In His Cuffs

by Sierra Cartwright

  “You’re welcome to stay in bed while I make your drink.”

  “I’ll freshen up then be down.”

  He nodded. “I don’t need to remind you I expect you to be naked, do I?”

  “No, Sir.” At every juncture, he reinforced their roles. The surprise was, it didn’t chafe.

  With a quick nod, he left the room.

  By the time she entered the kitchen, her latte was in an unbreakable mug on the counter. He was outside, in the tub. Jets made the water turbulent, and she accepted his hand as she balanced the cup while descending the stairs. “This is quite the way to wake up,” she said, looking at the Rockies in the distance.

  “It’s better when there’s someone to share it.”

  “I would have thought you’d prefer peace and quiet.”

  “Certain sounds beat the hell out of silence. Your whimpers for one. Your screams for another. And yes, you do scream so don’t bother denying it.”

  “Well then.” She sat back and took a sip of her latte. “Damn. You could bring one to the office for me every day.”

  “You have to come and get them,” he said.

  “You’re a tempting man, Mr Tomlinson.” She took a second drink before sliding the cup onto the deck behind her.

  “Anytime, Maggie.”

  He sounded as if he meant it.

  “How does your body feel?”

  “Horny.” She grinned.

  “In that case, after breakfast, I’ll cuff you to the Cavendish.”

  “Cavendish? Is that what you’re calling your kinky apparatus?”

  “It is.”

  Less than an hour later, he had her spread wide, arms above her head, cuffed to the Cavendish, facing away from him. He’d stripped off his clothes and put on a condom. The scent of her heat already hung on the air. He could turn her on without touching her.

  She craned her head to see what he was selecting from the toy box. She winced, wishing she hadn’t seen anything when her gaze fixed on a single tail. With that thing, there would be no subspace for her, she knew. But it might leave a mark.

  She closed her eyes as she heard him test snap the leather.

  Her mouth dried, and for the first time, she considered using her slow word. This was going to hurt.

  “You’ll manage,” he said.

  At least that’s what she thought he said. Over the sound of the blood rushing in her ears, she could hear little else.

  The lash caught her thighs and wrapped around to sear again. “Fuck.” She yanked at her restraints, fighting the agony.

  He waited for what seemed a long time while she fought for breath.

  Before she was ready, he landed another.

  She bounced her heels off the ground, trying to help dissipate the sensation, but it didn’t help. This wasn’t a spanking, nothing close to it.

  He struck her several more times in quick succession, and she did scream. No matter how she tugged and struggled to get away, she was helpless in his cuffs.

  “So beautiful.”

  She hadn’t been aware of it, but the whipping had ended. He pressed his cool body against her heated one, forcing her into the structure. He entered her pussy in one powerful thrust.

  “You were made for this, sub,” he said against her ear as he bent his knees to gain leverage to surge up into her.

  Maggie cried out again and again as he rammed her, impaling her against the wall.

  “Do you want to come, Maggie?”

  “Yes, yes, yes. Please, please, please. Sir.” Every part of her vibrated with the need for him to possess her. Her legs and buttocks burnt as if he’d branded her. But damn, the intensity made an orgasm claw at her. “Fuck me. Let me come.”

  He wrapped his arms around her waist and pounded her. Nothing soft or gentle. Just a raw and primal pulse.

  She babbled incoherently, shamelessly moving her body to take him deeper.

  “Tight, hot cunt,” he said.

  “Yours,” she said with a gasp.

  “Come for me.”

  She lifted onto her toes and he surged into her again. She felt shredded as she bucked, her pussy convulsing with her orgasm.

  She whimpered as he ejaculated.

  He dropped his head onto her arm, a revealingly intimate gesture. Part of her wanted the moment to last forever. All too soon, he pulled away, and she felt the physical distance between them. The interlude would end and they’d both return to work tomorrow—she had no idea what that meant for them. Last night he’d been clear that he wanted a personal relationship with her. She’d been trying to convince herself that she could compartmentalise her life. Maggie was no longer as certain.

  David unfastened her from the structure then removed the cuffs and collar. She thought it was in some way symbolic, but suspected he wouldn’t agree.

  “You’ll have at least two marks from that,” he told her. “No matter how much cream I put on them.”

  After they’d had lunch on the deck, she put her clothes back on. He walked her to her car and lifted her skirt to swat her butt, reigniting the pain before she got into the car.

  Feeling awkward, she drove away without saying goodbye. On the way home, she kept her phone close in case he called or sent a message. He didn’t.

  * * * *

  That night, the bad dreams found her. When she summoned up her inner warrior and turned towards the blue-eyed monster, he vanished, leaving her alone. That chilled her, and she sat up with a start.

  Unable to shake the vestiges, she got up earlier than normal and took her coffee onto her small patio to watch the sunrise.

  She shifted in her chair, uncomfortable from one of his stripes. Mr Tomlinson’s. Master David.

  In such a short amount of time, he’d demolished the blocks she had in place to keep him at bay. Sceneing with him had been disastrous to her equilibrium. She’d avoided BDSM relationships because she wanted to be a bedroom slut, not adopt the lifestyle. But he’d made his position clear when he’d stripped her of her clothing, told her she could not attend the ladies’ night functions at the Den then asked her to call him Master.

  She put down the cup before she sloshed her coffee over the rim. Her worst fear was realised. The more she got, the more she wanted.

  By the time she entered the office, she was no closer to figuring out how she’d behave when she saw him at work today.

  “Did you have a good weekend, Mags?” Barb asked.

  “It was uneventful,” she lied. “How was yours?”

  “Saw a play for my mom’s birthday. Strolled the Sixteenth Street Mall and had too many drinks at a rooftop bar in LoDo.”

  “With your mother?”

  “Woman can put away the vodka.”

  “You should introduce her to Gloria.”

  Who, evidently having heard voices, breezed out of her office. Today she had on a turquoise pantsuit with a multi-coloured blouse topped with a contrasting scarf that should have clashed but didn’t. The drink in her cup was a shade of purple not found in nature.

  “You’re here early, Mother.”

  “We’re meeting with the Arctic Fox people today. Did you forget?”

  The company designed cold-weather gear for the least habitable places on earth and they were planning to open their first US store in the trendy Larimer Square area. World Wide Now was competing with several other companies to land the opening. They were having an informal sit-down with some of the higher-ups to get a better feel for their ideas. “Anything I can do to help?”

  “Make sure the tyrant shows up. They want to meet him.”

  “I’m putting my foot down. Unless David is out of line, no more calling him names behind his back. He heard us the other day, and it’s unfair. Agreed?”

  It appeared Gloria tried to frown, but apart from the pursed lips, it was hard to tell. “You got more injections in your face,” Maggie said.

  “You should both go with me. Dr Smythe knows all the tricks to keeping us looking young. Maybe we could get a g
roup discount.”

  Barb choked on her coffee. “Not for me, thanks.”

  “Let’s get back to my point,” Maggie said. “I’m serious. There will be no more bad-mouthing the boss. We have to set the example around here.”

  “I think you need a cup of coffee, dear. See if Barb will let you use some of her nice creamer,” Gloria said as she grabbed her drink and walked off, jewellery jangling.

  Maggie sighed. “It’s going to be a long day.”

  “Sorry about calling David names. Embarrassing that he overheard.”

  “You know, he might not be as bad as I thought.”

  “Skip the coffee,” Barb said. “I’ll call an ambulance. Obviously you’re not feeling well.”

  Shaking her head, Maggie went to her office to finalise details for Friday afternoon’s open house and to send David a reminder about their upcoming visitors. She could have asked Barb to touch base with him, but Maggie wanted to handle it herself.

  David showed up for the Arctic Fox meet and greet and impressed the VP of Marketing. After the meeting, the two of them moved to the far end of the conference room while Maggie and her mother chatted with two members of the creative team.

  A few minutes later, David and the female VP excused themselves, saying they were going out to lunch. She frowned, and David inclined his head, letting her know he’d noticed her displeasure. What the hell was wrong with her? He could eat meals with whomever he wanted.

  She didn’t see him the rest of the day, and that evening she traced the single welt his whip had left behind. A thousand emotions splintered inside her. She masturbated in the shower, resting her forehead on the tiles as she thought of him.

  Since he hadn’t contacted her today, she knew it was up to her to approach him again.

  * * * *

  Maggie had another fitful night and got to the office late.

  Her mother was wringing her hands near the reception desk, and Barb had a hand on Gloria’s shoulder. “What’s going on?”

  “I screwed up,” Gloria said. Her shoulders started to shake.

  “Whatever it is, we can fix it. We always have,” Maggie said, trying to keep calm and not disturb the rest of the staff.

  “That’s what I’ve been telling her,” Barb added.

  “Let’s go in my office.” Where they could close the door. “Is David in yet?” she asked Barb.

  “He’s at an offsite meeting. I think he’ll be in around eleven.”

  “Thanks.” He didn’t need to see this side of her mother, either. After nodding her thanks to Barb, Maggie drew Gloria down the hall. “Have a seat,” she said when they were in the office. Maggie sat on the edge of her desk.

  Gloria sat and dropped her head into her hands.

  Maggie waited for minute before gently saying, “I can only help if I know what’s wrong.”

  “I got so caught up with Arctic Fox that I forgot to send the paperwork through on the Hoskins Group deal.”

  Maggie froze.

  When her mother looked up, Maggie blinked, trying not to betray her raw panic. Cindy Hoskins owned six different businesses, and World Wide Now handled four of the accounts. For years, they’d been trying to land all six, offering screaming discounts for the additional business. Cindy Hoskins was a pragmatist who didn’t believe in a single vendor approach. But losing the four accounts existing would be costly.

  Maggie forced herself to breathe. “Surely it’s not that bad. When was it due?”

  “Last Thursday.”

  “Why wasn’t it on the board?”

  Her mother dropped her head again.

  “Okay, never mind that. We’ll remedy it in future.”

  “I took them the preliminary bid two weeks ago and…”

  Didn’t follow up. “Let me see what I can do.” She picked up the phone and dialled Cindy’s office direct, throwing herself on the other woman’s mercy. Cindy agreed to reconsider, as long as she had the signed deal in hand before noon.

  Maggie summoned Barb to print off a final copy of the contract from the server. The three of them went over it. There weren’t many changes from the previous year, but there wasn’t time to figure in an annual increase.

  David would be livid that his procedures hadn’t been followed.

  Reluctant to bring him into the conversation, she called his cellular, but it went straight to voicemail. “Crap, crap, crap.”

  “Think, think, think,” urged Barb.

  Having no other choice, she signed two copies of the contract and put them in an envelope before heading out of the door.

  She walked the six blocks to the bank building where the Hoskins Group was headquartered and, with a sigh and a smile, handed the envelope to the receptionist.

  When she got back to the office she found frozen drinks waiting for everyone, courtesy of Gloria. When she created buckets of drama, she liked to treat the survivors.

  Maggie didn’t see David until the next day. She considered mentioning the Hoskins Group fiasco, but didn’t. She and the team had sat down to discuss ways to ensure something like that never happened again. David was a big believer in systems, and they’d refined theirs as a result. Barb went through all the client files and entered all contract renewal dates in the computer and set several reminders beginning a month in advance.

  “Go home with me Friday night after the open house,” he said.

  Startled, she looked up from her keyboard. “David.”

  He lazed against the doorjamb as if he owned the place. Which, really, he did.

  “Don’t tell me you don’t need a beating.”

  “Yeah.” She dropped her hands to her lap. “I do.”

  “You’ll be ready for the hot tub and a good night’s sleep.”

  “That obvious, huh?”

  “Only to someone who’s looking. You’re a beautiful woman, Maggie. Wear something short to the open house.” Without another word, he pushed away from the wooden frame and continued down the hall.

  She could have sworn she heard him whistle.

  Maggie collapsed against her chair back. He’d undone all her resolve in less than a minute. Now she was thinking about him and Friday night instead of work.

  * * * *

  At home, she masturbated again, this time driven by fantasies of what might happen over the weekend.

  Thursday, she worked late, double-checking RSVPs and responding to a few last-minute stragglers. One person asked for directions, even though she’d given them twice. She sent an updated head count to the caterer and glanced at her handwritten to-do list. Everyone else used a computer programme, but there was nothing she liked better than the tactile sensation of marking through a task she’d completed. It was much the same high that she got when she crossed through dates on a calendar, like when she was going to the Den.

  The phone rang, and since Barb had already left, she went to answer it. She frowned when she saw David’s line light up. It wasn’t unusual for him to take a call, she just hadn’t realised he was still in the office.

  She was cleaning off her desk when he entered her office. She felt his overwhelming presence even before he spoke. He commanded the space and her attention. “David.” Instead of a smile, a storm was gathered in his blue eyes, darkening them by several shades.

  “That was Cindy Hoskins RSVP’ing for our open house.”

  Her heart stuttered.

  “Something you’d like to tell me about?”

  She wondered how much he knew. Then she sighed, realising it didn’t matter. He could never trust a woman who hid anything, and she’d already committed a huge gaffe. “We had an issue with a contract not being delivered on time. I chatted with Cindy, asked for an extension, and we offered them the same terms as last year. I got the contract over to her, and the copy with her original signature arrived today.” She picked up a pen and toyed with it. The same pen she’d used to sign the document in his stead.

  “At what point were you going to tell me?”

  She met
his gaze. “I wasn’t.”

  “Thank you for your honesty.” Without another word, he left. He didn’t ask for explanations or lose his temper. In fact, his control gave her goosebumps.

  Just then, she acknowledged how badly she’d screwed up. She had tried to reach him by phone, but the missed connection was no reason to have kept quiet. To him, siding with her mother and covering the situation up must feel like a betrayal.

  She dropped the pen.

  At first, she cloaked herself in righteous indignation. He was overreacting. This was why they shouldn’t have got involved. Her business decision should feel like that, nothing more serious. In fact, she had told him she didn’t want a BDSM relationship, just to play in the bedroom.

  Then she admitted the truth, in agreeing to go home with him tomorrow night, they were in a relationship. She thought of him, remembered him, fantasised about him.

  He’d placed her in a position of trust in his organisation when he could have brought in his own people. He’d kept on her mother and had done his best to help her flourish, and now he was brokering a deal with another company so her mom’s dream could become an even bigger reality.

  She’d thought she was brave by putting a stop to the name-calling. In actuality, she should have done that months before.

  He wasn’t the one who had ever mixed things up. She was.

  Could it be any worse? She took a drink of water for courage before walking to his office. His door was closed, so she knocked. She turned the knob and peeked in when he didn’t answer. He was sitting with his back to the door, staring out of the window. “Can I come in?” she asked.

  “No, Maggie. I’d prefer you didn’t.”

  “I’d like to talk.”

  “I wouldn’t.”

  She trembled as she pulled the door closed. In her office, she stalled, hoping he’d relent and come after her, but he didn’t.

  All night, she kept her phone next to her, waking up every hour to check the screen.

  There was no contact, and, as she got ready the following day, she had no idea how to dress. David had told her to wear a short skirt. He’d also invited her to spend the night. She was sure that wasn’t happening, since he hadn’t said a word to her after he’d refused to invite her into his office.