Young, Allyson - Absolute Perfection [Aspire 3] (Siren Publishing Classic) (3 page)

“I haven’t told Haley yet, but that job’s being phased out so I’ll be in the office from here on in.” She looked startled and stared at him, as if surprised to have told him.

“But you aren’t interested in my personal stuff. I’m sorry. I usually don’t share with strangers.” Her flustered affect made George’s cock harder. She was already responding to him, her beta to his alpha. He was doomed. He made a concerted effort to tear his eyes away from her face and keep his hands from touching her anywhere.

She clearly felt his withdrawal, and an expression of regret flashed across her features. He’d hurt her, shown her his reticence or something, and she was very sensitive, in tune, and she’d make him a perfect submissive. Damn it. He had to get gone.

“Iris.” Gordon’s voice permeated their little tableau, and George was on his feet, both relieved and annoyed.

“Congratulations, Gordon. Both you and Warren. Haley is lovely.”

“She is that,” Gordon answered complacently. “We are blessed. Thanks for taking care of Iris.”

The big man turned to her and offered a courtly hand, and George wanted to punch him as Iris took it and stood. “Sorry, honey. I should have arranged something for you while we took care of Haley. You’ve been so great these past few days I forget you aren’t in the Lifestyle.”

“Not to worry, Gordon. Georgios was kind enough to explain a little to me and then brought me a drink.”

“Georgios? Oh, right. George is Greek. Well thanks, my man. If you’re ready, Iris?”

She gave George a little speaking glance of thanks and then dropped her eyes. Gordon didn’t miss it, and if George was less than a Dom, he might have quailed before the light in the other man’s eyes. He was protective of his sister-in-law and George didn’t doubt Gordon knew about Jane and what had happened and wasn’t letting him near Iris just on principle. It was the perfect opportunity to escape, and George should have grabbed it with both hands.

“I’d like to call you, Iris.” George momentarily wondered who had said it. Gordon stood tall, but Iris adroitly stepped between them. In tune. She might not even know she was defusing something. It probably came naturally. That hollow feeling washed over his insides again, and he held his breath.

“I’m staying at the Hilton.”

“You could stay with us.” Gordon was interfering.

“I’m not staying with my sister while she’s on her second honeymoon with
two
husbands, Gordon.”

Gordon laughed, although he bent another dark look on George. “Point taken, honey.”

George hated that he called her honey. “I’ll call you tomorrow then, Iris.”

He watched her walk away from him and longed to run her down, pick her up and carry her back to his home even as he told himself to be patient. Gordon was going to warn her against him, and
Warren
would probably do the same. Shit. But then she’d refuse his calls, and it would be for the best. George went back to the bar and ordered a real drink and sat uncomfortably until his cock reluctantly accepted she was gone even if her looks, her scent, and her feel were all emblazoned on his brain.

Chapter Three

Iris paced her hotel room then dashed to the closet for the third time. She was as nervous as a long-tailed cat in a room full of rocking chairs, and wasn’t that one of her mom’s ancient sayings? Georgios had called her just before breakfast, and she’d accepted an invitation to dinner. She was as bewildered about her choice of clothing today as she had been at the club. What did one wear to dinner with a Dom? Haley was in no space to ask. She’d been asleep in
Warren
’s arms in the backseat of Gordon’s big sedan last night, and Iris hadn’t liked to call her today. It felt a little awkward. Gordon made small talk on the way to the Hilton, and she had the impression he wanted to speak to her about Georgios. Iris hadn’t been blind to the little dominant byplay between the two men, over her. But he didn’t say anything, and Iris figured he would talk with Haley and Warren first. She was in awe of their relationship. Such incredible communication. However, the end result was that she felt quite out of her depth.

She’d spent the day with her boss, sorting out her new job parameters, and got in touch with a real estate friend to find out what the vacancy rate was for apartments. She managed to tuck most of her thoughts about Georgios away as she focused on the immediate, but he was always there in the background in her head. She lay awake after Gordon dropped her off and thought about the evening’s events, but she kept coming back to how Georgios felt pressing against her back, and the strength of his arm around her waist. He smelled like sandalwood and man, and she thought she would fall right into the depths of his dark eyes, darker even than his hair. She bet he kept it short so that it wouldn’t curl. If he was hers, she’d tease him into letting it grow a little. If he was hers! Talk about getting ahead of herself. He wore no jewelry that she could see, especially not a wedding ring, and Iris accepted that she’d hoped, no, wanted him to call her. Here she was, back in town after all this time and maybe falling for somebody within the first week. Iris hoped it wasn’t the influence of Haley’s happiness causing her to get dreamy-eyed about Georgios Andreas. She hoped it wasn’t the influence of the club, because she definitely had not really appreciated Haley’s Lifestyle before. But, if she was honest with herself, he made her panties wet, and the orgasm she’d given herself before finally falling asleep left her with his name on her lips.

She replaced her more casual outfit with a little black dress and paired it with some peep-toed high-heeled shoes. The lovely lingerie was a gift from Haley, and Iris reveled in the silky feel of it against her skin. She was still tan from her time in
Italy
and eschewed the thigh-high stockings. After clasping a heart-shaped locket on a fine chain and fastening a pair of diamond studs in her ears, she felt ready. Unless Georgios was late and she had time to change. An authoritative knock on the door made her stomach flip, and Iris stared at the door for a long minute before making her feet move forward. She fumbled with the handle and finally managed to push it down. The lock disengaged and she pulled it open. Georgios stood there wearing a well-cut dark suit with a dark-blue shirt and subdued burgundy tie. But it was the thunderous look on his face that caught Iris’s attention and she took an involuntary step backward, her hand clinging desperately to the edge of the door for support.

He closed the gap, effortlessly easing the heavy door from her grasp and letting it shut behind them with a thud. “You didn’t ask who it was.”

“Excuse me?” Iris was too busy cataloguing her body’s response to his proximity to really hear the statement. He smelled of sandalwood just as she remembered, and his dark features looked hewn from stone. She felt small and fragile despite her height, enclosed by his warmth and presence. She felt a rush of arousal so strong her knees grew weak.

“You opened the door without asking for identification!”

“Oh. But you said you were coming at seven and it’s nearly that now.” Iris’s protest made his eyes smoulder and his sculpted mouth set. Her pussy clenched hard, and her juices flowed. He was so masculine, virile, dangerous. She wasn’t afraid exactly, but she knew she was in trouble and it made her nervous. Haley told her Doms wouldn’t tolerate anything that put their subs at risk and meted out punishment for poor choices on their part. But she wasn’t a sub, or at least not this man’s sub, so she lifted her chin and gave him a glare.

He caught her by the shoulders and pulled her against him.
Oh, oh.
Iris knew she should protest and tell him where to get off, to back off, but her brain seemed dazed, probably overcome with the same incapacitating lust her body had surrendered to.

“I won’t tolerate you putting yourself at risk, Iris. Opening the door without checking is a stupid thing to do.”

Iris heard the word, and it helped her gain control over her arousal. She wasn’t going to let anyone call her stupid, and she opened her mouth to retaliate when he moved her in one fell swoop to the bed where he sat on the edge and draped her across his lap. Her mouth shut with a startled snap as the carpet very nearly came in contact with her forehead and one of her shoes fell off to thump to the floor. She felt the skirt of her dress being hiked up and her legs secured between his, his heavy arm across the small of her back holding her immobile. The flat of his hand came down on her buttocks in the next instant, and she shrieked at the sensation.

“You’ll take ten for your actions.”

Holy crap, this guy was nuts. As if he read her mind, Georgios’s whole body went rigid, matching the state of his erection beneath her hip. He lifted her from him and helped her to stand, tugging her skirt back into place. He then got to his feet and went to take a place by the door. His face was blank, but his eyes were turbulent with emotion. They faced one another for several seconds before he broke the silence.

“I beg your pardon.” There was a faint hint of an accent in the stilted tone.

Iris eyed him warily and then giggled. She couldn’t help herself. It was a totally bizarre situation. The giggles turned to laughter, and she watched Georgios’s face tighten further and then suddenly relax. His lips twitched, and he, too, chuckled. It seemed a little forced at first, but then she heard him laugh out loud. She gulped her hilarity into submission and managed to form a coherent sentence.

“Maybe we should start over.”

Georgios raised one eyebrow, his laughter fading, and she stared at him, fascinated by his resemblance to a dark lord. She had to stop reading all those romance novels with the tantalizing covers.

“Start over?”

“Yes. Go out into the hall and knock again.”

He had a bemused look on his face, but he shrugged and turned to pull the door open and exit the hotel room. Iris wondered if he would just keep right on going to escape the insanity, but the knock came after a brief hesitation.

* * * *

Holy mother of all things holy. He had put Haley’s sister over his lap to discipline her! What in hell was wrong with him? George knew. He did. She called to him so strongly. His brain was as engaged as his cock, and he simply reacted, forgetting she wasn’t his sub. Iris made an unsafe move, and he immediately made to correct her. She could be on the phone right now to security or to the cops. He’d actually laid his hand on her perfect heart-shaped ass over those entrancing lavender panties with the little patterns of…He was doing it again. She had bewitched him. How could he think he was enough for her when he hadn’t been enough for Jane? And she was so much more than Jane. If he was smart, he’d be heading down the hall and punching the elevator button. No, taking the stairs two at a time and finding his car and heading somewhere far, far away from Iris Snider. He raised his hand and knocked on the hotel room door.

This time he saw a shadow pass over the peep hole, and then her voice spoke behind the metal door. “Who is it?”

He stifled another guffaw. He didn’t laugh. He had nothing to laugh about. This was serious business. “George Andreas.”

“Do you have identification?” He did laugh then. This woman entranced him. He slid his driver’s licence under the door, knowing as he did so he’d opened his personal life up to her with the gesture, and he was just fine with it. She opened the door immediately, and he stepped inside. She handed his licence back and gave him a sunny smile so unlike Jane’s that he once again reacted, but in a wholly different way. He leaned forward and kissed her on either cheek, European style, and was rewarded with a brush of her lips on his face and the subtle waft of her perfume. Jasmine and maybe lilies.

“It’s nice to see you again,” he said formally. “Are you ready to go?”

Iris snatched up a light wrap and nodded. “I am. I’m looking forward to our dinner.”

George held the door for her to precede him and checked to make sure it shut tightly before accompanying her down the hall to the elevator. He, too, looked forward to the evening and marvelled at the fact he was on a date! He wasn’t in a club dominating submissives. He was taking a beautiful woman out to dinner, and his life had just taken a turn. He hoped it was for the better because now his
heart
was seriously engaged.

The walk out to his car was made in companionable quiet. A woman who didn’t need to chatter to fill the silence. Or was she nervous, uncomfortable? He stole a glance at her, but she appeared serene and content to just walk, her elbow resting in his hand as if it belonged there. George quit questioning himself. They had a lot to talk about and a great deal to learn about one another, but Iris was a natural submissive and he wasn’t going to let this opportunity pass him by. He handed her into the passenger seat and ensured her seat belt was fastened. Her hair smelled like jasmine, too, not of musk and roses like Jane’s. And he was finished with comparing the two women. There
was
no comparison and any similarities were merely a coincidence because no matter how poor his judgement in the past, George knew Iris was a good person. She fairly exuded it. He could hardly wait to peel all of her layers back, the better to know what she needed, if she needed
him
. Because he was certain he needed her.

He got in behind the wheel and felt her watching him. “We’re going to The Bend. Do you know it?”

“I don’t. But then I haven’t been in
San Francisco
for any length of time for years, actually.”