The Billion Dollar Contract: The Executive Collection

by Cynthia Dane

  What? That had never occurred to her… never even entered her mind… never been done to her before. But before Jasmine could lose all the blood from her face, she pressed her hand against his chest, feeling his loosened tie beneath her fingers. “I suppose.”

  Ethan gently pushed her off his lap, and Jasmine stumbled around the chair before he pulled her back down and over his legs. She yelped, her skirt riding up her thighs and over her ass. Before she knew it, she was staring at the hardwood floors while the arm of the chair dug into her breasts. Ethan swung his arm over her shoulders and held her down while his other hand slapped her on her ass.

  The piercing sound of skin hitting skin echoed into the penthouse. Jasmine gasped, astonished. This isn’t what I thought he meant! Then the pain settled in after the numbness in her flesh receded. A shriek was caught in her throat, and all she could do was gape at the floor.

  Another spank hit her, and this time her cry was in time to the sound of Ethan’s hand punishing her. It was humiliating. Terrifying. Exhilarating. Jasmine’s brain didn’t know what it wanted to transmit to the rest of her body. This isn’t supposed to feel good! Her ass hurt, and yet that sound of Ethan’s hand striking her supple flesh made her clench in pleasure. Oh my God, I’m turning into a submissive. Jasmine wanted him to do it one more time. She wanted to feel his thick fingers spank her bottom and make her writhe against his groin. No, she wanted to feel his thick fingers maneuver beneath her lingerie and…

  There they were, teasing her where it mattered most.

  “Oh!” Jasmine jerked against the chair, nearly falling off Ethan’s lap as he pushed one finger into her. She had already been aroused, but the spanking somehow made her wetter. The sensations swirling around there must have done it. Having Ethan so close to her more sensitive spot made Jasmine bite her bottom lip to keep from yelling against the floor.

  “Do you like it when I spank you?”

  Firm. Dominant. Ethan Cole controlled every aspect of this situation, and Jasmine was trapped in his lap with his striking hand poised above her ass and his growing erection pushing into her stomach. She wanted him to both spank her and fuck her just like this, if it were at all possible. Find a way. You’re a damn billionaire who gets whatever he wants! Defy physics! Jasmine pushed herself up against the arm of the chair and allowed her knees to slip between Ethan’s legs and the other side of the chair. This jutted her ass into the air, the skirt of her dress gathering around her breasts thanks to gravity. Ethan pulled on her lingerie until it slipped down her thighs and to her knees.

  The palm of his hand landed on her bare ass.

  “Yes!” The pleasure in the form of pain jolted through her like an orgasm, but instead of leaving her tired and sated afterward, Jasmine only wanted more.

  “Do you want another one?”

  “Yes…” It embarrassed her to admit it, even in front of just him.

  “I don’t know. I’m supposed to be punishing you, not giving you what you want.”

  “Please.”

  “Please what?”

  He was toying with her. His voice said it. You know what I want, you bastard! Why did Jasmine have to say it? Was her punishment admitting that she liked it when he humiliated her like this? When he exerted his dominance over her? That was supposed to be just business. If Jasmine could tolerate it, maybe get off on it in the moment, then all the better. But actually wanting this in the first place? Why did he have this effect on her?

  “Please spank me.”

  The muted words were barely out of her mouth before he spanked her with a loud slap.

  He meant it. He wanted to push her limit of pain and pleasure entwining. He wanted to make her cry in both terror and ecstasy. The only reason Jasmine did not leap off his lap and run was because deep inside she trusted this stupid billionaire and his sex games.

  Yet she couldn’t take another strike like that one. Her skin was numb, her body reeling from the stress on her nerve endings. “I’m sorry.” It came out in a torrent of breath that left her winded. “I’m sorry I did that.”

  Ethan eased up. Jasmine slipped off his lap, trembling from the numbness.

  He pushed her down on her knees before she had the chance to right herself. Gasping, Jasmine landed with her head near his lap, and she knew what he wanted.

  She would have willingly given it to him, but he was forceful and caught her off guard. Even when he was controlling her movements in his office there was still a respect to it that kept her physical well-being in mind. Something must have had snapped in him. Was this the real Ethan Cole? The man tugging on her hair and pushing her face against his inner thigh. He’s going to choke me with it. She knew it. Before it had always happened on accident in his office – him not paying attention and her pushing her own limits. But now it was intentional. Ethan grunted at her, and all Jasmine could think was…

  “Sc…”

  Just like that, Ethan lifted his hands off her and held still in the chair. Jasmine eased to the side, catching her breath and letting her body recover from all that had just happened. She found the strength to look up at him, expecting to see disdain, anger, frustration… anything that showed how displeased he was with her for foiling his arousal with her stupid boundaries.

  But she saw none of those things. There was a frown, yes, but his brows pulled down in sadness, not furrowed in anger.

  “I’m sorry,” he said.

  This was it. The kind of moment Jasmine had anticipated from the moment she signed that contract. It took him a few weeks to work them up to this point, but now here they were – Ethan Cole pushing her around. Jasmine hadn’t known how she would handle it back then, but now all she could feel was relief that he reacted so quickly to her almost saying that word. When she looked up again, the concern in his eyes bade her to sit up with the help of his hand.

  He’s not a bad person. Jasmine took his hand, soft yet strong, and eased up toward his lowering lips. They kissed gently, his other apology pecking her chin and cheek. He just has… certain tastes…

  A part of her said that was bullshit. The other part of her wanted to tell herself to shut the hell up.

  “Ethan.” Now it was her turn to corner him in that chair, her hands grasping either side behind his head. She loomed over him, kicking off her underwear while she looked into his eyes. “I want you to do it. Be as rough with me as you want.”

  His mouth twitched. “That so?”

  “I’m serious. Be gentle. Be hard. I don’t care. I like both sides of you. And…” She placed a finger on his lips as he opened his mouth. “I trust you. You’ll stop if I can’t handle it.”

  “I don’t mean to frighten you.”

  “Why, aren’t you the gentleman?” Jasmine stood up and turned around. “Show me what a gentleman you are. Or don’t. Either way, take me, you fucked up bastard.”

  His hand lightly smacked her ass again. She knew it was red, and thanked the stars that he was not about to strike her like he once had. “That’s Sir Bastard to you.”

  Jasmine released her worries, fears, and anxiety from the situation. Ethan won’t hurt me. Not like that. Not intentionally. She knew that he wanted her to feel pleasure, not true pain. Somewhere in that stoic shell of a beautiful man was the soul of someone who didn’t want to see others hurt. He wanted to dominate her, not harm her. It wasn’t until that precise moment that Jasmine understood the difference.

  So when he eased her back down onto her knees again, she went with it. Her body was riling up in arousal anyway, and like the lustful woman she knew herself to be deep inside, she unzipped his trousers and decided to treat him to the same intensity he gave her in his lap.

  Normally she treated oral sex with Ethan as foreplay. She had to in the office if she wanted him to last long enough to give it to her in the end. Getting him excited enough to decide to screw her before finishing was an art form.

  Now she wanted to torture him. To make him come as soon as possibl
e – as hard as possible. Jasmine spared no motion as she sucked his head and worked his shaft with her hand, feeling the force of him within her palm as he made him groan loudly and pull on her hair. Not hard enough to hurt her, but enough to make her groan in return. She let the sound vibrate on his cock as she lowered her mouth over it and used her now free hand to stimulate the rest of him.

  “Shit, Jasmine.” Ethan clutched the arm of the chair, bracing himself for the inevitable. When she held him firmly in her grasp and swirled her tongue over his tip, he moaned so hard that it shook through his body. A welcomed taste entered Jasmine’s mouth. Not the brunt of what he had, but enough to tell her that this dominant man was hers to mold.

  But before she could finish the job, Ethan yanked her head back and lifted her by the shoulders into his lap.

  Without a word uttered Jasmine knew what was expected of her. While Ethan’s hands hooked beneath her thighs and held her legs apart, she sank down into his lap, letting him fill her in one easy motion.

  It was a concerted effort for the both of them as Jasmine kissed him, inviting his tongue into her mouth as she thrust down to meet his thrusts up. Even though she used a good amount of her strength, it was Ethan who led this motion by pushing himself up, his hand massaging her rear flesh while his voice echoed in her throat. Don’t stop. He was going to come at any moment – Jasmine could feel it in the way his torso tensed up and his breath quickened in her mouth. I’m not ready yet. Even when he gave it to her in the hard and fast way she wanted, the sound of their union deep in her ear every time he lifted his hips up against hers.

  Jasmine pushed up; Ethan sank down. He was now deep within her, and she looked toward the ceiling as this man reached between her legs and fingered the one place that was sure to send her to the moon.

  It worked. Jasmine shouted in pleasure, her body clenching against his as her hips gathered renewed vigor in the name of her own wants and desires.

  He said something, groaned, and filled her with his orgasm.

  They remained together in the chair, although exhausted on both ends. Jasmine clung to him and wished they both had the energy to go into the bedroom and do it again, this time with the full force of his dominance rutting into her. Maybe later. Jasmine eased herself off him and turned her hips so she could properly sit in his lap again and kiss his reddened face. The breaths pushing against her were strong and wanted.

  She would dare say that it was romantic how they sat there, his hand stroking her legs as she embraced him and thought of how comfortable this was. It’s the endorphins. Yet Jasmine couldn’t let them go. Rarely did she ever feel so content with a man afterward. It scared her, because this was Ethan Cole. A man who clearly did not feel the same way about her.

  Yet she hoped.

  The hope strengthened when they finally got up from the chair and kissed, his arms wrapped around her body. I want to be with him. His scent overwhelmed her, both the natural one and the cologne. It was an intoxicating combination that often lingered in her memory for hours on end. Tonight I’ll stay. It was decided. Jasmine was going to love on this man all night.

  But when she broke their embrace to head toward the bed, Ethan stopped her. “No. You can go home.”

  She stared at him, disbelieving. “What? I thought you would want me to stay the night.”

  He shook his head. “It’s not necessary.” Ethan reached down and zipped himself up. “I think I want to be alone tonight.”

  The way he sounded… was it depressed? Distant? Sad? “I don’t get it.”

  “What is there to get? Your hours are up anyway. I don’t want you to have to get back really late.”

  “Ethan…” Jasmine reached out to take his hand.

  He snatched it away.

  “What the hell is wrong with you?” There went the good feelings, the passion, the ardor she convinced herself she was holding for him. I’m so stupid. Of course he doesn’t feel the same way. She refused to let tears build at the corner of her eyes. “After what we just did? After that moment?” It felt stupid to say those things. Letting her delusions overtake her reasoning… I can see him looking at me like that again! The suffocating tenderness that most women would kill for. “You’re going to just kick me to the curb?”

  “I will see you Monday. That’s hardly kicking you to the curb.”

  “Oh, excuse me!” Jasmine picked up her underwear and smoothed down her skirt. “Excuse me for thinking that you had any use for me outside of my body! God, you’re a piece of work. Shit, Ethan, you just spent twenty minutes spanking, getting sucked off by, and fucking a woman and you can’t even look the least little bit happy about it?” Jasmine hopped between both feet as she struggled to put her underwear back on. “You’re crazy. How the hell are you so unhappy?” She stood up straight once her clothing was back on. “I just… yeah. I’m going to go.”

  Ethan never once looked at her. Not once! He stood there like a mannequin – a gorgeous, stern mannequin – as if he were impervious to what went on around him in the world. He’s shutting down. It scared Jasmine, who wanted to take his hand and beg him to tell her what was wrong. Why are you so distant? This man, who paid for his girlfriends, had something more messed up with him than simply being “too busy.”

  “Please. Go.”

  Tears burned in Jasmine’s eyes. She was humiliated again, but there was nothing fun about this kind. “I know I’m just a sex toy. But you could at least pretend to think better of me than that.”

  “You’re not a…”

  “Shut up. Go to hell.” Jasmine exited the bedroom, wiping tears from her cheek as she hunted down her purse. The worst part? The fact that she had to backtrack to his bathroom to clean herself up before going to get on a public bus. I’m dirty. I’m disgusting. She scrubbed herself, not with the careful attention and private jokes she usually had, but with this foreboding feeling that nothing she did would make her presentable to society.

  She was soiled goods now. Ethan had paid her price to claim that awful title.

  18

  Jasmine took his rejection unexpectedly hard. She spent Friday night curled up on her couch cuddling her cat, using him as a fluffy pillow as he groomed both himself and the top of her head. I get more affection from my asshole cat. The world was an unjust place.

  She thought she would feel better in the morning, or at least better able to go about her day, but it never happened. Jasmine spent the entire morning burrowed in bed, getting up only to get a glass of water and a bowl of cereal when hunger pangs became too much to bear. Blackbeard yowled for the better part of an hour, telling her off for not feeding him yet, until finally he gave up and went to polish off the remnants in his food bowl. Jasmine pulled her comforter over her head and wallowed in self-pity. She didn’t get to do it very often.

  I really am just a sex doll to him. It’s what Jasmine had expected in the beginning. So what happened? When did she go from being okay with it to feeling like this? It’s those eyes. Those brushes of his hand. The way he spoiled her unlike a man only using her body would. Every time Jasmine made peace with what she was doing, Ethan turned her around and made her wonder if it was at all possible that he actually felt something for her.

  And how in turn she was starting to feel things for him. Things she didn’t comprehend because she had no idea where that shit was going. It was dangerous to fall for Ethan Cole. I don’t even know him! Knowing what he looked like beneath his clothes and how he sounded when he came inside her didn’t count. It was intimate, but it wasn’t a relationship.

  Yet when she got up to use the bathroom, she wrapped a sweater around her shoulders and discovered that it smelled like Ethan’s penthouse. His cologne. His aftershave. Him.

  It was both comforting and terrible. Under better circumstances, Jasmine would lull herself to sleep with her boss’s scent. But considering how she felt about him right now, she was better off turning it into Blackbeard’s next smelly bed. Speaking of smelly�
� Right. The litter box.

  Her only saving grace that weekend was when Juan and Selena came over to watch movies and eat pizza. They could tell right away that something was wrong, but Jasmine told them something bad happened at work and left it at that. Halfway through a movie Jasmine’s phone rang with Ethan’s number. She sent him to voicemail and never checked the message. It may have been Saturday, but she was going to ignore that part of the contract.

  Late Sunday evening, when she was curled up in bed with a book and a cat, Ethan called again. Jasmine still did not answer. Instead she received a text message, and although she was going to ignore it, she couldn’t help but see the tagline, “I’m sorry,” at the top of her phone.

  Against her better judgment, she opened his long message.

  “I’m sorry I was so inconsiderate the other night. Had I known you felt that way I would have been more accommodating. It is not my intention to upset you. Please do not take it personally either. I value my downtime and it was a rough week, as you know. Next time I’ll be sure to clear with you whether or not I’m willing to let you spend the night. I hope to see you tomorrow.”