by Leigh, Mara
Chapter One
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Deana pressed the code into the keypad, and the door to the Las Vegas suite swung open. Venturing into the dimly lit room, she trapped her shoulder bag against her side, the buckle biting into her ribs. As the door clicked shut, a mountain of a man stepped forward.
She fought the instinct to step back, startled, even though she’d chosen the dark-haired man’s photo from several the agency had recommended for her fantasy. In person, his look bordered on dangerous.
“Deana, I presume?” His voice suited his looks—deep and thick—and his sculpted features had a rugged, muscular edge, as if his face had been forged from steel. Above intense brown eyes, commanding eyebrows darkened his expression, and his gaze bored into her, scorching hot, like he wanted her—for real.
He was a good actor. She’d give him that.
She accepted his offered handshake, and as his hand engulfed hers, scalding heat shot lightning straight to her belly. The man had big hands.
Trying to hide her reaction, she reclaimed her fingers. “And you’re Jake?”
“At your service,” he replied.
Service. A tremor traced through her. What was she doing? She never imagined she’d ever pay for sex, and certainly never for what she’d hired this Jake guy to do, but refusing to let doubt encroach, she casually strolled past him and into the luxurious room with its floor-to-ceiling view of the Las Vegas strip. Light from her Cirque show’s neon sign flashed through the window and painted her skin, as if it were taunting her, reminding her of the dare.
Adam and Gwen were wrong. Control freak? No way. She was simply good at her job. She stage-managed a huge production, with hundreds of artists’ and stagehands’ lives in her hands twice a day. Control was her job. It did not define her.
She turned away from the view and stepped toward a small sitting area. Past that, she spotted an armoire, a pretty Japanese-style screen, and a huge bed. On the far side of the bed lay a set of double doors. Was this a suite? The bedding was turned down, and she crossed the room to set her hand on the crisp, white fabric. As she bent forward, something brushed her neck.
She tensed. But realizing it was just her hair, she stifled a laugh and tucked the ponytail escapees behind her ears. Her nerves were worse than she’d expected. “What’s the agency’s refund policy again?”
“Deana,” he answered, “until you say the magic words, you have no obligation beyond your deposit. Would you like to leave?”
“It was just a question. I’m fine.” She ran her hands over her black jersey dress, which clung to her body like paint, wishing she’d worn something looser.
He nodded. “Do you remember what I need to hear before we begin?”
“Yes. ‘Let’s proceed.’ Right?”
“Are you saying it now?” Jake’s voice seemed steeped in heat—like he thought it could melt her. It was working.
“I’m...”
“There’s no rush,” he said. “Take your time.”
“I’ll say it again—when I’m certain.” Who was she kidding? She was all in. She never backed down from a challenge—ever—and she couldn’t lie to Adam and Gwen and pretend she’d gone through with this fantasy. That would be cheating, plus they knew her too well.
She banished her second thoughts by reminding herself that nothing about this was real.
Jake, if that was his real name, worked for a place called Fantasies Unleashed, and the company name said it all. This was a fantasy, pure and simple, and despite the nature of the encounter she’d purchased, she was the one in charge. She was the customer. She held all the power. There was no reason for nerves. She wouldn’t really be giving up control.
Composure restored, she watched as Jake undid his leather jacket, releasing the buttons one by one. His fingers worked purposefully, leisurely, like the overture to a striptease, and when the jacket slipped off his shoulders to fully reveal his shape, her gaze roamed over his broad chest, his tapered waist and hips, and the promising bulge in his jeans. Even clothed in denim and a tight black t-shirt, Jake could have walked off the cover of a men’s fitness magazine or the set of a Hollywood action movie. And unless the agency had Photoshopped his profile pics, his cock was fully proportional.
It didn’t take much to visualize this man naked beneath her; to imagine how the intensity in his eyes would deepen; how the veins in his neck and temples would rise and throb; how his chest and shoulders would flex; or how his strong lips would grimace as she rode him to her climax. She knew how to take her pleasure and still please a man.
Her insides clenched; she was already wet. The prospect of sex with this stranger was an incredible turn-on. Way better than she’d expected.
“Do you mind if I get comfortable?” he asked.
Her gaze snapped from his body to his face. “Yes. No. Sure. Fine.” Heat surged in her cheeks. What was wrong with her? She sounded like a timid kid.
“Do you have any questions?” He hung his jacket in the sleek armoire.
She crossed her arms to hold herself together. “Was my script specific enough?”
“Oh, you were very specific.”
“And I presume you studied the storyboard I prepared?”
“I did.” He looked back over his shoulder, his expression amused.
What was so funny? “What’s the best way for me to feed you cues or directions?”
“Deana”—he took three long strides toward her—“I’ll be giving the directions.”
“Yes, of course.” He was already in character. Good.
While the fantasy unfolded, Jake would be playing a role she’d created, following a script she’d developed, and yes, his character would be “in control”. Being submissive in sex—in anything—was so not her, but she’d try almost anything—once.
That Adam and Gwen thought she couldn’t pull this off was beyond insulting.
“Are you clear on your safe words?” Jake asked. “Both hard and soft?”
“I vote for hard, not soft.” She winked.
A smile twitched at the corners of his lips. “I need to know that we’re clear,” he said. “Use your soft word, and I’ll lower the intensity. The hard word is only if you want this to stop.”
“I understand,” she said. “Pudding is my soft word and banana is hard, right?”
He nodded, and again, she swore he was fighting a grin. She and her friends had chosen the words as a joke when they’d filled out the agency’s questionnaire. The three of them had nearly lost it over that part of the form.
She leaned against the back of a white sofa. “Great. If you go off-script, or I want to switch things up, I’ll toss out a ‘banana’ to put things on pause. I assume you have some improv training?” His profile stated he had experience as an actor. Probably porn. Did men this hot do porn?
“Deana.” He stepped even closer. “That’s not what your safe word is for. Either of them. I can’t fulfill your fantasy if I follow your script. You can’t lose control if you’re in control.”
She pushed off the edge of the sofa. “Look, Jake. I’m the client, remember?” She’d carefully mapped out this fantasy, and now that she’d seen Jake, she was growing anxious for it to begin. “It’s my fantasy. You need to do what I want.”
“I know what you want.” He took another step forward, his massive frame invading her space. “What you really want.”
Trapped against the sofa by his powerful presence, his heat, his spicy scent, she felt desire race through her body, joined by something else. Something akin to fear.
This isn’t real, she reminded herself. But under his burning gaze, the idea of not knowing what to expect—of him doing what he wanted, when he wanted—smashed through her psyche, threatening to break her down.
Calm, her most loyal and steadfast soldier, deserted. Court martial to follow.
“Deana.” His tone softened. “It’s not too late to change your mind. If you don’t want to do this... ” He softly laid a hand on her shoulder
. “You need to say the line again, before I formally respond and begin.”
His sudden tenderness, his ability to recognize her apprehension, whipped her emotions into a confused frenzy. Today was supposed to be a game, impersonal. Using kindness against her wasn’t fair, and she hated that he’d seen her momentary weakness.
She glared at his hand on her shoulder. He removed it, and her skin went cold with the absence. But there was no chance she’d let him do a single thing that she didn’t want. “Listen, Jake. Either I have a safe word, or I don’t.”
“You do,” he said. “But you can’t use it to direct me. Not if you want your fantasy fulfilled.”
“But you will follow my script—”
“You need to trust me,” he said. “Once we begin, you should only use the safe word if you can’t take the pain.”
Pain? She took a step back, bumping into the sofa. She’d answered no to pain. Or had she finally settled on the “somewhat interested” checkbox? Hindsight rebuked the fourth bottle of pinot they’d opened while completing the agency’s forms. She’d thought her answers redundant given the script.
Was Jake planning to spank her? She’d tried that once, and although her lover had done exactly as she’d asked, the experience hadn’t lived up to expectations. This fantasy probably wouldn’t, either. Few things did. Yet, held captive by Jake’s gaze, the thought of him spanking her was equal parts titillating and terrifying. “I guess a little pain is okay.”
“Don’t be scared. You have safe words for a reason.”
“I’m not scared.”
“If you say so.” He shifted, and the fabric of his jeans slid across his hips.
A stab of lust raced through her. Despite her apprehension, despite the uncertainty, despite the hint of danger, she wanted this. She wanted his huge hands all over her. She wanted to feel the heat of his body against her, under her, inside her.
But on her terms.
This shouldn’t be so difficult. The situation was a tad risky, sure, but she was an expert at controlling risks, at making quick calls when she had others’ lives in her hands.
Problem was: Tonight she wasn’t the one calling the cues. Tonight it was her turn to swing on the trapeze—to fly through the air and trust someone else to make sure the set pieces were in place. Her stomach was already taking the plunge, as she said the magic words: “Let’s proceed.”
To keep reading, order Surrender, Fantasies Unleashed 3 now
Titles by Mara Leigh
* * *
Dirty Business, Fantasies Unleashed 1
Bedded by Strangers, Fantasies Unleashed 2
Surrender, Fantasies Unleashed 3
Humbling the Boss, Fantasies Unleashed 4
If you like steamy reads, here are some other authors you might enjoy!
Captivated by You, by Sylvia Day
Have Me, A Stark Ever After Novella, by J. Kenner
Complete Bliss (a Her Billionaires novella #3), by Julia Kent
