by Tia Lewis
Fear was slowly replaced by attraction. Not even sexual just then, but of a more primitive attraction. He overwhelmed me, completely, body and soul. He made me feel alive, I realized. For the first time in my life, I felt really alive. Like I understood the point of it all. And if I was honest I was a little bit excited.
“We need to talk,” he said, his voice wrapping me in a cotton cocoon. I could only nod. He was right. We did need to talk. Only I couldn’t remember my name, damn it. Who was I, again? And how did words work?
It didn’t matter because the approach of a limo cut through everything I’d been thinking. A limo in that part of town? It was for us, of course, stopping at the curb.
“Get in,” he commanded. I did so without question. He had that way about him. There was no option. I had to do what he said. Besides, if he wanted me to get in, it meant he wanted to talk. And that was a good thing.
The seat was comfortable, soft and supple. The air conditioning felt so good on my skin, even though I’d been covered in cold sweat earlier. It was luxurious, and I settled back with a sigh. At least I wasn’t walking down a mostly deserted street anymore, even if I didn’t know what Preston had in mind.
I turned to look into his eyes when he closed the door and was shocked to see him smile. A smile? What was he thinking? I wished I could get inside that head of his for just a few minutes to see how he thought.
“You’ve been a bad girl,” he murmured. “First, give me my cell phone back.”
I pulled it out of my purse and handed it over without a second thought. I watched Preston turn it on and check for messages.
Meanwhile, my mouth ran away from me. I went from forgetting how to speak to forgetting how to stop.
“I’m sorry I stole it,” I said. “It was desperate and manipulative, but that’s the position I was in at that moment. I just had to see you again. I don’t understand why you don’t want to train me anymore. You didn’t even give me a reason why. Do you know how that feels? It was like I didn’t matter at all, and I didn’t know what I did to make you change your mind like that. I mean, I thought things went well when we met up, and I thought we’ve been working well together so far. So what gives? I’m sorry if I need a little closure, but that’s how I feel.”
I took a deep breath, then kept going even as I begged myself to stop. It was like somebody had pulled a plug and everything came pouring out.
I continued. “This has meant so much to me for so long and, to be honest, it was nice to finally have someone to talk to. I felt like we developed a connection, and I guess that was naïve or immature, but you’re the only person I’ve ever known who shares this interest with me. So what else was I supposed to think?” I shrugged. “I guess I’m surprised that didn’t matter to you at all, but then again, you have lots of people in your group, and you can share your interests and work with them. So that’s fine for you. I don’t have that chance. I didn’t want to lose you, and I still don’t. I still want to be a part of the Alliance, even after all this.”
When I was finished, I breathed slowly. It felt good to get all of that off my chest, even if I was less than thrilled with myself for spilling my guts that way. I could only imagine what he thought—Preston, the man who refused to answer my questions about him or anything he deemed unacceptable for me to know about. He wasn’t one to reveal much about himself.
He put his phone on the seat across from us and turned toward me.
“First of all, I’m not angry with you for stealing my phone.”
My eyes just about fell out of my head. “No?”
“No. In fact, I’m entertained that you were able to pull it off. Fact is, I have a couple of phones. You took the one I use the least.”
“Oh,” The one he used the least? The one with over a hundred missed text messages on it? I would hate to see his real phone if that were the case.
He sighed. “I apologize if I came off as abrasive earlier. It wasn’t fair to wipe your files and cut ties like that without giving you an explanation. I guess I thought it would be easier to let go of you right away, rather than taking my time about it. I didn’t want to let go of you. Don’t get me wrong. It’s not what I wanted at all.”
My skin warmed in spite of the temperature in the car. “It’s not?”
“No. I sent you that text earlier, with the location and time,” Preston admitted. “I had to bring you out so I could tell you what I have in mind.”
“All right. What is it? What did I do that was so wrong?”
He held up one hand, his face stony. “Don’t interrupt.”
“I’m sorry.” He could silence me with no effort. He was just that powerful.
“You said you felt a connection for the first time.”
“Yes,” I murmured.
“Well, this might sound strange, but what you felt wasn’t entirely one-sided. I wasn’t sure of it until I saw you for the first time, but now I know. I know you’re perfect for what I have in mind.”
“And what is it that you have in mind?” I felt the tone of the conversation shifting away from hacking. His eyes burned with an intensity they didn’t usually hold even when he talked about hacking.
He nodded firmly. “See, hacking isn’t the only thing I do. I have other… hobbies… that don’t involve computers or technology…” He trailed off like he was waiting for me to put two and two together. Well, he’d have to wait for a very long time, since I was completely lost.
I waited for him to say more, but he hesitated. There was something he wasn’t telling me. He couldn’t get it out of his mouth. For once, he was the one at a loss for words. I almost felt like I should document that moment since it happened so rarely.
Finally, I had to prompt him. “You said you have other hobbies?” I asked.
“Yes. I can be pretty… aggressive, you could say.” He wore a slight smile when he said it.
I swallowed. “What do you mean you can be ‘aggressive’? What’s that code for? Violence?”
I started to think of the worst case scenario. I was in a limo in the middle of nowhere, pretty much stranded since I had no say in where we were going, with a near stranger who just chose to tell me he liked to be aggressive. I knew there were men like him in the world. Men who got their rocks off on hurting women. And I was with one of them. I backed away, and there must have been panic in my eyes since his eyes widened.
“No, no, no! I don’t mean I would ever hurt you. I mean, unless you wanted me to, but that’s a different story.”
The picture was becoming clearer, but I couldn’t bring myself to believe that what it sounded like he was telling me was what he was telling me.
“What are your hobbies, Preston?” I asked directly.
“Domination, for starters.” Holy hell, he was saying what I thought he was saying. “I like for women to give complete control to me. Have you ever heard of that before?”
“Domination?” I stared at him. “Like whips and chains? Is that what you’re talking about?”
“Sort of,” he smiled. “The moment I saw you, I saw your innocence. Your meekness, shyness. You’re pure and complex at the same time. And you’re not completely meek—you came out here, didn’t you? You met with me the first time, even though you had no idea who I really was. You stand up for yourself, even if it’s in a submissive manner. I wanted to explore you.”
“Explore me?”
What was I? A map?
“I wanted to know what it would be like to completely overpower someone as pure as you. When you left the hotel that first night, I had a difficult time accepting my reaction to you. I mean, you’re a lot younger than I am, for starters. I feel the need to protect you from hacking, from all the illegal activity we’ve been working on. From me, really. I didn’t want to taint you. That was why I tried to break it off. You didn’t do anything wrong. I wanted to protect you.”
“Okay…” I replied.
“Now, though.” He sat back in his seat. “Now, I think it might be bes
t for you to choose for yourself. You haven’t given me the power to decide what’s best for you—and don’t get me wrong, that’s something I would want you to give me. I wouldn’t take it for myself. So, in short: I’d love to keep giving you hacking lessons—advanced lessons—if you want, since it should be your choice. I would also love to explore a new dynamic with you like I just described, but again—your choice, not mine.”
When he finished speaking, I was at a complete loss. Talk about not expecting what I’d heard. He’d wanted to part ways because of his irresistible desire to dominate me. I was flattered and irritated at the same time.
“I’m not sure how to feel about this. I was so upset that you left the way you did, but I’m happy to know it was because you felt something for me. As weird as that sounds.”
“I understand.”
“I know there’s a big age difference, but honestly… I’ve been attracted to you since before we met in person,” I whispered, my cheeks turning red. “I don’t know about the whole dominant thing since I’ve never done anything like that before.” I paused. “But… I think I might like the idea of feeling your power. Is that strange to hear? It’s weird for me to say.”
Preston shook his head. “Honestly? It’s music to my ears.”
I held my breath for a moment before taking a step I truly hoped I wouldn’t regret. “I think I might be interested in trying this. But there’s something you should know.”
“Yes?”
I felt like the biggest loser ever. “I don’t have much experience.”
“You’ve never tried power play, you mean?”
“No. I mean, I’ve never tried much of anything. No experience at all.”
“You’re young. There’s nothing wrong with that. I think I only had two girlfriends by the time I was your age. When was your last relationship?”
My cheeks burned hot.
“Uh, never?” I laughed nervously. “I haven’t really dated around, either. I never found the right person. Guys back in high school picked the cheerleaders over the computer geeks like myself. Besides, I’ve been too focused on studying and pleasing my parents. I wasn’t kidding when I told you hacking is my life. My strange little illegal hobby I guess.”
Preston looked surprised, but it passed.
“There’s nothing wrong with that. I admire that you put getting to know yourself and getting good at your work ahead of men. The better you know yourself and your talents, the more successful you’ll be later on.”
I smiled. For once, I didn’t feel like a loser for being a virgin at my age when it seemed like everybody else was humping anything that stayed still long enough to be humped. He made me feel like a whole person even with my lack of a history.
“I hope you don’t mind me asking you all these questions,” he said, his voice low and seductive. It seemed to reach something deep down inside me.
“Not at all. I don’t get to share details about my life with many people.” I fiddled with a strand of hair.
“I want to get to know you, Sophie,” he replied. “You can share anything you want with me.”
“I want to get to know you, too,” I said, jumping to his lead. “I guess I’m just uneasy because we’re talking about sex, and I have nothing to add to the conversation.”
He chuckled. “Well, that’s all right, too. As we go forward, if you still want to, there’ll be lots to talk about.”
“Well, as long as we’re being honest, I’m just going to come out and say it. When I said I had no experience, I meant I have absolutely none.” I couldn’t even look at him. “I’m a virgin. I’ve never been kissed, even.”
It was humiliating.
“Never?”
“No.”
Without warning, he leaned across the seat and took me by my hips, pressing his lips against mine. My heart took off at a gallop as I wrapped my hands around his neck and inched closer to him so my body could touch his. Fireworks exploded behind my eyelids as we kissed and I felt the sheer thrill of being so intimate with him.
Suddenly, he let go. I was breathless, ecstatic. I could tell he wanted to know how I’d react, so I took him by the back of the neck and kissed him again. Then I leaned my head against his chest, reveling in the feeling when he wrapped his arms around me.
“Oh, my God,” I murmured, covering my mouth. “What did I just do?”
“It’s all good,” he smirked, licking his lips. “We can take it really slow, and we can start your hacking lessons again.”
“That sounds great to me.” I looked up at him and blushed.
“We can also get to know each other, and I’ll send you some more information on the dynamic I’m talking about. If you’re interested, we can start exploring that together, too. I just want you to be comfortable. You don’t even have to make a decision right away. Okay?”
I nodded.
“We’ll take it one step at a time.”
“Thank you. I would love to get to know more about it—and you.”
“Understood. And for the record, in case you’re interested, I think you’re beautiful and intelligent. There aren’t many women who can pull that off so well, but you do. I want to know more about you. I want to spend time together.” He placed a kiss on the top of my hand. I shivered deliciously at the feeling of his lips on my skin.
“There’s just one more thing I want,” I added.
“What?”
“I want into The Alliance. I’m serious.”
“Absolutely not.” He didn’t even think it over.
“Why?”
“This new project we’re working on is too risky. It would compromise your safety. I can’t agree to that.”
“I thought you just said I had the freedom to decide what was best for me. You can turn me down if I’m not qualified to join, but I did learn from the best. Right?”
“Sophie…”
“And I’m capable of anything you need. I’m sure of it. Please, let me join.”
He sighed. “You know what you do to me when you beg like that. And I can’t deny that you learned from the best. You have your freedom to choose.”
He paused.
“I hate what I’m about to say.”
“What?” I sat up straight, holding my breath.
“You can join, as long as you agree that I can remove you anytime I see fit. If there’s even the chance that you’ll be arrested or harmed in any way, you’re out. You’ll never make contact with another member again. This isn’t some after-school club. If you’re not afraid of what might happen to you when you’re part of a group that stole government information and leaked it to the nation, you should be. Every member of the group has earned their right to be there. They know about the risks, too.” He ran his fingers over my hair, then down my neck, to my shoulder. “You’ve been an attentive student, which tells me you’d make a very loyal submissive.”
His touch was electric. How did it all happen so fast? I looked up into his eyes, needing to be closer to him. I needed to understand how he made me feel so much at once.
“Train me,” I whispered.
He pulled me to him and kissed me again. This time, he opened his mouth wider and slid his tongue against my lips. I shivered, opening my mouth for more. Our tongues danced as our bodies pressed together. I ran my hands over his firm shoulders, reveling in the feeling of muscle under his business suit. He bit my bottom lip, making me hiss and whimper, before kissing me again. I felt heat and wetness pool between my legs as he drove me crazy.
But it came to an end. He pulled me away, laughing a little as he tried to catch his breath. I knew how he felt.
“I’m taking you home now.” He pressed a button, then spoke into a speaker in the wall. “Frank, drive to Sophie’s house.”
“You know where I live?” My mouth fell open.
“Yes because I track all of my phones. You’re the one who made it possible for me to know. Besides, I wanted to make sure you were all right. Forgive me?”
; “Of course. I’m the one who stole from you, after all. I promise I won’t take your personal property if you don’t hack into my private network anymore.”
“Deal.”
That was the first of many deals we would make together. Sometimes, the road of life takes an unexpected turn, and you have no choice but to follow it to its logical conclusion until you reach the place you’re meant to be. I would follow my road if it meant following Preston. I wanted to see where it would take me. It felt right—he felt right. Something about him made me want to stay by his side.
There’s always a reason why a person comes into another person’s life. One person always changes the other’s life. I just didn’t expect the change to happen so quickly. I sneaked back into my house after a quick kiss goodbye, totally unaware of how everything was about to change.
Chapter 11
The first thing I learned about Preston after that fateful night was that The Alliance wasn’t his day job at all. He was a thirty-seven-year-old billionaire with a booming business empire that spun from real estate development, hotels, energy, and investments. He’d recently purchased a drug and alcohol treatment center, too. Both businesses were bicoastal—he spent most of his time in New York, but had a home in Los Angeles for when business called him out there.
A billionaire hacker. Who would have thought?
In the few days following our limo ride, he had a series of meetings on the west coast. He promised he’d give me my first Alliance project when he got back to town. He also promised to teach me about being a submissive. I didn’t see why I had to wait—I was raring to go, but he was more hesitant. He didn’t want to overload and overwhelm me, he said.
It was frustrating. Preston was like an insatiable thirst I couldn’t ignore. I wanted more, more, all the time. The days passed slowly. It was torture, waiting for him to get back.
But then, he finally did. I woke up to a text from him.
Hey, beautiful. Just landed. Come to my place for dinner tonight at six. We’ll discuss some of your responsibilities. I’ll text the address shortly.
