by Raven Dark
Ella knew it was unwise to pretend ignorance. Best to level the playing field instead. She seated herself but ignored the food crossing her legs. “Tell me about Kranton, Scalder. Miller Road Condominium, specifically.”
Scalder dropped his shrimp fork with a clatter. When he looked at her, his face was slate, but his fist was too tight around his glass. “It’s one of hundreds of deals I’ve made in the past, Miss Clayton. What of it?”
“Well, this one has a secret, doesn’t it?” She casually crossed her arms. It took effort to keep her voice cool, not to show her desperation for details on whatever happened with that deal.
When he didn’t say anything, she offered a sweet smile. “What did you do to those people, Scalder? It must have been big for you to pay four million in hush money.”
The glass in Scalder’s hand shattered. He bared his teeth. “I don’t know where you get your information missy, but you’d better watch yourself. Those words are liable. You have no proof. Trust me, my panel of lawyers are a lot more powerful than that McCarthy boy, and unlike him, they don’t have records, which, I’m sure your investors would be interested to see considering their future commander in chief is fucking him.”
“Everyone is coming back from something. Besides, most people in this town know Rock has a juvenile record. He was sixteen then.”
“Yes, but do they know what happened to him in Juvie? Do they know what he did to Peter Banks?”
Again, her blood dropped in temperature and she leaned forward. “How the hell do you know about that? His criminal record is sealed.”
A waitress came by the table but Ella waved her away without ordering.
Scalder pulled a rib off the rack. “Old tycoons like me know how to open something as simple as a criminal record.” He paused and wiped his hands on a wet nap then bent down beside his chair. He tossed a manilla folder down in front of her. “Read and weep, missy.”
Ella allowed a quick look through the file. Rock’s mug shot stared up at her. He looked about seventeen, still wearing that red bandana and a dagger in his ear she’d seen him with around high school, long before they dated. He was still hot, with a faint shadow of stubble outlining his jaw, but he didn’t have the bearing or the maturity he did now. He held a mug shot plaque in his hands and a cocky smile for the camera.
Then a slip of newspaper dropped to the table. Ella picked it up and studied it. The article detailed a story Rock had told her about the first time they’d gone on a date. In juvie, six months into his year-long sentence, Peter Banks had picked a fight with him trying to stab him. Rock fought him and the boy hit his head on a sink, cracking it open. Banks was in the infirmary with a cracked skull for days. Rock went to Solitary for a month and had three months added on to his sentence.
“He was defending himself.” She shut the folder and slid it back toward Scalder. “He didn’t do anything wrong.”
Scalder shrugged. “Details don't matter. When people hear about his propensity for violence, all they’ll see is a roughneck. A roughneck you were indiscriminate enough to not only hire, but to sleep with. They won’t trust you as far as they can throw you, Miss Clayton. A shame since you already lost two major investors last week.”
She drew in a long breath and clenched her fists under the table. “I’m guessing you’re still offering to buy us out, and if we don’t agree to it, you’ll expose Rock.”
He licked his fingers after the last rib. “It’s just business, Miss Clayton. Play with the big boys and you have to up your game. McCarthy’s the big shot corporate lawyer, he can tell you all about it.”
He wiped his hands clean one last time and opened his wallet slapping big bills down for his meal. Then he stood up, buttoned up his blazer and dropped a piece of paper on the table in front of her.
“The same offer still stands. I think it’s more the generous.”
Ella allowed the check a glance and widened her eyes at the vast sum. It was more than enough to buy her father out and set them both up for life. But if she accepted, the business she and her father had built would be corrupted. Not to mention the kids at the orphanage would lose everything. Scalder moved to stand beside her chair and leaned in close.
“If you cash that within the week, I promise, no one will know about Banks. Think long and hard about this Miss Clayton, and consider how much easier it would be on your ailing father not to have to worry about the company anymore.” He squeezed her shoulder like an old friend out to help. “Give my best to your father.”
* * * * *
For the first time in the years she’d known Rock, Ella wished she didn’t have to see him.
Every time she thought about seeing him, even the possibility of it raised her spirits and her pulse quickened. Now, as it drew closer to five and she returned to her office from the final board meeting of the afternoon, only a deep, hollow ache filled her chest at the thought of the conversation awaiting her when he stopped by to pick her up.
She’d failed him. All she had to do was call him if she couldn’t do as they’d agreed upon, and she hadn’t. Well, she’d left him a quick message apologizing for not calling, but she hadn’t left details and she hadn’t done it when she should have, before meeting with Scalder. The memory of her confrontation with the land developer only made her feel worse.
A knock sounded on the door and she swallowed. “Come in, Rock.”
He entered and shut the door. The worry on his face as he walked across the room to her desk made her heart twist.
“I got your message.” The softness in his voice was worse than if he’d shouted.
She stood clearing off the papers from her desk without looking at him.
He came around the desk, standing so close the heat of him pounded into her. “Your message said you’d be busy in meetings for the rest of the afternoon and you’d explain later. What happened, Annabella?”
Her throat tightened. Better get the easier issue out of the way first.
“Rock…um...” She twisted the whip ring on her finger. “I met with Scalder today.”
“Annabella!” He scrubbed a hand through his hair. “I told you I didn’t want—”
“He knows about Banks, Rock.” She barely spoke above a whisper, heart hammering at the thought.
“Shit.” He ran his palm down his face. “How? It’s a juvie record, it’s sealed.”
“I don’t know, but you know what he could do with information like this.”
He sighed and moved away from the desk, pacing across the room. “I know. Son of a bitch. He had to have had someone in the system release my records to him. A cop or a judge or something. Fuck.”
“I’m sorry Rock. Look, I know you didn’t want me to see him alone, but I was afraid he somehow knew I was Mistress E and I didn’t know what he’d do if I didn’t see him.”
Rock’s features softened as he returned to the desk. “No, I get it. I’m glad nothing happened to you. Just, please promise me you won’t go near him again without me.”
Irritation mixed with adoration for his protectiveness. “I promise. Rock, what are we going to do about the Banks incident? I know it was an accident but he’ll make sure no one else sees it that way.”
“I dunno, but you can’t be thinking about giving into that rat. I feel horrible he’s using my past to destroy what’s important to you. God, I was such a stupid kid. Flying off the handle at that guy and landing myself in jail. I just really hate seeing a guy treat his girl like shit.”
“I know. I don’t blame you for standing up for what’s right.”
“If not for Avery, I would have ended up in prison like…” He shook his head. “Such a stupid kid.”
“Don’t do that, Rock. It’s the past. What Scalder’s doing isn’t your fault.” She shook her head. “I don’t want to give into him, but it’s not just your past and the scandal it’ll cause. He knows how vulnerable the business is now.”
“We’ll figure out something.” His thumb rubbed a soothing pattern across her palm.
Oh, why did this man have to be so special? So perfect? Her gut clenched.
“Rock, there’s something else.” When he waited, she licked her lips. “I…I didn’t wear the plug.”
A low sigh escaped him. His grip on her hand moved to her wrist and when he spoke again, his voice was quiet, but there was a sterner edge to it.
“Why didn’t you call me?”
She slid out of his grasp, or tried to. His grip tightened just enough to keep her there. Keep her from putting any distance between them. She looked away, wishing her heart didn’t feel like it was trying to shatter inside her chest.
“Look, I know. I know what I did is a huge deal. I willfully went against you and for no good reason. I would never, ever stand for such an action from a sub.”
He closed his eyes. God, she hated that look, like he was shutting her out. Did she imagine his face paling a little, or the way his Adam’s apple bobbed?
“Please try to understand why I did it. I—”
“I get why you didn’t wear the plug. What happened with Scalder is exactly the sort of reason I gave you one pass. What did I tell you to do if you needed that pass?”
Ella lowered her head. A tightness coiled in her throat, constricting.
“I asked you a question, girl. What did I tell you?”
“You told me to call you, and I didn’t. Not until after I should have. I’m sorry, Sir.”
“All you had to do was pick up the phone and tell me what was going on before you met with Scalder. Why didn’t you?”
She stared at him. There was so much pain in his eyes. Right, it wasn’t just about what she did. Rock had always hated punishing a sub. He loved pretending to and he got off on playing at it, but real punishment… When they’d been together, he’d said it always left him feeling profoundly guilty. It hurt him and she hated hurting him.
“Your voice shook in your message. Did you think I would be angry?”
She bowed her head hoping to hide any emotions he might see in her eyes. Shame burned her cheeks when she considered the answer. “I…I don’t know.”
“Yes, you do. You just don’t want to tell me.”
“Rock, I…I didn’t go against you to hurt you.”
“No, but what we have is based on trust. You didn’t trust me not to understand your fear of Scalder. You didn’t trust me not to shame you.”
“It’s not like that.” It isn’t.
“What happens when you disobey me, girl?”
She sighed. “I’m prepared to accept punishment. I know what’s coming.”
Rock released her wrist and ran a hand through his dark hair. “I thought we trusted each other. I thought you knew me well enough to know I would understand.”
Jesus, he looked so hurt. His eyes were pools of pain. Her own eyes watered.
He turned away from her for a second, seeming to study something on the wall. When he turned back to her, his face had hardened, but he also looked defeated. He handed her the passkey to his suite.
“Take a cab to the hotel. I’ll get the spare key from the front desk. When I get home, I want you naked and lying on the bed, waiting for me. Understand?”
No tenderness this time. Anabella swallowed. “Yes, Sir.”
He strode to the door and she couldn’t watch him leave. The door opened and then clicked shut. Loneliness settled over her, silent and stifling. Ella sat in her chair and put her face in her palms.
I’m so sorry, Rock.
CHAPTER 14: TASTING DARKNESS
Ella tried to quiet her racing thoughts when she heard the door to the suite open and then close again. The half hour she’d been waiting for Rock seemed to stretch to forever.
Irritation pulled at her as she undressed and lay across the bed. At the idea of being punished, the Domme in her tried to rear up, desperate to regain control. No. Her infraction showed an inability to completely submit to Rock. The last thing she wanted to do was to hurt him further by showing more of the same.
She laid spread eagle, completely open for him. Ready.
Rock’s footsteps sounded across the floor. She swallowed, pussy tightening, but not in that pleasant way he always caused in her. Around Rock, she was nearly always aroused and this was no different. But the anticipation of his touch was different now, tempered with resistance of what was to come.
He entered the room and stopped at the foot of the bed. “So, here are the rules. I’m going to make you come ten times.”
Ella widened her eyes. She’d seen a forced orgasm scene. Mac had punished Claire with that once. According to Claire, done right, however pleasant the first few were, the more there were, the harder they were to take. By the time he got even close to ten…
“Sir…ten is too many—”
“Be quiet.”
The clipped tone made her chest tighten. He rarely sounded so crisp unless he was playing the bad boy. Ella pressed her lips together and looked at the ceiling. “Sorry, Sir.”
“Your actions today made one thing clear. Submitting is a lot harder for you than I thought. This is as much my fault as yours. I’ve been too lax with you.”
For some reason, he looked away and she swore he was gathering himself. “I like your defiance, girl. Too much, obviously.”
He began spraying a pink mist over her nakedness. Her breasts, her arms, her legs, her exposed pussy. Slowly, her skin began to tingle, a gentle heat spreading over her.
Rock went to the dresser and pulled out a small butt plug along with a rectangular device that looked like a TV remote.
“Sir, is that a remote controlled plug?”
“Yes.”
Ella gulped. She’d seen Doms use remote operated plugs on subs before, watched the poor things forced to come over and over whenever the Doms chose to activate the plug and send them over the edge. Dread slid through her, mixed with arousal she hoped didn’t show on her face.
“Sir, those things are evil.”
The first hint of amusement touched his eyes. “Yeah, well, as I said, I’ve been too lax with you. That situation gets rectified now.”
She licked her lips and shifted her legs, taking all her effort not to squeeze them together. The low, pleasant heat on her skin intensified, the erotic burning at her pussy growing to a throb. Rock clapped his hand on her leg nudging it aside.
“Open.”
When she spread her legs, he climbed on the bed with her settling between them. There was no gentleness in his eyes, only command and regret. That look, the business-like way he touched her made it feel like there was a chasm between them, a rift big enough to leave a gaping hole in her heart. She missed the warmth and burning hunger they shared whenever he was intimate with her, the sense of being connected to him.
“Bend your knees up.”
Ella closed her eyes and drew a deep breath, resisting the urge to plead with him. She did as he instructed and he pushed her knees further up until they were near her chest, then spread them apart. Normally this position would have been highly erotic, but now…
“This would be easier if I could bind them in place, but it’s too soon for that, so you’ll need to hold on until I say otherwise. I want you spread good and wide, ready to take whatever I give you.”
“Yes, Sir.” She gripped her knees, holding them in place.
“Good girl. See, is that so bad?”
He moved up a little and ran his fingers up and down her core a few times heightening the already intense heat burning there. He brought it to a feverish pitch.
“Sir…” She wriggled and he swatted her pussy.
Then he bent over, head between her legs. He lapped and sucked for no more than a few seconds but that brief contact had her whimpering and tossing her head. Hands sliding up her legs to her knees, he opened them a little wider and sucked again.
“Rock…Sir. Please…”
“Shut your mouth, girl.” He sat up, eyes dark with possession. “I’m not eating you to please you. You need to remember what belongs
to me.”
He picked up the plug and ran the smooth, cool steel over her dripping core. Ella ground her teeth. Liquid ran down between her labia and a curve of a smile played with his lips. Eyes never leaving hers, he slid the plug slowly inside.
Pressure built against her walls until it went all the way in and the stretch came with exquisite pleasure. Ella had to grip her legs hard to prevent herself from bucking into his touch.
Jaw hard, Rock ran two fingers slowly up and down between her folds. She panted and tried to make herself come faster. Rush through the orgasms, one after the other.
“Stop that.” He gave the inside of one thigh a slap. “We’re going to take our time. I want you to feel each and every time you come. Think on it, absorb it. Let each one remind you of your mistake. Ten orgasms is hard to take, but you rush this and I’ll add another and another until you do it right.”
Damn. It would have been easier if he was angry, but he said everything with matter of fact authority; this was meant to teach her a lesson, nothing more. He was her Dom, he was doing his duty to her.
When she acknowledged his words, he bent and gave her core a single possessive lick. Then he sucked, just a little too hard. She gasped and he sat back. His finger hooked into the plug, tugged once, twice, again, bringing little rasps from her.
He moved back and picked up the remote. Her heart sped up at his wicked smile. He pointed the remote at her pussy.
She licked her lips. “Sir?”
“Ready?”
She barely nodded before he pressed a button. The plug in her pussy began to vibrate, a low intensity shaking that sent spears of pleasure through her. Spears that quickly became waves.
Ella’s head threw back and she tried to buck her hips. Rock pinned her knees up with his hands keeping her in place. She moaned and writhed, stomach muscles clenching.
“Ah…ahh…R—Rock, fuck…”
“Who?”
“Sir...”
She drew close to the edge and he lifted his hands. Ripples of pleasure rocked her and she thrust up and down, coming hard. The vibrating in her core stopped and she panted, coming down.