“Four months ago. Reggie didn’t mention that to you?”
“No. But we really haven’t had time to talk of friends. It’s just one of those things that hasn’t come up.”
Alex nodded.
They liked each other, but weren’t ready to say so. There was a lot of mystery behind both women that the other didn’t know. If there was the possibility for friendship, it seemed remote until they’d covered questions they had of each other, and their relationship with Reggie.
Moments later their conversation was interrupted by Will announcing that dinner was ready. Jocelyn’s puzzlement about the attractive blonde was a subject that would be left to percolate in her psyche, resurrected at another time, if there was to be another time.
The conversation at dinner was light-hearted and jovial, the four managing to speak of things in common. Though toward the end of the meal, Reggie and Will were talking of the past, their shared past, sharing stories about their sexual adventures. It was a puzzle to both Jocelyn and Alex whether this was intentional or just an accident. But when they began talking about the clubs they’d frequented before either woman was in their life, and the antics they engaged in, there was a chilling silence from the two women.
“You know, Will, this train of thought is hardly appropriate with Jocelyn and me here,” Alex finally said.
Jocelyn could see the woman was frustrated. Just as frustrated as when she had dozens of Germans around her and she didn’t understand their language. At the moment though, Jocelyn was simply bewildered by the whole evening and not planning to say much of anything.
Will cast his wife a piercing glance. All the warmth that Jocelyn had experienced from him was instantly vanished, and for that moment, he was a replica of Reggie, in a different body and clothes.
“No, I’m serious, you two,” Alex argued. There was little malice in her voice, but she was still annoying Will.
“If you two want to go have your own conversation between yourselves, please do, we’re not stopping you,” Will said.
“I was trying to make a point,” Alex came back, more adamantly this time. She was rising from the table, taking her plate to the kitchen when Will reached for her arm and the plate clattered to the floor.
“You forgot what I told you?” he asked her.
“Forgot what?” she asked.
“Maybe Reggie and Jocelyn would like to see the cane on your ass.”
“I wasn’t trying to be rude or flip,” she answered exasperated, though her tone was conciliatory.
“Go get the cane,” he said.
“But…”
“Doesn’t matter, I’ve decided anyway. You’ve annoyed me, brat. I’ve ignored far too long… but not today.”
“But with company, please,” she whined.
“Good god, Reggie’s probably taken care of your butt more than I have, and Jocelyn gets her ass end paddled. I don’t think there’s any reason to hold back on that account.”
“Oh but…” She tried to wrench away from his firm grip.
“Go get the cane, Alexandra,” Reggie’s voice shot out with its familiar air of authority.
For an instant the rebelling blonde was in the middle of a nasty quandary…
…One Jocelyn could relate to. The redhead shivered herself, knowing that Alex was not going to win any battle here. She dreaded the outcome she was sure to witness.
“I don’t really want to see this,” Jocelyn whispered squeamishly to Reggie.
“You can damn well stay here and see it, unless, of course, you want to be the center of attention?”
Jocelyn was instantly silenced. She thought of the horrible punishment scene she’d witness in Germany. But that had been theatre, an offbeat S&M club. Here in someone’s house, it was like walking into their bedroom, or worse.
When Alex returned with the cane, Jocelyn relived the moment of her own caning, as she watched the sassy blonde ordered to bend over. Right there at the dinner table, Will rose, approached his wife’s rear and began to lay nine sharp cuts across the Alex’s white behind. Why nine, that number was a secret between husband and wife that neither guest was privy to.
Jocelyn was horrified by the way the red lines appeared on the surface of Alex’s fair skin. They stood out as brash statements of her surrender. It was an unwilling surrender, Jocelyn could see the defiance in her, desiring insurrection; but it wouldn’t happen this day. She thought the once sweet Will as ruthless her own Reggie. Maybe it was easier that Reggie didn’t cloak his dominance with all that warmth. It might be easier to know where she stood. Then again, Reggie could be as impulsive as this man was. Perhaps that was a trait of dominant men, they didn’t deny their whims, their darkest impulses turned into fact with a turn of a phrase, a glance of the eye, or a sudden command.
Each line on Alex’s bottom drew a passionate wail from the woman. The tears she’d shed before they arrived were obviously flowing again.
Such humiliation!
Jocelyn wanted leave, but she didn’t dare. She was ready to leap to her feet, but Reggie would only have brought her back with a firm hand. She had the distinct impression that he’d live up to his word and cane her here, too, if she tried to bolt. They were a cozy group with similar bizarre inclinations, and if Reggie wanted to take her a step further in her initiation into his world, this would certainly be a perfect place. It even crossed her mind that she had been set up to see this performance, though she could hardly believe that Alex would consent to this treatment just for her benefit.
The seventh cut made Jocelyn jerk away as if was happening to her. It was so fierce that it practically knocked Alex from her feet. The blonde started to bolt, but Reggie, not Will, lurched forward and grabbed her by the arm. There was an instant when their eyes met, Reggie capturing the not so submissive woman in a deadly stare. What Jocelyn witnessed was the hold her lover had over the woman – one that perhaps even Will didn’t have.
“You’re fighting it again, Alexandra. Don’t,” he said in his steeliest voice, as his eyes made a cold journey into her mind.
The comment was all she required for Alex let go her fight and resumed her position. The last cuts paled in comparison to the earlier ones. The confrontation was obviously over.
***
Jocelyn and Reggie drove away from the Kozak’s apartment in silence.
“You’re quiet,” Reggie finally broke the silence, noting his normally loquacious Jocelyn was in a sullen pensive mood.
“Lots to think about,” she said.
“My friends disturb you?”
“I don’t know about the caning,” she said.
“It didn’t arouse you?”
“I suppose it did in a weird sort of way. I don’t think it should have.”
“What is, is,” he said.
“Did it arouse you?” she asked.
“No,” he replied.
“That surprises me,” she said.
“Alexandra fights herself so much, she was staging a rebellion, but that gets a little dreary sometimes.”
“It does?” Jocelyn pondered aloud, not expecting him to say that. “Was she the other woman that tried to get inside your heart?”
The comment stopped Reggie cold. Only after a few chilly moments did he reply. “She was.”
“And she didn’t go far enough, I wonder why?”
“I wouldn’t let her.”
“Why was that?”
“Because I knew she’d be happier with Will. I think the two of us are too much alike.”
“What do you mean by that?” Jocelyn was completely confused.
“We’re perfectionists. We both need a milder kind of energy to counteract our intensity.”
“That’s interesting.”
“Why?”
“It’s almost an admission of imperfection,” she said, laughing.
“Haven’t I done that before?”
“Never in business, and rarely when it’s personal,” she replied.
“Well s
ee? I’m changing. That should make you happy.”
“That depends on what changes,” she said. “Most of you, I wouldn’t change for anything in the world.”
“That’s good, because I think most of me is perfect to a fault.”
Jocelyn laughed again, the melody of her mellow voice touched him in places that had been too long denied the opportunity to feel.
Chapter Eight
Jocelyn walked into Reggie’s office and directly past his desk. All protocol aside, she moved around his chair, and standing behind him, she leaned in and began rubbing his shoulders.
He sat up straight. “To what do I owe this forwardness?”
“My extreme affection for you,” she replied.
“And business manners are out the window?”
“Business manners?” she questioned him. “Humph. Let’s see, you strip me down to nothing in the office and screw me. That’s not a breach in office decorum?”
“You were wearing a corset,” he reminded her, she’d put him in a good mood the minute he saw her.
Jocelyn ran her hands down his chest. “Well Reg, this is a special occasion that warrants this
attention. I don’t want you to forget me.”
“Why would I forget you when I have your beautiful face and exasperating mind roaming about my office every day?”
“That’s the point, darling,” she said. “All this togetherness is coming to an end.”
“Oh, the contract’s up?”
“The boss isn’t paying anymore,” she reminded him.
“I was advised by my ‘business consultant’ that I didn’t need you anymore,” he said, with a pleasant smirk swiveling about in his chair.
“Your consultant is a wise woman, a little daft when it comes to personal matters, but she’s a whiz in business,” she smirked back.
“I thought you still had a couple weeks of work left?”
“Rick and Warren can take care of it. But the big bucks powerhouse has to move on. I’m flying to London on Monday for three weeks.”
His face was expressionless. Where it had bordered on jovial, there was now nothing there. Jocelyn drew her hand through his hair pushing it off his face. “You’re working too hard, why don’t you come with me?”
“That’s as much a laugh as your going with me to Germany.”
“But I did go.”
“So you did.”
“Besides, how will I know how to behave if I don’t have you around?” she asked.
“I’m sure you’ll figure it out.” There was a chill in his voice she didn’t like. Ever since she announced her leaving, the all too familiar wall that hid Reggie’s softer nature was resurrecting itself piece by piece.
“My, I expected something more than this,” she replied. “I can’t tell what you’re feeling.”
“Maybe because I’m not feeling anything in particular.”
“You’re not going to miss me?” She scrutinized his expression, looking for some small clue pointing to his thoughts. He hadn’t answered her. “Are you upset about something?”
“Not in the slightest. The company is running smoother than ever, thanks to you.”
“I was hoping we could get to something more personal.”
“Yes, I’ll probably miss you, at least by the third day. But you’ll be back, won’t you?”
“I’ll be coming home. But to you? That would depend on the welcome I get,” she said, feeling very much annoyed. “You know, it seems for once you could drop this cool reserve and be a little more emotional.”
“That wouldn’t be like me, Jocelyn,” he said.
“No, I suppose not.”
She frowned and turned to walk out of the office.
“You want to go out Saturday night?” he asked before she could get to the door.”
She looked back.
“No. I like to get lots of sleep before a trip like this, and I have to get up at the crack of dawn Monday morning.” Her chill was as obvious as his.
It was two days later, Saturday in the early evening. The sky was in that odd stage between daylight and night, where there is no specific color, but a blend of many that made the interior of Jocelyn’s apartment glow almost iridescent. She’d been working on some paperwork for her trip, her dining room table amass with papers.
The knock on the door was brisk and efficient.
Who would be landing at her home now? she wondered. She had plans to burrow into her cave for the night and let the sumptuous cocoon comfort her.
Answering the knock, her heart jumped, then raced, then began to turn angry when she saw Reggie at the door.
“Was I too brusque with you the other day?”
“When?”
“In the office.”
“You’re always brusque.”
“If you don’t want to invite me in, I’ll leave.”
“No, no, please come in. I’m just lazily getting ready for this trip.” She walked into her living room, Reggie following. Reaching the far wall she gazed outside to the approaching evening, feeling ever so lonely. “So is this suppose to be a apology?” she asked. She was having a horrible time being haughty with him, but he deserved it.
“It could be, an acknowledgment at least.”
“Oh?” she waited for more.
“You’re leaving for three weeks is irritating. Not having control of you is just as irritating.”
Jocelyn looked at him seeing all the multitude of things that she’d seen in the man for weeks carrying her away again. She was like a child with a school girl crush, resurrecting her emotions for him over and over again with just the smallest encouragement. This was big time encouragement, Reggie coming to her.
He walked toward her, to run his hand along her face, and trace a line along her jaw with a single finger. A distinctive feeling ignited between her thighs that she felt all the way to her crotch.
The first kiss was gentle. In fact, all of Reggie’s kisses were gentle, simple, coming out of the cool of his demeanor, not the heat that laid on flashing stokes to flame her sex with fire. He was a very patient lover when he chose to be. It was a moment to try her patience when she was ready to have him fling her to the bed or floor or anywhere and screw her.
This time, it was all silent, wordless. Even the pleasured gasps of mounting arousal were muted. Everything was measured in simple touches.
He left her standing while his hands explored her. She touched him lightly, but didn’t explore in return, being content to receive. When his hand lifted the bottom of her T-shirt to find her breasts, it was two tender fingers that found her nipple and gently pinched it. He was standing so close to her, she could feel his hard-on jerk inside his pants, as his fingers teased the tiny bud a little harder each time he squeezed. She was tempted to move against him, but she remained immobile.
There was no wild raging river of sensation crashing through her as there had been so many times before. Infinitesimal things moved her, like his breath with the faint aroma of coffee lingering, and the distinct scent of his cologne, which she’d come to associate with sexual passion. The hand not on her breast, went to her bottom and brought her groin into his, so she could feel more intimately than ever the brewing heat inside his pants. Locked so closely together, there was still some distance between them. In the physical sense it was small, but emotionally there was still an immense wide canyon. The sheer cliffs of that canyon were too dangerous for them to explore. Though moments like this one shortened that distance and made the danger much less ominous.
One hand slipped inside her pants to find nothing but skin against it. Smooth Jocelyn skin. As his hand grazed her bottom, Reggie remembered the wild array of hues he’d seen on that flesh, how he’d tasted her sweat and the perfume of her musky female spaces. He remembered how he’d watched her move in orgasmic delight.
As he continued the slow erotic tease, Jocelyn realized that this was one place, for all their arguments and struggles for control, where she was content to let hi
m have control, and take her to the realms where he reigned, where his cunning was as impeccable as his visage, and his insight into her body was more exact than even she could imagine.
The kisses on her mouth became more insistent, his tongue began to explore her, his hands moved more vigorously, too. She couldn’t help herself. She began groping him at will, and soon the two were moving inch by inch toward the bedroom, ready to tumble into the messy sheets of her unmade bed. She always made it every morning but this one. Now, it looked like she’d just fucked someone there, but he didn’t seem to notice.
He moved her about the bed, his arms leading her as if they were dancing. One article of clothing after another was cast away, landing on the floor until they were both naked. His pants, her T-shirt, his shirt, her pants, the slips of underwear, until there was nothing at all to separate them but their own reluctance.
Jocelyn would have been happy to have been pressed crotch to crotch, breast to chest, with mouths kissing madly. But he upended her so her cunt was in his face, and his erection was at her mouth. The mutual oral manipulation wedded her to him in a baser way. The intimacy was more demanding in this carnal pose. She explored his body, as he explored hers in every heated place, with tongue and hands and probing fingers. In the wet heat of evening, they felt like one body.
She wanted him inside her, his wide prick capturing her, demanding, determined, prodding hard, seeking a completion for them both.
Explosions ripped through their bodies. And the silence they’d observed all through the act ended with animal cries, one deep, and one of a higher pitch. The finale was being arm in arm, silent once more, allowing themselves to return to a reality hardly as easy as the sphere of pleasure from which they’d just emerged.
It might have been an hour later. They might have dozed during that time. Now Reggie was bending over the lounging Jocelyn, completely dressed.
“I won’t interrupt your need for peace any more. I just wanted to say goodbye properly.” He left her the way they’d begun, with the tiniest of kisses, that could have led her away again into the world of their sexual fortune.
She gazed up at his vanishing form in silence.
“Dammit!” she moaned, throwing a pillow toward her bedroom door when he was gone. She could have run after him, asked him to spend the night, but he was too swift for her. Her consciousness was still scattered about the room, thinking of sex and bliss and sex and bliss. She let him walk out without answering for himself or committing to anything or discussing what was foremost on her mind – their future.
The Alexandra Series Page 42
