Four Play
Page 23
The one thing she really didn’t want to discuss. “Sir, I—I’m sorry. I’m not feeling well.”
His face softened for a moment. “What happened? On Monday night at your party, you looked radiant. Tuesday, you dragged in here looking pale and tired, with your eyes swollen and red.”
“I had a hangover.”
“That’s lasted for two days?”
“Well, then my allergies set in.”
“You don’t have them.” He raised a dark brow at her. “Don’t lie to me.”
Damn, he was too smart and he always flustered her. “Sir ...”
“You’re distracted. You spilled coffee on an important briefing this morning. You’re not eating.” She opened her mouth, and Jeremy raised a hand. “Before you say a word, know that I don’t want excuses or more lies. I want answers.”
She couldn’t give them. If she told him that she’d made a wonderful mistake with Rhys, Jeremy would be angry. Even hurt. Nearly four years ago, when she’d told him she didn’t take lovers, he’d made her swear that if she ever changed her mind, he would be first, the fact he was her boss be damned.
She’d broken her word.
“I—I’ve been having trouble with insomnia.”
That, at least, wasn’t a total lie. She’d been too worried for the last day and a half to sleep much. What would she do when Rhys’s shift ended and he knocked on her door? And he would. Already, he’d left her three messages. She didn’t know how to answer them.
“Perhaps, but something’s caused it. What?”
“N-nothing.”
“Do you know what happens to little girls who lie to me?”
Kelsey had a pretty good idea. Ever since learning that Jeremy was a Dominant, she’d been reading erotic romances featuring such men. Her fantasies about Jeremy always involved her boss tying her up, commanding her body . . . with Rhys and Tucker participating in her punishments and pleasure.
“Y-you discipline them?”
“Yes. Do you know what that means?”
Kelsey sucked in a breath. Would he take her over his knee and spank her? Jeremy grabbed her wrist and pulled her close, his stare unrelenting. She read the answer to her unspoken question. Yes, that was exactly what he’d do. Helpless to look away, her insides fluttering, she met his gaze.
“I—I’m sorry. I won’t let anything affect my work performance again.” Kelsey wasn’t sure how she’d keep that promise.
“I’m not worried about your performance at work; you’re an excellent employee, which is why Garrison keeps trying to hire you away from me. I’m worried about you. But if you lie to me again, I’ll have no compunction about disciplining you.”
God, why did even his threat make her wet?
“You have no right.” She meant to the words to be strong, confrontational. They came out breathless.
“Do you really want to challenge me on that?”
No. Because if he crooked his finger and kept talking this way, she’d melt into a puddle of desire at his feet. How was that even possible? She was still processing her guilt for having sex with Rhys, and now . . .
“Please, sir. This has nothing to do with work.”
Jeremy stared hard at her. “Consider yourself off the clock, then. I’m speaking to you as a . . . friend now, not your boss. Are you clear?”
But he didn’t sound friendly; he sounded aggressive.
“Yes, sir.”
He stepped closer, stalked toward her in the small, enclosed office, forcing Kelsey to back away until her butt hit the edge of his desk. Jeremy’s eyes glinted with satisfaction as he braced his hands on the desk, on either side of her hips, trapping her in the cage of his arms. “What happened between your party and your drive to work yesterday morning?”
Here came the barrage of questions . . . and she didn’t have any good answers. “It—it’s personal.”
He hesitated. “Are your parents all right? Do you need help with something? Money?”
“No. My parents are fine. They’re in Italy right now. I—I don’t need money. Thank you, but—”
“You have no siblings, no pets. No close friends, other than Rhys and Tucker. Did you fight with one of them?”
“No.”
Jeremy tapped his fingers on the desk, slow, measured, insistent. “Did you fuck one of them?”
Apprehension bit into her, ran icy in her veins. She’d feared Jeremy would guess the truth eventually, but not this quickly.
“That’s a very personal question.”
He tightened his jaw as he stepped closer, towering over her. Jealous fury burned across his taut face. “You broke your promise to come to me first if you wanted a lover, Kelsey.”
“You’re my boss.” But she knew it was a bad argument; they both wanted so much more.
“Not right now. I’m a man who wants you, and you’re a naughty girl who didn’t stay true to her word. You’ve earned a punishment.”
“Jeremy—”
“That’s sir to you.” He grabbed her by the hips and spun her around.
In the next instant, he lifted her skirt above her waist and tore her panties away. She tried to shove her skirt back down, but he grabbed her hands and secured them in his grip at the small of her back. His other palm spread hotly across the cheek of her ass, and Kelsey felt every second of the caress like an electric charge through her body.
“You have a gorgeous ass.” He moaned, then smacked her backside—hard.
She gasped. “Ouch!”
“Quiet. For every noise, I’ll add another.”
“Please . . .”
“You beg me after you’ve broken your word? No, Kelsey. You knew how much I wanted you. You chose another without coming to me first.”
“Sir, I—”
“I didn’t give you permission to speak.”
“I don’t know how to do this,” she blurted, tears bleeding from the corners of her eyes.
Jeremy stilled. “Be submissive?”
She gave him a shaky nod. “It scares me.”
He wrapped his arms around her. His voice gentled. “There’s nothing to be frightened of. You want it.”
It wasn’t a question; he knew. Again, she nodded.
“Say it. Let me hear it.”
“I w-want it.”
“What exactly? Be precise.”
Kelsey drew in a shuddering breath. “I want to learn to be submissive for you, but Rhys and Tucker—”
“Are irrelevant to this discussion. You want me. I will have you—directly after your punishment.”
Before she could say another word, he rained a series of whacks across her ass, never in the same place twice, but he showed no mercy. It stung, burned . . . then gave way to a sweet, blossoming heat that had her biting her lip to hold in another gasp.
Why did she like it? No, love it? Shame and desire blended, making her mindless. She clawed the desk, holding in a cry. She wanted to moan his name so badly.
Suddenly, he stopped. Without thought, she thrust her ass back at him, silently begging for more. Jeremy stepped away, and she heard him shed his suit coat, tie, and shirt.
This couldn’t happen, not here. Especially not now. She’d already complicated her life with Rhys, but to have sex with Jeremy would completely melt—and destroy—her.
Kelsey worked up her gumption to face him. “Jeremy, I think—”
“Don’t. Tonight, thinking is the last thing you should be doing. Just feel.”
“I can’t. The complications . . . It’s impossible.”
“So is denying it. I’ve waited, wanted, agonized. As have you, and don’t try to say otherwise. Since you’re now taking lovers—”
“It just . . . happened.”
“This will happen, too. Repeatedly.”
Her heart stuttered in her chest as he whirled her around, pinning her in place with a gentle but forceful hand at the small of her back.
“Don’t move.”
“Yes, sir.”
The next
sounds were metallic, the clink of his belt buckle unfastening. She drew in a sharp breath. Her stomach tightened. The rasp of his zipper lowering came next and had her breath rushing out harsh and tight.
“Under my hand, you will learn to submit,” he vowed. “I want to adore you as only I can. Pamper and cherish you.”
She fisted her hands, wanting that, too. And more. “Restrain me?”
“Yes.”
“Use me?”
“Yes. Take off your blouse and bra. Quickly.”
He wanted her to remove her protective layers of clothing, bare herself to him until she wore nothing more than a skirt bunched around her waist. Oh dear God. Even the thought stripped her psyche down until she felt vulnerable, submissive.
“I’m waiting.” And not patiently.
Forbidden desire making her hot and dizzy, Kelsey let out a shuddering breath and unbuttoned her blouse. Jeremy pulled it free of her shoulders, leaving her bra exposed. The hooks were across her back, right in front of him. She waited for him to unclasp it. He didn’t move.
Slowly, she glanced over her shoulder to a stunning, well-muscled chest with a light dusting of dark hair and ridged abdomen that attested to his daily gym ritual. He had a scrumptious treasure trail that disappeared into his open slacks and the dark underwear visible through the open zipper. Kelsey couldn’t miss the more-than-healthy bulge beneath.
She gulped as she raised her gaze to find his dark eyes burning black fire into her. “Remove your bra. I won’t ask you again.”
“I just thought—”
“Don’t,” he cut in. “Follow instructions.”
She couldn’t possibly undress with her stare all tangled up in his. Jeremy would see how his commands aroused her. He’d have so much more power over her.
But when she turned her face away, he grasped her chin. “Turn around. Look at me while you remove your bra and show me your breasts.”
Fighting back the apprehension and need swamping her, she did as she was told. Jeremy watched her face, his dark gaze never leaving hers until her heavy beige bra hit the ground. Then he reached up to cup one of the soft mounds, and his gaze drifted down to her aching, hard nipple.
“Gorgeous. Lean back on the desk and wrap your fingers around the edge. Leave them there until I say otherwise.”
Kelsey’s first instinct was to obey. She wanted to please Jeremy so badly . . . But logic kept trying to reassert itself. What about her friendships with these three wonderful men?
“We really shouldn’t do this . . . ” she murmured. “This isn’t smart.”
“Either say no and leave or obey me. No vacillating or I’ll punish you again.”
Could she walk away? Could she give up something—someone—she’d wanted so badly for so long? Kelsey knew if she walked out the door now that Jeremy would let her. But he’d likely cut her out of his personal life, be her boss and nothing more. Even the thought of that made her want to cry. She loved him, looked up to him, craved his discipline.
“Yes, sir.” And she complied, gripping the edge of his desk.
“Good girl. I don’t use silly safe words. No means no. But use the word only if you really mean it. I won’t hurt you. But you must trust me.”
“I understand, sir.”
Jeremy brushed her hair off her neck and set his lips on the sensitive skin. “Your obedience pleases me.”
Kelsey beamed under his praise, which made no sense. She hadn’t done anything extraordinarily difficult. But she sensed he wasn’t going to make this easy. She didn’t believe for one instant that he was done punishing her for sleeping with Rhys.
Jeremy pressed a soft kiss to her throat, her collarbone, before his lips drifted down to her breasts. He took one in his mouth, his tongue worshipping it before his teeth scraped her nipple. She yelped, the sensation riding the thin line between pleasure and pain.
“Quiet,” he reminded.
He heaped the same treatment on her other breast, while he pinched and rolled the first in a tight grip. The sweet bite made her sex clench and weep. Kelsey sucked in a shocked breath. She wanted to beg for more, but suspected that if she did, he’d stop immediately.
“You will not come until I give you permission.”
Kelsey closed her eyes and gripped the desk tighter. She knew from working with Jeremy that he could be the most patient bastard on the planet if it got him what he wanted. And she knew without a doubt that he wanted her submission badly.
“Acknowledge me,” he demanded.
“Yes, sir,” she breathed.
He bit at her bottom lip, then crushed her mouth beneath his. Jeremy’s kiss, like his personality, was a force to be reckoned with, clever, masterful. Still gripping the desk, she swayed into him. His kiss made her light-headed. Fresh lust burst through her body, settling into an impatient ache between her legs. She moaned against his mouth, craving more.
This was really happening, her every fantasy about to come to life. Her most forbidden yearning for her boss, her friend, her dominant male, to claim her was becoming reality. The thought aroused her every bit as much as his smooth voice issuing rough commands.
His hands covered hers, ensuring her fingers securely gripped the desk against which she leaned.
“Good girl,” he praised as he tore off her skirt, clutched her hips, and lifted her onto the desk.
She screamed as the hot skin of her ass hit the cool black lacquered surface.
He raised a dark brow. “You seem determined to collect punishments tonight.”
“No, sir.”
“Make one more noise, say one more word, before you’re given permission, and I’ll add another punishment. Now, turn and face the door.”
What was he going to do? Kelsey had no idea as she scooted around on the desk a quarter turn and faced the locked door.
“On your hands and knees.”
She hesitated. Here? On his desk?
“You should already be in position, Kelsey. Hands and knees. Facing the door. Exactly as it sounds.”
His patience was running thin, and her apprehension soared. Frowning, she turned her body over until her weight rested on all fours. Immediately, she felt vulnerable. Her large breasts hung beneath her, nipples distended. The moisture between her legs began to trickle down her thighs. She closed her eyes.
A rustle of cloth and a few moments later, Kelsey felt Jeremy’s hand burrow softly into her hair and pull her head down. She opened her eyes and found him naked, waiting for her, cock in hand. It, like him, was formidable, the angry blue head insistent, slit weeping.
“Suck me.”
She licked her lips. Did he know she’d fantasized a hundred times about him commanding her to do just that?
“Yes, sir,” she breathed.
As she came closer, she inhaled his scent. The musk of him went straight to her sex, where she clenched in longing. Kelsey licked her lips again.
“You look sexy as hell. Open your mouth. That’s it ...”
Slowly, she cradled the underside of his cock with her tongue.