“I-I’m going to come.”
Please . . .
She dug her fingernails into his shoulders, clinging to the edge of sanity where she couldn’t think, couldn’t breathe—and didn’t care.
“I’ll look forward to that.” His fingers hit her sweet spot again. “Very soon. How long has it been for you, baby? You’re tight, and I don’t want to hurt you.”
Kelsey couldn’t remember that long ago. “Since David.”
Rhys stilled. “Five fucking years?”
She nodded. Robbed of his touch, every nerve ending in her body ached ever more. “Rhys!”
“You’ll never have to ask again, baby. You’ll be lucky to go five hours without from now on.”
Kelsey had barely raised her brows at that statement before Rhys stood and unfastened his jeans. She caught a mere glimpse of his jutting cock, thick and blunt-headed, before he lifted her in his arms, legs spread. A second later, he impaled her, stretching her impossibly wide. Her flesh stung and burned as he burrowed deeper, thrust harder. Euphoria smoldered just under beyond her reach.
Amazement followed. This was happening. Rhys was naked and deep inside her. It wasn’t a fantasy or anything in her head. They were making love, and it was finally real.
“Damn, you’re mind-blowing. Tight. Warm,” he muttered against her throat. “I love you.”
In two steps, he reached the bed and lowered her to it, then slammed deep inside her.
The head of his cock flared against her most nerve-drenched spot. She moaned as orgasm pressed close and clamped down on him.
She’d always imagined that sex with any of her men would be incredible—it had fueled her fantasies for months—but this was way beyond anything she’d dreamed up. As he moved against her, their skin grew damp, clung. Breaths synched up as he shoved into her deeply, fiercely, cupping her ass, chanting her name. He plundered her mouth with abandon. As each second passed, he grew harder, his breathing rougher, her pleasure headier.
“Rhys!” She clawed at his back and kissed her way across his corded shoulders, bucking up to meet him.
“I need to see you come for me, baby.”
The burn behind her clit swelled, accelerated. Her muscles tightened. Her world stopped.
Then exploded.
She screamed as pleasure detonated through her body. Rhys tensed, his cock swelling as he groaned in her ear. Deep inside, she felt him thick and heavy and hot as he came.
She soared, weightless, timeless. Treasured. And so in love. No way could she live without having Rhys like this again.
As his strokes slowed, he rained kisses on her face. Flinging her arms around his neck, she rubbed her cheek against his, then nuzzled his neck. She felt released, reborn in his arms. To her shock, tears wet her cheeks.
As reality slowly hit her, they became wrenching sobs.
Being with Rhys had been earth-shattering, beyond her every fantasy. What would happen next time they saw Tucker and Jeremy? Rhys would touch her, assume it was now his right. Tucker would be shocked, possibly hurt. Jeremy would be enraged.
She’d lose them both.
And if she pushed Rhys away right now, she’d lose him, too.
Why had she given in to temptation?
“Hey, baby, no tears.” Still buried inside her, Rhys brushed her hair from her face. “I didn’t hurt you, did I?”
“N-no.”
But he’d made her life beyond difficult. Scratch that.
She’d
made it difficult. Rhys had merely given her what they’d both wanted. Now, she had to deal with the consequences.
CHAPTER
|
THREE
“I didn’t give you permission to leave, Kelsey.”
She gripped her purse a bit tighter and cursed under her breath. Jeremy Beck, at his delicious demanding best, stood behind her. Usually, he was the consummate professional, the sexual command in his tone so subtle she often wondered if she’d imagined it because she wanted it so bad. Submitting to any man had never occurred to her . . . until Jeremy. She fantasized about it constantly, though he never actually tried to dominate her.
Until this week.
After her Monday night mistake with Rhys, she’d dragged into work Tuesday morning early, hoping to escape the memories by diving into work. Thank God Rhys was scheduled to be at the fire station for the next forty-eight hours. Until his next shift ended, Kelsey hoped that the office would be her refuge from the tangled sheets on her bed that still smelled like sex.
Jeremy made peace impossible. He addressed her with a new edge in his voice. He stood closer, stared more intently, making her tremble with need.
Tuesday, she’d gone to work, brimming with a thousand recriminations, drowning in a ton of guilt. By the time she’d gone home, her panties had been damp with the desire Jeremy inspired. Today, they were soaking wet, and if she didn’t get away from her boss . . . Well, not much escaped his notice. As raw and confused as she felt now, she didn’t know what would happen.
After five years of abstinence, she’d taken one lover. Now she wanted another. What was wrong with her?
“It’s after six, sir.” She closed her eyes, praying he’d have mercy.
She had to get it together or Jeremy would guess how badly she ached for him.
“I can tell time. I’m not finished with you. Set your things down and come to my office.” Jeremy turned and crossed the room, entering his private domain.
His words were pure asshole . . . but the tone was so honey-rough. Still, she had to resist—for her sanity and her future.
“Sir, I’m due for a dress fitting for my cousin’s wedding. I’m one of her bridesmaids.”
“The fitting doesn’t start for an hour and a half.” He raised a dark brow. “I need you now.”
A direct order, boss to subordinate. With a sigh, Kelsey set her things on her desk and followed.
The office was quiet now. Everyone had gone. Lights were darkening in other parts of the building. The air conditioner clicked off. With every step, Kelsey heard her shuddered breaths, the sound of her footfalls on the carpet . . . Jeremy tapping his fingers on the open door.
Her eyes glued to his dark, polished face, she stepped past him. And bit her lip. His gaze burned her. Kelsey’s heart stuttered at the sight. He wanted her. For the first time in a long time, he wasn’t hiding it. God, why now, when she was feeling so weak?
He shut the door. The subtle click enclosing them in total privacy made her stomach clench.
“Was that Garrison I heard you on the phone with a minute ago?”
Relief rolled through her.
This
she could talk about. “Yes, sir.”
Jeremy crossed his arms over his wide chest. “He offer you a job again?”
She nodded. “In Miami.”
“And you told him . . . ?”
The same thing she always told Garrison; she enjoyed working for Jeremy and felt far too loyal to jump ship. Even if he was offering more money, it wasn’t worth leaving her home, her parents . . . and her men. “No.”
Jeremy released a breath, and some of the tenseness left his shoulders. Every day, in little ways like this, he showed that he wanted her with him. That he cared. It had messed with her head. And her heart.
“Very good,” he praised. “Now I want to ask you about your behavior this week.”
The one thing she
really
didn’t want to discuss. “Sir, I—I’m sorry. I’m not feeling well.”
His face softened for a moment. “What happened? On Monday night at your party, you looked radiant. Tuesday, you dragged in here looking pale and tired, with your eyes swollen and red.”
“I had a hangover.”
“That’s lasted for two days?”
“Well, then my allergies set in.”
“You don’t have them.” He raised a dark brow at her. “Don’t lie to me.”
Damn, he was too smart and he always flustered her. “Sir ...”
“You’re distracted. You spilled coffee on an important briefing this morning. You’re not eating.” She opened her mouth, and Jeremy raised a hand. “Before you say a word, know that I don’t want excuses or more lies. I want answers.”
She couldn’t give them. If she told him that she’d made a wonderful mistake with Rhys, Jeremy would be angry. Even hurt. Nearly four years ago, when she’d told him she didn’t take lovers, he’d made her swear that if she ever changed her mind, he would be first, the fact he was her boss be damned.
She’d broken her word.
“I—I’ve been having trouble with insomnia.”
That, at least, wasn’t a total lie. She’d been too worried for the last day and a half to sleep much. What would she do when Rhys’s shift ended and he knocked on her door? And he would. Already, he’d left her three messages. She didn’t know how to answer them.
“Perhaps, but something’s caused it. What?”
“N-nothing.”
“Do you know what happens to little girls who lie to me?”
Kelsey had a pretty good idea. Ever since learning that Jeremy was a Dominant, she’d been reading erotic romances featuring such men. Her fantasies about Jeremy always involved her boss tying her up, commanding her body . . . with Rhys and Tucker participating in her punishments and pleasure.
“Y-you discipline them?”
“Yes. Do you know what that means?”
Kelsey sucked in a breath. Would he take her over his knee and spank her? Jeremy grabbed her wrist and pulled her close, his stare unrelenting. She read the answer to her unspoken question. Yes, that was exactly what he’d do. Helpless to look away, her insides fluttering, she met his gaze.
“I—I’m sorry. I won’t let anything affect my work performance again.” Kelsey wasn’t sure how she’d keep that promise.
“I’m not worried about your performance at work; you’re an excellent employee, which is why Garrison keeps trying to hire you away from me. I’m worried about
you
. But if you lie to me again, I’ll have no compunction about disciplining you.”
God, why did even his threat make her wet?
“You have no right.” She meant to the words to be strong, confrontational. They came out breathless.
“Do you really want to challenge me on that?”
No. Because if he crooked his finger and kept talking this way, she’d melt into a puddle of desire at his feet. How was that even possible? She was still processing her guilt for having sex with Rhys, and now . . .
“Please, sir. This has nothing to do with work.”
Jeremy stared hard at her. “Consider yourself off the clock, then. I’m speaking to you as a . . . friend now, not your boss. Are you clear?”
But he didn’t sound friendly; he sounded aggressive.
“Yes, sir.”
He stepped closer, stalked toward her in the small, enclosed office, forcing Kelsey to back away until her butt hit the edge of his desk. Jeremy’s eyes glinted with satisfaction as he braced his hands on the desk, on either side of her hips, trapping her in the cage of his arms. “What happened between your party and your drive to work yesterday morning?”
Here came the barrage of questions . . . and she didn’t have any good answers. “It—it’s personal.”
He hesitated. “Are your parents all right? Do you need help with something? Money?”
“No. My parents are fine. They’re in Italy right now. I—I don’t need money. Thank you, but—”
“You have no siblings, no pets. No close friends, other than Rhys and Tucker. Did you fight with one of them?”
“No.”
Jeremy tapped his fingers on the desk, slow, measured, insistent. “Did you fuck one of them?”
Apprehension bit into her, ran icy in her veins. She’d feared Jeremy would guess the truth eventually, but not this quickly.
“That’s a very personal question.”
He tightened his jaw as he stepped closer, towering over her. Jealous fury burned across his taut face. “You broke your promise to come to me first if you wanted a lover, Kelsey.”
“You’re my boss.” But she knew it was a bad argument; they both wanted so much more.
“Not right now. I’m a man who wants you, and you’re a naughty girl who didn’t stay true to her word. You’ve earned a punishment.”
“Jeremy—”
“That’s
sir
to you.” He grabbed her by the hips and spun her around.
In the next instant, he lifted her skirt above her waist and tore her panties away. She tried to shove her skirt back down, but he grabbed her hands and secured them in his grip at the small of her back. His other palm spread hotly across the cheek of her ass, and Kelsey felt every second of the caress like an electric charge through her body.
“You have a gorgeous ass.” He moaned, then smacked her backside—hard.
She gasped. “Ouch!”
“Quiet. For every noise, I’ll add another.”
“Please . . .”
“You beg me after you’ve broken your word? No, Kelsey. You knew how much I wanted you. You chose another without coming to me first.”
“Sir, I—”
“I didn’t give you permission to speak.”
“I don’t know how to do this,” she blurted, tears bleeding from the corners of her eyes.
Jeremy stilled. “Be submissive?”
She gave him a shaky nod. “It scares me.”
He wrapped his arms around her. His voice gentled. “There’s nothing to be frightened of. You want it.”
It wasn’t a question; he knew. Again, she nodded.
“Say it. Let me hear it.”
“I w-want it.”
“What exactly? Be precise.”
Kelsey drew in a shuddering breath. “I want to learn to be submissive for you, but Rhys and Tucker—”
“Are irrelevant to this discussion. You want me. I
will
have you—directly after your punishment.”
Before she could say another word, he rained a series of whacks across her ass, never in the same place twice, but he showed no mercy. It stung, burned . . . then gave way to a sweet, blossoming heat that had her biting her lip to hold in another gasp.
Why did she like it? No, love it? Shame and desire blended, making her mindless. She clawed the desk, holding in a cry. She wanted to moan his name so badly.