Accidental Slave (11 page)

But when he’d moved next to her in the booth and run his hand along her bare leg beneath her skirt while leaning over to kiss the nape of her neck, she’d begun to sing a different tune. After all, he’d assured her, it was just a joke mail to Elizabeth from her own account. Elizabeth loved practical jokes, he said with a laugh.

They’d returned to the office and he hadn’t even minded the repeat of their Christmas party tussle in the supply closet. Afterwards she’d changed Elizabeth’s password, admonishing him with a coquettish giggle not to tell she’d done it.

Now he waited anxiously for the computer to boot. After a few seconds the familiar blue screen appeared on the monitor with the company’s logo. Gary typed in the temporary password Sheila had written down for him. He pressed enter and held his breath. The screen went black a moment, its drives whirring and clicking as it loaded Elizabeth’s desktop and programs.
I did it,
Gary whispered. His heart was hammering unpleasantly but that didn’t stop the broad grin from splitting his face.

After closing the reminder to change the password, he opened her Internet browser and typed in the address of a particularly brutal BDSM site he liked to frequent when home alone and in need of jerking off. He clicked through several of the pages and then typed in a new porn site address, whisking himself to an erotic bondage site that specialized in lesbian action. Then it was off to a fetish supply catalog, where he scrolled through pages of whips, cuffs, paddles, gags and restraint devices. For good measure, he downloaded several pictures of naked women in various tortured poses and saved them on Elizabeth’s desktop.

He checked to make sure her browser wasn’t set to delete any record of the site visits.

Satisfied, he closed the browser and stared for a moment at the icons on her desktop. Looking around the large, well-appointed office—the office that would soon be his at last—he permitted himself a smile. He heard something and stiffened, his ears preternaturally pricked. Had it been an elevator door? Was someone coming in to the offices? Hurriedly he closed down Elizabeth’s computer and left her office.

He returned quickly to his own, plopping himself into his chair. He strained to hear if someone had in fact come in, but heard nothing. Damn, he’d jumped the gun, his nerves getting the better of him. Well, he would finish the rest of his plan from right there at his own computer.

He logged onto the company’s email server via their website. When the login screen came up, he entered Elizabeth’s name and temporary password. He waited the few seconds it took to open her email, holding his breath and…he was in.

Hurriedly he scrolled through her inbox, looking for anything that pertained to him. It was all boring business correspondence. He opened her sent folder—more of the same.

Well, not for long, he thought with an evil grin.

Clicking on the compose memo tab, he typed in his own email address and the subject tag:
Sorry.

Dear Gary,

I’ve been doing a lot of thinking, after our little discussion this afternoon. I’m really sorry I
flew off the handle like that. Of course you didn’t have anything to do with what happened—the
very idea is silly, once I’ve had time to think it through. I had obviously had way too much to
drink, and I apologize for dragging you into it.

I know you were right to break off our personal relationship, even though it was pretty
rough for me at the time. And though I miss you in my bed more than I can say, I would never do
anything to harm you—you mean too much to me.

That said, I hadn't intended that anyone at the office find out about my secret life. I mean,
it’s nobody’s business but my own, right? I’m a free woman and these are modern times. If I
want to hang out at sex clubs and engage in a little casual S&M fun, who am I hurting?

Nevertheless, I do hope you’ll maintain your discretion, especially as regards Wallace &
Pratt. I really wouldn’t want it to get out. You know how stuffy and prudish old man Wallace is.

He just wouldn’t get it.

You’ve done a great job on the team, Gary, and I do hope this little wrinkle in our
relationship doesn’t affect your ability to work with me. I wouldn’t want our working
relationship to become strained by any indiscretion on
either
of our parts. As your annual review
is coming up soon, I’m sure you appreciate the delicacy of the situation.

Best regards, and, again, sorry about last night, and the baseless accusations I made today.

Elizabeth

Gary reread the email, grinning at the implication she was subtly blackmailing him into silence with the specter of his upcoming salary review. He was pleased with the personal note—

enjoying the fantasy that they’d had an affair and he had been the one to break it off. He added Elizabeth’s own address to the cc line since she had a habit of cc:ing herself on emails.

He held his finger poised over the button for a moment as he weighed the consequences of what he was about to do. Did he really have the balls to destroy her so utterly and completely?

He hit the send button.

Elizabeth was still struggling to recover from the effects of that breathless kiss. She stood at the large window of Cole’s high-rise apartment, gazing out at the tops of the trees that filled Central Park and the ribbons of cars down below. She wanted more than just a kiss—but how much more?

Cole came up behind her, standing just close enough so she could feel his presence without his actually touching her. She stood still, aware of the press of her nipples against her bra, wondering what he expected of her. He was a Dom, used to getting what he wanted, she was sure. He wanted her—that kiss had left no doubt, but in what way?

She turned toward him, her lips parting of their own accord. She closed her eyes, eager for the press of his lips against hers. Instead he stepped back and moved to stand beside her, obviously not on the same wavelength. Embarrassed, she turned hastily back toward the view.

“This is a great place,” she offered, aware her voice was over-bright to cover her chagrin.

“Yeah. It’s been in the family a long time. When my parents retired, they wanted to move somewhere warmer, and I bought it from them. I like living here, but sometimes I need to get away from all the hustle and bustle of the commercial real estate business, which is what I do when I’m not bidding on beautiful slave girls at BDSM auctions.”

He turned a lopsided grin on her and unable to resist, she smiled back. “Good.” He nodded with approval. “I’m glad to see you can smile about it. I feel really bad about what happened to you last night. That guy should be put in jail for what he did. But at the same time, at least you weren’t hurt or taken advantage of by some unscrupulous asshole.”

He reached out and stroked her cheek with one finger. A shiver ran through her and her nipples ached. “And I got to meet you. To take you home. To…kiss you.”

Elizabeth’s heart skipped a beat and again her lips tingled in anticipation. Her legs felt rubbery. Was it still the after-effect of the drugs? Why did she feel like a trembling teenager around this guy? She should say something—something clever and sassy, something to show she was in control of both the situation and herself. She opened her mouth but no words formed.

He took her shoulders and gently but firmly pushed her against the thick glass. His dark eyes seemed to be searching hers, looking for something she wasn’t sure she was ready for him to see.

She held his gaze as long as she could, then buried her head against his chest. Her heart was pounding as she rested against him, waiting, knowing he was going to kiss her again, wanting it.

He put his arms around her, tightening them as he pulled her close. All at once his mouth was on hers, his kisses urgent. His tongue teased and darted between her lips while his hands roamed over her body. She felt as if she would melt into the floor, her muscles liquid, held up only by his strong embrace.

He let her go, holding her by the shoulders, his eyes again searching her, as if trying to penetrate secrets she barely knew she was keeping. He led her to the sofa, gently pushing her down. Caught in a web of her own desire, she didn’t resist him. She desperately wanted him to kiss her again.

“Just lie back and relax.” He lifted her legs onto the sofa, maneuvering himself so he was sitting beside her. There was easily room for them both on the deep sofa, which was upholstered in rich, soft leather.

He stroked her cheek with the back of two fingers. She resisted an impulse to turn her head and take them into her mouth. She willed her heart to stop its wild flutter. Cole was like no man she had ever met. She knew she was out of her ken, out of her depth, but she didn’t care.

“Trust me,” he whispered.

She nodded and closed her eyes.

He leaned over her until his lips touched her forehead. His kiss was light as the touch of a petal on her eyelids, the bridge of her nose, her mouth. He traced the line of her lips with the tip of his tongue. He kissed her, the velvet press of his lips soft against hers as his tongue danced in her mouth. When he pulled back, she leaned up, not ready for him to stop, never wanting him to stop.

“Un unh,” he admonished, pressing her shoulder back against the couch. “Stay still. Let me take you to a new place—a new way of experiencing your desire.” His lips were smiling but his eyes were burning into hers. She wasn’t entirely sure where he was going but she knew she wanted to come along for the ride.

Gently he laid one hand over her eyes, forcing them closed. “Yes. Stay like that, relaxed, eyes closed.” Elizabeth felt very vulnerable, but also deeply aroused. He removed his hand from her face. She remained with eyes closed, her heart fluttering wildly. Cole’s fingers closed around her wrists, pulling them up and pressing them onto the sofa above her head. Her eyes flew open.

Her natural instinct was to resist, and she did, struggling against his firm grip.

“What…?”

“Shh, it’s okay. Just flow with how it feels, give in to it.” Elizabeth’s heart was smashing against her ribs and she couldn’t seem to catch her breath.

“Don’t struggle. Relax. Close your eyes again.” He leaned down, his mouth brushing against her ear. “Slow your breathing. You’re safe here. Give in to your own desires.”

He kept her wrists pinned over her head. Her blouse had ridden up, exposing the skin of her midriff. Cole stroked the flesh, his touch electrifying her. She pulled against his grip and he tightened it just a little.

His free hand roamed, moving down her thighs and passing over her bare skin again. She shuddered and pressed her legs together, keenly aware of her pulsing clit. She felt his hand at her throat, the thumb lightly pressing beneath one ear, the fingers curling easily around her neck. She gasped, her heart bucking, and jerked her wrists, which he held steady.

One hand on her throat, the other pinning her arms high over her head, he murmured, “Do you want me to stop?” His voice was low and sultry, a ripple of challenge beneath the surface of the words.

She looked at him, opening her mouth to say yes. Her mind told her to
demand
he let her go that second. Her body, yielding, wet and aching with lust, overruled, and she closed her mouth without answering.

He narrowed his eyes and smiled a predatory smile. “No, I didn’t think so.” He moved his hand from her throat, twisting it so his fingers dipped into the cup of her bra beneath her blouse.

He found and rolled an already stiff nipple, making her gasp. He kissed her throat, his tongue gliding down to the hollow between her collarbones.

“You’re so beautiful,” he whispered throatily, sliding to lie down beside her, her wrists still caught in his firm grip. She trembled, feeling his passion and heat mingling with her own. His cock was hard against her thigh. His free hand moved down between her legs, sliding against the thin cotton of her slacks. Her clit throbbed beneath the press of his fingers and it was all she could do to keep from grinding against them.

All at once he released her wrists and pulled her into his arms. She wanted those fingers back at her sex. She wanted, she realized with astonishment, to feel his grip on her wrists, rendering her helpless, taking the decision from her. She wanted to pull off her clothing and rip off his shirt and let him take her—caveman style. What was happening to her? Who was this guy who could draw such reactions from her?

Her mind whirling, her body on fire, she tried to collect herself. He held her close and she could feel the beat of his heart against hers. He murmured in a low voice, his lips near her ear.

“That is just a taste, Elizabeth. The tiniest whisper of the passion we could share.”

He let her go, sitting up and twisting to face her. He was watching her with dark, solemn eyes. She too sat up, pushing her hair from her face and straightening her blouse, two buttons of which had popped open.

She was flustered and curiously let down. Why had he stopped? She rubbed her wrists, conscious she wanted to feel his grip on them again. She bit her lip, aware her panties were wet, wondering if the stain of her desire showed at her crotch. She pressed her legs together and looked away from his mesmerizing stare. “I don’t know…”

“You don’t know…” he prompted her to continue. Slowly, almost against her will, she looked back at him. His dark hair was tousled, the bangs, which had been brushed smoothly to the side, falling over his forehead, into his eyes. He shook back the hair and waited for her to continue, a small smile on his lips.

Why was she behaving like a tongue-tied schoolgirl? Elizabeth was used to making high-powered deals with the movers and shakers of the business elite. She never hesitated to let a man know how she felt and she was always honest, even brutally honest. Surely she could express herself now. Admit to him her confusion, if not her desires.