Everything That He Craves (#2) (An Alpha Billionaire BDSM Romance) (2 page)

“Really?” he demanded.

She couldn’t reply.  She felt guilty, like she had somehow done something wrong.  She had started all this and now, with no warning, she was trying to call it off.  That wasn’t okay...was it?  He had every right to be angry with her. 

But something in Hunter’s face changed.  Callie couldn’t pinpoint what it was or why it had happened.  Maybe he had seen the haunted look in her eyes.  Whatever the reason, he immediately released her hands and took a step back.

Callie quickly pulled her torn dress back up to cover herself as best she could.

He cleared his throat.  “I uh...sorry about your dress,” he mumbled.

“It’s okay,” she told him, her mouth dry.

He looked at her as though there was so much more he wanted to say.

Callie’s eyes strayed lower.  He was sporting a huge bulge.  And he had been about to fuck her.  Had she continued to go along with it, he would have fucked her.  Part of her felt deep regret that she had put a stop to it...but another part felt an immense sense of relief.

“Callie,” he began, looking baffled and unsure of himself.

Something in her snapped.  It just...broke. 

“I have to go!” she gasped before turning and running upstairs to her room.  She slammed the door and pulled the dresser in front of it on the off chance Hunter tried to force his way in.  Then she sat down on the floor, drew her knees to her chest and cried.

*****

What the hell had he done? 

Hunter was lost.

Callie had come onto him.  She’d started the whole thing.  There was absolutely no chance that he had somehow misread the signals, because how on earth does one misread a tongue in one’s mouth?  She had wanted it.  She had wanted
him
.

And then she hadn’t.

Hunter knew all about the women who played mind games.  He was well aware of the drama queens who ran hot and cold and he always made sure to steer clear of them.  He had no time for games – at least not those kinds of games.  He wasn’t one to be manipulated or toyed with.

But deep down he felt certain that Callie wasn’t trying to mess with his head.  If anything, she was the one whose head had been messed with.  He hadn’t intended to upset her, but something had apparently set her off. 

He wasn’t angry. 

He was disappointed, sure.  He and his cock were
very
disappointed! 

But he wasn’t angry.

“I didn’t do anything wrong,” he whispered aloud, almost as if to try to convince himself. 

Whatever Callie’s issues were, he was fairly sure they had nothing to do with him.  But he still felt bad that he had inadvertently upset her.  Hell, he’d made the poor woman literally run away from him, her face as white as a ghost.

He wasn’t sure he’d ever be able to get that haunted look out of his head.  It was chilling.

Hunter despised dealing with emotions.  He never knew what to do or say. 

Maybe he was simply one of those old school guys who believed in bottling stuff up, because what was the use in talking it out?  He firmly believed that the moment one allowed oneself to be vulnerable was the moment one became exploitable.  He’d learned that the hard way and had vowed that never again would he allow himself to be in that position.

But what Hunter believed didn’t matter.  It didn’t change the fact that he had a very upset woman upstairs.  And, deliberate or not, he’d had some role in upsetting her.  It was only right that he go check on her.

He trudged up the stairs feeling unsure – and he was
never
unsure!  He prided himself on always knowing exactly what to do or say in any situation.  Except right now he had no idea what to do or say.  He would just have to wing it.

He walked down the hallway, feeling helpless, and found Callie’s door shut. 

He raised his fist to knock on the door and then paused.

Was that...? 

It was.  Shit.

She was crying.  In fact, she was sobbing like her world had come crashing down.

Hunter stood there uncertainly, wondering if he should intrude on such a private moment.  He felt that strange, unfamiliar urge again – that instinctual pull to hold her, to cradle her in his arms and whisper in her ear that she was safe with him. 

But he couldn’t do it.

Maybe this was what he deserved. 

He had made Callie a more-than-generous business proposal, but he’d had less-than-honorable motives for doing so.  He had invited her into his home with the intention of getting her into bed.  He had been acting like an entitled creep.  Deep down he had known all along that what he was doing was vile, but he’d chosen to ignore that pesky little fact.

So yeah, he probably deserved the blue balls, the drama and maybe even the bruised thigh.

But he hadn’t signed up for
this
.  He wasn’t a therapist, counselor or psychologist.  It wasn’t his job to help a clearly screwed up woman sort her issues out.  If he tried, he would probably only end up fucking her up even worse, he reasoned.  Maybe that was just an excuse, but whatever.

Feeling like shit, Hunter turned around and slowly trudged back down the hall.  The arrangement had been a terrible idea from the start.  It was no wonder it was all blowing up in his face.  It was almost enough to make a person believe in karma.

“Fuck this,” he muttered, grabbing his car keys off the kitchen counter.  Then he left.

*****

The power of a good night’s sleep should never be underestimated.

Even though Callie went to bed upset and spent a long while crying into her pillow before sleep took her, it did eventually take her.  She credited the mattress for that.  Never in her life had she slept on such a comfortable mattress.  Hunter had probably paid a fortune to have it imported from some exotic island famous for mattress-manufacturing, Callie reasoned.

Hunter.

The thought of him made Callie sigh.  She was deeply embarrassed by her behavior.  She wished she could just write off the entirety of the previous day’s events and pretend none of it had ever happened.  Well, maybe the part with her nipple in his mouth was worth holding onto...

A shiver went up Callie’s spine as she momentarily relieved those brief few, precious seconds when they had been making out and pawing at each other without a care in the world.  That temporary window of time they’d had together before her panic had set in had been magical.

She wished she’d been able to go through with it.  She wished her irrational fear that he’d lose control and cause her harm hadn’t interfered with what could have turned out to be a memorable, amazing encounter.  God, he was a great kisser...

Not that he would ever want to kiss her again after the way she had acted.

Sighing, Callie threw on some clothes and left her bedroom in search of Hunter.  She knew she owed him a big, huge apology.  She also probably owed him an explanation, but she wasn’t sure she was up for that. 

He had proven he could be trusted when he had respected her wishes and stopped when she had asked...but could be
trusted
?  He was still pretty much a stranger.  A stranger who’d had his tongue in his mouth and his hands all over her ass.  Callie’s cheeks burned at the recollection.

“Hello?” she called as she wandered from room to room.  “Hunter?”

The mansion was like a maze.  She could hardly believe it was all for one person.  Callie started to get turned around as she walked from wing to wing occasionally finding she had somehow backtracked to a place she had already been. 

She rapped lightly on every door she passed by, but got no answer.  So she started opening them.

“Hunter?  Are you in here?” she called as she poked her head into the room on her left. 

Although she got no response, Callie had to take a moment to just stand there and take it all in.  It was the library and it was impressive!  There were floor to ceiling shelves across three walls and books absolutely everywhere.  There was also a very cozy looking reading area in front of a monstrous picture window. 

She would definitely have to check the place out more thoroughly later on...if Hunter didn’t kick her out.  She had no idea what sort of a mood he’d be in or what he would want.  Would they move past the ugliness and continue working on the book, or would he be done with her?

Callie wouldn’t blame Hunter if he wanted to be rid of her.  She wouldn’t blame him if he called the whole thing off and sent her on her way.  But she hoped he wouldn’t, and it wasn’t solely because of the money.

Continuing on her way, Callie reached another room. 

“Hunter!” she called through the door.  “Are you in there?” 

After getting no response, she tried the door and found herself looking in on a spacious and very much empty powder room.  She closed the door and prepared to move on.

There was a room tucked away at the end of the hall.  Callie likely would have missed it had it not been for its bright red door.  It stood out because all the other doors in that wing were white.  That seemed peculiar.  Curious, Callie made her way toward it. 

Now she wasn’t even looking for Hunter anymore.  She was simply snooping.  She wasn’t proud of the fact, but maybe if the man wasn’t so closed off and unknowable, she wouldn’t feel the need to snoop...

She opened the door and, as soon as her eyes adjusted to the darkness, let out a gasp.

It looked like something straight out of her kinkiest fantasies – or perhaps her scariest nightmares.  There was a full blown sex dungeon right there in the mansion!  There was a bed with handcuffs attached to it, erotic art covering the walls, and even a cabinet full of whips, crops and other implements.

She stood there dumbfounded, simply taking it all in.

She had never had any experience with BDSM and had figured she was far too skittish to actually derive any enjoyment from it.  But that hadn’t stopped her from being curious.  It hadn’t stopped her from exploring it in her fan fiction. 

The thought of being tied up and teased to boiling point turned her on so much.  And the idea of being taken over a powerful man’s lap and spanked to the point of tears before being roughly taken...well, that usually required a change of panties! 

So Hunter Black was into BDSM.  But unlike her, he actually practiced it instead of simply fantasizing about it.  Interestingly, Callie wasn’t surprised.  It kind of figured that a control freak like Hunter would be all about tying women up and having his way with them.

Suddenly Callie heard a door slam downstairs.  She jumped.

“Callie?” she heard Hunter’s voice call out.  “Are you here?”

“Shit!” she whispered under her breath.  She didn’t want to be caught snooping, and she
really
didn’t want to be caught snooping in that particular room.  She made a hasty exit, hurrying downstairs to meet Hunter in the kitchen.

“Hi.”

“Hi,” he replied.  He looked tired and worn out.

“Listen, I’m really sorry about everything that happened last night,” Callie began.

He held up a hand to silence her.  “I’m sure I’m not completely without blame,” he told her.  “I rarely am.  Let’s just forget it happened, okay?”

“Okay.”  Callie hesitated and then, grimacing, asked, “I’m fired, right?” 

It figured that she’d manage to sabotage her chance to become a millionaire.  She could have been set for life, but no, instead she’d gone and screwed it all up. She was absolutely livid with herself and on the verge of tears.

“What?  No.  No, I still want you to write the book,” Hunter replied as he poured himself a glass of water and gulped it down greedily.  “But I need a nap before we get to work.”  He was wearing the same clothes from last night.  He looked dishevelled, like he hadn’t slept a wink.

“Of course,” Callie nodded.  “Thank you,” she added, looking at him guiltily. 

He waved his hand dismissively, as though her gratitude embarrassed him.  “It’s nothing.”

*****

After Hunter’s nap, he and Callie got comfortable in the main sitting room. 

She still had trouble looking at that couch without remembering the night she had walked in on him pleasuring himself.  Thankfully, he seemed to have forgotten about the incident.  But it didn’t stop Callie from blushing wildly.

Hunter had done everything under the sun to put Callie at ease.  In fact, she couldn’t quite understand why he was being so nice to her considering the way she had behaved.  She wouldn’t blame him for being fed up with her.  Instead, he was going out of his way to be accommodating.

He had made her a cup of tea, fetched a plate of cookies for her and even built her a fire when she had gotten chilly.  He was actually being rather sweet, which made no sense at all.  Callie couldn’t for the life of her figure that man out.

She also couldn’t decide whether there was a method to his madness.  All she knew was that his organization skills were nonexistent.  His ideas were brilliant and scattered and profound, but it looked like a tornado had roared through and upset everything in its path.  It was utter chaos.