Working for Him (5 page)

“Not well.” Richard grabbed a nearby earnings report and folded it in half, turning the two top corners down into a point. “We may have to give up on the merger. At least for now.” It just didn’t seem as important as it had yesterday.

“Ms Carter rejected you? I can’t believe it.”

Richard looked up at his best friend from his folded masterpiece in shock. “You knew?” He hadn’t told Dante about his plan to ask Serena to marry him, or about their long-term arrangement. He’d always considered the matter private. Yet somehow his best friend had known.

Dante shook his head. “Of course I knew. Why do you think I mentioned Neil keeping Patrick out of the business? I was hoping you’d take the bait and ask your little engineer. I’ve seen the way you talk to her at every meeting. You’ve been dominating that woman for years.” Richard only stared at his friend open-mouthed, and Dante smiled bigger. “She didn’t exactly keep your relationship a secret either. The way her head bowed and shoulders slumped every time you even looked at her. I know what a woman submitting to her Master looks like.”

Richard nodded. Dante knew better than any that look of submission on a woman’s face. He’d trained more than enough subs in his day to see the need and desperation from miles away.

“I’m surprised she turned you down. I don’t know if I’ve seen a woman so desperate to be claimed by her Master as that sweetheart.”

Richard curled his hands into his thighs, fighting back the rage firing his blood at the easy nickname Dante had given Serena. He was her Master, whether she realised it or not. He could call her anything he wanted, but no one else held that right.

“Don’t worry, lover boy,” his friend joked with a smile that would be so satisfying to smack off his face. “I have no intention of touching your kitten. I’m not interested in already claimed women. You know that.”

That was true. Dante was an honourable man. In all the years they’d been friends, which stretched out more than two decades, he’d never seen Dante chase after a claimed woman. But when it came to Serena, Richard wasn’t rational. He never had been.

He’d spent more time than he would admit hating the other men who had touched Serena. He despised the man who had trained her in the lifestyle, almost as much as he thrilled at finding such a perfect, already trained submissive under his control.

“So how’d you screw up your proposal to Little Miss Numbers down there, to force her to say no?”

Richard shook his head and took a gulp of his coffee. Given how little he’d slept last night, replaying all that had happened, trying to determine where he’d gone wrong, he should just be injecting the caffeine right into his veins. “I don’t know.”

“You must have done something. What did you say to her?”

Richard took another long pull of coffee, enjoying the punishing burn down his throat. “I talked about the Argonaut deal and how they were holding up the contract because of some puritanical ideas about my recreational habits, and that if we got married it might be enough to loosen their reins and complete the merger.”

Dante sighed, dropping his head into his hand. “You’re an idiot. You know that, right?”

Richard glared up at his best friend, clenching the porcelain cup tight in his hand. He didn’t say a word. He didn’t need to.

“Did she say anything to you after that proposal?” Dante continued on, his words muffled in his palm. “Did she give you any indication how she felt about being asked?”

Richard thought for a second, replaying the interaction over again in his mind. “She asked about her job. I told her she didn’t have to worry. I’d take care of her.”

“Moron,” Dante cursed again. “She’s the lead engineer at one of the biggest airlines in the country, if not the world. You think that’s a job she just happened upon to pay the bills. She cares about it. She loves it.”

Richard paused. He knew she cared about her job. She was determined and hard-working. Was that why she’d turned him down? Because he didn’t think his wife should work for him? If so, why wouldn’t she just say it? They’d talked through every other aspect of their relationship, finding the best fit for both of them, why wouldn’t she speak up about this one?

“I bet you thought after a few years you’d toss her aside. Maybe give her a nice house or a large allowance, and you wouldn’t have to worry about her.”

Richard shifted in his seat, trying to keep his face impassive, even as his friend’s accurate perceptions shocked him to his socks.

“Did you say anything romantic at all?”

Richard shrugged his shoulders. “Why would I do that? It’s just a business arrangement.” One that came with a lot of sexy perks he’d already started to look forward to. No more counting down the days until their next meeting. No more avoiding the building where she worked for fear he couldn’t control himself that close to her.

“If you really believe that, then why did you even ask Ms Carter? Surely you could find another woman who would be more willing to partake in your deal.”

He took a deep breath. His fingers paused on the scrap of paper, unsure how to respond. It hadn’t crossed his mind to ask anyone else, but Dante was right, there probably were scores of women more than willing to submit to his needs for a few years for the kind of payday he’d provide. There was probably a whole site devoted to it somewhere on the Internet.

Yet the idea of dominating any of them left him cold. He didn’t want to pay for a woman’s submission. He wanted her to give it freely, lovingly. The way Serena did with every breath. He didn’t want just any sub. He wanted Serena.

“Because you don’t want anyone but her,” Dante filled in, smiling down at him with the arrogant smile he’d developed sometime in high school after Missy Linder had picked him to attend the homecoming dance with instead of Richard.

Richard shook his head, refusing to believe his friend was right. “I’ve dated other women since I started playing with Serena.” He turned the corners of the paper in again, before folding it lengthwise a second time.

Dante shook his head. “You took them to events, fancy parties, hell, maybe you even fucked a few of them. But none of them gave you want you wanted. Not like that little programming princess does.”

Richard folded the wings of the plane out flat. Dante was right. He had dated many women over the past few years, but even the memories of them couldn’t hold a candle to his time with Serena. They’d been socialites, social climbers, more interested in seeing their pictures in magazines than him. Sure, a few of them had found their way into his bed, and some had even managed to hold up their side of the conversation, but none of them had left him feeling half of what Serena did. None of them had looked up at him with the trust she did, the kind of trust that allowed him to push her to the brink, knowing he’d safely bring her back.

Dante leaned over and grabbed the paper aeroplane from off the table. He crumpled the freshly made toy in his hand, dropping the ball of paper to the ground. “Damn it, Rick, not every woman is out to take advantage of you. Serena doesn’t want your money. She doesn’t want anything from you but your dominance, and maybe your emotions. She deserves more than this. She deserves the truth.”

Surprised, Richard stared up at his friend. Dante rarely interceded in his personal business, and Richard offered him the same courtesy. Some didn’t care for how Dante treated his subs, but Richard knew his friend would never hurt the women he took to his bed, and what happened beyond that wasn’t his business. Just like his relationship with Serena wasn’t Dante’s business.

“That’s not your concern.”

“Like hell it’s not. When you put everything we’ve worked for since we were sixteen years old in jeopardy, it becomes my concern.” Dante glared back at him. If it were possible, steam would have puffed from his nostrils. “Do you want that little kitten back in your bed?”

It shocked Richard how much he still wanted his fiery little pet. Not just in his bed, but in his life, with his ring on her finger and his collar around her neck. Even after she had rejected him, she was still the only woman he wanted. She was the only woman he could even think about.

“Do you want to complete this deal with Argonaut?”

Richard nodded his head, grateful for the much easier question. “You know I do.”

“Then you’ve got to convince that sweetie to accept your proposal. You’ve got to offer her more. You’ve got to give her a reason to stay.”

Richard stared into the black depths of his coffee. What more did he have to offer her? He’d already given her his dominance. He’d offered her plenty of pleasure over the years. He’d told her he’d take care of her, he’d make sure she was comfortable. Besides money, what did he have to offer?

“Like what?”

Dante rolled his eyes. “Think about it real hard, Rick. It’s one word, four letters, starts with an L.”

Love
. Richard shook his head, sure he must have misunderstood. “Why would I tell her that?”

“Because it’s true, moron.” Dante rubbed his temples, letting out an exasperated groan. “And she deserves to know it.”

Could it really be that simple? Was that all she wanted to hear? If that was all she needed… His heart pounded harder at the idea, yet it didn’t bother him the way he would have guessed. He rolled the notion over in his mind, trying to find a reason to deny it, to throw the thought aside, but couldn’t come up with one. It felt calm, true, right.

He cast a glance up at his best friend. A new lightness filled him. “Do you have any contacts in the area? I have something special I need to buy. I need to show a little pet exactly who her owner is.”

Dante smiled. “I think I know who to call.”

* * * *

“Ms Carter, may I speak to you?”

Serena turned to find Richard standing before her. Even after all he’d done, even after all he’d said to her last night, even after the long, lonely night she’d spent in her room wishing she were with him, a shiver still skated down her spine at the sound of his voice in her ear.
Damn traitorous body
!

“I was just heading over to the mixer, Mr Barrett.” She motioned towards the ballroom filled with already drunk co-workers. “I can meet up with you then.” And maybe if she got lucky she’d lose him in the crowd. She wasn’t interested in talking to him period, least of all about work.

His eyes held that dangerous gleam that had been a precursor to so much pleasure in the past. Her body sagged beneath his intense stare.

He stepped closer and her nipples beaded. How long would it take for her body to stop responding to him this way? For her heart to forget the Master he’d once been to her, and remember he was now just a man. A man who didn’t understand or respect the real her.

“I’d prefer to have this conversation in private, Serena.”

The way he spoke her name, so much like the way he used to whisper to her late at night, brought tears to her eyes. She’d never thought she’d hear him speaking so lovingly to her again.

Richard grabbed her arm, pulling her away from the common area and ushering her into a smaller room off the main hallway. Away from the prying eyes of the company, the threat of tears intensified. Serena sniffled, trying to keep them back, desperate to hold onto what remained of her dignity.

Richard pulled her close, wrapping his arms around her. His rich male scent overwhelmed her senses, so familiar and comforting that all she wanted was to curl into him. But as much as she wanted to, she couldn’t give in to the urge. Not anymore.

“What’s wrong, pet?” His breath whispered across her cheek. His hand wrapped around her nape, offering more comfort than she realised one touch could.

“I’m not your pet anymore.” She tried to pull from his hold, the tears falling freely down her cheeks, but he held her tight, not allowing her the space to escape.

“You can reject me as your Master. That’s your right.” He leaned a little closer, his thumb rubbing across the base of her throat, right where her pulse pounded, almost making her moan. “But you’ll always be my pet.”

The tears broke through, pouring down her face, racking her body with sobs.
He can’t mean that.
Not after she’d rejected his proposal and walked out on him. She tried to hold them back, but it was like a tiny tornado inside her—no matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t keep back the storm. And through it all, her Master held her, cradling her against his chest, offering her support where she had none.

“It’s all right, pet. Let it out,” he whispered in her ear. One hand held her tight to his body, while the other rubbed her back, calming her the best he could.

When the tears subsided, mostly, she looked up at him, surprised by the earnest concern she found in his eyes. The urge to drop to her knees and offer to do anything to ease his torment welled up within her. She’d even bend over and let him spank her to bruises if it would remove the pain from his face.

Worry lines raced across his forehead and bracketed his mouth. Without thinking, she reached up, smoothing out the wrinkles with her fingers. At her touch, his eyes blazed, heating with a different emotion.

Instantly, she dropped her fingers. What had she been thinking? She shouldn’t touch him. Such a sign of weakness was enough to tempt the beast lying within him. But she couldn’t take it back now.

“What did you want to talk about, Mr Barrett?” She tried to use her most professional tone, hoping to address the reason he’d first approached her and get out of this room as fast as possible. But the husky sound still penetrated her voice at the mere proximity to her Master.

“I wanted to talk to you about the question I asked last night.”

Oh no.
Cold instantly surrounded her, shivering across her skin. Locking her knees to remain upright, she dropped her eyes to the ground, unable to look at more than his boots and maintain her composure. Why was he bringing this up again? It had been torture for her to leave him last night, to stay alone in her hotel room when her Master was only a few short floors away. She’d walked away for a reason, one that couldn’t be changed overnight. What more could there be to say?