by May Sage
Thus prompted, Carter’s mother turned, looking past her son, who fruitlessly tried to block her view of his office.
The familiar, sharp grey eyes fell on Cassie, taking her in with so much scrutiny she felt like she was under X-Rays.
“Oh, my.”
The woman pushed by Carter, walking right to her.
“Lara Harris,” she introduced herself, holding a hand up.
“Cassandra Franklin, ma’am,” she replied with a blush.
The woman’s mouth opened up, forming a round O.
“Isn’t she precious! My, my.”
“Mother, stop, I beg of you. Cassie is just a friend – and I sincerely doubt she shall remain so another day if you divulge just how bat-shit crazy you are. She may think that’s hereditary.”
“Carter, shut it. Be a good boy and go get us coffee.”
To Cassie’s infinite amusement, he obeyed, and with only a little bit of grumbling.
“So,” Lara Harris said, sitting down next to her and whispering, “friends, mh?”
“Yes, ma’am.”
“With benefits?”
Had she really just said that?
“Don’t give me that look, I wasn’t born yesterday. You’re a pretty thing and my son is too handsome for his own good.”
“I… we… we don’t…”
“Alright, alright. No hanky-panky yet. Oh well, I’m sure it won’t be long,” she said, patting her lap. “You cooked this, mh?”
Fuck. She was in the middle of a potential daughter in law screening. Her eyes went to Carter, who seemed to be the amused one now that she was under siege. He looked at her as if to say each man for himself, deal with her.
“Yes?”
“Good, good. And how many children do you want?”
Holy shit. Carter and Lucy were both pretending to be occupied, and holding their laughter as best they could.
No way was she going to let them get away with it. Narrowing her eyes, she replied, “A handful, at least. I’d like to start as soon as possible – as soon as I find a suitable baby daddy, that is.”
Lucy disguised her eruption of chuckles as a cough while Carter shook his head behind his mother’s back, desperately attempting to get her to stop talking. Not happening.
“I’d like a little girl, first – I’ll dress her up like a princess everyday.”
Lara winked at her, making it clear she knew her game before she played along, adding, “You should see what Baby Dior comes up with, dear. It’s so adorably cute.”
Cassie nodded enthusiastically.
“Yes! And I plan on knitting little slippers, too.”
By that point, Carter was holding his hand in his head, as if willing the nightmare to end. He hadn’t seen anything yet.
“Oh! I never could get a hang of knitting. Do you do scarves, dear? I adore homemade scarves.”
“I’m working on a Halloween design,” she confessed, not even having to lie on that score. “I’ll make you one before the end of the month.”
“You like the holidays, then?”
“I love every holidays. My family likes to gather and get as silly as we can – we all dress up. Wait!” she grabbed her second Tupperware, opening it up. “I’ve made some mini apple pies – sorry, they fell, so they aren’t that pretty, but have one, and I’ll tell you all about it.”
Twenty minutes. The horrific show lasted twenty minutes, before his mother finally saw fit to announce she was going back to work.
The second she was out of ear shot, Lucy and Cassie both broke into laughter. He glared at the former until she stopped sniggering.
“Sorry, but that was hilarious.”
“Lucinda Warner, get the fuck out of the office. It’s lunch time.”
“Yes, sir,” she replied, sticking her tongue out before wisely running out of doors.
He then turned to the pretty devil who, with so little effort, had turned his regimented life into an absolute chaos.
He and his mother had an understanding. She knew that he wasn’t serious with any woman because he hadn’t met any woman worth being serious with. And fucking Cassie had just shattered that understanding. She might have gone over the top to play it up, but his mother was smart. She’d read under the bullshit. She knew the girl had been joking, and she probably loved her for it.
Shit.
His personal phone vibrated in his pocket; he wasn’t surprised to find a text from his mom.
Keep her, or else!
Shit. Shit. Shit.
“You have no idea what you’ve just done,” he said slowly, enunciating each word clearly.
“Come on, your mother totally read through that,” Cassie replied, rolling her eyes. “She knew I was pulling her leg to annoy you.”
“Yes, indeed. And she also is going to get on my fucking case until I tell her we’re working on that handful of kids you’ve professed to want, Cassandra Franklin. You’re going to pay for this.”
She squirmed in response. Good.
Carter found himself smiling out of the blue. He knew just what he was going to do, and consequence be damned. There was no better way to make little Franklin pay for the situation she’d willfully created.
“Okay, I totally owe you one,” she conceded, before breaking into a monkey grin. “Worth it.”
He wiggled a brow.
“We’ll see what you say about that in a minute.”
His smile was probably wicked, now, and the woman had the sense to look worried.
“Get up.”
“What?”
“Get up. Turn around, hands on the desk. Don’t move.”
She stared at him like he’d lost his mind. He probably had.
“You’ve done your very best to make the last half an hour as uncomfortable as it could be for me, Cassie. My turn. I believed you enquired about spanking a little while ago.”
Chapter 10
The whole breathing thing sounded like rocket science right about now. Speaking? Speaking was in the realm of operating an alien ship. Instead, Cassie did the one thing she could do.
She got up. She turned around. She bent down and placed her hands on his mahogany desk.
“Good girl.”
Oh, god. Her skin tingled, she got goosebumps, as though a sudden gust of wind had frozen and warmed her bones all at once.
And all he’d done was say those two words.
What was this? Something beyond comprehension, beyond logic. Something she would have had no way to understand if she hadn’t stood there and experience it.
“Now let’s get a few things clear, Cassie. This is crossing a lot of lines. However way you put it, this is intimate. Sensual. I want you to understand that you do not have to do this. Our friendship, your job, my help with your book – none of it is dependent on you letting me spank you right now. Are we clear?”
She nodded.
“Speak.”
Oh, fuck. Forcing any kind of sound past her throat was an effort, overwhelmed as she was, but she obeyed.
“Clear.”
“Good. If you want to stop, tell me. Instead, I’ll prank you until I deem the score settle. We can resolve this issue with farting cushions, laxatives, or other methods you’ll find tremendously embarrassing. Or we can do this. It’s entirely up to you.”
Oh, no. Why did he give her a choice, when there was none? How could she accept, or refuse, for that matter? This already felt better than anything she’d ever experienced, but if she had to admit that she wanted more out loud, she was gonna die of mortification. Never mind farting cushions, this was torture.
“I… I think we should do it. For… Research purposes. For my book.”
That sounded genuine, right?
“I thought you might say that. Right, well there’s two ways to go about this now, Ms. Franklin. We can keep this lovely dress where it is, or push it out of the way. In either case, I would consider my retribution accomplished. But if you intend to use this experience as research material… yo
u may want to move it. For authenticity, of course.”
“Of course,” she repeated in a needy whisper.
First, there was an endless silence, motionlessness filled with tension and then, his voice again.
“This makes us exactly what my mother accused us of being, Cassie. Friends with benefits. I don’t have the time to offer more. You understand that?”
That made her stop; she hadn’t even considered the possibility of more, but did that mean… would they do it? Was he going to… Oh god. The very possibility blew her mind.
“I… Are we…”
“No, sweet. But even without fucking, this is sex. Don’t think otherwise.”
She pondered upon those words for a moment but two seconds later, there was no word, no thought, nothing in the world, except him.
She yelped, more in surprises than pain, when his hand slapped her left ass cheek, but no sooner had she registered the hit that he was running his palm in circle, soothing the sting.
This felt… this was… everything.
She felt him absolutely everywhere, against her clit, her hardening nipples, her inner core, tightening with need.
What the fuck was this? Black magic?
“You have a lovely ass, Cassie. Round and firm… probably red.”
Slap.
This time, it was the right cheek, still over her clothes, but when his hand caressed her, they lingered at the hems, pushing it up, brushing against her sensitive skin.
“Please,” she whimpered, her voice so thick with need she barely recognized it.
She wasn’t even sure what she was begging for.
Carter slowly ran his hand up her cheeks, until the skirt was bundled up to her waist. Then to her infinite pleasure and humiliation, she felt his lips drop on her cheek, followed by the graze on his teeth.
She moaned long, loud and proud, like a desperate cat in heat – exactly what he was reducing her to.
Slap.
“Yes!”
His hand didn’t stop, relentlessly slapping her cheeks in a rhythm that was going to drive her to mindless, and when she couldn’t take anymore, they caressed, cajoled, and he kissed her burning flesh.
“Fuck!” she yelped, taken by surprise when every tense muscles exploded.
Her panties were drenched, uncomfortable, and she was out of breath, lost and somehow, content, too.
She turned around when her galloping heart finally consented to slow down, and frowned when she took Carter in.
He seemed… serious. Pissed off, maybe. She’d never seen those grey eyes quite so dark, and dangerous.
“Are you okay?”
He chuckled humorlessly.
“There’s a gorgeous ass that I just reddened with my palm and a wet pussy taunting me, so of course, I’m not okay. I will be, though. Just get out of my office, go home, and lock yourself under dead bolts.”
She stared some more, unmoving.
“I’m a man of my words, Cassie. I said I wouldn’t fuck you. I don’t have time for a woman, and you’re the relationship kind – you deserve it all. Just go.”
Cassie bit her lip. Usually, when she was contemplating something risqué, she wondered what the protagonists in her book would do, and forced herself to play the part. This time, she didn’t need to. Seeing that beautiful, perfect man, looking so disturbed, so close to undone, after touching her was all she needed.
Cassie straightened up, turned around, and dropped to her knees, ignoring the sting when her sore ass pressed against her ankle.
“What are you doing?”
“We’re friends, Carter,” she said with more confidence than she’d ever felt. “And friends don’t let friends get blue balls.”
And on that note, she unzipped his fly, let his trousers fall in a puddle at his feet, and glided his white boxers down his strong, muscular legs.
Fuck.
Her eyes bulged; she had expected a dick, not a fucking monster. The thing looked angry, menacing, throbbing and pointing right to her face.
Before her mind could wonder about the technicalities, she shut the brain down, and wrapped her lips around his shaft.
Chapter 11
Carter couldn’t sleep, his mind playing and replaying the events of the early afternoon in endless circles.
Cassie’s tongue gliding across his length, her hand massaging his balls, and her big green eyes watching him the whole time. Fuck. He’d come so much, and she’d swallowed it all, to his endless shock.
The whole thing had been an unexpected turn, and although he really hadn’t planned on it, he couldn’t help feeling satisfied about the development. She’d said yes to a casual encounter. He hadn’t believed she’d ever be opened to the idea – not in a million years.
It took a while for Carter to recognize what was keeping him awake; by twelve, he’d pointed it out.
The issue was that delightful as the lunchtime session had been, it wasn’t enough. Not even close. He wanted… more. He couldn’t define what, exactly. Sex was part of the equation, and food, too. Work on her book, perhaps the occasional date.
It was late, but he didn’t hesitate before firing up his phone.
“Hey, man. You’ve changed your mind? Are you joining us?”
Trick was at a club with a handful of their acquaintances, and by the sound of it, he’d drunk quite a bit; Carter had begged off, not feeling it.
“No thank you. I’m just calling to…” he hesitated. Damn, drunk or not, Trick would never forget that. “To get a phone number.”
Yes, he’d let the girl suck him off, but he’d forgotten to ask for her damn contact details.
Suddenly, an idea crossed his mind.
“Nevermind, ignore it, I think I’ve got it,” he lied.
He hanged up before going online, and clicking on Cassandra Frank’s website. Score.
There was an email address, and social media details. Of course, there was a good chance that she might just use a PA or a marketing agency to sort out that side of things, so he kept the message vague and formal.
From: [email protected]
To: [email protected]
Subject: indecent proposal
Dear Ms. Frank,
I am contacting you to ask about your progress with Tame Me If You Can, and to volunteer my services in case you wished to further improve your understanding of Amy’s journey into depravity.
All the best,
C
Recognizing that he just wasn’t going to sleep, he grabbed his eReader from his bedside table, put it reading glasses on and started on her first book. In all honesty, he would never, ever have been caught dead reading something of the sort if he hadn’t known the author: he was a mystery, sometimes a fantasy or a sci-fi kind of guy. But he had to admit, the woman could write. It wouldn’t do to openly admit to enjoying it, but girly or not, the book was entertaining as fuck.
He’d read a good four chapters by the time a bip of his phone announced a new email.
From: [email protected]
To: [email protected]
Subject: decency is highly overrated
Dear C,
You’ll be delighted to know that I have made tremendous progress with Tame Me If You Can, and I will confess that it is thanks to your generous tutelage.
If you were willing to share more of your expertise, I would be infinitely grateful.
Yours truly,
Cx
He laughed out loud, firing up a quick answer.
From: [email protected]
To: [email protected]
Subject: Well then…
You’ll find attached my private phone number.
Use it now.
His phone rang within seconds.
“Hey.”
She sounded shy, hesitant; his cock immediately twitched in response to the sound of her voice.
“Hey back. Still awake?”
“I couldn’t sleep. Today was… different. I feel…”
A smile played on his lips, imagining just how she must feel right now. Of course, she’d come, but he knew better than to think she was sated; they’d just fooled around, leaving the main dish out of the equation.
“Anyway, I’ve been writing for hours – I think I’ll have to re-read it tomorrow and remove a good half of what I came up with. No one wants to hear that much about spanking.”
He sincerely doubted that.
“Read it for me,” he asked.
She did; her voice slowed down, becoming velvety, slower and lower as she revealed everything she felt and thought under his touch. This was torture, madness. Why was he submitting himself to her spells?
By the time she was finished, he couldn’t say a word, knowing that if he spoke, it would be to ask her to come here.
To tell her.
“Carter, are you still here?”
“Mh mh,” he acquiesced noncommittally. “This was…” painful, arousing, infuriating. He settled on, “much better.”
“Oh, good. Glad to have your stamp of approval. I’m a little bit ashamed about how judgmental I must have seemed at first.”
“Not judgmental. Maybe a little naïve, perhaps. You haven’t had a lot of experience, in the past, right?”
Yes, he was fishing. No, he wasn’t even a little bit ashamed of it.
“That’s an understatement.”
She left it at that, and god, he knew he should have dropped the subject.
“What do you mean?”
“I… Well, I’m not a virgin. Not technically. The hymen is definitely gone, but…”
He closed his eyes, willing his heart beat to slow the fuck down before he had a heart attack.
“Cassandra, are you saying that you’ve never fucked a man?”
“Well, it’s always just been me and Bob.”
His blood froze. Bob?
“You have a boyfriend?”
“What? No,” she protested, obviously offended. “I wouldn’t have let you spank me if I did. Bob… you know, my BOB? Battery Operated Boyfriend? Sorry, I thought everyone knew, but it might be romance novelist speech. Anyway, I’m not very good at speaking with guys, so... Yeah. I kinda took things in hand.”