If You Dare - A BDSM Billionaire Erotic Romance Novel (13 page)

***

The next few days were a total
whirlwind as Zoe perused umpteen brochures and talked to at least a
dozen travel agents. She now had enough money in the bank to be
able to travel for a couple of years without even having to come
back home if she wanted, and that’s what she’d chosen to
do.

She finally decided that her first
solo trip was going to be to Asia, and she had bought a one-way
ticket on a flight that was scheduled to leave in three days,
however there was way more to organize than she’d first thought.
She had talked to a real estate agent and gone over her options
with regards to her house. After some sound advice, she decided
that rather than sell it, she would rent it out, giving her the
option to return home and retake residence should the need arise.
The agent had reassured her that he would find her a responsible
retired couple or a newly married couple. References would be
obtained, along with a security deposit to cover any possibility of
damage to the property.

The agent also reassured her that he
would be more than happy to make monthly checks on the house and
hire any contractors necessary to carry out any needed repairs. Zoe
signed on the dotted line and handed over her spare key, feeling
relieved that at least her house was going to be well taken care
of.

Her next stop was to put the personal
possessions she wasn’t taking with her into a storage facility. She
also arranged to have her mail forwarded to a PO Box and her phone
calls redirected to her cell phone. The remaining time was taken up
by packing the few clothes and toiletries that she was taking with
her. Having never been to Asia before she had no idea what items in
her wardrobe would be suitable, so she intended to buy new clothes
once she arrived.

Zoe had been so busy that she had
gotten into bed that night and fallen sound asleep within minutes.
When she woke in the morning she was grateful that she hadn’t had
the time to think much about Dawson or what he’d done to
her.

On her last night in the
country a few of her friends got together and threw her a farewell
party where copious amounts of alcohol were drunk and tales of ‘Zoe
the Mouse’ were recounted, much to everyone’s amusement. Zoe was
also amused; not by the stories being told about her, although they
were certainly funny. She was amused by the fact that people
referred to her as a mouse.
If they only
knew what I’d been doing lately
, she
thought.
I changed from a mouse to a
blackmailer and then into a complete slut with no morals or
inhibitions.
Still, as much as she would
love to share some of her own little stories, it was better that
her friends didn’t know about that side of her.

The morning of her flight dawned
bright and beautiful, and Zoe was filled with excitement for what
lay ahead. She dressed in a lightweight, flowing dress and sandals,
put her hair up in a carefree ponytail and then picked up her
suitcase and locked her front door behind her for the last time.
She drove to the airport in her own car rather than take a taxi,
having arranged for a friend to pick it up from there later on in
the day.

Walking into the airport and checking
in was totally exhilarating and Zoe went through to the departure
lounge feeling as though she was already in the clouds. Her flight
was announced on time, and she walked through the security
checkpoint and boarded the plane, finding her seat and settling
down for the long flight ahead of her. She’d made sure that she’d
brought plenty of magazines to read, but until they were in the air
she just wanted to sit back and take everything in.

She watched as people found their
seats, stowed their carry-on luggage and settled their children.
The hubbub of voices was a mixture of parents calming their
children, couples laughing softly together and businessmen and
women talking into their cell phones while they made last minute
calls before all gadgets had to be switched off.

The flight attendant started to walk
down the aisle, checking that the overhead compartments were
securely closed and answering people’s questions with a smile on
her face. As she drew level with Zoe’s seat her eyes checked the
seat number above her and then she bent down to talk to Zoe in a
soft, quiet voice. “Ms. Castle?” Zoe nodded and swallowed the
nervous lump that had formed in her throat. Was there something
wrong with her ticket? “Your seat has been upgraded to first class,
Ms. Castle. If you would like to bring your carry-on luggage and
follow me please, I’ll show you to your new seat.”

“There must be some mistake.” Zoe had
checked the prices on first class tickets, and had decided that
there was no way she was going to pay that.

“No ma’am. There’s no mistake.” The
attendant smiled politely. “Follow me please.” Zoe rushed to gather
her bag up and quickly walk after the woman, still not convinced
that once they reached the first class seats she would have to walk
all the way back again. There had to have been a mistake. Airlines
didn’t just give out free upgrades for God’s sake.

Her eyes got wide when they reached
first class and the attendant showed her to her seat. Seat? It was
more like an armchair, a very large and very luxurious leather
armchair at that. “Make yourself comfortable, Ms. Castle.” Zoe sank
down into the chair in a daze. There had to be some mistake; hadn’t
there? “There’s some champagne here for your enjoyment, and here’s
the remote control for your television. There’s also a
complimentary gift basket down by your feet with some chocolates
and a few other little treats for you. Enjoy your flight.” And with
that she was gone, leaving a bewildered Zoe sat there open-mouthed
and wondering what the hell had just happened.

She settled herself back in the chair
and looked around her in excitement. First class was definitely a
cut above economy, she thought. Even the television was bigger, and
the headphones were the large padded ones that wouldn’t hurt your
ears when you’d worn them for an hour. She bent over and reached
for the gift basket, pulling it up onto her lap and feeling a smile
spread across her face. It felt like Christmas, and she eagerly
started to rummage through to see what the basket
contained.

Out came a warm, fleecy blanket and a
black satin blindfold that had Zoe’s mind going instantly to Dawson
and how he’d used his neck tie to cover her eyes. She gave her head
a shake and pushed him from her thoughts as she lifted out a box of
luxury chocolates and a bag of chocolate covered pretzels. A glossy
fashion magazine and an information booklet on the main attractions
Asia had to offer were also in there, along with a bottle of
perfume. It was probably duty free perfume, but it was still a
brand that Zoe had never been able to afford to buy for
herself.

She put everything back in
the basket and then put the basket back on the floor, sitting back
in the chair with a bemused sigh. Never in a million years would
she have believed that she would fly first class to the other side
of the world. She looked around the cabin curiously, for the first
time realizing that there were only about ten chairs, and most of
them were empty.
Well of course they
are
, she thought.
Who could afford to fly first class these days?

There were three people other than her
in the leather chairs, with an obviously married couple in front of
her and a gentleman sat in the seat to her right. The couple was
talking to each other quietly, while the man on his own had his
face buried in a newspaper. Zoe turned to look out of the small
window and then jumped nervously as the engines fired into roaring
life.

A nasally voice sounded over
the intercom system and a corresponding light came on to indicate
that passengers should now stow all belongings, turn off any
electrical devices and fasten their seatbelts.
Here we go.
Zoe was so excited that
she could barely breathe, and as the sound of the jet engines got
even louder and the plane started to move forwards, she stared out
of the window in awe of the journey she was about to embark
on.

Some of her friends had told
her that she must be crazy to travel to the other side of the world
on her own, but Zoe could honestly say that she wasn’t nervous in
the slightest. As the plane taxied down the runway her excitement
grew and she knew that she must have had a smile a mile wide on her
face.
You look like a loon, Zoe. It’s
probably a good thing that they moved you to first class otherwise
they might have been tempted to wrap you up in the snug white
coat.
She gave a little chuckle to herself
and then gripped on to the arms of the chair as the plane picked up
speed and finally left the ground.

Completely oblivious to her
surroundings inside the plane, Zoe watched raptly as the ground
below them got smaller and smaller the higher the plane climbed.
She lost track of how long she sat there staring out the window,
but when there was nothing else to see except clouds she finally
pulled her face away from the glass and sat back in her chair with
a contented sigh.

She looked around the cabin and
wondered what to do first; read a magazine, watch a movie or open
her chocolates. A movement out of the corner of her eye caught her
attention and she turned her head to look at the man in the chair
next to her as he finally lowered his newspaper, and then she
stared open mouthed in disbelief as Dawson’s face
appeared.

~
Chapter Eight

~

“What the hell are you doing here?” He
was the last person she had expected to see, especially on a plane
thousands of feet in the air.

Dawson gave a rue smile as he answered
her. “I know my timing sucks, Zoe, but I needed to talk to you
without any interruptions.”

“I thought we’d said everything that
needed to be said.” Zoe’s voice was cool with no hint of the inner
turmoil she was currently feeling.

Dawson shook his head softly and
leaned towards her in his seat. “I didn’t come close to saying a
fraction of what needed to be said, Zoe. I know I’ve been a
complete bastard, but the night you came to my office and tried to
blackmail me you completely threw me through a loop and I reacted
the only way I knew how.”

“Like a kinky control freak?” Zoe
couldn’t keep the sarcasm from her voice, and in all honesty she
didn’t even try. “I’m sorry, Dawson, but if you’ve come here to try
and persuade me to come back with you and be your little sex slave,
then you had a very expensive wasted trip.”

He gave a wry little chuckle.
“Upgrading you to first class with the crazy hope that you would
actually listen to me and hear what I have to say was definitely
expensive. Thank God I get a nice discount, huh?”

“Wait a minute. You upgraded me? I
thought the airline had upgraded me.”

“Well technically they did, after I
had a word with them. But that’s immaterial anyway.” Dawson reached
for the champagne bottle and deftly removed the cork before pouring
two glasses of the bubbly liquid. He handed a glass to Zoe and held
his up in a salute. “Here’s to a pleasant flight.”

Zoe took a sip of her drink,
more to calm the nerves she was now feeling rather than at his
toast. “What did you want to talk about, Dawson? You’re here now so
you might as well say what’s on your mind.” For once Zoe felt in
control of the situation, and as she spoke her nerves started to
calm down a little.
Get a grip, Zoe. It’s
not as if he can tie you up and do kinky things to you on a plane
full of people, is it?
She ignored the
flutter in her stomach at the thought.

“I want to offer you a job.” She
hadn’t been expecting that, and it took her a few seconds for her
brain to actually comprehend what he’d said.

“Are you out of your fucking mind? You
have to be joking, right? Unless my memory has completely failed
me, didn’t I just quit because the job I had with you
sucked?”

“Hear me out, Zoe. This job is nothing
like the last one you had. It has more responsibility and a lot
more potential; both of which you told me that you’d wanted with
the previous job, right?” Zoe didn’t answer; she just waited for
him to continue talking. “You won’t be a secretary or a glorified
coffee maker anymore. And it comes with a substantial pay-rise as
well.”

Zoe started to say something
but he held his hand up to stop her. “I was wrong, Zoe, and that’s
not something I admit to lightly.”
You can
say that again
, she thought sourly. “I
didn’t give you enough credit, and I definitely didn’t give you
enough chances to prove your worth to the company. You were an
excellent secretary but I treated you like crap, and for that I’m
sorry.”
Whoa, stop the presses. Did Dawson
just apologize?