by Ace Gray
And he sat there.
“Look at me.”
My eyes flew open, and I shifted what little I could so I could stare up at him. His eyes were that perfect shade of crystal blue. He didn’t say anything else, he just nestled into the back of my throat and I swallowed, letting my throat ripple around him. He let his head fall back but still refused to make any noise.
Nick knew how much his sounds of pleasure meant to me, the signs of a powerful man crumbling beneath my touch. He might not be livid anymore but I was still being punished. His thrusts began again, relentless and frantic, my small hums of protest only egging him on.
Of course, he liked fucking my mouth, but it was getting difficult to relax when he shoved so far back. My breasts ached and my wrists flat out hurt. I was slightly ashamed that those things made arousal drip between my thighs.
He shoved in deep again, skin against skin, and rested there. My initial reaction was to gag, but I slid my tongue along the bottom of his shaft, forcing my throat to relax and roll around his cock. Only a moment later he was spurting hot come down my throat. He was so deep I almost choked. His hands gently smoothed my hair, and skated down to my shoulders while he finished. Those sweet gestures were the only reason I managed to keep him deep and take it all.
His dick rested inside my mouth for a little while but didn’t seem to soften. After what felt like an eternity, he pulled out and tucked his still-erect self away before walking out of view.
I couldn’t turn to watch him but the soft sounds of him gulping down a drink came from over by the bar. I could feel his gaze stay on me, and I did what I could to stay frozen. When his footfalls padded back across the floor my body twitched of its own accord.
He gently slid his hands under my arms and lifted me. Scotch was on his breath and he’d rolled up his sleeves while slugging it. When his skin brushed against mine lightning shot through me. The way his body responded told me he wasn’t angry anymore. He was enjoying this now. I would have let out a deep sigh if I hadn’t been so damned turned on.
Still bound, he gently folded me over one of the armrests of the wingback, leaving the jewels of the clamps to hang heavy toward the seat. His hands drifted over my exposed ass, and pushed my hands up to the small of my back. I pulled them up even higher as his teeth grazed across my cheek and bit once, quick and sharp.
That nip stuttered my heartbeat, sending it ricocheting, but the scrape of studs against the coffee table stopped it. Completely. In one powerful step, Nick repositioned behind me, heat radiating from his body.
Oh. My. God.
“I’m going to spank you thirty-five times, once for each percentage I own of Vesper. Hopefully next time that will remind you that I’m a partner in this business.”
“Fuck.” I hoped he didn’t hear my whispered curse.
Thirty-five. Thirty-fucking-five!
My ass would be black and blue by the time he finished. Assuming I could ever sit down again, I would undoubtedly remember this lesson. I bit my lip, knowing I could stand up, knowing I could stop him. But the truth was I wanted to be spanked. It would send shockwaves straight through me and curl my toes. Some smacks hurt but others were downright sinful. The overall sensation was always delectable.
But thirty-five…
Before I could think much more about it, he landed a solid blow, square across my ass. The leather cracked across my skin but stung only momentarily. It sent electricity shooting through my body. I sucked in a noisy breath right before he landed a second one. These were delicious. Maybe thirty-five wouldn’t be so terrible after all.
Only, once the snap from the leather was gone, the throb from the little studs really began. The combination was sharp and dull, instant and lingering. I moaned, pinned against the chair. Just once, he brushed up against my body, nudging his far-harder cock against my thigh.
At twenty-two I lost it. I surrendered to the pleasure and orgasmed loudly into the seat cushion. As soon as my first cry escaped, the paddling stopped and Nick pulled first one then the other jewel from my nipples. I yelped as a second set of waves rolled through my body. I was coming unhinged against the chair and my knees sagged. I started slipping, unable to shake the Jell-O feeling from my limbs, even to save myself.
Nick scrambled for me and righted my body, notching my hips back onto the chair. I reveled in the feeling of skin against skin. When I was able to support my own weight again, he took his hands away and I whimpered.
My skin sang with the snap of paddle number twenty-three before I even caught my breath. I certainly squealed, even scrambled at the shock of the post-orgasmic swat.
Nick was going to finish. My business partner was still proving his point. And at this rate, I’d be lucky if my ass ever forgot. When the last thwack rang across my throbbing backside, the paddle clattered to the floor followed quickly by Nick’s knees.
He kissed one cheek and then the other. I flinched with each touch, feeling shaky and disjointed. He ran his hands over me reverentially. As his hands circled across my skin, they hit the hard steel of the cuffs. He reached immediately for the keys and unlocked my wrists. When the bite of the cuffs was finally gone, I collapsed. He caught me and gingerly helped me into his lap on the floor. He kissed my neck and up into my hair.
“Thank you,” he said.
My chest heaved as I tried to calm myself and formulate a response. I couldn’t. He didn’t wait for one either. Nick just shifted enough to gather me up and carry me to our bathroom. He set me on my feet near the tub and kept one hand on my wobbly body as he flipped the water on. His hands wandered down my legs and slipped one shoe off as I balanced against his shoulder. He was just as careful as he slid the other off and lifted me into the tub. The water wasn’t high enough yet and marble against my welted ass was enough to make me cry out. This one more pain than pleasure, it stopped Nick dead in his tracks.
“Sweets, did I take it too far?” His voice went bleak.
“Oh, baby, no,” I purred. “I mean, will I think of you all week? Sure. Do I give a damn? No. I’ll be more than fine remembering that every time I sit.”
The hot water stung as it filled up around me and I winced. Before he could say anything about the face I added, “Please know that was fucking hot and I enjoyed every moment. Probably more than I should’ve.” I smirked and tried to get comfortable. The raw paddle prints were making it beyond difficult.
“Really?”
“Yes, really. I wanted to prove I trust you with my body and soul. I need you to know that. I’ll keep working on the soul part, but it’s safe to say you didn’t prove me wrong in the least on the body thing.”
I turned so I could sit on my knees rather than my smarting backside. I reached to pull him closer to the tub. He crouched to kiss my forehead and I took the opportunity to start undoing the buttons of his white shirt. He watched me move down each inch while the water rippled around me. I rose ever so slightly to push it off his shoulders. He stood and it dropped to the floor. He attended to his belt, letting it and his pants fall.
His muscles coiled and flexed as he stepped in behind me. In a smooth movement, he pulled me into his lap, which was mercifully easier to sit on than marble. He wrapped his long legs around me. Once he settled in, I leaned back against him and shut off the running water with my toes. He pulled me closer and I tried not to make a noise when it put pressure on the welts.
“All I want is for you to trust me. To know how much I love you.” I hoped he heard the sincerity in my voice. “Honestly, and quite literally, I don’t think I can live without you Nick.”
He sighed into my hair.
“I know. I know because I feel the same way, Kate.” He kissed my temple and let his lips graze against my skin as he spoke, “What I was angry about was that you discounted my opinion. You’ve showered me with compliments, you’ve told the staff how great I am, and then the second we’re rea
lly in it together you shoot me down. They have to be wondering if I can actually contribute or if I’m just money. Or worse, appeasing my girlfriend. And for a moment I thought you felt the same way.”
“Nick, they’re delusional if they think you can’t contribute. I am sorry for making you question it. My temper got the better of me and I need to learn to control it a bit better.” Laura would appreciate that statement.
“What did I do to provoke your temper?”
“You really don’t know?” I threw up my arms. “You tell me I’m great at business, that the plans and projections I have for Vesper are impressive. Then the minute I unveil one of said plans in front of you, you tell me it’s shit. I’m not too proud to admit it hurt my ego. Honestly, I wondered for the briefest second if you meant any of the things you said about my business savvy. Being challenged didn’t sit well with me either. And the staff has to be wondering if I can still lead them after falling apart like I did.”
“I didn’t mean it that way,” he said, sounding taken aback.
“Well how else was I supposed to take it?” It came out defensive, even if I was honestly just curious.
“At face value. I thought I was providing input. You said you run Vesper in a collaborative manner.”
“If you think I’m so brilliant why question my direction at all? That was a very well thought out plan. We were ready to implement prior to you purchasing Nectar.”
“Kate,” he was firm when he spoke. “I didn’t just buy into Vesper to get you out of trouble with Victor or to give you access to the chips. Originally, I wanted your company because I knew I could do great things with it. I wanted to see it grow and maximize its potential long before I ever knew you.”
“So it was a line when you said you couldn’t run it better than me?” Anger bubbled in my chest. “Did you just want Vesper without a guilty conscious or did you actually want me back.” I started to wiggle so I could get free of him. My ass hurt like hell but that didn’t stop me from trying, sloshing water everywhere. Nick just held tighter.
“Don’t be ridiculous. Should I spank you again? Teach you not to say stupid shit like that?”
I couldn’t fathom another spanking. And if I was being honest, my words came from hurt, not reality, so I settled into his firm grip, my heart still racing.
“Kate, I love you,” Nick said simply and a little tension melted from my body. He would never be able to use those words to placate me, he had to truly mean them to spit them out. “If you didn’t want to share Vesper why did you agree to sell a portion in the first place?”
I let out a deep sigh then shrugged my shoulders. “It sounded good in theory,” I mumbled. He chuckled softly against my skin so I continued, “I thought it would be easy with you. I should’ve known it wouldn’t. We butt heads outside of the office enough as it is.”
“We’re both strong and passionate.” He shrugged behind me. “It’s a good thing to challenge each other, Kate. That spark, among many other things, is what keeps me in under your spell, desperately in love with you.” He was being so sweet and sincere, my whole body melted into his, and I finally cracked a smile.
“In the future, can we have those discussions outside of a staff meeting?” I turned to look at him.
“If you promise to include me in the discussion in the first place.”
“Done.”
“Then of course. Should we sit down and actually have a conversation about it then?”
“Well, initially when we were looking at the distribution channels and existing customer base for Nectar…”
“Not now,” he interrupted. “Right now I’m in the bathtub with my girlfriend. I need to take care of her sore ass then feed her. Pretty sure she didn’t eat anything besides a few cocktail olives this evening.”
“Cherries, actually.”
My head fell back, finding that perfect shoulder groove of his. He gently washed my body as I stayed cradled against him. I washed what I could see of his arms and legs then we sat silent, wrapped in each other’s arms.
When he finally decided to get out, he unwound from me and grabbed a fluffy towel for himself, stepping out and drying off in one graceful, fluid motion. He tucked the towel so that it hung loosely from his hips. I was staring when he held out his hand to help me out of the tub. Nick dried me off before leaning me over the counter top. I could tell by his look in the mirror there were purple bruises rather than red welts covering my skin.
“I’m fine, baby,” I murmured.
I was, but I didn’t complain when he grabbed arnica and rubbed as gently as possible across the paddle tracks. I couldn’t help but gasp and whine a little, even with his touch as light as it was.
“Sweets, I’m so sorry I got carried away. I should just accept that I can’t control you.”
“Stop apologizing. Please. It was my idea to have you take it out on my body and I stand by that decision now more than ever.” He stayed silent behind me. “Can I ask you one question though?”
“Anything.” He righted me and wrapped me back in my towel then twisted me.
“If abuse is such a…sensitive subject how can you get pleasure from that?” His face fell and I scrambled to make him understand. “I mean, I know why I like it rough, so I’m not complaining. I don’t even equate it to abuse, I… Shit.” This was not coming out as planned. “I like that you dominate me, which surprises me. I don’t like giving up control normally but to you it’s delicious, refreshing even. I like that you make me feel vulnerable, most of the time anyway. And I’m yours so completely that you read me precisely and can push me to the edge of pleasure without ever going too far.” I smiled shyly. “I guess I just wanted to know why there is a difference for you?”
His eyes churned wildly and his lips thinned.
“It’s not that there’s a difference for me, it’s that there’s a difference for you. I guess it’s partially about control. You’re the first person who’s challenged me and that brings out an inexplicable need to dominate. It happens so naturally in every other facet of my life that I found myself fantasizing about spanking you and your smart ass before I even realized…” He trailed off and I was glad his eyes were thoughtful rather than storming.
“And you like it. I mean, fuck, Sweets, you really like it.” A crooked smile pulled across his face. “I couldn’t do it if it didn’t bring you pleasure. You give me a way to feel powerful, domineering even, but it’s about how wet it makes you, how god damned explosive your orgasms are. You put on a show and it only gets better when I, how did you say it, take it out on your body?
“Being a Dom seemed excessive and pointless. What we have, as volatile as it can be, has a natural rhythm to it. You are my perfect match, made for me, and that’s why it works.”
I pulled myself to him and kissed him hard. Would I ever tire of him telling me how he felt about me? Now that I could trust it as truth, I didn’t think so.
“Besides, I don’t spank even half as hard as I could.”
I thought of him decking Victor and started to laugh.
“Are you making a joke right now?” I arched my eyebrow.
“Yeah, it would seem that way wouldn’t it.” He rubbed the back of his neck and every bit of him flexed.
“One other question.” I chuckled.
“Okay.” He stretched out the word in hesitation.
“What do you want for your birthday?”
Ari would need to move out immediately. The thought of her coming home in the middle of some scene like last night made Nick choke on his coffee when I mentioned it. It made me uncomfortable enough to fidget and a dull pain radiated across my ass. A wicked gleam shone in Nick’s eye when I sucked in a deep breath and shifted to find a comfortable spot on the breakfast bar stool.
“Maybe Ari could move in with Laura.” The idea had partially formed yesterday during girl’s night, no
w it seemed even more appealing.
“That’s a possibility I suppose. God help anyone unfortunate enough to be trapped in that apartment with both of them. Death by barrage of idle chatter and withering looks has to be worse than waterboarding.” Nick arched his eyebrow where he stood hunched over his BlackBerry.
“Watch it. That’s my best friend you’re talking about.” My face pinched as I shot him a look.
“Remember that’s my sister I’m talking about.” He rolled his eyes even though they stayed fixed on his screen.
“Don’t be such an ass.”
“And I suppose telling my sister she’ll be relocating qualifies as being an ass?” He was suppressing a smile.
“It does. I’ll take her to lunch and we’ll discuss it. You know, like adults.”
Nick laughed one loud laugh then surprised me by leaning over, kissing my collarbone where it peaked out of my leather top and letting it go.
I rubbed my temples when I pulled up to Jean-George for lunch. I inwardly groaned at the crowds and the type of people likely littering a lunch hotspot. My minor fuck-it-all fest was interrupted by Ari’s security guard, Frank, opening my door.
“Ms. Elliott.” He held out his hand and helped me from the backseat. I almost smacked into Jaime as he sprung from the front seat to join us.
“You stay with Kate, Frank. I’ll be in shortly.” His eyes twitched side to side and the telltale swirling started up in my stomach.
Frank’s brow furrowed but he nodded curtly and gestured for me to head to the front door. I noticed Ari was bouncing around just inside the glass door, more kangaroo than human, and as I rolled my eyes Jaime’s actions slid to the back of my mind. The moment Frank pulled open the door, hurricane Aribella swallowed me up.
“Hey Kate. Am I in trouble? Because I’m guessing I’m in trouble. I mean Gemma calling to set up a lunch is a lot more pleasant than Julien calling to set up a lunch but I’m guessing you told my brother you’d handle it. You handled him.” She giggled after she caught her breath.
