by Ashlee Price
“I don’t really need a yoga instructor anymore,” I tell her. “But I do need someone to play with.”
“Like I said, I refuse. Respectfully.”
I chuckle. “Let me rephrase what I said earlier. My offer does not only still stand. My offer is one you can’t refuse.”
Her brown eyes narrow. “What do you mean?”
I lean over her so I can whisper in her ear. “If you refuse my offer, I won’t give Kaleb Wilson the lead role in the movie I’m producing next.”
Dani turns to me with a flicker of worry in her eyes.
“And believe me, it’s a movie he’ll want to be in. A serious one, finally. A game changer for him.”
She swallows. “You’re blackmailing me?”
“I’m giving you a reason to accept my offer,” I answer with a grin. “I’ll be waiting for you at my house later tonight so you can sign the contract.”
Her eyebrows furrow. “But…”
“I’ll send a car for you,” I inform her as I walk past her. “It will arrive five minutes after Kaleb leaves.”
“Why are you doing this to me?”
I turn around. “Because whether you’re aware of it yet or not, you’re perfect for me.”
I walk back to her and brush my fingers against the side of her breast.
She draws a deep breath.
“Remember, Dani.” I look into her eyes. “I’ll be waiting for you at the mansion.”
Chapter Eighteen
Dani
The mansion is shrouded in shadows, the darkness pierced only by the glow of a few lamps. The clatter of my heels on the floor as I walk down the hall sounds off walls which whisper nothing else.
For someone who has been invited to this grand abode, someone who is expected, I definitely do not feel welcome.
If anything, the darkness and the silence amplify the warnings in my head.
I stop at the foot of the imposing staircase to take a deep breath.
I’ve been told at the front door to go upstairs, and I’m guessing these must be the stairs. They remind me of a staircase I saw in a horror movie when I was a child. In that movie, danger awaited at the top. And death. The heroine felt it, and still she went up.
I know what danger awaits. I can feel it. Still, I swallow the lump in my throat and take the first step up.
I must.
Fake fiancé or not, I want Kaleb to get that role Hector was dangling in front of my face. He would have bagged it by now if not for me. I will not be the reason he won’t.
I will do anything if it means he lands that role.
Even this.
I continue up the stairs, lifting my gown so that I don’t step on the hem.
I haven’t had time to change, so I’m still wearing the emerald one Tom picked for me. I barely had time to sneak into Zoe’s and Zeke’s bedrooms to blow them good night kisses, something I won’t get to do anymore after they leave for Switzerland in two days.
Finally, I reach the top of the stairs. I face three corridors, one to my right, one to my left and one straight ahead.
Now what?
As I turn my head, I see a rose on a table with a red lace ribbon wrapped around its stem and a piece of paper beneath it. I pick it up but drop it again as a thorn pricks my fingertip, drawing a bead of blood.
Shit.
I quickly wipe it off, then proceed to pick up the rose more carefully. I bury my nose in the petals to breathe in the sweet scent.
Unbidden, the image of Hector’s face buried between my legs comes to mind.
I blush, but then frown, knowing it’s exactly what he must have wanted me to think.
I pick up the piece of paper and read what’s scribbled on it.
Center hallway. Last door. Don’t knock. Just enter.
Okay.
The last time I tried following directions, I failed badly, but there’s no way I can make a mistake this time, is there?
I take the rose but leave the note and walk down the long hall. My heart pounds with every step I take.
In front of the last door, I draw another deep breath. Then I grab the golden latch and press it down. The door opens with a click.
I push it slowly and step inside.
The room is large but sparsely furnished. In fact, there is only one long, empty table in the middle and two chairs, one on each end.
Hector sits at one end with one hand tucked under his chin and the other resting on the arm of his chair. His legs are crossed beneath the table. He’s still in his suit, but the black jacket has been discarded, his tie loosened and a few buttons undone to give a glimpse of the hair on his chest.
“Please sit.” He gestures to the other chair.
I walk to it. As I pull it out, my gaze lands on the identical sheets of paper on the table.
Another contract.
I read it after taking a seat. Basically, it says that my thrice-a-week meetings with Hector will continue but instead of being his yoga instructor, I will be his submissive. I will be trained to please him and I must do my best to please him, although I am free to tell him to stop whenever I feel threatened physically or mentally. For his part, he will take care of me in every way he can. He will ensure my utmost health and wellness. He will give me a generous monthly allowance and bonuses in the form of gifts whenever I do well.
Hmm. It’s not as bad as I thought.
It seems even better than friendship with benefits.
I lift my head and gaze across the table.
“You will stop if I ask?” I ask him with narrowed eyes.
Hector leans forward. “There are two safe words. The first is blue, which means you are approaching your limit. The second is black, which means you are at your limit and I will stop completely and instantly. Now, repeat what I just said.”
“Blue means I want you to slow down. Black means I want you to stop.”
“Good girl. Keep in mind, though, that those are the only times and reasons I will stop. Not being in the mood does not count.”
I nod. “I understand.”
“During our scenes or sessions, you will call me ‘sir’. I will call you ‘my sweet’ or ‘Kitten’ or ‘Princess’ or simply ‘girl’ if I call you anything at all.”
My eyebrows go up. ‘My sweet’ sounds a bit cheesy, but whatever.
“Any questions or concerns?”
“You said if I did this, you’d give Kaleb the lead role in Black Solstice,” I remind him.
“I said if you did not sign, I might not give him the role,” Hector clarifies. “But with this, I will surely stick to my initial decision of casting him as the main male protagonist.”
My eyebrows arch. “You give me your word?”
“You have it. And believe me, Dani, I am a man of my word.”
I don’t trust him, but I believe that.
I pick up the pen, and after drawing another deep breath with my eyes closed, I open them and affix my signature next to Hector’s on both pieces of paper.
“Good girl.”
Hector stands up and walks toward me. He takes one of the sheets of paper and folds it.
“The other one is your copy.”
I fold it and place it in my purse.
“And here are your keys to the side gate and to the back door of the house.”
I toss the key ring into my purse as well.
He picks up the rose. “Do you know that the rose is my favorite flower?”
“No,” I answer.
“It’s because roses can bring both pain…” He licks one of the thorns and then strokes one of the crimson petals. “And pleasure.”
A lump forms in my throat as his blue eyes draw me in, threatening to drown me. I look away so I can breathe.
He offers me his hand. “Now come with me.”
I swallow as I take it. “Yes, sir.”
I get out of my seat. Leaving my purse, I follow Hector to the back of the room and stand beside him as he faces the wall. He turns the rose-shap
ed light fixture and the wall slides open.
My eyes grow wide.
It’s a door?
The door leads to a short ramp which, in turn, leads to a pair of thick, red curtains. Hector parts them and I find myself in a room with walls dressed in white velvet. The floor is covered in a red carpet and the ceiling is made of wood with exposed beams. Mirrors adorn every corner from floor to ceiling, except for one where a compact refrigerator stands instead.
A lone four poster bed with a bunch of pillows but no blanket marks the middle of the room. Against one wall there is a wingback chair and against another a chest of drawers, above which coils of rope and whips hang from pegs. A cross in the shape of an X with leather cuffs is nailed to the third wall.
I wrap an arm around my chest as I suppress a shudder.
“I call this room the Rose Room,” Hector says as he points to the roses carved into the ceiling. “Do you know why?”
“Because this room was built for pain and pleasure?”
He grins. “Good girl.”
He goes to the chest of drawers and pulls out a black leather collar, which he brings to me.
“The moment I put this on you, our scene starts,” he says.
I nod even as I keep my hands from shaking.
I am afraid. After all, this is all new to me. I don’t know what to expect. But it isn’t only fear that is making my heart drum against my chest.
As Hector fastens the collar around my neck, I feel a buzz of excitement tingling in my veins. Heat coils in my gut in anticipation of pleasure.
Because that is what he promised—pleasure.
“Perfect,” Hector says when the collar is in place. “It’s all you need.”
He unzips my gown and it falls to the floor in a heap at my feet.
“Take off the rest, Princess,” he orders.
“Yes… sir.”
I push down my underwear first so it lands on the heap of my dress. Then while I’m still bent down, I take off my bra and let it fall off my arms. I kick them all aside along with my shoes.
I straighten up slowly. My fingers are restlessly rubbing against each other, but I don’t know where to put my hands. I’m tempted to put them over my breasts now that I can feel Hector’s gaze on them, but I know he won’t like that. I clasp them behind me and purse my lips as I look down.
“Look at me,” Hector orders.
I gaze right into his eyes, narrow and burning with lust. The heat drifts to me, creeping into my skin.
He walks to the side and grabs two things—a coil of rope from the wall and what looks like a rod from a drawer.
He goes behind me. “Since you don’t know where to put your hands…”
He lifts my arms over my head and I feel the rope against my wrists, binding them at the bone. As I look up, I see him tying them to the beam on the ceiling. Now I feel like a prisoner in a barn.
“I’ll take this first,” he says as he removes my engagement ring.
He puts it in his pocket, and then he kneels in front of me. I feel his breath between my legs and I shudder.
“Spread your legs apart.”
I move my feet further away from each other, planting them on the carpet.
“Wider.”
I obey.
In the next moment, he fastens the rod between my knees.
A lump forms in my throat as the fact that my fate is now in the hands of this man sinks in.
He steps back and stares once more.
“Now, since you’re new to all this, to me, I’ll have to test what you like, find your favorite things, your weak spots. You can come when you want, but you must tell me.”
I swallow and tense at the words.
Again, Hector gets something from the drawers. This time, it’s something that looks like a feather duster with a spatula at the end of the handle.
He approaches me and hits my arm with that end. I flinch.
He drags the handle across my belly all the way to my back and I hold my breath. It falls on my butt with a slap and I gasp.
“Painful?” Hector asks.
“Yes, sir,” I answer in a whisper.
But not painful enough for me to ask him to stop.
He slips the end of the handle between my butt cheeks and drags it down, all the way down to the front and between my folds. I purse my lips to hold back a gasp as I feel them start to leak.
He rubs them with the handle and the friction sends heat all throughout my body. Then he spanks my butt cheek again, harder this time. The pain weaves together with the pleasure, and I close my eyes as I feel a daze coming on.
I open them, though, when I feel the feathers traveling down my arm. My eyes grow wide as they brush against my armpit.
He’s going to… tickle me?
As he does, I purse my lips harder.
“Let out your voice,” Hector orders.
I part my lips and a gasp comes out immediately, followed by a gurgle of laughter. He brushes the feathers faster and my body shakes as I laugh.
“So that’s ticklish,” Hector says. “What about here?”
The feathers rustle against my nipples and I give another gasp.
“Or here?”
He brushes my belly, hovering above my belly button. The muscles of my stomach tighten but I don’t make a sound.
“Here maybe?”
The feathers trail down the inside of my thigh and I jerk.
“Ah,” he says as he repeats the gesture.
The ticklish sensation is so strong that I let out a sound between a cry and a laugh as my body jerks and shakes.
“No,” I gasp out.
“You know the safe words,” Hector reminds me.
“B—blue,” I tell him.
He tickles me faster and I feel myself getting wetter.
Shit.
“Black!” I say a little louder than I should.
He stops.
I let out a sigh of relief.
As he walks away, I chase after my breath, but I haven’t caught enough of it when Hector returns with a bowl of ice cubes.
He grabs one. “Stick out your tongue.”
I obey and he rubs the ice cube against my tongue. I shiver at the cold sensation. He rubs it until it starts to melt. A drop falls off my tongue and lands on my belly and I jerk.
Without warning, he grips my chin and kisses me. The ice cube gets tossed between our tongues and around my mouth. The cold turns to heat as his tongue takes control.
Just as suddenly as the kiss started, it stops. He pulls away.
“Close your mouth.”
I do that. The ice cube is smaller now, just a shard. A puddle forms on my tongue.
He takes another ice cube and rubs it around my breasts. I hold my breath. When it rubs against one of my stiff nipples, I gasp and the ice cube in my mouth falls to the carpet.
Hector ignores that, teasing one nipple and then the other with the frozen cube. I shiver as trails of icy water flow down my belly. Gasps and curses escape my gaping mouth.
Again, the warmth of his mouth engulfs me. He sucks on my breasts and the heat after the cold makes me shiver anew.
The ice cube beneath his palm rolls down my belly, melting with my elevated body heat. Then Hector rubs it against my other stiff nub, the one within my curls, and I let out a cry as I throw my head back.
I stare at the ceiling, gaping as that cube circles around my clit. The icy water mingles with the hotter liquid dripping out of me. My toes curl into the carpet.
I want to close my knees but I can’t. The rod keeps them firmly apart, so my legs simply quiver.
It seems an eternity before the ice cube melts, but finally it’s gone and I only feel Hector’s cold fingers rubbing gently against me.
As he does, he licks my ear. I turn my head to the side and gasp.
As it turns out, that is just a distraction.
When an ice cube touches me between my legs, I gasp louder. Hector rubs it against me and my body quivers. T
hen he slips it inside me and I stand on the tips of my toes as my body arches.
He moves that ice cube in and out. My breath goes in and out as well, in gasps. Then he holds it in place.
The cold seeps me into me and melts out of me.
“Looks like you’re really wet now,” Hector says.
He kneels in front of me, grabs my ass and starts licking the wet trails, following them up to the source. As the tip of his tongue pushes inside me, my body arches again.
The heat is stronger than the cold and every nerve in my body tingles.
“Nnn…”
Hector moves his tongue faster and I can’t hold back any longer.
“I… I’m…”
I’m unable to complete the warning as the storm of pleasure seizes me. My body jerks even more than before. My eyes squeeze shut as I tug at the ropes and throw my head back.
When I open my eyes again, I see Hector standing in front of me. He frees my wrists and I rub them. He removes the bar between my legs as well, and I collapse onto my hands and knees on the carpet. My head hangs low and the strands of my hair that have broken free dangle across my cheeks.
“That’s exactly the position I was hoping for,” Hector says.
As my still muddled brain is pondering what he means by that, he grabs my hair and lifts my head. My eyes fall on the stain on his boxers, right above the bulge of his crotch. A smell like bleach drifts into my nostrils.
He takes his cock out and my eyes grow wide at its girth. Its mushroom head gleams.
“Open your mouth wide.”
As soon as I obey, Hector shoves his cock inside my mouth. I almost choke. Tears brim in my eyes.
Holding my head in place with his fingers in my hair, he begins jerking his hips. His cock moves in and out of my lips and glides across my tongue. My mouth burns and my cheeks begin to ache. My lips go numb.
Tears escape from the corners of my eyes and I close them. I struggle to breathe through my nose as I hear his balls slapping against my chin.
Suddenly, Hector starts moving faster, making it even harder for me to breathe. I feel like I’m on the verge of suffocating and gagging at the same time. But then he stops. Above me, he groans, and I feel his cock quiver on my tongue. Something warm explodes in my mouth and creates a puddle.