Billionaires, Bad Boys, and Alpha Males (67 page)

She
shrugged.
 
“I guess.”

“Perhaps too
young for such a complicated relationship.”

“And perhaps
you’re too old to be playing games all the time.”
 
She arched her eyebrow at him.

“Touché.”
 
He grinned and sipped his wine.

A few minutes
later, the waiter brought their food on steaming hot plates.
 
Nicole ate her duck without any outward
signs of hesitation, knowing that Red would be looking for any excuse to poke
fun at her naiveté.
 

And in any
case, the food was tasty; she did enjoy the duck after all.

“So what’s it
like to be one of the richest people in the world?” she asked him at one point.

He
chuckled.
 
“It’s not too bad.”
 
He considered it further.
 
“You know I didn’t come from money.”

“You grew up in
a two-bedroom apartment with just your mother and little brother.
 
Your mother worked two jobs.
 
You did so well in school academically
and with your swimming that you received a full scholarship to Harvard.”

He looked
surprised.
 
“You did your
research.”
 
Red leaned over and
poured more wine into her glass.

“I guess I have
the advantage when it comes to knowing your past,” she said.
 
“You know almost nothing about me.”

“That’s where
you’re wrong,” he said.

“Oh?
 
Tell me something about my childhood.”

He sighed and
checked his watch.
 
“Another time
perhaps.”

“That means you
don’t know.”

“I’m not in the
habit of lying.”
 
For the first
time, his voice had an edge to it.
 
His dark eyes locked on hers and she thought again that she would do
anything to please him.

The waiter came
and collected their plates and asked if they’d like any dessert.
 
Red answered.
 
“No, we have other plans for desert,” he
said, staring right at her.

“Very good, Mr.
Jameson.
 
I’ll get your check.”

***

Nicole was
quiet on the ride to the apartment, but Red didn’t seem to notice.

She was excited
to go there with him.
 
She
remembered how it had felt when she’d come the last time.
 
She wanted that feeling again, wanted to
have his hands touching her in every private place, wanted to be naked so he
could look at her, watch her, do with her as he liked.

But she was
also afraid.
 
What if he continued
to escalate the punishment and pain he was inflicting?
 
Nicole wasn’t sure that she wanted to
experience much more of that kind of thing.

And she also
didn’t like going to a place that was clearly designed for this purpose,
knowing she was just one of many, many women he’d brought there for exactly
this kind of rendezvous.
 

Red parked his
car in an underground lot and then escorted Nicole up through an entrance that
brought them out at street level.
 
When they came out, he pointed across the road to a brick building with
a large man outside in leather pants and a tight black t-shirt.
 
He had a handlebar mustache and tattoos
on only one arm.
 

“That’s Club
Dominion,” he said.
 
“A very interesting
place.
 
Maybe I’ll take you
sometime.”

The
bouncer—or whatever he was—glared at them, oblivious of who Red
was, or simply not caring.
 

“What’s so
interesting about it?” she asked, as they continued walking in the other
direction.

“You need to experience
it yourself to answer that question.”

“So it’s an
S&M club,” she said.

He
laughed.
 
“That’s a quaint term.”

“Sorry, I’m not
up on my fetish terminology.”

“I like to
think of it as a school of discipline,” he said.
 
“And for those who have difficulty
learning, Club Dominion can sometimes be very helpful in providing extra
motivation.”

“I think it
looks creepy.
 
That man out front?
Ugh.”

“He’s really
nice once you get to know him.
 
Unless you’re one of his subs, that is.”

“Whatever.”
 
She shook her head and walked faster.

Soon they’d
arrived at the street where his apartment was located.
 
The hookers were out in force again, but
the little Hispanic man who Red had punched out was nowhere to be found.

They went
inside his apartment.

Red turned to
her.
 
“So, you had your fun.
 
Now it’s my turn.”

She crossed her
arms.
 
“What if I refuse?”

His eyes
darkened.
 
“I let you drop the
formality while we were at dinner, but you can’t continue this way.”

She felt
annoyed.
 
She didn’t want to play
his stupid game right now.
 
“I don’t
understand, actually.
 
What’s the
big deal?”

“The big deal
is, we had an agreement.”

“Yeah, but I
didn’t say I’d be going along with every little command you give me.
 
I’m my own person, you know.
 
Why does it have to be this elaborate
production?
 
Can’t you just kiss
me?”

He shook his
head and turned away from her.
 
“Damn you,” he muttered.

For the first
time, she was afraid she’d pushed him too far.
 
“I’m just asking—“

He spun around
and his face was a mask of anger.
 
“Enough.
 
Ask again, push me
again, and you will never feel so alone.
 
You think a few days of me ignoring you was painful?”

Her mouth got
very dry then.
 
He’d hit a sore
spot.
 
She’d somehow convinced
herself that she was special to him now, that he was falling in love with
her.
 
But here he was, essentially
telling her that he’d drop her like a bad habit if she asked one more
question.
 
And the worst part was,
she believed him.

“Sorry, sir,”
she said.
 
“Sorry for my insolence.”

He was still
angry and his chest was moving up and down quickly as his nostrils flared.
 
But there was still that intense hunger
in his eyes.

“Don’t you want
to make love to me?” she asked him, finally.
 
“Sir.”

His lips
tightened.
 
“I told you not to ask
questions.”

“But I called
you sir, sir.”

“I don’t want
any more questions from you tonight.
 
I satisfied my part of the bargain, now you will do the same.”

“Yes,
sir.”
 
As she said it, the tears
came.
 
She didn’t want to cry, but
she couldn’t help it.
 
The shame of
it all.
 
The wanting him, the
needing his touch, and his coldness.
 
She was just a plaything to him.

“Why are you
crying?” he asked her.

She shook her
head and turned away.
 
Her shoulders
trembled.
 
Soon she was sobbing
outright and she hated herself for it.
 
Hated herself for her weakness in front of him.
 
He would likely put her out on the
street now and she’d have to find her way home.

And then the
real freeze out would begin.

But instead of
pushing her out the door, Red touched her shoulder.
 
“Come.”
 
His voice was gentle.
 

“Sir, I’m so
sorry, sir.”
 
She shook her
head.
 
“I’m fine, sir.”

“Come with me,
Nicole.”
 
He grabbed her hand in his
and led her to the bedroom.
 

“I’ll get on my
knees for you,” she told him, happy that he was giving her a second chance.

“No.
 
To the bed.”

He took her in
his arms and laid her on her back, and then he gracefully lay down next to her,
still holding her in his arms.
 
His
dark eyes were staring into her own.

“Please, don’t
look at me when I’m like this,” she said, tears still streaming down her face.
 

“Why?
 
You’re beautiful.”

“I feel
hideous.”

“No.
 
No you’re not.”
 
His eyes studied her as if she was a
painting.
 
“I don’t ever want to
make you cry,” he said.
 

“I’m fine,
really, sir.”

“You don’t have
to call me sir right now.”

“But I want to,
sir,” she pouted.

Suddenly Red
leaned in and his lips met hers.
 
He
was so soft, so gentle that waves of pure happiness rippled through her
body.
 
His lips were soft and warm,
and his breath smelled of mint and wine.

He stroked her
cheek with one hand as he ever so lightly kissed her lips.
 
“Nicole, my beautiful, sweet, innocent
Nicole.”
 
He kissed her again.
 
Looked deeply into her eyes.
 

His body was
against her and she could feel the strength of him and the heat of him.
 
She wanted him to undress her, she wanted
to take his clothes off and feel every part of him touching her.
 

But Red took
everything slowly.
 
His gentle
kisses on her mouth until she could barely resist crying out for more.

And then his
tongue, finally, entering her mouth.
 
She pushed against him urgently, thrusting her hips into his as she took
his tongue in her mouth greedily.
 
She wanted him to know that he could have her right now.

Of course he
knew it already.
 
She was as
transparent to him as a piece of glass, and he was in no rush.
 
In fact, the more aggressively she tried
to egg him on, the slower he went.

It was a new
kind of torture, exquisite in its own way, and just as painful.
 
Her soft mound of flesh between her legs
vibrated with pleasure and excitement, wet as wet could be.
 
She spread her legs, hoping he would see
the invitation and take it.

But Red was
focused on her face, on her mouth.
 
Kissing her lips, then her eyelids, her cheeks.
 
When he kissed her neck, she moaned.

As soon as she
moaned, he stopped.
 
He began tracing
a pattern of some sort near her neckline.
 
Her nipples stiffened, poking through her sleeveless shirt.
 

“Do you want
me?” he asked.

“So much, sir,”
she whispered.
 
Their eyes met and a
shock of recognition pulsed through her.
 

He’s my soul mate.
 
I’m meant to be with him.

“What are you
willing to do to have me?” he asked her.

“Anything,
sir.
 
Anything you ask, sir.”

“I’m a
complicated person,” he told her.
 
“You understand that.”

“Yes, sir.”

He shook his
head.
 
“No, no sirs just now.
 
This isn’t a game.”
 
He stroked her hair lightly.
 
“I need you to know that if we get
serious with one another…I could cause you a great deal of pain.”

She
smiled.
 
“Isn’t that what you enjoy
doing?”

He didn’t
return her smile and she saw he was genuinely upset.
 
“Not that kind of pain,” he replied.

“How can you
know what you’ll do to me before you’ve done it?”

He smiled
ruefully.
 
“Because of my past.
 
And the best way to judge the future is
based on past behavior.
 
I’m trying
to warn you, Nicole.”

“I don’t care
about your past,” she told him, and now she reached up to stroke his hair.
 
He flinched away.