ARROGANT MASTER (13 page)

BELLAMY

Sick relief swirls in my belly on my walk back to my office,
and I stop dead in my tracks when I see Dane’s doors wide open. I haven’t seen
him since my little episode this morning. I take a few hesitant steps toward his
doors.

I’m going for it.

I’m going to take the high road, apologize, and pray we can
both move on from this and resume our training. For twenty grand a month, I’m
more than happy to swallow my pride.

“Dane?” When I enter, I see him standing by his window, a
tumbler in his hand filled with amber liquid and stones. He turns around
slowly, and the tiniest sliver of me swears his face lights up when he sees me,
but it could easily be half wishful thinking and half my imagination.

“I’d tell you to come in, but you’re already here.”

“The doors were open.” I point behind me.

“Shut them.”

I follow his orders and amble up to his side, hanging my
head. “I’m sorry about earlier.”

He takes a generous sip and says nothing for a moment, just
looks down at the traffic below.

“Why did you cry this morning, Bellamy?” he asks after a
period of deafening silence. “I promised I’d never abuse or humiliate you, and
I need to know what to do so it doesn’t happen again.”

“The accusation involving the family friend,” I say. “And
the condescending tone. They were hurtful.”

“My delivery,” he says, “isn’t agreeable with everyone all
the time. It’s something I’m aware of and something I have no intentions of overhauling
anytime soon. But I respect that I should choose my words a bit more carefully
around you. I’ll work on that.”

He leaves his empty glass on the window ledge, and I pick it
up because it seems like something a sub might do. At the wet bar I rinse it
out, pat it dry, and place it upside down on a towel.

When I return to his desk, where he’s staring vacantly ahead
at his computer screen like he’s checked out, my
heart aches
.
I’m sure it has to do with his uncle, but I wish he’d open up so I could at
least be there for him.

“Everything okay?” I run my hands behind my thighs, tucking
in my skirt, and take a seat across from him.

His gaze lifts from the screen to me, and his brows furrow
as he pulls in a heavy breath.

“Take off your shirt,” he orders. “Take everything off.”

My nipples wake in response to his command, and my fingers
trail my buttons, popping them one by one as he pulls a black satin ribbon from
his top desk drawer. It’s the same one from the pink box yesterday, and he
uncoils it in his hand before rising and coming toward me.

“Stand.” There’s a desperate, hurried undertone in his
single, biting word. And he moves like a man who’d do anything to feel an ounce
of something normal again – whatever normal might mean to him.

The moment my clothes are lying in a heap on the floor, he
turns me around, taking my wrists behind my back and tying them together with
the smooth ribbon. With his hand gripping the bend of my elbow, he leads me to
a leather-wrapped Chesterfield sofa and presses me into a seated position.

His fingers work his button and zipper until his fully
erected cock is mere inches from my face. We lock gazes for a second, and he
holds the tip of himself up to my mouth. My lips part as I accept his velvet
smoothness into my mouth. My tongue runs the underside of his head, dragging
along the ridges and coming back to swirl the tip. With my hands tied tight, I
can’t control my movements as well, and I have to rely on the steady bucking of
his hips to keep the momentum going.

But maybe that’s the point. His whole world is falling
apart, at least I assume, and he needs to control everything about this
situation.

My mind reminds me to stop psychoanalyzing him and suck his
cock. I’m not here to figure him out, and clearly I’m nothing more than a
couple of holes to fill to him.

“Harder,” he says, thrusting deeper into my mouth. It wasn’t
like this the last time, and it takes everything I have not to gag. The head of
his cock his the back of my throat with every insertion, and my eyes water.

It was fun last time. This is unpleasant. At least it’s not
painful.

His hand grips my chin, pressing my mouth tighter around his
engorged erection and creating a tighter seal as he pumps himself into me. His
cock writhes and unloads, and the warmth of his orgasm drips down my throat. He’s
too deep in my throat for me to even taste.

When Dane’s finished, he pulls himself from my mouth and
zips up before sitting down next to me and untying my wrists. I wipe the tear
tracks from my cheeks, hoping he doesn’t think he made me cry.

“You know, Angel, if you’re ever not comfortable with
something, you just need to say stop. That’s your
safeword
.”

“I know.” The ceiling fan above blows cool air on my naked
body, and I clutch the sides of my arms as I hunch into a ball.

“There may be times,” he says, “when I push you, test your
limits. There might be times when I’m craving more of an intense experience
with you.”

I nod.

Dane removes his jacket and slips it over my shoulders
before reclining back into the Chesterfield. He reaches for my arm and pulls me
on top of him.

Are we cuddling right
now?

“It’s important,” he says, “after intense moments, to offer
you comfort. Help bring you down a bit. It would be extremely irresponsible of
me fuck your mouth until you gag and then send you on your way.”

His hand spreads his coat over my backside like a blanket,
and my bare flesh is flush with his white button down. The warmth of his skin
permeates the barrier and soaks into me.

“You did excellent.” His palm cups my ass and hoists me into
him, deeper.

I know none of this is supposed to be romantic, but it’s a
sweet gesture, and I could lie here all afternoon and not move and be perfectly
content.

“You’re coming to Golden Oak Saturday,” he says, combing his
fingers through the ends of my tangled hair. “You’ll be staying the evening at
my estate just outside of the city.”

The bar-be-que. Cortland’s parents are coming over Saturday.

“Oh? This Saturday?” I stall, trying to think of an excuse.
“That’s kind of short notice.”

“You have plans?”

“Family plans,” I say. “We’re having a cookout.”

His lips curl. “This is a bit more important than a family
cookout.”

“I have no doubt,” I say. “But we have company coming, and
I’m not sure I can get out of this.”

“What time?”

“I don’t know. Probably noon?”

“Okay, so you should have no problem doing both.” Dane cups
my ass and leans into my ear. “And I’m not entirely sure why I’m allowing you
to argue with me right now and speak to me without addressing me properly, but
consider yourself lucky I’m not getting the gloves out again.”

I smile into his chest, where he can’t see.

“What if my car isn’t fixed by this weekend?” I know for a
fact I won’t be able to hitch a ride to some mansion Saturday night. I couldn’t
come up with a plausible excuse even if I tried.

Dane sits up, gently pressing me off him, and I miss his
warmth in an instant.

“I was going to wait, but since you brought it up.”

He is not giving me a car. There’s no way.

He strides to his desk, opening the second middle drawer on
the left and pulling out a set of keys with some weird green emblem on the
keychain.

“While you work for me, you’ll drive a car from my fleet.”

I flip the keychain over and read
Land Rover
.

“It’s a black Discovery, and it’s parked in the underground
garage in spot forty-seven. You can take the elevator down and it’s right
there.”

“Dane…Master...” The rectangular fob is smooth and pristine
cupped in the palm of my hand. “Thank you. This means more than you could
possibly know.”

No more commuting with
Cortland. That’s what this means.

“I have an offsite unscheduled visit at one of the wind
turbine factories over in Greenwood,” he says, dipping his hands in his pockets.
His gaze indicates he appreciates the fact that I’m still very much naked.

I tug his jacket off my shoulders and hand it back, taking
my time dressing before him because he seems to enjoy the show.

“I won’t be back before the end of the day,” he says. “But
feel free to take the afternoon if you’d like. We’ll train a bit more the next
couple days, and then Saturday night will be our final compatibility test.”

Oh?

“It’s just as much for you as it is for me,” he says.
“Though my ability to leave a woman satisfied has never been an issue in the
past, and I don’t anticipate it being an issue for you either.”

So that’s what Saturday is. He’s going to screw me.

I’m going to lose my virginity…

In a mansion…

To the most gorgeous man I’ve ever laid eyes on…

A tingling sensation fills my chest, working up to my neck
and settling in the top of my head like bubbles. Nervous excitement expands
every part of me, and there’s a hitch in my breath accented by a flush in my
cheeks. I turn so he can’t see it. I’d hate for him to know I’m
this
excited.

Sneaking out with Cortland always gave me a rush, but this
goes far beyond anything I’ve ever felt before.

I’ll have to sneak my dress and shoes into the house, which
shouldn’t be a problem. I can shove them in the enormous Louis Vuitton
weekender bag he got me, and now it’s making sense as to why he’d get me that
bag.

He wants me to spend weekends with him.

That might be tricky.

“Could I come over later than nine?” I’m not sure if I can
sneak out any earlier than ten. “Just to be safe. I’m not sure how long our
company is staying.”

Dane’s eyes flick up before narrowing at me. “I suppose. But
from here on, you’re to keep your weekend schedule completely open. You’ll find
I’ll almost always need you on weekends.”

He checks his watch and glances out the window at the
traffic.

“I’m going now.”

There’s no hug or kiss goodbye of course. There’s no
prolonged fanfare or scene. He just leaves. I’d kill to know if he’s ever had a
girlfriend or shown an ounce of warmth to anyone who wasn’t a line item on his
yearly accounting audit.

It felt good to lie in his arms earlier, even if it only
lasted a short while.

I roll the key fob in my hand and leave his office, pulling
the double doors shut behind me. After shutting down my computer and locking my
space, I take the elevator down to the parking garage and find the shiny black
Land Rover parked in spot forty-seven.

It makes the most adorable beep when I unlock it. I inhale a
lungful of the buttery leather and warm, new car scent. Only when I slide into
the seat, do I realize this car fits me
perfectly.
Dane probably has every car imaginable in his fleet, and he chose the one that
suited me the best.

For a man who hardly knows me, he truly does take care of my
every need without me having to say a word. He wasn’t lying about that.

I press my foot into the brake and start the car, and thank
goodness that’s the way my mom’s car starts or I’d have been sitting here for
hours trying to figure it out. The car purrs, and I stick it in reverse before
pulling out and following the green exit arrows to the street.

Daylight floods the car as soon as I merge into the street,
and a little red box in the passenger seat catches my eye. When I get to the
next
stop light
, I grab it and trace my fingers across
the Cartier logo on the outside. A little white envelope not much bigger than
my hand is taped to the bottom.

I open the card first.

Angel,

This necklace is a symbol. You are to wear an item of ownership
at all times. Never fear, the items will be classy and tasteful, just like the
submissive
who
wears them, and this necklace will be
the first of many.

Seventy lashes if you’re not wearing this the next time I
see you.

Master

The light turns green, but not before I drop the letter and
crack the box open to see a gold necklace with a single, bezel-set diamond
charm dangling from it. I’m not a jeweler but this looks to be, at minimum, one
carat.

Any other girl would drool over the sheer beauty of this
thing, but all I see is an animal collar.

I snap the box shut and toss it in the passenger seat.

DANE

I should’ve gone straight home after visiting Uncle Leo
again, but here I am, back in the office. The sun has long gone down, and the
drone of the cleaning crew vacuuming the hallway is the only other sound
accompanying me tonight.

My emails are sorted, and I begin attending to the ones
marked “high importance” that I’d purposefully neglected earlier in the week.

Just as I suspected, not one of them is
that
important.

Delete…

Delete…

File…

Delete…

Respond…

When my inbox is almost clear, I see an email from Laurie in
HR from earlier in the afternoon.

Dane,

Background check came
back clear.

Laurie

“Good,” I mutter before forwarding it on to my guy, the one
who checks on things beyond credit history, criminal records, and identity
confirmation.

I never used to run such extensive background checks until
Jenessa. Now I won’t sleep with a woman until I know every goddamn thing there
is to possibly know about her. Only I have to go about extracting that
information in roundabout ways. Asking a woman these types of things doesn’t
always guarantee the truth, and it also has a tendency of making them think you
give two shits about getting to know them on a personal level. I’d prefer to
avoid complications if at all possible.

Roger,

Full
report on this one.
Need ASAP.

Dane

I attach her signed consent form and hit send.

My phone vibrates in my pocket, and my heart skips without
permission when I wonder if it might be Bellamy, texting to thank me for the
bezel-set diamond necklace.

Nope.

It’s Beck.

YOU EAT YET?

I type back,
NOT
HUNGRY
.

ODESSA AND I WILL BE AT
TAVERN PARK DRINKING BEER AND EATING PIZZA. JOIN US OR BE LAME.

My palate prefers a different kind of dinner tonight, one
that lies between the curved thighs of my sub. I meant to reward her for the
impeccable mouth-fucking earlier today, but I wasn’t quite in my right frame of
mind, and when I saw that I’d fucked those cherry lips so hard she gagged, I
had to bring us both down.

I’m not a man who ever prefers cuddling, but I’m not about
to subject a novice to sub-drop. I’d never do that Bellamy, so I held her in my
arms, warmed her with my heat, and pretended not to enjoy it when she nuzzled
her cheek up against my chest.

I reach for my phone again and pull up Bellamy, my thumbs
hovering over her number. But the second I realize I’m halfway smiling, I throw
my phone down like it’s carrying the bubonic plague.

Screw that.

I’ll see her when I see her.

In the morning.

On all fours.

Wearing the necklace that tells the world she’s taken in all
sense of the word.

She’s lucky I didn’t get her an actual collar.