Hanging On 2: Surreal Neal [Awakenings 6] (Siren Publishing Menage and More) (6 page)

“Yeah.” He lifted me from my seat, sat down, and put me on his lap. “This is the door to a brand-new future. It’s exciting and terrifying all at once.”

I rested my head on his shoulder, letting his warmth and strength wash into me. “I just don’t want to let you down. I don’t want to lose your money. I’ll pay you back as soon as I can.”

He stroked my hair with one hand and parked the other on my knee. “You could never let me down. I’m proud of you for taking this chance.”

I was glad he didn’t say anything to protest my assurance that I’d repay him. I needed that one point of pride. We stayed like that for a few minutes before I became aware that the hand he’d rested on my knee had inched its way under the hem of my skirt.

“Are you getting frisky with me, Mr. Snow?”

He chuckled without a hint of remorse. “Yes, Mrs. Snow, I am. ‘I know a bank whereon the wild thyme blows.’ Are you shocked?”

Shifting, I straddled him and pulled my skirt out of the way. “I’d be amazed if you didn’t try something. You left early this morning without waking me up.”

Sitting on his lap like this put my head higher than his. The back of the chair came up to a point below his neck. He scooted down so that he slouched, and he rested his head on the top of the backrest. As I unbuttoned his white chef’s jacket, he slipped his hand up my shirt and cupped my breast. The thumb on his other hand stroked lazy circles on my panties, which were growing moist with my juices. I had his jacket open. Underneath, he wore a light blue Sensual Secrets shirt. At that point, I gave up. His lazy movements meant he wasn’t going to cooperate with clothing removal anytime soon.

“You are so irresistibly beautiful. I think you grow lovelier by the day.”

I blossomed under his compliment. Lots of men told me I was beautiful. Drew was the only one I believed when he said it.

“You’re not so bad yourself.” I tried to joke with him, but my voice had turned husky.

Recognizing the signs that I wanted him now, he urged me to my knees so he could open his pants. I scrambled off him, shimmied out of my underwear, and climbed back aboard. He was hard, as ready for me as I was for him.

He positioned his cock at my opening, but when I tried to sink down, he moved, preventing penetration. I tried again, but he grinned, and I realized he wanted to play first. So I held myself over him, close enough for him to rub the crown of his cock around and against my clit. It felt good, but it only increased my need to have him inside me.

Before long, I captured him. As I drove him deeper, the familiar, erotic feel of him stretching me took over. I became a sensuous creature. Rocking on him, I allowed the pleasure careening through my system to set the rhythm. He helped with his hands on my hips, but he let me have the lead on this ride.

“Gorgeous.” He caressed my thighs, lifting my skirt when it fell to block his view of where we came together. “I love looking at us. It’s so hot.”

I loved that he was so enthralled with us. The wonder on his face excited me, propelled me into the stratosphere. Then he circled my clit with his thumb, adding extra stimulation. I went wild. He kissed me, swallowing the noises I couldn’t help but make, and I muffled the sounds of his pleasure the same way. I came hard, my body stiffening as the climax rocked through me. Drew grasped my hips hard, controlling my body until he followed me over that cliff.

Lying on his shoulder afterward, I might have drifted off. I certainly lost track of time.

“Sophie? Honey, we need to fix our clothes. I interviewed Neal this morning. He’s amazing. I hired him, and I need you to get his paperwork squared away so that he can start tomorrow.”

Reluctantly, I lifted away from him. My knees were a little cramped, and he helped me get to my feet. “You didn’t tell me you were going ahead with that.”

Drew was regularly approached by people who wanted him to hire their friends. Due to our unpopular Midwest location, few candidates actually made the trek to the Detroit area. I hadn’t honestly thought Neal would consent to coming here after he’d called home exciting places like Atlanta and Rio.

“He came. I let him cook. I need a new sous chef. He’s perfect for the job.”

I went to the restroom across the hall to freshen up. When I returned, Neal was in the office talking to Drew about turnips. I thought back to my experience last weekend with the root vegetable and didn’t comment.

Drew held his hand out to me. I took it. He brought me close and planted a kiss on my cheek. “Neal, you remember Sophia?”

He had a dark tan, but it didn’t camouflage the blush staining circles on his cheeks. “Yes, of course.”

Where most men would extend a hand to shake mine, Neal stared at the floor, waiting for me to make the first move. I glanced at Drew, but I found him gazing at Neal with a puzzled expression.

I offered him my hand, which he took. He had a firm grip. I liked that about him.

“It’s nice to see you again.”

“Thank you, Mistr—um, Mrs. Snow. I’m happy to have this opportunity.”

Drew threw a warning look at me, which I caught reluctantly. I liked the way Neal was treating me. I liked it a lot.

“Neal, look at me.”

He did, and I was struck by the sincerity in his deep blue eyes.

“Call me ‘Sophia.’ Okay? Unless we’re in a dungeon, I’m not your Mistress.”

From the expression on Drew’s face, I could tell he probably wanted me to deliver more of an absolute, but he wasn’t going to pursue it. He kissed me on the cheek again. “Sophie will get you squared away. We’re shorthanded, so I need to get downstairs. Be here tomorrow at two. We have six events to cater.” Then he motioned to my desk, where he’d left a sandwich and pickle slices. I’d forgotten I’d skipped lunch.

Neal nodded. “I can start today if you need me to.”

Drew considered it, but he ended up shaking his head. “You need to find a place to stay and get settled in. Sophie can help with that.”

Without waiting for a reply, Drew left. I wondered what he was up to. He’d warned me away from Neal because he was now an employee, and yet he’d given me an opening to pursue a personal relationship.

As I turned back to Neal, I noted that he was watching Drew walk away. Drew turned back and winked at me before closing the door. When Neal saw me studying him, he blushed again. “Sorry, Mistr—Sophia.”

“That’s okay. The man can make an exit, that’s for sure.”

As he rubbed at his neck, I noted the corded muscles flexing in his arms and back. I couldn’t help but wish I could see him naked. Neal was hiding something spectacular underneath all that clothing.

“Sit.” I indicated the chair at Heidi’s desk, and he obeyed my order. “Normally Heidi would be here doing all of this, but she’s on vacation.”

He nodded. “Chef told me. He said you only do the accounting, and that you aren’t here a lot.”

“I’m not.”

I kept ready-made files for new hires. During the year, we went through a good number of interns. Working in a high-end bakery or catering service wasn’t easy, and many people couldn’t handle the stress and demand for perfection. I pulled one of them and set it in front of Neal, but then something Drew said occurred to me.

“If you don’t have a local address, use the one you had in Atlanta.”

“I’m staying with my aunt. She lives in town. I walked here.”

That took care of the parking issue. Sensual Secrets’ location in Royal Oak meant that employees needed to use the parking garage. Being within walking distance was a huge bonus for Neal. Drew didn’t pay employees very well until after they’d put in six months and proven themselves.

“Do you think Chef will change his mind about letting me start today if he knows I’m already settled in?”

I considered this. Drew didn’t like surprises when he was working. “Bothering him now will only piss him off. He hates training new people, so springing it on him isn’t a good idea.”

“Understood. Thank you, Mistress.” Neal put his pen to paper and started in on the forms.

“You can’t call me that.”

He lifted his gaze, challenging me for the first time. “Why not? You’re a Domme. You deserve that much respect.”

“But I’m not your Domme.”

“You’re not Chef’s Domme either. How does that work, exactly?”

He’d gleaned that much from meeting us twice? I sat on the edge of the desk, parking myself over him and establishing my authority. Submissives could sometimes become unruly when a Domme refused to top them. If he needed an ass-kicking, I had no problem delivering it—as his boss. I wasn’t his boss, but Drew would back me up on this.

“Neal, that’s really none of your business.”

He lowered his gaze. “I’m sorry.”

From the way he bit his lip, I knew he was swallowing another respectful address. I wanted to kiss him. I wanted to tie him up and flog him first, but I wanted to kiss him while Drew watched.

I backed off, rounding the desk to sit on the other side. “What’s your story?”

The only indication he heard me was a hesitation in the flight of his pen across the page. “I went to Brazil with my Master. After a year, he released me. He returned to the States, and I stayed there. I always liked to cook, so I put all my energy into that. I met Deke when he came to the restaurant where I worked, and here I am.”

He delivered his speech with practiced ease. It was fairly emotionless. No chef ever talked about cooking without showing emotion. Drew got excited over the prospect of making breakfast. Sometimes that wasn’t enough to make me want to get out of bed.

“He stranded you there?”

Neal shrugged. “Pretty much. I made it work.”

He was a survivor. I could relate to that. I folded my hands and gave him my undivided attention. “How old were you?”

“Nineteen.”

I’d been nineteen when someone who was supposed to love me had destroyed my world. Like me, Neal had built something from nothing.

“Neal?”

He looked up, one brow lifted politely as he waited for me to continue.

“You can call me ‘Mistress’ when we’re alone.”

He didn’t quite smile, but he looked pleased.

“If you want, I can introduce you to others in the BDSM community.”

This time, he shook his head. “I’m not looking to put down roots. I’ll be here until I learn what I need, and then I’ll move on.”

My heart went out to him. He’d been hurt badly, and now he fiercely guarded his heart. He might be willing to give me the respect he’d accord to any Dom or Domme, but he wasn’t offering anything more.

Later that night, as I lay snuggled next to Drew, I counted my blessings. I had a wonderful man who hadn’t given up on me when I had done everything I could to push him away. I felt loved and appreciated every single day of my life. I’d found the dream. Not many people had that.

“Drew?”

He jerked, evidence that he’d been drifting off to sleep. “Hmm?”

“I think Neal’s been hurt.”

He didn’t say anything for several moments. Just when I was about to shake his shoulder, he spoke. “Hurt? What do you mean?”

“He said he went to Rio with his Master. His Master released him and returned to the US, but he left Neal in South America to fend for himself when he was nineteen.”

“So you assume he’s emotionally scarred?”

The way he made it sound, I’d made a leap, but I knew better than to doubt my instincts. “It was the way he said it. He reminds me of the way I used to be.”

“Closed off? Emotionally unavailable?”

Coming from anybody else, I would have been upset. Drew had earned the right to call my kettle black. “I offered to introduce him around the BDSM community, but he declined. He said he planned to be here long enough to learn from you, and then he was going to move on.”

He was quiet, lazily stroking my arm and lower back as he thought. At last, he kissed my forehead. “Honey, I don’t know what you want me to do. There’s no magic that makes someone suddenly get over past trauma. It took time and tremendous effort for me to get through to you. Even then, you dumped me about eight hundred times.”

“Are you saying we shouldn’t give up on him?”

The room was dark, yet I sensed the expression on his face as if all the lights were blazing. He was confused. “Give up? What are we trying to do?”

I wanted him in my playroom, but Drew had prohibited that kind of association. Still, I had to do something to help him. “I think we should extend our friendship. Show him that not everybody is a douchebag. He can count on people who won’t let him down.”

“You want to invite him to dinner? Maybe we should have a dinner party? I’m not sure I trust us, Sophie. He’s damned attractive, and when you and I decide we want somebody, we usually get them. What if we end up charming his pants off? He could quit and leave, and I don’t want to think about what could happen from there.”

I didn’t either, and not for purely selfish reasons. I truly wanted to help Neal, and I think Drew did too.

Sophia

Two weeks had passed since we hired Neal. Drew and I had invited him to several dinner parties, but he always issued a polite excuse. Drew was impressed with Neal’s culinary skill and professionalism, but we were both frustrated by the wall rebuffing our attempts to socialize with him.