Nailed (3 page)

When he finally tossed the crop aside, she was dripping and
squirming with the need for release. She nearly sighed with relief when he
opened the lips of her cunt and drove into her in one swift move. Her slickness
eased his passage but he was so big and thick she had to force herself to relax
to take all of him. Her inner muscles gripped him and she moved her hips as
much as she could with the limited freedom her position afforded.

The first strokes were slow, his cock dragging against her
sweet spot each time. Then he increased the pace, moving faster and faster. He
inched one hand between her body and the bench and found her clit. As he
pounded into her, he rolled and tugged and pinched that hot little nubbin,
driving her crazy.

“Yes,” she cried, “yes, yes, yes, yes. More. Harder.”

Now,
she wanted to beg.
Please now.

With a final hard thrust he took her over the edge and
followed her at once. She spasmed around him, milking every last drop from him.
He came like a rocket, exploding in the thin latex sheath. Flame shuddered with
the effort, her heart pounding. She wasn’t sure she’d ever be able to get
enough air in her lungs again. But it had been definitely worth it.

Tyler leaned over her. She could feel the heavy thudding of
his heart against her back and the seesawing of air in and out of his lungs. At
last she heard his breathing return to a semblance of normal and his heartbeat
slowed. Lifting himself from her body, he unfastened the cuffs. Before letting her
up, however, he took the tube of zinc ointment she’d set out earlier and
applied it carefully to her buttocks and thighs. Then he eased her up from her
position over the bench and turned her to face him. With his thumbs, he wiped
the vestiges of tears from her face.

“Let me remove your mask and soothe your face, Flame.” The
unexpected tenderness in his voice almost—almost!—caused her to break her hard
and fast rule.

“No!” The word came out hard and desperate. She took a deep
breath and wrapped her fingers around his wrists. “The mask never comes off.”
The mask was the only thing that allowed her the freedom she had at Finesse.
Within the walls of the club she could be Flame and no one else. Her
nine-to-five persona didn’t enter into anything and she had to preserve that
anonymity.

“I worked you pretty hard with that crop.” She loved the
rich sound of his voice and the concern she heard in it. “Maybe you should
cancel your next session.”

She shook her head. This was nothing new for her and she
usually switched from one role to the other. “I allow myself an hour between
them. And the understanding is I can always say what’s off limits before we
start.”

He frowned at her. “Why do you schedule more than one a
night? Not too many people do.”

“Ah.” She pulled a tissue from a nearby box and blotted her
cheeks before giving him a slow smile. “But that’s because I have a special
situation.” One she’d worked hard to establish and for reasons Tyler didn’t
need to know. She was the only member, top or bottom, who scheduled her
sessions in advance and by now could have her pick of those requesting time
with her. Marco vetted everyone and kept a close eye on things. She was now a
major attraction at the club, so they took very good care of her. “Didn’t Daks
tell you? I saw you talking to him.”

“Yes, but—”

She put her fingers against his lips. “I’ll be fine.” She
hesitated, wondering if she should give voice to the thought banging around in
her brain. “I wish now we’d had more time together.” She regretted the words
even as she said them. She never expressed herself this way to either Dom or
sub.

Tyler’s hands cradled her cheeks with a tenderness that took
away her breath. “As do I. Next time I want you for the entire evening. Tell
Marco what night and he’ll call me. If you could make it within the next two
weeks that would be great.”

A butterfly suddenly danced in her stomach. One of the
reasons she came to Finesse was to have no-strings BDSM play. No strings meant
no commitment and no ownership. Everyone understood. While there were some
couples who were exclusive, the majority of the members were available to
arrange a session with anyone they chose. As long as it was consensual.
Exclusivity had become a dirty word in her vocabulary.

She tried to keep the arrangements as impersonal as possible
but the emotions Tyler had roused inside her, the ones she kept carefully
locked away, were waking up. If she had any sense, she’d tell him she was
booked and leave it at that. But she wanted another session with him as badly
as he obviously wanted one with her.

“Are you giving me some sort of deadline?” Maybe she could
just tell him she had no time available. “I don’t do well with ultimatums.
Except, of course, in the context of a scene.”

“Nothing like that. I have to go out of town on business
then and I could be gone as long as a month.” He smiled at her. “I want a warm
memory to take with me.”

A month. He’d be gone a whole month. Surely enough time for
her to wipe him out of her system.

She nodded. “Then I’ll see what I can do.”

Flame couldn’t recall the last time she’d regretted the
brevity of a session or looked forward so eagerly to the next one. But she
needed to keep her cool. She’d be as pliant as a Dom liked inside these walls,
but when playtime was over she took back the reins.

Flame waited as Tyler dressed, fascinated by the play of
taut muscles as he bent and moved and stretched. She almost hated to see him
cover up that magnificent body.

“Marco has my phone number.” He stroked his knuckles along
her cheek. “I’ll look forward to his call.”

Then he was gone and she stood in the center of her private
room, wondering how she would counteract the emotional tornado that had just
picked her up and spun her wildly around. And that she was done for the night.
How could she be with another Dom after Tyler?

And how had she let him get to her like that?

Chapter Three

Although he was tired, Tyler still felt like whistling as he
waited for the elevator in the underground garage. His dreams had been
disturbed by sensual fantasies in which a woman with a wicked tongue and
flame-red hair played a large part. The whistling was prompted by an unusual
feeling of both satisfaction and anticipation. In his mind he kept replaying
the all-too-brief session with Flame and all the things he wanted to do with
her. To her.

He’d thought he was long past the fantasy state, too jaded
for them to invade his dreams. He was even slowly coming to the conclusion that
the kind of woman he wanted to settle down with permanently didn’t exist.
Someone who satisfied him completely in the bedroom and who was a match for him
in every other way. But last night he’d had a tiny glimpse of the possibility
in the short time he spent with Flame.

He had to remind himself, of course, that she was off limits
outside the walls of Finesse. Those were the rules unless both parties agreed
to a different arrangement. He’d abide by them. For now. But he was so jazzed
by the short session with Flame that at the moment, he just wanted to enjoy the
good feeling. And look forward to the next time he saw her. He certainly hoped
it was before he had to leave for Wyoming again.

The elevator door slid open and as he stepped into it, he
heard someone yell from the garage.

“Hey. Can you hold it a minute, please?”

He turned to see a man about his age running toward him,
jacketless, tie flapping over his shoulder, lugging a briefcase and a cardboard
box. Tyler pressed the Door Open button and the man maneuvered his way into the
elevator car.

“Thanks,” he huffed out. “I’m running late as it is.”

Tyler nodded at the box and thick briefcase. “Lot of
homework?”

The man gave him a wry grin. “In a way. We just moved our
offices onto the twelfth floor here. The movers took most of it but I was in
the middle of a situation so I took everything home to finish.” He held out his
hand. “Jack Shelton.”

Tyler shook hands. “Tyler McMann.”

“You’re the fifteenth floor,” the man said. “McMann
Development.”

“That’s us. And you are?”

“Junior partner. Larkin and Associates.” He grinned. “Very
junior and very newly partnered.”

“Congrats, anyway. Your firm is considered one of the top in
the city. So how many of you are there?”

“Fifty people,” Jack told him. “Including the support
staff.”

Tyler whistled. “Nice size operation.”

Jack shrugged. “We get by.” Then he laughed. “A long way
by.”

At that moment the elevator stopped and the doors opened.

“I guess this is your floor. Here, let me help you with your
stuff.”

“Just into the reception area,” Jack told him. “I can get
someone to do the heavy lifting from there.”

In fact, a man who looked too young to be working there
hurried up to where they were standing.

“I’ll take these to your office, Mr. Shelton.” He picked up
the briefcase and box, juggling them awkwardly, put down the box then looked
from Tyler to Jack. An expression of panic crossed his face. “Sorry. I’ll get
this done right now.”

Jack laughed. “It’s okay, Kurt. I had trouble with them,
too.”

Kurt managed to balance himself with the items and scurried
down the hall.

“Not a junior partner, I’m guessing,” Tyler grinned.

“A very earnest intern,” Jack explained. “Well. Nice meeting
you.”

“Same here. Listen. If no one clued you in, there’s a great
coffee shop in the lobby when you can’t leave the building for lunch.”

“Thanks. I’ll remember that.”

At that moment a woman holding a stack of folders came from
one of the rooms to the right and hurried past them with a businesslike stride.
Tyler guessed her height at five four, barely improved by the sensible low-heel
shoes she wore. Her navy suit was pure business-style and her hair had been
ruthlessly pulled back into a twist. Wire-rimmed glasses were perched on her
nose. For some reason he couldn’t identify, Tyler actually found her sexy, even
though she was nothing like the women he spent time with.

For a moment he thought there was something familiar about
her. Something that made his balls tingle. Then he gave himself a mental shake.

I must be hornier than I thought. That short session at
Finesse apparently didn’t do it for me. I don’t know this woman and I don’t
think I
want
to know her. Definitely not my type. I can see that.

Jack called out to her. “Hey, Jen, got a minute? This guy’s
one of our neighbors and I want to introduce you.”

She tossed a wave over her shoulder. “Gotta hurry. Sorry.”

Tyler stared after her, more curious than ever. “Who’s that?
She’s not very friendly, is she?”

Jack sighed. “Jenyfer Mayhew. She’s one of our best but I’d
sure love to find some way to take that stick out of her ass.”

Tyler’s interest was piqued. “What’s wrong with her?”

“Who knows? She dresses like my fourth grade teacher and
parties the same way. If she does at all. She’s got probably the sharpest brain
in the firm, though. Clients love her work. So does Larkin. But Jesus, you just
want to tell her to get a life.” He hesitated a moment. “Maybe I’m talking out
of turn here, but as soon as we knew we were moving into this building, Ed
Larkin, the senior partner, mentioned wanting to talk to you and your brothers.
You’ve apparently got some huge project going in Wyoming that the whole business
world is discussing. He wanted to talk to you about who does your accounting.”

“No problem. I’ll mention it to my brother Alex. He runs the
business side of things. Oh, and I’ll be sure to let him know if your boss
calls for an appointment, he needs to bring you along.”

“Thanks.” Jack shook his hand again. “It’s hard getting a
foothold in the crowd.”

Tyler nodded. “Don’t I know it. That’s why we decided to go
into business for ourselves. Well, better get upstairs before I get fired.”

He was still thinking about Jack Shelton when he stepped off
the elevator into the McMann Development offices. Alex was standing by the
receptionist’s desk, leafing through a stack of messages.

“That many calls already today?” Tyler asked. It was barely
nine o’clock.

“Too many irons and not enough fire,” Alex answered.

Tyler studied him. “You think we bit off more than we can
chew with this Concordia project?”

The project in Wyoming was actually an entire village and
the McMann brothers were developing it from scratch. Josh had thoroughly
researched the history of the area because Concordia wanted the village to have
a historical theme. He’d knocked himself out on the designs, impressing the
hell out of the Concordia people. Tyler and Alex had done the cost estimates,
coming well within the parameters they were given, even leaving a margin for
error. But it meant Tyler traveling back and forth, spending weeks sometimes in
Wyoming, and Alex flying out occasionally for a week at a time when changes had
to be made. So where did that leave the rest of their clients?

Now Alex shook his head. “No. What I want to talk to you and
Josh about is adding some staff. In addition to what we’re already working on,
we’ve suddenly become the latest fad in the business. We’re getting calls
daily.”

“Concordia,” Tyler guessed.

Alex nodded. “I’d say that’s what’s put our name in lights.
Anyway, let’s go into my office. I’ll buzz Josh and let him know you’re in.”

Fifteen minutes later the three brothers were looking at the
list of possible clients.

“It’s an embarrassment of riches,” Josh chuckled. “Do you
guys remember when we got our first job? We just hoped we had enough money to
cover our costs until we got paid.”

“I’m sure I’ll never forget,” Tyler said.

“Anyway.” Alex looked at the list. “Here’s what I’m
proposing. Ty, you’re already busy working the Wyoming thing and jumping back
and forth to here for the other jobs we’ve got going.”

“We’re managing,” he insisted. “And I’ve got good job
supervisors.”

“But you’re just hiring them as we need them,” Alex pointed
out. “One of the things I’m proposing is that you find two or three of your
very best supervisors and we put them on the payroll. We’re doing well enough
we could even set up a bonus situation. What about it, Ty? What do you think?”

What did he think? He thought it would be really, really
nice to have a situation where he could spend a little more time in town with
free evenings for Finesse. And Flame.

He looked at the list again. “I can already think of a
couple of the guys working jobs for me now that I’d talk to. And one I’d love
to pull away from where he is.”

“They have to be able to hire their own crews and be smart
about it. Find the right guys. We need to be sure the reputation we’re building
doesn’t suffer.”

Tyler leaned across the table. “You think I need someone to
tell me that?”

“Cool down. I wasn’t questioning your judgment, just
covering all bases. Now.” He turned to Josh, who held up a hand.

“I can already smell it. You think we should hire at least
one junior architect.”

Alex nodded. “Do you agree?”

“Yeah, but I think I’d like to get some kids fresh out of
college. Start them in the basics and mold them the way I want to.”

“Well, look at you,” Alex teased. “Aren’t you being the
professor and all. Has Ness seen this side of you?”

Josh grinned. “Ness has seen every side of me.”

“While we’re talking about this stuff,” Tyler broke in, “did
you know Larkin and Associates has moved into this building?”

“Yeah.” Alex nodded. “I ran into the movers when I was here
Saturday morning. Great firm.”

“I met one of their junior partners in the elevator today.
Nice guy. He said Ed Larkin was saying something about setting up a meeting
with us.”

He and Josh looked at Alex. With his masters in business
administration, that was his area.

Alex shrugged. “The way we’re expanding, we probably should
look at a larger firm to handle our accounting.”

“Okay if I give this Jack Shelton a call? I know it would be
a gold star for him if he could facilitate a meeting.”

“Sure. Go ahead. I’ll email you with some available times.”

Tyler pushed back his chair. “Maybe I’ll ask him to bring
the woman in his office with the stick up her ass.”

“What?” Both brothers spoke at once.

“Some woman ran by us like we were dirt on the floor,
wouldn’t even stop to meet me. But Jack Shelton, the guy I met, says she has a
steel trap mind and clients love her work.”

“Then definitely bring her,” Alex told him. “I don’t care
about anything else except her work.”

“I’ll get right on it.”

Maybe the puzzle of Jenyfer Mayhew could occupy his mind
until he got to see Flame again.

* * * * *

One floor below, Jen Mayhew sat in her office with the door
closed, hands folded on her desk as she tried to stop her trembling. Holy crap!
Finding Tyler standing in the reception area of the Larkin and Associates
office almost knocked her off her game. This was the last place she expected to
see him. Was he a friend of Jack’s? Maybe he was a tenant in the building. Even
worse!

How was she going to survive this? She’d been so successful
at keeping her business and private lives separated until now—except for one
near disaster. How was she to know that a man she’d met in her Domme persona, a
man who was a perfect sub in private life, would turn out to be an important
new client. The day she’d replaced one of the other associates in a client
meeting she hadn’t been sure which of them had been more shocked.

Fortunately they got through the meeting without anyone
sensing something wrong. Afterward, however, the client had managed to corner
her in her office and first beg her then threaten her to keep his secret. No
problem. She didn’t want information getting out about her, either. If the
conservative people in the high profile world in which she worked ever
discovered her sexual preferences, she’d be dead meat in the profession.
Especially with a starched collar firm like Larkin and Associates.

But she’d had to embarrass herself in front of Ed Larkin
with a concocted story about why she didn’t want to sit in on any more client
meetings. She’d handle any accounts he wanted, as many as he wanted, work as
late as he wanted. She just wasn’t comfortable meeting with people. Jen was
just glad that her skills were so important to the firm that Larkin agreed to
it. Although he did look at her strangely.

Still, she’d been able to work in the safety of her office,
arriving before most people and leaving after them to avoid any other
confrontations. But now they’d moved into this new building and who should show
up in their offices except Tyler, the very sexy Dom. The man who had stirred
feelings inside her she’d thought long buried. The man who’d haunted her dreams
for the last week.

This was not good. It had been a very long time since a
man—sub or Dom—had planted lingering memories in her brain. Or stirred her
emotionally as well as sexually.

A knock on her door dragged her away from her thoughts. She
took in a deep breath and let it out slowly, taking the moment to compose
herself. Then she opened several of the folders on her desk and spread them
around.

“Come in.”

“Hey, Jen.” Jack Shelton opened the door and leaned against
the jamb. “Where were you headed in such a hurry before? I wanted to introduce
you to Tyler McMann. I’m hoping his company will become a new client.”

Oh god, no!

Her stomach cramped and a tiny thread of pain stabbed at her
left temple.

No, no, no! Why am I being punished like this? It can’t
happen again.

Keeping her voice even she asked, “And that has something to
do with me because?”