by Laina Kenney
His last-ditch gamble had paid off, but he was still stunned at how far he was willing to go to have her in his life. As an avowed Dominant, he was comfortable being the one who called the shots.
And Corinne was so soft-hearted, he didn’t have any idea how long she would be able to last in the command position, but maybe that was for the best. He was quite sure he’d make a piss-poor submissive. But for her he would try.
He had a feeling that in spite of her sweet nature, she might have an unspoken desire for a bit of revenge after the way he had screwed up both their lives for the past three months. If so, he had to admit it would be justified.
He looked over at Corinne. He was piecing together more and more of her side of the colossal mess he had caused. She had left a comfortable mansion late at night with nothing more than a backpack full of clothing. She had left behind far more than she took. She must have been deeply unhappy to find out that he had left the country without telling her. The word she had used was devastated. It squeezed his heart to think of it.
He had a very natural desire to take care of her, pushed higher by his dominant tendencies, and he had failed her in the most basic way. Maybe each of them would benefit from an experience of the other’s usual position. It might be just what the doctor ordered to set them back on the right track with each other and let them move forward.
Jack sipped his coffee. He could only go with the conditions she set out and hope that he didn’t embarrass himself too badly in the process.
His heart pounded at the sight of her smiling at a small boy as she handed their breakfast to his mother over the counter. Corinne would make an excellent mother, and he couldn’t wait to make her one. His dick twitched and lengthened in response to the thought.
He shook his head. Damn, he had it bad. He hadn’t even heard her conditions yet and he was already mentally five years into their shared future.
But he was a determined man, and Corinne was the woman he wanted for his mate. Forever. And if she accepted him back into her life, he would never make such a damned stupid mistake again and take her for granted.
He would show her the love he felt. He would be so attentive that she would send him off to work to get some peace.
He watched her approach with the coffeepot and marveled. She was a very pretty woman, but she wasn’t the most beautiful woman he had ever seen. Her features were even, and her eyes were a striking shade of blue, although it wasn’t just her looks that appealed to him. There was something about her that drew him like a lodestone. He couldn’t resist the pull and didn’t even want to.
She refilled his cup when he held it out, but she didn’t walk away.
He watched her expressive face. She was a little flushed, but that could be from the busyness of her job. Her hands were trembling, but the old coffeepot looked heavy. He was uncharacteristically afraid to try to judge her emotions, but her body was angled toward him and blocking the rest of the tiny shop.
“The hotel we stayed at when the blue suite at your house was remodeled. Be there tonight at seven. Plan to stay all night.”
She was doing well with giving orders, but her voice was shaky and Jack could barely hear her. He leaned closer.
“Don’t be late, Jack.”
“I’ll be there,” he said.
He watched her turn and walk away, and the little spring in her step told him she was excited about having him at her mercy. His stomach jumped at the thought, but he was just so damned grateful for the chance she was giving him that he pushed aside the worry and concentrated on the arousal she inspired. If the temptation for revenge got him back in her bed, he would take whatever she dished out and say thank you.
Chapter 6
Jack looked at his watch again. He could hardly wait for four o’clock, so he could close the damned meeting and concentrate on preparing for the night of his life with Corinne, but time was dragging. He felt like he had lived three days since this morning.
He shifted in his chair and it squeaked. Angela turned and looked at him with a question in her eyes. He shook his head once, and she turned back to Andrew’s presentation.
Jack knew he was behaving strangely, but he couldn’t seem to focus on anything to do with business. His dick was twitchy, semi-hard and stubborn as all hell. He felt like a randy teenager. Even his palms were damp. The coming night was all he could think about.
He normally would have taken over the meeting by now, but he didn’t even know how it was going. Andrew could be boring everyone silly or talking about sports scores, and Jack wouldn’t even know.
He looked up at the chart projected on the wall, but he couldn’t decipher it. A shiver rippled over his skin. He was useless for anything sensible when all he could understand was that he was going to be tied up and sexually tortured in a couple more hours. He was torn between wanting it over and hoping it would last all night long.
Did Corinne feel this combination of anxiety and excitement thinking of submitting to his dominance in their encounters? Did she ever go back and forth like he was doing, one minute thinking there was no way she could submit to his commands and then deciding in the next second that she had never felt more alive?
It wasn’t like him to waffle back and forth. He made decisions and stuck by the results. He was driving himself crazy thinking about all the possibilities.
“And that wraps the presentation. Any questions?” Andrew asked.
Jack usually thought that if no one asked a question at the end, they must have been sleeping. Now, he hoped like hell they would all keep their mouths shut so he could escape. He had somewhere else to be, dammit.
There was only one question, and it was quickly answered. The department managers filed out smiling and talking, so it must have been a decent meeting, but Jack was just glad it was over.
He got up to leave, and Andrew was right there. Jack’s first instinct was to walk around him, but he forced himself to wait. Christ he was a mess.
“Thanks for letting me take this one,” Andrew said. “I hope I covered all the benefits of the new deal, everything you wanted them to think about before the next meeting?”
Andrew was asking him for feedback? Judging from the half smile on his face, he seemed to feel he had done well, so Jack clapped him on the shoulder.
“Good job,” he said, and hoped he was telling the truth. He had no idea. “Thanks.”
Andrew’s chest puffed out, and he stood taller.
“Angela, my office, please,” Jack continued. He had to get the hell out of here before he embarrassed himself.
When he closed the office door behind his long-time assistant, her eyes were twinkling. She sat and folded her hands primly.
He threw himself into his chair, then immediately got up to pace.
“Was he good, do you think?” Jack asked.
“Andrew? Yes, I think he did well,” Angela said. “He forgot to mention the award for the new science division, but we can easily do that at the company dinner. Not to worry.”
“Thank God,” he muttered.
Angela watched him.
“Bad day?”
He had every intention of keeping his plans private, but looked at Angela’s kind face and relented.
“Good day. Maybe the best day yet. Corinne has agreed to a date tonight. I’ll be turning off my cell phone. Oh, I’ll need Andrew to carry my alarm pager,” he said.
“That is good news, Jack. She’s a fine girl and you need her. You haven’t had your head on straight since you drove her away. I hope you groveled appropriately.”
The look on her face was so smug Jack would have laughed, if he could have.
“Don’t hold back your opinion,” he said. “Let me have it with both barrels.”
Angela smiled. “I won’t hold back. That’s why you pay me the big money.” She straightened in her chair. “Is that the explanation for your remarkable tolerance in the meeting? I thought you were letting Andrew stretch his wings a bit, but if you were thinking of a
night with your lady, I’m sure you didn’t hear half of it.”
He did laugh then. Angela was always honest with him about the hard things, and she had blasted him more than once about his stupid complacency regarding Corinne. She had ultimately been right about his mistakes, and his general unhappiness was all of his own making. He had acknowledged the problem, and the plan was in place to fix his problems tonight, starting with him.
He was going to give Corinne his trust and his time. He would turn off his cell phone and let the woman of his dreams torment him as much as her little heart desired.
His cock throbbed and he looked at his watch. Three more hours. How would he survive until then?
Chapter 7
Corinne threw her shoulders back and walked into Dominant Focus, the shop that carried D&S ties and costumes as well as more ordinary sexual toys. The shop had three floors and a library, and Corinne had been shocked speechless and blushing when Jack brought her the first time.
She knew her face was flushed, the curse of having such fair skin, but she was determined. She needed a to surprise Jack, to give him a proper submissive experience without taking him too far, and this was the only place she could think of where she could buy the items she needed without anyone raising their eyebrows.
She almost laughed. Really, by the standards of the largest sex shop in the state, she probably wouldn’t even register on their scale of kinky. But it was a step outside her comfort zone, and she knew it would be for Jack as well. She wanted him to like it.
Corinne browsed through the shop, heart pounding, trying not to giggle with nervousness at some of the displays. Did Jack feel this same rising excitement when he shopped for her? Did his blood rush like hers when she thought of using some of the toys to bring extreme pleasure to his body and ease to his active mind?
The idea of having Jack’s big muscular body completely at her mercy excited and intimidated her at the same time. She caught sight of a blindfolded male mannequin and a light bulb clicked on in her head.
She fingered the black silk blindfold. She could blindfold Jack. It would certainly be a new experience for him, and it would help her confidence if he couldn’t see every expression on her face. She already felt so exposed in his presence, she needed all the help she could get. She added it to her basket.
The Cock Syrup came in small bottles in flavors of raspberry and caramel. It made her mouth water, and she put both in her basket. She shivered. It would be a new taste, but she felt sure Jack’s clean salty tang was better. Just thinking of the scent and taste of his body made her pussy clench on a rush of moisture. She almost moaned.
She looked around furtively, but there was no one nearby. Although she probably wouldn’t have been the first person to moan in a sex shop, it would have embarrassed her just the same.
She also found a long, soft feather, skin-warming liquid, and a tiny vibrating egg that came with batteries and a remote control and promised hours of owner satisfaction. She giggled, added them to her basket, and followed the signs to the escalator. The second floor was titled Ropes and Costumes. Oh, yeah.
By the time she got back to the counter to pay for her purchases, she had filled the little basket to overflowing with toys, ties, and a new dress made of a fabric so sheer and sleek she could almost see Jack salivating when he caught a glimpse of her body through it.
The cost was astronomical. If she included the room fee, the total would be more than she earned in a week. She sighed and paid it.
A night with Jack Carder was worth that and more.
Chapter 8
When the knock came to the door, Corinne jumped up out of her chair. She had all her purchases carefully hidden in the bedside table except for the black blindfold which was draped over the pillow.
She reached out one shaking hand and gripped the doorknob but couldn’t bring herself to open the door.
She peeped through the observation hole and saw Jack straighten his tie. He raised his hand to knock again, and she opened the door.
“Please come in,” she said in her best imitation of a sexy old-Hollywood siren. The sheer dress really helped her feminine confidence, too. She felt sexy in it.
With her hair piled on top of her head in loose curls and her eye-shadow dark and smoky, she had hardly recognized her own reflection in the mirror. She was still nervous, and she might not be as confident as a true dominatrix, but she certainly looked the part.
Jack stepped forward then halted midstep. He closed his eyes for a moment and opened them. His dark, intense gaze swept down her body and then back up and his nostrils flared.
He glanced back into the hallway and quickly shut and locked the door, all without taking his eyes off her. A flush was climbing his cheeks.
“Christ, Corinne, someone could have seen you,” he said.
She just smiled slowly and trailed one finger down his arm.
“Someone did.”
She turned and left him standing there staring blankly.
“I want you to feel comfortable,” she said. “Take off your coat and stay awhile.”
For a moment, he didn’t move, and her stomach clenched. Was it too much? Maybe he didn’t like her new look? She had never thought of herself as femme fatale material. Maybe Jack didn’t think of her that way either.
But then he started to take off his jacket, and her heart started to beat again.
“Jack, I have to ask. Are you sure about—”
“I’m sure.”
She nodded slowly. She had many little doubts and fears about the coming night, but she didn’t want her uncertainties to color his experience. He was a grown man, and if he said he was sure, then she would give him the chance to prove it to both of them and try to stop second-guessing.
“You’ll need a safe word. Since we’ve done this before, backward sort of, I thought you could use my safe word, if you remember it.”
Jack’s shoulders relaxed fractionally.
“Bigfoot,” he said, and his lips curved up.
Corinne remembered how he had laughed when she came up with that word for their first encounter. She had never safe-worded with him, because although he was demanding, he had never made her feel threatened. He had never pushed her to a point where she needed to protect herself from him. She knew he needed the security of the word, but she didn’t want to push him to actually use it.
In her opinion, from the other side of the partnership, if she forced him to use his safe word, the trust was already broken.
Yes, she wanted to torment him a little and pleasure him a lot, but she didn’t want him to feel that she disregarded his physical or emotional safety. She would protect him no matter what. It was a brand new feeling, frightening and empowering.
“I want it to be just you and me. No cell phone, no pager. I need to know you’re okay with that part of it.”
Jack took out his cell phone and turned it off. He set it down and looked into her eyes.
“I gave the pager to someone else. It’s just you and me all night. Whatever you want, I’ll give you,” he said.
Her relief was so intense she kissed his cheek and hugged him without thinking. He wrapped his arms around her and squeezed a little. She could feel the warmth of his skin through the thin gossamer of her dress and some of the tension drained out of her. For Corinne, just being in his arms pushed the rest of the world away.
There was a crooked smile on his face when she pulled back. In the months past, she had lived for that half-smile, knowing how rare a thing it was for Jack to let his guard down and just enjoy life. Seeing it again melted her heart.
“Take off your shirt and put on the blindfold.”
Her voice wobbled a bit on the last word.
Jack followed her instructions without hesitation, holding her gaze with his. The temperature in the room rose until Corinne wanted to fan herself. The man was seriously gorgeous.
He also toed off his shoes and socks and dropped his pants without waiting for her instructions
. He was probably thinking that it would make things easier later. She couldn’t fault his planning, and since the view was so spectacular, she couldn’t bring herself to reprimand him as she should.
When he was standing before her blindfolded and clad only in black boxers, she guided him to lie down on the bed.
“Hands above your head, please, and hold on to the bars in a comfortable position.”
When he complied, she took out the two silk ties and proceeded to run them over his chest and stomach, then up and down the exposed skin of his arms. His breathing quickened.
She used the ties one at a time to secure his wrists to the bars of the headboard.
She sat back on her heels beside him to admire the sight. He was a fine-looking man, his arms and chest tanned and muscular without being overdone. She loved to look at him.
And further down, there was a nice bulge that his boxers could barely contain. She shuddered and her pussy rippled. She knew from experience just how big that bulge would grow. It would expand to a hefty size before she allowed him to take his pleasure tonight.
She leaned close and licked one tight male nipple then blew a warm breath across it. Jack twitched but remained still. She repeated the move on the other side then settled in to torture him, going back and forth from one nipple to the other, using her tongue and lips to tease and caress.
She alternated the licking and soft blowing with long sweeps of her hands over his hard chest. She loved to explore his body. It had always felt to her as if Jack didn’t want her touch, since he tried to rush her every time she got her hands on him, but not tonight. Tonight she was going to take as much time as she wanted. She would touch and taste and stroke the hard planes of muscle until he was drunk on her touch.
She rolled each nipple between her fingers until he twisted on the bed before applying the padded nipple clamps she had purchased. She had loosened them a little, just because she knew it would be his first encounter with the toys, and she didn’t want the sensation to be too close to pain.
