by Laina Kenney
“You’re in need, Corinne. I can see the signs. I can almost taste your sweetness in the air.”
She tried to find words to deny it, but there was nothing she could say. He knew her body too well. Her reckless response to him had already betrayed her.
When he pulled the car into the parking lot of a mall and found a partially shaded spot in an empty corner of the lot, a thrill shot up her spine.
“It’s time for dessert,” he said in a firm tone.
A shiver chased across her skin.
He released the clip on her seatbelt with one quick movement and pulled her out of her seat and into his lap. One click and his seat reclined until she was lying on his muscular chest.
The sun beat down on one side of the car, increasing the ambient heat as Jack looked into her eyes. The intensity of his gaze raised gooseflesh on her body and held her in place for his physical exploration.
His hands roved over her yearning flesh with devastating familiarity, lighting fires in her blood. When he reached her soft breasts and squeezed gently, she gasped at the thrilling sensation. The memories that she had pulled out nightly during the months she had spent alone didn’t come close to the real thing.
“Jack,” she said, and even she didn’t know if she intended to protest or beg that he continue.
His hands moved around and down to her upturned buttocks, squeezing and releasing the full globes. Corinne squirmed. It had been so long since she was spanked. She waited in an agony of anticipation, wondering if he would.
When his hand landed in a firm smack on her rounded bottom, she jolted as the familiar streak of fire shot through her veins. She could feel the reverberations in her hips and thighs. Her pussy was melting in the heat he created. He alternately slapped and caressed, warming the flesh while he stoked the blaze he was skillfully building in her treacherous flesh.
She couldn’t fight it, could do nothing but pant against his hot chest and take what he gave her. She remembered her safe word from their time together, but she didn’t really want to use it. The thick flow of delight was too tempting after such a long dry spell, and her defenses were down and out. All she cared about now was the pleasure and the connection between them.
His mouth came down on hers, and his hand moved up to cup her between her thighs, sliding under cloth to find skin. The calloused edge of his palm rubbed and pressed against her tender clit, and she shrieked into his mouth as her climax hit her with shocking speed and force.
Through her tremors, she felt his start of surprise.
“You haven’t been with a man in a long time. How long has it been?” he asked, and she could hear the surprise in his tone. He usually had plenty of time to tell her when to come. Not today.
Her voice was hoarse, but she managed to get the words out. “Since the last time we—” She couldn’t bring herself to say any more.
“In the study,” he said, and Corinne was surprised. She didn’t think he would even recall their last encounter. It had been simple vanilla, and for a man of Jack’s experience, that wouldn’t stand out at all.
“Didn’t you ever touch yourself? Even if you didn’t find a man you wanted, you know what to do. You could give yourself some ease.”
His fingers still rubbed gently over her sensitive flesh. She couldn’t think while he was doing that. She could feel the warmth from her spanked bottom and her own slippery wetness coating his fingers. She was still aroused. One tiny little climax was not going to fix three months of abstinence.
“It’s not the same,” she said, too hot to be cautious. She lifted her hips and pressed against his hand. “It’s not the same as having you inside me. Nothing else on earth is ever that good.”
He grimaced. “No, it sure as hell isn’t,” he said. “But I would like to bring it to your attention that we’re in a public place surrounded by cars and busy people. I want you until my cock throbs like a fucking toothache, but I don’t want to be arrested. My face is in the newspaper too much lately.”
Corinne moaned and writhed against him. She heard his words, but the message was beyond her. Her body moved ceaselessly against him, finding a kind of pleasure in the hard planes of muscle against her sensitive softness. He had taken her too high with the spanking, and she couldn’t make herself settle down.
“All right,” he said, “but you’re going to pay for this lack of discipline.” He fastened his mouth over hers, and her body rippled in response.
He slid two fingers up inside her and started a fast rhythm in and out. His thumb rasped over her clit at the bottom of each deep glide. Her hips lifted to follow his touch and then to counter it. She pushed against his pace frantically, searching for that bright explosion of sensation only he could provide. She had never been able to reach those dizzy heights on her own.
“Come for me,” he said, and her body leaped at once to answer his command.
The orgasm burst over her with the strength of a summer storm, and she gasped out his name on a rising wail. He kept up the rhythm through it all, driving her even higher. When the spasms slowed and passed, she closed her eyes and buried her face against his hot throat. She didn’t want him to see her helpless tears.
His arms were hard around her, and she reveled in the pressure of his tight hold. She had missed him so much it was like heaven just to be in his arms. She never wanted to move in case the feeling escaped. Reality wasn’t nearly so pleasurable.
Jack cleared his throat.
“I have a request to make,” he began then stopped when his cell phone rang.
“No,” she said involuntarily. She could learn to hate that sound.
It would be someone at the office with a problem only Jack could solve. Of course the office would call to ruin her fantasy of being important in Jack’s life. In reality, his company came first and she was a distant runner-up.
He shifted her body to one side and pulled out his phone to look at the number display.
“I have to take this call,” he said. “I’ll make it quick and then we can talk.”
He kissed her forehead and put the phone to his ear.
He had to take a call now? Corinne wriggled until she could get some leverage and pushed against his restraining arm.
“Jack here,” he said into the phone.
Corinne tried to slide back to her seat, but he tightened his hold and frowned at her. She continued to struggle against his control. Damn it, nothing had changed.
“Yes, tell them tomorrow is fine. And if anything else comes up, call Andrew first. I pay him a fortune as my VP, he can damned well work for it.”
He tossed the phone down and used both strong arms to subdue her thrashing. He was squeezing the breath from her.
“What the hell? Stop this, Corinne.”
She shoved hard against his chest and managed to gain some space.
“Let me go,” she insisted. “Let me go now.”
He glowered but relaxed his grip enough for her to clamber back into the passenger seat. She knew it wasn’t a graceful move, but she couldn’t stand to be in his arms for one more minute.
When she was settled she turned and glared at him. She bit down on the inside of her cheek to keep back the tears.
“What the hell got into you?”
“You took a phone call in the middle of—” She could hardly get the words out. Her breathing was labored.
She wasn’t sure if it was anger or despair. She knew it hadn’t worked between them the first time, and yet at the first chance she had gone straight back into his arms. His actions illustrated her place in his life in a way that even her natural optimism couldn’t overcome. It was beyond humiliating.
“I still have a corporation to run.” His voice was soft. “Corinne, as important as you are to me, it’s unrealistic for you to always be number one.”
She gaped at him, her blood freezing in spite of the heat. “I can’t believe you said that. That’s exactly the point you seem to be missing, Jack. The company is always your first priority. It always
has been. I’ve never been number one in your life.”
“I moved you into my house, the first woman who ever—”
“And then you pushed me aside when it wasn’t convenient to talk to me. You couldn’t even spare me five minutes of your time on your way out of the country.”
“It was only supposed to be one night away—”
“It could have been a month and you would have done the same thing.”
“That’s an unfair statement. I was in the middle of a sensitive negotiation, goddammit—”
“Don’t you shout at me!”
“I’m not shouting!” He stopped, seeming to realize how loud his voice had become. He scowled at her, and his eyes were hot with temper.
“We spent every night locked together,” he said through his teeth, “and when we were both so wrung out with pleasure that we couldn’t move, you slept in my arms. Every night, Corinne. That meant something to me, even if it didn’t mean anything to you.”
“It meant everything to me! I was devastated when you left without telling me.” Her voice trailed off into a strained whisper. “Devastated.”
“Corinne, honey, that was just business. I didn’t want to go. It had nothing to do with—”
She put up her hand between them, a thin, trembling barrier against more pain. When he stopped, she turned her face away to stare out the window.
“I know it was business, and I know it was important. I know you don’t understand why it matters. Just take me home, Jack. Please.”
The silence stretched between them. Corinne wondered if she would have to get out and call a cab, but Jack started the car.
When he pulled up in front of her apartment building, she didn’t wait. She opened the door and got out.
“Thank you for the ride home,” she said evenly and walked up the steps as fast as she could without running.
She needed a shower desperately.
Chapter 5
Early the next morning, Corinne carried the tray of oven-warm scones to the display counter.
She had baked the normal two dozen scones this morning, along with the dozens of muffins. The extra quantity of scones had sold yesterday, but she had no intention of baking that many every day.
After the way she and Jack had left things the day before, she really didn’t know if she was going to see him again. Her heart ached, and her mind was a jumble of disparate thoughts. She wasn’t sure if she was sad or relieved at the possibility of having Jack out of her life for good. Her feelings had been high and low so often in the past few hours that she just wasn’t sure about anything right now.
Three months ago when she left Jack’s house with her backpack, purse, and a grocery bag holding her shoes, she had been so certain that he would be right behind her with flowers and an apology. As the days dragged on, and she realized he wasn’t coming after her, her desperate hope had slowly died. She had dried her tears and carried on alone with a determined smile to cover her broken heart and keep the world at bay.
Now Jack was back in her life and seemingly interested in patching up their relationship. The situation was impossible because she was struggling against her feelings. She couldn’t defend against the painful resurgence of hope, and it was driving her crazy.
Last night she had slept heavily in spite of yesterday’s emotional upheaval, courtesy of the two orgasms in Jack’s car, but when the alarm rang, she still had a hard time getting out of bed.
She flipped the switch on the coffeepot as she passed it and turned the sign to Open when she unlocked the door. The street outside was deserted except for one black sports car. Her pulse quickened.
As she watched, Jack unfolded his tall frame from the flashy little car and started across the street.
Damn, he had enough sheer determination for any ten men. No wonder he had been able to build a business empire that outproduced the gross national product of some countries. No rival could possibly have the stamina to stand against him.
Corinne was beginning to understand his strategy. He didn’t give up. He just kept on day after day, trying different angles until he wore his competitors down. His business competitors had an edge that Corinne didn’t have because they didn’t want him there, but she still did. Her defenses wouldn’t hold forever.
Alarmed by the insight, Corinne hurried to get behind the counter. She needed that physical barrier between them to help shore up her flagging restraint.
“Coffee?” she asked. She would treat him like a customer now. It might help her to keep her mental balance with him.
He looked her over with one black eyebrow raised, and she realized she was still swathed in the huge white baking apron. She quickly removed it and tossed it back into the kitchen.
“A large black coffee, please, and one scone warmed with butter.”
When Corinne handed him his order, he took her hand. She jerked once at the familiar tingle his touch caused and ruthlessly disciplined herself to be still.
“Jack, don’t.”
“Corinne, I’m sorry about yesterday.”
She flinched and tried to reclaim her hand, but he hung on.
“I understand what went wrong. I apologize. I should never have allowed us to be interrupted. I’ve left instructions at the office not to call me unless it’s urgent.”
She had the absurd urge to laugh. She couldn’t imagine that any set of instructions, no matter how carefully worded, would make the slightest difference in that situation. He ran a multimillion dollar corporation. Every decision was urgent.
In a way, she even understood it, but that didn’t mean she would ever be content taking second place. She had come second for most of her life. Even her clothes had been secondhand. For once in her life, she wanted to be someone’s first consideration.
“I deserved better,” she said finally. “I deserved better when we were together, too.”
Jack squeezed her hand.
“I agree and I’m sorry. Let me make it up to you.”
His eyes were hopeful, sincere. Corinne felt her heart thump.
She wasn’t seriously considering trying the same thing again? It was more than obvious that in spite of her strong feelings for him, she didn’t belong in the world he had created for himself. She couldn’t stand back and be the trophy in the background, silent and smiling while Jack took over the business world. It left her feeling empty. She needed a real life with a real partner, and if that wasn’t on the table, then she should not be interested.
But her heart had other ideas. She wanted Jack. There was no other man who made her feel breathless in his presence, who gave her that hot rush of delight when he smiled his slow, knowing smile. She was very much afraid that if Jack wasn’t in her life, it would be diminished in some indefinable way.
“Is giving me a second chance really such a hard decision to make?”
She shook her head and then shrugged. She couldn’t put together the words for a reply.
He frowned, and she wondered if he was finally getting the picture, maybe understanding some of the pain she had experienced.
He nodded slowly. “All right. You tell me what it would take to make it up to you. I know I was in the wrong, and I’m sorry. I want to make things right between us. Set your own conditions and I’ll abide by them. You take the lead. I’ll do whatever you say.”
Corinne couldn’t believe what she was hearing.
“You’re putting me in charge?” she asked. She shook her head, stunned by the possibilities. Jack was willing to give up control?
“You’re in charge of this one,” he said. “You can handle it. Tell me what you want, and I’ll do it. I mean it, Corinne. I can’t come up with any other way that would show you how serious I am about this.”
She could see that he was serious. His body was tense, waiting for her response. And from that lopsided grin it was more than obvious that he had never imagined making an offer like that to anyone.
Jack Carder was voluntarily giving up control. It would
have been terrifying, if it wasn’t so damned improbable.
As if he would even offer such a thing. As if he could manage to follow through. She should agree just to see how long he could last in a subsidiary position. She knew it wouldn’t be long. The man was too strong-willed to ever be comfortable letting someone else run the show.
But he was willing to try, and that meant something to her.
“I would be the Dominant and you would submit to me?”
Jack swallowed hard.
“I would submit.”
Corinne was startled by her own excitement. The idea seemed so crazy, so impossible. Was she going to do it, take him up on his once-in-a-lifetime offer and switch roles with him for as long as he could manage it?
She could feel a smile beginning on her face. Jack’s big body relaxed subtly and his expression softened.
“Yes?” he asked quietly.
“Yes,” she whispered past the sudden lump in her throat. In those moments when he was focused completely on her, he was so beautiful that it made her heart hurt.
He leaned in and brushed a tender kiss over her trembling lips, his eyes glittering with moisture.
“Thank you,” he said. He picked up his breakfast and stepped back. “Let me know when and where, and I’ll be ready.”
He turned and walked over to a far table, leaving Corinne bemused to face the new customer coming in.
* * * *
Jack set down his coffee and plate and sat before his legs gave out and dumped him on the floor. He was that relieved. He was that nervous. What the hell had he gotten himself into? Jack Carder offering to let someone else dominate him? And he had made the offer to a soft-natured woman like Corinne, who had such a hard time hiding her tender emotions that her voice quavered when she was nervous.
But Corinne had said yes in that soft, breathy tone that he loved, and with the prospect of having her back in his bed and in his life, his world was back on its axis and spinning so fast he couldn’t get a proper breath.
Damn, the woman had him going for a minute there. It had taken her so long to decide that the fine tension that had strung him out was making his muscles twitch.
