Master of Pleasure (2 page)

The truth, of course, was that she only had
eyes for Chase. He was magnetic, as usual, and as impeccably
dressed as he always was. Sharp, fashionably snug jacket and a blue
dress shirt, the colors adding more vibrancy to his tanned skin and
dark, wavy hair. Everything about him looked just
right
; she
just hoped she’d be able to tamp down her awareness of him enough
to get some food down her belly.

In time, they got down to ordering their
five-course meal. At first Zara felt somewhat overwhelmed by the
variety of choices on the menu, and was glad when Chase made some
recommendations regarding the appetizer and main courses. The
server was on hand to give note of the restaurants top dishes, and
in the end Zara felt sure she’d do okay with her choice of lobster
and later, lamb. She felt certain she’d be unable to taste a thing.
The wine pairing, the atmosphere, and the perfectly dimmed
lighting, was all superb.

Zara couldn’t help feeling impressed with
course after course. Contrary to what she’d privately feared, she
did manage several mouthfuls of the delicious food, and the
conversation at table was going well, too.

Now, outside of the office, both of her
bosses had eased up somewhat, and they chatted on topics about
everything but work. As always, Zara felt that Matt’s presence
diffused somewhat the inner tension she always felt around
Chase.

You are very attracted to him, that goes
without saying.
Every day, you wonder how it would feel to be
kissed by those firm yet inviting looking lips of his. And every
night, you fantasize having his nice, large hands smoothing
tenderly over your naked body, thrilling you,
driving you
insane…

It was her inner voice again, telling Zara
things she didn’t want to acknowledge. To want him, to feel her
heart begin to pound whenever he was near…To get that strange
twitching between her thighs when he looked her way -
that
was bad enough. But to also have him totally unaware of her except
as a secretary, made it even worse.

Was it
so
very bad of her to wish for
something far, far more?

* * *

Halfway through the third course, Matt’s cell
phone suddenly beeped. He glanced at the new text, and then looked
up at his two companions. “It’s Demi. Looks like I have to cut out
of the party a little early, guys, sorry. I told her to reach me if
there was any emergency.”

Demi was his fiancée, and Zara had met her
several times at the law office. She was petite and very pretty,
but beneath her doll-like exterior, Zara knew the woman was a
tough-as-nails doctor who handled her patients with an iron
hand.

Chase’s eyebrows rose. “I hope she’s
okay?”

Matt lifted his bulky shoulders in another
shrug. “I guess she couldn’t bear the thought of me having so much
fun without her,” he joked. “No, seriously, she caught some kind of
bug today and she says she’s feeling worse. I have to go check on
her at her place – hope you guys don’t mind?”

“Forget all about us,” Chase told him
briskly. “We’ll be fine. Go take care of your girl and give best
wishes to Demi.”

“Mine, too,” Zara said sincerely.

When Matt was gone, Zara faced Chase somewhat
shyly, her spoon fiddling between her fingers as she searched her
brain for something to say. Now that they were alone –sort of, she
was realizing that light conversation was not going to be so easy.
If only he would train those disturbing gaze somewhere else but on
her, was her breathless wish.

“It’s a shame Matt had to leave so
unexpectedly, isn’t it? Poor Demi, I hope she feels better soon,”
she said on a rush, now clutching her glass and lifting it to take
a quick, bracing sip of the heady wine.

“Oh, I don’t know,” Chase murmured, also
taking a drink of his wine and viewing her over the rim with hooded
eyes. “I kind of like the idea of finally having you all to
myself.”

Zara tried not to appear surprised, wondering
if she wasn’t imagining that dark twinkle in his eye. Oh heavens,
was Chase Morgan actually
flirting
with her? Play it cool,
warned her ever-present inner voice, and she joked, “Well, they do
say three’s a crowd.”

“And that would make us a couple, wouldn’t
it?” he returned smoothly, his smile downright wolfish.

It was really happening, Zara thought – he
was
flirting. Calming the flutter in her chest, she reminded
herself what a folly it would be to actually pursue that notion.
Hadn’t she warned herself from the first day she’d started the job,
that Chase Morgan was way out of her reach? What made the
difference now?

“As much a couple as a boss and his employee
can be,” was her wry rejoinder, as if to bring things back into
perspective. No point deluding herself.

“Why do I feel like you’ve put me effectively
in my place?” he asked, his expression speculative even as his
smile widened. “But then again, I always make it the rule to leave
work at the office. So right now, all we have here is a man having
a very nice dinner in a romantic setting with a very alluring and
beautiful young woman.”

She placed her hand on her chest
dramatically, even as she gasped, “Really Chase, you overwhelm me.
And there I was thinking you didn’t even know I existed.”

“Really,” he murmured, his smile slanted.
“How can you say that? I’m the one who hired you, don’t you
remember? I mean, sure, you were the brightest and had the best
application, but that wasn’t the only reason you made the cut six
months ago.”

He leaned forward, eyes darkening as he
viewed her surprised expression. “I always knew that there was
something about you, Zara. I just wasn’t sure you were ever going
to let it out. Tonight…I’m seeing a glimpse of that woman I was
certain lurked beneath all those layers of frumpy clothes.”

“Frumpy?” she echoed, somewhat indignantly,
even though his soft, stirring words had made her skin tingle.

“Zara, trust me, I knew what you were up to.
Did you really think dressing like a spinsterish schoolteacher was
going to get me off your scent? If you knew how many times I wanted
to throw you flat on your back on my desk, spread your legs wide
and…”

Zara choked on the glass of wine she’d
grabbed, sure her face was burning. “Chase!” she hissed, glancing
around at the nearby tables. Luckily, there was a positive hum of
voices from the crowded restaurant, so she figured their steamy
conversation wasn’t being broadcast to the whole room.

Chase sat back with a shrug. “But then again,
I wouldn’t want to take advantage of you…”

“Maybe…you should be worried about me taking
advantage of
you
,” she said quite calmly, considering how
her chest was slamming like a sledgehammer. Their eyes held in a
silent duel for a few moments. “And why would Matt want to act so
protective? I can take care of myself. I’m a big girl. Fully
grown.”

When Chase’s eyes raked over her this time,
it was with a decidedly feral glint. Very predatory and hard to
ignore. Zara squeezed her knees together and tried not to squirm in
her seat.

“Oh yes, I’m quite aware how
fully
grown
you are, Zara. In fact, the thought of how much of you
there is to claim, if I so desire, has been keeping me awake for
many, many nights. You’re fabulous, Zara…every sexy, curvy inch of
you.”

Zara gulped. Well, she was never going to be
a size zero, and no kind of dieting seemed to work for her, but
she’d always felt she had a nice, curvy figure. Knowing that he
found her plus size attractive, made her feel all the more
light-headed. All this time, he’d had the very same thoughts as she
had. Carnal, animal desires just waiting to burst free… She could
hardly breathe at the very idea of the possibilities, which now lay
ahead.

“Thank you, Chase,” she said at last, her
voice somewhat scratchy. “I think you’re pretty awesome, too. I
mean, I’ve always liked you as a boss, and then of course I –” She
paused, not sure how much more she wanted to divulge. She desired
him tremendously, but a part of her still held back, wanted to be
sure.

Chase leaned forward, and this time, his hand
covered hers on the white table cloth. “I know,” he said deeply,
simply. And somehow, she felt that he understood.

“Like I said, Zara, I always knew you
had…potential. There was however, always one tiny setback, which
made me wonder, will she ever let go? Can she completely trust me
to bring out the real woman inside?”

“I do trust you, Chase,” she said quickly,
the touch of his hand warm and very thrilling over hers. This was
their first real, close contact, and it felt good. She liked his
touch. It held promise, and strength. Yes, she felt stronger by the
minute just knowing now where she stood with him. His passion, his
desire, was real.

His smile of triumph spread slowly on his
handsome face, and she sucked in a breath. Just what was she
swinging herself into?

“Then you’ll have to come with me,” he said
softly, his fingers tightening around hers. “Right now. Will
you?”

Zara didn’t even blink. “Yes,” she said with
a tight throat. It was to be the first of many times she would be
agreeing to Chase’s requests. And demands…

* * *

I want you to obey my every command, no
matter what.

These words snapped Zara back to the present.
He’d said them just minutes ago, and now she was getting her first
test. His casual request for her to take off her clothes had
instantly changed the game – and suddenly she knew this was very,
very real.

Chase Morgan was going to soon change from
her boss, to her lover. She just had to make this one move to do
his first bidding…

* * *

She had to rise to her feet in order to be
able to work zipper of her dress, which was on the side, underneath
her arm. Only the wobbling of her knees made her realize just what
the present situation was starting to do to her. If last week,
someone had told her she would be in her boss’s home, undressing in
front of his watchful gaze, she’d have laughed it off
uproariously.

The shaky knees were gradually getting worse.
She could barely stand, her whole body quivering as Chase watched
her every move, his gaze unbroken. Tugging her dress over her head,
she kicked her shoes off her feet.

Stripping in front of Chase, her boss, was
like the hardest thing to be asked to do. But she did it willingly,
and with more than a surge of secret delight.

She stood before him in just her bra and
panties, and not much else. His eyes blazed to see her in her silky
lingerie, but there was not much else of a reaction from him.

However, there appeared to be a pulse beating
just at his mouth, as if he was clenching his teeth. Zara couldn’t
be sure. Maybe it was just her now fevered imagination. He was
waiting patiently, not speaking, so she figured she mustn’t stop.
She would have to take it all off.

He didn’t prevent her when she reached behind
to unhook her bra, freeing her double Ds. They were quite firm for
their size, the nipples centered and high-profiled. She was very
proud of them, actually, and they held up nicely even without their
support.

“Don’t stop now,” he said, his voice somewhat
thicker now. “You have to finish unwrapping the present,
sweetheart.”

Zara felt warmed by his fixed gaze, his
voice. So long as he kept talking to her, she felt she could go on,
and not chicken out.

She’d never really been in this situation
before, being dispassionately controlled and regarded by a
soon-to-be lover. But certainly, it had been something she had
always secretly craved: a man she would find had the strength of
will, the firmness of character, to make her obey him without
question.

* * *

At last, she hooked her fingers in her
panties and then pushed them down slowly; guiding them past her
full hips, her knees, and then let them drop to her ankles. Then
she stepped out of them, kicked them aside.

“Everything I imagined, and more,” she heard
him say in that desire-draped voice.

“You’re a very desirable, very beautiful
woman, Zara. I want you to tell yourself that all the time, because
it’s true. Wherever you are, whatever you may be doing from now on,
keep it at the back of your mind that you have the body that’s
voluptuous enough, delightful enough, to make me want to fuck you
every time I look at you.”

“Thank you - Sir,” she breathed, chest
heaving as she let his words glide over her like a feathery breeze.
She felt it touch her shoulders, her nipples, her vaginal mound. It
was a palpable essence, which swelled within her and made her throb
in her most secret places. How could he arouse her so deeply, just
by looking and speaking to her so deliberately? She was slowly
beginning to understand his power.

“Come here Zara.”

He beckoned for her to join him once again,
and she went quickly, glad to take the weight off her shaky legs.
Watching him admire her had made her even weaker with want. Knowing
that he desired her as a woman was like a weapon that could easily
be her undoing. The one last thing that had kept her in check all
these months was her belief that she wasn’t his type, or that she
could never hope to catch his fancy.

She’d been afraid of being shattered with
rejection. But now, with those words he’d spoken just moments ago,
her last shred of fear was gone. However, on the flip side, it also
meant she may never have the power to resist him ever again.

Whenever and whatever he wanted of her,
she would give, and freely
.

* * *

They shared their first kiss.

It was very natural, heated, and filled with
abandon. He’d taken her face in his hands and turned it to his,
capturing her lips with a moist tenderness. A moan echoed between
them, and she couldn’t tell who’d made the sound first – her or
him. The only thing she knew was that the touch of his lips pierced
right through her. The slash of his tongue deep into her willing
mouth was an invasion she welcomed gladly. She clutched at his
shirt, and whimpered.