I am Yours (An Alpha Male BDSM Romance)

by Linnea May

  “What’s his name?” I absentmindedly asked without looking away from him.

  “If that’s the distillery billionaire,” Steph whispered, “his name should be Jasper Kenton. That’s what I remember.”

  I stared at him, still frozen like a dumb statue with an open mouth, trying to figure out what I was supposed to do. “Jasper…”

  “You okay?” Steph asked next to me.

  “Yes, sure,” I lied, turning around to the table with my back to the room, hoping to prevent the wolf from seeing me for as long as possible.

  What the actual fuck?

  “Damn, you look like you have seen a ghost—or turned into one,” the blonde guy joked. “Are you sure you’re okay?”

  “Yes, fine, absolutely,” I said, not even convincing myself. “Just a bit dizzy. I should probably slow down on the drinks.”

  Steph chuckled. “Bit shaken by the rich guy, huh? He is quite interesting, I agree.”

  I glanced at her and shook my head. “Not really my type.”

  I didn’t want him to see me. But there was no chance of that happening. Even though there were more than two hundred people expected tonight, we’d be confined in a rather small space. Within this well-lit hall it was only a matter of time until he’d see me. The garden, however…

  “Shall we step outside?” I suggested. “It’s not as crowded there and the ambassador is going to speak soon, isn’t he?”

  It was the perfect plan. It had been almost an hour since the reception started and the ambassador would soon leave his position at the door to give his welcoming speech. And he would always do that on the terrace in the giant residency garden. The garden was dark and quite vast—easy to get lost in, and easy to hide in.

  “Sure, I could use some air,” Steph agreed and the other two nodded as well. We took our glasses and moved.

  I sighed in relief. But of course, I had underestimated him.

  He was standing right next to the glass door that led to the garden, talking to the ambassador next to him.

  I felt his eyes on me long before I dared to look at him directly. Steph was leading the way and I was walking directly behind her. Being the expert on social interactions as she was, she managed to grab the ambassador’s attention as we passed them and of course took the chance to greet him and test his memory.

  This, I thought, would be the perfect time for an earthquake. Earthquakes were common around here, but apparently they never showed up when needed.

  “Of course I remember you!” the ambassador yelled, enthusiastically shaking Steph’s hand. I stood next to her, my eyes pacing back and forth between them during their chit-chat, while my heart was beating so loud and fast that I was sure the entire room could hear my pulse.

  He was standing next to me within arm’s length. And he was looking at me.

  Of course, the inevitable happened and Steph introduced us.

  “My new colleague and greatest help during the past weeks,” she introduced me.

  I shook the ambassador’s hand in the most polite manner. “Very nice to meet you.”

  “And if I am not mistaken, we owe you tonight’s drinks?” Steph asked, obviously keen to solve our earlier mystery. “Mr. Kenton, is it?”

  I had no choice but to look up at the wolf as the attention shifted over to him. He had indeed been fixating on me with his eyes, smiling. He was cool as a cucumber, showing no sign of surprise or shock.

  “You are correct,” he eventually replied, shaking her hand. “Pleasure to meet you. Both of you.”

  He turned over to me, a pale, shivering mess, trying everything to keep my shaking hand from spilling what was left of my Mimosa. He nodded, took my other hand for a friendly shake, and said, “And we owe you this nice invitation? You work for the embassy?” in the most nonchalant way possible.

  I failed to respond and just stared at him for a little too long, silently nodding and causing Steph to come for my rescue.

  “Yes. We were just on our way outside,” she continued, the perfect small-talker. “The ambassador is going to offer his greetings soon. Do you want to join us?”

  “Sure,” the ambassador replied.

  The wolf made sure he was walking just behind me as we continued our stroll outside. I could feel his hand on my behind for a very brief moment. The surprise of his touch caused me to trip and spill my drink. Luckily, I spared anyone’s dress and just lost the remains of my drink to the floor.

  He, however, did not miss this chance to touch me by catching me on my shoulders.

  “Watch out there,” he warned, obviously amused.

  “Are you sure you’re okay?” Steph repeated her question from earlier.

  “I’m fine,” I said. “You go ahead, I’ll get myself another glass.”

  I escaped the wolf’s touch, hard as it was, and turned around. Being this close to him in these surroundings was torture. He was drawing me like a magnet. Overcoming the wish to touch him—and to be touched—was physically painful.

  And it did not get better when I noticed that he was following me.

  I stopped and turned around to find him right behind me, still with his irresistible smile. And he was standing unnaturally close to me.

  “Are you following me?” I asked in a low voice.

  He shook his head. “If you don’t mind, I’d like to get a drink for myself.”

  I had no reply for that and just continued my way to the bar. It had gotten so crowded by now that the waiters could no longer keep up with serving the crowds and a line had formed in front of the bar that—as many of my coworkers had suspected earlier—was a bit too small to serve the number of people who were invited.

  We were forced to stand in line, which of course was just another chance for him to come even closer to me. His proximity killed me.

  He leaned down, subtly whispering words into my ear that I hoped no one else was able to hear.

  “If you keep breathing like that I might have to take what is mine right here.”

  I gasped. “Did you know I was going to be here?”

  “No, my pet,” he whispered. “I’m just as surprised as you are.”

  “You don’t seem to be.”

  “I might have hoped,” he said. “I had a feeling you might be. But there was no way for me to know, right?”

  He cast me a mischievous grin that could mean anything. I wouldn’t have been surprised if he had known all along.

  “So,” I breathed, trying to remain as cool as possible. “Jasper, is it?”

  He shook his head. “It’s still Master to you, my pet.”

  He ran his fingertips along my left side, just barely touching the fabric of my dress, while he hummed in approval.

  “You look stunning. Terribly delicious,” he whispered.

  I took a deep breath, trying everything to maintain composure. “Please, not here.”

  He chuckled, but removed his hand from my trembling body.

  “You have nothing to fear, my pet,” he whispered. “I don’t want to harm you. I just want to make your heart dance.”

  Part 5

  Completely Yours

  So, here we were. Standing in the ambassador’s residency garden, next to the ambassador and my closest coworker, surrounded by only the finest selection of people who would most likely play a fundamental role in my professional future. This was brilliant.

  And I had no idea what was going through his head. How could he just stand there, cool as ever, not showing the slightest sign that we knew each other? Intimately. Very intimately.

  I was side-eyeing him the entire time, watching him participate in a conversation about the freaking weather and freaking cherry blossoms with my oblivious coworker. He was suave as always, very polite, but a lot more distant than I knew him, chatting away in the most nonchalant manner. It was as if he hadn’t just whispered, “I bet you’re still dripping with my cum,” while we had made our way back to the group, making me gasp and blush just a moment before we were within earshot
of Steph and the others.

  The ambassador appeared on the terrace above us, signaling that he was about to give his welcoming speech that I had helped to write and translated. I would have loved to be able to fully concentrate on it, finally hear the words I had been pondering over again and again, imagining what they might sound like when spoken out loud, running around the office like an idiot, mumbling them to myself. Now was the chance to finally hear them and observe the effect they had on the listeners—and all my attention was captivated by the wolf standing next to me. Jasper Kenton.

  I glanced at him as our eyes quickly met when, like everyone else, we turned around to look up at the ambassador.

  “Let’s see how much they kept,” Steph whispered next to me and amicably nudged me. I gave her a quick smile.

  The wolf noticed our interaction and cast us a questioning look.

  “My colleague here is partly responsible for putting the right words into people’s mouths,” Steph explained, pointing at me. “She wrote most of what we’re about to hear.”

  Her wording made me wonder if she should slow down on her drinks.

  The wolf smiled. “Oh, did she? I am excited to hear it.”

  He turned to me and caught me side-eyeing him once again. Of course, this caused nothing but an even broader smile. The fact that he was unsettling me only seemed to encourage him. Maybe I should try to act as casual as he was. Sadly, I had always been bad at pretending.

  The ambassador started his speech. I tried my best to concentrate and to make mental notes of the things that had actually made it into the final speech. The content was nothing too complicated, but rather mundane in its superficiality. Nonetheless, I felt a faint hint of pride when I realized that they had stuck pretty close to what I had handed in. I couldn’t help but smile when I heard the ambassador read one of my favorite passages.

  I also couldn’t help to cast a quick glance at the wolf next to me. Again, he was standing unnaturally close. And for a change he was not staring at me, but kept his eyes ahead, hanging on the ambassador’s every word. Or at least appearing as if he was.

  Seeing him like this made me smile, adding to my pride. It was nice to show him a different side of me, a side that did not consist of me being bare naked in front of him.

  The ambassador concluded his speech, called for a kampai—cheers—and we dutifully raised our glasses.

  “Very well-written words,” the wolf said, turning toward me.

  I smirked at him. “Thank you, sir.”

  I breathed the “sir” so softly that it was only hearable to him. Or so I hoped.

  His eyes flickered when he heard me say it.

  Oh, this could be fun after all.

  1

  “We should probably mingle,” Steph suggested, without sounding too convinced. “Where are our research friends, anyway?”

  I hadn’t even realized that they were gone. And because I was inept in situations like these, I also hadn’t realized that Steph was highly interested in getting closer to the blond guy, as she would later tell me.

  That interest of hers explained why she was so eager to find him again. She excused herself and asked me to mingle myself.

  My eyes widened as I watched her walk away. I wanted to follow her, but didn’t want to appear helpless. After all, it had always been the plan for each of us to mingle eventually. Small talk, networking. It was part of the job.

  I turned around, just to realize that the wolf was still there.

  “So, are you friends with the ambassador or what?” I asked, just to receive the same mischievous smile that had signaled impending trouble so often before.

  “In a way, you could say that, my pet.”

  Fuck. Teasing and joking was one thing when we were surrounded by security fences in the form of our coworkers. I knew I would melt and give in to whatever he planned to do if his irresistible hands could get ahold of me.

  “You know, I have to work… talk to people,” I said with a stern face, trying to look strong and unyielding as I did.

  He seemed to be completely unimpressed and just sipped his drink without taking his eyes off me before he deigned to reply. “So? Who said you couldn’t? Go ahead, work.”

  “Okay. I will.” I was a bit puzzled at his lack of interest.

  He shrugged. “I have some people I need to talk to myself.”

  I frowned. Somehow, this didn’t please me either.

  “Well,” I said, sounding ever so unfazed. “See you later then.”

  “See you later, Miss.”

  Miss? I rolled my eyes at him and turned around to walk away. I could feel his eyes on me as I excused myself and tried to walk especially gracefully, seductively swinging my hips. I knew it wouldn’t go unnoticed by him.

  But I had nowhere to go. I glanced at my empty glass and out of sheer desperation decided to get another drink. Another Mimosa, just to be careful.

  The hall had emptied due to the ambassador’s speech. People were still enjoying the mild temperatures outside in the garden. And the waiters were back, balancing trays full of drinks through the crowd. I didn’t envy their jobs. I strolled to the bar and exchanged my empty glass for a new Mimosa.

  What now? I was almost disappointed to find that the wolf had not followed me this time and I was truly alone, standing in the middle of the hall, sipping on my drink, feeling a bit lost. I decided to go back outside and roam the garden. It was a beautiful Japanese garden, tastefully lit in just the right amount. I hated too many lights; they had the ability to destroy even the most beautiful atmosphere. But it was done perfectly in this garden.

  My stomach growled when I passed a group of people who had just helped themselves to plates full of finger food that was served in little stalls outside. Food was a great idea, especially after the amount of Mimosas I had.

  I caught myself looking out for him the entire time. When I got in line at a stall that was serving bread and cheese—a rarity in my current diet—I checked to see if he was behind me. He wasn’t. Or next to me. He wasn’t. Where the hell was he? I should find someone to talk to as soon as possible, otherwise this whole endeavor could look quite ridiculous from wherever he was observing me. And at that point, I was quite sure that he was watching me, maybe hiding behind a tree, or behind a group of other people.

  Or maybe he was just a tad cooler than me and truly didn’t pay any attention to his play pet, but instead managed to stay professional.

  I found him after I had gotten a little plate with bread and cheese. In search of a place to eat—preferably with some company attached—I was meandering through the crowd and saw him talking to two young women. I had no idea who they were, but they both looked pretty and scarily smitten with him. Jealousy bit its way through my intestines like an angry animal. How ridiculous.

  Our eyes met for a split second when I passed them and whatever face I had been making was now known to him. He smirked for a split second, but went right back to his conversational partner. I tried not to let any disappointment show at his neglect and moved on until I found someone I knew. It was one of our Japanese secretaries. She spotted me and gestured me to come closer.

  As it often is with these events, one conversation led to another, and another, and another. She had beckoned me to come closer, because she was talking to another woman I had often been in contact with via email or telephone, but whom I had never seen face-to-face. And of course said woman could think of a million other people I had to meet, because they were around that night.

  It was great actually. Exactly what I had hoped for. I even met new people, and finally had a chance to get rid of my business cards. And it kept me occupied enough to forget about him for a while.

  Still, I was secretly hoping that he saw this, that he observed me in action, maybe even admired me for being the eloquent career girl I felt I was. I was rocking this, being all professional, succeeding in what I had planned for the night, and I felt more and more at ease.

  Until I tripped a
nd fell, that was. The garden was decorated with randomly placed stones. Big stones. And sometimes, these stones were at the most random places where you would least expect them. I was talking to someone, carelessly taking a step back while faking a laugh at something they had said and tripped over one those decorative stones. As if it wasn’t bad enough for me to fall straight on my own ass, I managed to drag down an extremely neatly dressed lady who had been standing behind me when I was trying to regain my balance while falling. I instinctively grabbed her dress since it was the first thing that came into my reach and forced her down with me. It was the wife of the French ambassador as it turned out. We both landed on our butts, pouring the remains of our respective drinks over our dresses. Great.

  Of course, this didn’t go unnoticed by anyone who was within viewing distance. Silently cursing myself, I looked over to the French ambassador’s wife next to me and blurted out panic-fueled apologies. She looked shocked and annoyed, but gave me a sympathetic nod after her husband helped her up. Luckily, there had not been much champagne left in her glass and her fancy dress was almost unharmed. Her husband—the French ambassador—helped her clean up and they were fast to act as if this incident had never happened.

  I, on the other hand, was soaked in Mimosa and still sitting on the grass like a confused toddler.

  And of course that was the moment he showed up. Now that I least wanted him to see me, he materialized in front of me, looking down at me with his hands in his pockets, an evil smirk on his face.

  I looked up at him and frowned. Before I could make any attempts to get back on my feet, he leaned down and reached his hand out to help me up. I glanced at it for a moment and considered ignoring it just to prove a point and indicate my independence. But for what? I had already made an idiot out of myself. I might as well take his offer and escape this humiliating situation as soon as possible.

  I grabbed my clutch that was lying in the grass next to me and accepted his helping hand.

  “Thank you,” I whispered as I staggered back on my feet.