Boss (19 page)

Kelsey made little circles on the base of the glass. “It’s that I think I shouldn’t.”

“Because of being a badass executive assistant who’s fought male oppression half her life.”

“Well, when you put it that way…” She smiled and took a bite.

“And did you feel oppressed last night?”

“No.” Kelsey shook her head. “It was weird. It was more liberating to be that honest about what I wanted.” She remembered being bent over and the way reality had been so skewed that it felt as if she were fantasizing. “The orgasms were devastating.”

“Then why not enjoy it? Suspend judgment for the week. If you decide at any point that you don’t like something— Wait. Tell me you have a safe word.”

“Yes.”

“Then if you don’t like something, don’t do it. Problem solved.”

Problem solved?
As if it were that easy.

Andi popped the rest of the carrot in her mouth. “You could decide not to judge yourself for what you like and don’t like. Think of it as new food. You didn’t know you liked hummus until you tried it. Now you order it every time we come here.”

Kelsey rolled her eyes. “It’s a little more complicated than that.”

“Doesn’t have to be. BDSM isn’t a one-size-fits-all thing. There’s no right or wrong, and don’t listen to anyone who says there is. Everyone has limits, things about it they like, things they don’t. Some people are lifestylers, others practice it in the bedroom. Others mix it up, like doing it only on vacations or weekends. A bunch of us mostly keep it confined to clubs. For example…”

Now Kelsey was the one desperate to hear the dish.

Andi leaned in a bit. “I didn’t really like bondage all that well. Took too damn long. I normally prefer impact play. But when I tied up Lorean one time—wait, do you want to hear all this?”

“I’m not sure.” She took another sip. “Okay. I’m ready.”

“That pink rope around his…well…”

“I get the picture.” Not that she wanted to.

“I kind of want to see him in it all the time. It takes a long time, but surprisingly, I find it kind of Zen. Like yoga.”

“You gave up yoga.”

“They make you breathe. Child’s pose. Downward dog. Only got time for that in the bedroom. But anyway, I digress. Sometimes my knots aren’t as beautiful as he’d like them to be. He doesn’t care if I spend three hours tying him, but if the knot isn’t perfect, he throws a fit. That boy needs an ass-whooping,” she repeated. “And I’m thinking I’m going to be the one to do it. Really soon. Oh. Oh. Incoming.”

“Incoming?”

“I could be mistaken, but I’m not. Nathan Donovan is heading our direction.”

“What the hell?” She swung her head to see Nathan devouring the distance with long, purposeful strides. Andi wasn’t wrong. Kelsey was his intended target.

He was still dressed as he had been at the office, dark-gray suit and power tie. His shirt looked as crisp as it had this morning.

She’d been planning to freshen up before calling him, but he’d caught her off guard.

He was totally devastating.

“Ladies,” he said by way of greeting when he stopped at their table. “Kelsey.”

There was something mesmerizing about his eyes. Even though the restaurant wasn’t brightly lit and nighttime had fallen, his eyes were fiery, and he was focused entirely on her. Her throat went dry. “Is there a problem, Mr. Donovan?”

“Not at all. If you’d like to scoot over, I’ll join you.”

Andi busied herself scooping the last of the hummus onto a chip.

Reluctantly, Kelsey made room for him.

“Are you going to introduce me to your friend?” he asked as soon as he was seated.

Instead of replying, she asked, “What are you doing here?”

“You didn’t answer my phone calls or text messages.”

“My phone’s in my bag. Under the table.” She gripped the base of her glass. “I told you I’d call when I was done.”

“You did. And when we spoke earlier, you said you’d be an hour, hour and a half at the most.”

“And?”

“It’s been closer to two. You’re always welcome to spend as much time with your friends as you want. I was simply concerned your phone wasn’t working, so I figured I would make sure you weren’t waiting on me, wondering where I was.” With a smile that devastated, he said, “Am I intruding?”

“Of course you are.” Kelsey was annoyed.

“It’s fine,” Andi said. “I’m the friend who’s the bad influence, Andi Malloy.”

“I’ve heard of you.”

“You have?”

“The party. Where Kelsey won the paddle.”

Of course he’d remember everything she’d told him.

“Well, now that we have that out of the way…” Andi laughed. “When I’m not corrupting my friends, I own From Hair to Eternity. It’s a salon not far from here.”

“Delighted to meet you. Nathan Donovan.” They shook hands. “Your hair is your advertisement, I take it.”

“Getting it to look like this takes magical unicorn powder, a master artist, two glasses of wine and four hours.”

“I’m willing to bet my sister would be interested in that.”

“Are you kidding me? I’ve been begging Kelse to get me a referral.”

“Consider it done,” he replied. “Do you have a business card?”

Andi dug in her oversize black tote emblazoned with a vibrant sugar skull and pulled out a purple card.

“Good marketing,” he told her. “No one has cards like this.”

“I’ll give your sister her first service free.”

Kelsey rolled her eyes. “What happened to half-price?”

“My kingdom to have Erin Donovan at my color bar.”

“Is that what it’s called?” Nathan frowned.

“At From Hair to Eternity, we have a separate area where we do color. We have magazines and some interactive tablets where we take the customer’s image and show them various colors, highlights, lowlights, balayage. Sort of a ‘try it before you wear it’ kind of thing. And we want to keep them entertained while they process, so we have complimentary wine and mimosas.”

“I’m sure that’s a good idea.”

Kelsey was sure he had no idea whether or not it was.

“I keep trying to get my hands on Kelsey.”

He turned and looked at her. “Me too.”

“Hair, Mr. Donovan. She wants to get her hands on my hair.” But his softly spoken words had sent an illicit ripple through her.

“It’s perfect as it is,” he said.

“Copper,” Andi went on as if he hadn’t spoken. “Forget burgundy. We could add some copper. Highlights, maybe. Brighten it up.”

“Up to Kelsey.” He shrugged. “Personally, I wouldn’t change a thing.”

Andi glared.

He held up his hands in mock defeat. “No one asked my opinion, though.”

The server walked over and asked if he could bring anything else.

Nathan ordered a Texas single malt, neat.

“Anything else? Maybe some sliders? Chicken wings? Happy hour ends in about twenty minutes.”

Instead of answering for them, Nathan looked at each woman in turn. “Ladies?”

How did he manage to do that? At once, he was annoying and charming.

Even though another chocolate martini sounded like heaven, she shook her head, consciously making the choice to scene with him when they got back to her place. The simple decision made waves of anticipation roll through her stomach.

“Did you eat anything besides hummus?” he asked Kelsey.

She shook her head.

“Would you like to go somewhere else for dinner or eat something else here?”

The idea of going out to dinner with him didn’t appeal to her, but she was still hungry. “Sliders,” she said.

“Andi?” he asked.

“I’d eat some.”

“Two orders, for the table.”

“With French fries,” Andi added.

The server committed the order to memory before leaving.

Over the next half hour as they ate, she was surprised by how charming Nathan was, asking Andi about her business and listening to her plans for expansion. But the whole time, with the way he touched her beneath the table and looked at her when she spoke, he made her feel extraordinarily special.

A master of conversation, the way he was with everything else, he directed the discussion toward the upcoming weekend. “I invited Kelsey to go to Deviation with me this weekend. I know you were the one to call to get her on the guest list, and I apologize most sincerely for interfering in your plans.”

Kelsey knew he wasn’t sorry, and she was sure Andi knew it as well. But she appreciated him for owning up to being the one to step in and alter things.

“Since it’s unexpected,” he said to Andi, “I’m happy to pick you up if you’d like to ride together.” With his words, he made it clear he was offering transportation and nothing more.

“Thanks for the offer, but no. And honestly, I’m glad,” she said. “I’d forgotten it’s my dad’s birthday party. I wouldn’t be able to get out of it. I was going to see if you could reschedule, Kelsey.”

Kelsey studied her friend, looking for signs of lies.

Andi turned up both palms as if to say she was telling the truth.

When the server brought the check, Nathan handed over his credit card.

“That’s not necessary,” Kelsey said.

He put his hand on her knee and caressed her. “It’s an honor to have dinner with two beautiful women.”

After the bill was settled, he asked, “Can I give you a lift somewhere, Andi?”

“Thanks, but I valet parked.”

Outside, both of them handed over claim tickets, and he said, “Get the lady’s car first.”

Andi was already safely on the road before the valet brought around Nathan’s SUV. He handed Kelsey into the car then gave the valet a tip that was bigger than she would have expected before getting in the vehicle.

“Is the temperature comfortable?”

“Fine. Thanks.” She was still slightly annoyed with him for showing up and cutting her time with Andi short.

This evening, he didn’t need directions to her house, and when her phone chimed, she pulled it out of her bag. As he’d said, he’d sent a couple of messages and called. Because of the background noise, she obviously hadn’t heard the notifications. And she could see it from his point of view. He’d been waiting to hear from her, and he hadn’t contacted her until after six-thirty, the time she’d said she might want to leave. Even then, he’d given her another thirty minutes before seeking her out. He hadn’t insisted she leave. And he’d paid the bill. Maybe she was overly sensitive to the overbearing male syndrome.

“I’m sorry that I didn’t hear the phone.”

“I enjoyed meeting your friend.” Since they were at a stoplight, he looked at her. “And I can’t wait to get you home.”

She wiggled against her seat. He’d dropped his voice before adding the second part, and he’d wrapped her in his cloak of intimacy.

Concentrating on anything but him, she looked at the text from Andi.

Holy hotness. He’s sex on a stick. I’ll do him if you don’t want him.

With a grin, she shook her head, turned off the screen then dropped the phone back in her bag.

At this time of evening, traffic was light.

“Have you done any thinking?” he asked. “About proper behavior.”

In an instant, he’d gone from general conversation to something that only concerned them. “I was hoping we could skip that part.”

“I’m sure you were.”

“Don’t tell me you’ve actually had time to think about it. Aren’t you busy snapping up companies all over the city?”

“The state, actually,” he replied.

“You’re not joking?”

“We’re looking at an electronics company. Been around a long time, was a blue chip at one point. Market has changed. They’re not as relevant as they were. They need an infusion of cash as well as vision and a team to manage strategy and tactics.” Across the darkened interior, he shot her a grin. “You don’t need to hear about it.”

“On the contrary. It’s fascinating.” The enthusiasm in his voice was contagious and she wondered how he had the mental adeptness to switch between projects. Taking over Newman was time-consuming, and yet he was already planning another acquisition.

“I’m happy to tell you about it, when we’re not focused on Donovan Logistics or personal matters. When we’re in private, I want you to be sure my attention is unwaveringly on you.”

She shivered a bit, even though she wasn’t cold.

“Back to my question.”

“I agree,” she said, unable to believe they were having this conversation. But she remembered his words from last night, about detaching a bit. So she approached it as she would a work conversation. “Courtesy is a must.”

“And willful disrespect? You’ll submit to my corporal punishment for it?”

“Can you be more specific?”

“Of course. I’d never use anything other than my hand or a belt on your ass and upper thighs. There’s no mistake, you’ll know you’ve been rude.”

“That’s not the way I usually act.”

“Not everyone annoys you the way I do, I suspect.”

“There’s some truth to that.” It wasn’t just because he was overbearing, overconfident, overwhelming at times. It was because the way she reacted scared her.

“Deliberate disobedience,” he went on. “Like arguing when I request something of you and you have no intention of using a safe word or having a discussion about it. I want you to use safe words, to discuss things with me. But for example, last night, when I said I could shave your pussy or you could have a Brazilian wax. Do you remember your response?”

“Hell no.”

“And it should have been…?”

“Can we discuss this, Mr. Donovan? Or, this scares me. Or, hell no,
Sir
.”

He laughed. “You think you’re safe because I’m behind the wheel with my seat belt on.”

A delicious threat was woven through his words. Damn it, she was already getting damp for him.

“So in that instance, I may take you to a salon on our lunch hour. Perhaps even to Andi’s place. I’m sure they have services there.”

And Lorean probably specialized in them. “Shaving is fine, Sir.”

“You’re a perfectly reasonable, compliant sub.”

“Never anything but,” she agreed happily.

In only a few minutes, they’d parked. After helping her out of the vehicle, he grabbed a bag from the back seat. She’d noticed it earlier, when she’d borrowed the car, and she’d wondered what it was for, but she hadn’t thought it might be for her.