Dungeon Time (Play at Work) (8 page)

The thought galvanized him, and he eased her away and got dressed. He couldn’t have Anna hate him. After only one short encounter, she might forgive him for ending things, especially since he had given her a great time and walked away without even having an orgasm himself. Did women understand that kind of sacrifice?

Edward dug in a pile of bedding and found a blanket and pillow. He covered her up and tucked the pillow under her head, kissed her cheek then headed for home, sad, depressed and disgusted.

That new sub was the kind of girl for a man like him. Maybe he should let Roland know he’d take the blonde off his hands. He was too depraved to deserve ordinary happiness.

Anna rolled over and moaned. For a moment, she had no idea where she was, the sounds and light all off. Her room’s heavy drapes never admitted such a golden glow. What was that crashing noise? Like ocean waves….

A popcorn ceiling, another oddity. She
buried her face in a pillow The scent of sandalwood and musk in the bare mattress brought it back. Edward. She wasn’t in San Pedro anymore. She’d never slept on a bed without sheets there.

But where was Edward?

She replayed the night before in her mind and couldn’t figure out why he’d left. Had she done something to offend him? Because he hadn’t even gotten off, and her ex would never have left before that happened. Of course, he’d only given her two orgasms in their time together, and those had probably been accidental, so she didn’t have much to compare it to.

But he’d never have left before he got his! Or before they’d had intercourse. Missionary style, her on the bottom, him pumping away until he came then rolling off so she could deal with the mess. He didn’t like a messy bed…and of course, since she lived at home, it was always his
apartment. She would drive herself home afterward because to spend the night would be scandalous, not that he ever tried to get her to stay.

She kicked away the blanket. Since she didn’t remember it being there before, Edward must have covered her up. Until then, they’d been naked on the—thank heavens—brand new mattress. What a considerate guy, making sure she was comfortable.

But why hadn’t he said good-bye? Or taken his clothes off?

The life of a single girl on her own held challenges she’d never dreamed of.

In one day, she’d moved into a new place, had what she supposed might have been a date, allowed a man to tie her up and drive her to orgasm with his face in her lap and his fingers…well, she didn’t want to think where his fingers had been. She hoped he washed his hands.

The
guy left! No goodnight kiss, no see you later. Covering her up…oh, man, had he not liked seeing her naked?

Am I not good enough to even get him off?

The bastard!

Anna scrambled out of bed and rummaged through a box of clothes. Shorts and halter-top in hand, she headed for the bathroom. She would confront the bear in his den, but not until she had a shower and a clear head. How much wine had she drunk the day before? Too much.

In fifteen minutes, she was on her way down the street in the bright morning sunshine. The waves crashing on the shore drowned out her sandaled footfalls, but she stomped all the same. No man was going to walk away again without a good explanation. If Edward wanted to date her, fine. If he didn’t, fine. But he could damned well say good-bye when he left. She worked at Marks and Company where that damned lawyer came for meetings at least once a week. She did not intend to cower behind her desk and pretend nothing had happened between them.

Edward clicked his phone off and sank onto his bed. Roland was on his way over with Brigid. The sooner Edward put Anna and their night together behind him the better.

He ran a hand through his hair, a tousled mess. Sitting up all night
, soul searching, could have that effect on a man. A shower and shave would make him better able to face the day. But once he stepped under the spray, his cock reminded him it hadn’t been taken care of. He tried to tell it the subbie would be glad to suck him off, but the stiffy drooped at the thought. Damnit, the girl was gorgeous, a Scandinavian beauty. She should make a dead man hard.

Anna.
She pushed into his mind no matter how hard he tried to keep her out. No slim blonde could match her lush sensuality. Heavy breasts with large, inviting nipples. Hips made for holding onto while plunging into her wet heat. An ass for spanking or, after some training, fucking. And those lips, those red, soft lips. If he hadn’t run away like an ashamed schoolboy, he could be pushing his cock between them right now.

He groaned.

The doorbell buzzed. He reached for a towel and wrapped it around his waist. He’d let Roland and Brigid in and finish cleaning up while they had coffee or something. He wasn’t going to touch another woman with Anna’s essence still anywhere on him. Sacrilege.

Pulling open the door, he said, “That was fast,” then stumbled back as an irate Italian goddess shoved past him. “Anna. What are you doing here?”

She glared, hands on hips. “You didn’t say that last night when you brought me here. I thought we were neighbors and I could stop by. Isn’t that what you implied?”

Her damp curls swung around her face and her halter-top barely confined the breasts he had just been fantasizing about. His cock was back onboard, fully ready for action, but it was destined for disappointment.

“Oh, of course. I was in the shower though.” He attempted to herd her back toward the door, terrified Roland and the sub would arrive while she was still there. Even if he didn’t intend to go any further with her, he didn’t want her to meet the others.

He might be a Dom, but Anna was all woman, and she didn’t know a thing about his other life. She
wouldn’t understand the difference between sub and girlfriend.
Damnit, she’s not my girlfriend!

Anna stared at him, her head tilted to
one side. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah, fine.”
Not in the slightest.
“But I’m dripping all over the floor, and there’s still shampoo in my hair. Why don’t I call you later?”

“No.” She shook her head, curls flying in the most appealing way. “I’m not leaving. I can wait while you finish. We have to talk about what happened last night.” Stomping over to the couch where they’d kissed, she plopped into the corner. “We have to see each other at the office, and I want to clear some things up before Monday morning.”

He hesitated between the door and the couch. How long would it take Roland to get there? If Anna was still around when he and Brigid arrived…. Edward shuddered to think what might happen. “Okay let me make a call and try to cancel an appointment. Stay right there.”

She nodded. “I’m not going anywhere.”

He hurried downstairs and grabbed his phone. Roland’s number went right to voice mail, so he left a terse message. “Don’t come over right now. I will explain later.” He hoped the man would get the word in time, but just in case, Edward had to think of a way to get Anna out of harm’s reach.

“Okay, how about breakfast?” he called up the stairs. “I’ll just rinse off and get dressed and we can go.”

He hurried, but when he emerged ten minutes later, the scene in his living room chilled him to the bone.

Master Roland, clad in his
typical leather vest and black jeans sat in the center of the couch, flanked by the two women. His wide grin fueled Edward’s fear. The man was a sadist. He rarely smiled unless someone was about to experience extreme pain.

“I let your friends in, Edward.” Anna’s ordinary words did not matched the flames in her eyes. “We’ve been having such an interesting conversation. Master Roland says you have been quite lenient with me so far.”

Oh, Jeez, no.

Roland patted her bare knee, and Edward tensed. But he made no further move. “Quite a nice girl you have here, Edward. I invited her to the club tonight. We can never have enough attractive women around the place.”

How much had
Master
Roland shared?

“I accepted the invitation. I hope you’ll escort me. It sounds like fun.”

“Anna, you have no idea. That is, it’s complicated, but I don’t know if you’d feel comfortable.”

She frowned. “You don’t think your friends would like me? Maybe I shouldn’t go.”

Roland blinked at him then turned his attention back to Anna. “Ridiculous. You are delightful. If he won’t take you, I’ll give you a ride.” He nodded at Brigid in her black, short dress. “Won’t we, my dear?”

Edward’s brain swirled. Everything was collapsing around him. If it went badly with Anna at the club, not only would he lose her, but it could spill over into his work life.
While not ashamed of his predilections, they did not need to be bandied about the boardrooms and courtrooms of the city. No alternative presented itself—they’d cornered him. “No, she goes with me.”

Roland stood and straightened his vest. He held out a hand to
Brigid. “We’ll be going. See you around nine?”

“Fine. I’ll show you out.” Edward closed the door behind his guests and turned, leaning against it. “Anna, I don’t think you understand any of this. I mean, you can’t. The club is—”

She bit her lip. “Edward, come here.”

He joined her, still trying to think of a way to talk her out of going. She would run as fast and far as she could once she caught sight of the manacles and spanking benches in the dungeon. And he’d have to let her go because she’d be right to run.

Anna nestled against him, resting her head on his chest, and he wrapped an arm around her. Her sweet-smelling warmth filled his head with ideas of how he’d like to spend what was likely their last day together. Mostly naked. A few ropes—perhaps shibari was not entirely out of the picture.

He tried one more time. “Are you sure you want to go tonight?” He had to tread carefully or she’d think, again, it was something lacking in her that made him say it. “We could go to a movie instead.”
Perfect. Way to make a vanilla suggestion.

But she jerked away and stared at him. “Edward, if you don’t want me in your life, just say so. I thought it would be fun to go, and your friends seemed to like me just fine. But if you’d rather I not, I will go home. We can go back to being casual work acquaintances, and nobody needs to know what happened last night.”

His heart sank. “I didn’t mean that at all. It’s not you, it’s me.”

She gasped and tried to stand, but he wrapped his hand around her wrist and held her. “Let me go. I heard that one
when my ex dumped me for a girl who could have been Brigid’s conservatively-dressed sister. Blonde, thin, legs from here to tomorrow.”

Vanilla was harder than it looked. Without his Dom superpowers, Edward did not know what to do to keep her
in his life. Except maybe tell the truth. “Anna, you don’t understand. I am a Dom. Do you know what that is?”

She nodded then shook her head, but sank back into the cushions and allowed him to tangle their fingers together. “I kind of sensed something last night, but I didn’t know it was formal. Like a title? Do you have people you boss around? Submissives, right?”

“Not right now, no.” He struggled to find an explanation, but it came down to showing her. “I wanted to share this with you later. Anna, you’re the kind of woman I’ve always dreamed of. Smart, sexy, funny.”

“Thank you, I think you’re pretty cute, too.” She batted her eyelashes at him and tossed her hair. He struggled not to laugh at her antics.

“But I never for a moment saw you in the world I inhabit at night. For the right woman, I’d give all that up. And I think you might be her.”

She sat up and tugged her hand free. “Whoa there. We’ve had one sort-of date, and you want to change your life for me? You don’t have a history of stalking, do you?”

He shuddered. “I should think not. What I do have a history of is women coming and going from my life like buses. There will be a new one along every minute. But for quite a while, you’ve been on my mind.” He smoothed her hand between his palms, taking comfort in the contact.

“Go on, I’m listening”

“Whenever I visit Randolph, your pretty face is the first one I see. And you always make me feel good. I’ve been coming around more often. I don’t know if you noticed.”

Anna
’s expression softened, and she leaned against him again. “I thought so, but I just assumed Mr. Marks preferred his meetings at his own office. He’s a very busy man.”

“Yes, he is. And if you come tonight, you will probably see him at the club. Along with Mona.”

She gaped. “Is everyone I know involved in some kind of sexual underground?”

“Well, I—”

“Wow. Just wow.”

He waited, but she stayed
where she was and didn’t try to move away. In fact, her nearness was starting to make it hard to think. To explain. He plunged forward, stroking a soft curl behind her ear so he could see her face better. “Here is what I have to offer. If you would hang out here this afternoon, I’d like to finish what we began last night. To make love to you, not as a Dom, just a man who likes a woman very much. Who wants to get to know her better.”