Black Light: Exposed (Black Light Series Book 2)

by Jennifer Bene

  “Fuck,” she hissed, lifting her hips into his touch as he slid two fingers inside her, and then a third, making her whimper as he dragged her back to that fine line between pain and pleasure that was so blurry it may as well have not existed. “I’ve missed you so much.”

  “Swear to me you’ll never lie to me again.” Thomas nipped her lips after he said it, kissing her, and she had to turn away from him to answer.

  “I swear. I will never lie to you, sir.” Another thrust of his fingers, stroking at that spot inside her that was pushing her towards delirium. “Please fuck me, please…”

  Sitting up he pulled his touch from her and ripped her underwear down her legs, the welts across her backside a second thought as he shoved her back to the bed, pinning her down so he could spread her legs with his knees. Thomas traced her collar bone with his mouth as he worked at his pants, and then he growled and sat up suddenly. “Dammit!”

  “What?”

  “Nothing,” he snapped. Climbing off the bed he ripped his shirt off before he grabbed a condom from a bowl on the small table near the curtain. Thomas kicked off his pants and shoes and climbed back onto the bed with her. He looked as desperate as she felt as he tore the package open, and she sat up to wrap her hand around the steel of his cock, nudging his boxers out of the way. The low, barely contained groan he released was music to her ears, and she quickly shifted until she could lean forward and take him into her mouth. The taste of him was everything she’d craved, and as his fingers threaded into her hair, sliding his cock deeper, she moaned. He brushed her throat, and then pulled free of her lips. “No, I need you under me.”

  “Yes, sir.” Maddie nodded as he moved them, forcing her back to the sheet, the condom rolling on just before he pushed her knees wide.

  “For the record, I’ve missed you too, beautiful,” he spoke right by her ear, just before he plunged deep. Her body arched against his, and she felt complete as he bottomed out, making her ache in the best of ways.

  “I’m yours,” she whispered, and then he bit down at the place where her neck met her shoulder, holding her still so his hips could swing to deliver each hard thrust. Nails dragging down his back, she tried to fight back the orgasm, wanting to ride the delirious wave as long as she could, but soon the edge was too close, each shift of him inside her too perfect – and she came. Sparks exploded behind her eyes as she gasped out his name and held on to him, while he thrust again and again.

  “Maddie,” he groaned, and then he came, his cock kicking deep inside her, and she wrapped her legs around his hips holding him to her. His breaths pistoned against her ear, their hearts racing. “Maddie, Maddie, Maddie…”

  His voice brought tears back to her eyes, and she buried her face against his shoulder, trying to stifle it, but she was too grateful, too happy. “I’m so sorry, sir. I’m so sorry.”

  “Forgiven, beautiful. I promise, I forgive you.” Thomas lifted up to kiss her, and the sweetness of it mended something inside her as their tongues brushed, a soft moan rising up to meet them as they held onto one another.

  “Really?” she whispered when he slid from her, moving to her side so he could look down at her.

  Thomas brushed her hair from her forehead, cupping her cheek. “Yes, but not just because you took the punishment.”

  “Then why?” she asked, looking between his eyes, a shade of forest tinted gold.

  “Because I love you, too.” He smiled when she felt her face light up, all of that warmth and post-orgasmic joy overflowing until she hugged him, rolling until she was on top of him.

  “Are you sure?”

  “I am.” His thumb plucked her bottom lip from between her teeth. “This past week has been the worst week of my life, and it was all because you weren’t there. I couldn’t text you, call you, or see you when I got home. It was empty, and dark, and I hated every minute of it.”

  “I am so sorry, Thomas.” Maddie felt the tears coming on again, but as she sat up on his hips he reached up to cup her face.

  “I love you, Madeline O’Neill, and what hurt the most was thinking you’d never felt anything for me. That I was just so blinded by how I felt for you that I’d ignored every signal.” He shook his head, sighing as he stared into her eyes. “Seeing you tonight, I realized what an idiot I actually was, because I didn’t see what Jaxson knew the first time meeting you.”

  “What?” she asked, her heart racing so hard she thought she might faint.

  “That you have always been submissive, that our moments together were real, and that you’re mine.” His thumb brushed across her cheek. “I’m sorry I didn’t listen to you when you tried to tell me.”

  “No, no, this was my fault. I was horrible, I was –”

  “Forgiven, beautiful. I just hope you can forgive me for putting us through the past week. I promise I’ll listen in the future, okay?” That election-winning smile crossed his lips as he sat up, face to face with her since she was propped on his lap.

  “I will never do anything like this again.”

  Thomas chuckled a little. “I would hope not. If you didn’t learn a lesson after that punishment, I think you might be beyond all help.”

  At the mention of it, she realized just how sore she was, the pounding ache in her back, and ass, and thighs. Even her shoulders were throbbing. “I got the message, sir.”

  “Good,” he spoke softly and then kissed her. It was gentle, and she knew she was lucky to even be near him again. “I love you, Maddie.”

  Tears threatened, but she was able to hold them back. “I love you too, and I’m yours, Thomas, always.”

  “And I’m so glad that you are.” He was about to kiss her again when someone cleared their throat outside the curtain.

  “Are you two safe to leave alone? Because I have Chase and Emma to get home to, and Spencer probably wants to go sharpen his knives, or oil something.” Jaxson’s voice made her blush furiously, and she dropped to the far side of Thomas, covering her face.

  “Give us five minutes and we’ll be dressed. I want her back home.”

  “Fine, but be quick. Listening to you two fuck has me very ready to be home too.”

  “We’re going to your house?” she asked, fighting the furious blush as she realized they had heard them loud and clear. Thomas turned back towards her, warm brown hair falling over his forehead as he leaned down to kiss her.

  “If you’ll let me bring you there, yes, but I have to warn you, I might never want you to leave.”

  “That sounds great.” Grinning, she laughed when he picked her up and planted her on the floor beside the bed, lifting her underwear from the floor.

  “Then get dressed, Madeline O’Neill, because I have plans for when we get home.”

  Epilogue

  One Week Later

  “No one will miss us if we just skip work,” Maddie whispered just before her lips collided with his again, and Thomas couldn’t help but groan.

  So. Damn. Tempting.

  Sometimes it really, really sucked being a responsible adult with a job and people waiting on you. Sliding his hand into her hair, he tightened his fist and bent her neck back, watching as she panted, her pupils dilating, perfectly pink lips swollen from their kisses. Her eyes were on his, and he made sure she was focused before he shook his head slowly. “Tsk tsk, beautiful. We played hookie for almost an entire week, and you just got a promotion at a job that expects you to actually be there. Plus…” He squeezed her thigh, pushing her knees apart just enough to have her whining quietly. “I have to go sit in meetings all day, thinking of what I’m going to do to you when I get home tonight.”

  “What are you planning?” Her voice had that dreamy quality that she always seemed to develop whenever she was sliding into full submissive mode – and unfortunately, now was not the time for that.

  “You don’t want me to spoil the surprise, do you?” Thomas grinned and leaned in to place one last chaste kiss to her mouth before she could start chewing on her bottom lip. Then, a
s difficult as it was, he released her and pulled back to his side of the car.

  “Thomas.” She groaned, pushing both of her hands into her hair to drop back against her seat. “You torture me.”

  “You like it.”

  “That is not the point.” There was steel in her voice, but she was smiling at him, the flush in her cheeks making her hair look even more fiery in the morning sun streaming through the window.

  To think I almost lost her.

  He had to swallow before his thoughts turned dark, but she reached out and took his hand like she could sense it in him anyway. “We’re almost to your office, beautiful. Better straighten out your clothes or everyone will know what you were up to this morning.”

  Rolling her eyes she adjusted her top, running her hands through her hair before wiping at her lips. “Well, how do I look?”

  “Positively fuckable.” He laughed when she gawked at him, enjoying that even after spending almost every day together since her punishment at Black Light – he could still shock her.

  “I am never going to be able to concentrate today.”

  “Yes, you are, because you are smart, and dedicated, and the hottest Senior Copy Editor on the East Coast.”

  “Only the East Coast?” She grinned at him, that flirty tone becoming a challenge his cock twitched in his trousers to answer.

  “I haven’t been to the West Coast in a while.” Thomas caught her hand when she went to smack his arm, smiling slowly as he tightened his grip until he heard the tempo of her breathing pick up.

  So fucking irresistible.

  “You’re terrible,” she whined.

  “But you love me.”

  “I do.” The bright smile transformed her face into something beyond beautiful. Angelic. Pure perfection that hid underneath the surface the naughty little submissive he’d had the chance to belt until she’d screamed his name the night before.

  Interlacing their fingers again he knew they were getting close to her office, and her eyes wandered out the window as she recognized the buildings as well. Thomas could actually see the moment her mind switched into work mode, her thoughts whirring to life, back into gear for the day ahead. “I’m going to miss you today, too, but we’ll be back home soon.”

  “I know.”

  “You’re thinking about this weekend again, aren’t you?” he asked, but he didn’t actually need to ask, it was written all over her face as she crinkled her nose and sucked her bottom lip between her teeth.

  “No,” she lied.

  “I’m going to spank you for that tonight.” He grinned when she turned to stare at him, irritated. “Listen, it’s going to be fine. Everyone will adore you, and then we’ll be back and we can plan what we’ll do for Valentine’s Day.”

  That made Maddie smile again. “Maybe we could go to Black Light?”

  “Jaxson is planning a special club event that night, but I wanted to do something just for us.” He brought her hand to his lips, kissing her fingers. “Doesn’t that sound better?”

  “As long as I’m with you it sounds perfect.” Leaning towards him, their lips met again, and he couldn’t resist tasting her one more time. The softest sigh left her as she turned her head so that he could take over, and he took the invitation like he always did.

  “We’re here, Ms. O’Neill,” Paul spoke up with the most perfectly calm tone, one of the reasons he valued the man so much. Discretion, professionalism, and – most importantly – he trusted him with Maddie.

  “When will you be home?” she asked as she sat back, bright blue eyes looking up at him.

  “As soon as I can, but you need to hop out of the car or we’re both going to be late.” Thomas nudged her, and she grabbed her coat as Paul opened her door.

  She stepped outside, pushing her arms through the sleeves so she could wrap the coat around her to block out the cold, and then she dipped her head back into the car, “I love you.”

  He probably looked like a lovesick fool when he smiled back at her, but he didn’t care a bit – because he absolutely was. “I love you too, beautiful. Now, go!”

  “Yeah, yeah,” she called over her shoulder as she hurried to the entrance. Paul shut the door and was back in the driver’s seat in a matter of moments. The car immediately started forward again, and as Thomas checked his watch he was sure he was about to get the third degree from Alan for cutting it close to his first meeting of the day.

  “Any chance we can speed a little?” Thomas asked, half-joking, but when he caught Paul’s eyes in the rear-view mirror he saw that the man was smiling. “What?”

  “Nothing, Mr. Hathaway.”

  “Oh, come on. Out with it.” He waited until the man caught his eyes in the mirror again.

  “I’m just glad you have Ms. O’Neill. You’re different with her, in a good way.” Paul shrugged as he turned down the street that would take them to the congressional offices, weaving between other cars as he ignored the speed limit. “I don’t mean anything by it, just an observation.”

  Thomas was amused, smiling to himself in the back seat. “Is that all?”

  “Well, to be honest, as high-strung as you were before her, I would have bet money on you having a heart attack before you hit forty – and then I’d be out of a job.” Paul gave a real smile in the mirror, and chuckled.

  “I think that’s the first time I’ve ever heard you laugh, Paul.”

  “There’s another thing Maddie has been right about, Mr. Hathaway.”

  “What’s that?” Thomas asked, raising an eyebrow.

  “You really aren’t very funny.” The man had a stoic expression for just a moment, and then they both started laughing. Loud, and freeing, and warm.

  “Cutting it close, Ginger?” Jamar asked, as she slid into her desk barely two minutes before her official start time.

  “Fuck off, Gilligan.” She flipped him off, but he just laughed and turned back to his computer, with the grainy, blobby ultrasound taped to the side of his screen.

  Maddie logged into her computer, and waited for the thing to slowly wake up and start loading her emails. Just as the first ones started to appear, filling her inbox with her editing queue for the day, Brad popped up over the cube wall to her left. “Hey!”

  She jumped, and then laughed as she looked up at him. “Hey, Charlie.”

  “Did you get the chance to watch Black Mirror?”

  “Oh, yeah, I watched a couple of episodes. It’s weird, but kind of in a good way?”

  “I know!” He had so much energy to his voice, and she was still astounded that the guy was even speaking to her at all, because in the year and a half before the infamous day of her promotion he’d been so damn silent. “There’s this awesome episode in season three, I won’t spoil it for you, but my friends and I talked about it for a week straight. It just – boom – blew our minds.”

  Maddie grinned at him. “You know, I think we’re going to have to give you a new nickname.”

  “Why?” His face fell, and she rolled her eyes.

  “Because Charlie Chaplin was a silent film star, and you aren’t silent anymore.”

  “Oh.” Brad shrugged. “I just didn’t think anyone wanted to talk to me, and I kind of zone out when I’m working on the graphics. I kind of like the Charlie Chaplin thing though, I made him my background. See?”

  Standing up, she peeked over the wall to see the infamous actor emblazoned on the screen with his trademark mustache and bowler hat – and next to him was a quote: A day without laughter is a day wasted.

  How true.

  “Alright, Charlie. We’ll stick with that in memory of the days when you used to be quiet. It’ll confuse the hell out of any new hires.” She couldn’t help but grin when he bounced back to his feet.

  “Sweet, that’s what I was hoping. Everyone knows me by that nickname now anyway!” He shrugged, suddenly a little reserved again. “And, you know, people actually talk to me now.”

  The comment made Maddie sad for a moment. She’d really
been a bitch at work. “Gilligan and I were going to order subs from the shop down the street, would you want one for lunch today?”

  “Uh, yeah, definitely.”

  “Great, I’ll email you the link to their menu. We usually eat around twelve, or twelve-thirty, does that work for you?” she asked, but based on the barely contained joy in his expression, he was excited.

  “That works great! And I’ll buy this time, my treat.”

  “You don’t have to –”

  “No! I’ve got it, really.” He smiled and sat down in his chair. “Anyway, I know you need to work, I just wanted to ask you about the show.”

  “Remind me at lunch to ask you about the episode with the grain recording device people implant in them.”

  “I love that episode!”

  “It was pretty cool. Alright, talk to you later, Charlie?” She waved over the cube wall, moving to sit back down.

  “Later, Ginger!” Brad called back, and she shook her head. The things you learned about people when you took the time to talk to them.

  Maddie blew out a breath and started to sort the emails, flagging her to-do list items so she’d have a snapshot of her day before she went to get coffee. It took a few minutes, but she was pleasantly surprised to see that the workload wasn’t as insane as it had been the day before. Everyone had been in crisis mode on Monday, but it seemed like Tuesday was going to be smooth sailing – and full of cheesy, greasy goodness at lunch.

  Grabbing her Penn State mug she wandered back to the break room to rinse her cup, before pouring the powdered creamer and sugar into the bottom. The Keurig had just started to make coffee when Jamar walked in with his mug. “Hogging the machine already?”

  “Jerk.” She threw a Splenda packet at him, and he scooped down to pick it up.