Langston nodded. “I’ll share the list.”
“If there’s anything I can help clarify for her,” Ben offered, “I’ll be more than happy to do so. She and I have developed a rapport. I think she trusts me.”
That statement got my back up. “I think she trusts all of us,” I countered hotly.
Ben’s expression softened. “I didn’t mean any offense by it. And I agree. I think she trusts all of us. I just know what it’s like from her perspective.” He cocked one black brow. “Sometimes I think you forget that I’m submissive as well.”
“Sorry,” I muttered. Ben was right. And I was getting far too defensive.
“Anything else?” Justin asked, getting to his feet.
Langston shook his head. “Not at the moment. However, I would like us to meet on Friday to discuss our plans for her during the conference.”
“The daily to-do items?” Ben asked, chuckling. “I like the idea of that. I think it’ll help to ease some of her stress.”
“I agree,” Justin said. “And I want to ensure we assign days. I don’t want to overwhelm her too much. She’ll have a lot to do.”
“Understood.”
“See you tomorrow then,” Justin said, nodding toward Ben before they exited the office.
I didn’t move from my position.
“You want to share what’s on your mind?” Langston prompted.
“Not really, no.” That was the truth. I did not think my brother needed to know where my head was at right now.
“Well, when you’re ready, I’m willin’ to listen.”
He said that now.
I wasn’t so sure that would be the case if I were to tell him that I was ready to make Luci our permanent submissive.
Yeah. I was pretty sure that wouldn’t go over well with anyone.
Didn’t make it any less true.
Forty-One
“WHAT IS THIS, MASTER?” I asked as Master and I sat at his kitchen table after dinner that night.
I’d spent the remainder of the afternoon working as though nothing had happened that day. Master and Landon had left me to get dressed, and when I came out of Landon’s bathroom, I found that all four of my bosses had gone into Langston’s office for a meeting.
It wasn’t until I was getting ready to leave at five thirty that Master finally emerged. He informed me that we were having dinner in his apartment. I didn’t try to argue because I was secretly eager to see their home away from home.
The ride up to the forty-fourth floor was what one would expect after a long day at work. Master was quiet, but so was I. The exhaustion had kicked in and I wanted nothing more than to have dinner, maybe a glass of wine, and to relax for a bit.
When we arrived, a lovely meal consisting of a small salad, a bacon-wrapped filet, and rosemary potatoes had been set out. When I asked if he cooked, Master had informed me that they had a personal chef they used when they were in the city. At home, Landon was apparently the one who cooked most of the time. Master admitted that he preferred to stay out of the kitchen if at all possible.
Dinner was nice, the conversation enjoyable. We talked briefly about the demonstration and he admitted that the swing was interesting but not something he would be outfitting his dungeon with.
“You have a dungeon?”
His smile was sexy as he took a sip of his red wine. “Yes. At the house.”
“Do you and Landon both use it?”
“Let’s just say we have one. And leave it at that.”
That admission opened the conversation to a direction I was curious about. Master gave me a few tidbits of information regarding BDSM, mostly at a high level. Which had led to where we were now, with me staring down at a stack of papers while I once again questioned what I was getting myself into.
“This is a limits list. Keep in mind, there may be various other things that have been left off, although it wasn’t intentional. As you can imagine, there are all kinds of kinks and fetishes out there. This is an extensive list though, and I want you to go through it. Take your time and check off the appropriate box for each.”
I looked up at him when he paused.
“I want you to give a lot of thought to each one, Luci. There is no right or wrong answer. However, I do want you to have an open mind. If you haven’t experienced it, that doesn’t mean you should be completely against it.”
I nodded.
“As you can see, you’ll check off whether or not you’ve tried it.” He pointed to a section that had yes/no. “Then there are five options. Limit means you refuse to do it. Those are your hard limits. If it triggers something painful from your past, it will likely be a hard limit. You can select maybe for anything that you’d be willing to try with one of the four of us. We would not allow anyone else to do them while you’re in our care.”
“What does that mean? If I don’t select maybe, does that mean you’ll let someone else do them?”
Master held my stare. “There could come a time, perhaps at a club, where we would want you to interact with someone else. Maybe with another submissive—male or female. And sometimes if there’s a Dom who’s mastered a certain area, such as the whip. That’s not something the four of us are comfortable with, so if you were interested, we would potentially find someone who you could experiment with.”
Okay. So that wasn’t exactly what I’d expected him to say.
He continued. “Then you have curious, which means you’re interested in trying it. Select okay, if it’s a genuine interest of yours. That means you enjoy it. Or choose yes, absolutely, if it’s something you are certain you enjoy.”
I glanced down at the paper as he read each of the options off. When I looked back up at him, he smiled.
“Just because it’s something you enjoy, that doesn’t mean we’ll necessarily do it. Remember, when it comes to D/s, you are freely giving yourself to your master. For his pleasure. There are many items on that list that I don’t find appealing. That doesn’t mean you won’t experience them.”
I wondered if Master realized how he continued to categorize himself as part of a whole. It wasn’t whether or not he would be doing something, it was them. It was as though he was keeping that distance between us. And maybe he was. Maybe he feared I would get attached, which was very possible. Casual sex still wasn’t something I was interested in. It was the very reason I’d agreed to this with my bosses. They had explicitly stated they wouldn’t be having sex with anyone else, which had given it some exclusivity. Probably the biggest reason I’d agreed.
However, getting to know them on a deeper level was something I craved.
I still loved how I felt when I thought of bringing this man pleasure. It was an intense feeling that I wasn’t used to. Then again, I felt the same way with all of my bosses. The thought of making them happy made me happy.
“Do you have any questions?”
“No, Master.”
Master left me at the table and I perused the list. My brain was overwhelmed by things that confused me. I had no idea what some of this stuff even was. I decided to go down the list and check off any that I had tried. I found that I ended up only checking a few things, such as anal sex, cuffs, nipple clamps, gags. Basically, the few things they’d introduced me to. Truth was, I didn’t have much experience.
Once I’d gone back and selected no for everything else, I decided to add an extra column. I titled it NEED CLARIFICATION. I then proceeded down the list, deciding I would mark off anything I refused to do first. I knew without a doubt that I wasn’t interested in anything that had to do with blood play, like needles, cutting, or the like. So not my thing. Nor was I interested in golden showers or scat play. Yuck.
I found that I didn’t know what a lot of things were, but there were many that seemed self-explanatory. Role playing, biting, phone sex, voyeurism, being recorded, and the list went on. Although some of those things made me a little nervous, I decided if it wasn’t going to cause physical pain, I could likely endure it. Although
humiliation and objectification didn’t sound fun, at least I figured I would survive.
It all boiled down to how much I trusted my bosses. Many of these things I would’ve said no to immediately had I not spent the past two months getting to know them. Trust was a huge factor in how I would answer.
I had no idea how long it took for me to fill it out, but when I looked up, I found Master standing at the kitchen island watching me. At some point, he’d ditched the wine and made himself a glass of scotch.
“I’m finished.”
“Go through it again,” he instructed. “For every single one, I want you to answer as though you hadn’t already. If your second answer is different from your first, select maybe or curious.”
“Yes, Master.”
I went through the list again. I found myself changing my answer for several things, including ice play, being recorded, and pussy worship. Up to this point in my life, I had not been with a woman, but…should the situation require it, I was definitely curious. I also changed my answer regarding triple penetration, which I took to mean multiple cocks in the same hole, which, honestly, I wasn’t even sure was possible. I had originally selected maybe for those and changed my answer to curious. However, I did not add any additional hard limits and I didn’t waver on anything I’d said yes, absolutely to.
This time, when I looked up, Master was not in the kitchen. I got up, taking the stack of papers with me, and headed toward the living room.
I took a moment to admire the apartment. It was significantly larger than mine and had high-end everything. From the travertine floors to the brushed-nickel fixtures, it was relatively modern in style, although there was a rustic twist. The floor-to-ceiling windows overlooked downtown and the view at night was stunning.
“Did you finish?”
I turned away from the window to see Master coming into the room from down the hallway.
“I did.”
“Bring it to me.”
I stepped around the large area rug and the glass coffee table, taking the papers to him.
He took them and set them on a chair before turning back to me.
When Master cupped my face gently, I stared up into his eyes, my heart swelling inside my chest. I had no idea what it was about this man that called to me on a very base level, but it did. I’d never felt this way for anyone in my life. I’d go so far as to say I’d never even thought I would.
“Thank you for trusting me,” Master whispered softly.
His hands slid down to my neck as he leaned in, his lips finding mine. I sighed as he kissed me. It was gentle yet intense at the same time. As though something was passing between us. Maybe it was, I wasn’t sure. Whatever the feeling, I liked it. A lot.
When he pulled back, Master once again peered down into my eyes. “As much as I want to fuck you right now, I think your pussy has had enough for one day.”
His words alone made my pussy clench. But he was right. Between the demonstration and Landon’s rough but exquisite treatment, I was sore.
Master brushed his thumb over my bottom lip. “However, I’m gonna take you home and I’m gonna partake of your lovely mouth before I leave you there to get a good night’s rest.”
My voice came out raspy when I said, “I would like that, Master. Very much.”
Forty-Two
MONDAY MORNING ROLLED AROUND AND excitement had been fizzing in my veins from the second I opened my eyes. Needless to say, the snooze button was not necessary this morning. Today was the first day of our four-day quarterly meeting, and I was bound and determined to make this the absolute best meeting they’d had in the history of the company.
I arrived at the office half an hour early, wanting to ensure everything was set up. Since most of the managers would be flying in first thing this morning, I had scheduled for them all to come to the office for a catered brunch. The afternoon sessions would be held at the convention center, along with all sessions after that.
“There she is,” Jordan greeted merrily when I stepped off the elevator.
I was so happy to see that he’d arrived early. Plus, the man looked like a million dollars. The suit he wore fit him exceptionally well. In fact, he would give my bosses a run for their money in the GQ department.
“You look amazing,” I told him.
Jordan tugged on the front of his jacket. “Oh, this old thing?”
Yep, I was definitely glad he would be working alongside me. “Is anyone here yet?”
“Nope. You’re good to go.”
“Perfect.”
“And I’m at your disposal for the next four days,” he informed me. “The phones have been set to voice mail so I won’t be distracted.”
“That’s actually the best thing I’ve heard all day.”
Jordan chuckled. “It’s early.”
“I know.”
“So, where do we start?”
“First let me lock my purse in my desk, then I’d like to get the packets set up in the conference room.” I’d put together schedules of events, as well as brief bios of each manager in attendance, as well as detailed bios for my bosses.
I had learned while getting everyone scheduled that there were a lot of new managers who weren’t aware of everything the company did. Some of them worked in a bubble, reporting only to one person and not realizing the extent of services that the company offered. I felt that was a disservice because even if one manager focused solely on Justin’s clientele, that didn’t mean they wouldn’t run into someone who needed a service that one of the others offered. This was my way of cross-promoting each team.
“You get settled and I’ll start getting things laid out,” Jordan said, taking his keys and unlocking the conference room.
I rushed to the back, stashing my purse in my desk and glancing at my email to ensure there weren’t any issues.
So far, so good.
When I made my way back up front, Jordan had turned on all the lights and set out the packets on the side table. All in all, there were twenty-three managers stationed in the United States. Landon and Langston each had six each, while Ben had seven, and Justin had four. There was a total of seven who were overseas, three for Landon and Langston, three for Ben and one for Justin. That meant we were expecting thirty in total since they had all committed to attending.
We had also invited quite a few clients within the area, providing them the opportunity to meet with the managers, ask questions, and follow up on anything they needed.
That was a lot of people, but I was happy with the plan I had in place. If all went well, there would be very little downtime during the meeting and everyone would leave with a better understanding of their peers as well as some incredible presentations by those who were eager to get information in front of the teams.
Now, we just needed everyone to arrive.
•
There were roughly ten managers there when Landon and Langston arrived at eight forty-five. Ben and Justin came in right at nine along with about seven more managers. Jordan and I greeted everyone officially, introducing ourselves and directing them into the conference room, where the caterers had finished setting up shortly before the first people arrived.
When there was a lull in arrivals, I joined everyone in the conference room, checking in to see how they were doing, how their flights had been. It made me feel good to see everyone smiling and chatting amongst themselves while they feasted on a variety of pastries and several flavors of coffee and tea.
From what I could tell, everyone seemed happy to be there. I had imagined finding a group of people with their noses stuck in their laptops while they waited for it to be over. The good news was there wasn’t a laptop in sight.
Landon came to stand beside me, his hand gently touching my back before falling away.
“Would it be possible to see you for a few minutes?” he asked.
“Of course.”
When I followed Landon out of the conference room, Langston, Ben, and Justin followed behind.
Landon led the way to their offices.
“We thought we’d take a couple of minutes to check in. Let you know that we’re here should you need anything at all.”
“Thank you,” I said with a wide smile. “So far, I think I have everything under control.” I held up my phone. “I’ve sent the itinerary to each of your phones as well as set up reminders for when you’re required to be somewhere. Jordan and I will ensure everything’s set up for each of the sessions as well as check in with all of the presenters to ensure they have what they need.”
“You’ve put a lot of effort into this,” Langston acknowledged. “We’re very impressed.”
“Thank you. There’s a lot of work left to go, but I think the four of you will find it’s laid out in a way that should make it the least stressful for you. That was my goal anyway.”
“Speaking of stressful…” Landon’s smirk was devious. “We’ve got a few instructions for you over the next four days.”
“Me?” Now I was definitely curious.
“Yes, pet,” Langston said, stepping into my personal space. “Your instructions will come in the form of a text message. When you receive one, you will only have a few minutes to do what it is you’re asked to do.”
“Should you fail,” Justin stated, “or choose not to do them, you will be punished.”
I didn’t like the sound of that. However, it made me want to work harder to meet their demands. And truthfully, I liked the idea of having tasks assigned for me. I didn’t even care what they were, just knowing that it would please my bosses was all I needed.
“I won’t let you down,” I told them all.
“Gumdrop, we don’t think you could let us down if you tried.” Ben’s tone was heavy with approval.
“We’re proud of you,” Landon added. “This event is going to go smoothly, and it’s all thanks to your hard work and dedication.”
“Okay, then,” Justin stated. “We should get back out there before someone comes looking for us.”
“One more thing,” Langston growled as he pulled me into him, his mouth finding mine. He was gentle but demanding as his tongue thrust into my mouth. I sighed against him, tension coiling in my core from the contact alone.
Office Intrigue (Office Intrigue Duet Book 1) Page 28