by M. S. Parker
He nodded. “Very good. Do you like to touch yourself?”
“Sometimes.” I shrugged and the water lapped against me. It stroked me between the legs and the sensation was intensely erotic.
“Would you like to touch yourself now?”
Actually, I’d rather have him touch me, but that wasn’t the answer he was looking for.
“Yes, sir.”
He scooped up another bite and gestured with his fork. “Do it. Make yourself come.”
I blushed. And then I started to stroke myself between my thighs.
But…I couldn’t do it.
I couldn’t bring myself to orgasm with him standing there, watching me as he ate, like this was some sort of amusing dinnertime entertainment.
Nerves made me clumsy and what had started out feeling so incredibly sexy and naughty suddenly felt awkward.
I fumbled with my fingers and although the water was wet and slick against me, it was awkward, sliding my fingers inside myself. I grimaced. The water wasn't enough to make it easy.
As though he’d sensed what was happening, Dominic put the plate down and came to me. He knelt beside the tub and studied me. “Shall I make you come, Aleena? Would you like that?”
Speechless, I nodded, gazing up at him.
“How do you ask me then?”
“Please make me come, sir.”
He pretended to consider it. “I might. But if I do, you’ll have to do something else for me. Because you teased me and made me think you’d touch yourself and play with yourself until you orgasmed. I wanted to watch you and my cock is still hard from thinking about it. You have to make it up to me. Will you make it up to me, Aleena?”
“Yes, sir.” I hesitated and then asked, “What would you like me to do, sir?”
“You won’t wear panties to work tomorrow.”
“But…”
He shrugged. “Okay. I’m going to get to work.” He stood up, his erection clearly pressing against the front of his dress pants.
“Wait!”
He glanced down at me, face hard. “You said you wanted to be my submissive, Aleena. You don’t get to tell me to wait.”
“I’m sorry, sir.” Looking down into the water, I held my breath. The need was still there, throbbing deep, but I knew if he left, I wouldn't be able to get myself off.
His hand tangled in my hair and he tugged. “What would you like to ask me?”
“Please make me come…sir. And I won’t wear panties tomorrow.”
He smiled down at me and returned to where he'd been kneeling.
As he slid his hand down into the water, it dawned on me…I’m in so much trouble…
Chapter 8
Dominic
I’d developed a new favorite past time and that was anything I could do to steal Aleena’s panties.
So far, I’d confiscated four pair.
She was out shopping for more even now.
Being away from her was both good and bad. It let me focus on work and all the projects that routinely crammed my brain. At the same time, it let my mind stray back to her and the things I wanted to do to her—and the things I wasn’t sure I’d ever get to do.
I was becoming obsessed.
The ticking of the clock was driving me crazy and I ended up locking myself in my office where I heard nothing but the sound of my own breathing and the flipping of pages and the occasional chime of my email as I dealt with one project, then moved to another, before getting distracted by something else entirely. It was chaos and it was insanity and I thrived on it.
The sound of the front door opening, followed by a familiar voice was a welcome respite.
“Hello!”
“Back here, Fawna!”
There was a low, bleat of a cry and something that was both panic and curiosity bled through me. “You brought the little guy, didn’t you?”
She came through my door just as I rose from my desk.
Fawna paused there, grinning at me. “Well, it’s not like I was going to leave him with a babysitter. He’s too young.”
Cautious, I edged closer.
“He’s not going to bite, Dominic,” she said, her voice full of laughter.
I cocked a brow. “I’ve seen babies. They do bite. It’s that teething thing.”
“He won’t be teething for a long time.” She put the car seat down and whipped off a soft, fuzzy blue blanket, revealing a wide-eyed, red-cheeked little baby who looked almost nothing like the fragile little guy I’d last seen hooked up to a tube and machines that did all his breathing for him.
“Wow,” I murmured. “He’s gotten bigger.”
“They do that.” With the same competence she always displayed, Fawna undid the straps that held him in place and hefted her grandson out, cradling him in her arms before turning to me, displaying him. “Don’t worry. I won’t ask you to hold him. I can already see the panic in your eyes.”
“I’m not panicking,” I lied.
“Sure.” She gave me a knowing smile. She sat down and I took the chair across from her.
“You look…” I paused and then sighed. “You look happy, Fawna.”
“I am.” She smiled at me. “Thank you, Dominic. For everything.”
Unable to figure out how to respond to that, I just nodded.
“You look rather happy yourself.”
Rising, I moved over to the window. I slid my hands into my pockets and rocked back. I didn’t know what to say or how to handle that. I couldn’t lie to her. I could lie to a lot of people, but never Fawna. So I didn’t bother. “I’m sleeping with Aleena.”
The silence was so abrupt and brittle, I almost cringed.
Finally, Fawna cleared her throat and then softly said, “Dammit.”
I turned to look at her, but she wasn’t looking at me. She fiddled around in the bag next to her and I watched as she pulled out a bottle, popped it open somehow and then shook it. She slid out of the room and I heard a faint beep a moment later. A couple of minutes passed and she returned, the bottle popped in the baby’s mouth.
She sat down and then before I even had a chance to brace myself, she pinned me with a hard, direct stare.
“Why?”
Not exactly what I’d been expecting.
I could have said a hundred things and I would have said any of them if it had been anybody but Fawna. This was the woman who had basically become my mother, in all the ways that counted. Seriously, was there a guy out there who'd be comfortable telling his mother something like…looking at her makes my dick hard and my brain go blank?
Because that was the first thing that came to mind.
I couldn’t comfortably say that. And I wouldn’t have said that to anybody—not about Aleena.
“Isn’t that my business?”
Fawna’s eyes narrowed. “Dominic, I like that girl.”
“I like her too.” That was another one of the things I could have said. Should I have started off with that one? I shoved a hand through my hair and stood up to pace.
I hadn’t even taken three steps before Fawna’s voice stopped me. “Then why are you doing this? Complicating things?”
“How is it complicating things?” I snapped and glared at her. “Hell, you’re the one who told me she could be good for me.”
“Yes! Professionally. This isn’t professional.” The baby in her arms squawked and Fawna sighed, bringing him to her shoulder. She hummed to him in that way women seemed to always know how to do. As he calmed, Fawna rose and started to move. Not exactly pacing, but swaying. “Dominic, this isn’t smart. Surely you have to know that. You’ve never done this before. Why start now?”
“Because nobody ever got to me like she does,” I answered bluntly.
That made Fawna turn back to me and the look in her eyes was faintly surprised.
She slowly returned to the couch, still rocking the baby.
I glanced at him, then away. Then back. “He’s asleep.”
“They do that too,” she said, her v
oice wry. She settled him down in his car seat and then moved it to the floor. A couple of moments passed and I said nothing. She was thinking, but I recognized this mood. She was…considering.
Finally, she sighed and looked back at me.
“I don’t think it’s a good idea to get involved with an employee, you know that.” She laughed and shook her head, brushing her hair back from her face. It donned on me then that she’d left it down. I don’t know if I’d ever seen her looking so casual. I studied her more closely and realized the subtle differences were numerous. Her hair was down, her make-up a little lighter, but brighter. She wore blue jeans and a bright blue sweater. And tennis shoes. I’d never seen her in tennis shoes.
But everything that made her Fawna? None of that had changed.
She still cut right to the chase.
“I think you probably know it’s not a good idea too,” she added, her eyes watchful.
“It’s not like I planned it.” I felt defensive now. “Hell, you're the one who brought her to that so-called second interview.”
“I know. And I’m sitting here now, talking to you and I realize you seem…happy. Dominic, I don’t know when I’ve ever seen you look happy.” She held out a hand to me. “Not for real.”
I’d never been able to refuse such a simple gesture from her, so I took it and when she tugged me down to sit, I accepted. The scrutiny she subjected me to was thorough and intense. Whatever she saw made her face relax.
“Maybe she is good for you.” Fawna nodded. Then she pointed a finger at me. “But you better be careful, Dominic. Don’t you hurt that girl. I mean it.”
***
Later, after she’d left, I wandered the empty silence of the penthouse.
Aleena had sent me a text and told me that Molly had wanted to meet for lunch. Did I need her for anything?
My instinctive response had been Yes.
So I’d told her she was welcome to take all the time she needed.
Better that she not know that I was starting to need her for all sorts of things. I already had a list of questions I needed her to answer and another list of things I had no idea what I needed, but I knew she’d have the answers tucked inside that beautiful head.
Then there were all things unrelated to work that I needed from her.
Need…
It was something I wasn’t comfortable with.
I didn’t like needing anything. I didn’t like depending on anybody.
It took me back to ugly places and ugly times when I’d had to rely on somebody for every last fucking thing—from the very air I breathed to the food in my belly to even being allowed to take a piss.
I can’t breathe…memory shrieked through my brain and I drilled the heel of my hand into my eye socket, trying to expunge the voices. Mine. His.
You want me to let you breathe? Then beg me.
Please…please…Lungs burning, screaming. Hands on my throat.
What will you do…?
“Dominic! I’m home!”
The sound of her voice jerked me out of the past. That need, the one I’d been denying screamed that I go to her.
Instead, I braced my hands on the window and leaned forward, staring out the glass over the city.
Maybe I had made a mistake. But it wasn’t the employee thing that was starting to worry me.
It was Aleena and how much I was starting to need her.
I couldn’t do that though.
I couldn’t let myself need anybody or anything.
Chapter 9
Aleena
The man was giving me whiplash.
He was also giving me a headache and what I preferred to think was indigestion rather than the miserable feeling of a broken heart.
He can’t be breaking your heart, girl, I thought broodingly. That would mean you fell in love and we aren’t doing that.
I frowned. No, I thought. We aren’t…but I could…
Miserable, I stared at my agenda without really seeing it. Dominic wasn’t here. I’d come in to meet with Amber to go over certain details about Trouver L'Amour. She was starting to look for her replacement since she never stayed at the new Winter Corporation businesses long. She would be back to the main offices of Winter Corporation soon enough, but first we needed to find somebody to take over at the dating agency.
I’d been pleasantly surprised, and pleased, when she asked if I’d help her go through the resumes. I really didn’t think I was qualified, and told her so, and she’d laughed it off.
“Trust me…you’re going to be spending a lot of time here for a while. You have to get along with whoever is sitting in this seat. If you’re not happy with her, or him, Dominic won’t be happy. So let’s just avoid it.” She rolled her eyes and sipped from her coffee. “How much time do we have?”
I checked my agenda. “He’s doing an interview.” I grinned at her.
“Lovely.” Amber gave me a solemn look over her coffee cup. “He’ll come back ready to bite heads off. He hates interviews.”
“I’ve noticed.” I paused as I read through one interview and then passed it onto the maybe file. “He’s only had me…”
The elevator doors whispered open and the two of us went quiet as a tall, elegant woman stepped through. Professionally cut brown hair and an outfit that cost more than most people made in a month.
“Ms. Rittenour.” Amber rose from behind the desk and moved out to greet the other woman. She didn’t hold out a hand though.
I wouldn’t have either. Something about the icily beautiful woman in front of me made me think the lady would expect you to bow over her hand, not shake it.
Her gaze flicked to me and then back to Amber. “Is he in?”
“I’m afraid not.” Amber’s voice was polite. Perfectly polite. And…that was it.
Okay. I’d gotten to know Amber over the past few weeks and that tone already had me cautious. Amber was an absolute doll from everything I could tell. If she was using that tone, that could only mean a few things—things could get ugly, things were likely to get ugly or they already were. She had a different manner for dealing with things if everything was either moving on track or just not going her way. I’d figured that out the first week of working here.
Since I didn’t know which way this would go, I started gathering up the resumes and slipping them back into the file. I didn't want to be here when whatever it was happened.
“When will he be returning to the office?”
“I’m afraid I don’t know, Ms. Rittenour.” Amber turned to me. There was a message in her eyes and I read it loud and clear. He isn’t going to be in.
I inclined my head and thought back. I knew the name. If I was right, this was Penelope Rittenour. I’d been fielding calls and emails from her for the past couple of weeks, and Amber was right. Dominic wasn’t very likely to be in.
Or at least, he wouldn’t want to be in for her.
“I can consult his schedule and see if he’ll be available any time soon, Ms…?” I purposefully left out her last name, as if she hadn't been important enough for me to remember.
“Rittenour,” she bit off. “It’s Penelope Rittenour.” She raked me with a dismissive look. “And you are…?”
I moved out from behind the desk. I don’t know what drove me. Maybe it was that dismissive look or maybe it was the way she spoke to me in almost the same tone Jacqueline St. James-Snow had used. But I found myself holding out my hand. “I’m Aleena Davison, Dominic’s personal assistant.”
One thing I knew about the New York elite by now. Most of them wouldn’t be caught dead actually being rude. Not in front of witnesses at least. They were more about the subtle insults.
After a hard stare at me, Penelope reached out and took my hand. I couldn’t call it a shake. She merely rested her hand in mine for the briefest pause. When she pulled away, I could see her resisting the urge to wipe her hand and I resisted an urge myself. Don’t worry, I wanted to say. Being middle class and biracial isn’t contagious
, honey.
“His assistant.” Penelope flicked her fingers together, almost as if she was trying to dislodge the feel of the unwashed masses from her skin.
I bit the inside of my cheek to keep a sneer from forming.
“Yes.” I pretended to consider it and glanced over at Amber. “I think it’s been…oh, about six weeks or so since I’ve started. Does that sound right?”
“Yes.” She nodded, giving me a small smile. “We’re very happy with Ms. Davison.”
“Lovely.” Penelope looked bored. “I imagine it’s…pleasant work, keeping up with a man like Dominic.” She arched a perfectly plucked eyebrow and smiled at me, but there was nothing polite in the smile. It was one-hundred percent, grade-A bitch. “His mother and I had lunch the other day. Just chatting, of course. We get together every so often, have been friends for years. She’s…well.” She shrugged. “Dominic and I have always been close, so I’m glad…”
The elevator doors whispered open, all but soundless.
I had my teeth clenched together so hard, it nearly gave me a headache and that promise of a headache sprang into full, throbbing existence when Dominic stepped out.
Penelope gave both Amber and I cutting looks before she turned and strode toward him. “Dominic!” She had her hands stretched out. “Really, you need to hire better help…” She infused laughter into the words, but the spite was clear, all the same. “Neither of these…ladies seemed to think you’d be back for hours.”
“I wasn’t supposed to be,” he said, his voice dark. He flicked Amber and me a look before settling his gaze on Amber. “Amber, contact the florist and send something to...”
Penelope was stroking a hand up and down his arm.
I was going to throw up.
Dominic looked down at her and she gave him a saccharine smile. He gave her a polite one back and then strode over to stand closer to me. “Dammit. I can’t even remember where we were,” he said.
“Is everything okay, Dominic?” I asked guardedly. He looked…odd.
He shook his head. “We were having sushi. Mr. Kim, his assistant and the translator, plus another man…fuck…” He shoved a hand through his hair. “I should have had you there because we ended up covering a lot more than I’d planned and now my head is shot. Anyway, the translator had a reaction to something she ate and they had to call an ambulance.”