Bound to You (10 page)

“There are things you need to teach me,” he admitted.

I didn't roll my eyes this time, but I was sure he caught my amusement. “There are books. YouTube videos. A Japanese protocol person. You could buy YouTube, couldn't you?”

“Books don't have that
personal
touch.” He traced a circle along the middle of my back, making my stomach jump. My grip on his shoulders tightened.

“Do you need anything?” he asked.

Need.
Such a simple word that didn't convey my thoughts.
Crave.
Now that better served the purpose. “Yes, I need more,” I whispered in a way that betrayed my true thoughts. “I've been waiting for more.”

His blue eyes darkened and I froze. He edged me toward the table until the backs of my thighs hit it. His rough breath warmed my cheek. Teasingly close to my mouth. Then his lips captured mine. He kissed me so hard I couldn't hold myself up and my knees buckled. I was so enraptured I couldn't hold back the moan in the back of my throat. By the time we parted, he was breathing just as hard as I was.

“Damn it, Soph.” His grip on my hips hardened and I wished we were truly alone.

I reached for him and we kissed again. Every wall I had built to separate us crumbled. This felt right. My lips against his. The tentative brush of my tongue along his.
Velvety soft
would be the best way to describe the way his tongue felt while he gently rocked his hips against mine. We settled into a rocking motion: rocking forward, tongue dip, then an upward stroke of his hips. Almost as if our clothes didn't hinder what we truly wanted to do.

His hands left my hips to travel over my stomach, stopping briefly to rub along my waist. His fingertips brushed against my breasts and I had to swallow another pleasured moan. Then he reached for my face and cupped my cheeks.

“If you only knew what I want to do to you, Sophie.” I loved hearing him say my name. His deep voice was honeyed with desire and the dark dare in his eyes made me want to find out exactly what he'd do to me.

“Please kiss me again,” I whispered.

He leaned in to sweep his tongue across my parted lips. My inner thighs quivered and the heat gathering there told me if he ripped off my panties he'd find me wet and ready for him. Would he fuck me on this very table if I asked him?

He pressed me closer to him, drawing my bottom onto the table.

The sound of a glass hitting the floor in the kitchen nearby pulled him away from me.

“Don't like giving a show?” I quipped.

“I could give them a show, but I don't know if you're the quiet type or a screamer.”

If he only knew what I really wanted to do with him. Was he even the type? We'd never had such a talk yet. Everything between us was so new. Was he an exhibitionist? Had he ever been in a dominant/submissive relationship? Was he into kink?

Those weren't on my new client questionnaire, by the way…

“Let's get out of here.” He picked up my clutch and offered it to me.

When we were outside, I finally asked where we were going. Back to his place?

“I'm not done dancing with you yet,” he replied.

That early in the evening, finding a dance club in Boston wasn't hard. Even I knew where to look for a dark place with a VIP section for us.

As much as I wanted Sophie in my bed, I was playing things by ear. She gave every sign she wanted me to make the first move, but I was in no hurry.

Just because she wore wrist cuffs didn't mean she had the same kinky interests as me. They might've been a fashion statement. As much as I wanted to dominate Sophie, she wasn't Rosalie, nor did I expect her to be. The games I preferred to play were unusual.

When we got into the car, she slid in beside me. The need to turn to her and gather her onto my lap flicked at me, but I didn't so much as move. If the opportunity presented itself, I'd show her what I wanted.

By the time we found a spot in the VIP section at the Viper Bar, I was pleased with my decision to have drinks first. During the whole time, I watched her movements. The way she left a few inches of space between us. Close, but not close enough for me to touch her. The way she tried to hold back her coy smile whenever she sneaked a glance my way. She had no expectations for conversation and I appreciated that. All the stressors from thinking about securing the deal with Nakamura melted away for a moment.

When she briefly excused herself to use the bathroom, I got a chance for a breather. Until I saw a man stop her on her way back. The dude looked like he was an athlete or something. I knew the type. Wide shoulders, chest thick from exercise. I bet this guy expected women to flock to him whenever he flashed his big bank account.

Darkness gathered in my chest when he leaned toward her to speak. She briefly pointed my way to show where she was heading, but he stopped her to point back to the bar downstairs from the VIP section. He wanted to dance with her.

When he placed his hand on her back, I got up. She might be my assistant, but I invited her here and this guy wasn't taking up
my time
.

I approached them and she turned to me.

“Is there a problem, Sophie?” I asked.

She shook her head. I exchanged a glance with the guy. If a pissing match could've occurred, I was sure we would've done it.

“Is this your date?” the guy asked.

“She's with me tonight, yes.” I didn't hesitate.

“My bad. I didn't want such a pretty lady drinking by herself.”

I'm sure you didn't, pal,
I thought.

I didn't try to stop myself when I placed my hand around her waist and tugged her closer to me. The guy nodded and backed away.

At my side, Sophie had a half-grin.

“Do you know him?” I asked. I had to lean in close for her to hear me.

“Not really. He recognized me from a party I attended a few weeks ago.”

We slid into the private booth. I scooted in until the shadows hid me.

“He seemed pretty interested in you.” I pulled her toward me until she edged onto my lap. Might as well make it easier to have conversation.

“I haven't had a chance to speak with him personally. Never hurts to be friendly.”

“But he liked you.” And I didn't
like
that.

“And?” Her eyebrows rose.

“You're here with me.”

Her lips pursed and I knew what was coming. It still bothered me nonetheless.

“Aren't we just getting to know each other tonight?”

Good try, sweetheart.
No dice. “I don't share, Sophie.” I
never
shared. Not even Rosalie.

“People in relationships don't share, but I'm just your assistant, right?”

I did know enough about her to consider her an acquaintance, but tonight I wanted much more. Damn it, I wanted to show every man who stared at her that she was with me and no one else could touch her.

But she was right. I'd told her I didn't want a relationship, and I'd meant it. That still didn't stop my growing need to be with her.

“Yes, we have a business relationship,” I said crisply.

“Glad to hear that's settled.” She pushed her drink my way, but I didn't touch it. “You like beer, well, I like Sex on the Beach. Want a sip?”

I chuckled a bit, enjoying the coy look in her eyes.

“I prefer harder liquors. Do you like those, too?”

“Just once in a while. After too many tequila shots, my friends once had to use a spatula to scrape me off the floor.”

She sipped her drink and we watched the small dance floor in the VIP section. The pounding rhythm of the house music flowed through me. A couple near us, a small blonde and a dude in black, got up to dance.

Sophie pressed her back to my chest as we watched the woman sway her hips to the music. The dreamy look on the blonde's face was hypnotic. My left hand drifted along Sophie's hip down her thigh. From her knee I traveled up her thigh to press my hand to the warm space under her breasts. Her heartbeat thundered against my hand. The need to cup her beautiful breasts made me thrust upward, and she responded in kind, grinding her ass against my lap.

I gently pushed her forward, placing her hands on the small table in front of us to brace herself, then I ran my hands down her back as she rocked her hips against me. Damn, she felt so good. Tension filled my hips as my shaft turned to steel and my balls clenched tight enough to hurt.

“Stop,” I commanded.

My hands locked around her hips to hold her in place. When the need to come backed off a bit, I eased up, but she didn't start moving again.

She waited, her body trembling as if she was on the edge of a cliff urgently needing to be pushed. Was she an instrument needing to be played? A fine instrument with a tune needing to be heard?
But would she be willing to do what I ordered her to do to give her pleasure?

I have particular tastes: the main one being control. As a Dom I knew what I wanted, and I needed for her to trust in the pleasure I wanted to give her.

My fingers trailed along her thigh. Once I reached her inner thighs, I paused.

Lord almighty, she was soaking wet.

She twisted to look at me. I looked at her.

One thing became abundantly clear:
tonight wasn't going to end as a casual date.

The dark look on Xavier's face scorched me to the point where I had to look away. But turning away from him didn't end his visual assault. He pulled me back against his chest again, decreasing the distance between us until his breath warmed my cheek.

His mouth brushed against my ear. A light teasing touch. As he rested his fingertips on my thigh, he spoke. “I want you and I can promise no entanglements. The next step isn't mine to take, but yours. Go to Fenway Park nearby. There's a small grove not far from an ice cream stand. Rest your hands against the fence around a small garden. Wait for me. Don't move.”

Then he placed me next to him and got out of the booth. He left the club, leaving me there to contemplate the bomb he'd left in my lap. All this time I wouldn't have imagined he'd say such a thing. In all the research I'd done, I never read anything about Xavier Quinn being kinky.

And yet, he was.

Also, he hadn't given me an order like Sato, but a choice. It was my choice to follow him outside and wait.

As much as I thought he'd given me a choice, the cadence to his voice had carried a command. Just the thought of going outside made my breath quicken even further, but it was up to me if I wanted to do it. To saunter across the line he'd placed in the sand.

As I slowly got up on wobbly legs, I considered what he'd said to me. I didn't have to go—I could take a cab home and forget we'd ever reached this point, but there was something in his eyes I hadn't seen in a long time. A promise of passion
and
pleasure. He wanted to be with me right now. That was something I'd never shared with Sato.

I left the club.

Once I was at the curb, my decision was clear. I let the cabs pass and I headed down Boylston Street toward Fenway Park.

The spring night had a cool breeze that fluttered through my hair and added confidence to my step. I looked around for Xavier but didn't see him anywhere. The park was at the end of the street—the first sign of trees lay two blocks ahead. With each step, apprehension circled my stomach. Countless questions came to mind, but I batted them away.

What the hell are you doing, Sophie?

Good question.
You're about to get off, girlfriend.

Are you prepared to sleep with your employer?

Yep.
You don't have to do anything you don't want to do, but if you want to fuck him until you climax hard enough to have a concussion, that is your right in the good ol' U.S. of A.

So I marched down to Fenway Park and I found the closed-up ice cream stand as he directed. From there it was a bit hard to find the grove, but once I found the cluster of trees protecting it, locating the garden was easy.

And what a garden it was.

In the moonlight, I could make out every white lily leaning over as if in prayer. Fragrant, yellow evening primrose that appeared almost purple at night.

All of them were night-blooming flowers.

I placed my hands on the fence as instructed, a thrill dancing down my spine. The need to look around pecked at me, but I was always obedient at this game.

A minute passed and when I clenched my thighs, my wetness was apparent. I was soaked.

As I waited, my anticipation grew to the point where the sounds of the crickets and night birds were drowned out by the sound of my beating heart.

My grip on the metal fence tightened.

Wait for me. Don't move.

Then I sensed him behind me. Closing my eyes, I waited for him. Yearned for him to do what he'd promised.

“I'm going to touch you,” Xavier murmured.

“Yes,” I breathed. He hadn't asked. He'd told me so. I wanted him to touch me. Needed him to brush his full lips against mine. Lock my hands over my head as he took what he wanted.

His head dipped to the crook of my neck, his lips resting near my pulse point. His warm breath against my neck made my own breath hitch in response. Any minute now frenzy would hit. The tension in my stomach grew tighter.

He knelt behind me, his hands running down my body. His fingertips caressed my knee toward the sensitive skin along my inner thigh. His other hand stretched across my belly to my hip. He tugged me to spread my legs wider.

“That's it, sweetheart.” His voice was thick as he stood again. The chain-link fence moaned as he pressed me against it. His erection was hot against my bottom. There was no escape. He leaned in to nibble along the heated skin at the crook of my neck.

“I want to kiss you again so badly,” he said. His tongue darted out to trace a circle, and then his lips slowly kissed the spot. I melted in his arms. “You taste good. Like strawberries.”

I reached for him, but the hand on my hip grabbed my wrists and forced me to keep my hands on the fence.

Naughty, naughty Sophie. I already forgot my orders.

“That's not what I want tonight, Miss Ashton,” he said with a husky chuckle.

I found that hard to believe. His hips thrust upward against my ass and I couldn't resist squirming.

“So what do you—” I began.

“Don't speak,” he said firmly.

I swallowed any replies I had. I rather liked this game and was eager to comply.

His heated right hand caressed my thigh through my clothes. Heading upward, he drifted until his fingertips dipped down the apex of my legs, effectively brushing against my mound. The stretchy material didn't resist his manipulation and I shuddered, unable to respond in kind. If my hands were free, I'd be running them through his hair. All over his wide chest. I wanted to turn around and face him, but he didn't budge.

He rubbed me again, going from my clit down to my entrance, much faster this time. A throaty moan escaped my mouth. Why couldn't he yank up my dress? He was so teasingly close.

“Are you still wet?” he asked.

I remembered what he told me earlier and nodded instead of speaking.

“I don't believe you.” He laughed against my cheek. “I should make sure you're not lying to me.”

He thrust upward. Two quick pulses of his hips. The hard outline of his erection against my pussy made the growing need inside me intensify. Damn, it felt so good.

“You're going to come for me right now. As much as I'd like to fuck you all night in my bed, all I need tonight is to feel you against me when you let go.”

His movements quickened as he pulled up my dress. The damp silk panties should've come off, too, but they didn't. Instead he left them in place and slid two fingers between my pussy lips and slipped them into my channel. My thighs clenched. His ragged breath fanned my neck. “Nice and wet. I'll have to taste that some time.”

He pulled out and pushed into me again with three fingers this time. I almost gasped out his name. My hands formed fists on the fence. The flowers before me blurred and my eyes formed slits. He thrust into me again. In and out. Out and in. He settled into a rhythm, driving me crazy since I couldn't cry out.

“I wanna hear you come now.” His grip around my waist tightened. The constraint was delicious. “Does it feel good?”

The moan building inside me stretched out as he pistoned my panties into me.

“That's right. Come for me.”

I cried out. I had no choice but to comply.

As sweet pleasure washed over me, my back arched, my stomach clenched, and everything in me tensed up. The moment had to have lasted a few seconds, but it felt far longer than that.

Finally, my back collapsed against his chest and every burden I had faded away.

I was still slightly bent over the fence. My boss's arm was still wrapped around me.

So what happens now?
I wasn't sure what to say.

A breeze stirred the flowers. In the very back was a small
gekka bijin,
a
beauty under the moon,
as Sato had called me. A stark reminder I'd bloomed tonight, but in the morning I'd have to close my petals again.

Time for the real world to come crashing down on us.

I took a step to the side. He closed back in. As much as I hated to admit it, if he took me in his arms right now I'd go wherever he led.

But when I took another two steps, he took one.

“Are you all right?” he asked softly.

I managed a nod.

No entanglements.
A simple request he was able to fulfill.

“I should get going now” was what I managed to say as I adjusted my clothes. Saying less meant less conversation.

I left the grove. If we went together, I'd have to face him while I got a cab or I'd have to decline his offer for a ride home.

He promised no entanglements, and yet he followed me back to the road. I hailed a cab and got inside.

I closed my eyes to avoid the temptation of looking out the window to see him standing there. It was for the best. I'd done what I'd needed to do. I'd sated the hunger within me. Quite well, thank you very much.

But even if I were satisfied tonight, what would tomorrow bring with a man like Xavier Quinn?

The morning after a long night of partying can be a rough one. Yet this time was different. I wasn't lying on my side.

My drawer was shut. Still nice and locked away.

I picked up my phone and went through the overnight messages.

Not a single one from Xavier. Good.

Not that I was checking.

Once I was done, I stretched out on the bed. Every muscle from my legs to my arms was blissfully relaxed. I even probably smiled like a damn fool. The fingers on my right hand ran along the edge of my left hand's wrist cuff. The worn leather was smooth.

Carefully, I took them off. A long shower this morning would do me good.

I was almost to the shower when my phone buzzed. A call from a client around 7:30
A.M.
seemed a bit early. Usually Jesse took care of anything that came up overnight.

It was a call from Carlie.

“What you up to, C?” I asked softly.

“You sound cheerful. It's practically the ass crack of dawn there.”

I laughed. “If your clients knew how you sounded when you talked to your friends…”

“They'd be horrified, yes, but only my true friends know my
secret
identity.”

I sat on my bed. “And you only have so many of those.”

“I need to be that way in the business we're in. I can't make mistakes anymore.”

“K,” was all I said. Mentioning Carlie's past flame wasn't done between us.

“Yep.” She was quick to add, “So did you sleep in after your little
date
? I've never seen you sleep more than four hours or so.”

I should've seen this coming. I rarely kept secrets from her. “I was reading.” Technically, I was reading my phone.

“Bullshit. Who reads cookbooks in bed?”

I rolled my eyes.

“When were you going to tell me about tall, dark, and fuckable?” Her tone was teasing, but sweet.

I chewed on my bottom lip. “It's complicated—and no, I haven't fucked him yet.”

“I see.” She paused for a bit and I knew what was coming. “Do you like him?”

I was quick to reply. “We just met a few days ago and he's not looking for anything serious.”

“So you do like him!”

“Oh, Carlie, stop it.”

“I distinctly remember you giving me the same sorry-ass response when I asked you about Robert Graham.”

I groaned. “That was high school and now that I think about it, I have no idea why I found that guy attractive.” Memories of Robert's stark red hair, massive braces, and pimply face came to mind. “Oh my God, his hair. It was redder than yours! And I've never seen a tongue that big before.”

“You were tangling with that tongue at every opportunity.” Carlie laughed, then sighed. She never liked being a ginger and dyed her hair all the time.

Reminiscing was always fun with Carlie, but unease settled into my stomach—we flat out avoided talking about hers. In particular, the one person she didn't want to think about.

So I finally said it. “I wonder how Tomas is doing sometimes.”

“I don't.”

For one summer back when we were sixteen, Carlie and I met a rich kid visiting from the U.K. Back when we'd first met him, all we saw was a guy in worn jeans and T-shirts with a golden smile. A hint of an accent when he spoke. We had no idea he was a luxury hotelier's son.

Back then the conditions of our foster home had been pretty shitty. Our foster parent Gail barely clothed and fed us—instead, putting the money the state gave for our care toward her gambling habit. Before Gail, our lives had been so much better, but life never goes the way you want. The memories kept flooding my senses and I tamped down the ones that left me bitter. What I did try to recall was that particular summer. The smile that Tomas had that was reflected in Carlie's smile.

A few years later we were eighteen and on our own during another hot NYC summer. Even with opened windows, the sweltering heat turned breathing into an Olympic event. But that was our lot in life. That dirty studio apartment was all Carlie and I could afford in Queens, so we endured the heat as best we could.

Not long into the summer the worst bit of news fell at our feet: an eviction notice was posted to our door. We ignored it as long as we could until the final notice came. Move out tomorrow or the police would come.

“You look like shit,” Carlie had said to me that morning with a smirk.

My clothes clung to me, wet with perspiration. “You stink.”

“Your comeback stinks.” We always did this to distract each other when the other person was about to crash.

Which I was about to do at that moment. My fingers gripped the paper hard enough to make the material crackle. My nose grew stuffy and I was unable to stop a tear from falling.

“Don't you dare cry, Ashley,” Carlie bit out. “This is just another piece-of-shit apartment.”

I shook my head with a dry laugh. I hated when she called me by my birth name. Yep, I was born Ashley Ashton. The double Ash got on my nerves once in a while. When she really wanted to dig under my skin, she used Ash Ashton.