Fall Into You (32 page)

He was quiet for a moment. “I see. And what do you think you’re morphing yourself
into, Charli?”

She twirled a lock of hair around her finger over and over again, a childhood habit
that seemed to reappear when she was stressed. “I don’t know. The sweet, pretty girl
who acts submissive and yielding around guys. I’m becoming that girl my mother always
wanted me to be.”

Grant sniffed. “Darlin’, you haven’t changed into anything. You
are
sweet and you
are
pretty. Those things were there from the start even if you or your mother didn’t
realize it. As for the submissive part, the fact that you punched that guy today shows
that you’re still all tomboy. None of the training we’ve done has taken any of that
from you.”

She stared at her screen saver, contemplating his words. “So all this time, you’ve
known training wasn’t working?”

“I didn’t want to train any of that out of you, freckles. We’re only working on polishing
what’s already there for your audition. Your feistiness is what makes you so fucking
sexy. Makes the fact that you submit to
me
and no one else so damn hot.”

“Oh,” she said, her blood beginning to pump a little harder, and not from anger this
time.

“Honestly, I’ve got to tell you, the fact that you punched that asshole has got me
hard as rock right now.”

She bit her lip, holding back a smile. “Is that right?”

“Damn straight.”

She leaned forward in her chair, shielding her face with her hair in case anyone walked
by. “Maybe you should take care of that.”

“Ah, naughty thing, you like the idea of me stroking myself to thoughts of you,” he
said, his voice dropping an octave. “Maybe I’ll
do just that. If you were close enough, I’d order you to come over here and climb
onto my lap.”

She crossed her legs beneath her desk, trying to fend off the dampness gathering there.
“Too bad I already had lunch.”

“Mmm.” She could picture him spreading those muscular thighs of his and unzipping
his pants, sliding his hand along his shaft. “That is a damn shame, freckles. My fist
is a poor substitute for that sexy body of yours.”

A thick file folder landed on her desk with a loud smack. She jumped, so engrossed
in the conversation, she hadn’t even heard anyone approach. “Hold on a sec.”

She spun her chair to find Pete glaring at her. “Trey wants you to work on the Valley
High School story. The information is in there.”

“Fine,” she spit out, hoping her cheeks weren’t as flaming red as they felt.

He tilted his head, his gaze darting toward the phone and then down to her shirt.
She glanced down. Of course, her nipples were standing at attention against the soft
fabric of her shirt. He dragged his lips together, as if smoothing invisible Chap
Stick. “He wants the story by the end of the week.”

“Got it.”

She feared he was going to linger, confront her about slugging him. But he turned
around and was gone. She released the breath she’d been holding. Annoying ass. She
put the phone back to her ear. “Sorry. Work stuff. Where were we?”

“Imagine those bastards expecting you to actually work,” Grant mused. “And I’m about
halfway to coming, where are you, sweet Charlotte?”

“Wishing I was there,” she said wistfully. “Touching you.”

“Are you wet for me?”

“Perhaps.”

A soft groan slipped from him. “How much privacy does your office allow? Any security
cameras?”

She peeked over her shoulder. “I’m in a back corner cubicle and my neighbor is at
lunch. No cameras. The office is loud, but I have no door.”

“Look in your purse, Charlotte. Inside pocket. I put a present in there for you,”
he said, mischief in his words.

“Uh-oh,” she said, wary but intrigued. She reached into her bottom file drawer and
pulled her purse out. Inside was what looked to be a tube of lipstick, but when she
twisted the base, it started to quietly vibrate.

“Found it?”

“Yes,” she said, her heart starting to hammer.

“I thought I’d be the one to call you one day this week and tempt you into some phone
play, but lucky me, you called first.”

“Grant, I can’t—”

“Shh, you will because you want to,” he said, his words like a stroke to her skin.
“I’m taking a risk, too. My secretary is right outside, and my door isn’t locked.”

She rolled the lipstick tube between her fingers, so tempted, the sound of Grant’s
breath in her ears making her sex throb. Fuck it. With one last check over her shoulder,
she quickly put her hand beneath her skirt and tucked the vibrator into her panties
to hold it in place.

She gasped softly at the sensation, the vibration nestling right against her clit.
“You’re a bad, bad man.”

“You love it,” he said. “Now I can picture you there while I stroke my cock. All prim
and proper in your little business outfit, your hips rocking ever so slightly to rub
your pussy against the vibe, your scent filling that little cubicle. Ah…”

“Jesus.”
The dirty talk alone was going to put her over. She pressed her fingers into the
edge of her desk, her knuckles going white, as she tried to keep still in her chair.
“I’m not going to last long.”

“Mmm, then let go with me. My cock is hard in my hand for you, the tip already slippery.”

She wet her lips, wishing she was there to lick that salty taste off him. Her pussy
clenched and she squeezed her thighs together, aligning the vibe to the sweet spot
on the side of her clit. Sensation pinged through her, orgasm rushing toward her sharp
and fast.
“Grant.”

“Ah, fuck yes…” he groaned on the other end, lost in his own release.

She closed her eyes, breathing fast, imagining his come spilling over his fist, and
rode the wave of her orgasm. It took everything in her to not make a sound, to not
call out his name.

Another flood of moisture coated the vibrator and soaked her panties as the last shudder
went through her and she drifted down from the orgasm.

With lightning-fast movement, she pulled the vibrator from her panties, turned it
off, and dropped it in her open purse. She clutched the phone to her ear, feeling
a bit light-headed. “Whoa.”

There was a click on the phone, and she thought she’d lost him, but then she heard
him let out a satisfied sigh. “Ditto. Thanks for that, freckles.”

“Believe me, the pleasure was mine.”

She could feel his grin through the line. “Now get back to work, slacker. I’ll pick
you up at six, and I guarantee that won’t be your last orgasm of the day.”

With that, he hung up.

And as she walked to the restroom to get cleaned up, she came to terms with one foundation-rattling
fact. She was addicted. Downright, no denying it, addicted. No matter how often she
saw Grant, she couldn’t get enough of him.

And that scared the ever-loving shit out of her.

Because this thing had an expiration date. And it was thundering toward them both.

Charli stepped out of the steam-filled bathroom, feeling refreshed after her long
walk on the grounds this afternoon. In the heat of the shower, her muscles had loosened,
but the remnants of last night’s session with Grant remained. Phone sex had definitely
only been the appetizer in his plans yesterday.

She unwrapped her towel and turned her back to the full-length mirror in the bedroom,
peering over her shoulder. He’d used a whip on her for the first time. The angry welts
had mostly faded, but a few bruises now colored her skin. For some odd reason, seeing
those marks made her feel lighter, buoyant. She glanced down at her wrists and rubbed
the faint pink rope burns, the brush of pain tightening something low in her belly.

“God, I must be freaking losing it.”

The empty room had no response. With a sigh, she tucked the towel around herself again
and headed toward the boxes on the bed. Grant had sent them over after she’d gotten
home from work today with a terse note.
Charlotte, I’m taking you out to a business function tonight. This is what you will
wear for me. No additions
or subtractions. Wear your hair down. Be at my cabin by six. Grant.

She shook her head but couldn’t help smiling. He’d told her she was going as his date,
not as his submissive. This was apparently something for the winery. But even on a
supposedly “normal” date, the man couldn’t help but be bossy.

She opened the first box and unfolded the tissue, finding a gorgeous plum-colored
wrap dress. Wow, that hadn’t been what she expected. She thought for sure he’d put
her in something short and tight. But this had luxury and class written all over it.

She peeked into the smaller boxes. One had a lacy bra and panty set in the same shade
of purple as the dress. She held up the thong. He’d said he’d let her wear underwear,
but she wasn’t sure if this little bit of material quite counted. Cheater.

The other small box had a pendant necklace and two cuff bracelets that would perfectly
cover the marks on her wrists. The final package was a pair of buttery soft, knee-high
leather boots. “Ooh.”

A Post-it note was stuck to the left boot.
These should be a little more comfortable than those heels I always torture you with.

She rubbed her thumb across Grant’s neat handwriting, warmth whispering through her.
Her cowboy had thought of everything.

She groaned. No. Not
her
cowboy. She had to stop thinking of him like that.

No doubt this wasn’t the first or last time he bought an outfit for a woman to wear
for him. This was all part of the game. She’d agreed to play sub to him for the month,
and this was simply a part of that.

She let her towel fall to the floor and slipped on the panties and bra. If Grant ever
decided to stay with someone longer than a month, did that mean he’d pick out her
clothes every day? What if the woman wanted to wear jeans sometimes but he wanted
her to wear a skirt? How would that work?

She frowned at her reflection in the mirror. The thought of
having Grant take care of her like that was simultaneously appealing and appalling.
Knowing that she’d be wearing only things he’d selected for her tonight gave her a
little thrill. It felt intimate and personal, having him choose things he thought
would complement her body and coloring.

But someone doing that for her every day? She’d freaking lose it. Right?

She tilted her head back, staring at the ceiling. She needed to reel herself in. Over
the last few weeks she’d had moments where she’d wondered what it’d be like to really
be Grant’s, secretly imagining how it would be to push things further than just a
short experiment. But even if she was discovering that she had a submissive streak,
Grant didn’t want anything more than a month. He was already in a long-term relationship—with
a memory. There was no room in his life for someone else.

And hell, it wasn’t like Charli was Ms. ’Til-Death-Do-Us-Part either. Getting attached
to someone was dangerous enough. She’d learned that the day her mother and sister
had walked out of her life. But how much more intense would that loss be if she were
in a D/s relationship and her dom left her? That kind of lifestyle and level of care
could become addictive quickly, and having it end would surely make someone feel adrift.

She shuddered. She could never let herself become that dependent on anyone. Already
Grant was becoming too important a part of her day.

Charli shrugged on the dress, wrapping it around herself and coming to a decision.
Tonight, she’d be Grant’s date, get some social practice in, but then they were going
to have to talk about their situation afterward. She’d left herself too open with
Grant. She’d wanted to help him see past his grief over his wife, but in the process,
she’d forgotten to protect her own heart. The fact that she was even imagining the
idea of giving herself to him for a moment proved she was sinking too deep, getting
caught in the quicksand.

She took the cuff bracelets from their box and slipped them over her wrists, ignoring
the hot shiver that went through her, and then bent to grab the necklace. But the
sound of her cell phone vibrating on the bedside table had her veering in another
direction.