Sweet Discipline (19 page)

“You bet they did.” Norris didn’t try to hide her sarcasm.

“Evidently it worked.”

Norris wasn’t appeased. “Who was your trainer?”

“Adrian. What a hunk.” Kendra sighed. “And you?”

“Same here.” Norris leaned forward. “Did he do any funny stuff?”

Kendra’s brow wrinkled. “Funny how?”

“Ropes, sexual—”

“You’re kidding!” Kendra broke in. “Adrian did that? I don’t believe it. All he did was work me to death.”

Norris sank back against her chair. “No bedroom toys? No offers to teach you better sexual techniques?”

Kendra’s mouth dropped. She snapped it shut. She took a sip of wine. “You’re telling me that Adrian abused you sexually?”

Abuse? Didn’t that imply a lack of consent? Maltreatment? Norris toyed with the napkin on her lap as she remembered being tethered, secured to the workout table and forced to submit, to take whatever discipline Adrian handed out. Pain and humiliation had been a constant thing until she learned to work with Adrian instead of against him.

Was that abuse? Or was there a fine line between teaching her control and controlling her? She didn’t know. She didn’t even care. It was over, done with, and she had the results she wanted.

Kendra took her silence for agreement. “You should report him! That’s wrong.”

“I signed the contract, and when he asked, I agreed.”

“Did you know what he was asking?” Kenny demanded, her voice sharp.

“Not really. Not at first. But later, I agreed.”

“That was dumb.”

Yes, it was, and she’d suffered for it, but once she’d submitted and handed control of her body to Adrian, how simple it was. And, oh, how she’d exulted in her nights with him.

“What exactly did he do?” Kendra leaned over the table, curiosity rampant.

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Bonnie Hamre

Norris hesitated. Even if
Sweet Discipline’s
contract demanded confidentiality, she didn’t want to reveal the mortification she’d endured. Or how, gradually, Adrian had broken her will and her obstinate temper and rebuilt her into a woman more pleasing to him.

Then why didn’t he want to keep her? After going to the effort of breaking her down and forcing her to surrender to him, why did he let her leave as if she meant nothing to him? Those were the questions that stuck in her mind, like rubbing salt into open wounds.

Why did he treat her like that? Why her? Why was her program so different than Kendra’s? Why was he so angry with her that he wouldn’t see her before she left? Or had he chalked her up to one client contract fulfilled and another was on the way?

Those thoughts rankled. She’d thought they shared something special, the way he’d claimed her body as his, treated her with gentleness and compassion when she hurt.

After he’d hurt her! But the hurt was forgotten in the overwhelming passion he’d shown her. She couldn’t forget those nights…

“Norris?”

Kendra’s question claimed her attention. So many unanswered questions and one only she could answer. Was she herself pleased with the new Norris?

She flicked a glance down at herself. Her breasts lifted proudly in her new nothing there bra. Her belly was flat, her thighs and hips thinner. Her arm, resting on the table, was slender, more muscular, stronger.

Her willpower held firm. She’d ordered broiled fish and vegetables, without even looking at the heavily sauced or pasta dishes. She could congratulate herself on that much.

Yes, she was pleased with herself. She’d lost the weight, gotten skinny and sexy.

She had no complaints on that score.

“Well?” Kendra prompted. “What did he do?”

Norris took a sip of her iced water. She had no wish to reveal the private moments, good or bad, with Adrian. “Client confidentiality, remember?”

Kendra scowled. “You can’t hint at what happened and then leave me hanging.”

Norris ignored that as she tried to ignore the memories of Adrian with her, flesh on flesh, buried so deep within her, she’d never forget the feel of him.

Yet, try as she might, she couldn’t forget something else. “I wonder how many other women Adrian’s treated the same way,” Norris murmured. “And why me?”

“Because you’re gullible. Dumb. Much as I love you, Norris, you’re an idiot.”

Kenny’s words stung. Okay, so she didn’t have all the experience that her very married friend had, but she was smart, intelligent and determined. She wasn’t some patsy for Adrian to torment and use for his own pleasure.

And hers. She couldn’t forget that.

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Sweet Discipline

Oh, God, no, she couldn’t forget the brain-stopping, out-of-body sheer physical pleasure.

But why her?

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Bonnie Hamre

The next morning, Norris called
Sweet Discipline
and asked to speak with Adrian.

The receptionist gave her his voicemail.

“Why me, Adrian?” she asked. “What makes me different from other clients? How could you treat me that way?” She hesitated, then asked the questions that kept her awake nights. “Or was I no different? Do you do the same to other women?” She left her phone numbers and waited for an answer.

For three weeks, she followed her new eating plan, exercised regularly, worked out, and exulted in the new contracts she negotiated. For three weeks, while her business profited, she waited for Adrian to call.

For three weeks, she put Jack off. He spent more time in her office, wanting to personally discuss something that could have been handled in a quick email. He made a point of seeing her at least daily, and every time, he asked the same question.

“When are you going to give me the time of day, Norris?”

Good question. Two months ago she’d have jumped at the first invitation, hardly daring to believe he’d asked. She’d have indulged in all her fantasies of stripping him naked and having her way with him.

“How about dinner? Someplace quiet where we can get to know each other?”

She glanced up from her laptop. How well did she want to get to know him? He was dressed in Armani, the beautifully cut jacket resting easily on his broad shoulders and hinting at a tapered waist. He was clean-shaven, hair styled well, his dark looks attractive and oh so sexy.

Why wasn’t she turned on? Maybe if she saw him alone, after-hours, the feeling would return. She propped her chin on her fist. “Okay.”

His smile oozed sex. “You mean it? Great. I know just the place.”

They arranged to meet, though he resisted. “Hey, my mama told me it was important to escort a lady.”

What his mama probably hadn’t stressed hard enough that by allowing him to escort a lady home, the lady might be setting herself up for a one-on-one she didn’t particularly want.

“I’ll meet you there,” she said firmly.

When she walked into the restaurant later, wearing something by a hot new designer, it was worth it to see his eyes pop. Every ache, every drop of sweat, every humiliation she’d endured at
Sweet Discipline
was worth this reaction.

She was slim, svelte and sexy.

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Sweet Discipline

Oh, yeah. That felt good. Knowing other men watched her as they made their way to the table added to her pleasure. Having Jack eye her like he wanted to gobble her up made her uncomfortable. He flirted, he made innuendoes, he talked about work just long enough to emphasize their connection. He talked about himself. He even seemed interested in her experiences and beliefs.

It meant nothing.

She’d given him a chance by accepting his invitation, cautioning herself to keep an open mind, but by the time their dessert was served, she’d made up her mind.

He might be attracted to her. In fact, he made no effort to hide his intent to get her in the sack. It should have been her fantasies coming to life.

Pity she had no intention of letting Jack get anywhere near her toned body.

She went through the motions, though, as they shared a dessert and enjoyed a leisurely after-dinner coffee. She kept her eyes on him as he talked, laughed at his jokes, allowed the eye contact to linger.

She even allowed him to put his hand on her shoulder, fingers casually brushing her breast, when he helped her with her coat. He called her a cab, and holding the door open for her, he leaned in for a kiss.

Testing herself, she allowed that, too. Before
Sweet Discipline
, before Adrian, she’d have melted in a puddle right there on the street when his lips touched hers, and his tongue insinuated its way into her mouth.

It lasted only a moment. She pulled back and slid into the cab. “See you.”

The look on his face sparked her guilt complex. She’d led him on, then backed off.

Not a nice thing to do, but all in the name of checking herself out, it worked for her.

She wasn’t attracted to him.

He was one of the main reasons for her getting thin and sexy and now she couldn’t stand the thought of him touching her ever again. She choked back a bitter laugh. She’d put herself through weeks of agony so she could jump Jack’s bones and now the idea disgusted her. She’d suffered humiliation and pain from Adrian, then experienced a pleasure with him she was never going to know again, and all for what?

She got out of the cab at her apartment building, noting the admiring glance at her long legs from a passing male, and smiled at the doorman holding the door for her. Her emotional life was in turmoil, but physically, she was in better shape than ever before.

She straightened her spine as she entered the elevator. No matter what else happened, she was never going to let herself go again.

And what’s more, she’d forget Adrian, too.

She carried that conviction through her door, into the shower and back into her living room in a new short silk robe. She had just poured herself a glass of wine when the doorbell rang. Jack? Had he followed her home?

She checked the security locks. They were all safely secured. She peered through the peephole and recoiled.

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Bonnie Hamre

“Let me in, Norris.”

That voice, severe and commanding as ever! Heart racing, she turned and pressed her back against the door, as if holding shut a door already closed and locked could keep Adrian out. “Why?”

“You asked me a question. Don’t you want an answer?”

She turned and peeked at him again. “It doesn’t matter anymore.”

“Liar. If it was important to you to ask, you want to know.”

“Okay, so what is it?”

“Not like this.” He gestured with his head at the empty hallway.

Even through the thick wooden door, she felt his presence. Looking into his face, distorted as it was by the peephole, tugged at something within her. The habit of submission to him was still strong, overriding caution. With a muttered curse, she unlocked the door.

He came in, wearing his customary black in a suit, shirt and tie, looking stark, menacing and angry. She flicked a glance at his eyes, noted their depths and without thinking, sank to her knees.

He stood over her, the tips of his polished shoes an inch from her kneecaps. Her palms rested open on her thighs.

“I see you haven’t forgotten. That’s good.”

She kept her head down, eyes intent on his black loafers. Pleasure at his praise trickled through her, weakening her resolve against him.

“Stand.”

She got to her feet, gracefully now after weeks of his training, and stood before him, as if still waiting for instructions.

He advanced into her living room, studying her books, her long, low couch and the two upholstered chairs on either side of a gas fireplace. “Very nice.” He turned back to her. “May I sit?”

She blinked. She wasn’t used to him asking her permission for anything. She gestured to the couch, then perched on the edge of a chair.

“Why you, Norris? What makes you different from other clients?” he prompted.

“You tell me.”

He settled back, making himself comfortable against the soft, plush cushions. “Are most of my clients their own worst enemies? No. Are most of my clients stubborn, intractable and lazy? Not all. Are most of my clients a fascinating mix of innocence and earth mother allure? Hardly.”

She narrowed her eyes at him. There was a compliment in there somewhere, but she resented his description of her as stubborn and lazy.

Well, lazy.

“Only one is all that.”

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Sweet Discipline

“Me, I suppose,” she said in a pique.

He nodded. “I decided to be your trainer when I read your profile. I needed a challenge. I was getting bored with the usual client, eager and willing—”

“To have sex with you?” she burst in.

He shook his head in admonishment. “To get the most from the program. To make every moment count.”

“That’s what I wanted.”

“That what you thought you wanted,” he corrected her flatly. “But what you thought you wanted and what you were prepared to do were two different things.”

“And you knew all that from my profile?” she asked, her voice scornful and doubting.

“Partly. I’d also seen you.”

“So you decided I wasn’t good enough for the usual program and you made one up for me out of Marquis de Sade’s handy-dandy spa suggestions?”

He laughed, his amusement filling the room. “It worked, didn’t it?”

She jumped to her feet. “If you came here just to laugh at me—”

He rose, too. “No. I came to see how you’re doing. Take off that robe and show me.”

She clutched the lapels closer over her breasts. The silk rasped against her nipples, a soft, seductive reminder that Adrian liked to brush his palms over them, pull and tweak them until they peaked. “I’m not at
Sweet Discipline
anymore. I don’t have to do a thing you say.”

“No?” He came closer and ran his finger between the overlapping fabric. She backed up, her knees hitting the seat of the chair. She sidled away.

“Afraid of me, Norris?” he taunted gently.

She licked her lips. If she told him the truth, that she was more afraid of her response, her need for him, she’d have no defenses left.

He took a step to the side, standing in front of her, crowding her. “If you want me to go, all you have to do is say so.”