by Sienna Snow
With one arm around my waist and the other on my hip, he squeezed the head of his erection forward into my damp heat. He stretched me slowly, allowing me time to adjust.
“Baby, you’re so tight.” He spoke through ragged breaths and thrust deep.
A cry escaped my mouth at the invasion, and Max stilled his movement. My body felt full and in complete bliss. The pleasure-pain vibrated to my core. Five years without him inside of me, without him making my body come alive.
“I have to move now or I won’t last. It’s been years,” he hissed.
“Okay,” I replied and tugged his head toward mine. Our lips locked and with slow, short strokes, he slid in and out of me.
“Max, faster…” I cried against his mouth.
“No, I control the show.” He stopped his thrusts. “Do you want to come?”
I nodded my head. My body quivered, suspended on the cusp of release.
“I want to hear the words.”
“Yes, make me come.”
He plunged in again, rough and intense. “Come for me, Arya. Let me feel you squeeze me tighter. I want your pleasure.”
On command, volcanic heat spread through my body, lashing out and consuming me. My core convulsed as shock waves poured through my body.
Max continued his momentum, thrusting harder and harder, jolting his desk back. His hold on my thighs tightened, while his pounding became more ferocious. A hoarse cry escaped his lips as he emptied his release into me, igniting another, unanticipated, orgasm.
Wow.
I tried desperately to catch my breath and fell back against Max’s desk. He followed and rested against my chest. His cock continued pulsing inside me as he softened.
“Arya, you’re coming home with me. I want you with me from now on,” Max said as he nuzzled my breast.
The reality of his words set in. What had I done? I shoved Max back. “This shouldn’t have happened. It doesn’t change anything.” Still steadying my breath, I slid off the desk and straightened my skirt. Hot liquid ran down my leg.
Oh shit, we didn’t use protection. And he has a reputation for having a different woman every week.
Max handed me a tissue and watched me with frustration. “Too late for regrets, Arya. You willingly gave yourself to me. Besides, we didn’t use a condom. What if you become pregnant?” He buttoned his pants, shrugged on his shirt, and walked over to the window where he ran a hand through his sex-tousled hair.
“Let me make a few things clear. First off, I never gave you anything. Second, it would take a miracle for me to get pregnant, so don’t worry your little head about it. Third, this won’t happen again. It was a lapse of judgment.”
We both knew the last part was a lie as soon as it came out of my mouth, but I continued to dress. I had to get back to my office.
What had I done?
“Max, we can’t pick up where we left off. There is too much pain and too many memories between us. You’re asking for your submissive back, and I’m not her. She doesn’t exist anymore.”
He stepped with lightning speed toward me. “I’m not asking for my submissive back. I’m asking for my lover. The woman with whom I plan to spend my life.”
My breath hitched at his words, and I treaded back as he moved forward. “What’s the difference? I won’t ever be that girl again. I was my weakest self when you left me, questioning, doubtful, afraid, not in control of any situation. I will never allow anyone to place me in that position again.”
He stalked me until my back hit the door. One hand gripped my waist and the other fisted in my hair, forcing my head back.
“Tell me, Arya, have your other lovers made you feel the power and vulnerability I do?” He nuzzled the side of my neck and a moan escaped my lips. “Can they make you wet and ready with a look? Can they make you come until you pass out?” His hand skimmed down from my waist to the hem of my skirt. His fingers trailed between my thighs to my soaked underwear. He nudged the wet material to the side and stroked me. “Do they make you beg for release? Do they play the games that make your body sing?”
My clitoris pulsed with the rhythm of his fingers.
“Max, please,” I begged.
He abruptly stopped his assault on my senses and strode away from me. I leaned heavily against the door, panting, unable to regain control of my now aroused and aching body.
“Or has your taste changed to men you can dominate, who will leave you wanting?”
Anger flared inside me. “How dare you talk about my lovers? Unless you were celibate for the past five years, you have no right to question me and my decisions.” I shoved my skirt down, turned, and gripped the doorknob.
“Arya,” Max softly called as I opened the door. I paused. “There has been only one woman I’ve been with or made love to in the past six years. Everyone in the tabloids was for show. You’re all I will ever want.”
I closed my eyes, hoping to keep my unshed tears at bay. Without saying a word, I bolted for the elevator and then home.
CHAPTER EIGHT
Arya, I know you’re in there. Unlock the door.”
I shifted from my computer toward the security monitors to see Milla standing outside my lab, tapping her foot. She jammed the button to the intercom over and over, as if that would force me to open the doors any faster.
Perhaps if I pretended no one was here, she would leave. Even after three days, I wasn’t in the mood to tell her I’d succumbed to my lust and fucked Max on his office desk. And the moment I opened that door, I’d spill my guts.
“Arya, you know I have all the codes to get into your Fort Knox. Don’t make me use them.”
“Fine!” I shouted and opened the door.
Milla shoved past me and sat on one of the chairs in the lab. “Oh God, you’re playing Storm.”
“What’s wrong with my music? I listen to Vanessa-Mae whenever I’m working on Arcane,” I grumbled. “It helps me keep all the coding straight so I don’t mess up the international-base security software our wonderful government is paying us to develop.”
“I know you better than you think I do. You’ve probably played that same track fifty times. You only do that when you are stressed or thinking about Max. Lock the door, and then spill it.” Milla crossed her arms while scrutinizing me.
I examined myself. I was a rumpled mess. Spending three days in the lab had taken its toll. Only breaking for a quick shower and some food meant I’d spent more time than necessary letting Max occupy my mind.
“Earth to Arya. Anyone home? Stop staring into space and start talking.”
I shook the fog from my head, closed the door, and walked over to the refrigerator in the corner of the room. Grabbing two drinks, I tossed one to Milla and plopped down in my chair.
“There’s nothing to spill. I’ve spent all my free time for the past few days working on Arcane’s new features and making sure we can deliver on the time line you negotiated with General Ansgar.” I opened the water and gulped down half the bottle. “Oh, and I’m a complete idiot, that’s all.”
“What happened? I’m positive it has to do with Max. Did he fuck you on his desk and now he thinks he’s knocked you up?”
How did she do that? The girl is psychic.
“Well.” I felt my cheeks burning. “That about sums it up.”
“What?” Milla rotated her chair and glared at me. “I was kidding. Arya, you do know that getting involved with him again is a bad idea? If you weren’t still in love with him, I’d say go for it but…dammit, Arya, you know better.”
“You’re the one who pressured me to talk to him after the meeting.”
“I wanted you guys to work better together, not fuck each other’s brains out.”
I scrunched a piece of paper and tossed it at Milla’s head. “Language.”
“Whatever. You say worse things than I do. I’m serious, Arya. This isn’t a onetime thing. If I remember correctly, the moment Max popped your cherry you were in deep. I’m positive it won’t be any diffe
rent this time.”
“I’m stronger now. I can handle this.”
Milla raised an eyebrow and sipped her drink.
“I’m stupid. Okay, happy? I admit it. Milla, what am I going to do?” I curled my knees onto the chair and held my head in my hands. God, now I have a headache. “Why can’t I have the kind of relationships you have? Sex with no strings outside the bedroom. Or in your case, the dungeon.”
“I don’t have that much experience. I’ve been with the same Dom for years.”
“Speaking of, why is it you won’t introduce him to us? Are you scared Lex will kill him?”
“Hardly,” Milla said with a dry tone. “Don’t change the subject. We’re talking about you and Max. You said he’s freaking out about knocking you up. Does he know it isn’t possible?”
“No.” I placed a hand over my barren stomach. “We haven’t spoken since the incident in his office. He’s left me tons of messages and sent me about a million texts.”
“What did he say?”
“To sum it up, he’s never stopped loving me, he regrets never telling me, he wants to marry me and have lots of babies with me.”
Milla jumped up and paced. “Oh hell, Arya. That’s intense. You don’t think this buyout was all to get you back, do you?”
“You guessed it.”
“Lex is going to kill him. Who puts together a multi-billion-dollar merger to get his girl back?”
“I’m not his girl,” I grumbled, crossing my arms around myself and scowling at her.
“Shut up. You know what I mean. Man, he must truly love you to do this.”
“I thought you were on my side.”
Milla rolled her chair in front of me and sat. She took my hands. “I will always be on your side. I know you. You’ve kept all the hurt from the past bottled up so tight you won’t let yourself risk anything anymore.”
“If I hadn’t helped MI6 hack a Russian mobster’s computer, we wouldn’t have gotten the contracts that started our company,” I grumbled.
Milla cringed, releasing my hands and tucked a stray hair behind her ear. “Please don’t mention Vladimir Christof. The thought of being on his shitlist for the rest of our lives gives me the creeps.”
“You’re not the only one, but if he didn’t do anything to us eight years ago, I don’t think we have anything to worry about.” I leaned back in my chair. “Plus Lex is using his family connections to keep an eye on him.” Even though his family was now on the straight and narrow, they kept good relationships with those who towed the legal lines.
“I guess you’re right. Hey, how did we get on this subject of Christof?”
“You said I didn’t take risks, and I reminded you that I do.”
“I’m not talking about business. Hell, you’re as crazy as they come when it involves the corporate world. Who else would agree to develop software for an insane-ass general and think nothing of it when he threatened all of our lives and livelihoods if we don’t deliver?”
A tremor shook my body, reminding me that Max wasn’t the only issue I was facing. Earlier in the day, around the time James brought me lunch, I received an e-mail offering to buy Arcane for a price of my choosing. What scared me the most was that no one outside of the software deal was supposed to know anything about the type of program we were creating.
Thank goodness James had been there or I’d have freaked. He kept me calm and contacted our security detail to increase surveillance and protection on both Milla and myself. There was too much at stake to leave things to chance. I’d also put out feelers on the Dark Web to see if I could locate any chatter about the software.
Maybe I should tell her about this. No. On second thought, I’ll keep it to myself for now. Having Milla worry more about me wasn’t something I needed to deal with right now. She was overprotective at the best of times, and with this news she’d lose her shit and we both needed to continue life as normal to prevent suspicion.
“Arya, are you listening to me?”
I refocused on Milla as she glared at me and continued her monologue on my love life.
“What I’m talking about is your personal life. The one man you gave your heart to years ago wants you back, and he will use any means necessary to achieve his goal. Maybe it’s time to give him a second chance.”
The thought of risking myself with Max scared me even more than who wanted to buy my software. “I’m not sure about second chances, but maybe a no-strings attached kind of affair is the key.”
“You’re not a no-strings kind of girl, Ari. Think this through before you agree to anything you’ll regret.” Milla sighed and relaxed into the back of the chair.
“Why can you do it and not me? It’s worked perfectly for you.”
“There’re things I never told you, but let’s just say it’s not as simple as I’ve let on.”
“Oh my God! You’re in love with him.” I couldn’t believe I hadn’t seen this before. Whenever she talked about her Dom, she’d had a dreamy expression in her face.
“I don’t want to talk about it. We’re discussing you, remember?”
Whoa, she was touchy about it. Poor Lex. The woman he loved was in love with someone else.
“What about Lex?”
“What about him?” Milla said with a bitter edge. “Lex is a big boy. He can handle my relationship.”
This made no sense. She loved her Dom, and she loved Lex. Lex loved his submissive, and he loved Milla. What a mess.
“Okay, I’ll let it go. I’m here when you want to talk.”
Milla gave me a weary smile and winked. “Now back to the subject of you having a D/s relationship with no strings attached. Tried that, didn’t work. Remember?”
I released a deep breath. “I wasn’t aware of the no-strings part back then. This time I won’t make the same mistake.”
“But he wants the strings. Hell, he wants all of them, including the white picket fence.”
“Well, he can’t have them.” I inhaled deep. “I won’t risk my heart again.”
“It’s already on the line. You’re still in love with him.” She raised a brow, expecting me to argue.
“Mil, I can do this. If I go in knowing there’s an end, I won’t get hurt.”
“I see heartache written all over this.”
I ignored her statement. “I’m going to set the terms, and if he takes them, I’ll enjoy my time while it lasts.”
“Are you trying to convince me or yourself?”
“Shut up. I know what I’m doing.”
“Arya, I don’t think you have a clue what you’re getting yourself into. Be careful what you wish for, because you might get it and then regret asking for it in the first place.”
Boy, I hoped she was wrong.
“Did you change your mind?” Max asked as he entered my office the next day.
I swiveled from my computer and gauged his mood. Today he was dressed casually, trying to blend in with ArMil’s relaxed atmosphere. He still stood out. In a suit or not, he carried his authority and power everywhere.
“Max, I gave you my answer when I texted you earlier. I can’t marry you. It won’t work, and I’m not seeking happily ever after.”
His green eyes grew cold. “Then what did you call me in here to discuss?”
“I have a proposition for you.” I fidgeted with my pen.
“I’m listening.” He closed the door and waited for me to continue.
I had better get it out before I lose my nerve.
“I won’t deny that physically, our chemistry is explosive.”
Max grunted. “That’s an understatement.”
I rolled my eyes and continued. “But I don’t want any emotional entanglements.”
“A little la—”
“Let me finish. I also won’t deny you’re the one man who has given me what my body desires.”
He strolled closer toward me. “Go on.”
“So I propose we resume our sexual relationship, with no expectation of love or
permanency. No strings.”
A split second of anger flashed across Max’s face as he stalked forward like a predator. “So let me get this straight. You’re willing to be my submissive but not my wife?”
No, I want to be your wife, but you broke me once. I won’t expose myself to the same danger again.
He shifted to stand behind me and waited. I refused to turn around. My heart raced out of control as his crisp, clean scent tickled my senses and the heat of his body brought forth the desires he’d ignited in his office days earlier.
“I am willing to give you my body, nothing more. Outside of the bedroom, we’ll have a professional relationship. We will remain colleagues and business partners.” If I was truthful, my heart had never stopped belonging to him, but he didn’t need that information. This was the only way to protect myself when the inevitable end came.
He ran his fingers over the skin on the back of my neck. I held back a moan as goose bumps appeared over my skin.
“Arya, you aren’t a friends-with-benefits kind of woman. Do you understand what you’re asking?”
“Yes, completely.” I continued fidgeting with my pen. “I have one other stipulation. While we’re together, we won’t sleep with anyone else.”
He stroked down my spine. “I’ve only been with you in the last six years. Do you think that’s even an issue?”
“I want to make sure you understand the rules.”
He rotated my chair, placed his hands on the arms and then leaned down. “Well, before I agree, I have a few rules of my own.”
He paused and gazed into my eyes. My breath quickened, and I couldn’t look away.
“The minute we’re alone you belong to me. You will spend every day you’re not otherwise engaged with me. You will do what I say, wear what I want, and eat what I give you. I will control everything about you.”
The thought aroused me to my core. I involuntarily licked my lips. In the past, I’d have agreed to everything, but the old Arya no longer existed.
“As I said, you won’t have any control of my life outside of the bedroom. You have no say in anything beyond closed doors. Things are different this time around. I’m going in with eyes wide open.”
