by Ramona Gray
“Sleepy,” she said.
I kissed her forehead. “We’ll have a nap and then have breakfast. Sound good?”
“Hmm,” she murmured.
I rubbed her back and closed my eyes.
* * *
“Jonah, wake up.”
I squinted at Claire. “What time is it?”
“Almost four.”
“In the morning?”
“Yes.”
“Fuck.” I pulled the quilt over my head and closed my eyes.
Claire pulled it back and shook my shoulder. “You have to go, Jonah.”
I tried to make sense of what she was saying. We’d spent all of Sunday together and it was fucking amazing. It wasn’t just sex either. We’d watched a couple movies, made lunch and dinner together, and talked. I felt like I was finally getting to know the real Claire, and loved every minute of it. I’d assumed she did as well. When I asked her to let me spend the night and she said yes, I’d been over the fucking moon.
“Claire, why don’t we -”
“You agreed to just the weekend.” She gave me an anxious look tinged with regret. Or maybe I was just seeing what I wanted to see. “Please, Jonah. I can’t – we can’t – go any further with this.”
“We could be discreet,” I said. “We could -”
“Nothing stays a secret in this town. Besides, is this how you want a relationship to be? Sneaking in and out of each other’s houses in the dark?”
“Claire, I like you.”
Christ, I sounded like an idiot, but I couldn’t tell her I loved her. She’d freak the fuck out and I’d lose her forever.
Hey, moron? You’ve already lost her. This is her ending it. Pay the fuck attention.
“I like you too,” she said with a soft smile. “Probably more than I should.”
“Then why not give us a chance? There’s no rule at work that we can’t date.”
She shook her head. “You said you didn’t want to be that boss, and I don’t want to be that employee. Remember?”
“I’ve changed my mind.”
“I haven’t. I’m sorry.”
I studied her for a moment. She was pale and trembling and looked sick to her stomach. I sat up and threw back the covers. “Yeah, okay.”
“Please don’t be angry.”
“I’m not.”
I wasn’t angry with her. I couldn’t be. But I also wasn’t giving up on the idea of having Claire in my life. I wanted to keep arguing, wanted to explain to her every reason why she belonged with me, but she was upset and worried, and I hated making her feel that way. I’d give her some space, and hope that she would miss me enough to at least entertain the idea of dating.
I climbed out of bed and pulled her into my arms. “I’m not angry. I promise.”
I gave her a soft kiss, praying like hell it wouldn’t be the last time I kissed her, before smiling at her. “I’ll see you at the office later.”
“Right, um, okay.”
She seemed surprised by my abrupt turn-around, maybe even a little disappointed. God I hoped it was disappointment. I gave her ass a quick squeeze and headed toward the bathroom.
Claire was mine. She just didn’t know it yet.
Chapter Eight
Claire
I lasted until Tuesday. Goddamn Tuesday.
Half an hour before my rescheduled meeting with Jonah, I was in a haze of lust so fucking deep, I felt like I was drowning. I’d barely been able to concentrate yesterday at work, I hadn’t slept a wink last night, and today? Today it was only one-thirty, and I’d already soaked through my damn panties just thinking about Jonah.
Honestly, I didn’t even remember walking to Jonah’s office, but I was opening his door and stepping inside without knocking. He was sitting on the old, worn couch in the corner of his office, his long legs stretched out in front of him as he studied his tablet. He’d been at a work site all morning, so he was wearing his usual work shirt with jeans. I stared at the way the denim clung to his thighs, and my mouth watered. I locked his door as he looked up from his tablet.
“Claire? Hey, I thought our meeting wasn’t until two.”
I stood frozen against the door, my heart hammering in my chest, my nipples hard, and my pussy throbbing to the point of pain. He looked so damn good, so fucking hot…I couldn’t and didn’t want to resist my need for him anymore.
“What’s wrong?” He gave me a curious look.
My gaze dropped to his crotch, to the dick that had given me so much pleasure over the weekend, and another almost painful cramp of need went through my belly.
“Claire.”
I lifted my gaze to his face and saw the answering desire in his eyes. It erased the last of my lingering doubts.
“I want you.” My voice was low and hoarse.
“Then come and take what you want, pet.”
I didn’t need further invitation. I practically sprinted across the damn office, climbing into his lap and straddling him. He sunk his hands into my hair, pulling my head down and kissing me hard on the mouth as I rubbed my pussy against his erection.
I fumbled at the buckle of his belt, unbuckling it with a hard yank before unbuttoning and unzipping his jeans. I stuck my hand down his pants and he released his breath in a harsh hiss when I stroked his dick.
“Fuck, Claire,” he moaned, his head falling back as his hands squeezed my hips.
“Please,” I said, and he grinned at me.
“Does your greedy little pussy want my cock?”
“Yes,” I said. “Yes, Sir, it does.”
He groaned, and I helped him pull his jeans and briefs down to his knees. He tugged my skirt up around my waist and reached for my thong, but I was already pulling the crotch of them to the side with one hand and using my other hand to guide his dick into my sopping wet pussy.
I slid him into me with one easy push and he made another low groan, his fingers digging into my hips. “You’re so wet already.”
“I’ve been wet since yesterday,” I gasped.
He gave me an adorable grin as I rode him hard. I held onto the back of the couch, not objecting when Jonah unbuttoned my shirt and pulled the cups of my bra down. He cupped my breasts together and licked and sucked both of my nipples until I was moaning loudly.
He reached down and gave my ass a light slap. “Quiet, pet.”
“Fuck, it feels so good,” I moaned. He played with my tits, pulling and pinching on my nipples as I rode him harder and faster. He didn’t move, just let me ride him the way I wanted to, grinding my pussy against him with every downward stroke.
“I’m close,” I whispered.
“You and me both,” he gritted out. His hands cupped my ass and I slapped my hand over my mouth to muffle my cries of pleasure when he thrust into me, meeting each of my strokes with a roughness that drove me to the very edge.
I reached between us and ran the tips of my fingers over my clit. That was all it took to push me over, and I screamed into my palm as I came on Jonah’s cock. His hands tightened on my ass, and he made three more hard thrusts before his body stiffened beneath mine and wetness flooded my pussy. He shook under me, and I pressed kisses against his mouth as he moaned quietly and rocked back and forth.
“Jesus, Claire, that was amazing.” His hands stroked my bare thighs, and I rested my head against his chest. I stroked the soft fabric of his work shirt while I listened to his rapid heartbeat.
“I’m sorry.”
He squeezed my thighs. “Sorry about what?”
“I said we couldn’t do this anymore, and now I’m, I’m…”
“Riding me like a horny cowgirl?”
I could hear the amusement in his voice, and I sat up and gave him a solemn look. “I’m totally sending mixed messages and I’m sorry. It’s just, I couldn’t, I mean I can’t…”
“You can’t stop thinking about fucking me,” he said.
I sighed. “It’s not just the sex.”
His look of happiness filled me with wa
rmth. “Oh yeah?”
“Yeah.”
“The old Jonah Peterson charm finally won you over.”
I smiled before resting my forehead against his. “What do we do now?”
“Well, since you can’t resist me, and I can’t resist you, I guess we try dating and see where it goes from there.”
“How awful do I sound if I ask that we keep it quiet for a while?” I said.
“I get it. We can keep it under the radar.”
“I’m sorry. I just, I need some time to figure this out.” I decided not to tell him that I’d been online this morning looking for any job even remotely HR related in our town. Jonah had made it clear that he was interested in dating, but dating didn’t automatically equate to a commitment on his part. Even considering leaving my job at this point was being presumptuous on my part, but in the last three days, Jonah Peterson had somehow become incredibly important to me.
You’re falling in love with him.
I jerked all over and Jonah gave me a curious look. “What’s wrong?”
“Nothing” I said. “Nothing’s wrong.”
“Are you sure?”
“Yes.” There was no way in hell I was telling him that I thought I was falling in love with him. It wouldn’t matter how good the sex was between us, he’d freak out and distance himself. I’d be humiliated, and my dream job would turn into a damn nightmare.
I eased myself off of him and pulled my panties back into place before fixing my bra and buttoning my shirt. He buttoned his jeans and buckled his belt before standing and pressing a kiss against my mouth. “Ready for our meeting?”
“Just give me five minutes to use the washroom first, okay?”
He nodded and kissed me again. “We’ll make this work, Claire.”
“I know.” I walked to the door and unlocked it before opening it. Bud was standing in the hallway, his hand raised to knock, and I turned scarlet as he smiled at me.
“Hey, Claire.”
“Uh, hi, Bud.”
He studied my face, and I cleared my throat before stepping back. “You need to speak to Jonah?”
“I do.” He stepped into the office and I wondered if he could smell the damn sex in the air. “Hey, Jonah.”
“Hey, Bud, what can I do for you?”
“Do you have ten minutes?”
Jonah glanced at me. “Claire and I were just about to start our meeting.”
I cleared my throat again. “Go ahead and meet with Bud. I’ll come back in fifteen.”
“Thanks, Claire.” Bud’s gaze wandered over my hair.
Shit! Was it messed up? I resisted the urge to pat it down and hurried out of Jonah’s office, closing the door behind me.
I nearly ran to the bathroom and checked my reflection in the mirror. My cheeks were red, but my hair wasn’t that mussed up and I mostly looked normal. I took a deep breath before heading to the stall. God, I really needed to get better at acting casual around Jonah if this even had a chance of working.
* * *
“Claire?”
“Hmm?” It was Thursday night and Jonah was lying in my bed. I’d just had three amazing orgasms, and I was warm and sleepy and ready to drift off.
“I wanted to ask you to go with me to a club tomorrow night.”
I lifted my head from his chest and blinked at him. “We can’t go to the club, Jonah. Everyone in town will know we’re dating if -”
“Not the club here. A different one in Welling.”
Welling was a city to the north of us. It was about an hour’s drive away and popular with people in town.
“I don’t think that’s a good idea. Plenty of people from here go to the clubs in Welling.”
“Not this particular club,” he replied.
I sat up and grabbed the bottle of water from the nightstand. I took a drink before handing it to Jonah who sat up and leaned against the headboard. He took his own drink and then picked at the label on the bottle.
“What club is it?” I asked.
“It’s called The Sapphire.”
“I’ve never heard of it,” I said. Not that I went clubbing a lot, but I thought I knew most of the clubs in Welling.
“It’s a,” he paused, ‘BDSM club.”
“Oh.” I chewed my bottom lip, not entirely certain what to say. I knew Jonah liked control, but so far he hadn’t done anything I associated with BDSM. Not that I had much knowledge of it, but we’d slept together numerous times in the last week, wouldn’t he have tried to spank me by now, or asked to tie me up or something?
He was studying me silently and I gave him a weak smile. “So, um, you’re a Dom?”
“Not exactly. I like control, but I don’t require it in the bedroom.”
“So, you don’t want to spank me, or tie me up, or make me call you, uh, Master?”
He grinned at me, and some of my apprehension disappeared. “Only if that’s what you want, pet.”
“Maybe next week.”
He laughed and pulled me close. I traced my fingers over the tattoos on his chest. “If you’re not a dominant or into pain, why do you go to the club?”
“It isn’t just for people who are looking to be dominated. I shouldn’t have referred to it as a BDSM club, although there’s plenty of that going on, it’s more of a sex club in general.”
“Do you go there to have sex with, uh, strangers?”
“Some people do.”
“Do you?”
“Not for a long time.”
“Oh. So what do you do there?”
“It depends. They have shows every night.”
“What kind of shows?”
He hesitated. “Different types. It’s easier to just show you then try and explain.”
“How often do you go to the club?”
“Once a month at least. Sometimes more.”
I didn’t reply, and he squeezed my waist. “Does that upset you?”
“No,” I said. I was being honest, it didn’t bother me, but I was surprised. “I’m just – you didn’t seem like the kind of guy who went to a sex club.”
He laughed. “I’m an enigma.”
“You certainly are.”
“So, what do you think? Will you go with me tomorrow night?”
“What if we run into someone we know from town?”
“We won’t,” he said. “I’ve been going to the club for years and have never seen anyone from our town. Well, except for Matt, but he already knows about us so…”
“He goes to the club too?”
Jonah nodded. “Yeah.”
We sat silently for a few minutes before Jonah squeezed my thigh. “You don’t have to go, Claire. I don’t want you thinking that -”
“I’ll go.”
“Are you sure? I don’t want you to feel pressured to go.”
“I’m not. I’m curious about it,” I said.
He smiled at me before lying back in the bed and tugging me with him. “Thanks for being open to it.”
“Should I wear anything special? I don’t have any latex or leather in my wardrobe.”
He laughed and cupped my ass, giving it a friendly squeeze. “You can wear whatever you want, my love. There isn’t a particular dress code.”
“All right.” I snuggled in closer and closed my eyes. I was going to a sex club with Jonah tomorrow night. I smiled a little. My boss certainly wasn’t at all the person I thought he was.
* * *
I was a little amused that The Sapphire Club looked exactly how I pictured a sex club would look. It had a dark and moody atmosphere thanks to the black and red décor. The main section had a large circular bar in the middle with bar tables scattered around the room. People of all shapes and sizes wandered the club, drinking and mingling with the other club goers.
I tugged nervously at the hem of my dress. It was black and was the shortest and tightest dress in my wardrobe, but I still felt overdressed compared to most of the women in the room. I was definitely the only woman wearing a
bra.
“How are you feeling, pet?” Jonah’s warm breath washed over my ear and I clung tightly to his arm when a woman wearing a latex cat suit walked by us. She held a leash in her hand that was attached to the collar of a man wearing a thong speedo, nipple clamps, and a ball gag in his mouth.
“Take a deep breath, my love.” Jonah’s voice was equal mixtures of amusement and concern as I watched the man follow the woman across the club. “Are you all right?”
“I feel a little overdressed.” I tugged at my bra. “For the first time in my life I feel self-conscious about wearing a bra.”
He laughed and kissed my neck. “You look beautiful, but the next time if you want to go braless, you won’t hear me arguing. Come with me.”
“Where are we going?” I wanted to stand in the main part of the club and stare at the people for the next few hours, but Jonah was already leading me down a wide hallway. He was wearing jeans and a fitted dress shirt, and I admired the way it clung to the muscles in his back as I followed him down the hall. The left side of the hallway was partitioned off into small cubicles with heavy, dark curtains that hung from the ceiling.
The first two cubicles had their curtains drawn shut, but the third was open. I peered inside curiously. The small space held an oversized black leather armchair, a tall wicker laundry basket with a lid, a small garbage can, and a narrow side table. The table held a basket full of condoms, and a large bottle of disinfectant spray and a pile of hand towels was placed on the shelf near the bottom of the table.
“What are these cubicle thingies for?” I asked Jonah.
“If you meet someone at the club and want to have sex without leaving, you can bring your partner to a cubicle. They have them all over the club.”
I stared up at him. “Are you serious?”
He nodded, and I could feel my cheeks flushing. “But people walking by would hear you having sex.”
Right on cue, there was a loud moan of pleasure from one of the cubicles with curtains drawn around it. I stared wide-eyed at Jonah as a man grunted deep in his throat before groaning. “That’s right, sweetheart, ride me nice and hard. Your sweet pussy is so wet. I’m going to fuck you until you can’t walk.”
