Bound to You (13 page)

The morning after amazing sex is the best. There's nothing better than waking up with someone beside you. You're sore. You're exhausted. But you don't care because the one who made you that way is next to you. That was how I felt when I woke up next to Xavier. I wrapped my arms around him and ran my nose across his hard pecs.

I could do this every hour of the day if it were possible. His skin was so smooth, and if I put my nose in just the right place and I drew in a deep breath, I caught a lingering smell of his cologne.

All the while, he seemed to quietly sleep and let me stare at him.

Then a flicker of fear touched my stomach.

Don't get too attached to him. Don't fall in love with him, Sophie.

But repeating that to myself over and over again didn't work. This felt so right: lying next to him, enjoying having his body next to mine. I'd been alone for so damn long and I wanted to bottle this moment so that I could sample it at night after he left.

A thought came to mind that I could leave the bed right now and just walk away. Once I talked to him later, there'd be no messy breakup. No awkward moments between us. Just two adults making the decision to part ways, but a lot of things were easier said than done.

Eventually, I settled back into his arms and drifted back to sleep again. After countless nights of getting no more than three to four hours of sleep, somehow I slept until noon.

It was bliss.

By the time I did get up to shower, my muscles protested every move, but the pain was good and I welcomed it. Xavier didn't wake when I left the bed. He just rolled over in his sleep and murmured softly. I reached over and ran my fingers through his hair. Even if things ended between us today, I still had enough memories to last me for a long time to come.

Sophie was in the shower by the time I got up. Damn, I thought I practically lived in the shower, but she had me beat. Just thinking about her standing in the water running a bar of soap over her perfect tits made my dick hard in anticipation for round two. Or was that round five?
Ehh, who's counting?

She probably hadn't been in there for too long. I could still help soap her down before she got out…

I leaned out of the bed and noticed something on the end table. The leather cuffs I'd taken off of Sophie's wrists sat next to my watch. I picked one of them up. I'd never really seen them up close before.

They seemed so simple. A bit worn, but the leather was still tough. Why did she like these so much? I'd never tied up a woman using something like this so I only had a vague idea why she liked them. On closer examination, I spotted small letters branded on the inside. They seemed so tiny. Far too tiny to be the brand name. The leather wasn't cheap and the craftsmanship was fine, but when I looked on the outside I didn't see a manufacturer label.

Now that I studied them, I saw these weren't letters, but Asian symbols. Maybe Chinese or Japanese. Naturally, I had no idea what they meant, yet the two symbols were on both the left and the right wrist cuffs. Was that the name of the manufacturer? Or someone's name? The idea that Sophie wore something with another man's name bothered me.

She came out of the bathroom with a towel wrapped around herself. Sophie made a face when she saw what I was holding. “What are you doing with those?”

“They look pretty cool. I've rarely seen you
not
wearing them.” She plucked them from my hands, but that wouldn't end my curiosity. “There's something carved into the leather. Is that Japanese?”

She feigned lack of interest. “It's nothing.”

I paused for a moment, staring her down, and she stared right back at me. “That's it?”

The slight curve of the side of her lip was mesmerizing. “Yep.”

By the time Xavier had finished his shower, I'd already prepared a spinach omelet for him with some coffee.

When I darted my head into his bathroom to tell him, I almost had to dart back out.

Steam had filled the room and the mirrors were fogged up. Xavier stood under the shower with his eyes shut. I could only make out his profile through the glass. From his long legs to the curve of his perfect ass. He turned briefly to reveal his wide back. Warmth touched my cheeks and my stomach quivered as I remembered what he did to me last night. The temptation to discard my clothes and join him seemed like a good idea, but I remained where I stood.

Don't get too close. That doesn't belong to you, Sophie. You lived in the moment and got what you needed. Time to go.

I sucked in a deep breath and took in the scent of his soap. Enticing and spicy. All male.

So am I borrowing him for a little while?
I asked myself. Seemed like a simple enough question and rationalizing the situation as if he was a bicycle or a cup of sugar made me giggle.

'Cause if he was a motorbike, he offered a nice hard ride.

“I'm leaving now,” I managed to call out. “I made you some breakfast.”

The door to the shower opened and he peered around it. Water dripped down his forehead and my eyes followed the trail down his chest. When my gaze came back up, the dark look in his eyes told me I'd been caught staring.

“So soon?” He ran his tongue along his bottom lip. I wanted to be that lip.

Somehow, I found the ability to form coherent words. “Yeah, I need to check in with Jesse,”
I bet my assistant has everything covered…

He nodded. “There's plenty of room in here.”

This was the part where I was supposed to close the door, but I didn't. Drinking him in seemed far more appealing.

“Come here.” He beckoned me with his outstretched hand, but I still had a bit of resolve left.

Before I had a chance to think about it further, Xavier left the shower, strode across the room, and scooped me up in his arms.

Again.

Our mouths met by the time he was halfway back to the shower and I couldn't speak. Couldn't protest. Who the hell would protest when a naked man, practically good enough to eat, swept you off your feet and took you into a shower?

He placed me on my feet on the tiled floor, only to back me to the wall hard enough to take my breath away. Rational thought should've intruded when he ripped my blouse open and then unzipped the back of my skirt. My shirt fell to the wet floor. His caresses left me heady, hungry for more than his mouth.

With a jerk, he turned me around. The wall tiles against my face were wet and warm. His body pressed against mine, the scorching heat of his erection searing my ass. He made quick work of unsnapping my bra and discarding my skirt. All the while, his pace quickened.

“So beautiful,” he whispered as his hands descended my back.

His fingers trailed down the seam of my bottom, eliciting a quake within me. Warm lips kissed my shoulder blades and my heart swelled each time he brushed against me.

Was this what letting go felt like? This weightless feeling that made me eager to be with him again and again.

Xavier's hands circled my hips and he pulled me back against his hard chest. Ever so slowly, he slid inside of me, gliding into my channel with three fingers. The exquisite touch left me wanting more. Somehow, I managed to turn around to kiss him again. His hungry mouth devoured mine. I reached down between us, running my hands over his hard pecs, even lower until I grasped his length.

He hissed against my lips.
Now that's what I wanted to hear.

Our gazes locked while he thrust his fingers into me as I stroked his length. He stared me down, almost challenging me to come first.

I'm not tied down today, Mr. Quinn.

Using the soap, I gripped the base of him with one hand and stroked upward. As my pleasure built from his attention, my grip faltered a few times.

“Is that all you got?” he grunted.

I stroked him faster.

My breasts bounced with each of his thrusts. Pleasurable agony pooled in my stomach and raced down my legs. His thumb on my clit was blissful punishment that kept increasing in intensity.

“Xavier…” His name slipped out of my mouth, followed by a long moan. He had me right where he wanted me, pinned where I couldn't escape my oncoming orgasm.

Until he paused.

“What's—” I began.

“Are you going to run away next time when I ask you to stay?” His hard gaze bore into me and the icy steel in his voice was unmistakable.

Did he seriously ask me a question right before I was ready to come? I ran my thumb across the tip of his cock. He flinched, but he still didn't move.

“Answer me, Sophie.”
His eyebrows lowered and his mouth formed a hard line.

“No,” I murmured, so close to climax the muscles in my legs began to give out.

“When I tell you to come to me, you will,” he whispered against my mouth. He thrust his fingers harder into me. Faster. My back arched in response. My breath came out in punctuated gasps. Pretty soon I was bucking against him, practically writhing until he pushed me over the edge and I cried out.

When my breaths evened out, all I could hear was the hiss of the shower. The smell of sex lingered in the air, but I just stood there like a dazed fool while Xavier gave me a pleased smile.

He picked up the soap and slowly cleansed my body. By the time he was done, I had most of my faculties back, along with the awareness of one thing: I didn't want to run away as much anymore.

Not if I'd always get this happy ending.

After my unsuccessful attempt to escape from Xavier's place, I was much more self-conscious about being around him. Once I got back to my apartment around lunchtime, I was surrounded and interrogated as any good friend should be.

“Don't you have a job?” I asked Penny.

“Not right now. You're not that slick, sweetie. How long were you going to wait before you told us what's going on between you and
Xavier Quinn
?” she asked. I'd found her camped out on the couch with sleepy eyes, a relaxed smile, and messy hair. She'd been out all night, most likely at the Phoenix Club, a local BDSM club. “Dinner is one thing, but you've been seeing him often.”

The door to Lana's bedroom was closed for once.

“What are you doing on the couch?” I asked. “Did you pull an all-nighter?”

She looked me over with pursed lips. “Oh, you're not avoiding my question that easily. You're wearing the same clothes and you never came home.”

I picked up a few containers of Thai food someone had left on the coffee table. A great distraction. She'd follow me to my room anyway. “I had a dinner meeting and such with Mr. Quinn.”

“And?” she pressed.

I tossed the food in the trash. There was no way I was letting one of my roommates eat them as leftovers. “And we had additional work to do.”

“I bet they
worked,
all right,” a voice behind me said.

I turned around to see Lana, dressed only in a long Harvard U T-shirt, along with a shirtless man in jeans trailing after her. We had a guest. Now that was a new development.

“Morning!” the man said as I began to prepare coffee. He had that scruffy look to him. Definitely not my type, but he was cute nonetheless.

Lana pushed the two digits of her right hand into her cupped left. A rather crass gesture, if you asked me. And anyway, he didn't use two fingers. He used three.

“Oh, stop it,” I said with a laugh. “Who's your friend?”

“She's stalling, don't fall for it,” Penny said.

Lana introduced me to Dr. Hanley. The name seemed vaguely familiar.

“Tongue-surf guy?” I mouthed to Penny.

She nodded back with a devilish grin. I guess Lana's vow of celibacy was officially over.

Lana ran her hand down our guest's wide—yet slightly hairy—back and turned to me. “So are you and Xavier dating or what?” she asked me.

If she'd gotten to the point any faster I might've experienced whiplash. “Not exactly. It's complicated.”

Weren't all relationships?

“So did you have wild, hot monkey sex last night?” Penny's face brightened.

“For someone who didn't sleep in their own bed last night, you sure have a lot of questions,” I replied to her.

She went to the coffeemaker with a grin. “Best couch nap ever.” The rich smell of coffee filled the kitchen as she poured herself a cup from the large carafe. “Sophie, this is the first time I've seen you stay out overnight with someone. I just wanted to make sure you're happy.”

“I'm good.” Satisfied. Fulfilled. Any similar words would be appropriate. Carlie would say
well fucked,
but that wasn't my style.

“Carlie told me he's a celebrity. We just want you to be careful,” Penny added. “He might be here one minute and gone the next. Not the best marriage material.”

I almost replied,
Just the way I want it,
but I didn't feel like saying it. I nodded instead.

Now that the interrogation had ended, I managed to snag some coffee and run to my room. Once there I checked my email messages. Soon enough I could be buried in my work and any distractions related to Xavier Quinn could be cast away.

Only to find an empty inbox.

I wasn't surprised about this development. I got a huge-ass check from one of the richest people in the world and my assistant eagerly accepted the additional hours.

At the rate Jesse was going, I could leave my business behind and join Carlie.

For the first time in a long time, I spent the day doing things I rarely had an opportunity to accomplish: clearing out old documents for shredding, dusting my room—you know, boring crap most folks forget about until they are stuck at home.

Now that I was organizing my space, I also went through all the white boxes from Sato. It was time to get rid of them. Instead of throwing them in the trash, I decided I'd just take out the gifts and toss the boxes.

Sounds easy enough, right?

I formed a pile in the middle of the room. The newer packages were on the bottom with the older ones on top.

Armed with a box cutter, I got to work on the first one. With each rip, I steeled myself for what I'd find. In the first, I pulled out a letter and a necklace. I crumpled up the unread letter and tossed the paper into the waste bin.
Oh, look, three points!

By the fourth box, I was on a roll, until I read the letter inside. The letter had come at a time when I'd been at my lowest point, depressed and hardly eating.

Sophie,

Each time I write these letters, I pretend you're not mad at me and you're happy. Pretending won't change things, though. Are you well today? I just became district manager for my father's company. My parents held a party for me and I thought of you the entire time.

My heartbeat still speeds up every time I think of our first night together. During the other times my heart hurts to think about the ocean that separates us. Please understand that I had no choice. As the heir to my family, I must choose them first.

Sato

A growing anger made me clench the letter tight enough to crush it a bit.
He thought of me the entire time?
I guess when he got on the plane to leave me behind I slipped his mind.

And I absolutely detested myself for feeling a brief moment of happiness when he mentioned how he fondly thought of our first time together. That had been a special moment for me and he'd
ruined
it in this letter.
That bastard.

Instead of tossing the note in the trash, I grabbed the next box. I'd been stabbed in the gut, I might as well go for the jugular. Box after box held letter after letter. Not one of them apologized to me. In each of them, he expressed how much he missed me and how he wanted to be with me again if he ever came back to the U.S.

I tore open the latest one and dared myself to read it. My hands shook as I wiped away the tears that fell.

Sophie,

I'm coming to the U.S and I want to see you.

Sato

So I
had
seen him at Sakura No Hana. It didn't matter though. Sato still knew how to hurt me without saying a word.

By the next day, I was ready to escape the apartment. I had yet to get any texts from Xavier about Nakamura and I grew worried. Had what happened at the teahouse messed up any chances he had for a contract?

An ache grew in my chest. Xavier might've tried to smooth my ruffled feathers but the truth of the matter was that people like him had far loftier goals than my concierge business in Boston. He employed thousands of people. What if my actions kept him from doing something far greater than I could imagine? I wasn't a fool. I'd done my research. Xavier had big plans for pushing mobile technology from the research level into practical form. Every single day I saw someone holding a cellphone. I used one all the time, but I never thought about the people behind the technology. It took capital and drive to innovate, and Xavier had both.

I had no idea what he'd told Nakamura the other day, but I did understand that billions of people used phones, and that mobile devices required a processor to function. A faster processor meant cellphones could do more, and Xavier needed Nakamura to accomplish that goal.

And I was one of the critical people for this mission.
No pressure, huh?

Maybe I'd heard what I'd wanted two days ago, about how everything was all right and now his silence was a clear message:
You messed up
.

Rain continued to fall, so I worked alone in my room until my phone bleeped with a new message:

come to the andretti cigar club. private smoking room 4. men's dress shirt and panties only. wait for me.

My jaw dropped. What kind of request was this? Instead of feeling revulsion, my heart sped up.

Wasn't this what I wanted? To see him again?

When I tell you to come for me, you will.
That was what he'd said.

There was no hesitation in my step when I dressed in a thong and garters. I put on my trench coat over my nakedness. The shirt could be bought on the way.

No one questioned me when I left the apartment in black heels. It was just another day, another dime for their roommate who catered to the rich.

I took a cab from my place to downtown. The traffic was heavy into the city due to an accident on the expressway, but once I was past the slow crawl, the cab's speed picked up. I kept glancing at my watch. Xavier really hadn't specified a time.

Would he show up and not find me there?

By the time my cab pulled up next to the cigar bar, the traffic was thick along Ninth Street. I glanced at my phone. Did I have enough time to get a shirt? I'd rather show up properly than not, so I hurried to the closest shop and bought a shirt.

When I returned to the cigar bar, I was relieved to learn from the hostess that the party for the private room had yet to arrive. As I weaved through the main bar with its brick walls, leather seats, and modern decor, I was pleased at the chance to come to this place. Not a single client in the past had asked for reservations here.

Every kind of cigar connoisseur drank and smoked here. From the guy we passed in the jeans and polo shirt to a woman dressed in what had to be the sharpest Chanel pantsuit I'd ever seen. A light fog of cigar smoke filled the air, scents ranging from roasted nuts to leather, even coffee.

I was led to an elevator that took me to the second floor with the private party rooms. One door was open already with a lively party going on inside. I spied only men enjoying cocktails and cigars. Maybe a bachelor party.

My private room was gorgeous. At the far end of the room, from the cedar wood floors to the ceiling, windows offered a view of downtown. Along the other wall was a private bar and selection of cigars. The room had everything from cutters to lighters. I didn't dare touch anything. The cost to book this room and have everything available had to be in the thousands.

Then I spied a small box in the center of one of the black leather seats. The box had a tiny label:
SIT HERE
.

Inside the box was a piece of chocolate. I popped the piece into my mouth and discovered the center was filled with candied vodka.
Very nice and smooth.

Time to get ready. I took off my coat and donned the shirt. It covered almost nothing below my ass. There went picking the right size. At least I was warm. The room was cooler than I preferred.

I sat down where he wanted me, turned away from the door. Was this what he did with all the women he dated?

Waiting like this used to be easy. Not so much anymore. The large hand on the clock continued to tick, tick, tock and for some reason I kept glancing at it.

He's coming, Sophie. He's not Sato.

The room was stony quiet. Except for the sounds next door. Would anyone accidentally come inside?
Not the best way to keep your shiny clean image, Ashton!

But it was too late now.

My heartbeat raced in anticipation. Memories from the encounter at the park flooded my mind and my thighs clenched with need. The large shirt hid the pebbling of my breasts.

The door opened with an audible yawn. The urge to turn around was strong, but I ignored it and faced forward.

Before Sato I had little patience, but one thing I quickly learned was rewards came to those who waited. Pleasure came with obedience.

I licked my dry lips and kept my gaze fixed on the window.

Xavier strolled past me and took a seat across from me. He smelled absolutely delicious and looked gorgeous in his tailored dark blue suit.

“Sorry to keep you waiting so long.”

“It's not long at all.” I would've waited longer. Especially for the self-assured man in front of me.

His gaze swept over me from my heels, up my legs, and finally to the shirt I wore. I squirmed under his scrutiny. Was he already as hungry to touch me as he was for me to touch him?

“Why haven't you contacted me?” I finally asked.

“I've been rather busy with affairs back west.”

“So everything is going well with Nakamura?”

He nodded. “As expected.”

I tried to keep my back straight, but all the uncertainties that flicked at me earlier made it hard for me to keep my cool. I had so many questions to ask him and none of them seemed to want to come out of my mouth. Had he thought of me since I'd left his apartment? Had what occurred between us meant anything to him other than casual sex?

“Please elaborate” was all I said.

“He's taken an interest in me beyond our meeting. That much I'm sure of. My associates at Silver Sparrow told me someone from Nakamura's company is examining my holdings.” With every word he spoke, I couldn't keep my eyes off his mouth. Those lips that sucked on me in the shower. Those large hands that had made me come in the shower.

I tried to smile and couldn't stop my legs from crossing and uncrossing. I was sopping wet against the seat. “That's a good sign. We're getting close.”

He watched me for a moment and I would have given everything I had to know what he was thinking. What was going through his mind? Half the time I thought I understood my clients. Their needs and their desires. That was my job, but at this moment I wasn't sure how to please.

What I did know was I
wanted
to please him. To serve him.