He’d come prepared to do a lot of watching, but he’d been blindsided and nearly dropped to his knees when he saw his new coworker, Erica, standing in front of a St. Andrew’s cross, prepared to do a scene.
There were no words to describe Rex’s shock. He stopped breathing as he grabbed a hold of a support beam in the center of the room to steady himself. He had to blink several times before being fully convinced it was truly her. And even then, he watched, completely mesmerized, doubting his eyes until the Dom working with her gathered her hair into a high ponytail.
Rex had never seen her hair hanging loose down her back. He hadn’t really been sure how long it was, nor how fucking glorious. He easily recognized the nearly black color of her hair and the shade of her skin, but her body…
Fuck him sideways. She was smoking hot. Every inch of her. The hourglass shape she hid under blouses and slacks was on full display tonight. The black stretch of material that barely covered her pussy and her tits hugged her to perfection, showing off every asset.
Even though Rex had visualized her submission several times in the last three days, he’d convinced himself he was inventing things. It had to have been a coincidence that she demonstrated submissive tendencies.
Rex was so very fucked.
On top of that, he was frozen in his spot. He should turn around and leave. He should seek membership elsewhere. There were other clubs in the area. He didn’t have to join Zodiac. He could check out Breeze, for example. It had good reviews too.
There were so many things he should have done when he spotted Erica, but he’d done none of them. He hadn’t even blinked in half an hour as she assumed the most graceful position of submission, stretching her arms above her head in a way that made him groan inwardly. The hem of her dress only covered her lower cheeks by about a centimeter.
Rex jerked his attention to the man prepared to dominate her next, hoping she’d vetted him. She couldn’t possibly have ever been to this club before tonight either. She’d only started working in Miami on Wednesday. Unless she also came on Wednesday night, there was little chance she knew this man.
When the tanned-skinned Dom whispered something in her ear that made her smile, Rex held his breath. Jealousy reared its very ugly head. He found himself wanting desperately to be the Dom about to role-play with her. Instead, he would be forced to watch, envy consuming him more every moment.
Her submission was mesmerizing, not just to Rex but to everyone else around him. He didn’t glance at anyone even for a single second, but he could hear their soft verbal expressions.
If Lincoln caught him standing here, holding on to this support beam, gripping it for all his life, Rex would be toast. It was highly unethical for him to continue to watch someone he knew outside the club without their permission.
His mind was struggling to grasp what he was seeing. The woman he’d spent the last three days working side by side with was here. In Zodiac. She was submissive. He’d permitted himself to consider that about her on several occasions over the past three days, but not seriously. Just because she sometimes exhibited expressions or stances that indicated she was versed in the fetish world didn’t mean he wasn’t just making it up in his mind.
He’d been daydreaming about this woman a bit too frequently since meeting her. On the one hand, he was still annoyed to be working with a partner, and he grumbled at her unnecessarily every day. On the other hand, he did so partly out of self-preservation because she was so fucking hot and the fact that she was smarter than nearly anyone he’d ever met was a turn-on.
She talked too much when she was nervous. She fidgeted any time she wasn’t focused on a particular assignment. She also worried too often about her performance or his evaluation of it, even though he’d told her repeatedly he was not her boss.
In the evenings, when he was no longer surrounded by her lavender scent and her soft, sweet voice, Rex had paced his apartment, admitting that all her quirks only made him more attracted to her. Dammit.
And now. Jesus. The woman who’d been consuming his waking and sleeping thoughts for three days was half naked in the club he’d just joined, her skin turning a lovely shade of pink as the obviously talented Dom increased the intensity of his strikes.
Rex had watched his motions closely, ensuring himself the man knew what he was doing. He was incredibly talented, and Erica was responding exactly how any Dom would hope.
Her body language was appropriate for every stage of the scene. When she swayed, Rex’s cock grew stiff. When she leaned hard to the left one particular time, Rex nearly swallowed his tongue at the vision he got of her amazing tits encased in the tight material. They were lifted high, but they were indeed as large as he’d suspected.
The Dom paused at perfect intervals to check in with her, and then he’d resumed swatting her pale skin until it glowed with pink warmth.
After about half an hour, Erica began to moan, which did nothing to help Rex’s predicament—the one with his ever-growing dick.
The man picked up the pace eventually, driving her further and further toward nirvana.
Rex couldn’t be sure if she was sliding into a subspace completely dependent on releasing three days’ worth of stress from working with Rex’s sour self, or if she was aroused.
Finally, the Dom set his paddle on his toy bag and returned to Erica’s side. He stood incredibly close, his hand spread on her lower back, his lips on her ear. He was whispering to her, and she was nodding and swaying.
The moment the man slid his hand lower, gripped her thigh, and then smoothed his fingers between her legs, Rex snapped out of his trance. He jerked his gaze away, spun around, and made his way through the crowd, heading for the front door.
It was one thing to watch Erica get paddled into complete submission by a stranger in a club; it was another thing entirely to watch her get possibly fingered until she reached orgasm.
Nothing Rex had done in the last half hour had been ethical in the slightest, but that was going far beyond even his moral compass. He had no idea in the world how he was going to face her tomorrow morning, but he sure as shit wouldn’t be able to if he watched her get intimately worked into a state of bliss.
He didn’t stop or even breathe until he stepped out into the balmy Miami night, and even then, he still moved as quickly as possible toward his car. The moment he was behind the wheel, hands shaking, vision blurred with the visions he could not unsee, he released his breath. “Fuck,” he shouted.
He was so totally fucked.
Chapter 7
Erica was in her happy place. That sweet spot in subspace where she was still cognizant of what was happening around her, but also blissed out. Her body was humming. The build toward orgasm had grown incrementally from the moment she’d lowered to her knees.
Her butt and thighs were warm. Her pussy was pulsing, wet, needy. And the best part? Dayton had ditched the paddle and was now teasing her upper thighs with his fingers beneath her skirt.
He set his free hand on her hip and slid it around to her belly, holding her steady. “How aroused are you, sweet girl?”
“So close, Sir,” she murmured, her lips dry.
He stepped closer, his mouth now inches from her ear. His breath was warm, sending a shiver down her spine. “If I thrust my fingers into you, will you come?”
“Yes, Sir.” She swayed slightly, unable to stop herself. Her knees threatened to buckle. She’d come standing up before, but it was difficult. Her brain often failed to remind her legs to hold her weight during an orgasm. “I might fall, Sir.”
“I won’t let you fall, sweet girl.” He closed the last few inches between them, holding her tightly. “A lot of people are watching. They’re going to see you come apart for me.”
She shuddered, not really caring who watched her orgasm as long as she did and soon.
“You like that, don’t you? You like knowing people are watching you.”
“Yes, Sir,” she breathed. It empowered her to know people found h
er performance worth watching. In the rest of her life, people usually ignored her or stared at her as if she were a circus elephant. When she performed at a club, she was revered. People were impressed by her strength and submission.
God, please let him touch me. Enough talking.
Dayton slid his fingers between her thighs, teasing the sensitive skin between them until she tipped her head back and moaned in frustration.
“You’re so gorgeous. Your skin is pink and warm.” He kissed her shoulder. “Even your shoulders are flushed pink.” While he spoke, he teased the edges of her lower lips, touching them so lightly she might not have noticed if they weren’t swollen.
She bit into her bottom lip, worrying the corner. “Sir…”
“What do you need, sweet girl?”
“Please…”
“Please what?”
Oh… Was he the kind of Dom he liked his sub to spell it out? Beg? “Please finger me. Let me come, Sir.”
“I think I can handle that.” Without hesitation, he thrust two fingers into her.
She cried out, coming onto her toes. Her eyes swam back into her head, blurring her vision.
Dayton pulled those fingers almost out and then thrust them into her again. Harder. Deeper. Nearly lifting her off the floor. He didn’t speak as he removed them and rubbed her clit next. The pressure was exactly what she needed, and within seconds she came, her body shaking with the intensity of the orgasm.
As she’d suspected, her knees nearly gave out. But Dayton held her firmly against his side while he stroked her through the waves of pleasure.
She was trembling and chilled when she finally came back to earth, and he eased her to her knees. “Step together, sweet girl. On your knees.” He helped her find the sides of the cross with her hands so she could lean against it, and then he slowly released her. “Don’t move. I’ll be right back.”
Seconds later, he was at her side again, sweeping her into his arms, and then carrying her across the room.
Erica snuggled into his chest, her eyes closed, her body sated. She was aware of him settling them on a loveseat and then covering her with a blanket. She even let him pour a drink of water into her mouth, all the while mumbling encouraging words about how gorgeous she was and what a good girl she was and how proud he was.
He released the ponytail holder from her hair and stroked the length soothingly. Pure bliss. This was exactly what she needed. She even trusted him enough to let herself nap for a few minutes.
Chapter 8
Erica felt slightly hungover when she arrived at work the next morning. Not from drinking, but from subspace. Unlike the first three days when she’d arrived more than an hour early, she had only managed to walk into her office at about five minutes until ten.
Rex was already at his desk, of course. How shocking. He was clicking away at the computer and didn’t notice her at first. When she cleared her throat, he flinched and spun around. “Oh, uh, hi.” He lowered his gaze almost immediately and then returned to whatever he was working on.
Erica dropped her computer bag on the floor and lowered onto her chair, glancing at him several times. He’d left a folder on her keyboard, so she at least knew what he intended for her to do. Apparently, he wasn’t in the mood for small talk.
The man was hard to read. Impressive since Erica knew she herself was odd and drew unwanted attention for her quirks. Finding someone with mood swings like Rex was unnerving. He could go from hot to cold in a heartbeat. Today, it would seem, they were starting out with frigid right out of the gate.
Erica’s hands were shaking. She hadn’t gotten enough sleep and was still floating a bit from submitting in the middle of the night. Usually she needed half a day to pull herself back together after an intense scene. That was the beauty of going to a club on Friday nights. No work on Saturday. If they were going to come into the office regularly on Saturdays, she would have to rethink her late-night plans.
Maybe she could go to Zodiac on Saturdays just once a week. Wednesdays had never been great for her for the same reason. If she dipped into subspace at two in the morning, it was impossible to be up and ready for work at six. She would still be groggy.
“I need coffee,” she declared. “Can I grab you some?”
For a moment, she wasn’t sure Rex even heard her, and then he glanced fleetingly in her direction, his gaze landing closer to her lap than her face. “What? Oh, no. You go ahead.”
She took a deep breath, shoved from the desk, and made her way to the break room. Her hands were shaking as she started the coffee, and then she wiped her palms on her jeans. She’d noticed Rex was dressed in his usual weekday attire—khaki pants, loafers, and a button up. Light green today. She hadn’t asked, but had assumed a Saturday visit to the office would be casual. Maybe she’d been mistaken.
The firm they were working for was a large growing brokerage firm. It occupied all of the tenth floor and bustled with people who dressed for success. The men wore suits and ties every week day. The women wore skirts and blouses, dresses, or expensive pant suits. Erica didn’t own clothes as nice as them, but she wasn’t there to meet with clients, so she assumed her dress pants and blouses were sufficient. No one had said otherwise.
While she was stressing about her jeans, someone else stepped into the break room, and she turned to find one of the top executives wandering in. He had on golf shorts and a polo. She exhaled a long breath.
“Morning.” He nodded toward her as he selected a K-cup. “Erica, right?”
“Yes. I’m sorry. I don’t remember your name.”
He waved a hand in front of him. “You probably haven’t even heard it yet.” He reached out to shake her hand now. “Jonas Blackwood. Don’t worry. We all got a memo letting us know you and Rex would be joining us. You’re just two people. You can’t be expected to know the names of several dozen of us.”
“Ah, right.” She removed her used K-cup from the machine and tossed it in the trash, pulling her cup out next to take a sip.
“How’s it going? Are you settling in okay? I know it’s busy around here. I doubt many people have had a chance to introduce themselves.”
She shrugged as she stepped back for him to use the Keurig. “No worries. I expected it would be busy. Hopefully we will be able to make everyone feel more secure.”
“We definitely appreciate it. The last thing a brokerage firm needs is a cyber breach.”
Shuffling at the door made Erica shift her gaze to find Rex walking in. His brow was furrowed. “There you are,” he stated in exasperation, cocking his head to one side as if to reprimand her.
She flushed deeper than she had last night while Dayton paddled her butt. Before she could speak, Jonas turned around and held out a hand. “Sorry. My fault. I held her up. Jonas Blackwood. I was just telling Erica how glad we are to have you here.”
“Thank you,” Rex murmured as he shook Jonas’s hand. “We’re doing everything we can to make sure you’re secure.” He glanced at Erica with a raised eyebrow, silently reprimanding her, as if to say “or we would be if my coworker wasn’t in here wasting time.”
Erica seethed inside, but shoved from the counter. “Nice to meet you, Jonas.” She turned and left the room, feeling Rex’s presence at her back.
When they reached their office, Erica didn’t even glance at Rex. She was fuming inside, no longer suffering from the subspace hangover. She didn’t even need the caffeine after that incident. Instead of saying a word, she grabbed the folder he’d left on her keyboard, plopped onto her seat, and opened it to see what needed to be done.
It was difficult to concentrate as furious as she was, but there was no way she could confront Rex. Not now. Not while she was so angry and embarrassed. Jonas must have thought she was a complete flake the way Rex insinuated she was shirking her job duties.
Working alongside his moody self hadn’t been a bouquet of flowers, but until this morning, he hadn’t treated her rudely, at least not in front of other people.
&
nbsp; Coming in on a Saturday was above and beyond as it was. She’d just started on Wednesday. She understood the urgency of the situation. After all, the previous agency Smith, Lauder, and James had been using had not done a stellar job ensuring the data of the firm was secure. Rex and Erica would be rushing to fix every vulnerable hole in their system for weeks. Maybe months. But Erica had come in early and stayed late every day since she’d arrived. Hunting her down when she’d gone to get coffee as if she were a negligent employee was going too far.
She completely ignored Rex as she pulled herself up to the keyboard, turned on her monitor, and forced herself to concentrate. It was tough, but she compartmentalized her anger as best she could. Later she could dissect it. Later when she wasn’t “on the clock.”
She was deeply engrossed in code when Rex made a noise next to her that caught her attention, and she turned toward him before she could stop herself.
His chair was turned to face her, he was leaning forward, elbows on his knees, rubbing his hands together. His face was whiter than usual, and he swallowed several times. “Uh, I, uh…”
She glared at him, no longer giving a shit about how it might appear to be confrontational with him. “If you’re planning to give me another verbal whipping, spare me. I heard you the first time, boss.” She emphasized that last word because he’d specifically told her he was not her boss.
His face went from white to red and he sat straighter. “No. That’s not what I wanted to say.” He glanced at the door.
Erica followed his gaze. The door was standing open, but there were no voices coming from anywhere. She wasn’t sure anyone was even on the floor anymore.
Rex took a breath. “Look, I’m sorry. About earlier. And…” He leaned back and ran a hand through his hair, his gaze going to the ceiling.
She couldn’t imagine what the hell had him so flustered, but she wasn’t about to help him out. Let him stew. She didn’t care. He deserved it. She would also ignore the fact that he was kinda cute with his cheeks pink and his hands nervously pulling on his short dark hair. In contrast, she turned her chair in his direction, set her elbow on the edge of her desk, and leaned her chin on her palm, feigning boredom.
Taming Rex Page 4