Falling Under You: A Fixed Trilogy Novella (1001 Dark Nights) (6 page)

His blue eyes turned dark and inky. “What toys?”

“A vibrator on occasion. That’s all.”

“I’d like to watch that sometime.”

My breathing felt shallow and rapid, and if we kept discussing this much longer, I was sure I would jump out of my skin. Especially when he looked at me like that, all silky and seductive and simmering.

I blinked, needing a break from his intense gaze and the even more intense conversation. “Is it weird that we’re just talking about this so openly?”

He shrugged, his eyes continuing to bore into me. “I don’t think so. I think it’s hot.”

“Yeah. Hot.”
So, so hot.
I was pretty sure all he had to do was say
orgasm
and I’d do it. I was that turned on.

I reached for my glass and downed the last swallow of my wine. “Is there anything else?”

“Like I said, we can work it out as we go, just like any other sexual relationship. Right now the only real thing we need to agree on is whether or not you’ll let me own that part of you.”

Own.
When he said it like that, so pointedly and plainly, it made me hesitate. Not because I didn’t want to say yes, but because I
so badly
wanted to say yes that I was afraid of sounding too eager.

And, also, I was a little bit scared.

But I’d been scared when I’d helped prosecute my father for beating up my little brother, Ben. I’d been scared when I’d entered a field dominated by men. I’d been scared when I’d accepted my entry-level position at Pierce Industries.
Scared
, in my experience, just meant it would be worth it.

Finally, I dared to answer. “Okay.” It sounded less sure than I’d have preferred, but there it was, and I meant it.

His face lit up, and my entire body lit up with it. He stretched both his hands to clasp one of mine between them, and his expression grew solemn. “This won’t be easy for you, Norma. I know that. The work situation only makes it trickier. I know your job is your priority, and it’s mine as well.
You
are a priority to me. I don’t just care about sex. Every aspect of your life is important to me. The relationship we have right now is important to me. I don’t want to lose any of that. I want to add to it. I want more.”

Well, those were words I’d replay a million times in my head. I was the oldest of three kids, and with my mother’s death and my father’s asshole version of parenting, I’d become the person who supported my siblings. I’d sheltered them and fed them and clothed them and consoled them. At work I’d quickly climbed the ladder to chief financial advisor where I managed and directed others. I’d never been the one being managed or cared for. I’d never been anyone’s priority.

If I were the type of person who cried, I might have gotten teary then.

But I wasn’t, even with the wine in my blood. I was moved, though. Then I realized what deep words like Boyd’s meant. “That sounds like a boyfriend.”

He tilted his head. “Is that a problem?”

Romance as well as sex? It was both appealing and terrifying. I was good at quick decisions when I had to be, but this one needed time. If we added emotions to our relationship, how much harder would it be to break it off when it inevitably grew sour?

On the other hand, what if that risk was worth it too? “Maybe that’s one of those things we can work out as we go.”

“I can accept that. Just know that I’m going to romance the pants off of you.” He grinned, and had I been wearing panties, I was pretty sure they would have melted.

With a laugh, I said, “You obviously don’t need romance to get my pants off.”

“You just don’t realize how much romancing I did to get you here.”

It was my turn to tilt my head and study him. “You’re a totally different person from the one I know at the office. It’s like, you wear your glasses and you’re one guy. Take them off and you turn into this.”

“I assure you they’re both the same person. The guy who puts the contracts on your desk and screens your phone calls thinks about you naked as intensely as I’m thinking about it right now.”

His brazen declaration was such a turn-on. It made me feel unusually coy, which I hoped read as flirty rather than bashful. “You think about me naked?”

Again, that grin. “Don’t
you
think about me naked?”

All the time
. But all I could manage was a nod.

Silence fell, and this time it wasn’t an awkward space waiting to be filled with words. Instead, it begged for action. In each aching second that passed, the tension stretched between us and the electric charge in the air grew hotter. I twisted my hand in Boyd’s so I could lace my fingers through his and wondered if other parts of our bodies would fit so perfectly together. So snugly.

Just when I thought I couldn’t take the yearning a moment longer, Boyd withdrew his hand from mine. “It’s time you go back to your room.”

Oh, yeah. He’d said something about not touching me tonight. I’d hoped that was simply a statement to put me at ease. My voice felt husky as I said, “I could stay.”

He stood and came to me, extending his hand to help me up. “No, you can’t.”

“Why not?”

He was so close now, standing right in front of me, his eyes pinned to my mouth. I swept my tongue across my lips, wetting them.

His expression grew stoic, controlled. “Because I said so and that needs to be enough when we’re in my court.”

I cocked my hip. “It’s my first day. I’m new. Throw me a bone and tell me why anyway.”

“Because I need to take my time with you, Norma, and that will take mental preparation on my part.”

Besides excelling at negotiation, I was very skilled at persuasion. I took a confident step toward him. “You were perfect that night at the office without mental prep.”

“I prepped long and hard for that night, believe me. It just took a while for an opportunity to arise to put my preparation to use.”

“I bet you’re just as good at the spur of the moment.”

He ignored me, raising his voice slightly to take command. “More importantly, you initiated being here tonight. Which I’m very happy about. It needs to be on my terms for this to be what I want and what you need.”

“Then give me your terms. I can abandon my own.” It didn’t escape me that I was chasing him, and that this was exactly the sort of pursuit I was tired of. I was just so full of want and need that I couldn’t seem to stop myself.

 “My terms are that you stop trying to tempt me and go back to your room tonight.” His tone was sweet and charmed, but also tight, and I wondered if that meant his self-control was wearing thin.

Time to move in for the kill. I untied my robe and let it fall from my shoulders, baring my naked form. “I don’t
want
to stop trying to tempt you.”

The flicker of desire across his face was the only warning I had before Boyd grabbed my wrists and pulled me abruptly to him. He kissed me, roughly, passionately, dominantly. He kissed me until I was out of breath and so wet I had to press my thighs together to stop from dripping.

Then, just as abruptly, he broke away. “You are going to try my restraint, aren’t you, Norma?” His voice was raw, threadbare. “The only reason I’m not punishing you for this is because I don’t think I can be around you for another minute without throwing you on the bed and claiming every inch of your gorgeous body.”

“That was exactly what I was going for. Do it. I’m ready.”

“No. You’re not.” He dropped my wrists and tugged my robe back over my shoulders. As he retied my belt, he whispered, “Not for what I want to give you.”

I’d always loved a challenge. Always loved proving people wrong—proving
men
wrong. “I
am
ready.” I moved closer and palmed the bulge at his crotch.

Oh. My. He was even larger than I’d guessed when I’d felt him pressing against me.

Boyd chuckled as he pushed me away. Again. “And that right there proves that you really aren’t ready.” Gripping my shoulders, he spun me so my back was to him.

I groaned as he walked me toward the door. “I don’t understand. I want you.”

He sighed behind me then brought his mouth close to my ear, so close his breath was hot against my skin. “I want you too. You have no idea how much.” He rubbed his nose against my lobe before nipping at the sensitive skin. “But when I fuck you, Norma, I have to know that you’re going to let me lead. And I don’t know that yet.”

Goose bumps sprouted on my arms and a delicious thrill ran down my spine at his talk of wanting and fucking and leading. Then he stretched past me to open the door and gently nudged me out.

“I’ll watch you until you get to your room,” he said, kissing me on the forehead.

Begrudgingly, I shuffled the three doors down to my suite, and when I chanced one final glance in his direction, the protective, possessive look on his face warmed me so deeply, it burned away any trace of disgrace I might have had at my dismissal.

Oh, yeah, this was definitely going to be worth it.

Chapter Five

The next day, Boyd and I met for breakfast in the hotel restaurant before our meetings for the day. We didn’t have much time to talk before some peers from the conference joined us, but he did manage to tell me that he’d communicate by text in the future so we wouldn’t have to risk mentioning our relationship out loud, especially at work.

“Keep the times we agreed upon free,” he said, “and I’ll let you know in the next few days when and where I want you.”

When and where he wanted me
. I wanted him anywhere. I wanted him now.

But I had a feeling he meant to teach me patience. Especially when he made me wait almost a full week before texting me an address and a time.

It was a Thursday, and he’d given me no time for running home to change after work, so I arrived at the Chelsea apartment wearing the same thing he’d seen me in all day. I’d put on sexy panties that morning, just in case, but I worried about that too since he’d said he wanted to dictate what underwear I wore then never mentioned it again.

That concern occupied my mind as I took the elevator to the eleventh floor and walked the short hallway to his unit. Then when he opened the door, I couldn’t help blurting out, “You never told me what to do about my underwear.”

He laughed, standing aside to let me in. “You won’t be wearing any for long.”

His statement made my legs so weak, I wasn’t sure how they carried me inside. Combined with the yummy way he looked in faded jeans and a T-shirt, his feet bare, I was surprised I was even able to breathe normally. Fortunately, he took my hand, which helped keep me upright, and tugged me toward the kitchen island.

“We’ll pick out some bras and panties later online,” he said as he half leaned, half sat on a barstool and began undoing the button at the cuff of my sleeve.

“Okay.” But now I wasn’t really paying attention to what he said because I was checking out his apartment.

It was nice.
Really
nice.

The floors were hardwood, the kitchen modern and stainless steel. I didn’t know how many bedrooms there were, but the living space seemed large.

“Uh, Boyd,” I asked, barely noticing that he’d moved on to my other wrist. “Excuse me for maybe speaking out of turn, but there’s no way you can afford this place on the salary I pay you. Are you a male escort or something in your off time?”

With a slight grin, he pulled me closer and began unbuttoning my shirt.

“I definitely couldn’t afford this on my salary. But I have other money.”

I started to ask the source of his “other money” but was stopped by his finger to my lips.

“We can talk about it later. Right now, I don’t want you to say anything at all. That’s your punishment for trying to seduce me in Montreal. I haven’t been able to stop thinking about your naked body all week. You can’t imagine how many hard-ons I’ve had to hide at the office.”

I was more intrigued than ever about his income, but now he’d distracted me. “You’ve had hard-ons at the office?”

“Norma, no talking.” He wrapped his hands in the material of my now open blouse and pulled me closer to place a kiss on the space between my breasts, just above my bra. “I need to thoroughly explore my possession, and to do that appropriately, I require total concentration.”

I opened my mouth to either protest or purr—okay, it would have been purr; the idea of being owned by him made me all sorts of turned on—but Boyd shushed me with a stern look before removing my shirt the rest of the way. Silently, he unzipped my pencil skirt and pushed it down over my hips and to the floor. He swept his gaze over me, and without the permission to talk, I realized for the first time in my life how often I hid insecurity behind conversation. It was so much easier to stand nearly naked in front of a man when I was allowed to comment.

I reached out to him—if I couldn’t talk, I had to show him how much I wanted to touch him. But he grabbed my wrists, stopping me. “No talking, no touching. In fact, as soon as I have you all the way undressed, I’m going to chain your hands to that hook behind me. Do you see it? Nod if you do.”

I peered past him into the living room and found a large hook fastened into one of the beams that crossed the ceiling and a link chain hanging down from it. An anxious thrill bubbled in my chest as I nodded in the affirmative.

“Good,” he said, and heat spread through my body at his praise. “All I’m going to do is tie you and touch you. If you can’t keep yourself from talking, I’ll gag you as well, but I’d prefer to have your mouth free.” He noted my expression and added, “Not for what you’re thinking, naughty girl. I want you to be able to speak if anything I do bothers you. If you need me to stop.”

“You want me to use a safe word?”

He frowned at me sternly. “Do I need to gag you?”

“I’m just trying—”
to clarify
, but I stopped myself when the look on his face told me that he would let me know everything I needed to know if I’d just be quiet. “No. You don’t need…” Dammit, I was still talking. “Sorry,” I whispered. Then mouthed another apology when I realized that whispering still counted as talking.

Underneath his disappointed glare, I sensed he was amused by my inability to shut up. “If you need me to stop, you’ll say ‘stop,’” he said when he was certain I was done making a fool of myself. “Other times we may need a safe word. But for now, that will be enough. Nod if you understand.”