The Rules (11 page)

“Amelia.” One word. He wanted me to consent.

“Okay, Sir.” I couldn’t believe I agreed. And I couldn’t possibly say
no
.

“I don’t expect you to follow that book to a
T
. There are aspects I choose to handle differently, starting with eye contact, which I’ve already told you I prefer.

“I’ll guarantee you several things. I won’t injure you in any way. That isn’t to say that I won’t spank you. But I won’t lay a hand on you in anger, and I’ll never leave a mark that lasts longer than a few hours.”

I nodded. How was I, a grown woman, kneeling naked in front of a fully clothed man, accepting the fact that he intended to spank me?

“You’ll have a safe word. Red for now. You’ll use it when you’re in pain, emotionally or physically. Understood?”

“Yes, Sir.” At least there was that.

“Many aspects of the book are up for negotiation. Many are not. For example, what we’re doing right now is playing. How much of our time is spent in that role is negotiable. We’ll explore it together and come up with an arrangement that suits us both. If the situation changes, we renegotiate.

“On the flip side, as I said before, your obedience to me is not negotiable when we’re playing. The reason for this is I need you to trust me to know your limits and make the best choices. If you can’t trust me, we have nothing. I realize this is a huge thing to ask since you don’t know me yet, but I’m asking you to trust me and go all in.”

“Okay, Sir.” Could I do that? Again, could I not?

“Is there anything you can think of that needs immediate address?”

“Yes, Sir.” I did. About two hundred things, but I would start with the most urgent. This job. “I worked hard to get this job. I don’t want you to favor me at work. I don’t want you to draw attention to the fact that you’re��seeing me. I don’t want anyone in this building to know about us.”

“Fair enough.”

“And I want you to let me quit.”

“What?” He stiffened, his eyes going wide.

“I can’t work for you and date you, or whatever this is. It’s insane. I can’t think around you.”

He smiled. “I like that you can’t think around me. Glad I’m not alone. But no, you can’t quit.”

“Cade—”

“No, Amelia. Anything else?”

I stared at him, my mouth hanging open.

Cade narrowed his gaze. “No, Amelia. Absolutely not. I want to know where you are. You may not quit. End of discussion. I will, however, keep this private. That I’ll promise you.”

“Mr. Alexander—”

“Do not call me that again, Amelia.”

“Why? You get to call me Amelia when I specifically told you my friends call me Amy. Besides, I’m well aware that you call me by my given name when you’re pissed at me.”

He grinned. “Observant.”

“Very.” I stood, set my wineglass on the table, and looked around for my clothes. They weren’t in sight. When had he moved them? I crossed my arms over my chest and tapped a foot. “I need to get home,
Mr. Alexander
. I have a lot to think about.”

“You’ll get home plenty early, baby, but not yet. We aren’t done here.” He stood, reached for my arms, and tugged them from my chest. “Don’t ever cover yourself in front of me. I love your body. I want to see all of it.”

“You’re very bossy.” That sounded absurd even to me.

Cade laughed, tipping his head back. “You just now figured that out?” When he finished, he sobered and stepped closer. He cupped my breasts in both hands and stroked his thumbs over my nipples. “Exquisite.”

I arched into him, reaching to grasp his forearms.

“And so fucking responsive.”

My vision glazed over.

“Do you know what my favorite thing in the world is, baby?”

I shook my head, concentrating on his fingers and the way they played me. He gently pinched and rolled my nipples until they ached.

“The look on your face when you’re so aroused it hurts.”

I lifted on tiptoes.

“I saw that look for the first time Friday night before I’d ever touched you. I knew I wanted you immediately. You haven’t disappointed me since.”

“It’s only been a few days.”

He chuckled. “Is that a challenge?”

I had no idea. “More of an observation.”

Cade pinched harder.

I moaned. His grip was too tight. It hurt. But not enough. Wetness flooded between my legs. “Are we going to have sex now, Sir?”

“Nope. I told you I wouldn’t fuck you until you earned all three boxes on my kitchen table. I meant it.”

My shoulders slumped. I pushed on his arms, trying to dislodge him. “If you aren’t going to finish this, please let me go.”

Cade held my nipples tighter. He smirked. “Oh, baby, you have so much to learn. Taking you to the edge is going to be my favorite pastime.” He released me as he spoke and immediately grabbed my hips to set me back on the table. He kicked two chairs out of the way, making them roll a few feet from us.

He gripped my face in both hands and met my gaze. “You owe me. I haven’t forgotten.”

I swallowed. “Owe you what, Sir?”

“A punishment.”

I stiffened. “For what, Sir?”

“For not showing up at lunch.” He leaned in closer. “I won’t tolerate disobedience in any way. When I tell you to do something, you’ll do it. To make sure you have that clear in your head, I will punish you.”

“How?” My voice was faint this time.

“Lie back again, Amelia.”

Oh,
shit
. We were back to Amelia. I did as he said, lowering my back onto the cold surface of the table.

Cade immediately spread my legs and tapped my clit, making me buck upward and moan.

He thrust two fingers into my warmth and drew out the wetness to circle my now needy nub. I wondered how this was a punishment.

Cade swiped his fingers over my clit and then speared me with them again. He repeated this several times until I was panting and gripping the top of the table with my flattened hands. Just as I reached the edge of sanity, his hands disappeared.

I gasped. “Cade,” I cried.

“What, baby?”

“Please. Oh God. Why are you stopping?”

“Punishment, baby.”

My body sank. A whimper escaped my lips. My pussy froze. If it could have screamed, it would have.
No. No no no no no
.

Cade gripped my thighs as my breathing finally slowed and pushed them wider. “You did a decent job shaving, baby. Take more care tomorrow until you get everything.”

I couldn’t speak. His mundane request barely registered.

I lay like that forever. Finally, I was able to breathe easier. The need hadn’t abated, but the urgency receded.

And then without warning, Cade thrust his fingers into me again. He fucked my pussy as deep as he could reach and then removed his hand to pinch my clit.

Shock. And then—oh, so fucking close. And then nothing.

I moaned. “Cade. Oh, God. Cade. Don’t. I can’t…”

“You can, baby. And you look so fucking sexy on the edge. I’m going to love training you to please me.”

His words reached deep inside me. I wanted to please him so badly. I didn’t know if it was because he was a Dom—my Dom—or if it was because I needed release. Either way, I would do anything.

“Let me suck you, Sir.” I lifted my head, my legs shaking. I’d never given a blow job in my life. But I wanted to. Suddenly, it seemed important. Maybe he would stop torturing me if I sucked his dick. How hard could it be?

I wanted to see him. I wanted to taste him.

Cade smiled and shook his head. “That’ll never work, baby. Don’t try it again unless you want to experience real denial.”

I was stunned. “What will never work?”

“Distracting me.” He held my gaze while he pressed his fingers inside me, slower this time. Deep. He held them there, stroking my front wall while my vision clouded and my legs shook.

“Please,” I muttered as I let my head lie back on the table.

His thumb landed on my clit and pressed hard.

I held my breath, willing my body to tip over the edge.

Cade’s hand disappeared. “And another thing,” he started, “don’t ever come without my permission. I saw you willing it to happen. Your orgasms are mine. I’ll give them out when I see fit. You won’t take them greedily. Are we clear?”

“Yes, Sir,” I muttered softly, deflated. Exhausted. And so on fire.

“I think you learned your lesson.” He leaned forward and kissed my pussy gently. “Love this pussy, baby. So fucking much it hurts. Can’t wait to bury my cock in here.” He tapped my lower lips, making me flinch and moan again.

He chuckled. “So damn sensitive. It’s going to be so easy to punish you. It takes two seconds to bring you to the edge, and then I can walk away.”

He released my legs and grabbed my hands, pulling me to sitting.

I was shaky. I didn’t see how I was going to stand, let alone walk out of the office.

Cade met my gaze. “I’m not going to torture you at work anymore this week. I don’t want you to worry every day that I might drag you into my office. I don’t like the idea of you working on the first floor, but I’ll respect your need to remain anonymous in the office, at least for the time being.”

“Thank you, Sir.” A truce, of sorts.

“I’ll send Arthur to pick you up at home tomorrow night at seven. Be ready.”

“Okay, Sir.”

“Good.” He smiled. “God, you’re precious.”

I flushed. Again. For the millionth time.

Chapter Seven

I slept like a rock, again. Dragged myself to work, again. Completely unsure about my decision to continue this farce—again.

Surprisingly, my day was perfectly normal. Mr. Alexander, as I preferred to think of him while in the office, didn’t bother me a single time. I never saw him. I wasn’t even sure he was in the building.

Moriah said he left rave reviews about my work from the day before. I didn’t meet her gaze and praised God she didn’t ask me about what I’d done. I hadn’t considered inventing something before I arrived. She sent me to work on the fourth floor again. Margie said she was going to ask for me to be transferred to her department. Since she’d lost her temp, she needed the help. And my work was far superior to the temp’s.

I was elated. All of this had come about in two weeks without any intervention from Cade.

I was still uneasy about working in his building, but I would do it for now and see how things went.

I got home at six twenty and ran through the apartment like a crazy woman getting ready. I only had forty minutes. I showered, shaved—everything—and quickly blow-dried my hair. I had never been particularly fussy about my hair. It lay nicely without much effort, and people had always complimented me on it. A few minutes was all I needed to put on makeup.

When Arthur arrived, I was ready at the door, small purse in hand, sexy black dress hugging my body. Cade hadn’t mentioned what I should wear, but I knew he abhorred panties and was a fan of my skirts. So I went with that and smiled as I opened the door.

“Ma’am.” Arthur tipped his hat. “I’m Arthur.”

I smiled at him. “Nice to meet you.” It felt incredibly peculiar having a driver pick me up.

I closed and locked my door and followed him to a Mercedes Maybach. It was the most luxurious car I’d ever been in, and it impressed me that Cade had a driver
and
a limo at his service. The anonymity of the back seat kept me from having to engage in conversation. I was stressed and fidgety. I didn’t need to make small talk on top of that.

When we arrived at Cade’s, Arthur opened my door and waited in the circle drive while I walked to the front of the house. He didn’t say anything, just tipped his hat again.

I wondered if he would take me home later, and assumed that would have to be the case. Did Cade ever drive anywhere himself?

Cade opened the front door before I could knock. “Hey, baby.” He took my hand. Well… Really, he gripped my forearm and let his fingers slide down to my hand as he tugged me inside.

Already at that gesture I was putty again.

He surprised me by flattening me against the door as soon as he shut it and kissed me. And God almighty could he kiss. He’d kissed me before, but never like that. His mouth was immediately insistent. He slanted to one side, his hands on my biceps, and slipped his tongue between my parted lips to devour me.

I gave as good as I received, anxious to know his taste. Every sweep of his tongue was perfection. I melted into him. The only thing keeping me from pressing my body along his was the way he held onto my arms. Even that was heady. He held me firmly, an odd mixture of gentle pressure that didn’t reach the gray area of force, but was enough for me to know he was in control, not me.

Yep. Putty.

My brain cells scrambled when he released my lips to set his forehead against mine and smile.

When he grabbed my hand again and pulled me deeper into the house, I was afraid I might fall over my own feet. I managed to make it to the kitchen where he lifted me onto a stool and situated me at the island.

Even without words he was demanding. His every move had intention. He liked everything where he wanted it, when he wanted it, and that included me.

Cade left me there to pad to the refrigerator. I took the opportunity to watch his ass again. I felt overdressed when it registered what he was wearing, and I squirmed. He spun back around, grinning and holding up one of the bottles of wine I’d purchased on Monday.

“I may have overdressed,” I said.

“Nope.” He grabbed the corkscrew and went to work. “I like you just like that. I’ll even let you keep the dress on for a while since you went to the effort and it’s damn sexy.”

And just like that, my pussy dampened.

Cade popped the cork and grabbed two glasses, which he filled, handing one to me. “See what you think.”

I took a sip. It was even better than the last bottle he’d plied me with. And I knew what it cost. I’d bought it myself with his credit card.

“Mmm,” I mumbled around the lip of the glass. “I know very little about wine, but you always manage to impress.” I smiled at him. This was the most normal we’d ever been. I liked it. The tension you could always cut with a knife wasn’t there, yet.

He circled the island and lifted me off the stool. “Couch.” He nodded behind him as he tugged my hand again, walking backward.