Darkest Ecstasy (2 page)

H
e had his quarry.

There. That one. The lush blonde in the black dress. She was perfect. Just the right combination of sweet temptation and seductive siren. Long legs. Full tits that made his mouth water. A hundred carnal promises glittering in her eyes.

Another man stepped up to her and set a hand on her shoulder. Her gaze flicked to the man, then back to Talen. Her lips curled in a sultry half smile.

His cock hardened.
Let the games begin.
Energized by the challenge, he waved the waitress over.

“A bottle of champagne. To that woman. In the black dress.” Then he leaned back in his seat and waited, watching her every move as the bottle was delivered and as the waitress told her who had purchased it.

The woman smiled in his direction, then excused herself from the man who had thought he'd be fucking her tonight. Her glass in one hand, the bottle in the other, she crossed the crowded bar, collecting stares from admiring men and glares from women along the way. She moved with the smooth fluidity of a dancer. Her hips swayed seductively. Her shoulders were back, her full breasts pushed out.

Stunning.

“Hello,” she said, smiling down at him as she approached his table. “Thank you for the champagne.” She set the bottle on his table. “I couldn't possibly drink this whole thing by myself, so I thought I'd come over and share some with you.”

“Thanks. Please, sit.” Pushing his full glass aside, he motioned to the waitress. “May I have an empty champagne glass please?” he asked her.

“Sure. Can I get you anything else?”

Talen looked at his new companion. She shook her head. “No, thank you.”

“I'll be right back.”

He turned his attention back to Blondie.

“I'm Angela.”

“Angela.” He extended a hand, and she placed hers in it. Her grip was neither too tight nor too loose. “Tage Garner.”

“It's good to meet you, Tage Garner. Thank you again for the champagne. It's delicious.”

“I'm glad you're enjoying it.” Lips. She had very nice lips. He could imagine them circling his cock while he fucked her mouth.

Peering over the rim of her glass, she sipped. “Have you been to this club before?”

“No. I just joined.”

“You'll love it. I've been a member for about a year. I'm here at least twice a week.”

“Dom or submissive?” he asked.

“Oh, submissive. Most definitely.”

He felt himself smiling. “I was hoping you would say that.”

“Were you?” She tipped her head. “You know, I haven't had very much of this champagne yet, only a few sips. We could take this party somewhere private if you like.”

That sounded like a great idea.

When the waitress stepped up, he accepted the glass and the bill. After signing for it, he escorted his quarry to his newly leased private suite upstairs. As they climbed the steps, he admired her fine ass as it swayed back and forth in front of him. He couldn't wait to get his hands on it. On the rest of her, too.

Upstairs, she allowed him to steer her toward his suite with a hand on the small of her back. Beneath his fingertips, he felt her muscles flex as she responded to his touch.

This was going to be fun.

Inside, she walked straight to the center of the room, turned so her back was to him, reached around, and dragged the zipper of her dress down, exposing a deep
V
of smooth skin.

“Are you sure you haven't had anything else to drink?” he asked. He hadn't noticed any signs of intoxication, but he wasn't so lost in need yet that he'd be willing to ignore the first rule of D/s. Safe. Sane. Consensual.

“Nothing else. Just a few sips of champagne.” She pulled the garment down to her waist. She wasn't wearing a bra.

“Limits?”

“None.” The dress slid to the floor. She wasn't wearing panties, either.

His cock twitched at the sight of her beautiful body. “None?”

Slowly, she turned to face him. Her lips were curved into a semi-smile once again. Her eyes were downcast, as a submissive's eyes should be. “I have been a submissive for a long time, trained by some of the most demanding, sadistic doms around. I can handle
anything
.”

His balls tightened.

He had found his dream sub. But was she wife material?

To hell with that. I just want to fuck her.

Smiling to himself, he decided he would put her to the test. He knew exactly how he wanted to test her first. He unzipped his pants.

Her little pink tongue darted out, swiped across her lower lip. Yes, that was exactly what he was thinking. He stepped up to her, close enough to reach, grabbed a handful of silky blond hair and said, “Suck my cock. Hard.”

“Yes, Master,” she murmured, then eagerly opened her mouth for him.

“Oh damn,” he growled as he rammed his cock deep into her mouth, then withdrew, only to thrust deep again. Over and over. She took him easily, greedily. Her little tongue cushioned the bottom of his rod as he glided in and out. The head of his cock hit the back of her throat, but she didn't gag, she didn't pull away. No, she opened to him, taking him to the hilt, slurping and sucking until he was seeing stars and on the verge of coming.

Mere seconds before losing control, he jerked out of her mouth. There was so much more to do yet, pleasures to explore, limits to test. He couldn't let it end so soon.

“You've been well trained,” he said as he tucked his still-erect cock back inside his pants and zipped up.

She placed her hands at her sides and kept her eyes downturned. “Thank you, Master. It's my pleasure to serve you.”

“Hmmm.” His body thrummed as possibilities whirled around in his head. A submissive with no limits could be rather useful to him. His gaze meandered around the room. Having just leased the room, he hadn't set up some of the bigger pieces yet. The St. Andrew's Cross was waiting to be assembled. Same with the large table he liked to keep in the center of the room. For now, he would have to make do with the bench. There was plenty of fun to be had with that.

He positioned her as he wanted, kneeling, legs spread, chest and stomach resting on the upper support. Ah, perfect. Now he had full access to that ass he'd admired earlier. “Safe word?” he asked as he cuffed her wrists and ankles in place.

“Red is fine.”

“Red, it is.” He stepped back to admire the view. How he wanted to bury his rod deep inside her. She was clean shaven everywhere. Her folds glistened with her juices. She was wet. Wet and ready. He went to his storage cabinet and gathered a few things, dildo, condoms, lube. He wasn't in the mood for discipline. Just fucking. Lots of fucking. His eye went to her puckered anus.

There. He would take her there.

“Anal?” he asked.

“Love it.”

His whole body tightened. Could this woman be more perfect for him?

He unwrapped a condom and rolled it onto the dildo. Then, without warning, he shoved it into her cunt.

She shuddered with pleasure. “Thank you, Master,” she whispered, hips rocking forward to take the toy deeper. It plunged to the entry of her womb. He left it there and switched it on. “Ohhhhhh,” she mumbled. “Thank you.”

Damn, that was a pretty sight. Once again he stepped back to admire her. Her legs were long and lean, her stomach flat, breasts full and natural, ass round and firm. Her smooth skin was starting to shimmer with sweat as the toy buried in her pussy made her insides burn for him.

He was burning for her, too.

Working quickly, he rolled on a rubber. Then he squirted out some lube onto his fingers to test her anus.

Two fingers in. Oh, she was tight but willing, giving just enough resistance. As he plunged his fingers deeper, the ring of muscles tightened around them. Damn.

He couldn't wait.

At his withdrawal, she whimpered. The sound sent a wave of heat blazing through him. It was sweetly seductive. He had to hear it again.

He smoothed some more lube around her anus. Slowly. He entered her slowly, inch by inch. Oh, it was hell. And heaven. Both. As he drove deeper, his body tensed more. By the time his stomach was resting against the pillow of her ass cheeks, he was sure his hair was singed, he was so hot. “Damn.”

Her muscles tightened, and a pulse of carnal heat blasted through his center. Just as slowly, he withdrew, letting her body caress him as he pulled out. She was perfect. Completely and utterly perfect. This once wouldn't be enough. He had to have her again. In the ass. In the pussy. In the mouth. Anywhere and everywhere.

“Meet me again,” he said. To his own ears, he sounded breathless.

“When?”

“Soon.” The tip of his cock still remained inside. This time, he thrust quickly inside, driving deep.

She cried out. “Yes!”

“Yes,” he echoed as he jerked back to thrust deep. “Yes,” he repeated as he buried himself in her ass. “Damn. Damn.”

“Master,” she said. She whimpered. The sound nearly sent him over the edge. “Please. May I come? Please.”

“Not yet.” He pounded into her with no mercy, and she took him, rocking back to meet his forward thrusts. His fingers dug into her hips. The soft flesh of her ass rippled with each impact. The sound of skin striking skin and husky, fast breathing was like a symphony. This was fucking at its finest. This was what he couldn't live without, would not live without. Faster, he fucked her. Harder. Each stroke amped up his temperature higher, raised his heart rate. He was spiking a fever, hot and tight everywhere, balls ready to explode.

Her cry as she lost control echoed through the room and sent him careening over the edge. His orgasm blasted through his body like a nuclear explosion. His voice joined hers as he shouted in ecstasy, pounded away the last pulse of carnal pleasure. When he was spent, he withdrew, removed the condom and the toy from her pussy.

“Thank you, Master.” Her whole body trembled, he noticed, as he unbuckled her wrist and ankle cuffs. Once he had her completely free of the bindings, he helped her turn around and sit. For the first time since they'd entered the room, she lifted her eyes to his and smiled. “I look forward to serving you again soon?” she asked.

“Yes, very soon.” And often, he hoped.

S
ix feet something.

A face that inspired wet dreams.

Hair that begged to be touched.

There he was. Tall, Dark, and Mysterious. God, was he something to look at.

He was way out of her league. Miles and miles.

With her heart pounding so hard she wondered if he might hear it, she stepped aside to let him into the elevator. Like she did every morning, she moved to the right just enough to let him in. God, she loved the way he smelled. And standing so near made her knees get a little soft. She wanted to speak to him. She wanted to do more than that.

But . . . but . . . he was so good-looking. Would he even notice someone like her?

Just go for it.

Trying to hide how nervous and excited she was, she watched the numbers light up on the display above the doors. Two, three.
Just say hello, you chicken.
Four, five. Darn, her floor was next.

Do it! Now!

She sucked in a deep breath and blurted, “Are you new?”

Tall, Dark, and Mysterious turned his head. His eyes met hers, and something flashed in their dark depths. It seemed as if the world dropped out from under her feet. A zing of electricity buzzed through her. Her heart did two flips inside her chest.

He reached toward her, his hand roughly waist high. Was he going to touch her? To take her hand in his? Her entire being seemed to become energized as her senses heightened.

Just as his hand was about to make contact with her, he bent forward and poked a button on the panel.

“I think this is your floor.” His lips curled into a smile that made her heart do a third flip.

“Oh.” She jerked her eyes up and saw that the six above the door was illuminated. Her cheeks burned.
You're such an idiot.
“Yes, yes, it is. Thanks. I guess I should get going, huh? Wouldn't want to set off any alarms.”

“I don't think that'll happen.” Still holding the button, he tipped his head. “To answer your question, yes. I am new.”

“Well . . . welcome to the building.”

“Thank you.” His smile amped up another thousand watts.

“Well . . .” Her skin sizzled as she stepped through the opening. “See you tomorrow.”

“Sure. Tomorrow.” His eyes tracked her as she moved away from the door so it would close. She felt the heat of his gaze. Literally. It was the oddest sensation, like nothing she'd ever experienced before. It was as if his eyes produced heat. She took a couple of steps down the hall, but at the sound of the doors rumbling behind her, she glanced over her shoulder.

Once again their gazes tangled, and it felt as if arcs of static charged the air between them. Frozen in place, she sucked in a little gasp of surprise. When the door shut, she shook herself out of her daze.

That was intense. And weird. Weirdly intense. At least she had finally spoken to him, and he had responded. That was a major victory for her. She had always been so painfully shy around men. It took Herculean effort for her to talk to a man. As a result, she could literally count the number of dates she'd been on this year on one hand. Every one of them had been blind dates. And none of them had led to second dates.

When she'd first seen Tall, Dark, and Mysterious a week or so ago, she had felt this strange attraction, as if he were a magnet, pulling her toward him. She'd told herself he was far too good-looking for her, but still that odd energy kept buzzing and zapping through her every time he was near. She had to know if he felt it, too. If he did . . . oh God, what if he did?

Standing at her work's suite door, she ran her sweaty palms down the sides of her legs. It was time to focus on work. Focusing on work was easy. She loved her job, a junior account rep with a small advertising company. It allowed her to be creative.

She waved at Lauren, the receptionist, on her way back to her desk. Lauren beamed a greeting in return, just like she did every morning. Tom, her boss, was in his office. The door was shut. Through the window, she could see he was talking to her newest client, the one she'd just signed yesterday. She wondered if she should join them, hesitated at the shut door, and waited until Tom looked her way. It took a while, but he finally made eye contact. He didn't motion her in, which was a little strange. Confused, she headed for her desk and dropped her stuff.

“I heard there's a problem with the Quadtex account,” Jessica, the other junior account manager, whispered. She was leaning out of her cubicle, to peer into Michelle's. Today, like every day, her dishpan-blond hair was scraped back into a bun, and she wore big J.Lo-style hoop earrings that nearly hit her shoulders. Her lips were the shade of ripe cherries.

Michelle scooted her chair toward Jessica and whispered, “What did you hear?”

“No specifics. Just that they were pulling out.”

“What? Why?”

Jessica shrugged. “No idea.” She jerked around. “Oh, I have a call. I'll let you know if I hear anything else.”

“Thanks. God, I hope it's just a rumor.” Uneasy, Michelle powered up her computer and checked her e-mail, skimming for anything that was time-sensitive. Just as she was wrapping up an e-mail to another prospective client, Tom approached her desk. He was alone.

“Michelle, I need to speak with you.” His tone was clipped, his expression serious.

“Sure.” Not certain what to expect, she followed him into his office.

“Please, close the door,” he said as he rounded his desk to have a seat.

Michelle shut the door, then sat in the chair facing him, the one that had been occupied by her new client not so long ago.

He smoothed his tie. His features were taut, mouth drawn into a line. “The Quadtex contract has been cancelled.”

Oh God, it was true. This wasn't just a big problem for her. It was a catastrophe. An epic one. “What happened?”

“It seems you made a commitment that you couldn't keep. Did you tell Robb Lara that you could guarantee a five-star review from
IndigoTech
magazine?”

Her heart jumped. Tom thought it was her fault? “No, of course not.”

“That's what he's claiming.”

“I'm sure he misunderstood—”

“What did you say that led him to believe you could?”

“Nothing that I recall. I swear.”

Tom opened a folder and pulled out a sheet of paper. He slid it across the desktop, toward her. “Did you send this e-mail?”

Her hands trembled slightly as she picked up the paper to read it. First thing she checked was the header, to make sure it had her name on it. It did. And the correct e-mail address. Then she read the message.

Oh God, did she really write that?

“Yes. I did,” she confessed. Had the oxygen been sucked out of the room? She couldn't breathe. “What I meant—”

“It doesn't matter what you meant. What matters is what you said.” He poked an index finger at the paper. “This is a problem.”

Her heart started pounding so hard it hurt. Her hands. They were trembling. “I wasn't intentionally trying to deceive him.”

“Perhaps not, but it was taken that way.”

“I don't know what to say. I was just trying to show him how hungry I was for his business, and how hard I would work for him.”

Tom smoothed his hands over his thinning gray hair. “There's nothing wrong with being enthusiastic. But you went too far.”

“I'm sorry.” That was an understatement. But what else could she say?

“Yes, well, so am I.” He cleared his throat. “We've lost the account. They're going to the Mattex Agency.”

She felt like absolute crap. Just a few words had cost her an account worth over a million dollars. There was nothing she could do, other than to say, “It won't happen again. I promise.”

“It
can't
happen again.”

No mistaking the tone of that statement. She nodded.

“That's all for now.”

She hurried out of her boss's office. What a freaking mess! All because of one little sentence in one little e-mail. Who would've ever guessed something so insignificant would lead to such a huge blowup?

At her desk, she flopped into her chair and let her head fall into her hands. How would she fix this? How?

She couldn't. Shit. Shit, shit, shit.

Tears burned her eyes, and she sniffled. Someone tapped on her shoulder.

“Are you okay?” that someone asked.

She knew that voice. Jessica.

“I screwed up,” she said into her hands. “Big-time. I put something in an e-mail I shouldn't have.” At the sound of a door slamming, she jerked her head up and checked Tom's office. He was standing in front of his door, staring at her. “Oh crap. Tom is looking this way. I'd better get to work,” she muttered.

“Okay. You can tell me at lunch. What do you think? Antonio's ? I'm in the mood for Italian.”

“Italian sounds great, but I should probably work through lunch today. And tomorrow. And all week. Maybe all month.” After giving Jessica a little wave, she dug into her work, letting her angry boss see there was good reason not to show her the door.

 

Because Michelle had stayed busy all day, time passed quickly. By seven-thirty, she was so hungry her stomach was trying to digest itself and her feet were hating her for wearing her most expensive, but most painful, pointy-toed pumps. She'd been at work for over eleven hours. Nobody, other than Tom, was still in the office.

She shut down her computer, stood, and stretched muscles that were sore and tight. Neck. Legs, Back. After loosening up, she grabbed her purse and headed out of the suite. As she was waiting in the hallway for the elevator, her phone rang.

Mom.

Glad to hear a friendly voice, she answered. “Hi, Mom.”

“Hello, honey,” her mother said. “Thank you for the nice gift.”

Gift? She hadn't sent a gift. “Mom, I have no idea what you're talking about,” she said as she pushed the elevator button again. Why was the stupid thing taking so long?

“The box was delivered a little while ago. It's my favorite chocolates. It had to be you.”

“No, Mom. It wasn't me. Are you sure you didn't order them for yourself and forget?”

“No. I wouldn't do that. Let me see if there's a card or a receipt.” The sound of rustling paper echoed through the phone. “No, nothing.”

“That's odd.”

“Yes, it is. If it wasn't you, who would send me these?”

“I have no idea. Why don't I come over to check it out? It's a little strange that you've received a gift out of the blue and you have no idea who sent it. You can never be too careful. Maybe you should set the box aside until I get there?”

“Well, that's just silly. Who would send a gift to hurt me?”

“Good question. I'm sure it's fine. But just in case, you should probably either figure out where they came from or toss them.” Finally, the bell chimed.

“Throwing away Epiphany Chocolates would be a crime. I won't throw them away.”

The elevator door rumbled open, and she scurried inside. It was empty, except for her. She poked the button for the first floor. “Okay, then I'll help you figure out who sent them. I'll be there as soon as I can.”

“Good. I'll make your favorite for dinner.”

“Wonderful. See you soon.”

“Bye, dear.”

She clicked off, dropped her phone into her purse, and took a few deep breaths.

What a crazy day. First she'd almost gotten fired for losing a huge account and now this. The car lurched to a stop. The bell chimed. And approximately a zillion seconds later the door opened.

Feeling extra creeped out in the dark parking structure, she didn't walk, or even race-walk, to her car; she ran like a scaredy-cat. When she reached it, she remoted the locks, tossed her purse onto the passenger seat, flung herself into the driver's seat, and rammed the key into the ignition. The second she grabbed hold of the gearshift, a knock pounded on her window.

Her heart slammed against her breastbone.

Her head snapped to the left.

It was Tall, Dark, and Mysterious.

Where the hell had he come from?

Her hand trembled a tiny bit as she powered down the window.

He smiled. It was so bright and friendly she couldn't help smiling back, despite the fact that her heart was still racing so fast she felt light-headed. “Hi,” he said through the open window. “I just found a phone over by the door.” He tipped his head toward the building. “It looks like you're the only one out here, so I thought I would check to see if it's yours.” He lifted the phone so she could see it. “If it isn't, I'll turn it in to security tomorrow.”

Black. Touch screen. With a hot pink cover. “I think . . . it looks like my phone. It might be mine. It was in my purse.” After flicking a glance at her open purse, still sitting on the seat beside her, she extended a hand out the window. As he placed the phone in it, his fingers lightly brushed against her skin, and a little zing of electricity buzzed through her. After she recovered from the mini-electrical shock she'd received, she swiped the screen. There could be no doubt. It was hers. “Gosh, I hope I didn't lose anything else.” She grabbed her bag's handle and pulled it closer so she could check if anything else was missing. Because she'd been so freaking paranoid, she'd run through the garage with the stupid thing hanging open. Brilliant.

Her wallet was in there, thank God. That was the only thing that mattered, really. Except her phone, of course.

Lifting an arm to rest it on the car's roof, he angled over the window, peering down at her. “I didn't find anything else on the ground. Just the phone.”

“My wallet's here. That's all I really care about.” Setting her ransacked purse back on the passenger seat, she turned to Tall, Dark, and Mysterious. “Thank you again. I would have been lost without my phone. Absolutely lost.”