by Stacey Lynn
My body was buzzing like a live wire, sparking misfires to all the parts of my body. My limbs, the tops of my thighs. God, he couldn’t mean that. “You can’t guarantee that.”
“No. I don’t know the future but we’ve already discussed I’m a man who knows exactly what he wants.” He brushed hair off my shoulders, eyes softening to a warm, chocolate brown. “And what I want, Rebecca, is you. At my side and at my feet, whenever I wish. I want you in my bed and in my office. What else is there that is scaring you?” His thumb swiped over my eyebrow. “What are you not telling me?”
“You see too much,” I muttered, shaking my head. “You make me feel too much.”
“That’s not a bad thing.”
“No, but it sets me up for heartbreak when you throw such beautiful words in my lap and at the same time, have a date already planned for tomorrow.”
His eyes popped open and his jaw dropped.
“My replacement in the wings?” At my sneering tone, his mouth snapped closed and then he rolled his lips together.
I shoved away from him, pushed against his chest with all my might and damn it, he let me go. He let me leave him, while he hid his laughter at my outburst. To control my bubbling rage, I picked up my wine glass. Without thought, I drained it.
His humor filled my house and the beautiful sound of his thrilled, amused laughter sent cold spikes sliding through my veins. He grabbed me, hands at my waist and he pushed me toward the kitchen counter. His chest to my back, he moved me quickly until I was bent over the counter, his warm, still laughing mouth at my ear. “You infuriating, crazy woman. I’m going to love mining the depths of you.”
“Stop making fun of me,” I said, tears already building behind my eyes. I wouldn’t let them fall. I wouldn’t show him how much his laughing at me hurt me.
“I’m not. I swear it. But you need to start talking to me, Rebecca, and stop assuming. I don’t have a date for tomorrow. There’s no other woman I want. Only you.”
What?
He pulled my hands to my lower back, wedged them between his waist and my back and pulled until I was standing, and with his free hand, he pressed into my stomach.
His lips trailed down my neck, and shivers of delight heated my flesh. “Damn you. You had me make that appointment last week, when we weren’t even together.”
“Like I said,” he whispered, his voice gritty and thick. “Do I strike you as a man who doesn’t know what he wants?”
He spun me before I could think, pinned me between the counter and him. He left me breathless and dizzy and it wasn’t entirely from the sudden movements.
“You...what?”
“No more talking. You’ve driven me crazy with the need to be inside of you. We’ll figure everything else out later, okay?” He turned, glared at the file still on the kitchen counter and back to me, growling. “All of it.”
Before I could respond—and what was there to respond with besides yippee!—he lifted me. I hitched my thighs on his hips and wrapped my hands around his neck while he carried me to my room.
Where he then spent many, many hours doing beautiful things to me that never once felt evil or wrong, but perfect and absolutely lovely.
And when I woke, expecting to be held in his arms like he always held me, I found nothing except disheveled covers and another folder on the pillow next to me.
A note on top read:
Jakobs is not the only one who recognizes your talent. This was printed before yesterday in case you begin thinking I’m offering this only because he did. I was planning on giving it to you tonight at dinner.
Take the day off. Spend your time thinking.
I will pick you up at seven thirty and expect a decision.
B
I set the note aside, smiling at how even in his sweetness he was still a bossy, arrogant prick.
Then I fluffed the pillows behind me and sat up, gingerly bringing the file into my lap. Once opened, all the blood rushed from my face, chilling me.
A job offer. Not an executive assistant.
Vice President?
Chapter Twenty-Three
Bennett
Leaving her in the darkness, curled in a half-ball like she usually slept could have been a colossal mistake. Rebecca had thrown a lot at me last night, though, and in the light of day, I knew she needed her space. She was intelligent and passionate. The passion terrified her as much as it thrilled her. I’d been honest when I told her I could dig deep inside of her for years and I’d never grow tired of searching for what made Rebecca tick.
And part of that, I knew was her need to be respected as well as take the time to make decisions.
She hadn’t worked so hard in her life, escaped the terrors she alluded to by making rash, emotional decisions. There was no way I could tie her to me further, and I did want her tied to me, but I also respected her enough, knew her well enough to know that when she came to me, she came to me with a signed job contract in one hand and preferably, her heart in the other.
The workday drawled by. Every time I looked at her empty office, I questioned my decision but in the end, I was right.
She made decisions by lists and pros and cons and pushing through her fears. My choices were made by instinct and they rarely let me down.
With the way she’d clawed me to her last night, one of the few nights I gave her use of her hands, and then held me afterward, peppering my arms and abs and chest with kisses, I figured there wasn’t much to worry about.
Unless of course, she said no.
Fuck.
I tossed my pen on my desk, scowling as it skittered to the floor at the same time my phone rang.
Friday afternoon. It wasn’t unheard of for my buddy Simon to call me. The sissy liked my pep talks about his hockey team, even if this year he didn’t need it. Currently undefeated, they were literally skating to the state championship tournament two months from now if they kept up their hard work.
I didn’t have an investment in Simon’s hockey team other than he was a friend of mine, and I freaking loved the game, so I went as often as I could.
“Hey, loser,” I said, answering the phone.
“Ugh,” he groaned. “Get my head off this crap. We play Irondale tomorrow and they’re right on our heels fighting for first place. I need a beer, man. You free tonight?”
“Nope. Got a date.”
He choked, coughed through the phone line and I rolled my eyes. “Date?”
“Yeah. And that’s all you get from me except that now I know why you felt like you were going insane when things were uncertain with you and Chloe.”
“God, fuck. Glad that shit’s over and done with.”
I was too. I never would have touched her, but since Simon and Chloe got together, I’d never seen my good friend so damn happy. And yeah, I was jealous. I wanted the same shit he had, even if Rebecca was the complete opposite of Chloe.
“So, who is she?”
“No one I’m telling you about.”
He laughed. “Yeah? Afraid she’d come crawling to me?”
He meant it as a joke, but I knew exactly what he had Chloe do when they were alone in his house. “She’ll never crawl.”
As soon as I said it, I loved the idea of it. Good fucking luck talking Rebecca into the idea that crawling on her hands and knees like an animal wasn’t demeaning, but sexy as hell.
“Whoa. Dude. Calm down. She’s got you tied in knots?”
I picked up my pen and tapped it against the desk. “No. I’m not tied in knots. I’m undone by Rebecca.”
“Rebecca.” He whispered the name like he wanted it on his lips after an orgasm. I clenched the pen in my hand. Yeah, he was doing it to piss me off. It was working.
The son of a bitch.
“Before
you kill me,” Simon said, laughter in his voice. “You coming to the game tomorrow?”
“Time?”
“Three.”
“We’ll be there.”
“We?”
“Shut up,” I growled. “Yeah, Rebecca and I will be there.”
“Oh goodie, I can’t wait to meet... Rebecca. Dinner after?”
“Fine,” I barked. “Sounds like fun.”
I hung up the phone before I heard him laugh, but it was coming. Simon and I had known each other for years. Met at Luminous and then I started watching his hockey practices at a nearby high school. Man was wicked with a crop and a whip. Had a playroom in his own damn house that he and Chloe enjoyed frequently. Hell, I’d played with women in his house before. But all of it was play, and yeah, I’d envisioned Rebecca on a cross, bound so I could torture her and bring her to orgasms while she trembled in the bindings. I didn’t need that playtime like Simon did, and like Chloe craved.
Didn’t mean my dick didn’t get hard at the thought, though.
I groaned and tossed my pen onto the desk before pulling up proposals on my laptop.
After a quick adjustment to my crotch, I groaned again when I saw the clock.
It was only three. I had four and a half more hours until I picked up Rebecca, and the wait was killing me.
Pushing it out of my mind, I focused on all the ways we’d celebrate after dinner, or perhaps during dinner, and went back to work.
* * *
I knocked on Rebecca’s front door with all the restrained impatience I could muster. And that was saying a lot considering I was still twenty minutes early. I’d waited long enough. Not only did I want to know her answer to the job offer I’d left on her pillow, but I needed to see her.
Good God, she was turning me into a man I didn’t recognize. I craved her, thought about her all day long even when she was nearby. Not a minute went by where I wasn’t consumed with the taste of her, the feel of her, or how absolutely exquisite she was when she allowed her vulnerability to shine through.
I wanted to claim her, make her mine. And I didn’t give a fuck what that said about me, that I’d gone ass over tits in less than a month for a woman, either.
She was mine, damn it, and once I ensured it tonight, I didn’t care if the whole world knew.
I knocked again and as soon as I’d dropped my hand, the door flung open.
Instead of the sexy brunette I was expecting, Miranda stood in the doorway.
“Hello, Miranda,” I said, looking over her shoulder. She was alone in Rebecca’s entry area and behind her, the house was as clean and impeccable and boring-as-fuck as ever.
“You’re early, Bennett,” Miranda said, stepping back and out of the way so I could enter.
I did, closing the door behind me.
“She’s not quite ready. Would you like a drink while you wait?”
“No thank you.” I barely spared the beautiful brunette a glance. “Where is she?”
“She’s upstairs, finishing getting ready. For some reason,” Miranda sang, yes sang, “she’s a bit out of sorts tonight and rather frazzled. You wouldn’t know anything about that, would you?”
Her words were full of insinuation and I turned to her. “Do you know what she decided?”
It wasn’t like me to appear insecure, and I hated it then. The very fact, though, was that Rebecca and Miranda were friends. If she needed someone to lean on, she’d go to her.
“Sorry.” She grinned and made an X-shape over her lips with a finger. “She’s sworn me to secrecy, but I do have to say I approve of her choice.” Dropping her teasing tone, Miranda continued, “She’s had a hard-enough life. She doesn’t need anyone making it more difficult for her.”
I glared at her. Considering I knew her Dom, I doubted my glare did shit to scare her.
She shrugged and reached for her puffy winter coat draped over the chair. Pushing her arm through the sleeve, she said, “We owe Rebecca a dinner of rack of lamb for being brave enough to come to Luminous on New Year’s. Things have been so busy, Shawn hasn’t gotten around to it, but I’d love it if you joined us tomorrow night.” She winked.
My heart almost burst through my chest and I grinned.
“Are you saying what I think you are?”
“I’m simply inviting you to dinner.”
“I see. I made plans with Simon and Chloe for tomorrow afternoon.”
She shrugged joyfully. “No biggie. I’ll tell Shawn to buy more lamb.”
I examined her briefly to try to get to her motive. “Shawn’s cooking?”
“Ah, yes.” She walked up to me and patted my cheek. The move so out of the norm for a sub, my eyes widened. “He’s very good at knowing how to set something on fire at the perfect temperature.”
I barked out a laugh. “That’s disgusting, Miranda.”
“It was the best I could do.” She opened the door and looked at me over her shoulder. “We’ll see you tomorrow.” Her eyes went over my shoulder and then her gaze returned to me, voice lowering, eyes no less excited. “I meant what I said. Don’t hurt her.”
The door closed behind her and I spun on my heels as Rebecca stepped into the living room.
And instantly, every breath, everything that made me the self-assured man that I was, plummeted to the floor like it never existed.
Holy fuck, she was magnificent.
Chapter Twenty-Four
Rebecca
For months, I became accustomed to Bennett’s angry scowls and perturbed glares whenever I walked into his office or he walked out of mine. I figured I’d become too used to them eventually, regardless of how much they bugged me.
As certain as I was I’d become used to his scowls and grunts and glares and cocky demeanor, I was even more certain I would never get used to the way his gaze softened when he saw me walk into a room like now.
I was further certain I never wanted to get used to it.
His look heated my stomach, made it flip and soothed me at the same time. That, too, was a contradiction I never wanted to get used to.
I liked it too much.
After I recovered from the shock of the folder and the job offer he’d left me on my pillow today, I spent the rest of the morning and day scouring both proposals.
It was futile.
I was in love with Bennett. I would take anything he offered. I didn’t even know when it had happened, when I’d fallen so head over heels for him, or how I became a woman who could fall so quickly, but I was still uncertain us working together, side by side in the partnership he was offering was the best thing for us, our relationship, or his company.
Yet seeing that look on his face now, after I called Miranda to have her come over and keep me company while I got ready and keep me sane so I didn’t end up buying a plane ticket and running off to Bora Bora in a crazed freakout I wouldn’t put past myself, made all of our efforts worth it.
“Hello,” I said. “How was your day?”
He raised a hand, lips pressed into a thin line and his gaze dropped. His eyes trailed my body, from my hair that I’d curled so it bounced and bobbed on my shoulders every time I moved, all the way to my heels. He soaked in the black dress I wore. A halter top with thick straps around the neck, it had a deep slit down the front that went almost to my navel, baring cleavage I wasn’t accustomed to but with the way his eyes burned as he lingered there a moment, I loved I’d gone for something so daring. Finally, his gaze fell and he licked his lips as he reached the hem of my short dress at mid-thigh and then to my silver, strapped heels. Ribbons tied and twisted and wrapped around my ankle halfway up my calves. Borrowed from Miranda. I wasn’t sure I’d return them.
Besides, regardless of which job offer I took, I could afford to buy them from her.
“You’re stunning. More stunning that I imagined you being tonight, more beautiful than I thought you’d be when you dressed for our dinner tonight.”
I brushed my hands down my sides. “You say such pretty things, I’m not sure how to respond to them.”
He nodded toward the folders I’d left on the kitchen table. “Say yes. To me, not Jakobs.”
“I have some questions I want to ask first.”
“Very well.” He reached for my black, knee-length wool pea and lifted it off the back of the kitchen chair. “Shall we go then?”
“You’re not going to let me ask them?”
“Yes. But if you don’t come to me right now and get covered, I’m going to bend you over the table and then we’ll miss our reservation. And trust me—” He winked, warm eyes darkening in a delicious invite. “You’ll want to see what I have planned for dinner.”
The floor rocked beneath my feet as I stepped toward him. He always managed to keep me off balance, but like so many other things about him, I was learning his game.
He kept me topsy-turvy to keep me on edge, wanting him and craving more of him.
Well, he got it. He drove me mad with need and desire and as I turned my back to him, he helped me with my coat, lifting my hair and draping it over the top, fixing the collar.
“You’re being very amenable,” he murmured, pressing his lips to my ear. I shivered from the soft sensations, the hint of teasing in his tone. “I’m not sure which I like more, the obedient woman or the woman who challenges me at every turn.”
I clasped my clutch into my hand and turned to him, tilting my head up and grinning at him. “I can’t have you getting bored with me.”
A hint of uncertainty rang in my ears as I said the words but that immediately evaporated when his scalding eyes seared me in place.
“Never. Whatever you’re currently worried about, that should never be one of them.”
“God,” I breathed. “Just when I think I get your game, you change the rules.”
His hands curled around my shoulders and he bent his head. All hint of teasing was gone as he held me tightly. “Make no mistake, we might play games, Rebecca. We’ll play a lot of them. But none of them will ever be about how I feel about you.”