by T. L. Reeve
Joaquin didn’t know what to say. He stared at her for a moment, then opened the door into the sterile environment. “Interesting, Quin. Very interesting.”
Chapter Two
“So, how did your first day go? Do anything fun?” Harley lounged back on Quin’s bed, her blonde hair fanning out on the pillow.
“If by fun you mean telling your boss his cost efficiency is costing his company more, then sure, it went swimmingly.” When she got nervous, she tended to talk too much. Quin hadn’t been able to stop herself at any point during the tour.
Harley laughed. “So that’s why Charlie and Joaquin were holed up in his office this afternoon? Joaquin was impressed by your candor.”
“Candor?” She snorted. “I told my boss his protocol sucked donkey balls.”
“Oh, come on, it’s not so bad. How about you join us for dinner at the club? I know you’re just settling in, but I’d hate for you to be alone right now.”
Quin stilled and turned to Harley. Maybe she’d heard her friend wrong. Go to the club? Is she crazy? “I think I’ll stay in. Maybe go online to those stores you picked out and find a few pieces for the apartment. Since he gave me an open credit line there.” Her boss had been right. The place was a little empty and way bigger than the one back home.
“Quin.” Harley narrowed her eyes. “You can’t hide in your apartment after work. I won’t allow it.”
“I’m not hiding. I’m tired. I got up at the crack of dawn to be at work. I’m exhausted.” Not a total lie. She’d slept like shit. Her out-of-whack body clock wanted a hot bath and a glass of wine with no interruptions.
Her friend frowned. “Come with us. You don’t have to do anything you don’t want to, and if you’ve put the lifestyle behind you, then you have nothing to worry about.”
Quin groaned. “Harley it’s not as simple as you’re saying. Everything is complicated. I’m complicated. What if someone approaches me? Just the thought of it makes my stomach sour.”
“Hiding isn’t going to help your situation. You need to get back into the saddle. Find another Master.” Oh how easy she made it sound.
“I’m not hiding. I just can’t do it anymore. Tony was right. I’m not good enough.” After picking up her bag from the bed, Quin strode into the bathroom and laid out the lotions and bath salts she’d bought on the way home.
“I swear to fucking God, if you ever mention his name again, I will make Charlie spank your ass. Tony was a dick. Everyone in the club knew it; no one had the balls to say it out loud.” Quin could see Harley in the reflection of the mirror her arms crossed over her chest and her blue eyes narrowed in anger.
“I hear you,” she mumbled. “You’re not going to leave me alone until I do this, are you?” She should’ve known Harley would have an ulterior motive for making her move to Spain. She should have questioned her more. Or, at least, asked better questions.
“Nope. Which means you should come out with us tonight. Get to know people. Like, Joaquin.” Her best friend twirled an end of Quin’s hair and gave a sly grin. “Perhaps you could apologize for trash-talking his quality control and less than stellar money management.” Her blue eyes lit with amusement.
Oh God. “I don’t think—”
“You think too much. Now, you’re going with us. I won’t listen to another excuse.” Her best friend squeezed her shoulder. Leaning in she whispered, “I’m doing this for your own good.”
***
I’m doing this for your own good. Why did everyone believe they were doing something for her own good? Quin glanced at her reflection in the mirror. She’d sworn she’d never dress in corsets or leather skirts. Never to pull her hair back in a severe ponytail. She didn’t want to wear makeup or present herself to any man ever again. Yet, here she stood, dressed to the nines, about to sashay back into a lifestyle she didn’t fit into—maybe never had.
The phone by the door rang, and Harley’s voice came through loud and clear. They didn’t even trust her to go on her own. “I’ll be right down.” She took one last glance around her new home and grabbed her keys. “Why me?”
The drive through Madrid should have been exciting, however each mile put between herself and home made the knots in her stomach tighten. Beside her, Harley chattered on about the club and who she’d meet there. Did she realize the extent of Quin’s discomfort?
“Harley, I believe you’ve done enough talking.”
“Quin are you okay?”
She shook her head, afraid to speak for fear of vomiting.
“Do you want to go home?”
She licked her lips and glanced over at Harley. If she said yes, she would disappoint her friend. If she said no, Charlie wouldn’t believe her either. Right about now she’d kill for a hole to swallow her up. How could she have let her friend talk her into this? “I’m nervous.” There, she’d said it.
“You have every right to be. If at any point you don’t feel comfortable being with us tonight, I want you to say something. There is no reason why you should torture yourself.”
Torture, sounded about right. “Thank you, Charlie. I’m sure I’ll be okay.”
The car came to a stop in front of a large clay-built villa. She swallowed hard and ran her slick palms down her skirt. You can do this. You’re not a submissive anymore. You don’t have to do anything anyone tells you. She took a deep, settling breath and repeated her mantra over and over again. When the car door opened, she stepped out and gasped. Sitting on a cliff, the villa over looked the bright lights of the city. The double oak doors opened and the soft ambient lighting greeted them.
Once inside, Quin admired the glazed clay tiles covering the floor in a mosaic pattern of small flowers. A sixteen-candle chandelier added to the warmth of the space. If this place was a club, they didn’t know how to pull off the dark and dangerous vibe at all. A black sheer curtain separated the foyer from the rest of the club.
“Quin, what a wonderful surprise.” Her back went ramrod straight, and she silently willed the man behind the voice to disappear. Hadn’t she done enough damage in one day? When her silent pleas went unanswered, she tried ignoring him. Maybe if she pretended he wasn’t there, he’d go away. Instead, his hand touched her shoulder, and warmth spread from the spot, infusing her with a tempting heat she’d never felt before. “You’re paler than a ghost. Are you okay?”
She remembered to take a breath as spots swam before her vision. Great second first impression. Just pass out on the guy. “S-sorry. I might be a little bit hungrier than I thought.” Good job, blame it on a lack of food. “It’s good to see you too, Mr. Fuente.”
“Please, call me Joaquin.”
“Sorry, Joaquin.” His gunmetal-gray eyes crinkled with his grin, and all thought of what she should say next fled. Five o’clock shadow graced his strong jawline, giving him a rugged quality. His black hair was slicked back and curled slightly at the collar of his shirt. Like a fish out of water, her mouth opened and closed several times, before heat crept into her cheeks and her nipples hardened, pressing against the front of her corset. “You have beautiful eyes.” Quin groaned at her admission.
His rough chuckle worked through her, making her weak in the knees and her stomach flip-flop. Not good. Not good. Abort, abort. Fake sickness. Ask to go home before you do something stupid. You need to get out of there. Danger, Will Robinson. Danger. “Yours are like precious emeralds, sparkling in the sunlight.”
“Dude, really?” She laughed. Okay maybe laughing isn’t a good idea. But she did feel better. “We need to get you better pickup lines, Joaquin.”
His mouth turned down in a frown.
Oh shit. Too much snark, not enough meekness. I knew this would be a bad fucking idea.
“Pickup lines, huh?” He leaned toward her and whispered, “A pickup line from me would be much more sensual and have to do with me fucking you all night, Miss Abraham.”
Quin shivered and her breath hitched. “Duly noted, Mr. Fuente.”
He held his arm
out for her. “I am glad you came. I wanted to speak to you about your assessment of the office. Perhaps we could come to an understanding. It would seem Charlie didn’t sell you properly, and I believe you’re meant for more than just an executive-assistant position. What do you say?”
She looked over at Harley, who gave her the thumbs-up as he guided her down a side hall instead of past the curtain. “Okay, what did you have in mind?” The maître d’ greeted them at the end of the hall and escorted them to a patio facing the cliffs. Other patrons of the club were dining outside at iron bistro tables. “Wow,” she whispered.
“You like it?” he asked, looking down at her.
“I love it. It’s breathtaking and beautiful. I’ve never seen anything so…magnificent.” They stepped through the sliding glass doors into the warm evening air. Inlay lighting brightened the area, giving it a more natural environment.
The full moon shone through the wispy cirrus clouds. It all reminded her of a fairy tale. Joaquin helped her into her seat and pulled up the chair next to her while Charlie and Harley sat across from them. “Aren’t you glad I begged you to come with us?” Harley asked.
“You mean nagged me until I folded and agreed just so you’d leave me alone?” Quin teased.
“You did what?” Charlie asked his girlfriend.
“Oh, I did nothing of the sort, Charlie.” He cocked his brow at her this time, and she flushed. “Master. I thought Quin should come with us. I didn’t want her to be alone on her first full night in Spain.”
He sighed. “I apologize, Quin. I should have realized Harley would do this.”
“It’s okay, Charlie. I’m not bothered by it. Besides, we came to an agreement—I’m not playing. I don’t do it anymore.”
He frowned at her, and she could feel the intensity of Joaquin’s stare. Quin squirmed in her seat. She didn’t like being the subject of both men’s scrutiny.
“Why don’t you play anymore, Quin?” Joaquin asked, placing his hand on hers.
“Lots of reasons.” The image of Tony standing over her while chastising her again, filtered through her mind. Pathetic. I barely hit you, Quin. You’re a waste of my fucking time. You’ll never be able to service a Dom if you’re always sniveling at his feet. “Let’s leave it at I’m not good enough. And I never will be, okay?”
He looked as though he wanted to say more to her but gave her a curt nod. “For now.”
Quin had never been so happy to see a waiter in her life. After ordering her drink, she kept her gaze down. She didn’t want to attract any more attention than she had with her admission. Dammit, why can’t I act like a normal human being for five minutes?
After the waiter dropped their drinks off, Joaquin turned back to her. He assessed her with simple glances, making her more nervous by the minute. The knots in her stomach returned in full force, squeezing her for all they were worth. “Is something the matter?”
“I’m trying to figure out how an intelligent, beautiful, and submissive woman such as yourself could turn away from the lifestyle.”
At least he’d been honest with her. A lot more than Tony could do.
“And here I thought we were going to talk about my being much more than just an executive assistant.” She winced at her tone. “Sorry, could I be any ruder?”
“No, you’re right. I promised not to push, and I did just the opposite.” He held out his hand. “Truce?”
“Truce,” she said, taking his hand in hers. His firm grip made her insides preen for attention. In a normal situation, had things not gone awry with Tony, she would have given over to Joaquin. In fact, she could see herself submit to him. Unfortunately, she wouldn’t ever be the same, so it did no good to even think about it or wonder what if.
The waiter came back a few minutes later for their order then disappeared once more.
“I checked on everything we talked about earlier on the tour. I have to say, you know your stuff,” Joaquin said.
Quin blushed and lowered her head. “I didn’t mean to come off as a know it all. I guess I examine things from the practical sense. If my suggestions cut ten to twenty percent from your production budget, you could reinvest it in your sales force or advertising—something worthwhile.”
“I am sure Charlie explained about our financial issues here in the Madrid offices.”
She nodded.
“If I had one of my most-trusted supervisors take you through the whole plant plus each individual division, do you think you could help us cut costs without reducing our work force?”
“I believe so. From what I saw today, you need better management of your time and resources.” She took a sip of her tea. “Like what we talked about on the tour, breaking your technical staff into three shifts with each one working on global time, while the others answer regular customer service questions.”
“Joaquin told me about your proposal regarding our sterile environment. Are you sure our product won’t suffer?” Charlie leaned against the table, engaging the conversation for the first time since their drinks arrived.
“Yes,” she answered without hesitation. “All of your chips are already made in a sterile room. Basically, all your workers are doing is fitting the components together. Should it be done with white gloves for added protection? Sure, it can’t hurt. But that whole facility you have is draining your already limited budget.”
“Are you ever going to tell me what you really did before everything went to shit with Tony?” Charlie asked. “You know more than someone who worked as a secretary.”
She laughed. “If I’m lying, I’m dying,” she said holding up her right hand. “I paid attention. I went over notes for my boss. I took care of the small thing he couldn’t when he left the offices for business.” She shrugged off their approval, not wanting to draw too much attention to herself.
“I told you, Charlie. We need her in upper management.”
“I agree. I’ll get her set up Monday morning with an assistant to get her whatever she needs.”
Quin’s attention snapped to both men. “Wait, what?”
“I need your shrewd eye for cost efficiency more than I need you as my assistant. I know it changed the parameters of why you came to Spain, but it would mean a raise and additional benefits. Say yes, Quin,” Joaquin purred.
Well, when he put it that way…. “Sure.” A bubble of giddiness filled her chest.
“Excellent.” He signaled for the waiter. “Now, with the business aspect of the night out of the way, why don’t we have a little fun?”
Chapter Three
Joaquin swirled the contents of his glass while Quin and Harley talked about someone named Tony. At one point Quin raised her voice in admonishment to something Harley said, and he wanted to step in, but he reminded himself it didn’t concern him. Quin didn’t belong to him and, after her admission, perhaps never would. By the time the club opened, instead of being pumped for a session with one of his many submissives, he found himself wanting to spend time with her.
“I thought if you didn’t want to participate in a scene tonight, you’d join me in watching?” he asked as they stood up and headed back inside.
“Um….” She glanced back over at Harley. “Sure, I guess. What could it hurt, right?”
“Right. You might even relax a little.” He agreed, giving her a playful look.
“You’re awful sure of yourself, Joaquin. I’d hate to disappoint you.” She took his proffered arm and settled against his side.
“Trust me, Quin, the only way to disappoint me is to not be honest. I have a thing about liars.”
Her brows furrowed. “I agree. Lying is a deal breaker for me as well.”
“Because of Tony?”
She looked up at him.
“Sorry, I listened to you and Harley, and I get the impression he needs to have an attitude adjustment.”
“Don’t worry about it,” she said. “You are right, though. He’s my past, and who knows what my future entails.”
Me bet
ween your legs, eating your sweet pussy until you scream my name. He growled, furious with himself, then cleared his throat as a cover. “Sorry, I think the tilapia had more spice than intended.”
“Are you sure you’re not allergic?” Concern filled her voice as she pulled him to a stop. “You know, it could come on suddenly.”
“I’m all right, I promise, but thank you for the concern.” He patted her arm and winked. “When you were in the lifestyle, what did you enjoy the most?”
“Honestly?”
“Yes, indulge me for a moment.”
“I liked bondage.” A beautiful blush colored her creamy flesh.
“Preciósa.” He cupped her cheek in his hand. “I know this is inappropriate behavior from a boss, but you are a beautiful woman, Quin.” The pink tinge in her cheeks darkened, and this time he allowed the growl of appreciation to pass his lips. His dick throbbed, and his gut clenched.
“Uh, thanks.”
“You’re welcome. Bondage it is. We have a few Doms here who are masters of shibari. Have you seen it done before?”
“No,” she said. “I haven’t.”
“Did none of the Doms in your club back home ever demonstrate it? Or anything?”
She shook her head.