Revealed (4 page)

Amy gestured helplessly. “Her answers seem insincere. Like she’s lying, or writing what he wants her to write. Maybe the answers were dictated. See how her handwriting is less fluid in those answers than where she provides her personal data?” Rex looked and saw that Amy was right. “Yet his dominance is clear in his answers. It probably never occurred to him that she could want anything other than he wants her to want. But they’re paying for
two
fantasies. Shouldn’t she get her real one, whatever it is?” She looked up at him, desperate for his approval.

Rex could get used to her looking at him in just that way.

Naked, though, and on her knees.

Quite possibly hog-tied. Yes, there was something about Amy that tempted him to demand complete control of her—which would make successfully training her all the more sweet.

Maybe it was time for him to have a personal assistant.

“And he’d get a surprise,” Athena said.

“Interesting, but unlikely,” Rex said firmly, making Amy work for what she wanted. “Most submissives want to be submissives.”

Amy shook her head without hesitation. “I don’t agree. Maybe once they’re sure that they are submissive, that’s true, but what about before that? What about me? I wanted to know, and I tried it and it was great, but now I want to try something else.”

“Like?” Athena asked.

“I want to be a dominatrix. And I want you two to teach me.”

Rex had to turn away so she wouldn’t see his smile. Amy didn’t have it in her to be a dominatrix. He could just look at the way she’d surrendered information to him for the sake of a hard glance to know the truth. She was responding to him as a submissive, her instinct to please him so strong that she couldn’t check it.

No, she was submissive, whether she believed it or not.

He was looking forward to making that clear to her.

“And you think this woman wants the same thing,” Athena said flatly. She raised her eyebrows. “Because you do?”

“I think that if you’re already a submissive, being a submissive isn’t much of a fantasy.” Amy looked at Athena, her expression stubborn. “Do you order the same thing in a restaurant you can eat at home?”

Athena laughed before she sobered. “No, but if you’re a submissive, you do what you’re told. That can be the pleasure of submission, the lack of control or responsibility. Even the knowledge that your master or mistress is ensuring your pleasure, even when you’re reluctant to accept what’s good for you.”

Amy looked skeptical.

“And what about him?” Rex asked, curious about Amy’s perceptions.

“Oh, he wants complete control. That’s clear enough.” Amy frowned at the screen. “Just on principle, I think that kind of guy needs his desire thrown into question.”

Rex heard her experience with Eric in that response.

“It would be irresponsible of us to do that,” he said, taking the role of the devil’s advocate. “We’re being contracted to fulfill fantasies.”

“But you’re the one who always says people don’t know for sure what they want,” Athena said, surprising him with her words.

Rex had to admit that being denied what he thought he desired could be very hot. And having total control could be boring.

“Like this other guy who wants to be a pony,” Amy said. “He’s clearly dominant but wants to try out being submissive. He wants to lose control, and you can see the honesty of his answers in their consistency.”

“Are you going to tell me he wants something else?” Rex asked.

Amy shook her head. “I think he’s searching, and he’ll know what he wants when he finds it.” She shrugged. “Maybe he just hasn’t found the right partner yet.”

“Please don’t talk about true love,” Athena said with a roll of her eyes.

“It’s not a crime to be a romantic,” Amy countered.

“No, but it can be foolish,” Athena replied tartly.

Amy moved closer to Rex again, her thigh almost bumping against his own as she keyed up another application. She seemed to take Rex’s silence as encouragement and actually let her fingertips brush against him, as if to tempt him. “And here, your woman who wants to be hunted on a remote island.” She tapped keys. “There’s a man who has a stalk-and-capture fantasy, and the description of his fantasy victim sounds a lot like the woman. They even live in the same town in California.”

“Maybe they know each other,” Athena said.

“I debated booking them together for that reason,” Rex acknowledged.

“But maybe they’re fantasizing about each other,” Amy argued. “It’s not like most people would walk up to someone they see in the coffee shop every day and say ‘hey, I think you’re hot, why don’t we go out, then you can tie me up later’.”

“The world might be a simpler place if they could,” Rex murmured and Athena laughed. Amy shot him a look from under her lashes, a hot provocative look that just made him want her immediately.

What about Michelle?

What about monogamy?

Its appeal was minimal in this moment.

“Maybe we can make a different fantasy come true,” Athena said. “I like the idea of surprising people a bit.”

Rex forced his mind out of the gutter. It was true that the element of surprise could spice up encounters, just as it spiced up Athena’s relationship with Julian.

“I did hear that the very soul of romance is uncertainty,” Rex murmured. Athena chuckled again, but Amy looked between them in confusion. “We could add a clause to the contract if we decided to go ahead with it.”

“If?” Amy asked, with a boldness that should have earned her a corrective slap.

Oh, her discipline was inevitable, and it would be all the sweeter for the wait.

Rex reached over to Amy’s keyboard and tapped up the application from the woman who supposedly wanted to be a pony. Elise. He glanced at the time, confirmed it would be early in the morning where she was, reached for the phone and punched in the number.

“You need secured lines,” Amy muttered with a shake of her head.

“They are secured,” Athena retorted.

Amy rolled her eyes. “Please.”

A woman answered the phone and Rex held up a finger. “Is this Elise?” he asked. When she said it was, he continued. “This is Rex from The Phoenix. I have a question about your application, a detail that I’d like to confirm. Is this a good time for you to talk?”

Chapter Two

Rex was about ten million times hotter than Amy had ever imagined a man could be. He wasn’t just the Master: he was sex personified. Every move he made was sensual and considered; every glance and every gesture seemed designed to make a woman aware of what he could do to her.

And how much both of them would enjoy it.

Amy’s panties had been wet from first glimpse. He was taller than she’d expected and totally built. She knew from the timetable on his computer just how many hours a week he spent in the gym, and he definitely got his money’s worth. His muscles had muscles. He was black, and she’d known that before too, but she hadn’t expected his skin to have that rich gleam of good health. His head was shaved, but that only drew attention to the beautiful line of his neck and shoulders.

Never mind the startling clear green of his eyes. They were even more astounding in person than she’d expected. When he looked straight at her, her knees nearly gave out. When he glared at her, his gaze boring into hers, Amy was sure she’d do anything he wanted just to make him smile.

The idea of mastering the Master nearly fried her brain. Her desire was so bold, so unlikely, and yet would be so incredibly hot. Being trained by him to be a dominatrix would be the most awesome experience in the world.

All she had to do was bring the deal home. Their agreement was close. She could taste it. She’d played her hand well, all things considered, and had to hope it would yield results.

Amy stood and listened in silence as her suspicions about Elise were proven to be correct. Rex was smooth and confident during the conversation, and Amy could practically feel Elise’s uncertainty melt away. By the time he’d ended the call, the change to the fantasy was in place.

He and Athena talked a bit about the contract modification, as if Amy wasn’t there, but in a way, she’d been listening to their conversations for the past year.

Rick knocked at the door, then brought a tea tray into the room. Amy didn’t doubt that he’d taken forever about it in the hope that she’d be gone. He gave her a hard look and she looked back at him, refusing to be daunted by the staff. He worked out as well, and in another situation, she might have found his fair hair and blue eyes attractive.

In contrast to Rex, though, Rick was just a good looking guy.

Even so, she checked his butt when he left. One thing was for sure: working with these people would mean a great view every day. Amy smelled the fresh croissants on the tray and her stomach grumbled.

Rex smiled slightly, but didn’t abandon his perch on the desk. He was watching her, and far too close for Amy to risk looking up at him. She could drown in those eyes.

“So, you think you deserve to work for us?” he asked. His voice was low and rich, like dark chocolate.

Amy swallowed and nodded.

Athena was pouring tea. To Amy’s surprise, Rick had brought a silver tea service, like something out of the previous century. The cups and saucers were white bone china with gold filigree on the rims. From the color of it, the tea was apparently orange pekoe. Athena lifted a cup for Amy, then indicated the milk. Amy shook her head, and Athena poured. She gestured to the sugar and lemon, and Amy again shook her head.

That seemed to please Athena, because she smiled as she offered the tea. “You have a lot of ideas,” she said, then returned to the tray to pour for Rex. “Why don’t you tell us what you envision? What will you do at The Phoenix, and perhaps more importantly, what exactly do you want in exchange?” She offered Rex a cup of tea with lemon, then poured her own adding plenty of milk and sugar.

“I’d improve your computer security,” Amy said, daring to glance up at Rex. He was watching her closely, just as she’d suspected, not blinking at all. The tea steamed untouched on the desk beside him. “Build new firewalls and ensure that your data is encrypted, fortify the security on your landlines and internet access. That’s a given.” She took a breath as Athena offered croissants, then shook her head. She couldn’t eat. Not yet. “I’d also like to help with coordinating fantasies at your resorts. I’m interested in what people say and what they don’t, as well as making fantasies come true.”

“Including your own,” Athena said, evidently not expecting a reply. She lounged in a chair and crossed her legs, sipping her tea.

“And in exchange?” Rex asked.

Amy swallowed. “I told you already. I’d like to train as a dominatrix. Learn from the best.”

Rex smiled then picked up his cup of tea. He took his time adding a squeeze of lemon, stirring it in, taking a sip. The partners exchanged a look and Amy knew they’d silently agreed something.

Probably what to do with her.

That kind of mental connection couldn’t be hacked, though.

She’d have to wait.

It was half an eternity of Amy’s heart pounding before Rex set the cup and saucer aside and looked her in the eye again. “No,” he said firmly. Amy had an excruciating moment of anxiety, a conviction that they were going to toss her out and decline her offer, before Rex continued. “If we hire you, you’ll be trained as a submissive.”

“I told you that I’d tried that…”

“You can’t deny your nature, Amy,” Rex interrupted smoothly.

“You don’t know what I want!”

“No, but I’ve watched you here this morning.” His voice hardened in a way that made Amy shiver. “You intuitively respond to the slightest hint. You comply immediately. It’s in your nature to cede to others.” He paused and she glanced up in time to see him smile. “Or maybe just to me.”

“I’m not my sister,” Amy began to argue.

“Clearly. Joanna is completely comfortable with her submissive nature, while you seem determined to fight it.” Rex picked up his tea again, his gaze unswerving. “Are you suggesting that I can’t recognize the shape of desire? I’ve had a bit of practice.”

Amy didn’t know what to say. She couldn’t tell Rex he didn’t know his business, but she didn’t want to be a submissive again. She didn’t doubt he’d demand far more of her than Eric and that it would be exciting, but that wasn’t why she’d come all this way.

On the other hand, if she declined his offer, she’d never see inside this place again.

“You’ve made your case,” Athena said with quiet force. “We’re just negotiating the terms under which we’ll hire you, if indeed we do make an offer.”

Amy felt the will of both partners press on her and recognized that neither were used to being denied anything they wanted. “I know what I want…”

“And we know better,” Athena countered.

“You know we do,” Rex added.

Amy swallowed. “I’ll consider any offer you make.”

Rex nodded, unsurprised, and his confidence was both sexy and irritating. “Leave us your references and wait in the hall.”