When the alarm went off Monday morning, Erica could barely move. Even though Dayton had tucked her into bed early enough for her to get plenty of sleep, she was exhausted. Perhaps still a little dazed from submitting to him.
She dragged herself to the shower and forced herself to wake up. By the time she arrived at work, she was at least no longer shaking, but she imagined this was what people felt like when they drank too much and tried to work the next morning. She’d never binged on alcohol, so she wouldn’t know. But she had binged on submission before, and it tended to leave her hung over.
She should have known better than to do something like that on a work night. Granted, when she’d agreed to go out with Dayton, she’d pictured dinner, not submission followed by an orgasm. Two orgasms.
No way in hell was she going to arrive late to work. In fact, she hurried through her morning routine and managed to be ten minutes early.
Once again, Rex was already at his desk. Except for that first day, he’d beat her every day. Not surprising. The man liked to win. At everything. He was so engrossed in whatever he was already doing that he either didn’t notice her arrival or pretended not to notice.
She forced a cheerful, “Good morning.”
Rex jerked his head toward her, his expression serious. Okay, so maybe he had been so intent that he hadn’t heard her enter the room. “Oh, uh, hi.” He pointed at her space. “I left a folder for you. Figured we would just work on our own projects. We’re both smart. We don’t need to be focusing on the same thing. We’ll get more done if we divide and conquer.” He forced a one-sided grin.
She slid onto her chair, eyeing him skeptically. “Did you just give me a compliment?” It was hard to tell with Rex. The man was hot and cold all over the place on a normal day. She couldn’t imagine what he might be like after they played together at Zodiac Saturday night. She hadn’t spoken to him since.
He shrugged. “You’ve proven yourself. I might have been too hard on you at first.”
Erica lifted her brows. He was apologizing too? She had no idea how to respond.
He kept talking. “When I heard you were so young and new to the workforce, I had my doubts, but you’re at least as smart as me, so you don’t need me to coddle you. At work I mean.” He said that last part at a lower tone. He seemed more confident than he had last week. He was sitting up straighter and he held her gaze.
Her spine stiffened at that realization and she pulled her shoulders back, hoping he didn’t have any kind of notion that she would submit to him at work. She was a formidable woman in the workplace, and she knew it. She was not going to cow to him in any way.
Erica cocked her head to one side, eyeing him suspiciously. “What the heck are you talking about? At least as smart as you? Coddle me?” She narrowed her gaze. “Let’s get something straight here. We’re at work. Do not let anything that happened outside of work interfere with what we do in this building.”
She glanced at the door and then shifted her gaze back to him and lowered her voice. “It was a scene, Rex. One scene. Forget it happened. Don’t treat me differently just because we ran into each other someplace else.”
He sucked in a breath and dragged his chair closer to hers. Their knees were now inches apart. He too glanced at the open doorway and then back. “Ran into each other someplace else?” He leaned closer, his mouth so close to her ear she could feel his warm breath. “Erica, I’ve had my hands on your bare skin. My fingers inside you. You came. Hard. And you liked it. We did not simply run into each other someplace else. Don’t make light of it.”
Erica gasped and leaned back, trying to give herself some space. She had no idea what to expect when she arrived at work this morning, but not this. Not this confident man who was currently dominating her in the office. Even if he didn’t mean to or hadn’t specifically said so, he was affecting her just the same.
Her damn pussy was now wet and throbbing after listening to him describe how he made her orgasm. She wanted him to do it again. Now. She didn’t even care that they were at work.
She jerked back farther and squeezed her eyes closed. This could not be happening to her. Another man had made her come, not once but twice, just last night. At this point her head was spinning. She’d come for Dayton Friday night, Rex Saturday night, and Dayton again Sunday night. She had to stop this madness. In the last three days she’d had more sex than in most of her adult life combined, and all that without finishing the deed.
Rex cupped her elbow, jerking her out of her head. She opened her eyes and stood, pushing her chair back to give herself more room. “Don’t.”
He looked up at her. “Don’t what?”
“We’re at work,” she whispered through gritted teeth. Was he dense?
He flinched, his eyes widening also. “I’m clear on where we are.” He glanced around her toward the door again. “I’m also clear that I had a great time Saturday night. I’d like to do it again.”
She rubbed her temples with her thumb and forefinger, groaning. “You do realize I went out with Dayton last night.”
He nodded. “Yep. Is that a problem? Don’t tell me you two are exclusive after one date.” His voice was mocking.
“I didn’t say that. But I’m not in the habit of dating more than one person.” What the hell was she talking about? She wasn’t in the habit of dating one person. Jesus.
Rex shrugged. “I’m not asking for exclusivity. Did the old guy?”
She rolled her eyes. “Stop calling him that, or the answer will be no.”
He stood and sauntered closer to her. “So, you will go out with me again? As long as I refer to your other boyfriend by his name? I can do that. When are you seeing him again?”
He was firing questions at her so fast, she couldn’t keep up. She forgot the first two and answered the last one without thinking. “I don’t know.”
Rex tucked his fingers in his pockets and rocked forward. “Good. Then I’m taking you out tonight. Tell Dayton tonight is mine.” The way he stressed his pronunciation of Dayton’s name made her want to groan.
Rex surprised her by spinning around and resuming his seat. He had his mouse in his hand and was facing the computer before she had a chance to wrap her head around everything he’d said. A date? Tonight? Was he crazy?
Every inch of her wanted to go out with him though. She had no idea why. He was intriguing this morning. Part of him was still the Rex she’d worked with last week, but part of him was all Dom. He’d just ordered her to go out with him.
And she liked it. She didn’t have to tell him that though.
She was still trying to think when he glanced over his shoulder. “Dinner is going to be awfully late if you stand there all morning.” He nodded toward her chair. “I promise to be completely professional and not mention anything non-work-related again.”
She backed up instead of following his instructions, needing space and time to think. “I’m going to go grab a coffee first,” she murmured. Not a chance in hell was she going to offer to bring him one. Their relationship was weird enough as it was. She was not going down that path.
Chapter 17
Rex didn’t even exhale until Erica was gone from the room. He couldn’t believe the exchange they’d just had. He’d planned some of it, but most of it had been ad lib. How the hell had he ended up asking her out for tonight? He should not be dating her. They had to work together.
The truth was he hadn’t stopped thinking about her since he left her Saturday night, and he hadn’t been able to sleep last night because he kept picturing her with Dayton.
It infuriated him that she was out with that man. It infuriated him more that he cared. He’d gone back and forth in his mind over the possibility of finding a way to scene with her again, but at no point had he considered asking her out. That part had simply fallen from his stupid lips when his mouth got ahead of him.
Her reaction was worth it though. He’d caught her off guard. Her cheeks had been the most gorgeous shade of pink wh
en he’d finally broken their connection to face his computer and regroup.
He’d shocked her at least as much as himself, but she hadn’t turned him down. He wondered if she would fidget just as much as usual today or if her demeanor would be different after that exchange. One thing was for sure, it hadn’t been her rambling this morning. It had been him; and he rarely spoke that many words.
Where the hell was he going to take her? Now that he’d created this insane plan to go out, he would need to figure out what his intentions were. Nope. He knew what his intentions were. At least his dick knew. He wanted his hands on her hot body again. Would she let him? Had she let Dayton last night?
It ate him up that she’d gone out with the other Dom. It shouldn’t, but it did. And he needed to rein in that jealousy before she saw right through it, if she hadn’t already.
There was no way for him to wipe his mind of visions from Saturday night. The way she’d submitted to him. The way her hair fell around her shoulders. The feel of her smooth skin against his palm. The feel of her coming on his fingers…
Lord. He needed a cold shower.
He shook thoughts of Saturday night from his damn mind and tried to focus. She would be back any minute. He didn’t want her to find him flushed with a hard-on.
How had he fallen for someone this quickly? He’d only recently severed himself from another relationship. He hadn’t seen them in several months now, though he had spoken to each of them on the phone. They knew he had a new assignment in Florida and would be tied up for a long time.
No one’s feelings were hurt. It was a normal progression for them. Not awkward, but it did make him feel kind of sad.
What he should not be doing was jumping into something else, especially where another man had also staked a claim. He wasn’t playing that game again. Ever. Sharing was not his gig.
Shit. He rubbed his forehead. Sharing really hadn’t been a problem at all. He’d enjoyed every moment of it. He had not, however, traded nights with her. Not like this arrangement he was entering. He was certifiable. What did he think he was going to do? Take Erica out every other night while Dayton had the rest?
He inhaled deeply. Yep. That’s what he was going to do. Because for some absurd reason he felt propelled to do exactly that. Fight for her. She was a gorgeous submissive who matched him intellectually like no other person he’d ever met. He wanted a chance, so he would fight for it.
Maybe Dayton thought he could out-wine-and-dine her, but Rex had several points in his court Dayton didn’t have. Rex got to see her during the day. Rex knew how her mathematical mind worked. And Rex fully intended to rock her world in private in a way that would blow her mind.
He didn’t have as many years as Dayton, but he was well-known as a solid Dom who people requested in the club scene. His preference was impact play, and it turned out Erica liked that sort of thing. Craved it. Needed it.
He would give it to her, and so much more.
Rex was in this to win.
Chapter 18
Erica was a ball of nerves later that evening as she waited for Rex to arrive. She was going to be exhausted if she kept this up. Friday night with Dayton. Saturday night with Rex. Sunday night with Dayton. Now, Monday with Rex. This was insanity.
It wasn’t so much the fact that she was going out every night. She could probably handle that as long as she got plenty of sleep. The problem was these two were both dominating her, and that wore her out both emotionally and physically. At this rate, she wasn’t going to be able to get up each morning.
On top of that, she had no idea what to wear. She’d worn her one and only sort of normal dress last night. Ordinarily, she didn’t date like this, or go out at all, not even with girlfriends. It wasn’t her style. She usually came home, changed into sweatpants and a T-shirt, made dinner, and watched the history channel or read something educational.
Rex was going to be at her door in ten minutes and she was staring at her selection of clothes. He hadn’t mentioned where they were going, so she couldn’t know if she should be casual or maybe just wear what she’d worn to work.
Finally, she shook herself out of her frustrated state and grabbed a pair of jeans. Too bad if he didn’t like it. It would be better if he didn’t. She really should’ve told him this was a bad idea. She still could. She should. When he showed up, she should bow out of this absurd idea. Maybe she should meet him wearing sweatpants and tell him she didn’t feel well.
Shit. She wasn’t a coward. Besides, she was intrigued. She’d been fidgeting all day next to him, and not for the same reasons as usual. Hopefully he didn’t recognize the difference. At least fidgeting was her normal personality. Not usually from arousal, but same result.
Another problem was that she couldn’t keep up her work if she didn’t nip her reaction to his proximity in the bud. It had taken a lot of effort to perform at her usual level today, and she wasn’t about to slack off on her job. Especially not after Rex had indirectly complimented her on her mind.
She stepped into her jeans, realizing it would be best to go out with him if for no other reason than to tell him this was a bad idea and put an end to it. Dating a coworker was never the best plan. At work she needed to focus, not spend the day thinking about how nice it had felt to have Rex’s palm on her bottom.
She groaned out loud at the reminder, snagging one of her nicer black V-neck T-shirts from the hanger and tugging it over her head. She didn’t have much time. She slipped on a pair of black flats next, and had just enough time to comb through her hair before a knock sounded at the door.
Erica forced herself to slow down and walk calmly to the door. She reminded herself what her plan was. Dinner. Talking. Ending this. Coming home. Sleeping a solid eight hours. That was it.
When she opened the door and saw Rex standing there, a soft smile on his lips, his hair perfectly combed, his blue eyes sparkling, she froze. Why did the man have to look so good? He was dressed similarly to her. Jeans, a white T-shirt, tennis shoes. Shit.
“May I come in?” he finally asked, smirking.
That was when she realized she must have been staring at him for several moments. She forced her shoulders to relax and licked her lips. “Of course.” She stepped back so he could enter.
He glanced around as she shut the door. “It’s like I’ve just walked into my own place.” He chuckled. “Even the color scheme is the same.”
Not surprising. They were living in the same furnished apartment complex. She didn’t want to spend more time than necessary in this apartment though. Already, she felt warm being alone with him like this. No way was she going to submit to another man in this same space as last night. So, she grabbed her purse from the coffee table and held it up. “Bet you don’t have a purse lying around at your place,” she commented, the joke falling flat to her ears as she headed for the door and opened it again.
He chuckled. “Nope. Got me there.” He turned around and cupped her elbow. “You okay? You seem like you’re in a hurry.”
“I’m fine. Just hungry.”
“You should have taken more time for lunch. I told you it wasn’t necessary to eat at your desk. All you had was a granola bar.”
“I wasn’t as hungry then.” That was true. She’d been so nervous around him that she hadn’t been able to relax. And the reason she’d eaten at her desk was because she felt like she hadn’t gotten as much work done as usual with her mind wandering all over the place.
“Well, let’s go then. You need to eat.” He slid his hand down her arm and clasped her fingers as they moved down the hallway. She lived on the second floor, so they took the stairs instead of the elevator.
Rex was very attentive, opening doors and resting his hand at the small of her back. When they got to his rental car, he opened her door and helped her in before shutting it and rounding to his side. “I’ve heard about a really good Mexican restaurant nearby. Sound good?”
“Yes. I haven’t tried any local places since I got here. I’ve b
een too busy.”
He shot her a grin and pulled out of the spot. He was making it hard to gather the courage to tell him they needed to stop this train wreck before it left the station. Why did he have to be so nice?
Erica started a mental tally on the way to the restaurant. Rex was close to her age. They shared a passion for numbers. He was a solid Dom who could easily get her off. The truth was, he was the entire package. If she could pick all the characteristics of the perfect guy, he would come pretty darn close.
Granted, he’d been surly when she first met him. Weird. But then again, she was also strange, so she couldn’t blame him for being awkward when she arrived in town. He was growing less dorky as she got to know him. Or maybe just showing more sides of himself.
What about Dayton? He had qualities she liked also. He was confident and older which made him more stable or something. He worked hard to put her at ease. And damn what that man could do with his fingers…
What was the most mind boggling was that she was in a position to be ranking men at all. She’d been in Miami all of six days and suddenly two men wanted her to like them. She was living in the upside-down.
As soon as Rex pulled into a parking spot, she turned to him, deciding to ask what was on her mind. “You’ve changed. Why were you so crabby when I first met you, and now you’re being all nice? Which one of you is real?”
He twisted to face her and set his hand on hers, threading their fingers together. He stared at their joined hands for several moments before he lifted his head. “Honestly, that was all me. I didn’t want a partner. It didn’t have anything to do with you. I don’t work well with others. I don’t like to share my space. I don’t want to compete with anyone. I’m fucking good at what I do, and I was still feeling surly and cocky, thinking that I didn’t need any help when you arrived.”
Erica nodded, shocked by how much he was revealing and his honesty. Damn. Another point in the “Yes, Rex” column. She cleared her throat. “You said earlier that I was as smart as you. I guess that’s probably the biggest compliment anyone could expect from you.”
Taming Rex Page 10
