“Sex may be a challenge for you, but you will have to find what works best for you. The relationship you have with your partner will be what’s most important.”
By Friday morning, my muscles ached a little less and the freezing temperature had finally left, giving the East coast a sneak–peek of spring. The previous night I had my first sexual dream about Peyton since being home from rehab. He had me in his sex room, tied up high over his bed as he devoured my core. That had me up in the morning with a satisfied grin and soaked pajama pants. Whether it was the warm weather or the arousing dream, something had me dressing a bit more provocatively for work. I wore a tight pencil skirt, nude fishnet stockings, and a white button-down shirt. I found the best push-up bra I owned and purposely left a few buttons open on the shirt.
When I strolled off the elevator, I held my coat in my hand so he would get the full view as I made my way to my office. To my luck, he was standing at the receptionist’s desk, discussing his schedule with Melissa. He stopped speaking mid-sentence and followed me with his eyes as I walked right in front of him. Melissa bit her lip to contain her laughter. Peyton bit his lip in a fine line and I couldn’t help myself. I lifted my fingers, sliding them across his chest as I passed. “Good morning, Mr. Haas.”
He growled.
I didn’t know whether I expected him to follow, but when he didn’t I felt a ping of disappointment. Maybe after he discovered the truth he’d lost his need for me. At least I had his growl to satisfy my sexual appetite.
I stood in the copy room making copies of the Business Law book. I had planned to read it over the weekend, but I didn’t want to take the whole book home with me when I was only interested in a few chapters. As I stood over the bulky machine, my weight balancing from heel to heel, the door to the small room—one of the few rooms that weren’t all glass— shut behind me. He moved closer and my face warmed as I felt his proximity.
“What are you doing in here?” I picked the textbook up and turned the page before laying it on the glass and pressing the copy button.
“I needed to get this photocopied.” He held a memo in his hand. The side of his mouth was curved up and I knew he was full of it.
“Why do I doubt you?” I repeated the same process with the next chapter.
“What, a man can’t make his own copy?” he asked. I stood facing the copier with him adjacent to me.
“Melissa has your coffee ready every morning before you walk in. I highly doubt you make your own copies.” I didn’t turn to face him. My flushed face would give away that he was driving me crazy.
Peyton dropped the paper in the shredding bin and moved behind me, his hands resting next to mine. His breath tickled the back of my neck. I had chosen my highest heels so I was almost his height. “I needed an excuse to be near you,” he whispered. His hands moved to rest at my waist.
My eyes shut and my core throbbed. “Peyton…” My breath caught when he brought his nose to the back of my neck. I felt his thickness pressed against my lower back, rock-hard and ready. I leaned my head back against his shoulder, gnawing on the inside of my lip.
“Your smell drives me fucking crazy.”
I stood paralyzed. His hands danced down my skirt until he gripped the hem. His fingernails scratching against my stockings, he lifted my skirt high enough to cup the fronts of my thighs. If he went any higher, he would feel my moist thong.
I turned, pinned between him and the copy machine. His eyes crawled over my body, his gaze held at my mounds. My nipples perked, straining against the lacy fabric while he bit his lip. My breath dragged in and out, full of desire and hunger. I desperately wanted his hands on me, but I held my stance. My skirt was bunched at my waist. His eyes were locked on mine, and I held my breath, waiting for his move. He stepped closer to me and moved his hands behind my body, opening the copy machine. Tossing the textbook to the side, his hands gripped my waist before he lifted me up onto it. Peyton claimed the space between my legs. The sudden movements had me panting, desperate for air. His finger tips dug into my thighs and I moaned, my mouth opening slightly.
“Tell me to stop.” He groaned, his eyes locked on mine, but I ever-so-slightly shook my head. His hands moved up my body. My voice had failed me.
Peyton’s firm hands wrapped about the nape of my neck and pulled my lips towards his. I burned with need, my skin inflamed by his touch, but when his lips met mine, I lost all control. My hands slammed on the machine’s buttons to balance myself, but neither of us moved. My mouth opened for his and he twirled his tongue around mine. I melted under his touch. Moaning and whimpering, he pressed his hard cock closer to my core. My hands left the buttons and wrapped around his neck. My fingers lacing around his soft hair I tugged gently. Peyton deepened the kiss, slowly moving his tongue, stroking it against mine. His grunts matching my desire.
My hands moved to loosen his tie. I needed him right then, right there. I needed him like I needed my next breath. My legs locked around his hips, pulling his hard cock against my core. I pulled away from his lips to moan forms of his name. His lips found my neck, licking its way up to my earlobe.
“I need to have you, Lynn.” He growled in my ear.
I nodded, my nails scraping down his back. Peyton wrapped his hands around my butt and lifted me off the copier, moving across the small room he slammed my back against the wall. I cried out from the hard wall behind me and his hard cock hitting my swollen clit.
Why the fuck did you wear stockings, Braelynn?
“Mr. Haas, they are ready for you in Conference Room A.” Melissa’s voice peeped from the other side of the door.
Peyton’s lips left my neck and my eyes locked with his. What the hell were we doing? He kissed my lips one last time before standing me on the floor. He fixed his tie and winked at me. In seconds, he was out of the room. I leaned against the wall, my lips swollen, his taste on me, horny as hell. I fixed my skirt and finished making my copies. My faced burned when I left the copy room. How long were we in there, and how loud was I when I’d moaned at his touch?
I locked myself in my office until about four o’clock when Melissa came by with a file in her hand.
“Hi! May I come in?”
“Of course.” Embarrassed that she caught us, I focused my eyes anywhere but on hers.
“I need you to sign a few documents for me. Mr. Haas asked me to get these to HR right away.” She flipped the folder open and slid it across my desk.
Employee: Braelynn Wolf. It read across the top. I looked at Melissa, but she didn’t give anything away. I continued reading. Peyton had added me on his payroll and included all the benefits. Health and life insurance and a 401K. When I came across the salary, I slammed the file shut. What the hell he was thinking? My annual salary was listed at eighty-thousand dollars.
“If you need to review it further you can give it back to me on Monday. Accounts Payable will cut you a check today, and there's a direct deposit form in there as well.”
My chair didn’t roll back fast enough. I grasped the file and marched out of my office, leaving Melissa to trail behind me. My hand slammed against Peyton’s door, shoving it open; it swung back with ferocity. He sat at his desk, mulling over briefs.
“What the fuck is this?” I stomped over to his desk, tossing the file to him.
He looked up at me, seemingly unsurprised by my rage. “This is your employee package.”
“I’m not your employee, Peyton.”
“Of course you are. Your name is on the door.”
“I’m. Not. Your. Employee.” My hands rested on his desk. Again I cursed myself for wearing a push up bra. His eyes dropped from mine and focused on my chest.
“I consider you an associate, Braelynn—”
“But I’m not! I don’t even have my license. I use that office to study for the bar!” A couple of passers-by had stopped at my shouting.
“It’s easier if you don’t fight it, doll.”
“Ugh!”
I threw my hands in
the air and marched out of his office. He wanted to be impossible … well, I would teach him that I could be the exact same way. I closed my office door behind me and called three different Crumbs Bake Shops around Manhattan. I calculated how much my weekly pay would be and ordered fifteen hundred dollars’ worth of cupcakes and coffee for every single PH Esquire employee, including my jerk of a boss.
When Crumbs arrived, I waited impatiently in the lobby for the elevator carts to arrive. Melissa watched as I paced in front of her desk. When she saw the three carts of cups fill the main lobby she laughed, her head tossed back as she held her stomach. “Oh, I can’t wait to see his face when he sees this.”
PH Esquire consisted of four long hallways. From a bird’s-eye view, it was a perfect X with the elevators in the center. Four hallways each lined with offices I walked up each hallway, knocking on my co-workers’ doors before I handed them a variety box of delicious cupcakes and a paper cup filled with steaming coffee.
I saved Peyton’s office for last. Melissa had informed me that he was going over his schedule with his mother and would be locked away in his office for the remainder of the afternoon. I took the last box of cupcakes and the last cup of coffee and carried it over to his desk.
“What is this?” he asked as I placed the sweet sugary treats in front of him.
“Oh, a little Friday pick me up,” I opened the box and dipped my finger into the red velvet cream cheese frosting. I brought my finger to his lips and he sucked it off my finger. “Figured it was a thoughtful way to say thank-you to my coworkers for a hard work week.”
I sat on his desk and crossed my legs so the slit of my skirt rose. I waited for his face to change; for him to grasp what I’d said. It took all of five seconds before he pushed off his desk and looked up and down the hallways at the commotion of his employees chatting while drinking coffee and eating cupcakes.
“You didn’t.”
“You want me on your payroll, fine. But you can’t stop me from spending my weekly check on whatever I like. Including my coworkers.” I dipped my finger in the same cupcake and brought it to my mouth before I left his office. I kept my finger in my mouth, sucking a little more than needed to make my point.
Braelynn
It had been two weeks since the copy room incident and there was a shift in our dynamic. There were so many unanswered questions between us. He never asked and I never spoke again about what had happened during rehab. It became a null topic. But he knew I’d changed. I didn’t want to dwell on it; I needed to move forward. He understood and seemed to accept that. But still we walked a thin line between what we were and who we had become. At times, I’d catch him staring at me a little longer than appropriate. Under other circumstances, it would be frowned upon, but between us it was complicated. There were times he’d catch me licking my lips, remembering the taste of his skin, but as he entered my office, it was his scent that got to me.
I held my breath as he approached my desk, maintaining my composure.
“What are you doing Friday night?” he asked. His tongue grazed over his bottom lip and I momentarily lost focus.
“Uh … either studying or studying.”
“I’m going to a party that I think you’d like. Would you like to come?” He leaned closer, stepping over the line of my personal space. His minty breath tickled the tip of my nose.
“A party?” I crossed my arms and pushed back in my chair. I needed to step back.
“It’s a little different from what you are probably used to, but I think you’ll really enjoy it.” He reached into his back pocket and slid a black mask across the width of my office table. His fingers twirled it around before he released it.
Intrigued, I took the black lace mask in hand before I lifted it up to my eyes. “Is this a masquerade party?” I asked, blinking repeatedly to make a point.
“You seem to have a lot of questions, Lynn. Why don’t you come with me and all of your questions will be answered.”
He still called me Lynn.
I had learned to despise that name, knowing how many times I’d used it and then lied to others. But when he spoke it, it reminded me of the night we first met, of how much I thought he was an asshole, but one sexy fucker. I tried to focus on that and not on the negative that had been the past six months.
“I won’t go unless you tell me if this is a masquerade,” I shot back at him with a dose of attitude.
“That mouth of yours,” he growled. “I swear, it drives me wild.”
“Well?”
He leaned closer, his lips tickling my earlobe. “It’s to protect who you are,” he whispered. My heart fluttered in my chest. “Did that catch your attention?” He pulled away and smirked at me. “Trust me, you’ll want to attend. Text me if you want me to pick you up. I’ll leave this with you.” He slid off the table.
When Peyton was out of my office and heading towards his, I lifted the mask and held it in my hands, letting it slide between my fingers. I couldn’t lie, it piqued my interest.
Friday night Peyton picked me up at eight sharp. I’d tried to match my dress to the mask, and since I had no idea where we were going, I kept it simple. A strapless black cocktail dress with classic black pumps, my blonde hair cascading down in waves that covered my back.
He rang the doorbell once before I pulled the door open. His bright eyes were the first things I noticed. He leaned into the doorjamb, a boyish grin on his face. His sex appeal trapped my breath in my chest. Like me, he wore all black—suit and shirt, with no tie. I bit my lip to contain my excitement in seeing him.
“Hi.” I held the door open for him.
“Hello, gorgeous.” He stepped past the threshold and kissed my cheek. I closed my eyes, anticipating his touch. “You ready?”
I nodded and grabbed my clutch and coat from the console table and followed him out. Peyton held the car door for me. “Such a gentlemen,” I teased as I slid into the car. He gave me a smirk followed by a wink that had my heart racing. The air between us had shifted. This was the first time that he and I were alone together. Most days he never left my side, bringing me lunch, insisting I give him feedback on any case he was working with. But we were never completely alone.
Peyton drove down the long city blocks, heading towards SoHo. I tapped my foot anxiously. The silence in the car was killing me. I looked out the car window, sucking air in slowly to regulate my breathing. Peyton rested his hand on my shaking leg, his touch startling me. I heard him chuckle under his breath.
“There is no need to be scared, doll. You’ll like where I’m taking you.”
That only made my heart rate rise.
Peyton parked in a parking garage. I didn’t question it at first, but once we’d been walking a few blocks curiosity got the best of me. “Where are we going?”
His hand reached down to interlock his fingers with mine. “It’s better that no one knows who we are at first.” His cryptic answer only created a dozen more questions. Releasing my hand, he wrapped his arm around my shoulder, his lips kissing the top of my head. “Put your mask on, Lynn, we’re almost there.”
I reached into my coat pocket and removed the disguise. Peyton slipped his mask over his face and I was mesmerized. The ebony silk against his light skin brought out his golden eyes even more. I wrapped my arm around his waist, holding him as we entered what looked like an abandoned building.
“Invitation?” the massive bouncer asked. Peyton handed over a matte black envelope. “Right this way.” He guided us toward a utility elevator.
My hand clutched Peyton’s bicep as the elevator began to ascend to the fourth floor. We arrived at the club-like room where we were surrounded by people, soft music playing in the background. I let my body relax.
“What is this place?” I asked, following Peyton out of the elevator and towards a cash register. He handed the lady dressed in all black patent leather another card and she handed him two gray wristbands.
“It’s a BDSM party.” Peyton took my right w
rist and secured the paper material around it.
“A what?”
My head shot around to take a better look at the crowd. Holy hell. There were naked bodies engaged in various sex activities everywhere. One man was dressed in leather pants and carrying a coiled bullwhip as he led a naked woman by the chain attached to a ring in her leather collar. A few women adorned with nipple clamps walked aimlessly through the crowd. My body tensed with excitement and fear as my gaze darted around the high-ceilinged area.
“A BDS—”
“I can see that, but why are we here?”
“You said sex for you wasn’t the same.”
Peyton pulled me closer to him, whispering in my ear so no bystander could hear. I had blurted that bit of information during one of our lunches. He had brought up the copy room incident and complained of the massive case of blue balls he had for the rest of that day, when out of nowhere my mouth had no filter. I’d been discussing my concern with Dr. Jackson the night before, so it was still fresh in my mind.
“And you said you were afraid that you wouldn’t enjoy it because you felt powerless. I considered ways to give you that control back, and this came to mind. I like the toys and the idea of having you tied up so I can take advantage, but I don’t want to cause you pain.”
“How does being tied up for your pleasure give me control?”
“You control it all, Lynn.” He twirled me around to face the crowded room. “I get to learn what works for you, what you enjoy and how far you want to take it. There are many levels of this lifestyle, some more hardcore than others, and we can learn what works for us. It’s all about trial and error, doll.”
He wrapped his arms around my waist and kissed my cheek. His proximity calmed my nerves, I leaned my head back on his shoulder and watched as one guy had his sub crawl around the floor.
“Can I be the dom?” I half-joked. I could never make sex between us as powerful as it was in the past if I had all the control. Peyton knew my body better than I could ever imagine. He knew me and what he did to me was my addiction.
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