by M. S. Parker
“They're going to...” Her eyes were so wide, so innocent. “In public?” Her voice squeaked on the last word, and that familiar flush stained her cheeks an even darker shade of red.
“If that's what they want to do,” I said. A strand of her hair had come loose, and I reached for it, twisting the silky lock around my finger. I could only imagine what it would look like loose and spread across my bed, what it would feel like to bury my hands in it. To have it brush my thighs while she went down on me.
Fuck me. I’d be forced to spend the entire night with an erection at this rate. Then she shifted, and I caught a whiff of some floral scent. Calla lilies. My mother had loved them. A wave of nostalgia washed over me, which definitely helped with the hard-on, but I didn't want to be thinking about the past tonight either.
No, the only thing I wanted to be doing tonight was introducing Tanya to the pleasures of this world.
“Keep your eyes on them,” I murmured, tracing my fingers up her arm. “If you want to know the world I write about, the world Chase introduces to Leia, this is a taste.”
On the stage, the man was securing the woman's wrists with a pair of leather restraints as a pair of chains descended from the ceiling. A moment later, the cuffs and chains were attached, and her arms were being pulled over her head.
“Some people think of BDSM as being one specific thing,” I said quietly. “Usually based on whatever movie or book they've seen. But it's not. There are so many different aspects of it.”
The man untied two ties on either of the woman's shoulders, and her dress fell to her feet. He stood behind her and slid his hands over her hips, up her ribcage, and then forward to cover her breasts. His thumbs moved across her nipples, and she arched her back.
“Do you do that?”
Her question was so soft I almost missed it. “Do what?” I cupped a breast through her dress, but she didn't protest.
“Perform.”
I circled her nipple with my thumb as I answered, “No. I'm not an exhibitionist. Not exactly, anyway.”
I dropped my hand to her lap and began inching up her skirt. She stiffened.
“What are you doing?”
Even though her voice was low, I could hear the faint tremble in it. I stilled my hand and leaned down to press my lips against her neck. Her breath caught even as I felt her pulse pick up.
“Relax, sweetheart. I'll stop if you want me to, but I just want to make you feel good.”
The man on the stage now had his hand between the woman's legs. Even from where I was sitting, I could see the tension in the woman's body as the man's fingers worked over her flesh. When he stopped, her body sagged, and I knew what he was doing.
“That's called orgasm denial,” I explained. “Where one partner is taken to the brink, but not allowed to finish. A good Dom can keep a Sub on the edge all night.”
Tanya squirmed, and I wondered how much of it was her being uncomfortable due to what she was seeing...or how aroused she was.
“Don't worry,” I assured her. “I don't plan on leaving you hanging.”
When my fingers brushed the inside of her thigh, she tensed again.
“Tell me to stop, and I'll take you home,” I promised. “But if you want me to take care of that ache inside you, spread your legs and let me in.”
I no longer cared about the couple on the stage or what anyone else in the club was doing. Every bit of my attention was focused on the woman in my arms as I waited for her response. Either the night would be over and we'd stick with the book business, or I’d find out what it felt like to have my fingers buried in her tight pussy.
Her legs slowly moved apart as she turned her face toward the back of the seat. A red flush crept up her neck, but she didn't try to stop me as my hand moved under her skirt. I made a sound in the back of my throat as I found her panties wet.
“Damn, sweetheart,” I murmured. “You're soaked.”
She sucked in a shuddering breath as I slipped my fingers beneath the elastic. My cock pressed against my zipper, but I ignored it. Right now, it was all about getting her off.
The second I touched her clit, her body jerked, and I smiled. I would've loved to take it slow, to drag out every last drop of ecstasy I could give her, but I meant what I said about not being an exhibitionist.
“Don't think about anything other than what you feel,” I spoke the words into her ear as I moved my fingers over her clit. “About the pleasure signals each of those thousands of nerves are shooting up to your brain right now. The pressure and friction that are making your heart race and your breathing ragged.”
I dipped a finger into her and swallowed hard at the wet heat. I could only imagine what she would feel like wrapped around my cock.
I rubbed the heel of my hand against her clit even as my finger circled her entrance. I could feel her tension and knew she was close. She just needed to let go.
“If you want to come, sweetheart, you need to do it now.” I lightly bit down on her earlobe. “If you don't come when I tell you to, I'll stop, and you'll be left wet and aching.”
She whimpered, her hips moving up against my hand.
“Come now,” I ordered her. “Now!”
Her legs clamped down on my hand, and she made the hottest sound I'd ever heard.
Fuck.
I wanted to hear that sound again.
Ten
Tanya
I wasn't a prude.
Just because I liked clothes that were more on the modest side, and I didn't spend most of my reading time with stories that had a lot of sex, didn't mean anything. And just because I'd never experienced anything remotely like what just happened didn't mean I was the ice princess the kids in college had always accused me of being.
But I wasn't entirely sure what this made me. I'd just had my first orgasm...ever. And I'd had it in the middle of a sex club. Okay, not necessarily the middle, but it had still happened in a public place. Where people were having sex on a stage. And I'd been watching them before I'd let a virtual stranger stick his hand under my skirt and touch me in a place that no one aside from a doctor had ever touched me before.
Fuck!
How the hell had I gone from being a virgin who'd had only one kiss, to going to a BDSM club with a billionaire client and then letting him...
Fuck!
I sat up, yanking down my skirt. My face was burning as humiliation flooded me. I couldn't even look at Erik. Mr. Sanders. My client.
Not only had I done something completely out of character, I'd probably just completely screwed up any shot at being taken seriously in my field. If Branch Publishing didn't fire me, I'd still never be able to be an editor. Not without wondering if every client I signed was thinking that I'd do something like this with them.
“I need to go.” I stood up, smoothing down my dress with shaking hands.
I didn't look back, not wanting to see the sort of smug triumph I was sure Erik had on his face. I didn't slut shame, so if a woman wanted to have sex with a man on a first date, or hook up with some random guy, that was her business. But I could never be that woman, not if I wanted to be taken seriously in my field.
“Tanya.”
I ignored him as I hurried back the way we'd come. I needed to get out of here. This was a huge mistake. I thought I could handle things, but I was wrong. I was in so far over my head that I was drowning. Why had I thought I could deal with people? Give me books, and I knew what to do. I could even talk to people about books. But this wasn't me.
Tears burned in my eyes as I pushed through the crowd, my embarrassment giving me the strength to be bolder than usual. My thighs were slick, and every step was a reminder of just how much I'd enjoyed what Erik had done...and that made everything worse because none of it was his fault.
He'd given me the chance to say no and made it clear that he wouldn't hold it against me. Actually, he'd even gone one step further. He hadn't just told me to say no and acted when I hadn't. He told me to spread my legs if I wa
nted him to keep going, and I'd done it without a thought, so I couldn't even blame my inaction.
I stepped outside and took a gulping breath as I closed my eyes and willed back my tears. I couldn't take the chance that he'd see me crying and think that he'd done something wrong. I didn't even think that I'd done something wrong. It wasn't like I was intentionally saving sex for after marriage or anything like that. If I'd met Erik under different circumstances and we'd come here on an actual date, I wouldn't have been so upset.
“Tanya, are you okay?”
I plastered a fake smile on my face before turning. “I just needed some air.”
The concerned look on Erik's face didn't change. He reached out and took my hand, giving it a light squeeze. “I didn't read you wrong in there, did I? Because I thought–”
I shook my head. I couldn't let him think that I was going to be weird about this. “Nothing like that. I enjoyed...I mean...it just caught me off guard, that's all.”
“All right.” He didn't sound like he quite believed me, but he didn't push the subject either.
“It's been a long week,” I said. “And I'll want to be in the office first thing on Monday with your – shit! I forgot to bring your contract.”
He smiled, whether at my language or because he was relieved that I wasn't making a big deal out of what happened. “That's okay. You can bring it to me on Monday.”
“Oh, okay then.” I half-turned toward the street. “I'll catch a cab, so you can go back inside.”
“You're not taking a cab.” He pulled his phone out of his pocket, tapped the screen a couple times and then put it away. “My driver will be here in a few minutes.”
His driver. Right. As if I needed anything else to remind me of how far apart our worlds were.
“You didn't need to do that,” I said, wrapping my arms around my middle. I wasn't cold, but I was suddenly very aware that I was standing on a sidewalk in wet panties that weren't quite back in place.
“Monday,” he said, brushing aside my comment, “I'll have a car pick you up at eleven-thirty, and you’ll join me for lunch. Bring the contract with you, and I'll sign it before we get started on anything else.”
Some of the surprise I felt must've shown on my face because he gave me a wry smile.
“You didn't think I'd change my mind about having you represent me because of what we did back there, did you?” He slid his hand up my arm, leaving a burning path on my skin. “Believe me, Tanya, I can separate business from pleasure.”
Before I could try to figure out what the appropriate response would be, a car pulled up to the curb and Erik was stepping away from me to open the door.
“I had fun tonight.” He took my hand and helped me into the back seat. “I'll see you on Monday.”
It wasn't until he closed the door and the car pulled back into traffic that I realized he wasn't coming with me. I pressed my lips together, fingers twisting together hard enough for my knuckles to turn white.
It didn't mean anything, I told myself. He said he still wanted me to represent his book. We'd had fun. I didn't need to make it into something it wasn't. Whatever had prompted him to do what he did, it was out of his system now. We would focus on work, and that would be fine. Better than fine.
Because it'd just been some fun between consenting adults. Nothing more.
And I definitely didn't want to do it again.
Eleven
Tanya
Who did I think I was kidding? I hadn't been able to stop thinking about what we'd done. I tried everything over the weekend. Reading more of the slush pile Miss Foxe had given me. Cleaning. Cooking. Rummaging through a couple different thrift stores to see if they had anything I could use.
None of it helped. Just when I'd thought I'd managed to get him out of my head, something would make me remember, and I'd feel the ghost of his fingers, the memory of my stomach tightening, and the pleasure that had, for a single moment, made me forget about everything.
I was actually thankful to get back to work on Monday morning, not just because I enjoyed having a job that didn't make me insane, but because I knew I had enough work to keep my mind occupied. Until lunchtime, anyway.
I'd been going over the standard contract with the proverbial fine tooth comb for the past hour. I didn't think Branch was trying to get anything over on Erik, so I wasn't looking for any tricks in the fine print. What I wanted was to know the contract well enough that I wouldn't need to search for answers if Erik had any questions.
He said he wanted me to represent his book, but I wasn't foolish enough to think that our little bit of 'fun' on Friday night would do me any good if I was shit at my job. Since I was just an assistant, I couldn't be just okay or competent. I couldn't even be merely great. I had to be excellent, better than anyone else. Every time I had to look something up, or if I hesitated, I risked Erik second-guessing his decision and asking my boss to take over.
“Jai's on the warpath,” Yvonne said, her grin saying she wasn't really bothered by the fact. “More than usual, I mean. I'd love to know what happened this weekend to get her in such a snit.”
I told myself that it could've been anything. Jai Foxe wasn't exactly the most easy-going person in the world. Except I wasn't an idiot.
“Did you have a good weekend?” I hated small talk, but I wasn't about to give Yvonne the chance to go digging.
I should've known she wouldn't be so easily distracted.
“She left for lunch on Friday, and then locked herself in her office when she got back.” Yvonne leaned against my desk. “Did she say anything to you?”
I was saved from having to make up a lie by something I liked even less.
The inter-office messaging system popped up on my screen, saying that I was wanted in Jai's office.
Shit.
“Sorry, Yvonne.” I gave her a tight smile. “Boss wants me.”
“Guess I better be going then.”
As I walked toward the office, Yvonne went the other way, probably following some other line of juicier gossip.
I knocked on the door, then entered when I got the okay. Jai was sitting behind her desk, but instead of having her head down, her attention on something else, her gaze zeroed in on me the moment I stepped inside.
“Sit.”
Erik had been so certain that this wouldn’t happen, I'd almost convinced myself of the same thing. I folded my hands on my lap and waited to be told to clean out my desk. I wondered if this was a record for shortest amount of time for one of Jai's assistants.
“What the fuck did you think you were doing?!” Her voice was low, but the venom in it dripped from every word.
And now I was thinking I'd probably lasted longer than a few other assistants.
After a moment of silence, she raised an eyebrow. “I'm waiting.”
Oh. It hadn't been a rhetorical question. Good to know.
“I knew you were busy, and I didn't want to risk Branch losing the chance to represent Mr. Sanders.”
“How did you know Erik Sanders was the person behind Erika Summers? Had you spoken to him before you just 'happened' to pick up his manuscript?” Jai's pretty face was screwed up in a vicious looking scowl.
“I didn't know who he was until I sat down at the restaurant.” At least I was able to answer that one with complete honesty. “I didn't know Erika Summers was a pen name, or who it was for.”
“Really? Then when did you start fucking him?”
My jaw dropped, but the heat in my face was only half from embarrassment. The rest was anger. It didn't matter what Erik and I had done at the club, or even that I'd gone behind her back contacting him. Firing me was definitely a realistic option, and not one I'd really fight. The language wasn't even really the issue.
Her question and what it meant, however, was.
“That's what happened, right?” She gave me the sort of condescending look I'd gotten used to from people like her. The ones who liked to act like they were better than me because I didn't
have a family or money.
I straightened and squared my shoulders.
Fuck that.
“What happened, Miss Foxe,” I said firmly, “is that I set up a meeting with the author of a manuscript that I believed in, and Mr. Sanders appreciated that initiative and the belief in his book. That is why he decided that he wants me to represent him. Which means, if Branch Publishing wants him to sign the contract I'll be taking him at lunch, then they must honor the terms he asked for, including me being his representative.”
Jai glared at me but didn't argue.
I stood. “Now, I have a little more to do before my lunch meeting. After lunch, I'll continue with the manuscripts you gave me last week.”
I turned and walked out, all the while expecting her to fire me anyway. After all, I hadn't yet put my name into the contract as Erik's chosen point of contact. That was one of the things I need to do before I went to lunch. I'd put in a clause that Erik could request another representative at any point in time, but I wasn't going to let Jai be the one making that call.
“Um, excuse me?” I leaned forward and tapped on the glass separating the front of the car from the back. “Where are we going?”
“Mr. Sanders requested I take you to his place for lunch, Miss.” The driver's voice was bright, and I wondered if Erik had told him to be prepared for an argument when I found out where we were going.
I frowned but didn't argue. It wasn't the driver's fault Erik was being presumptuous.
Then again, I didn't know if it was anything like that. Maybe Erik just felt like being at home for lunch so we could avoid interruptions like our last lunch had experienced. The knot in my stomach said I didn't quite believe myself.
My nerves multiplied as we pulled up in front of a stunning townhouse. I'd never been to the Upper East Side before, and definitely not anywhere near East 83rd, but I knew this was one of the city's wealthiest neighborhoods. The vast gap between myself and Erik had never been more evident than now. The rent on a place like this had to be astronomical.
