon stomped up the stairs, through the house, directly to his bedroom. He commanded all the lights to come on and they did, brightening the space like it was daylight.
He didn’t call out for Taurus, but evidently he didn’t need to, because a moment later, he stepped into the room behind us. As was protocol, Taurus didn’t say a word, but he was there, ready to take care of Talon in whatever manner he desired.
Talon set me on my feet, then jerked me toward him, his hand grabbing for my other wrist as he loomed over me, holding me firmly with both hands secured behind my back.
“You’ve got one chance to say no, dirty girl,” he whispered roughly.
Say no to what? I wondered but kept my mouth shut.
“Time’s up,” he relayed, his gaze shifting behind me. “Come hold her hands, Taurus.”
Oh, God. My entire body ignited into flame, my skin felt too small, my nipples painfully erect, and there was an ache between my thighs that I desperately needed Talon to assuage.
I was intimately aware of Taurus when he moved in behind me, taking my hands in his. I expected him to grip my wrists the way Talon had, but he didn’t. No, he was gentler, linking our fingers as he held me so that his chest pressed to my back.
With Taurus standing behind me, I watched as Talon stripped out of his clothes, leaving them on the floor. His entire body seemed harder than usual, his muscles flexing, his cock protruding proudly from his body.
He stepped up to me, his nose pressing to mine. “I’m going to fuck you, dirty girl.”
I believed him.
“But not until you beg me to.”
Oh, God.
Why did that turn me on so much?
“Release her,” Talon commanded when he stepped back, forcefully gripping my arm and dragging me toward the sofa on the far side of the bedroom.
I loved this side of him. The lack of restraint, the forcefulness of his movements. He was rarely like this with me but there was something so primal about it that it turned me on even more.
He plopped down, jerking me with him. I didn’t have a fighting chance, finding myself laid across his thick, muscular thighs, my bare ass high in the air. Instantly, I planted my hands on the floor to avoid nose-diving into the hardwood. Before I could get myself in position, his hand came down with a resounding thwack.
To my shock and utter horror, I came, my entire body shuddering as the orgasm plowed through me.
From.
A.
Spanking.
“Fuck, that was beautiful,” Talon whispered, his hand rubbing the spot where he’d spanked me. “Let’s try it again.”
I didn’t have time to argue before his hand began raining down on my ass. Every smack hurt like the devil, but at the same time, it sated something I’d been craving, something I hadn’t even realized I wanted. As for why he was spanking me, I had no clue, nor did I really care.
“You ready to beg for my cock, dirty girl?”
I didn’t answer him, wanting him to continue. Every smack had my body vibrating, whimpers escaping as pain began to bloom as my skin grew more sensitive.
He continued as he’d promised he would, didn’t let up when I started to whimper and sob. Not once did I tell him to stop, though, and I held off on begging for as long as I could. Eventually he won, just as we both knew he would.
“Please,” I whimpered.
“Please what?”
“Please, fuck me, Talon,” I begged.
No sooner were the words out of my mouth than I was jerked upright, straddling Talon’s thighs as his mouth crushed to mine.
In that moment, I could feel nothing but him. His lips, his hands, the hard ridge of his erection pressing between my thighs.
While he fondled my breasts roughly, exactly how I liked, I fumbled between us, eager to guide him where I needed him most.
“Sit on my cock, you dirty little slut,” he ground out, the words so rough they scraped a
gainst my raw nerve endings.
Even the derogatory term made me burn hotter.
If I thought for a minute that I had an ounce of control, I was wrong. I lifted myself up, guiding his cock right where I needed it. I intended to lower myself leisurely on this thick, iron-hard flesh, but I didn’t get a chance. Talon gripped my hips and jerked me down, his cock driving so far inside me a flash of pain shot through me and I screamed.
And then he didn’t let me move.
I whimpered, desperate for more, pressing my forehead to his, muttering pleas for him to let me move, to let me sate the overwhelming ache inside me.
“What do you need, dirty girl?”
“You,” I whispered. “I need you, Talon.” I wreathed my arms around his neck as I latched onto him, crying because this felt so good it overwhelmed.
Talon’s arms came around me, those nurturing, safe arms holding me tightly, kissing away my tears.
“I’m here, baby. Right here. I’ve got you.”
He made love to me then, protecting me, holding me, loving me like only he could do.
*
TALON
I wasn’t sure what had come over me, what had compelled me to spank Braelyn the way that I had. It hadn’t been in my plan. Hell, I’d never even thought about it. I’d gotten caught up in the moment, perhaps another first for me. Usually my scenes were well thought out, and at the very least, I had an idea of what would happen.
Nope.
Not this time.
Now, as I held Braelyn to me, my hips rolling as she sat astride my cock, I felt some deeper connection to her. I wanted to remain like this forever, skin to skin, soul to soul. She affected me in ways I never expected, made me feel things I’d been oblivious to my entire life.
“Talon…”
“Right here, baby,” I whispered against her neck. “You feel so good.”
Another whimper and I could tell she was close, her pussy fluttering over my cock.
Her arms untwined from around my neck. When she sat up, I released her, as well, watching as she arched her back, bracing herself with her hands on my knees. I reached up, curling my fingers over her shoulders, holding her in place while I pumped my hips, driving my cock up into her as she rode me. She was so fucking beautiful, her long hair grazing my legs as she rocked.
Owned (Office Intrigue Book 8) Page 46