Buttons and Grace

by Penelope Sky

  Hunt still didn’t seem put off by any of this.

  “It’s more extreme, more disturbing.”

  Hunt rubbed his fingers over his chin, feeling the shadow that had formed across his face. His brown eyes didn’t change in reaction, just as dark as they were before. “If we were in this arrangement right now, right this second, what would you do to me?”

  I didn’t need to work my imagination too hard. I held his expression, my gaze hard as steel. “Remove my panties and secure them around your wrists behind that chair.”

  Hunt’s expression hardened.

  “After that, I would get on my knees, suck you off, and then ride you, coming as many times as I wanted. Only when I was completely satisfied would I give you permission to come. And if you came sooner, I’d punish you.”

  His face flushed with heat, his throat shifting as he swallowed. A slight grin stretched across his face. “Sounds pretty hot.”

  “Hotter than you can imagine.”

  Not all men took this in stride as well as he did. The dominant, authoritative men such as him weren’t interested in being the plaything of a demanding woman like me. Hunt was the most confident man I’d ever known, his presence suffocating anytime he was nearby. But so far, he’d taken it the best.

  That was something I didn’t expect.

  “I’d be your sex slave, pretty much,” he said. “I’d fuck you when and where you’d like.”

  “Something like that.”

  He leaned back in the chair, his broad shoulders powerful no matter how he held himself. “I gotta say, I’m not seeing the downside to this. You’re more than welcome to ride my dick as much as you want. And punish me all you like.” He winked.

  He only saw the good side to the arrangement, not the bad. “Can you handle taking orders from a woman?”

  “When they’re sexual in nature, why not? Boss me around all you like.” He continued to wear a charming smile that melted all the panties in a one-mile radius.

  “And what about when I want to hurt you?”

  “You couldn’t hurt me.” His teasing nature disappeared, replaced by a shadow in his eyes. “Do your worst.”

  He didn’t have a clue. “I have a room full of whips. Trust me, I could hurt you.”

  “Doubtful.”

  My eyes narrowed, surprised he was still sitting there. “Another part of the arrangement is my complete control. You don’t talk unless I tell you to. When I tell you to be somewhere, you’re there. When I tell you to touch me, not touch me, whatever, you obey. When I tell you to hook yourself to the ceiling, you do it. You’re honestly telling me that’s something you, Diesel Hunt, can do? It won’t be the playful banter we have now. It’ll all be business, no play.”

  He crossed his arms over his chest, relaxed in his chair like we were talking about dinner plans.

  “It’s not as easy as you think it is. I’ve had plenty of men walk away.”

  “You do this a lot?”

  “For nearly ten years.”

  He cocked his head to the side slightly, absorbing everything like a dry sponge. “And you enjoy it?”

  “Why else would I keep doing it this long?”

  “You’ve never fallen in love?”

  Only once—and that was a mistake. “Not in these arrangements, no. I’m not interested in love.”

  Hunt stared me down, his expression closed off and unreadable. “I need a rundown of exactly what I can expect before I give you my final answer.”

  “That’s fair.” I named off all the things he should be expected to do, explaining every precise detail.

  “So, it’s nothing but rough sex,” he said. “Through and through.”

  “Through and through.”

  “There’s no personal conversations, no sharing. You don’t ask me anything personal, I don’t ask you anything personal. Just like when you’re at work, you do your hours then go home.”

  “Interesting.”

  “And this is a monogamous relationship. No one else but the two of us.”

  That arrogant smile came back. “You don’t want to share me with anyone. That’s cute.”

  “It’s not about jealousy. It’s about sexual health. I don’t use condoms in these situations, and we both need to remain exclusive to this arrangement.”

  He nodded in understanding. “Sounds fair.”

  “So, what do you say?” I wanted him to say yes. In fact, I wanted him to say yes more than anyone else I’d ever been with. That body, that kiss, everything about him was magnetic. Being able to do whatever I wanted to him at any time sounded like the most appetizing thing in the world.

  “I’ll need to think about it.” He broke eye contact and looked out at the city.

  So he had doubts. “What is your hesitation? Perhaps that’s something I can clarify.”

  He didn’t turn his head back toward me, but his eyes shifted. His handsome smile was back again. “You want me to say yes.”

  “Obviously.”

  “But you really want me to say yes.”

  I shut my mouth, displaying my poker face once again.

  He chuckled to himself. “You can whip me all you want. You can slap me until my face is red. You can do whatever you want to me, and I won’t think twice about a safe word. But you’re right about one thing. Having to obey you at all times would be a challenge. I’m used to being in charge. I’m used to issuing orders, not taking them. I think it’d be sexy in this situation, having a gorgeous woman tell me exactly how to fuck her. Having her tie me up so she can fuck me all she wants is nothing short of a fantasy. But after a while…I’d want to be the one to tie you up, to fuck you exactly as I please, to tell you exactly what to do, and get off to you obeying me.”

  “But that’s not how it works. I’m in charge—you are not.”

  “That’s exactly why I need to think about it.” His eyes shifted out the window again, growing quiet like I wasn’t there at all.

  I watched him until my eyes shifted down to the paper in front of me. It had a few notes he’d made, points of negotiation for things he was unwilling to do. But he was open to every single request I made. All he needed to do was decide how much he was willing to give me, how much he was willing to sacrifice his own natural urges to fulfill mine. “You’re right. I hope you do say yes.”

  He rapped his knuckles against the table before he stood up, sexy in his fitted t-shirt. “There’s something I need to do before I go. And you know exactly what that is.” His gaze bore into mine, hot and fiery. He slowly approached my end of the table until he came up behind my chair. Both of his hands rested on the back of my chair as he leaned over me. “Get your ass up. Now.”

  Hunt

  The offer was on the table, but I wasn’t sure if I was going to take it.

  It was tempting.

  But it was also unappetizing.

  Having a gorgeous woman like her dominate me sounded like a real treat. Fucking her until she screamed, giving it to her exactly as she asked, sounded like something I would jerk off to anyway.

  But I wanted to be in charge too. I didn’t want my partner to be the one always calling the shots, taking away the power I desperately needed at times. It had to be equal, and she definitely didn’t want equal.

  But if I said no, I would lose her altogether.

  That was an option I didn’t want to take either. It was the first time I didn’t crave a long line of women in my bed. Since the moment I met Titan, I hadn’t even entertained the possibility of fucking someone else.

  She was the only person I wanted to be with.

  Something told me I should hold on to it, do something to claim this woman as mine. But since I’d never had such an experience before, I wasn’t sure how to accomplish that. I’d never been with a woman for more than few weeks. And anything beyond a month was nonexistent. The constants in my life were my friends. They were my home base.

  Never a woman.

  Would Titan compromise with me?

  M
eet me halfway?

  Who I was kidding? This was Tatum Titan, a woman who didn’t compromise.

  Why would I be any different?

  In any other situation, I would discuss this with my friends. But since I promised Titan my loyalty, getting advice on the matter was impossible.

  A week came and went, and I didn’t contact her. I didn’t stop by her office to say hi. I went to bed alone, using my hand to get myself off to memories of fucking her. Why couldn’t we just be two people who fucked casually?

  Why did she have to be into that?

  It seemed like people who had twisted fetishes had suffered painful lives. They were the victims of abuse, or they were just abandoned when they needed someone the most. Titan was such a strong figure it was hard to believe she had any problems.

  But I didn’t know her that well.

  It’d only been a month since I met her, but I felt like I’d seen her smile enough times to know what made her laugh. I’d seen her wear the same brand of shoes enough times to know what her style was. I’d kissed her enough times to know she liked vanilla perfume and whiskey. I’d fucked her enough times to know exactly how to make her come.

  But in reality, I really didn’t know her at all.

  * * *

  We sat together at the strip club, women dancing on poles in just their thongs. They swayed their hips to the music, their long hair stretching down their backs. The music played overhead, and everyone was enveloped in a sea of darkness.

  A woman sat beside me on the couch, a pretty brunette whose name I couldn’t remember. The guys had their own dates, neither one of them Titan’s friends. Since I didn’t want them to ask me any more questions about Titan, I didn’t ask them any more questions about Pilar and Isa. But judging from the way they weren’t thinking about them tonight, I didn’t think the women were in the picture anymore.

  “Do you like her, Diesel Hunt?” the brunette asked as she nodded to the dancing girl on the stage.

  I’d been looking at her, but I was staring right through her. I didn’t like it when people used my full name outside the office. Sounded strange coming from his woman, whose hand was sitting on my chest. “She’s fine.”

  “I can dance for you…somewhere private.”

  The second a woman threw herself at me, my interest died away. Lately, it’d been hard for me to get excited about anything. I’d done everything fun in this city. I’d fucked everyone, drunk everything, and partied everywhere.

  There wasn’t anything else to do.

  I’d hit a plateau—and I was only thirty-five. “Maybe some other time.”

  Pine noticed my forlorn expression and tapped me on the shoulder. “Dude, what’s the deal? You’ve been a bummer all week.”

  I was a bummer because I knew what I had to do. “Not feeling well. I’ll see you later.” I pulled out of the woman’s embrace, walked outside, and found my car parked along the street. The engine roared to life as soon as I started it, and the music came on through the luxurious sound system.

  I pulled onto the road and drove through the streets of Manhattan, hitting traffic at times and having open streets at others. There wasn’t a particular direction I was going. I had no agenda. I just didn’t want to be in that club anymore—doing the same thing I’d done a hundred times.

  I eventually found my way back to the parking garage of my building. I pulled in to my spot but didn’t kill the engine. Instead, I searched through my phone until I found Titan’s number. I stared at it for a long time before my finger finally hit the button.

  She answered after a few rings, the sound of loud music coming through the speakers. She was out somewhere, hitting the town with her friends. I wondered if Thorn Cutler was with her, not that I should care. “Hey.”

  I listened to the music in the background and recognized the song. “Hey.”

  The music slowly faded away as she stepped outside or into the bathroom. “Everything alright?” Her voice surrounded me in the car, strong and beautiful to my ears.

  “I’ve thought about your offer for the past week.”

  She turned quiet, giving me the space to say what I needed to say.

  “As tempting as it sounded, I’m gonna have to turn it down.”

  Silence.

  It was stupid to expect her to argue with me, to persuade me to change my mind. She put her offer on the table and wasn’t going to change it. There was no compromise. Being with Titan was exciting because she wasn’t like other women. She had a brain, and she knew how to use it. She was strong, unbreakable. I found a successful and daring woman like her to be the sexiest thing on the planet. “As I promised, this stays between you and me. Good luck, Titan.”

  She continued to remain quiet.

  Was she going to say something to change my mind?

  Titan finally spoke. “Thank you for letting me know. Take care, Hunt.” As if this were nothing but a business call, she hung up.

  I heard the line go dead in my car, her abrupt goodbye. The disappointment shouldn’t fill me, but it did. It was heavy, like a bullet in my flesh. When she made the offer to me, I assumed that meant I was special to her.

  But no one was special to her.

  I finally turned off my car and walked into my penthouse—alone.

  * * *

  “Here’s your tux.” Natalie walked inside and hung up my dry cleaning on the coat rack. “Your shopper also picked up this watch for you.” She set the box on the edge of the desk. “She thought it would go well with your outfit.”

  “Thank you, Natalie.”

  “Anything else, sir?”

  “No, thank you.”

  Natalie walked out and left me alone.

  My cell phone rang, and Pine’s name appeared on the screen.

  I answered it. “Hey.”

  “Going to the Met Gala tonight?”

  “Yep.” It was a time to give back to charity, but also to further my own business agenda. Always being aware of potential deals, rising and falling business opportunities, as well as your competitors, was key to staying on the Forbes List.

  “Taking anyone?”

  I never took anyone to these things—and he knew that. “No. You?”

  “I’m flying solo tonight. Dad wants me to go.”

  “You can be his eyes and ears.”

  “So, you wanna pick me up?”

  I chuckled into the phone. “You aren’t bumming a ride off me, man.”

  “Damn, I had to try. Hey, I heard Titan is going to be there.”

  Another week had gone by, and I hadn’t heard from her. It was safe to say she wouldn’t put any other deal on the table. She wasn’t bluffing when she said she didn’t compromise. I fucked her before I left her penthouse, and I was still jerking off to the memory every night. I imagined how it would feel to be tied up so she could ride my cock all she wanted—bareback. It always got my engine going. “Why would I care about that?”

  “Are you still trying to acquire her publishing house?”

  I didn’t care about it anymore. “Not sure. Now that Bruce Carol has hit hard times, that might be a better opportunity.”

  “True.”

  “I’ve got work to do, Pine. I’ll talk to you later.”

  “And you don’t think I’m working?”

  My silence was the only answer he needed.

  “Alright, I’m just fucking around. You caught me.” He hung up.

  * * *

  My driver opened the back door, and I stepped out to a sea of reporters. I buttoned the front of my suit as I walked forward, ignoring the flashes from all the camera. A few reporters tried to get my attention by calling my name, but I ignored them as I stepped inside the hotel.

  A crystal chandelier hung from the ceiling, the meticulously cut shards reflecting the lights. Music played overhead, so soft I could hardly heard it. A few couples stood in the lobby in their expensive gowns and tailored suits, talking amongst themselves before entering the ballroom.

  With one
hand in my pocket, I walked toward the ballroom. Long golden pipes hung from the ceiling, and the walls were blanketed with lights that looked like stars. The tables had white tablecloths with large vases filled with white lilies. It was like every other charity event I’d been to, where the party itself was worth more than the money that was actually raised.

  My eyes ached to search for Titan, wondering if she would be staring at me when our eyes met. What gown was she wearing? Would she look more beautiful than I’d ever seen her? Would she think about the last night we were together? Or was I some forgotten memory she didn’t think twice about?

  I ran into a few colleagues and engaged in small talk before a waiter handed me a flute of champagne. Still bubbling and golden, it fizzled as the bubbles rose to the surface. I took a sip, knowing I’d tasted something much sweeter off Titan’s lips.

  The story continues…

  Order Boss Lady by Victoria Quinn