Bound to be Taken (Emergence) (13 page)

She groaned. “Bigger than today’s? I don’t think my heart can take it.”

Aiden stepped in front of her and claimed her mouth in a hard, deep kiss. When he pulled away, he tugged on the hair between her legs. “Would you be willing to shave this?”

Her eyes glazed. She didn’t respond. He watched her mind churning.

“Don’t get me wrong. I love your curls, but a smooth pussy is so fucking sexy. We could do it for you if you want?” Aiden paused.

Stephanie shook her head. Her cheeks flamed red. “Lord. Are you serious?”

“He is.” Dane kissed her beside the ear. “Some women are afraid they’ll cut themselves. They prefer to have their man do it.”

“It can be very sensual…having someone shave you.” Aiden kissed her neck.

“I can’t even think with you two hovering over me.” She shoved both their chests playfully. “Let me go home and get some sleep.”

“We’re still on for two o’clock tomorrow?”

“Yes.” She stepped back and reached down to gather her scattered clothing.

Aiden noted she hadn’t responded to his shaving request. He’d leave it alone and see what happened.

In seconds she was dressed and waiting at the door. Aiden grabbed his shirt and stuck his arms in the sleeves. He didn’t button it. It was late. No one was going to be in the halls. He’d just escort Stephanie downstairs in his socks and then return.

Dane nodded at them both. “Go ahead. I’ll just clean up a bit here. See you tomorrow, Steph.”

Aiden stared at Dane. Clean up must be the latest euphemism for jerking off. He knew the man had to be hurting. They both needed more. And Aiden would be glad to oblige. He’d be sprinting back to the apartment after he saw Stephanie safely into her own.

Stephanie barely spoke on the way down in the elevator. Aiden held her hand loosely and rubbed a finger over her palm. Her lowered gaze spoke volumes. She was embarrassed. Hopefully she would overcome that. Although her innocence was so damn sexy, he hoped she never fully stopped blushing and biting her lip under his and Dane’s commands. He wanted to keep this woman. Keep her and worship her body for the rest of his life. He loved that she was smart and witty and hardworking. The contrast of that with her natural submission in the bedroom would forever make him harder than a rock.

Chapter Eight

“Stephanie… Yoohoo, Stephanie.”

Stephanie jumped in her seat and twisted her head to find Lisa standing in front of her desk.

“Are you okay? You’re very strange today. Kinda pale and jumpy and spacey.” Lisa sat. She grinned across the desk. Stephanie didn’t have many friends, but she counted Lisa as one of them even if they were just office pals.

Nevertheless, there was no way she was going to share everything that had happened to her this week with anyone. She couldn’t even put into words the turmoil inside her head anyway. What would Lisa think if she told her their bosses had placed a bet on her, and that she’d agreed to sub for not one but two men in exchange for a date?

“I’m fine.” Stephanie fiddled with the file on her desk, straightening the pages as though they weren’t already perfect.

“Did you get a date to Saturday night’s company party?”

“Yes.” She didn’t look Lisa in the eye but grabbed her mouse and pretended to be preoccupied with the computer screen. She couldn’t think of anything to say without sticking her foot in her mouth.

“Yes?” Lisa sounded shocked. “Who is it? That guy from the elevator?” Lisa leaned her elbows on the desk.

“Yep.”

Lisa straightened up. Her face grew serious. “Wow. Awesome. Is he cute? You don’t seem very enthusiastic.”

Very.
“He’s okay, I guess.” Stephanie shrugged. “You’ll see him Saturday and all your curiosity will be satisfied.”

“What’s his name?”

Fuck.
Stephanie squeezed her lips together and thought for a second. Could she guess? Which one of them was going to attend with her? They hadn’t ever discussed it.

“Steph?” Lisa giggled. “Did you forget his name?”

“Aiden. Sometimes he goes by Dane.”
Jesus.
She felt as if she were digging a deep hole and slipping into it with her lies.

“Okaaay. Aiden Dane. That’s…not weird at all.”

“Listen, Lisa, I have a lot to get done. Can we talk about this later?” Maybe if she put Lisa off, she could avoid ever discussing it with her.

“Sure. Yeah.” Lisa stood. She smiled, but her face was strained. Stephanie knew she’d hurt her feelings.

“I’m sorry, Lisa. I just have so much to do before the weekend. I don’t mean to be a bitch.” Stephanie grinned and nodded toward the keyboard, noticing the time in the corner. “Shit. In fact, I have to go. I have an appointment this afternoon.” Thank God she’d gotten so much done yesterday in her fourteen-hour working stint. She had no intention of returning to the office today.

“Oh.” Lisa jumped. “You never leave the office.” A slow smile spread across her face. “Why do I get the feeling you’re holding out on me?”

Stephanie smirked—or tried to. “What would I be holding out about? I just have an appointment.” It was already one thirty.
Shit.
She needed to go. It would take her a few minutes to shut things down and gather her stuff. She didn’t want to be late. Her hand shook as she reached for the mouse. It wasn’t as though she would be punished.

“’Kay, but I want to hear more about this guy tomorrow.” Lisa backed toward the door. “Got it?”

“Sure. Of course.” Stephanie pasted on the best smile she could manager, her finger hovering over the mouse as she clicked back and forth across the screen, closing documents.

As soon as Lisa was gone, Stephanie leaned her forehead against her hand and groaned. She was going to be a few minutes late and she had no idea why that bothered her. What the hell was wrong with her? First she makes a deal with two virtual strangers to swap date nights, then she agrees to pretend to be their sub, then she lets them strip her naked and make her orgasm twice in their apartment, and now she was creaming over the idea of being punished by them.

She was totally messed up. If she lived through this weekend, could she ever resume her normal life?

She feared not. And she had to fortify herself against the possibility because nowhere in the agreement they’d made had anyone mentioned a future beyond Saturday.

Ugh. Screw the job promotion; she never should have agreed to this arrangement. It was messing with her head. And her libido.

But the tingly ache in her pussy overruled reason and demanded she go meet her men and get everything out of the next three days she could before the house of cards tumbled to the ground. Something about the way her body reacted to Aiden and Dane made her curiosity peak. She was so titillated by their demands. Sweat sprinkled the back of her neck.
You knew this about yourself. Deep down you have to admit you always found the idea of being dominated arousing.

It might not have had a name, but submission had been a fantasy of hers for years. One she’d buried deep inside, never expecting to pull it out and examine it. It had frightened her to even consider the ramifications of turning herself over to anyone. It was incongruent with her knowledge that men couldn’t be trusted. Her mother had proven that time and again.

Maybe she’d been wrong. Perhaps there were a few men out there who had nothing in common with the strays her mother traipsed around with all her life. A girl could hope.

Stephanie scurried from the office and stepped into the lobby of her apartment building at five after two. She glanced around the open area.

As soon as she spotted Dane and Aiden approaching her, she sucked in a breath and held it. Jesus, these men were hot. She’d hoped to find her attraction to them had been an illusion, and yet she found she’d been wrong.

Her stomach did flip flops and her hands shook at her sides.

“Hey,” Aiden said, “you look great. Did you sleep well?”

She nodded as he leaned in close and kissed her cheek. A hot flush crossed her face and scattered down her chest when his lips met her skin.

“You do look nice.” Dane did the same to her other cheek and a lightheaded sensation crawled up her body. They were so close to her. Too close. Invading her space…and she wanted them to. She wished they would just take her upstairs and have their way with her. Who needed shopping? Surely she had something that would work for Friday night.

Stop it. This is a business arrangement. Albeit, there are some fantastic side benefits. But that’s all. Nothing more. They’re being super nice because they need you. And you need them. Get over yourself.

But the wetness growing in her panties told a different story. She was really attracted to them. She could kid herself all she wanted, but after Friday and Saturday, she was going to be very disappointed to end the charade.

“Shall we go?” Aiden took her arm and guided her toward the elevator.

Oh.
Where were they going? Had her brain managed to telepathically convince the men to take her upstairs instead of out the door? Could they expand on last night’s escapade?

Dane held the door open when it pinged, and Stephanie held her breath as she watched him reach for the buttons on the control panel. Ten or fifteen? Parking. Ugh. She released her breath when she realized her misunderstanding. They needed a car.

“Are you okay?” Aiden leaned into her line of vision. “You haven’t said a word.”

She nodded. “Fine. Just nervous. I’ve never been to…whatever sort of place you’re taking me.”

“Well, don’t worry. We’ll be right with you. We won’t leave your side.”

Yeah, that’s what I’m most afraid of.

Stephanie bit her lip to keep her retort to herself, and Aiden reached for her chin to tug. “Don’t do that. It drives me crazy,” he muttered.

Huh? Crazy good or crazy bad?

The elevator jolted to a stop and they stepped off. Aiden still held her arm, guiding her through the parking garage. Dane brushed up against her other side. They were always crowding her.

And more importantly, it made her aroused every single time.

They came to a silver sedan, and Aiden pulled a key fob out of his pocket. The sharp sound of the locks popping startled her in the silence.

“Are you sure you’re okay?” Dane asked. He grasped her other arm and turned her toward him. “You don’t have to do this if you don’t want to. You’re very jumpy.”

She smiled at him. She did have to do this. A trade was a trade. If she backed out because of her nerves, she’d be shooting herself in the foot as well. “I’m good. I promise.” She was kidding herself. This wasn’t just about their agreement. She wanted to suck the life out of this experience. She was intrigued by their lifestyle on several levels, especially with regards to her physical reaction to their commands.

Both men had an air of authority about them, as though they owned her at times. And those times made her the most horny. She carefully examined her reaction to them every time her pussy wept. Yep, there was no denying she craved their demands on her body, the verbal and the subtle.

Aiden opened the back door, and Stephanie climbed in.

“How was work?” he asked when they’d all settled and Aiden backed out of the spot.

“Good. I got a lot done, thank God.”

“When do you have to be back?” Dane turned to glance back at her.

“No rush. I’m not going to return today.”

“Awesome.” Aiden smiled at her. She watched his reflection in the rearview mirror. That one word seemed to hold so much unspoken potential.

Stephanie stared out the window as they drove. She sat on her hands to keep from fidgeting. Aiden and Dane discussed the route, while Stephanie pinched her lips together and tried to keep from biting the lower one. She couldn’t get the look on Aiden’s face out of her mind when he’d asked her to stop that.

In no time, they turned in to a driveway and parked behind a strip. She’d never been to this section of town before. She glanced around as she stepped out of the car. The area was upscale.

Dane spoke as he grabbed her hand. “We thought we’d stop at this boutique first and get you some…um, regular clothes. I hope you don’t find the idea too pretentious. You don’t seem to own anything that isn’t…libraryish.” He smiled. “We know the owners. It’s a cute place. You’ll love it.”

“You’re going to buy me clothes? Why?”

Aiden took her other hand. “Because what you wear affects how you feel. Try some stuff on and see. I bet if you had a better wardrobe and went to work feeling more youthful and fun, you’d come across to the management differently. They can’t even see how fantastic you are because they can’t get past the matronly look you present.”

She glared at them and stopped walking. “Really? Are people that shallow?” She knew they were. That’s precisely why she dressed how she did.

Dane stopped and stepped closer to her. “Yes. People in business are that shallow. Listen, we don’t mean to offend you, but under those gray and black skirts and buttoned-up blouses lies a very sexy woman. Let her out.”

Aiden ducked into her view and stuck out his pouty bottom lip. “Try it.”

“Why are you doing this?”