The Billion Dollar Contract: The Executive Collection (44 page)

“You are right. It’s not fair what I’m doing. I’m usually not like this at all. I’m straightforward, demanding even. It works great in the business world. Not so much in personal relationships. And you’re right when you say that I should choose what I want from you. I suppose I’m afraid to do so.”

“And I always hear that women are the ones who can’t make up their minds?” Jasmine couldn’t help but smile. She was still smiling even when Ethan reached into his inside pocket and pulled out another black felt box that she was becoming so familiar with.

Ethan ignored her comment. “I spent most of this weekend trying to decide what it is that I really want. I won’t lie to you, Jasmine. I have enjoyed having you in my life. There’s something about your wit and personality that makes me want to be around you more. But I also can’t ignore the type of person I am, and probably always will be. When I think about us, I realize more and more that it would be great to spend more time with you like we already do. Last Friday night was a new kind of fun for me. I haven’t done something like that in so long, which must sound weird to hear. I want to do more of that. With you.”

Don’t get wrapped up in it.
Jasmine held a hand to her heart and tried to force his words away from it.
You just get hurt. Every time.

“But something else nags at me. A while ago I told you that I’m not into a lifestyle type of thing when it comes to my sexual predilections. I still feel that way. I think we were getting our wires crossed when it came to this.” He ran his thumb over the box in his hand. “Even here in the office, the lines keep blurring between me exerting my domination in a sexual atmosphere and wanting to forget all about it. You and I, we need a firm line drawn between the two.”

Jasmine’s mouth was dry. When she spoke, her tongue smacked against the roof of her mouth and threatened to foul up every word. “I can agree to that.”

Ethan passed her the box. Although his face was confident, his hand shook a little.

A necklace. A pair of earrings. A barrette. Each of those items fit snugly into their boxes. Jasmine couldn’t tell what was in this one: fat, squared, and heavy in her hands. She was almost afraid to open it — because right now, she had never been more afraid of the unknown.

She lifted the lid. Inside the box twinkled a red necklace, completely unlike the first one he had given her. That one was thin, dainty. This was fat and scarlet, a small circle that hooked in the back with a golden clasp. Jasmine lifted it out of the box and saw a tiny ruby dangling from the center.

That’s when she knew what it was.

“A choker.” Disbelief clouded her face as her hand turned as red as the necklace. “No.” There was an engraving on the inside. Jasmine peered at it, sucking in her breath as she saw her name imprinted into the soft leather.
At least he didn’t put his name there.
“A collar.”

“I don’t want to give you the wrong idea.”

“Wrong idea?” The ruby jingled as Jasmine shook her hand. “For God’s sake, Ethan, how am I supposed to take this? This is for a dog!”

He breathed deeply. “I was afraid you wouldn’t recognize it.”

“Recognize what, a dog collar?”

“No, not for a dog. For a sub.”

Jasmine didn’t know whether to yell at him, to throw the stupid thing in his face, or to sit and cry. None of the options were very appealing. “You just told me you weren’t into that lifestyle thing, and here we are, me holding this piece of crap in my hands.”

“Please, listen for a second. I know you’ve never been involved in that sort of thing, so you don’t know what it means. I’m not trying to say that you’re a dog.” Ethan slapped his hand against his knee and leaned forward. “Of course it’s a lifestyle thing. But it doesn’t have to be. For some people it symbolizes when those moments happen. You’ve heard of scenes, right?”

Jasmine shook her head. She was still too upset to speak.

“Scenes are when those certain moments happen. You know which ones I mean.”

“Fine.”

“When the collar is on, it’s time for a scene. When it’s off, it doesn’t happen.”

“And how does this reflect on our relationship?”

“I was thinking… if part of the problem is having a clear distinction between being on and off, then there needs to be a way to signal it. Lots of couples do it this way.”

“I’ve heard of this.” Jasmine wasn’t immune to pop culture as of late. “It’s called being collared, right?”

“If you want to call it that.”

“This is the exact opposite of romantic, I hope you know that.” Before Ethan could say anything in his defense, Jasmine continued, “And quite frankly, I wish you had discussed this with me first before buying the fucking collar.” It was still in her hand, taunting her. “I can safely say that I was not expecting this. Who would? Damnit, Ethan.”

“I’m sorry for any offense I’ve caused. You can give it back.”

She almost did. She almost shoved the box back into Ethan’s hands and departed the office.
He would deserve it.
How can one man be so emotionally stupid? What made him think that this was a good idea? Livid, Jasmine yanked the choker out of its box and dangled it in front of her eyes. Her name was exquisite on the leather, but she attributed that to the master craftsman who did it. “Well you’ve made it clear what you think of me.”

“I didn’t mean it like that.”

“No? Because that’s how it came out.” The collar rested on her hand. It was surprisingly soft against her skin. Clearly meant to be worn permanently, or at least for most of the day.
How often will he ask me to wear this? Is this where the real money comes in?
She didn’t like how cool to the touch it was. The longer she stared at it, the more she was drawn in to that beautiful little ruby dangling in the center. “I agree with you that we need boundaries. I’m just not sure if this is how I want to go about it.”

Conflicted, Jasmine shook out her head and tried to keep her wits about her. Maybe if they had segued into this. But Ethan had sprung it on her out of nowhere.

A part of her was attracted to the idea deep inside. To know that the moment she put on that collar that she should be on her guard. When the collar was off, she could wear her heart on her sleeve.
But what if he asks me to wear it every time we have sex?
Well, at least Jasmine would finally know where she stood with him.

She lifted the scarlet collar around her neck and latched it just beneath some fine hairs. “What are you doing?” Ethan asked.

Jasmine looked askance at him. “Before I decide whether or not to go through with this with you, I want to know. Let’s have a scene right now.”

“Right now?”

“Yeah, sub me up. Give me a taste of what you’re like when you’re treating me like a sex doll.” She was on the verge of belligerent. “That way I know how to dissociate it from you treating me like a human being. Which is my preference, by the way.”

“Jasmine, I don’t think you’re a – ”

“Not a sex doll, sure. You’ve said that before. Almost convinced me once or twice. Then you whip out a collar and say you want to put it on me to signify when we’re playing like that. You want to turn me into your sex doll.”

“No. I want to…”

“Want to what? Do tell.”

If Jasmine were on the verge of belligerent, then Ethan was on the verge of throwing his hands up in frustration.
Oh, this isn’t working out the way you want it to? Poor baby.
The collar tugged on Jasmine’s neck hairs. “I want to make you feel good.”

He said it steadily, as if this were a foreign concept to Jasmine’s mind. “Pray tell how that works.”

“We’ve don’t it before. Didn’t it feel good?”

“Sure. But that was different.”

“What is bothering you about this? The collar?”

“It’s not just the collar, Ethan. It’s you jerking me around. How do those songs go? Hot one minute, cold the next? Tell me what you want from me so we can be done with it.”

Ethan clasped his hand on hers, leaning forward, his nose just a few inches from hers. “You,” he said softly, his voice full of purpose as his fingers enclosed around hers. “I want to spoil you. I want to entertain you. I want to make you
happy.
” Before she could open her mouth again, he said, “And I want to do the dirtiest things I can think up with you. To you. Beyond tying you up and spanking you. Once in a while, I want to let our fantasies go beyond mere words. Let’s put actions to those words. Sometimes I don’t want to restrain myself. Sometimes I want to tear you apart and make you feel pleasure you’ve never imagined.
I
want to do that to
you.
Not together. Not you to me. I want to spoil you in everyday life and in the bedroom. You wear the collar, and you get to control how far everything goes.”

Jasmine swallowed, her mind encumbered with dirty thoughts of Ethan doing nothing but having his way with her. Telling her what to do. Ensuring everything he did brought her nothing but comfort and pleasure. But she wasn’t giving up that easily… no matter how much she ached. “I get to control. That’s right. If I don’t like what you’re doing, I’ll scooter your ass out the door.”

“Now you get it.” Ethan wrapped his hand around the side of her neck, his fingers reaching up into the mess of her hair and holding her scalp. He brought her forward, their noses touching, their lips about to touch. “The things you make me feel… are almost inhuman.”

Jasmine initiated the kiss, her lips searching for his in a desperate attempt to bridge the gap between them.
I’m weak. I make him inhuman, and he makes me weak.
She didn’t know if it was a weakness of the heart or of the mind. Maybe both. Maybe neither.

He pulled back, holding her head still with his hand. “You have to trust me, Jasmine. We can’t do this without trust.”

“That’s the hard part,” she admitted, although her body urged her to take him into her arms – and between her legs. “Sometimes I don’t know if I can trust you like that.”

“I won’t hurt you. The last thing I want in the world is to
hurt
you.”

“But what if you do hurt me?” Wasn’t that it? Jasmine’s greatest fear in this entire farce of a relationship? “What if I trust you enough that you end up hurting me?”

“If I do such an abominable thing, then you have every right to hate me.”

“Not just hate you. I would have nothing to do with you.”

Ethan kissed her jawline, his mouth dropping to the collar and pulling gently on it with his teeth.
Rip this thing off me.
Jasmine clutched his shoulders. “It’s not like that. I don’t want to scar or harm you. I want to give you a thrill.”

“There’s a fine line between a thrill and danger.”

“I know the line.” His hands pressed harder on her, as if to show Jasmine what he knew.

She did not resist. “Then let’s do it. Prove it to me, right now.”

“You ask me for a lot of proof.”

“You sort of demand it.”

Both of his hands were on her face now.
Just a bit of pressure there…
It was the collar. It was driving him nuts. “Then let’s get started, my flower.”

“You’re off to a good start. You didn’t call me your pet.”

His kisses to her throat were heavy, needy, raw. Every time Ethan’s mouth passed over the collar Jasmine thought he would bite it off. “Now is the time to be quiet, my flower. Can you do that?”

Jasmine tensed, her mind wanting to reject Ethan’s tone while her body melted in his arms. She nodded, cheek brushing against his.

The scene began shortly after that.

“That’s enough fooling around.” Ethan broke contact with her and leaned back into the sofa.
He’s changed so quickly.
Jasmine was not surprised. This was what Ethan kept tucked away in the corners of his mind – his innermost desires. They were at the ready at a moment’s notice. “Do you want it or not?”

“Want…?” Jasmine bit her lip after hearing her own voice. Ethan did not reprimand her for speaking, but she didn’t want to chance it in this scene.

“You know what I mean.” Ethan clasped his hand on the top of her back and pushed her torso down toward his lap. “Well?”

Under normal circumstances Jasmine would tell him off for acting like this. But this wasn’t a normal circumstance. They were acting. Playing roles. Jasmine’s role was to be submissive to his dominance – and this was how he exerted it. “Yes,” she whispered, placing her hand on his thigh and rubbing her fingers against the beginnings of his erection. “I want it.” The scary thing? She actually did.