Dazzle her: Laws of Seduction Book 3 (2 page)

“Don’t worry about the check. We’ve got this. Just go.”

“But…” I trail off, not knowing how to resist their arguments.

“What are you still doing here? Go, go, go.”

I dodge Nick’s hands as he tries to push me. “But I can’t just drop by.”

“Why not? You’re his girlfriend, aren’t you?”

“Maybe I should try calling first.” I look at Sam again for support, but I can see that she is completely on Nick’s side on this issue.

“After what you did today? I don’t think so.”

“That’s not the only problem though. I feel like he is holding something back from me.”

“Like what?” Sam questions.

“I have the feeling that there is more to the situation with Elizabeth than he is letting on.”

Sam puts her hand over mine and gives it a squeeze. “Talk to him. I know it’s hard for you to open yourself up, Lainey, but I would hate for you to lose him over this. Don’’t call or text him either. You don’t want to give him the chance to brush you off.”

Defeated, I try not to drag my feet as I head over to the door and step back into my rain boots. In a last ditch effort for a reprieve, I look back at our table. Sam wiggles her fingers in a little wave and Nick makes shooing motions. Okay, I tell myself. You can do this.

CHAPTER 2

In an amazingly short period of time, a taxi has whisked me over to James’s Tribeca apartment building. I find myself standing in front of the concierge, who motions me towards the elevator after a brief call to James. At least he is at home and this has not been some wild goose chase. I try not to let my nerves overtake me as the elevator approaches his floor. Am I anxious because of the way we left things this morning or because I am dropping in on him unannounced?

I expect James to be there waiting for me when the elevator doors open, but he isn’t. I take off my boots and leave them beside the elevator doors. My heart sinks when I hear voices, a female voice in particular. I follow the sound of conversation and find James standing in the kitchen with a beautiful blond. I am really beginning to regret listening to Nick and Sam. James has a stubborn set to his mouth as he listens to the woman. They finally seem to notice me and turn as one to look at me. As silence descends, I wish for the floor to open up and swallow me. The woman looks elegant in a black cocktail dress, black tights, and flats. James is still in his blue suit from work, but his tie is missing. Was she the one to remove it? The woman is not as young as I at first thought. Her slender figure and long blond hair make her appear younger. Upon closer inspection, I see fine lines around her eyes, which are a startling shade of blue. Her eyes strike a chord of familiarity, but I don’t remember ever having met her before. Is this why James was so put out by my age? Is he into older women? Some men go for cougars, after all. I look back at James, who is looking at me with an expression I can’t identify. “Lainey, this is my mother, Alana Ward.”

His mother? The tension that is holding my body rigid eases.

“Mother, this is my girlfriend, Lainey.”

A rush of pleasure suffuses me when James introduces me as his girlfriend, and I give him a warm smile as I walk over to stand next to him. At the same time, I am aware of his mother’s intense inspection.

“Girlfriend? Since when do you have a girlfriend?” His mother’s tone reflects her disbelief.

“Not long. Don’t worry Mother, I haven’t been keeping secrets from you.”

His mother gives a huff of exasperation. “As usual I am one of the last to know. Who are her people?”

Who are my people? She makes it sound like I am from another planet.

“Not anyone you would know.” James says as he snags his arm around my waist and pulls me to him.

“You mean she is a nobody.”

“Mother…” It is impossible to mistake the warning in James’s voice.

I’m getting a little tired of being talked about as if I am not in the room. “James and I work together at Houghton Mills.”

“Are you a lawyer too or one of the staff?”

“A lawyer. I graduated from NYU last spring.”

“For a moment there I thought you were going to say that you’re his secretary. That would be beyond pedestrian.”

James breaks in, “Where did you say you were going tonight?”

“Oh yes, thank you for reminding me. I would love to stick around and chat, but I am promised to the Harvey’s. I think he will be our next senator, you know.” She steps up close to James and gives him air kisses on both cheeks.

James lets go of me to walk his mother to the elevator, and I catch snippets of their conversation. Alana wants something from James, and he seems unwilling. After his mother has gone, James returns to the kitchen and pulls out his bottle of scotch. Grabbing a glass from the cabinet, he tilts the bottle and gives me a questioning look. I shake my head no. My last experience with his scotch is still fresh in my memory. Instead, I walk over to the refrigerator and pull out a bottle of water. James quickly throws back his drink, and then pours himself another. “Damn, I needed that.”

“Bad day?” I ask innocently.

James gives me a dirty look. “Don’t push me, Lainey.”

As usual when he makes that kind of comment, I want to taunt him into reacting. I don’t understand this impulse. Do I want to see how far I can push him? Do I want an extreme reaction from him? Confusion unsettles me, and I search my mind for a neutral topic. “Has your mother remarried? Is that why she has a different last name?”

James laughs, and I wonder what I have said that amuses him. “My mother has never been married.”

“Never?”

“Never… no one has ever been good enough for her.”

“What about your father?”

“He was just a fling in her early twenties. He did insist that I be given his last name though.”

“Do you see much of him?”

James lifts his shoulder in a half shrug, “He died when I was twelve.”

“I’m sorry. That must have been terrible.” I can’t imagine losing one of my parents, much less at the age of twelve.

James waves his half-full glass around in a dismissive gesture. “I guess. I didn’t know him that well, since I lived with my mother and grandfather.”

“How did he die?”

“Skiing accident… Look, both my parents had two goals in life: to have fun and to spend as much of their trust funds as possible while doing it. Children were not high on their list of priorities.”

It makes me sad to think of James as a little boy with two uncaring parents. As an only child it must have been lonely. Even though my brothers were much older than me, they were there for me and protected me. I knew that they would do anything for my mom and me. “Your mother is very beautiful.”

James finishes his drink and sets down his glass without comment. “Why are you here, Lainey?”

“Direct as ever, I see.”

“I don’t see the point in beating around the bush.”

The chasm between us feels huge, and I am unsure of where to begin.

“Well?” James asks impatiently.

I feel my temper start to rise. Can’t he be the slightest bit conciliatory? I came over here to apologize, and he is only making it more difficult. A sudden idea occurs to me. Gathering my courage, I take a deep breath. Maybe this conversation would be easier in bed. That is where I feel most in tune with James and closest to him. Taking hold of the ties at the side of my wrap dress, I slowly pull. The bow comes undone and the dress parts in the front, revealing my red lace bra and panties. Looking into James’s eyes, I shrug my shoulders and let the dress fall to the floor. His eyes leave mine, and my blood heats as his eyes sweep down my lingerie-clad body. His utter stillness makes me feel like a fawn about to be pounced on by a ravenous beast.

Although my instinct is to wait and let James take over, I want to be the one in control. It takes only a few steps to reach him. I raise my hands to the buttons on his dress shirt and unbutton each one until his shirt is hanging open before me. Giving into my desire to touch him, I run my hands up and down his smooth, muscular chest before leaning in to bite him on his pectoral muscle. I kiss and nuzzle his chest, letting my tongue dart out and taste him. He reaches back and holds on to the counter behind him. Kissing my way up his neck, I pull his earlobe between my teeth before whispering in his ear. “I’m sorry about this morning. I was being an insecure idiot. Please forgive me.”

At my words James lets go of the counter and embraces me with his arms. His mouth descends onto mine in a searing kiss that rocks me clear down to my toes. I moan into his mouth. Without breaking our kiss, he turns around and lifts me up onto the counter. He kisses me down the side of my neck and my chest. “Your skin is so soft.”

I moan in pleasure until I remember that I want to be in control. Pushing him away from me, I meet his questioning gaze. “I want you to force me.”

He goes utterly still. “You want to fight me?”

“Yes.” His pupils dilate with excitement and my breath hitches with anticipation.

“I don’t want you to get hurt on all these hard surfaces. Go into the bedroom. I’ll be there in a moment.”

I jump down from the cabinet and saunter into the bedroom with the feel of his eyes tracking me the entire way. Once in the bedroom, I sit down on the bed to wait. A pleasant hum of anticipation builds inside of me, but I don’t have to wait long. James comes in a few minutes later carrying some black cloth, which he drops on the bed. He slowly finishes taking off his shirt, watching me the entire time. He bends down as if to take off his shoes but at the last moment lunges at me. Anticipating his attack, I dodge and manage to take a few steps away from the bed. I feint right and then change direction, but he anticipates my move. I feel his hands on my hips pulling me back. I turn around and push at his chest with all my might, but he is too strong. He wrestles me down onto the bed, and I use the strength of my hips and legs to try and throw him off of me. He grunts a few time as my legs make contact with his body, and we struggle for a while until he captures one of my arms and ties it to the bed frame with one the black strips of cloth. Despite my struggles, he manages to tie both my arms in an amazingly short amount of time. My chest is heaving with exertion, but I don’t want to give up. I try using my legs to kick out, but he has me firmly pinned to the bed. ““You are a fucking bastard. Did you know that?”

“And you have a filthy little mouth. Did you know that?”

“Now that you have me all tied up, what are you going to do with me?” I give my arms a few experimental pulls, but I seem trussed up pretty tightly.

“I’m surprised you need to ask. Fuck you into tomorrow, of course.”

“Ha, you’re all talk and no action.”

James narrows his eyes at me. “We’ll have to see about that.” He stands up from the bed, leisurely unbuckles his belt, and takes off his pants, all the while looking down at my prostrate form. I cannot help wiggling in anticipation. When he has finished, he reaches down to touch me, but I shimmy over to evade his touch. He stills, “So you want to play some more, do you?”

I look back at him challengingly. Just because I am tied up does not mean I am ready to give up. We tussle for a while. James attempts to grab my legs, but I manage to elude him every time. I even manage to get in a few good kicks. In the end he subdues me by throwing himself on top of me before I can lash out. I wiggle my body around, refusing to admit defeat, and James laughs. That infuriates me, and I bite him hard on the shoulder.

He jerks back in surprise. “Why, you little bitch.”

This makes me even madder. “Get your fucking hands off of me, James McAllister.”

James reaches down and manages to pull my lace thong off my resisting body, and then his fingers are touching me. “You are so wet.” I don’t think I have ever been so turned on in my entire life, but other emotions are roiling through me as well. Confusion about our relationship and anger at his ability to dominate me so thoroughly and at the same time turn me on. His fingers caressing me send a lightning bolt of pleasure through me, and I come fast and hard.

I don’t know what is happening to me. I have never come so fast. Barely recovered, I feel his hands gripping my hips tightly and his mouth on my pussy. My tied hands make me feel completely at his mercy. He licks and strokes me until incredibly, I am coming again. He kisses his way up my body. When he reaches my bra, he pushes the cups down so that he can lick and suck my nipples. I twist and buck at the pleasure combined with the pain. I don’t know whether to beg him to stop or to go on. He nuzzles my neck and I feel the tip of his cock pushing at my entrance. Opening my legs, I feel him slide in, and a sense of completeness overwhelms me. At first his strokes are steady and slow, but soon he is pounding into me. I relish the pleasure I know I am giving him. He raises up to look down into my eyes. “Are you with me, baby?” The look of furious concentration on his face is enthralling.

“Yes, keep going.” James pounds into me again and again until I knew he was about to come. This knowledge sends me over the edge once again, and as if from a distance I hear him shout as he follows me with his release.

I enjoy the heavy weight of his body pressing me into the mattress. James rolls to the side and nuzzles my neck and ear before reaching up to untie my wrists. He brings my hands down to inspect them. My wrists look faintly red from where the cloth has chafed me, but other than that they seem fine. James kisses them gently. “I’ll have to tie you up more often.”