They paused there for a second, a minute, an hour.
Her phone shouted from the nearby table. The angry chime vibrated through the room.
The emergency alarm.
Oh God.
“I’m sorry.” Kate untangled her fingers from Alex’s hair. She took a shaky step forward, feeling his hands fall away from her legs. Another few steps, and she was at the phone, silencing the alarm. She tapped the speed dial button with trembling fingers.
“Kate—speak to me. You okay?” Tracy’s voice shot out of the tiny speaker.
“I’m fine.” She looked back at Alex, who hadn’t moved. Still on his knees with his head bowed, his hands on his thighs, waiting for further instruction.
“Say it.” The tension remained in her words.
“Apple sauce,” Kate said.
Her own safe-word. The company used a double safety system in case she’d been taken captive and made to answer the alarm. Any deviation from her safe-word, and the police would be dispatched to her location.
“You didn’t send the code.” The disapproval scratched her ears. “You know the rules, Kate. Don’t scare me.”
“Sorry.” She dragged her eyes off Alex. “Lost track of time.”
“Yeah. Sure.” From Tracy’s tone she wasn’t buying the excuse. “That’s why you have an alarm. To make sure you don’t lose track of time.”
Lose track of yourself, the unspoken words hung between them.
Tracy knew her job. She was the anchor for the office, keeping everyone where and when they should be.
Safe.
“Sorry,” Kate repeated. “It won’t happen again. Thanks for calling.” She hung up without waiting for Tracy’s response.
Kate drew a shuddering breath, annoyed with herself.
This wasn’t supposed to happen.
She walked over to him and unlocked the collar with the key she’d placed earlier on the side table.
Alex didn’t move as she pulled it free. A thin red band around his neck showed where he’d struggled against the leather earlier. It’d fade in time as the memories would.
For both of them.
Kate relocked the collar and tossed it on the bed.
Done.
“I need to go. You need to pay me, and I have to go.” The second sentence stung her mouth as if she’d swallowed a handful of needles.
Alex nodded, eyes fixed on the floor.
She waited.
The sinking feeling in her stomach told her they weren’t going to make it to the couch this time.
A minute later, he let out a ragged sigh and got to his feet. “My wallet’s downstairs.” He gave a chuckle that turned into a soft cough. “In the back pocket of my jeans.”
“I’ll pack up here. Meet you in a few minutes at the door. I can’t stay any longer.”
He nodded and headed for the stairs.
Kate watched him go. It wasn’t until he was out of sight that she began packing up her toys. It took a few seconds to extinguish the incense, a few minutes to grab the rabbit-fur mitten and stow the last of the chocolate in her duffle bag.
Damn it.
She tapped the palm of her hand with the riding crop, enough to sting.
What’s wrong with me? I don’t react like this with the others. Why him?
Why now?
By the time she came downstairs, Alex had managed to pull his pants on, although from the bulge, it’d been a somewhat trying experience. He’d already drained one iced coffee; the crushed can lying on the coffee table.
He offered his credit card.
She went through the procedure automatically and handed him the phone for his approval.
“Thank you.” He tapped the tiny screen, jabbing at the number squares. It took a few seconds for him to scribble his signature.
She waited, wanting nothing more than to grab the phone and run out the door.
Alex handed the phone back. “I have a question.”
“Ask away.” Kate forced herself to sound nonchalant and almost bored despite the growing panic in her heart.
She needed to get away from him.
“If we weren’t, you know”—he lifted his hands to make air quotes—“‘on the clock’, ah—” He licked his lips, looking both adorable and maddening. “What would you have done? I mean, instead of us doing this.” Alex pointed upstairs. “If we were together—” He broke off, unable to finish the sentence.
It shattered her last bit of resolve, the temptation too delicious to turn down.
She leaned in, enjoying the heat surging through her veins at the prompt. “Whatever you wanted me to do. Even if you didn’t know what it was.”
There was a hitch in his breath, enough to get her heart surging.
Alex puffed his bare chest out and drew a deep breath. “What if I wanted to date you, see you outside of this business arrangement?”
There it was.
The Question.
“You can’t.” Kate forced herself to step back and pick up her bag. Her raincoat lay on the back of one chair. She couldn’t wait to put it on and leave.
She’d gone too far, and she was going to pay for it.
She had to get out of this house.
Now.
“Why not?” Alex moved toward her as she grabbed her coat and headed for the doorway. He stopped just shy of blocking it, hovering around the edge of the doorway.
“Because the rules don’t allow it.” She scribbled the air with an unseen pen, grateful for the easy way out. “It’s right there in black-and-white. Two-hour appointments no more than once a week. Everything laid out and agreed to before I come in, and nothing more than that. No personal contact outside of our meetings. In. The. Rules.” Kate swept by him toward the door.
“But why? If we both agree—”
She stopped to pull the coat on. It was unlikely anyone would see her head for the car, but there was no point in taking chances a nosy neighbor might be around searching for a reason to cause trouble.
It was also in the rules. Full covering before leaving a client’s home.
Just in case.
The rules were tough, but they would save her, let her escape here and now before she said or did something she’d regret. “We’re not supposed to get emotionally involved with a customer. No more than we should, I mean. It’s enough to give you what you want but without any commitment. If you want more, you have to go to a club or seek out a more permanent arrangement with someone, anyone. Not me.” It was like talking through cotton balls stuffed in her mouth.
“But why?” Now Alex was between her and the front door, and she felt the power transfer away from her, settling on his shoulders as he shifted from being the submissive to the professional man, the game designer calling the shots and designing the traps. “Who set this limit? Who did the studies to figure an hour here and there wouldn’t make someone want more?” He frowned, the Alpha in him coming out. “Why not break the rules?”
“Why not cheat to get past your traps? The rules keep both of us safe.” She stepped next to him and reached out for the doorknob. “If you don’t like it, you can cancel your contract.” The harsh words burned her throat, but they had to be said.
His hand fell atop hers, startling her into silence.
“Please don’t be mad at me. I had to ask.” The tenderness in his voice shredded her self-control.
She couldn’t turn to look at him for fear she’d break all the rules and some she hadn’t even thought of.
He squeezed her hand before pulling away. “Please understand.”
She ground the words out even as they shredded her soul. “I understand.”
Kate left, cursing under her breath.
Chapter Eight
Alex watched her drive off, turned on almost as much by their short
conversation as he’d been by their session. The feeling shifted gears, morphing into anger as he realized the truth.
The rules.
The Rules.
THE FUCKING RULES.
He headed for his desk to find the paper copy of the contract he’d signed. Hooded Pleasures had been very specific about no digital copies being in existence and in fact threatened to cancel his deal and start legal proceedings against him if one ever came online and could be tracked back to him. Considering the lengths they’d gone to when it came to vetting him for their services, he had no doubt they had good lawyers on staff waiting and willing to go the distance.
Alex pulled page after page of scribbled notes and ideas from his bottom drawer. He knew it was here, safe from casual viewing. A few more minutes of digging pulled it into view. It sat under a stack of tax forms he’d been avoiding, looking innocent in a plain brown envelope.
Alex looked toward the front door before opening the envelope. Part of him wanted Kate to come back, return to him.
The other part, the logical part, knew this wasn’t going to happen.
The rules said so.
He sighed, his arousal tempered by the need to understand what was going on between them.
But first things first—the contract.
Alex pulled the pages out of the envelope and spread them on the desk.
It was a struggle to get through the first page, his mind too tangled up to stay calm and rational.
He gritted his teeth, torn between tossing things around and yelling at the top of his lungs in frustration.
He tried again.
The words became a long black slurry, the reverse of tunnel vision.
Alex drew a slow deep breath.
He wasn’t going to be able to do anything like this.
Breaking stuff wouldn’t help, and screaming would only hurt his throat.
If he wanted to find a loophole, he’d have to be able to concentrate, get his mind in the game.
Calm the fuck down, in other words.
He got up from the desk and headed upstairs, willing his blood pressure to go down. The last thing he needed was to have a stroke before he figured out a way around this, a way to let him get what he wanted. A hot shower would clear his head and let him focus.
The throbbing in his groin intensified as he remembered the feel of Kate’s legs, the touch of her hand in his hair.
The scent of her arousal.
He frowned as he dissected her argument.
Don’t get emotionally attached to a client.
He understood that. It was like designing a game—you had to be able to walk away from it at a certain point and let it be. Too much tinkering, and you’d destroy what you loved most about it.
True, a relationship wasn’t the same as a game, but this wasn’t a normal relationship they were in.
He paid her and got his ass paddled.
There shouldn’t be anything more about it than that.
Then why did he suspect she was more into this than she should be, her eagerness and her actions betraying her real feelings?
He wasn’t a teenager smitten with his first date, falling over himself because he managed to get to first base. He knew when a woman was interested in him and not just in his debit card.
Strictly business, my ass.
Alex paused on the stairs.
How can I get her to acknowledge that there’s more here than just the usual HP arrangement?
He answered himself, grunting as he forced his weary legs up the stairs.
You can’t make her do anything. That old thing about bringing a horse to water and all.
But you sure as hell can try to bring her around to realizing it on her own.
She’d made it out of his driveway and onto a nearby side street before she had to pull over, sliding her car into an empty spot between two expensive sports cars.
Her right hand jammed the transmission into Park before sliding down her torso, the need overwhelming her common sense.
If she hadn’t left when she had—
Kate threw her head back and gave herself over to the fantasy, the dream she’d been nurturing before the emergency alarm had gone off.
She stroked Alex’s hair and stepped out from his grasp, walking past him to the waiting bed.
Her heartbeat pounded in her ears, making her momentarily dizzy.
They were both ready.
It was time.
Kate sat down and crooked a finger at Alex, who had stayed on his knees, watching her every move like a famished animal straining to be let off the leash.
He stood and took a few steps before dropping back down in front of her. He stayed silent, waiting for her command.
She reached out and stroked Alex’s cheek, savoring his control. Her hand went to his collar, caressing the ring lying at the base of his neck. She tugged on it, and he lifted his head.
Kate leaned down and kissed him, her blood surging as she devoured his mouth. Her grip on the ring tightened, the passion pulling her onward.
Finally, she released him and pulled back, gasping for air.
Alex stayed on his knees, waiting.
A gentle nod gave him the permission he’d been craving.
Alex took her hands and kissed them one at a time before nudging her onto her back.
Kate fell back on the thick comforter as he tugged her panties down and away, returning a second later to lift her legs and rest them on his shoulders. A heated whisper against her bare flesh sent goose bumps over her entire body.
Alex took her hands and intertwined their fingers. He pushed them down on the mattress on each side of her, gently pinning them both in place.
Alex moved in and pressed his face between her legs. She gasped as he went to work, dropping tender kisses along her inner thighs before dragging his tongue over her wet, aching core.
Every few seconds, he’d stop and turn his head to the side, nipping at the delicate skin on her leg, marking her with his teeth.
The pain of his bite was quickly drowned out by the sharp tangs of pleasure as he returned to his goal, flicking his tongue over the exact spot she needed to—
Kate screamed silently as she rocked against the seat in an effort to ride the wave as long as she could. Exhausted, she laid her head back on the padded rest and fought to stay awake.
Kate panted as she stared at her car ceiling, wondering where she’d gone wrong. Or right. Or whatever had possessed her to get off right there in public.
Thank God no one was around, no curious onlookers to call the cops and start a whole storm of trouble.
Usually she could wait until she got home into a more welcoming environment, her bathtub or maybe on her bed, alone with her toys and her romance novels.
Never sitting in her car, hand jammed down her panties.
Never.
“Fuck.” She scrabbled in her duffle bag for the box of tissue, feeling the heat rise in her cheeks.
Something was wrong with her. She’d always gotten turned on by her sessions. It was a perk of the job. If the sub didn’t sense her need, smell the arousal on her skin, it wouldn’t be real. If all the client wanted was someone to beat him senseless, he could go to a bar and pick a fight with the biggest guy there.
Hooded Pleasures delivered the full experience. You connected with the sub as he connected with you to the point that you were almost expected to go home and take care of business, as it were. Part and parcel of the workplace.
But not sitting in her car.
She fumbled to get the vehicle in gear, a last shiver running through her limp legs as she tapped the gas pedal and the vibrations started under her.
Damn.
She stripped down the second she’d come in the front door, leaving a trail of clothing to the bedroom, th
en into the bathroom.
Kate turned on the water, spending only a few seconds to adjust the temperature before hopping into the tub and pulling the shower curtain around her like a makeshift cocoon.
The cold water stole her breath away, the shock sending goose bumps across her body.
She forced herself to stay there and not reach for the hot water tap. It wasn’t freezing cold but it sure as hell wasn’t the hot steamy shower she usually took after a visit.
It wasn’t a punishment. It was a way of bringing her back down to earth, pulling her away from the dangerous thoughts that had teased her all the way home, tempting her to break the rules.
Just this one time, her evil side whispered. You could be with him just one time. No one would know—
Kate shook her head.
She knew there was never going to be “just one time” with Alex.
Kate stood under the cold water, letting it chill her skin.
He called you Katherine.
It was only a name.
But the way he said it…
She’d been born with the name, heard it a thousand times. A million times. Why should the way he said it be any different?
It shouldn’t be.
But it was.
“Why?” she said aloud, surprising herself. “Why him?”
Kate pinched her thigh, chasing away the urge to dip her fingers down and inside, to repeat her earlier mistake.
She couldn’t stop thinking about him.
Kate stretched her arms over her head and tilted her face up to the stinging spray.
She shivered under the icy barrage for a few more minutes before reaching for the handles to turn off the water. She yanked the shower curtain open.
Kate stood there for a few minutes, water dripping from her fingers, gasping as the cool air brought another round of goose bumps prickling over her skin.
Enough.
She grabbed the towel and dried off while forcing herself to think over her latest art project.
It was another commission, a request for a dark, brooding scene.
Imminent death and destruction.
She hoped it wasn’t a sign from above.
Kate pulled on a tracksuit, mentally writing out her thoughts on the colors she’d need for the project.
Strictly Business: Hooded Pleasures, Book 1 Page 12