Ink

by Michaela Scott

  “Mom, what are you doing? Glenn’s waiting at the elevator.”

  “Interesting how this place has only one bedroom,” she says, “Was that your choice?”

  “No, Mom, Dad messed up, and it’s going to be hard for me to pretend that I like you around the reporter unless you stop freaking out about Haley.”

  “Fine,” she asks, “But when the reporter asks, I taught you everything you know.”

  “Okay,” says Jace, “Sure. Let’s go.”

  Jace takes Laura’s hand, leads her out the door, and then they’re gone.

  I jump out of the shower, throw on my clothes, and dry my hair off as well as I can. I have to get out of here before Laura comes back to the apartment. After a minute or two passes, I open the door and peek my head out of the suite. When I see that the hallway is empty, I hurry into the stairwell and start heading down to the ground floor.

  Once I’m in the stairwell, I finally feel safe. Laura would never be caught dead taking the stairs.

  After a few flights of stairs, I get a text from Jace.

  God, Haley, you’re so irresponsible. Always out with friends when you’re supposed to be learning the secrets of business.

  As I read the text, I grit my teeth in anger. The two of us almost get caught showering together by a Rolling Stone reporter and Jace is still flirting with me?

  This isn’t a joke, Jace…

  No response. Jace probably at least has enough common sense to know that texting me again would look suspicious. Still, I can’t help but send him another one.

  We can NEVER do anything like that again! EVER.

  After taking way too many flights of stairs to the ground floor, I hightail it through the lobby and walk down the street, putting as much distance between myself and Jace’s cock-shaped skyscraper as possible.

  Why does it have to be like this? Why doesn’t Jace realize how dangerous it is to keep pushing me over and over, when all we have to do to get everything we’ve ever wanted is to stay apart? When Jace can get anything he wants, why does he insist on making me want him?

  As I aimlessly walk through the streets of Manhattan and the Fisher Building fades from the skyline, I get another text from Jace.

  Never say never, Haley.

  It shouldn’t make me feel better, but it does. It really, really does.

  Chapter 24: Haley

  “Want us to put up the bumpers?” asks Erika, after I throw my third gutterball of the evening.

  “No, I’m good,” I say, walking back to my seat, “I mean, I can still win if I get nothing but strikes from here on out.”

  “Guys, we should probably let Haley win,” says Tony, as he picks up his ball, “This time next week, she’s going to be loaded.”

  “I swear, if you guys pull anything like that once I’m partner, I actually am going to stop hanging out with you.”

  Tony laughs, steps up to the line, and gets a strike. Tony is Erika’s new guy. He’s kind of blue-collar, kind of hipster, and I’m assuming he’s really good at sex. Erika wouldn’t be pretending to enjoy bowling if he wasn’t. After weeks of Erika trying to get me to go bowling with them, I’ve finally given in. What I wasn’t expecting was Tony’s friend Zach to be here. Zach is a perfectly cool guy, but this whole thing feels a little too much like a double date.

  Thankfully, this bowling alley serves alcohol.

  After Tony, it’s Zach’s turn. He gets his ball out of the machine and looks at me on his way to the line.

  “If I get a strike, can I have your number?” he asks.

  I knew it. This is a setup, probably Tony’s idea.

  “If you get a strike, you can have the first three digits of my number,” I say.

  “Alright, fine. I’ll get the other four on my next turn.”

  Zach steps up to the line, throws the ball straight down the center, and comes one pin away from a strike.

  “That’s got to be worth, like, two digits, right?”

  I shake my head.

  “A deal’s a deal,” I say.

  “Hey Zach,” says Tony, “Do you want to get another beer?”

  Zach and Tony head towards the bar, and Erika smirks at me.

  “So…” she says.

  “So what?”

  “Zach…”

  “What about him?”

  “I told Tony you were too busy to date right now, but so far, you’re not saying no.”

  “That’s true…but I probably should be.”

  “What’s going on with you and Jace?”

  I look around, paranoid about talking about Jace in a public space. Ever since that little incident with the Rolling Stone reporter and the shower, I’ve been insanely careful about bringing any of this up.

  “I mean…we’re working hard. RentNation is so popular that this building is pretty much a slam dunk.”

  “Come on, you know that’s not what I mean. Every time I ask you for details on Jace, you dodge the question hard. I’m assuming that means you hooked up?”

  “Lower your voice!” I whisper to Erika.

  “Oh my god!” Erika whispers, “You actually hooked up with him! Forget about Zach, then!”

  “Well, we’re kind of…”

  “Did you sign the contract?”

  “Um…”

  “Don’t hold out on me, Haley.”

  I take a deep breath in.

  “Yeah.”

  Erika practically falls out of her seat.

  “So what’s going on? Has he trained you yet? Are you guys having nonstop kinky sex up there in that skyscraper?”

  “Well, it’s a long story, but...”

  No. We haven’t done anything since we almost got caught in the shower. I think Jace might have finally gotten the message, because ever since, he’s been all business when he’s been around at all.

  I still follow the rules of the contract, but Jace hasn’t seemed very interested in enforcing them. I even sleep in his bed, but Jace has literally hasn’t spent the night since we hooked up. He says he’s staying at Laura’s because it’s closer to his business connections, but I’m wondering if staying around her is his way of proving to her that there’s nothing between us. As I explain all this to Erika, a disturbing thought hits me.

  What if he’s not staying at Laura’s? What if he’s staying with Amber, or going through girls like he did before I got here?

  And why does that thought disturb me so much? Isn’t that a good thing? Shouldn’t we both find other people so that we don’t go back to each other and risk ruining everything?

  After almost a month of no contact with Jace, the logical thing to do would be to give Zach all seven digits of my phone number and see if he’s really as cool as he seems.

  So why do I really, really not want to do that?

  “Wait…aren’t you violating your contract by being here?” Erika asks, “You’re not supposed to hang out with other guys, right?”

  “Well, I didn’t know Zach was going to be here, so I figured that if I got caught, I could just say that Tony’s with you.”

  “Too bad Zach is here,” Erica whispers as the two guys get back with their beers.

  “Did you two not even take your turns?” asks Tony, looking up at the screen.

  “We…thought you were going to be gone for longer,” says Erika, who stands up, grabs her ball, and throws it down the center of the lane.

  She gets a strike, which prompts Tony to run up to her and start making out with her in front of the lane.

  “Come on,” says Tony, “Let’s get out of the way.”

  He picks Erika up, carries her over to their seats, and they start making out so hard that I wonder if we’re going to get kicked out.

  I pick my ball up, and turn to Zach.

  “I’m not going to throw a gutterball this time,” I say.

  I step up to the lane, but before I can get the ball out of my hand, I feel Zach come up behind me and put his hand on my side.

  “The key to not throwing
gutterballs,” he says, his voice right by my ear, “Is not being afraid of them. You’re tensing up every time you throw the ball, so what you need to do is relax…”

  Zach gives my shoulders a light, quick squeeze.

  “Reach back with the ball…”

  He positions my arm behind me.

  “And just let it go.”

  Zach lets go of my arm, and I toss the ball forward. It’s not a strike, but it does hit the pins.

  “See, you’re learning.”

  Zach’s hand is still on the small of my back. I turn to him, and he’s looking at me like he wants to kiss me.

  “How many digits is that worth?” he asks.

  “I think I’m going to go get a beer,” I say, motioning over towards the bar and squirming out of Zach’s grasp.

  Back in San Diego, I would have been all over Zach, but now…I just can’t do it. I’m hoping I can kill enough time at the bar that Erika and Tony stop making out and it’s back to the four of us hanging out.

  I make it to the bar, hop up onto one of the stools, and order a beer. Once it arrives, I stay at the bar and sip it slowly, trying to figure out how I can get around giving Zach my phone number.

  “A double date at the bowling alley?”

  Shit. I recognize Jace’s voice before I even turn around. Busted.

  “That’s cute,” Jace says, “But you can do much, much better than the guy who was just feeling you up over there.”

  “He wasn’t feeling me up…and this is not a double date.”

  “Really?” Jace says, with a look of mock surprise on his face, “You may not have wanted it to be a double date, but that’s definitely what it is.”

  I shift uncomfortably in my seat as Jace looks at me possessively.

  “I mean, you’re right. That guy does want my number.”

  “Do you want to give it to him?”

  “That depends, have you really been sleeping at Laura’s, or have you been sleeping at Amber’s?”

  Jace’s hand envelops mine, and the feeling of his skin on mine immediately brings back memories of last month…on the observation deck…

  “I’ve been taking care of business and drawing my mother’s suspicion away from you. That doesn’t mean I don’t feel the same way about you that I felt the night I fucked you, and it doesn’t mean that our contract is void.”

  I bite my lip as an intense heat forms between my legs.

  “Which means that you broke the rules, Haley. You went to an event with two or more guys without my permission, and I absolutely can’t let something like that go unpunished.”

  “Jace, we can’t…”

  “We can’t enforce the rules we both agreed to? What kind of businesspeople will we be if we can’t honor our commitments?”

  Jace takes my hand and brings it down into my lap.

  “What other rules have you broken? Have you been touching yourself without my permission?”

  “No…” I say.

  And I’m telling the truth. Needless to say, the idea of going home with Jace sounds very appealing right now.

  “Good. I can’t promise that your punishment won’t be intense, but I can promise that it won’t be extended.”

  I look around the bowling alley, trying to see if the two of us are drawing any attention. There are a few people sneaking looks at us, but we’ve done a good job of keeping our voices down.

  Still, I know Jace isn’t going to back down on this, which means we need to get out of this bowling alley right now.

  “Alright,” I say, “We can go back to the suite and talk about this, but we’ve got to say goodbye to my group, tell them it’s a business emergency, and try to look as normal as possible until we’re behind closed doors. Okay?”

  “I knew you’d do the right thing,” says Jace, leading me by the hand over to the rest of my group.

  When Erika sees me coming over with Jace, she almost spits out her beer.

  “Hey guys,” I say, pulling my hand out of Jace’s, “Uh……something came up, kind of a business emergency, so I’m going to have to leave early!”

  Zach opens his mouth like he wants to say something, but Jace turns me around, puts his arm around me, and takes me through the front door.

  “Jace, you can’t just get mad at me every time I go bowling with guys,” I say, once we’re outside.

  “I’m not mad,” says Jace, grinning from ear to ear, “I’m excited that I finally have an excuse to do what we’re about to do.”

  Chapter 25: Haley

  As Jace and I sit in the back of the limo, visions of kinky sex acts flash through my mind. By the time we actually pull up to the Fisher Building, I’m a mess, nervous and horny and trying as hard as I can not to give into the temptation to pounce on Jace and get myself off for the first time in four weeks.

  Jace notices my dilemma, and he’s absolutely loving it. Still, he’s been pretty careful these past few weeks, showing an impressive amount of restraint with Laura and her reporter snooping around.

  Maybe this wasn’t going to be so bad. After all, a private, empty skyscraper is about as safe a place to do something kinky as you could possibly find.

  “God, I love watching you squirm,” Jace says, “I want to just take you right here.”

  “That wouldn’t be much of a punishment, Jace.”

  I think that was supposed to be some kind of comeback, but it definitely didn’t come out that way.

  The limo pulls into the Fisher Building’s garage, and Jace leads me into the elevator.

  “You know,” he says, as we finally enter the suite, “My original plan was to stop at a clothing store on the way home and buy you the shortest skirt they had in stock, but that skirt you have on now makes your ass look so good that I didn’t want to wait to get back here.”

  “Okay, but next time, maybe we should go clothes shopping. I’m only doing this for the free clothes, you know.”

  Jace turns around suddenly, taking me into his arms.

  “Oh yeah?” he asks, “Because I’m pretty sure you’re really doing this because you want to see what happens when you let me take control.”

  Jace’s touch makes my blood pump hard through my body. I want to say something snarky, but absolutely nothing comes to mind. I’m too distracted by the feeling of Jace’s cock pressing against my bellybutton to think straight.

  “You signed the contract,” he says, “You agreed to my rules, and then you broke one. Now, I’m going to spank that curvy little ass of yours until you learn your lesson.”

  My eyes go wide as Jace tells me my punishment.

  “Follow me,” he says, walking into his bedroom and sitting at the edge of his bed. I obey, taking nervous little steps towards Jace, closing the door behind me once I enter his bedroom.

  “Have you ever been spanked before?” Jace asks.

  “No…” I say.

  Jace grins.

  “Good,” he says.

  I stand in the corner, waiting for Jace to order me over to him. A few seconds pass, and the air thickens between us. My eyes dart back and forth between his face and the bulge in his pants, wishing he would hurry up and give me the order already.

  That’s when I realize there’s not going to be an order. He’s waiting for me to come over there on my own accord, lean over his lap, and present myself to him.

  I grit my teeth, try to suppress my arousal, and walk over to Jace, cheeks flushing red as I lie across his lap. Then, I squeak as Jace repositions me, bringing my upper body over the side of the bed and pulling my ass up in the air. Jace runs his fingers over my ass, gently cupping it with his hand and sending a throbbing ache down between my legs.

  “Jace…” I say, in a soft, gently indignant voice.

  “Why don’t you tell me why you’re here, Haley?”

  I press my legs together and take a deep breath. God, I hope Jace doesn’t see how horny I am. I agreed to be punished, but there’s no way this can turn into sex again.

  “I’m
here because…I went bowling with guys without asking your permission.”

  “That’s right,” he says, “And why is that wrong?”

  “I signed a contract…and then I didn’t honor it.”

  “Part of the blame is mine,” says Jace, “I haven’t been very good about reminding you about the contract, and since I’ve been gone for so long, I’m sure you were wondering if it was even still in effect. I promise that from now on, I’m going to be very close by to make sure that you follow the rules.”

  “Jace, I’m—”

  Before I can finish my thought, Jace brings his hand down hard on my bottom. It hurts a little, but it also feels so good that I can’t remember what I was about to say. Instead, I let out a loud, high-pitched moan.

  “You like it, don’t you?” he asks.

  “Am I supposed to—”

  “Don’t you!?”

  Jace spanks me again, and I shut my eyes tight as a warm, dirty feeling floods my body.

  “Yes!” I shout.

  “I knew you would,” he says, “You should have seen the look on your face the first time I brought it up. I was going easy on you the first couple of times, but now, I’m not going to hold back.”

  He doesn’t. Instead, he lifts his hand up in the air and starts wailing on me, spanking me harder and harder and turning the heat between my legs into a raging wildfire. I have to bury my face in my shoulder to stop myself from shouting Jace’s name.

  After a seriously intense round of spanking, Jace pulls my skirt up around my waist, pulls my panties down to my thighs, and goes right back in for another round, this time on my bare ass.

  I can’t take it anymore. The thought of Jace doing this and then leaving again is just too much. I know it’s the worst idea in the world, but I’m just so hot for Jace that I don’t even care anymore.

  I push myself up onto the bed and shove my tongue down this throat.

  Jace falls back onto the bed, smacking my ass one last time before his hands start pulling the rest of my clothes off.

  Meanwhile, I’m fumbling with his belt, so anxious to wrap my fingers around his cock again that my hands are shaking. When I finally do free it, I run my fingers hard up the thick shaft, and Jace lets out a low groan.