The Exposure (21 page)

She found the folder she was looking for. The file was neatly dated and labeled with the actress's name. She didn't open it or in any way look at the pictures. After all, they weren't hers to look at. She simply slid it back into its location in the drawer. Now she could honestly tell The Taskmaster she had looked for the pictures, but didn't see them. Win, win for everyone.

Interestingly enough, she still wasn't tired. Must have been the amazing sex hours before. So she didn't go back to the bedroom; instead she headed to the kitchen. She poured herself a glass of water while looking out the window overlooking the gardens.

She really liked Luke's house. It was so much more comfortable than her own apartment. Though she often joked with Luke about always going to his house, his place was the nicer of the two. For a few minutes, she allowed her mind to wander down paths she'd previously refused to go down.

What would it be like to live with Luke?

To live in this house with him day in and day out. And night after night. Her commute to work would be longer, but she thought she could deal with that. After the night they had spent together, anything seemed possible. She wanted to wake Luke up and discuss the future. She looked at the time. Probably not a good idea to wake him up at four a.m.

Besides, they had all the time in the
world.

L
uke was wide-awake and seething when Meagan came back to bed at four fifteen. She had been in his office again. He'd brushed it off the first time; he could not do so this time. But at the moment, he was too angry to think straight.

Damn it, Meagan,
he thought.
What the hell are you thinking and what the fuck are you doing?

Meagan, of course, had no idea he was awake. He didn't follow her, but she hadn't been as quiet as she probably thought she was. What was she looking for? And why?

He stayed in bed, thinking until her deep, rhythmic breathing told him she had gone back to sleep. Suddenly, he couldn't get out of the bed fast enough. No, he didn't know what was going on with Meagan. And he needed to calm down before he decided what to do.

After freshening up in the bathroom, he wrote her a short note and placed it on the pillow.

Meagan,

Had an emergency pop up at the club. Not sure when I'll be back. Don't wait.

I'll call you later,

Luke

He drove to the club. It would be deserted this early in the morning, making it a good place to sit and think. He'd gone through half a pot of coffee when a car pulled up to the front door.

He wasn't expecting anybody, so he went outside to meet whoever it was. The tall, muscular man getting out of his car looked familiar and as he came closer Luke recognized him. Fritz, the gentleman he and Nathaniel had contracted for the new club.

“Fritz, hello.” He stood and waited for the other man to make his way up to him. “You're out and about awfully early.”

Fritz smiled and shook his hand. “The same could be said for you.”

Fritz had been born and raised in Germany, and though he now traveled around the world, his heritage was evident in his accent.

“Just not able to have a good night's sleep,” Luke admitted.

“That's what normally happens to me when I'm having woman trouble.”

Luke snorted. “Isn't it always woman trouble?”

“Nine times out of ten.”

“Come on inside. I made some coffee.”

Fritz agreed and the two men each got a cup of coffee and sat in Luke's office. Fritz said that he had come by to look at the outside of the club.

“I thought Nathaniel said you couldn't start anytime soon,” Luke asked.

“He is correct and nothing's changed. I just had some free time and thought I'd stop by.”

“You work too much.”

“Says the man already at work with half a pot of coffee gone before eight.”

“It goes back to what you said before. Woman trouble.” Luke wasn't sure why he felt comfortable opening up to Fritz. He knew the man to be a Dom because he'd attended the opening of the New York club as a guest of Cole's.

“Anything in particular?”

“I don't think she's being entirely honest with me. I've caught her sneaking out of bed twice. Well, perhaps
caught
isn't the right word. I haven't confronted her yet. The first time she went to my office and looked through my files. I didn't follow her last night, but I'm sure she did it again.”

“And you don't want to ask her why?”

“No, I'd much rather she confront me with what she's doing.”

Fritz smiled. “This is just my personal opinion, but sometimes subs need a little help.”

“What do you mean?”

“Do you happen to have a time set up to play with her again?”

“As a matter of fact I do, next weekend.” It would be their last photography session. He thought back to the night before and how before they went to bed, everything seemed to be headed in the right direction.

He'd been momentarily stunned when she admitted she wanted to continue seeing him. He was surprised she didn't pick his jaw up off the floor and hand it to him.

“We normally start at ten and go for as long as we want.” There was no way to know how long this last session would take. Sometime before Saturday, he needed to pull all the photos together to ensure he had what was needed for the book.

“I have a way to get unresponsive subs talking,” Fritz said. “If you want, I can outline it for you, or if you'd like a third, I'm willing to help.”

“Yes, I'd love to hear your thoughts.” He looked down at his desk and at the mess he called his calendar. Meagan's name was listed every Saturday. He didn't want to think about how lonely his Saturdays would be without her. Screw that. How lonely all his days would be without her.

What the hell, Meagan? What the hell?
he asked himself for what seemed like the five thousandth time.

For the life of him he couldn't figure out what she was doing in his office. His mind went wild trying to decipher her motives. Was she trying to sabotage him?

He couldn't fathom that notion. Not after the previous night. If these past few weeks had been an act, she deserved an Oscar. She'd been too genuine in his arms. He prided himself on knowing when a sub was pretending. He'd bet his house that she was not pretending last night.

Some small part of him tried to convince the rest of him that maybe she was only wanting to look at the pictures of herself. After her first midnight visit to his office, he'd pulled her close and brought up in a roundabout way that he wanted her opinion on the photos he'd taken so far.

He listened as Fritz discussed his plan. It was unlike anything he had ever done before. It was beyond anything he'd ever contemplated. It was perfect.

*   *   *

L
uke knew Meagan would probably figure out something was up. While no one had ever said he wore his heart on his sleeve, it wasn't hard to know how he felt. He hadn't called her all week, and they'd exchanged a few texts back and forth, but nothing in detail. Nothing to do with their feelings for each other.

On Saturday she watched him with curious eyes, looking for something, anything. He schooled his features so he wouldn't give anything away. In order for this to work, she needed to be completely caught off guard. She complied with everything he asked her to do quickly and with no complaint. Any other day, he would be thinking of ways to reward her. But not today.

Fritz waited in the room off the studio. There was a two-way mirror, so he was able to see the entire session. Luke wondered if he was able to pick up on Meagan's unease. He probably could; after all he was a very experienced Dom. He thought ahead to the scene Fritz had planned. Was it the right thing to do?

He wasn't sure. But he knew he had to do something about Meagan's visits to his office.

You could just ask her,
he told himself. But he knew Meagan. It wasn't that she would be dishonest, but he wanted to ensure he was told the entire truth.

The day before he had looked over the pictures he had from their previous sessions. There weren't that many he needed to take today. Which was a good thing. He wasn't sure how long he could keep up the “everything's great, everything's fine” facade.

As he took the final shots for the book, he mentally prepared himself for the scene to come.
You have to do this,
he told himself.
You have to know.

“I think that's it for the bondage scenes.” He took a deep breath and scrolled through the last few pictures he had taken.

“Is that all? Should I get dressed?” She was naked at the moment, and Fritz did not want her to start out that way.

He nodded to a hanger he had on the far wall. “Go put a robe on.”

She raised an eyebrow at his odd request. Normally, he would have her remain naked or else he'd have her get dressed. To have her put on a robe suggested something else would follow the session. If she was smart, she would pick up on the fact that something was different today.

But again she didn't hesitate. Not the Meagan of today. The Meagan of today was off balance enough that she didn't want to misstep. She quickly put on the robe and went back to kneel in the middle of the room.

“As you probably imagined,” he said, “we aren't quite finished for the day. In fact, I have invited someone to run the next scene.”

He didn't miss her sharp intake of breath or the way her body tensed.

“What's your safe word, Meagan?”

“Red.”

“Very well. There is a room off to the side. On your right. The gentleman joining us is already in there, waiting.”

“May I ask a question, Sir?”

“Yes.”

“Are you going to be in the room, Sir?”

“No, but the room has two-way glass, so I can see. And I'll be able to hear.”

Meagan glanced warily at the closed door and bit her bottom lip. Luke considered calling off the scene for a second. But only for a second. He needed to get to the bottom of this. And in doing so, to let her know that deceit had no place in their
relationship. Assuming, of course, that they'd still have a relationship after today.

She threw her shoulders back, held her head up high, and walked through the door.

*   *   *

H
er heart was about to pound straight through her chest. Meagan was certain it was beating so loudly that anyone within a six-foot radius could hear it. She came to a stop as soon as she passed through the door.

What the hell?

A man faced her, one hip leaning against a desk. Tall and lean, but with an air of self-assurance and strength. She didn't know him, but he looked vaguely familiar. Her mind scrambled to try to place him.
Opening night. Luke's club. He talked with Nathaniel after Cole left with Sasha.
She remembered a German accent.

“Ms. Bishop,” he said, and she'd remembered correctly. He was German. “Come in and have a seat. My name is Herr Brose.”

She didn't know why she was so scared. Honestly, he was a rather good-looking man. In fact,
good-looking
might be an understatement. In his tailor-made dark suit, he was downright dashing. But there was something in his demeanor, a hint in his expression, that told her the suit was simply the sheep costume and underneath, he was a very dangerous wolf.

“What exactly are we doing, Herr Brose?” The words were difficult to get out since her mouth was so dry.

“You are not the one to be asking questions. That is my job. I'm not one to let things slide; however, we've never met and I can tell you're apprehensive. So this will count as my good deed for the month. It won't happen again.” He nodded toward the chair. “Go sit down.”

Her legs shook so badly, she was surprised they carried her, but she walked over to the chair and sat down. He moved toward her with a grace that surely had to be at odds with his height.

“Arms on the armrests,” he said. “Palms up.”

Her fingers trembled as he bound her by the arms.

“Legs spread.”

She instantly obeyed and wasn't shocked when he tied her legs to the chair legs. When he finished, he stood up and looked down at her. “Such a lovely robe.” His fingers trailed along the collar and she shivered. His hands were warm; she'd imagined them cold. “I'll let you keep it on for now.”

She glanced at the window she knew Luke was watching through, but couldn't see anything. He was watching, wasn't he?

Fritz turned around. “Shall we begin?”

She nodded.

“Words, Ms. Bishop. When I ask a question, you are to answer me with words.”

“Yes, Herr Brose.”

“Lovely,” he said, and turned the lights off.

For what seemed an eternity, she stared into the darkness, unable to see anything. Not even a light from under the door. She pulled against her restraints, but she was bound too tightly and couldn't budge.

A light over her head flickered on and she was momentarily blinded. But he didn't wait for her eyes to grow used to the light before he began.

“We'll start easy,” he said. “What is your name?”

“Meagan Bishop.”

“And your occupation?”

“I'm an executive at NNN.”

“Do you enjoy your work?”

“Most days.” She took a deep breath. This wasn't too bad. It looked a bit scary at first, but this was nothing she couldn't handle.

“When did you last have sex?”

“Last weekend.”

“How many times did you come?”

“What?”

“Wrong answer.” He moved from the desk into the light and took off his suit jacket, all the while keeping his eyes on her. “Each wrong answer earns a punishment.”

She watched in awe as he rolled up his sleeves. It was his accent, she decided, that made him sound so scary. Fuck, his arm muscles were huge. His hands took the material of her robe and with one jerk, the garment ripped into two pieces, exposing her from neck to waist.

“How many times did you come last weekend?”

“Umm, twice.” She couldn't remember.

“Four.” The corner of his lip quirked up. “Punishment time.”

He went back to the desk and returned with a riding crop. “Four swats on each breast.”

Fuck no, she almost shouted, but bit back her words. She took a deep breath and waited for him to strike. He surprised her by instead kneeling and cupping her right breast with his free hand. His touch was firm, but gentle and his mouth curved into a smile at the small gasp she couldn't hold back.

“Such pretty skin.” His fingers lightly danced over the top of her breast.

She swallowed.

His touch grew rougher and he rolled her nipple between his thumb and forefinger. He pinched it and an electric shock traveled down her body from where his hands were to the space between her legs that ached to be filled. He repeated his actions
on her other breast. She held back her moan; she hadn't thought anything about this setup would have turned her on, but it did.

When she was very nearly writhing in her seat for him to touch her more
damn it,
he stood and, without waiting, brought the flogger down first on one breast and then the other.