And we were staying in his house.
My world began to tip.
“Uh, no. I hadn’t,” I answered, even though I wanted to end the call immediately now that I knew. I wasn’t going to blow my big chance because of jealousy, but I needed to regain the control I felt slipping. “How long do you think it will take you to get here? I just have to grab a shower.”
“Not very long. I’ve already got the contract, so I’ll just need to swing by. Fifteen minutes?”
“Great. See you soon.”
I hung up the phone and looked at the house, my blood beginning to boil.
49
Jinx
I did have a new assignment waiting for me when I went inside, and this one was in a slightly higher pay grade. Thank the heavens. Freelance writing was a tough gig to make money in unless you got in with the right clients, and it was beginning to look like I was on the right track.
Maybe Drew would come inside in a few minutes and tell me that things were going just as good for him. I smiled at the thought. I was so excited for him that I could barely contain myself, and it was making it infinitely hard to concentrate on my own work. Still, having something to work on that wasn’t small town marriage and death announcements was pretty exciting as well.
Heavy footsteps slapped against the tile leading to the small office that I’d taken up as my own while we stayed here. I wasn’t sure how much longer Maddox would let us stay, but surely it couldn’t be much longer. I hadn’t even realized he was back from his business trip. Where the hell was he staying if not here? I supposed he could be with Marika. She might’ve been his assistant, but that didn’t mean they weren’t sleeping together. He’d always been good at keeping relationships light enough that he could be surrounded by former lovers and hardly any would be upset with him.
The door swung open and Drew burst through. He was still just wearing his swim trunks, hair slightly curled now that it had dried a bit in the afternoon sun. Desire clenched low in my belly. I smiled and closed the lid of my laptop.
“So?” I asked.
Drew frowned and leaned against the doorway, his posture saying that something had definitely happened, and it wasn’t good. He worked his jaw as he studied me, and I had a feeling that I wouldn’t like what he said next.
“Did you fuck Maddox?”
The words hit me like a freight train. Shit.
“Is Maddox Trials, the ‘friend’ who owns this house, the man who introduced you to BDSM? Was he your first?”
Fuck, fuck, FUCK!
I should have told Drew right from the beginning, but I hadn’t thought he was ready for it yet. He wouldn’t have stayed here or agreed to try the therapy. He definitely wouldn’t have accepted this interview if he’d thought for a moment Maddox was involved. Obviously, he was in a better place to process the news now, but I’d been scared to rock the boat.
“Yes.” I swallowed hard. “I’m so sorry that I didn’t tell you before. It wasn’t because I wanted to keep it from you. I swear.”
Drew stalked over and placed his palms flat on the desk, leaning down to my level. The flecks of gold in his eyes caught in the sun streaming through the window, making them glitter. He was a work of art. Especially when he was mad. Even knowing he had every right to be angry at me, I couldn’t help the bolt of arousal that went straight through me.
“Are things completely over between you two?” he asked.
The thing that surprised me most about the conversation was not that it was happening, but that Drew hadn’t completely lost his shit yet. He was calm, collected even. I could see the irritation etched into his features, but the emotion in his eyes was controlled. This wasn’t the same Drew who’d swung at his own brother because he considered him a threat.
“They are,” I said, nodding. My gaze was trapped by his. “They have been for two years. We were together one summer, and that was it. Even then, we weren’t much more than friends.”
“He seems to want to help you out a lot for someone who’s only a friend.”
It was a fair observation, one that I’d made myself in our stay at Maddox’s home. But Maddox wasn’t that kind of guy. I didn’t know what he was like with Marika, but I’d never considered him the romantic feelings type. He was a businessman to the core and liked to cultivate good relationships with those around him, ex-lover or no.
I explained that to Drew, and he listened patiently, not interrupting or losing his temper a single time. When I was finished, he stood to his full height and crossed his arms over his chest.
“Maddox is on his way here right now with a contract.”
My eyes lit up, relief flooding through me. “Really? That’s amazing!”
Drew’s lips remained in a flat line. He cocked an eyebrow, and my smile dropped.
“You think I’m going to forgive you that easily?”
My heart started pounding in my chest. That tone. That tone made my core burn and my toes curl with sweet anticipation. That wasn’t the sound of a man who was going to end things between us, or leave me. No, those were the words of the man I’d help release over the past month. The man I loved who could play my body like a fucking piano.
“What will it take for your forgiveness?” I asked, voice barely above a whisper.
He smirked. “You’ll find out after Maddox leaves. I haven’t quite decided what kind of punishment you deserve yet, but I won’t be letting you off easy.”
I leaned into his words. I wanted him to punish me now. I wanted him to fuck me over this desk and smack my ass until I wouldn’t be able to sit for a week. I wanted to burn for him and for my mistake. Because I knew that only he could make the pain so much more than pain. The pleasure so much more than pleasure.
And I knew that things between us would remain solid.
“I’ll take whatever punishment you think is best, Sir.”
His eyes drifted to my cleavage. I’d gotten started on working right away, forgetting even to change out of my swimsuit, so there was a generous amount of cleavage there.
A shiver snaked through me, like his eyes were tracing a physical path across my chest. I arched my back a little, nipples hardening under his gaze. I saw a flicker of amusement in his eyes, reaffirming that we were okay.
“Wear something sexy. I’ll come for you when Maddox is gone.”
He left the room, and I had to hold onto the desk while I gathered breath. Drew had grown into his role as a Dominant, and it was more than I could have hoped for. With him, I’d never need to feel awkward or embarrassed for needing him in the way I did. Our needs worked together to fulfill us both.
I saved the document I’d been working on and practically ran for the shower. I had preparations to make.
50
Jinx
If Maddox wanted to see me while he was here, he certainly didn’t press it. I didn’t see him come or go, but he wasn’t here for long. I listened to the muted sounds of their conversation from our bedroom, my core throbbing the longer it went on. A part of me was grateful that neither man brought up me joining them. I wasn’t sure I could hold myself together.
I’d never been so anxious to get someone out of the house. It was like my skin burned and Drew’s touch was the only thing that could soothe it. And I couldn’t get Drew’s touch until Maddox was gone. And then...my punishment.
The idea sent a thrill of pleasure through me. What was Drew going to do? What was he going to make me do? The options were limitless, especially since I knew he’d been reading up on BDSM over the past week, learning all of the things he needed to become an amazing Dom.
Which made the wait even more unbearable.
Finally, the front door closed, and I sat up from where I’d been laying on the bed, trying not to touch myself. I wanted to please Drew, and he wouldn’t like it if I didn’t wait for him.
But even after Maddox left, I was forced to wait. I didn’t know what Drew was doing, but he took his time coming to the bedroom. When I finally heard hi
s feet against the hall floor, my body tensed like a tightly bound string. I was ready to snap.
I was wearing something new. A sexy set of black lace lingerie I’d bought earlier this week in the hopes of having something to celebrate. It came complete with a garter belt and stockings, which I half-hoped Drew ripped off, even if he did break them. I’d left my hair down because I knew he liked to be able to grab it, wrap it around his hand and use it to control me.
I liked it too.
He clearly had similar thoughts when he came in the room because the first thing he did was stalk up to the bed, fire in his eyes, and bury his hand in my hair. His fingers dug in, the hair pulling at my scalp. The pain was so sweet that I let out a moan, the sound quickly muffled when he took my mouth in a harsh, wet kiss that left my knees weak.
“You dressed sexy for me,” he observed. “Good girl.”
“I wanted to please you.”
His eyes practically glowed at that. “Get up.”
I scrambled to my feet. He circled me, reaching out to fondle my ass and slap it as he walked past, drawing out the tension until it was almost unbearable. My breaths came hard. The anticipation was driving me crazy.
“On your knees,” he ordered.
Oh, hell yes.
I hit the floor so hard that a jolt of pain went through my knees. The need in my belly burned, and I reached for his zipper. He slapped my hand away.
“Did I say you could do that?” he challenged.
I dropped my eyes demurely. “No, Sir.”
Oh, he was good at this.
“Wait.”
He turned and left the room. I blinked. Where the hell was he going? He returned a moment later with a stack of books in his hands. They were hardcovers from Maddox’s library. Were we going to...read?
“Hands out, palms up.”
Unsure what he wanted, but eager to oblige, I put my hands out in front of me. He placed a book on my hands, and I looked up at him, a question in my eyes.
“I want you to hold onto that until I say you can put it down,” he said sternly. “This is your punishment. If you disobey me, I’ll be very disappointed. Do you understand?”
“Yes, Sir.”
The book wasn’t heavy, so I didn’t mind holding it. Hardly a punishment at all so far, but there was a dark promise in his eyes. The true punishment was coming. I couldn’t wait.
He’d worn jeans and a t-shirt to meet Maddox, and he quickly removed them. He didn’t need to try to be seductive when he undressed. Just seeing him reveal all of that beautiful body was enticing enough. I licked my lips, admiring the muscled plane of his chest and his powerful, masculine thighs. He took his boxers off and his cock, full and hard, bobbed up in front of my face. He had a gorgeous cock. Thick and long so that it touched all of the right places inside me, stretched me to that perfect point of almost pain that made everything burn brighter.
He smiled as he gestured at it. “Suck.”
I took him into my mouth without any further prompting. Hell, wild horses couldn’t have stopped me from putting his cock in my mouth. I wanted it so bad that my mouth watered and my pussy ached.
The head was salty with a drop of precum, evidence that he’d been thinking about this while he’d been with Maddox. That shouldn’t have made me so hot, but it did. I licked it and covered his head with my lips, slowly bobbing down his shaft. It was a bit harder to maneuver without the use of my hands, but less difficult than when he’d fixed them behind my back. Soon, I picked up a steady rhythm, taking him as deep as I could, working my tongue around the heavy shaft, teasing the tip...
“Stop,” Drew instructed.
Confused, I nonetheless stopped and let him slide from between my lips.
He grabbed two books from the pile he’d made on the bed and dropped them onto the one I was already holding.
“Continue.”
I wrapped my lips around his shaft, understanding dawning on me. This was the punishment. Part because I couldn’t touch him with anything but my mouth, and I loved to touch his body, but also for the physical test it offered.
I wondered if he thought I’d tap out before he was finished with me, but I was determined not to let that happen. I would go the distance and impress him. He would be proud to call me his by the time we were done.
I swallowed his cock with the focus of a champion swimmer, getting air when I could but not even pausing when I couldn’t. His moans were low at first, but started getting louder the longer I went on. I ran my tongue along the vein under his shaft with each bob, sometimes stopping to swirl it along the tip before swallowing him again. My arms and jaw were beginning to ache, but I pushed through the pain. My determination was strong. My love was strong.
Fuck, I could come just from this.
“Stop.” His voice was more ragged this time. Hoarse.
He grabbed the remainder of the books from the bed and stacked them on top of the ones in my hands. My arms threatened to drop, but I held firm. He looked me in the eye, noticing the grit and determination on my face.
“Do you want to stop?” he asked.
I shook my head. “No, Sir. I want to make you come.”
I watched the shudder run through him. His eyes fluttered close for a moment, and he didn’t even instruct me to continue before his cock was back in my mouth.
I couldn’t hold the books for much longer. That was abundantly clear the second he added more. But my throbbing pussy told me how good it would feel to get him off. He would reward me, and my struggle would be even more with it. I was redeeming myself for what I’d done, and it felt so fucking good that I wondered why all arguments weren’t settled this way.
His hands found the back of my head, and he guided me deeper, pushing toward the back of my throat. He was close. I upped my tempo, arm muscles screaming. I started grunting with exertion, but my grunts were mixed with moans as I felt him swell in my mouth. So close. So close.
Finally, he cried out, hands digging into my skull as he held me against him. His hot cum flooded down my throat. I swallowed every drop, not setting the books down even when I’d licked his cock clean.
I stared up at him, waiting, and smiled as I watched his face.
“Put the books down.”
His voice was soft and gentle now. I gratefully dropped the stack, arms sore and shaking just a little. He leaned down and gathered me into his arms, lifting me straight from the floor and depositing me on the bed.
“You were amazing,” he murmured, feathering kisses along my skin.
Oh, yeah. It was all worth it.
His body settled on top of me, his hands sliding down to my quivering pussy. I was still so hot for him, so ready. His lips found mine and captured them with a dizzying, soul exploding kiss. His probing fingers slipped between my folds and rubbed at my clit. As he applied more pressure, my moan came out more like a mewl.
“You’ve been a very good girl,” he purred. “You know what good girls get?”
I could barely speak between breaths and moans. My heart was racing in time with his swirling fingers, hips arching off the bed to drive him farther inside.
“What do they get?” I managed to choke out.
He kissed down my jaw, dragging his stubble along my neck. It was almost too much. Too much. My body shook, an orgasm so close I could nearly taste it.
His whispered utterance sent me over the edge. Into the abyss. Into pure pleasure.
“Good girls finally get to have my cock in their ass.”
Oh fuck.
51
Drew
It took two weeks after signing my contract for me to see my first stunt in practice. I was practically buzzing with energy as I waited for Paxton Gorham – the fresh face in stunts who would be the first to try my work – to warm up.
Paxton had all the youthful energy and good looks in the world, but would he have the talent? I’d eyed his demo reel skeptically when Barker first sent it over to show me who I’d be working with first. He had
the enthusiasm, all right. But Paxton was only twenty-one and had a lot to learn.
The stunt I designed wasn’t even the riskiest I’d ever done, but it was still a risky one. Paxton would be riding his bike between two speeding vehicles and would have to do a hairpin turn in order to ride up the hood of one, grab a flag, and jump down the other side. Barker loved the stunt and wanted to use it in a film he was working on, but we had to make sure it worked first.
The kid rolled up beside me on his bike, sending a cloud of dust up behind him. He was sure cocky enough for the job. He took off his helmet and grinned at me. Okay, so he wasn’t really a kid, but damn if he didn’t look so young.
“I had an idea for a little modification.”
I raised my eyebrow at him. “Oh yeah, what’s that?”
He walked me through his idea, which took the stunt from risky to downright dangerous. Where the hell was the kid getting all this from?
“Do you have a death wish?” I asked.
He chuckled and shook his head. “Just want to make this thing as exciting as it can be, even if that means taking a couple risks.”
When the hell had I become the voice of reason?
I admired the kid. He reminded me a lot of myself – wanting to get the job done to the best of his abilities, no matter the cost. I just hoped he didn’t let that attitude take over his life like I once had. I’d nearly lost more than just Jinx.
But Paxton was healthy and happy. He didn’t need my guidance. Not yet, anyway.
Nonetheless, I clapped him on the back. “Just do it my way first. We’ll see if it needs any modifications afterward, okay?”
Paxton nodded, eyes bright. “Sure thing, boss.”
Boss. I liked the sound of that. I called the shots here, and I was the one who needed to be satisfied at the end of the day.
I liked this job more and more.
“Ready to go?”
Paxton smiled. “Born ready.”