by Amanda Gray
Releasing her breast, Anthony grabbed the rope with both hands, pulling Angelique hard against him as he moved within her, his every movement a desperate attempt to feed the fire that raced through him, raking his skin with pleasure. Gradually, his movements slowed as the fire receded, and he stopped. Angelique sat balanced on her dangerously high heels, the only thing keeping her from falling flat on her face were Anthony's steady hands upon the rope. Her heart pounded and she tried to catch her breath, the rope about her chest complicating her efforts.
Slowly, Anthony began to untie the knots; the rope loosened about her thighs and Angelique shifted her legs so that she was on her knees. The last coil of rope loosened about her shoulders and the final knot about her wrist was untied, relieving the dull ache within her shoulders. Removing the blindfold, Angelique turned around, resting her butt on the large wooden desk and scooting forward so that her feet touched the ground. She watched as Anthony did his pants then pulled his button up shirt over his smooth mocha skin.
The pounding in her heart calmed and she gathered her clothes, dressing slowly, her eyes surveying the fresh bruises across her abdomen and hips. A smile touched her face at the pretty colors that dotted her milky white skin, like exotic flowers tossed upon a blanket of snow; they would be reminders, however temporary, of this encounter, allowing her to relive every exquisite detail and sensation.
"Is there anything else you need, Mr. Alexander?" She stood tall, prim.
"No, Miss Larson. Is everything prepped for the meeting with Mr. Daniels?"
Angelique glanced at the clock. "Yes, and he is due to arrive within the next fifteen minutes."
"Excellent. That will be all."
"Yes, Mr. Alexander." Turning on her heel, she left the office.
Angelique sat down at her desk and checked her makeup, feeling quite satisfied and pleased with her boss. Grabbing her tablet, she made her way to the conference room to make sure everything was set for the meeting that would be taking place shortly.
As she headed to the conference room, Angelique spotted a young man being followed by a small entourage. His rich auburn hair shone in the light and gave him an air of radiance that stopped Angelique in her tracks. She stared at him, noticing there was something that seemed vaguely familiar to her. As he approached her, she could feel his commanding presence and the power he exuded, reminding her of Mr. Alexander, especially as she was still switching her mind out of obedient submissive mode and into proper secretary mode. Angelique backed up against the wall as he walked by. He smiled at her and nodded, while the men around him babbled on about the upcoming meeting.
This must be Jeremy Daniels, the billionaire boy wonder whose company just developed a new rocket engine for their upcoming joint venture into commercial space launching satellites.
The young billionaire had made all of his money developing software that ran the engines, sold it to a large defense contractor, and then proceeded to write an even better program for his own company. This man was brilliant, beautiful, rich, and nothing like Angelique had expected. She had pictured in her mind the stereotypical nerd: weird, a little overweight, and someone whose only redeeming quality was that he was rich. He was nothing of the sorts, which unsettled her for some reason.
As she watched him walk away, she was snapped back to the present by Anthony placing his hand gently on her shoulder from behind.
Chapter Four
"You ready to go do this?" He smiled and walked past her, glancing back over his shoulder at her.
Angelique smiled. "Of course." She followed after him, being the last to enter the room.
Walking through the doorway, Angelique was nearly overwhelmed by the scent of so many men in one room. She wondered, for a moment, if the smell of sex still lingered on her skin and smiled at a fleeting fantasy of enjoying all of these men at once as she took a seat next to her boss and across from Jeremy Daniels and his people.
With these two powerful men sitting directly across from one another, there was a nearly palpable tension in the air. Her boss was slightly older than Mr. Daniels, but the younger man carried a confidence about him that bespoke of a rivaling maturity. Despite their age difference, she noted several similarities between the two. One of Jeremy's minions leaned over and whispered in his ear. There was something about him... she couldn't quite place it but she swore she knew him, as if from a dream.
The meeting commenced and carried on as all these types of meetings do, but with a few differences that piqued Angelique's interest. Usually there was a lot of posturing and big talk about how everyone in the room is the greatest and together they will rule the world. But not so much this time. Jeremy didn't seem to be flustered by much of anything her boss threw at him, almost like it didn't matter to him what happened. He did seem to be looking at her quite a bit, though. Granted, her position next to Anthony could have made it only appear he was looking at her, but she was nearly certain she had caught him looking directly at her as she looked up from her note taking.
The meeting ended after a few hours, with everyone agreeing that they should go out to dinner together to further discuss things. Anthony needed to attend to some previous business quickly and said he would catch up with them shortly. He volunteered Angelique to go with them in their car and show them how to get to the restaurant. This didn't bother her, however, as it would allow her time to better figure out this Jeremy Daniels without the risk of upsetting Anthony and making him jealous. The presence of his cohorts wouldn't be a problem; she knew from previous experience that being the only woman there, he was going to focus on her alone.
As they headed out of the conference room, Anthony took her aside. "Just keep them happy until I get there. Everything will be charged to the company expense account, anyway. I have to handle this situation in finance. I'll be there as soon as I can."
"Yes, of course, Mr. Alexander." She smiled as he turned and walked away, her eyes following his muscular form until he turned the corner. Turning back, she could see the cluster of men gathering at the door. They walked slowly toward the elevator, trying not to make it look like they were waiting for her.
Her stilettos struck a sharp tattoo across the floor as she approached them, catching their attention. They all stopped speaking and turned to look at her at the same time.
Angelique smiled at Jeremy, ignoring the other men. "Are we ready?"
"Yes, I believe so. Shall we then?" He motioned for her to lead.
They walked maybe ten feet and she swore she could feel their eyes glued to her ass. She glanced back over her shoulder, as if to make sure they were still following, and confirmed her suspicions. Turning back, she smiled. Her drive was in full gear today and she couldn't help but love the attention. She may dress this way just for Mr. Alexander, but the extra attention it brought her from other men was definitely a perk.
She pressed the button for the elevator and they stood there waiting for some time with the light stuck at the second floor.
"Hmm, perhaps we should take the stairs?" she asked, turning about to face the group of men. They all agreed, nodding their heads yes, obviously having become bored more quickly than she had with waiting for an elevator that was stuck on the second floor. They were only on the third floor, so it wouldn't be too difficult to take the stairs instead.
They made small talks as they descended the stairs, Angelique concentrating on navigating them carefully in her six inch heels. Glancing back over her shoulder out of politeness at Jeremy, she couldn't help but see that he was staring at her quite hard. At the top of the final flight of stairs, she turned back once more, when the heel of her stiletto snapped. Her body twisted backward as she began to fall. She could see Jeremy reach for her though the distance between them quickly grew. Fear filled her for just a moment before she hit the stairs, tumbling to the bottom. Then, her world went dark.
Chapter Five
Angelique opened her eyes. A bright light shone directly above her and made her squint and turn her hea
d, which only brought pain and made her dizzy. Her heart began to pound in her chest. Fighting against the pain and dizziness, she looked about, finally realizing that she was in a hospital room.
"Angelique, you're awake." A voice came from a chair beside her bed.
"Yeah..." She tried to sit up but the pain in her head only intensified.
"You may want to take it easy for a bit. You took a nasty fall down the stairs. The doctor said you banged your head and have a light concussion. But other than a couple of bruises you should be okay." Jeremy leaned forward, elbows on his knees, staring at her intently. "I didn't know anything about you except your first name so that is the only information I was able to give the nurse when I brought you in."
"Oh. Thank you." Angelique was shocked by the chain of events. Her head hurt, but not enough for her to miss the fact that Jeremy had brought her personally to the hospital. Looking down, she realized that she was wearing little more than her underwear and a hospital gown; she could just make out the red of her bra through the material. Despite the pain, being alone with Jeremy and wearing so little clothing took her mind in other directions. She could feel her heart begin to race and her skin tingle as she watched him, drawn in by the intensity of his blue eyes.
"I see you're awake." A nurse had walked into the room and smiled warmly at Angelique, a touch of concern sat in the corners of her eyes. "How are you feeling?"
"I feel okay, I guess. My head hurts a bit."
"That's to be expected. It seems you took a nasty tumble down a flight of stairs, at least according to Mr. Daniels here." The nurse cast a distrustful look in his direction and stared at Angelique, waiting for her to prove or disprove her suspicions.
Angelique caught the implication, her brow furrowed. "What? No. I mean, yes. I fell. We were headed down the stairs when my shoe broke. The last thing I remember was Jeremy trying to stop me from falling."
"Alright, then." The nurse jotted down a few things on her clipboard. "I do need to get some more information from you. Then we'll get your discharge papers together and you can leave. I'll be back in just a sec." With that the nurse turned on her heel and left the room.
Angelique sighed, then fussed with the blanket covering her, pulling it up higher.
"Hey, umm, thanks for staying with me and making sure I was okay." She glanced shyly at Jeremy, unsure how exactly one handled this type of situation. His face was expressionless, his eyes peering into her, seeking something but she wasn't sure what.
"Not a problem. I'm just glad you're okay. You had me pretty worried; I'm not used to women falling so hard for me like that."
It took her a moment to catch the joke, her face puzzled, then she laughed, embarrassed. Seeing her delayed understanding, Jeremy laughed as well, filling the room with his rich almost musical voice.
"This probably isn't the best timing, let alone even the best of circumstances, but... have lunch with me. Not right away, of course. I expect you'll be off of work for a few days to recover, but next week, how about Tuesday. Have lunch with me."
Angelique smiled and looked down at her hands. She learned long ago how to recognize a command, even a subtle one, to know enough that he wasn't asking. Tentatively, she agreed, feeling excitement build within her at the thought of being alone with him again. They exchanged cell numbers, then Jeremy left, making the excuse of giving her privacy to talk with the doctor and nurses.
She lay back against the pillows, wincing at the pain it brought to her. Looking at her arms, she couldn't see any bruising. Peering under her hospital gown, however, revealed a string of bruises across her chest, abdomen, and hips, all bearing the tell-tale sign of nylon ropes. Angelique sighed contentedly and relaxed into the bed. Brush with death due to a faulty stiletto aside, today had been a damn fine day.
Chapter Six
It was two days later and Angelique was finally returning to work. She had intended on returning the day before, but Anthony had insisted she take another day off, even resorting to that tone of voice he only used behind closed doors when he needed to remind her who was the boss to let her know that he meant business.
Her stomach was filled with butterflies as she sat down at her desk. It was as if it was her first day of work, as excited as she was, and there was no truly justifiable reason for it. Of course, she told herself it was just because she had been bored at home, sitting on the couch and watching movies for two days straight, but it was more than that. Anthony had been happy to see her and expressed concern over her well being. His tenderness touched her, even though it was commanding presence that kept her coming back for more and made her skin tingle and throb at the sight of him. But, she hoped, knowing better than to do so, that Jeremy might show up today. She chided herself over her girlish foolishness, but that didn't change anything.
It was nearly lunch time when her phone vibrated. She swiped the screen and saw that it was Jeremy texting to see if she was alright and to make sure she was back at work. Her heart fluttered, and she quickly typed back that she was okay and that this was her first day back since the accident.
The door to Anthony's office opened and he strode toward her desk, placing his hands upon it and leaning forward. Angelique quickly put her phone away and stared up at him.
"I was going to go out for lunch, would you like to come with me?"
"Umm, actually I'm not very hungry. I was planning on staying in to catch up on some work." Angelique hoped her lie wasn't too obvious. Normally, she would have jumped at a lunch date with him, but she felt hesitant about it. Especially with Jeremy texting her right now.
"Okay. Just take it easy. You've been through a lot. I'll bring you back something just in case you get hungry later." He smiled at her warmly and walked away.
Angelique exhaled deeply and shook her head. What was getting into her? First she's near giddy to be receiving a text, like some sort of high school girl, now she was blowing off her boss and lying to him? This didn't bode well.
Her phone vibrated again in her hand.
She turned it over quickly, her heart beating faster. It was another text from Jeremy. Her lips stretched into a huge smile as she feverishly typed back a response.
Chapter Seven
Tuesday morning dawned warm and bright, which only accentuated the good mood that Angelique was in. The last few days had dragged by for her, although things were busy at work. She had felt her pulse increase when Anthony had asked her to patch a call through to Mr. Daniels' office at the end of last week to confirm the time for their next meeting, but she was quickly disappointed when his secretary answered and handled the matter. But, it gave her something to look forward to. Another meeting meant another chance to see him, although today was the day for their lunch date, which she had been looking forward to since her accident.
Angelique knew that she was letting the young billionaire affect her too much. It was interfering with her work and, more importantly, with her relationship with Anthony. Not only had she refused that lunch date with him on her first day back to work, but she had also turned down a ride home the next day, and ignored his phone calls over the weekend. He had been distant all Monday, seemingly distracted. Angelique knew what that meant: she had hurt him, not just his emotions but his pride. Anthony was a proud man, strong, powerful, capable, which is what had allowed him to launch his multi-billion dollar net worth corporation in the first place and what made him an excellent dom in the bedroom, handling her very well and fulfilling all of her needs.
They had always kept their BDSM relationship strictly sexual, not letting it extend to other areas of their lives as some people did. They weren't truly dating, though they did enjoy each other’s company outside of work occasionally, with the infrequent dinner or lunch date. But for the most part, their lives and relationship were kept rather neatly compartmentalized: personal life (where they seldom met,) work (which was somehow kept strictly professional, except for the sporadic quickie in his office,) and their dom/sub relationship (which took p
lace almost exclusively at his luxury apartment.) This had always suited both of them fine, but now Angelique wondered if she hadn't crossed the line somehow, upsetting that delicate balance. Only time would tell, and she knew she was going to have to figure out a way to make this up to him, or terminate the relationship altogether. The latter option was something she truly didn't want to do, regardless of whatever her emotions were with Jeremy. Finding someone who could understand that sometimes she just needed to tied up, gagged, and flogged with a riding crop was a difficult thing, especially the part where she would try to broach that subject the first time. Angelique couldn't even count the number of guys she'd inadvertently run off, just from asking them to smack her ass a little harder as they fucked her. That was what made her relationship with Anthony so special and why she needed to get herself under control before she jeopardized what took years to find.
Glancing at the clock, she saw that there were just a few more minutes until lunch time, when she would finally be alone with Jeremy Daniels. Excitement surged within her, quickly turning to butterflies. This time, she embraced the emotions, as silly as they were, allowing herself to be happy for happiness' sake. She grabbed her purse and stood in order to head to the bathroom to freshen up before leaving.
The phone on her desk beeped, the red light flashing to let her know it was Anthony. She leaned over and pressed the button, hoping that he just had a quick question.
"Yes, Mr. Alexander?"
"Miss Larson, my office. Now." The line went dead, not allowing her time enough to respond. The color drained from her face, while her excitement turned to a different sorts and throbbed dully within her, making her skin tingle with anticipation and blatant physical longing. His voice had been stern, his words clipped. Anthony was clearly in a mood, and it obviously had to do with her.
