by Haven, Leila
Tied Down
By: Leila Haven
Published by Smutpire Press
Copyright 2015 All Rights reserved
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Chapter 1
҉ ҉ ҉ ҉ ҉ ҉
It was not a place I’d ever been before. The aisles were darkened and the seductive sounds of a saxophone played from the speakers. The music barely covered the ecstatic sounds of a woman about to climax.
I kept my eyes focused ahead and didn’t let them stray to the racks of dildos around me. I didn’t realize they came in so many colors, sizes and shapes.
There was a black velvet curtain in front of the area I was headed toward. My clean mind could only imagine what the owners thought was so erotic that it had be sectioned off and hidden from those who didn’t dare enter. Judging from what was on the racks in the store, I could only imagine the wild and naughty material.
The sex store was definitely not a place I thought I would end up. But when you were desperate for a job, I guessed there were plenty of standards you were ready to lower.
If my mama could see me now, she would all but have a hysteric fit. The good thing was she would never know about this excursion or the job, if I got it. My pristine and conservative skirt and suit jacket didn’t exactly make me look like an ideal candidate for the shop assistant position.
I’d wanted an adventure, and I guessed I was getting it. Living my whole life in a town with only two hundred and fifteen people didn’t exactly equip me for the big city, but it was all part of the experience. I had to keep reminding myself that this was what I’d wanted.
I caught a glimpse of a television screen and instantly wished I hadn’t. A woman was on all fours, her face twisted in desperate, wanton need while a man with a huge penis pumped into her from behind. There were some images that burned themselves into the brain and that was one of them.
I approached the desk and tried to look fearless and willing to do whatever it took to make the boss happy. I had been on twenty-two interviews in the past three weeks and I was desperate for a job. My savings were running out fast. The adult sex shop was my last hope. I could not run home with my tail between my legs and admit I had been wrong to leave.
I would never go home under those circumstances. I would rather be homeless than have to hear everyone telling me ‘I told you so’.
The shop assistant was wearing a corset with her huge breasts spilling over the top. All she would have to do was lean over a little too much and she would fall right out of the cups.
God, I hadn’t even thought about what the uniforms here would be. What if they made me wear something that revealing? I couldn’t see below her waist while she was behind the counter, but I was willing to bet there wasn’t much material down there either.
I swallowed down the fear and conjured up the smug look on Billy’s face when he’d told me I’d never make it in the city. It was enough to make me more determined than ever to get the job.
No matter what.
“Hello, is Mr. Parker around? I’m here for a job interview.” I smiled while the girl ran her eyes over me from head to foot. She was probably thinking the same thoughts I’d had about myself.
“He’s out back,” she finally said, nodding toward a door marked ‘Office’. “Go on through, I’m sure he’ll be expecting you.”
“Thank you.”
Her smile was a little more amused than I wanted to see. The woman was like all the people back home. I would prove all of them wrong.
I knocked on the door and heard a gruff response before I opened it. A man in his fifties swiveled around in his office chair and gave me the once-over.
My hand shot out to shake his. “Hello, Mr. Parker. I’m Emily. We spoke on the phone about the vacant position you have here?” It wasn’t meant to sound like a question, but that’s exactly what happened.
“I remember. Have a seat.” He gestured to a white leather lounge, and I reluctantly sat down on the edge of the seat. It didn’t seem like a place that would be too sanitary.
“Thank you for the opportunity.”
“Let’s cut to the chase. Have you ever worked in retail before?”
“No, but I’m very keen to learn. I pick things up quickly and I’m a very hard worker.”
“Look, I’m sure you’re a nice girl and all, but I need someone with experience. I don’t have time to muck around and train. We’re too busy.”
I was losing him. He wasn’t even going to give me a chance. There was no way I could walk out of there without a job. “Please, Mr. Parker, just give me a chance. I’ll work here for a day for free and you can see how dedicated I can be.”
He pursed his lips. They had a sheen of sweat beading on the skin which I tried not to look at. I pleaded with him silently, hating that I’d resorted to begging.
Finally, he leaned forward and stood. “Come with me.”
I followed him diligently and obediently, hoping he wasn’t just showing me the door. We stopped in the handcuff aisle. “See that man over there?” He pointed to a tall man who seemed to be in the leather section. I nodded. “You sell him one hundred dollars’ worth of merchandise and you’ve got the job.”
A hundred dollars? In a sex store? Who would spend that much money in an adult store? But I didn’t really have much of a choice.
“Okay, I’ll do it.”
Mr. Parker shrugged his shoulders and gestured for me to get moving. I went warily, trying to conjure up some of the selling techniques I’d seen on late-night television. I’d seen enough infomercials to get some idea of how best to make people buy.
The man was dressed impeccably in a gray suit with a light blue shirt underneath. He wasn’t wearing a tie, the top few buttons open instead. My gaze traveled upwards until I found his face.
My steps faltered. He was breathtakingly gorgeous with the light stubble of a five-o’clock shadow along his strong jawline. His face was chiseled and strong but I forgot all about it when I saw his eyes. They were as green as emeralds, surrounded by dark eyelashes that would make any woman jealous.
His pink lips quirked into a smile as he saw me standing as still as a statue. I could barely talk to the man, let alone make him cough up a hundred bucks for sex toys. My one shot at getting the job seemed extremely likely to fail.
But failure wasn’t an option. I shook myself into life and approached so that we were standing side by side and looking at the items on the shelves. He smelled like expensive cologne up close, a fragrance that was making me heady.
My eyes focused on the merchandise in front of us. My face instantly blushed red. There were whips and crops, not to mention a bunch of other toys. I had no idea what many of them were for or what they were named.
I swallowed, trying to put some moisture into my mouth. “Are you finding everything alright?”
“I think so,” he said, his voice husky and deep. It matched his outside perfectly.
“Can I assist you with anything?” I silently willed him to give me something to do, some indication of how to sell him a hundred bucks’ worth of stock.
“What has Don got you doing?” he asked, taking me by surprise. For a moment I had to think who Don was. I guessed Mr. Parker.
“Nothing, sir. I’m just here to help.”
“Tell me the truth.”
His eyes drilled into me, piercing me with his intense emerald stare. I found the truth pouring out of me like water.
“I have to sell you one hundred dollars’ worth of items, and then he’ll give me a job. And I really need this position—you have no idea how much.” I clamped my jaw together before I could say any more.
The man looked at me for a long time before he tore his eyes away. “A hundred dollars, huh? That’s a lot of money.”
“You don’t have to tell me that. But don’t worry, it’s silly. I would probably be all wrong for this job anyway. I can barely look at the goods, let alone try to sell them.”
“You’re not a big fan of… toys?” He quirked one eyebrow and I swear I almost swooned. He was that good-looking.
“I’ve never used them before,” I replied, my face burning. The number of men I’d been with was a grand total of one. There were slim pickings in my hometown, and I’d thought I would be with Billy forever. I couldn’t imagine a time without him, once.
Not anymore.
“They’re fun. Maybe you should give them a try one day,” he said. Amusement flickered in his devastatingly beautiful eyes. If he kept looking at me I would be mesmerized before too long.
He leaned over me and picked up a whip, a dozen pieces of leather hanging off the edge. He flicked it my way and then headed for the cash register. I eagerly checked the price on the rack – thirty dollars.
I wasn’t going to get the job.
The girl on the register rang up his purchase and he left happily. I slunk back to Mr. Parker. “I’m guessing I don’t get the job, right?”
“Better luck next time.” He disappeared back into his office and closed the door with a thud that seemed final. Another job interview down with nothing to show for it except a bus ticket stub.
I headed for the door, hoping for some last-minute reprieve, but it never came. The glass doors slid open for me and I blinked into the bright daylight.
A sex shop, what had I been thinking?
The moment I stepped onto the gravel of the parking lot, a black vehicle pulled up and almost ran me over. The driver’s-side window slid down.
It was the guy from inside. Obviously he was ready for a little gloating before leaving. “You’re too good to be working at an adult store,” he said. With dark sunglasses on, he looked even more mysterious and handsome.
“Apparently Don thinks I’m not good enough,” I replied.
“What do you think about grabbing a coffee?”
Just the thought of having a coffee made my mouth water. The guy had an expensive-looking car, and he was very well dressed—surely he couldn’t be a serial killer. It was time I threw caution to the wind. “Sure.”
“Hop in.”
I skirted around the vehicle and sank into the leather seat. Instantly I felt the luxury of the car. It didn’t roar, it purred. It was also very far from the trucks all the boys drove at home.
We didn’t say a word during the drive, which lasted for only a block before he pulled into the nearest café. We ordered and he insisted on paying, for ‘making me lose the job opportunity of a lifetime’. He whipped out a black Amex card, the kind with absolutely no limit on it. I guessed a few bucks for the coffee wasn’t going to break him.
But it also meant he could easily afford a hundred dollars’ worth of goods in the adult store. I wasn’t going to get all warm and fuzzy over him yet.
We sat down at a table in the sun, coffee cups warming our hands. “We should probably introduce ourselves, considering we’re sharing a beverage. I’m Cooper.”
“Emily.”
“It’s nice to meet you.”
I hated the silent moments in conversations. They always made me think I was boring the other person to tears. I shifted uncomfortably, trying to think of something to say.
Cooper beat me to it. “I was going to buy a lot more at the store before you told me about Don’s quest.”
Okay, so he was a jerk. A rich jerk. Great. “Why didn’t you? Was it more fun making my life more difficult? Because I really needed that job.”
“You weren’t right for the position.” When I arched one eyebrow at him, he continued. “I have a counteroffer for you. It would be far more suitable for a woman with your skills.”
“I seriously doubt that.”
His lips curled into a small smile. He seemed to enjoy having all the answers while I was completely clueless. “I need a girlfriend.”
“A girlfriend? That’s not usually a position you have to interview for.”
Gorgeous, rich, and now crazy. I sure knew how to find all the kooks in the city. Billy would be laughing his ass off now.
“It is for me. I have tastes that aren’t exactly everyday. If you agree to let me show you what I mean, I’ll tell you all about it. Say you are interested.”
“I wouldn’t say ‘interested’, more curious,” I replied. I found it difficult to lie to the man. He wasn’t even setting off my loony alarm. Cooper had a way of drawing me in, no matter how much my sensible side was telling me otherwise.
“Give me an hour, then. If you’re not interested, then I’ll take you home. If you are, we can talk more about the arrangement.” The way he said arrangement made a shiver run down my back. Walking away now wasn’t an option. I needed to know what he was hiding.
We finished our coffees and Cooper seemed eager to get going. I slipped into his Audi and enjoyed the ride. Cooper drove hard and fast, making me hold on to the armrests on more than one occasion.
The city whizzed by outside, the buildings becoming less dense and trees starting to pop up on the roadside. We were headed out of the city, and for the first time, I panicked about where we were going. My mama would have not approved.
“Will we be there soon?” I asked. Perhaps if he slowed down enough I would be able to jump out of the vehicle while it was still moving. It would hurt, but it was preferable to being kidnapped by a charming man.
“In a few minutes. Be patient.”
True to his word, Cooper pulled up in front of a set of wrought iron gates. He pressed a button on his dashboard and they swung inwards for us to pass through.
I couldn’t see the house for a long while, my anxiety growing with every passing minute. The car hugged all the curves of the driveway before what I guessed must be Cooper’s home finally came into view.
It was massive. Three levels in parts of it, with real, actual turrets making it look like a modern-day Cinderella castle. Surely he couldn’t live there?
“Welcome to Casa Milan,” Cooper said as he pulled up and switched the engine off. Before I could get out of my seat, he was at my door and helping me up.
“You own this?”
“Every square inch. Would you like the grand tour?”
I nodded, still in disbelief. Cooper seemed way too excited as he led me inside and through the rooms. I quickly lost track of where I was as one sumptuous room after another greeted us.
There were stairs, nooks, and crannies everywhere, making my head spin. To get out of there I’d need a map with a ‘you are here’ arrow on it.
Cooper stopped outside one of the doors. It looked like all the others, but his demeanor changed. “This is the room I need you to see the most. You’re going to have questions and I will answer all of them honestly.”
Dread started to amass in the pit of my stomach. Maybe I didn’t want to see what was behind the door. Perhaps I wouldn’t like it and I would need that map so I could escape.
He opened the door anyway, letting me walk into the room first. I could feel the warmth from his body as he stood behind me, waiting for the barrage of questions I would throw at him.
He was right, I had a lot.
Chapter 2
҉ ҉ ҉ ҉ ҉ ҉
The room was huge, like four good-sized bedrooms all in one. A massive four-poster bed stood in the center, devoid of sheets. On one wall was a mural of several silhouettes. It didn’t take a lot of imagination to work out what the black silhouettes were doing with each other. They were in pairs, male and female.
On the opposite wall were hooks and shelv
es, reminiscent of the adult store except better stocked. It looked like Cooper had a penchant for leather and a wide variety of toys.
I moistened my dry mouth, trying to remember how to talk again. “You use this room for sex?”
“Not just sex. I’m a dom.”
“A what?”
“A dominant. I like to partake in BDSM with my partner.”
“But you don’t have a partner,” I pointed out.
“Not yet, correct.”
I swallowed. “You want me to be your partner?”