Lilly watched him disappear into the crowd. She was so proud of him, but a tiny part of her was jealous. She wished she’d done something by now that he could be proud of too.
A server passed by, and she handed him her empty glass, hesitating before plucking another one from the tray. What the hell. It was Valentine’s Day, she was single and her career was dead-on-arrival. Drinking under those circumstances was a moral imperative.
After wandering through the rest of the gallery, she ran into Brady at the bottom of a staircase. A striking redhead she recognized as his wife stood by his side.
“Hey, Lilly. I don’t know if you’ve ever met my wife, Samantha. Sam, this is Nick’s sister, Lilly.”
Samantha’s smile was even more stunning than her hair. “It’s nice to finally meet you,” she said.
“You too.” Lilly tilted her head to look toward the second floor, where heady music pulsed. “What’s up there?”
Brady winked at her. “The sexy pictures. You coming?”
She glanced up again. The music thumped and echoed, the bass deep and intoxicating. She took another swill of her drink, then downed the rest of it and placed the empty glass on a tray.
“Sure. Why not?”
She followed them up the steps and stopped on the balcony, held up by a line of people streaming in and out of a room guarded by maroon velvet drapes. Cassie hurried out from behind them, lines scored into her forehead, lips pursed with tension.
The alarm on her face was quickly replaced with a smile when she saw Lilly. “There you are. Come downstairs with me?”
“Now? But I want to see what’s in there.”
Cassie looked from Lilly to Brady and back. “I don’t think those photos are to everybody’s liking.”
“Why not?” he asked. “I heard they’re hot.”
The curtain rippled and Gabe wandered out, grinning. “Damn straight they are.”
Emboldened by alcohol and curiosity, Lilly stepped toward the entryway, turning around once to smile at her friend. “They’re only pictures, Cass. How bad can they be?”
She pulled the curtain open, and her eyes adjusted to a room that was darker than she expected. Red and white lights hung from the ceiling, setting a feverish hue to the photographs spread out on black walls. As soon as she saw them, she understood why Cassie tried to stop her. They were frozen reflections of wrists held roughly down, of faces drowning in ecstatic pleasure, exuding the delicate balance of control and abandon found in dominance and submission.
It was everything she’d learned to crave and ran away from.
“Spread your legs. Show me what’s mine.”
She drifted toward a snapshot of a finger on an upturned chin, the owner’s other hand holding the chain to a studded choker. Lilly ran a finger along her neck, feeling the absence of the exquisite pressure of a collar.
Held down. Chained up. Fingers on her throat. Tongue against her clit.
Another photo, filled with the ravenous expression of a submissive on her knees, looking up at her Master with both desire and fear. Lilly had kneeled like that under the heavy command of Damien’s stare.
“I know how badly you want to come, but not yet. Not yet.”
She moved on, each picture tiptoeing through her memories and dragging them into the light. Hands locked in cuffs. A fistful of hair being grabbed by masculine fingers. Her scalp tingled, her wrists longing for the splintering pleasure of that leather embrace. A palm print painted onto someone’s backside, and ghostly sensation whispered across Lilly’s flesh, reminding her how long it had been since she felt the delectable pain of a spanking.
He gripped her hair, and she hated how much she loved it.
God, she loved it.
A dam collapsed. There was no denying that she ached to feel this again. Even in the face of Damien’s lies and deceit, Lilly remembered how, within the blinding release of his restraints, she actually felt whole.
Her trance gave way when Brady called out, “Jack, where’ve you been?”
She felt him before she saw him. The sensation of being watched drew her eyes to where Jack was standing in the corner. His gaze traveled down the length of her dress and back up again, his body taut and motionless.
“Here,” Jack replied, his eyes focused on hers.
“Uh, guys?” Gabe said. Lilly turned, and the effort it took for her to break from Jack’s stare was almost painful. “We should go downstairs. They’re going to toast the artists now.”
“Be right there,” she said, but didn’t move as the room began emptying out.
“You coming, Jack?” Brady called over his shoulder.
“In a minute.”
Brady shrugged and walked through the curtains. Cassie gestured to Lilly, but she waved her on, promising she’d follow. She didn’t want to leave yet. She wanted to stay a little longer and drink in the imagery around her.
She wanted Jack.
Turning to face one wall of photos, she felt his gaze on her. He stalked closer, until he was right behind her.
“Joining the others?” he asked softly.
She felt out of control, her body flying apart where she stood. “Not yet.”
“Still looking?”
“Yes, Sir.”
The instant the word slipped free, Lilly winced and bowed her head. It came so naturally—she couldn’t help it. But through the haze of humiliation, she heard Jack’s breath catch.
“What did you say?” His voice was gravelly. Husky. She didn’t answer—she couldn’t—and he stepped around to face her. “Lilly.”
He captured her chin with his forefinger and thumb, lifting it gently. There was a question in his eyes as they searched hers, and then his expression shifted into something else.
Something she recognized.
“I want to take you someplace quiet,” he said.
It wasn’t a question. It was a command.
It suddenly became clear what had drawn her to him. Why he’d stepped in and taken over her thoughts.
Jack was a Dominant.
Chapter Ten
Jack couldn’t believe what he was seeing.
From the minute Lilly parted those drapes, he couldn’t take his eyes off her. It wasn’t only because of how incredible she looked in that tiny black dress, so goddamn sexy it was almost painful. It was because of the barbed wire of worry lancing his thoughts, wondering how she’d react to photos of the lifestyle he’d embraced.
Her reaction wasn’t at all what he’d expected.
Somehow, he’d missed the signs—her lowered glances, quiet blushes, and how she’d responded so easily, so sweetly to his commands. Even when her face flushed as she moved throughout the room, Jack still didn’t recognize it. But then she’d said “Sir” in a way that was practiced. Trained. And now she was looking up at him as if she’d follow him anywhere.
“Okay,” she whispered.
All rational thought escaped him. He wanted her alone, now. If she was a submissive, he had to find out.
Jack released her chin. “We’re leaving. If anyone asks, you’ve had too much to drink, and I’m taking you home. Understand?”
“Yes.”
Sir, he thought. Say “Yes, Sir” again.
She turned toward the steps. Driven by instinct, Jack slid his palm down the back of her dress to the delicious curve below her waistline, fanning his fingers out to brush the swell of her rear. Lilly shuddered softly, and arched back against his hand. His cock pulsed, his entire body hungry for her. But when she peeked over her shoulder at him, her eyes wide, she looked almost…lost.
Jack reassured her with a gentle press of his palm. He needed to soothe her, to let her know she was safe.
“Don’t worry,” he said. “I’ve got you.”
They reached the first floor landing as everyone was cheering
the artists, holding up flutes of champagne. It would be easy to duck out without anyone noticing, if they were quick. Not wasting any time, Jack guided Lilly toward the coat room. She pointed to her jacket, and he pulled it from the rack, wrapping it firmly around her before grabbing his own and leading her toward the door.
They slipped outside. Once they were in his car, she fingered her purse, then pulled her phone from it.
“I need to let Nick know I left.”
Shit. He hadn’t thought this through. Nick would notice their absence and so would Brady. Damn Patrick for finding his own plans tonight, the one time Jack could’ve actually used a wingman.
“Of course. I understand.”
He took his phone from his pocket too, sending Brady a quick explanation.
Went home. Tired. Call you tomorrow.
The lie only bothered him for a moment until he saw Lilly tap out another text. “I have to tell Cassie too. She’ll worry.”
“Cassie seems very protective of you.”
Lilly lowered her phone to her lap. “She is.”
The urge to protect her flooded through him again. Jack reached up to brush his knuckles against her cheek. She made the barest press of her face into his hand—a hesitant little nuzzle. It was such a sweet motion, one that made him long to find whatever it was that had hurt her and make it go away.
“I’d like to know what happened,” he said. “If you’ll tell me, I want to hear it all.”
Lilly’s eyes sparkled with tears. “There’s a diner we could go to that’s open late. Rosie’s. It’s near my apartment.”
He put the car in gear, and she directed him to a small suburban eatery. Jack asked the hostess to seat them at a secluded booth in the corner. They ordered coffees, and Lilly didn’t say anything at first, her fingers dancing around the rim of her mug.
“How are things at work?” he asked. She obviously needed help calming down. Talking would be easier if he distracted her with safer topics first.
“Good. I’ve been put on a case, but I’m not having much luck finding what I need.”
“What kind of case is it?”
“Trade secret.”
“That’s my specialty. I’d be happy to help.”
“I might take you up on that.” Lilly sipped her coffee, her posture relaxing. “Why did you stop practicing?”
She seemed a little more at ease, so he indulged her in the story. “My father was a lawyer. He went to Harvard Law, so it was a given that I’d be going there too. Brady was much younger and a computer whiz, so Dad didn’t push him along the same path.”
“You didn’t want to go to law school?”
“I wanted to be like my father, but then I realized anyone who wants to go to law school is a complete masochist.” That prompted a giggle from her. “It’s true. No one tells you before you go in how bad it is.”
“It’s like Fight Club. First rule about law school—you don’t talk about law school.”
“Exactly.”
A grin that matched his spread over her face. Her real smile.
God, she was beautiful.
“Anyway, I liked school, but it was difficult to study with an infant at home.”
“You have kids?”
“A son. Joshua. He’s twenty-two and getting his doctorate at Stanford.” Jack toyed with the handle of his mug, gauging Lilly’s reaction. There wasn’t one. “My wife and I met when we were seventeen. We got married right out of college.”
“So young.”
“It wasn’t as unusual back then. Eve got pregnant right away, so once I graduated, there was no option but to go straight into my father’s practice.” He drummed his fingers against the table, remembering the long hours, the meetings, the feeling that no matter how much billable time he put in, it was never enough. “I loved law, but not the reality of the work. I ended up devising a restructuring plan to package and resell bad debt, but it didn’t sit right with me. It did get me an offer for partner, though.”
“And you turned it down.”
“Yup. I wrote something about the plan that got published in The Harvard Business Review, and they offered me a chance to teach. I liked the idea of mentoring future lawyers, so I left.”
“How did that go over with your father?”
Jack laughed. “Not well. But I knew I needed to follow my heart.”
“You sound like Nick, pursuing photography instead of going pro like everyone expected.”
He sipped his coffee, watching her. “You became a lawyer because of what happened to him?” She’d said as much to Brady the first night at the pub, but he wanted to hear more.
“Yes,” she started, then paused and dug a hand into her hair. Jack recognized the nervous habit. He’d seen her do it before.
“You don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to.”
“No, it’s okay.” She lowered her hand and took a slow, deep breath. “When Nick was practically bludgeoned to death, and his teammates got away with it, I knew I had to become a lawyer. I never wanted to see anyone taken advantage of like that again. My parents couldn’t afford law school after sending us both to college, so I clerked for a few years to save up. I was twenty-five when I started at Northwestern but jumped right into it.”
“Workaholic,” he said with a grin.
“Yeah, yeah.”
She rolled her eyes, her nose scrunching up, a smile pressing at her lips. It was adorable, and yet, he couldn’t stop thinking about how much fun it would be to take her over his knee and show her what those bratty little eye rolls could cost her.
“Anyway, during my second year, we had a lecture series on gender discrimination. The lawyer giving it was an alumnae who specialized in civil rights. After what happened with Nick, I couldn’t wait to meet him.”
“Naturally.”
“I read all of his articles, and thought he was brilliant, but then I saw him.” The amused look on her face fell away, replaced with one filled with regret. “He was the kind of tall, dark and handsome a small-town Midwest girl dreamed about. Worldly, refined. Older than me too, by six years.” She shrugged. “Age was never an issue for me.”
Good to know, but this wasn’t the time for that. “Go on,” he coaxed softly.
She inhaled again, deeply. “I went to every one of his lectures. We’d chat afterward—and flirt—but it was never more than that until I got a summer associate position at his firm. My first night, we went out for drinks, and the way he looked at me…” Her speech slowed, her words drawn out like taffy on a pull. “It was like he could eat me alive and I’d love every second of it.”
Her words conjured up images of Jack doing exactly that, of his head between her luscious thighs, tongue licking a stripe up her drenched pussy lips while her legs and arms were spread-eagled, chained up on his bed.
Jack clenched his jaw and forced himself to concentrate.
“What happened then?” he asked.
Lilly dragged her gaze upward. Her eyes were unfocused, drowsy. “I went home with him, and he did things to me no one had done before.”
“What did he do?”
She paused, her lips pursed in her hesitance. “He pulled my hair, held me down and spanked me.”
Fuck. “And did that frighten you?”
Lilly shook her head, slowly, that damn blush painting her cheeks. “No. I loved it.”
Jack’s mouth went dry. There it was. The proof he’d been waiting for.
“It was like he’d lit a match inside me that no one ever struck before. The pleasure and the pain, the way he could play my body. The feeling that I was his, and he was mine too.” Her gaze dropped back down to the table. “That part was all in my head, though.”
Jack frowned. “Why do you say that?”
She curled her arms around her middle, as if she were trying to physical
ly protect herself from what she was about to say.
“We kept meeting up after the job ended. He was teaching my third-year clinic at school, and asked me to keep things quiet. I was of course completely in love with him by then, so I said yes, thinking things would change after I finished school. But at my graduation, we got into an argument. I asked if we could go public now, but—” Lilly winced, then regained her composure, taking a breath. “He laughed at me. Told me I was a fool for thinking he belonged to me. That he wasn’t mine and never would be.”
She stared hard at the table, her jaw tight with the effort of holding back tears. Jack leaned toward her, an instinctual response that spiraled out of his gut.
“I hope you punched him in the jaw.”
Her sudden laughter was a welcome relief. She smiled and shook her head.
“Sadly, no. I went home, tried to put him out of my mind and study for the bar. But the night before the exam, he called to tell me he was engaged. Someone he’d met over the summer.”
Oh, Lilly.
She lifted her chin, a show of strength Jack respected the hell out of. “So then I did what I should’ve done on day one—I researched BDSM and discovered a whole slew of things he never told me. That I was entitled to a checklist. And limits. And a safeword.”
“You played without one?”
She glanced at him. There was so much pain in her eyes. “I never knew I could have one.”
Jack’s stomach lurched, his jaw going tight with anger. “He sounds like an irresponsible, selfish prick.”
That earned him a faint smile. “Yeah, but I was the one who was stupid enough to believe him.”
“You weren’t stupid. You trusted him.”
She laughed again, but there was no mirth in it. “Well that was pretty stupid, wasn’t it?”
Lilly uncurled her arms to wipe her tears away. Unable to hold back the urge to comfort her, Jack reached out, took her free hand in his and stroked her palm with his thumb.
“It wasn’t your fault. It sounds to me like this guy knew what he was doing. Most girls are easily swayed by a man like that.”
His Contract: Legally Bound, Book 1 Page 6