Temptation: a billionaire erotic romance

by Christine Elliott

  “And then we get to the fun parts,” he said, something in his eyes lighting up. “Rule one: the slave is to address her Master as Master at all times. Do you understand, Serena?”

  “Yes.” Something about that had made her heart flutter a little. It was strange, the idea of calling him master. It was something she would have never have thought of before, but it did dark, strange things to her, things she’d never admit.

  Val got a dark smile. “What was that?”

  “Yes?” She bit her lip. Shit. She knew she’d mess up.

  “I’m sorry, Serena,” he said, his voice as smooth as butter. He walked behind her seat on the couch, and she suddenly felt extremely vulnerable, afraid to turn her head to see him. He ran a fingertip down her shoulders, and she quivered underneath his warm hands. “But I don’t think you understand our contract. I believe you mean, ‘Yes, master.’ Don’t you?”

  “Yes, master.”

  “Good, Serena. But you’ll have to be punished for that, I’m afraid. As the next rule says: the slave may be punished at any time for infractions of the rules or at the will of the master.” He looked down at her, brushing hair away from her neck so that he could inspect it. “Do you agree, Serena?”

  She tried to answer, but was so afraid of messing up again she choked on her words. She bit her lip harder. Her fear was catching up with her again—fear of failure, fear of rejection, fear of embarrassing the hell out of herself.

  Suddenly, his hands disappeared, leaving her disappointed and aching for his touch. She knew it. She had blown it.

  But instead of ordering her out, he appeared by her side. Val sat down by her, the aura of dominance totally gone. Instead, she saw a softness in his eyes, and he placed a hand on top of her clasped ones. She marveled at how large his hands were over her delicate, childlike ones.

  “Serena,” he said, his voice soft, “this is meant to be good for both of us. Do you understand? If you do not want this, nothing bad will happen to you. I don’t want to do anything that you don’t also want. Please tell me you understand that?”

  She began to repeat the word ‘yes’ again, but couldn’t. She struggled with herself for a moment, but then looked up at him.

  “But if I’m your slave, why do you care if I want this? Isn’t this supposed to be about me giving into what you want?”

  He smiled warmly. “Yes, but that’s the fun of it. It’s about the fun of submission. You’re doing what I want, but only because submitting is what you want. Do you see?”

  “I don’t know,” she admitted.

  “Hm, that’s true.” A mischievous grin grew on his face, almost exactly like the one she had seen on his friend earlier. He leaned forward, placing his face deliciously close to hers again. He smiled, and once again she got the crazy desire to reach out and bite his lower lip. “Then tell me this: do you want me?”

  “Yes,” she said, unable to stop herself.

  The smile grew. “Yes what?”

  “Yes, master.”

  “Good, good.” He reached out and brushed her hair out of her face, his gaze drinking in all the soft curves of it. “Then let me promise you this: if you want me, then try me out. All of me, including the kink. And if you don’t like it, you can leave at any time. And if you do like it,” he said, leaning forward and placing his lips on her ear, “which you will, I’ll turn you into the filthiest whore that ever fucked in my bedroom.”

  He bit her earlobe and she thought she’d die. But she wasn’t sure if it was from embarrassment or excitement.

  “So, what do you say?” he asked, pulling back and searching her eyes. “Do you want to play with me?”

  She stared at him, blinded, like he was the sun.

  “Yes,” she breathed.

  He smirked.

  “Yes what, Serena.”

  “Yes, master.”

  “Good. So let’s count,” he said, getting up again, suddenly back into his Dom personality. Serena’s breath became shaky again, overpowered by his animalistic aura. “That’s three times that you have failed to address me as ‘Sir’ or ‘Master.’ Isn’t it, Serena?”

  “Yes,” she said, miserable at her failure. Already, she realized, she wanted to please him and was furious at herself for failing to adhere to the rules. It wasn’t about the money anymore, it was about herself. Was that what he meant? Doing what he wanted was what she wanted? True submission?

  “And that’s four. That’s not very good, is it? Failing to give due respect to your Master? You’re my slave now, Serena—I own you. I own everything about you. Your body, your speech, everything you do and say. And when you fail to please me, I have to discipline you.”

  He leaned against his desk now, his gaze settling on her darkly and seductively. Serena’s hands trembled.

  “Stand up, Serena, let me see you.”

  She obeyed, standing up and keeping her hands clasped. She was wearing the dress and jewelry that he had sent to her in that impeccably wrapped gift box. She wondered what he had in mind, but when he made a come hither motion at her, she could no longer think, just give in and obey.

  “Over the desk,” he ordered. She bit her lip. “Bend over the desk and put your hands down on it, flat. I need to see you if I’m going to figure out how we’re going to punish you.”

  She obeyed him, walking to the desk and bending over. The desk was cold and glossy wood, smelling richly of polish as she placed her cheek down on it. Val walked to the back of her and paused, appraising her from behind. She closed her eyes, overwhelmed by the sensation of it all.

  One of his large, strong hands ran up her thigh, just barely lifting the delicate silk skirt of her dress. She sighed a little, and her eyes popped open, mortified at how obvious she was. Val chuckled darkly.

  “I appreciate the sentiment, darling, but this isn’t going to be about what you want right now. This is going to be about discipline.”

  “Darling? I thought I was your slave?” she blurted out. Instantly she knew she made a mistake. This time there was no chuckling or playfulness—his aura shifted in a second.

  “Rule three,” he said, his voice as hard as steel. “The slave shall not talk back to the master or speak when she is not spoken to. There’s another infraction. My, my, Serena—five punishments. And I only have ten minutes until my next meeting, too. You’re being a very disobedient slave.”

  Val flipped her thin skirt over her, exposing her ass to the chilly air of the office. Serena shivered, but kept her mouth shut, reminding herself of her contract. One of Val’s hands grabbed her ass, caressing its plump softness, as the other slipped a finger underneath the lace thong. He carefully avoided going any further, frustrating Serena beyond all thought. She just wanted him to touch her, but he knew that. And refused to give her the pleasure.

  “Look, Serena,” Val chuckled. “Look how wet you are. And without my permission to be such a slut either. We’re going to have to give you quite a bit of discipline, aren’t we?”

  “Yes, Sir,” she answered.

  “Good, you’re learning. Hopefully this will help you learn just a bit faster. One.”

  Before she knew what was happening, she heard a sharp slap as his hand fell down on her ass cheek. She began to yelp but big down on her tongue, wary that would count as talking back. Instead, she focused on the pain of the slap that burned on her ass. Remember it, she told herself. Use it to learn.

  “Hm,” said Val in a throaty voice, almost like a growl. “You’re taking this very well. Are you sure you’re a virgin?”

  She turned bright red and he laughed again. “Don’t worry, darling. I know you are. But I know something else, too—and that’s that there’s something nice and twisted inside of you. You don’t even know it, but I can see it now. Look how wet you’re getting—you love this.”

  Did she? She bit her lip. She didn’t know. But she did know that her clit was throbbing right now, and she couldn’t remember ever being as turned on as she was right now.

  “Tw
o.”

  The second slap was just as sharp, and Serena focused on the sensation of it. It wasn’t the pain that turned her on, really, it was the force of it. She had never felt something so strong.

  “Three.”

  One more slap, with Val’s strong hands keeping her down and keeping her ass up and open to him. Serena felt the cool stop of the desk kissing her cheek, contrasting to the sharp sting of her slapped ass. God, this was good.

  “Four.”

  This slap wasn’t much harder, but it was louder, and the gravelly, sexy tone of Val’s voice just made it better. Serena wondered if she didn’t want to disobey him more just so she could feel this again. She never knew she would love something like this, but she couldn’t deny it now. It consumed her.

  “And five.”

  The last slap came, and he caressed her ass lovingly.

  “You took that very well, Serena. I wish I could rip these panties off of you and fuck you as a reward. You’ve earned it.”

  She couldn’t speak. She was struggling not to cum. That would embarrass her more than anything, to admit he had such power over her.

  “Unfortunately,” he sighed, “I’m a very busy man during business hours, so we’ll have to put that off until tonight. Get off the desk and make yourself presentable.”

  Serena obeyed while Val watched, once again leaning back with that cocky, bemused smirk. When she was done, she twirled once upon his order so he could inspect her.

  “Good. No one will know what a filthy slut you’ve been.”

  Val smiled, suddenly all business again, the Dom side of him wiped clean away. As if he hadn’t bent her over his desk and spanked her like a child not ten seconds ago. Serena felt like she was in some sort of bizarre dream.

  But it was also a fantasy. She had never been more turned on, she realized with a blush. She wished he would have fucked her more than anything in all the world.

  “Tell Eleanora, the front desk secretary, to arrange for you a ride. I want you to have time to get used to my quarters for you before I meet you for our nightly session. You’ll find your clothes and instructions there at home.”

  He flashed her a dazzling smile.

  “I’ll see you soon, Serena. You’re going to love tonight.”

  *****

  When Serena finally came clicking her stilettos down the hall back to the front desk, the secretary’s curiosity was clearly on fire. Serena tried to compose herself, reminding herself that nobody else could feel the stinging on her ass or the wetness between her legs. Nobody knew what had happened, nobody could guess. She was safe as long as she kept her mouth shut. At least that’s what she thought.

  The secretary took Serena’s relayed message from Val with poise, but even the generally naïve Serena could see the burning curiosity underneath her normally bored green eyes.

  “You mean Mr. Marquette wants to have you taken … to his private home?” she repeated, as if Serena had been speaking a foreign language. Of course, someone as posh as her could probably speak at least three of them. Unlike Serena. Serena couldn’t spend so much time doing silly things like learning languages when she had Harry to take care of.

  Her mood instantly became depressed. Harry. How could she forget. In the midst of her first seduction, she had totally forgotten the reason she had chosen to do this in the first place: Harry was in trouble, and he needed her, and if she didn’t get that ransom money, she might never see her brother again.

  “Here,” she said, scribbling something else on the same heavy cream paper she had given her earlier. “This is a pass. Go to the parking lot and find a chauffeur on duty and hand him this. Tell him it’s an order direct from Mr. Marquette.”

  “Is there anything else I need to do?”

  “No, ma’am.”

  Ma’am. How strange it was to be called ma’am when she had just finished being called a slut and slave. Something stirred inside her again, but she quashed it immediately. No time to be horny when Harry needed saving. She was going to get that five hundred grand and get the hell out. She just needed to be brave.

  She found the chauffeur’s station in the midst of the massive parking lot, one just as divinely perfect and manicured as every other part of the office. The officer behind the large glass window took her note, and Serena watched as his eyes widened and he gawked at her unashamedly.

  “Didn’t know Mr. Marquette had a lady,” he said after a moment.

  “I’m not his … lady,” Serena said, somewhat unwilling to deny it. If she did, he might ask what she was, and she was especially unwilling to admit that to someone.

  “Wait over there, miss,” he said, gesturing to a luxurious waiting room with red leather couches and more polished tables. “We’ll send over a chauffeur as soon as one is available.”

  She took a seat, breathing in the smell of the fresh leather and immaculately polished floors. It helped calm her, though the sight of the gleaming coffee table top reminded her a bit too much of the desk top she had been pinned to not too long ago. Her blush returned for a moment as she remembered how desperate she had been for him to fuck her. God, she was pathetic. She had never even had sex before, and suddenly she was desperate for some strange man to fuck her over a desk.

  “Screamer, is that you?” asked a familiar voice.

  “Mr. Lepin?”

  “Oh, come now, Screamer,” he said merrily as he strolled into the lobby, his hands in the pockets of his expensive Italian suit. The casualness of it struck her in the midst of the massive, uptight office. “I think we’re on first name basis, aren’t we? Call me Jacques.”

  “Are you sure?”

  “You could also call me Daddy, but I think Val might get jealous.”

  Serena cracked a smile. At least in the midst of all this craziness, she still had Jacques. She was starting to think he was the only thing that would keep her sane in the next three months.

  “So what are you doing? Looking for a bus home?”

  “Waiting for a car, actually,” Serena answered as he fell into the chair next to her. He picked up a newspaper and flipped through it for a few moments before tossing it aside. It fell open to a page plastered with Val’s face and headlines about his new billion dollar acquisition of some new business or other. “Val told me to wait here for a ride to his place.”

  Jacques’ jaw dropped. “What?”

  “Is that unusual?”

  Jacques stared at her. He back and furrowed his brow. After a moment, he rubbed his chin, shaking his head and chuckling at her in a way that made Serena a little put off.

  “I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, Screamer—that man is going crazy.”

  Serena tipped her chin up. “For keeping me around, you mean? I’m not as nearly bad as you seem to think.”

  He laughed. “No, Screamer, I mean for mixing work and play. Honestly, if he kept you around more it might keep him sane. But doing this? Parading you around his work and now his home?” He clucked his tongue. “Like I said. Crazy.”

  “Well, too late now,” Serena said, shrugging her shoulders. “I just need a chauffeur and I’ll be there. No going back.”

  He smiled. “Say, Screamer, you need a ride? I’ve been around Val’s place enough. I can sneak you in through the back, it’ll keep you away from all the prying eyes.”

  If there was such a thing as a guardian angel, Serena was pretty sure that Jacques was one.

  A few minutes later, a slick silver BMW pulled around to the side of the lobby, and the sound of a blaring honk made Serena jump. Jacques waggled his eyebrows at her. “Get in, Screamer. We’re going on an adventure.”

  Serena had never been in a BMW. She was terrified of scuffing it or denting it or any of another million things she could never afford to fix. Jacques rolled his eyes at her as she delicately and slowly lowered herself into the car. He grabbed her arm and yanked her in, making her fall into a pile of jewelry and black silk in the passenger seat as he shut her passenger door.

 
“Come on, Screamer,” he laughed as he peeled out of the parking lot with a screech. “You can’t be so cautious, you’ve got to be hard and fast and a little bit rough. I’m sure Val taught you a little about that, didn’t he?”

  Serena blushed.

  The ride to Marquette’s place was longer than Serena expected, but the BMW’s seats were luxurious and the view was beautiful, and after a little bit, Serena had totally forgotten where they were going. All she knew was that Jacques was hilarious, and this car was amazing, and if the rest of her life was like this, she never wanted to leave.

  Though that reminded her of Harry. She had to leave, eventually. Once her three months were up, Harry needed her back. There was no choice for her.

  Jacques noticed her silence and turned to her with a frown.

  “What’s wrong, Screamer? You look down.”

  “Nothing.”

  “Oh, come on. Don’t lie to me, I can tell,” he said, turning into a private road concealed by a thick thatch of green trees.

  Serena pursed her lips. “I’m just worried about someone.”

  “Val?”

  Serena shook her head and crossed her arms.

  “My brother. He’s an idiot, and he got himself in trouble.”

  Jacques drove for a bit, thinking to himself. “Call me psychic, Screamer, but I’m willing to bed dollars to doughnuts this has something to do with Val. Right or wrong?”

  “Right,” Serena mumbled, looking out her window and wishing she had never said anything.

  “You can tell me, Serena,” Jacques said softly.

  Serena sighed.

  “He’s in trouble. That’s why I’m doing this.” She looked down at the hands in her lap. “He got himself into some trouble, and me doing this is the only way to get him out. I know it’s stupid, but it’s the only way. I’d do anything for my brother. I’m doing it for him.”

  Jacques was silent. “Val isn’t the kind of person to do that. Hold a hostage or extort sex, I mean. He’s not a rapist, so it’s obvious Val’s not behind this. So how are you saving your brother by becoming a slave, Screamer? I don’t get it.”