Under His Command (For His Pleasure, Book 17) (5 page)

He stared at her a long time. “Fine,” he said, and then moved forward, and she was certain the kiss was finally going to happen. She’d never been so ready for anything in all her life.

But his lips brushed past her cheek and pressed instead against her ear. His hand grasped the back of her head, pulling her close to his face. His skin was burning hot against hers. “Walk down the hall and enter the very last room on the right. Go inside and undress completely. Completely. I’ll have no variation from my instructions. Face the wall, and keep your backside to the door. Do not turn around for any reason whatsoever.”

She swallowed drily. “Okay,” she said.

“Go now. Do not look back at me.” He released her and she immediately began walking, her legs unsteady.

She was sweaty, wet, and completely unmoored, as if she’d inadvertently crossed over into the realm of dreams and illusion. Normal reality had vanished. Her normal, rational mind had somehow turned off.

Easton had turned it off, as simply as if he’d unplugged a computer from the wall socket.

And now, Kennedy found herself entering the room that Easton had told her to go into. It was bigger than she’d envisioned, and it had a large canopied bed with red satin sheets and red blankets, ornately engraved with the infinity symbol.

Across the bed lay ropes, whips and other items that seemed designed for punishing and titillating the flesh.

Kennedy closed the door and then slowly began to undress.

What are you doing?
A voice cried.
He could be insane—a murderer. A
madman. He could hurt you, drug you, rape and kill you if he wanted. Nobody even
knows you’re here and he’s likely aware of that fact.

But she didn’t stop undressing. Her shoes were off, and she was unzipping her tight jeans, and as she let them fall to her ankles, a shiver of pleasurable abandon ran through her.

She’d literally soaked through her panties entirely, and could smell her desire in the air. Easton would smell it too, and she liked the idea that he would instantly know how ready she was for this.

What about the job, Kennedy? What about that?

This was beyond the job. She realized, as she removed her soaking wet panties—

this experience was the real reason she’d left Cambridge for New York City. She’d wanted to fully experience life, to completely leave behind her safety net, to break out of the cocoon that had slowly turned into a prison.

What better way to celebrate her newly won freedom then to indulge in the pleasures of the flesh, drown in a total and reckless sexuality with the kind of man that absolutely demanded everything of her? Kennedy had never done anything halfway, and somehow this immersion in sex—and maybe even perversion—suited her sensibilities.

A never-been-kissed virgin getting fucked by a powerful stranger in a sex dungeon, Kennedy thought, as she pulled her sweater off and discarded it. The thought made her smile to herself. She faced the wall.

This one takes the cake, Kennedy. Even for you, this is truly an unexpected
solution to a complicated problem.

She unsnapped her bra and let that fall as well. Now she was completely nude, and she looked down to see her nipples hardened, her shaved pussy slick. Thank God she’d shaved her legs, underarms and everything before going to the interview. It would have been embarrassing to not feel totally clean and ready to be seen by a discriminating eye.

Her skin broke into goosebumps. At any moment, she knew, the door would open and Easton would come inside. And then…there was nothing more she could imagine, although images cascaded across her mind’s eye.

The seconds turned into minutes and she began losing some of her enthusiasm.

Where was he? What was he doing? What if he sent some other man in his place, simply to humiliate her? What would she do then?

That last thought took all the giddiness and allure out of her, and now her stomach roiled in fear and anxiety. She felt tears spring to her eyes. He might be filming her, even now, laughing as he and his degenerate friends watched her plight.

Red Jameson might even see a copy someday.

Calm down, Kennedy
, she told herself.
You’re letting your mind play tricks on
you.

But the scene was quickly losing its luster, and she’d started to think that maybe the whole decision had been a big mistake. She bent down, grabbed her bra and panties and began getting dressed again—but just then the door opened.

“Shit,” she said, standing up straight and turning around again.

“I told you to stay facing the wall.”

“I’m sorry, I—“

“Go home, Kennedy.”

“It was an accident—“

“I said, go home.” The door shut again.

She waited but it never opened again, and she knew he would not return.

***

Kennedy didn’t sleep very well that night.

Lying on her mattress on the floor, she awoke fully in the darkness after tossing and turning for hours on end.

Her skin and senses were on fire with longing, with desperate need that she hadn’t even realized she possessed.

She threw the blanket aside and spread her legs, allowing the long t-shirt she’d worn to hike up her hips. Pushing her fingers down her panties, she touched a delicious wetness and pictured
his
face, the look in his eyes, the sound of his voice.

And then she was stroking into herself, and imagining him—remembering him, and allowing him to be there with her in spirit.

God, if only she hadn’t panicked at the last minute, who knows what might have happened? Maybe she’d still be with him even now, feeling his body against hers, taking him inside of her.

With that thought, her legs widened and her back arched, and an orgasm crashed through her, and she cried out in surprise and elation.

It was quickly done and the euphoria faded almost as fast. She was alone again in her tiny little apartment, feeling lost and alone and confused, directionless for the very first time in her entire life. Adrift. Completely and utterly without purpose.

The tears came and she allowed herself a good cry, and then, like a baby, drifted off to sleep.

She awoke to the sound of her cellphone going off nearby. Blearily, she opened her eyes and crawled to grab it and see who was calling at what felt like the crack of dawn.

The number was restricted, but she answered anyway.

“Hello?”

The impatient voice was all too recognizable. “Where are you, Miss Saunders?”

She inhaled sharply. “I’m at my apartment.”

“Not a great way to start your first day of work—showing up late. Unless you don’t intend to show up at all?”

She sat bolt upright. “I don’t understand. Nobody told me—“

“I thought you were very bright, Miss Saunders. Top of the class, mathematician, ivy league educated.”

“I’m sorry, Mr. Rather. I’ll be right there.”

“We’re honored you’ll be gracing us with your presence,” he replied with dripping sarcasm. “Don’t delay us any further. I have an incredibly busy schedule and I was counting on you to get off to a good start, which hasn’t happened.”

“I apologize.”

“Less talking and more doing,” he said. “Get here. Now.”

She got off the phone and started dressing, bummed that she didn’t even have time for a very quick shower. Instead, she doused herself with perfume and hairspray, applied some quick makeup and dressed in the same outfit she’d worn to her interview—

coincidently the only work appropriate combo she currently owned.

Kennedy had assumed she’d have a chance to shop for more once they’d informed her she had the job, but it apparently wasn’t going to happen the way she’d imagined.

In fact, nothing at all was as she’d imagined, and that very fact excited her and thrilled her to no end.

She ran out of her apartment and hailed a cab that she could hardly afford. But still—she wasn’t about to test Easton Rather’s limited patience. She told the cab driver to hurry to the Red Agency, and even went as far as to offer him double the fare if he got her there in record time.

This made for a hair-raising drive through the streets of Manhattan, but she braced herself in the back seat and prayed to survive.

***

“You’ll be working in my office, side-by-side with me,” Easton said, as she sat down at her desk, which was right outside the door to his office. However, due to the nature of their location, it really was more like an office suite that the two of them shared.

There was a private door that led to their suite, and she and Easton were the only ones who occupied this section of the floor.

Nearby, there was a small kitchenette complete with coffee pot, microwave, refrigerator and table with two chairs. Kennedy wondered if the two of them were expected to eat lunch there together every day.

The thought simultaneously thrilled and terrified her.

Easton stood over her shoulder and instructed her how to log into her desktop computer. “You’ll also be provided with your own secure laptop and login for the VPN

client in case I need you to work outside the office for any reason.”

“Wonderful,” Kennedy said. Her hands shook a little as she stroked the keys.

She could feel him next to her, his powerful masculine presence making her woozy.

“I’m taking a chance on you,” Easton said, his voice lowering. “You understand that there were at least three dozen more qualified people who applied for this job, and I didn’t hire them.”

Kennedy froze in her seat. She didn’t dare turn to look at him. “Why did you hire me, then?”

“I think you know the answer.”

“I really don’t.”

He laughed condescendingly. “Playing dumb isn’t appropriate.”

“I believe you hired me because I proved myself to you.”

“No, I hired you because I was curious if you
could
prove yourself to me. Some people are too easy to peg. You’re not one of those, Kennedy Saunders.”

She repressed a shiver down her spine. “I’ll do anything you need.”

“Don’t make promises you can’t keep.”

“I’ll keep my word.”

“You have no idea what I might ask of you.”

That was true. She took a deep breath and let it out. “I trust you, though.”

“Don’t be ridiculous.” He moved away from her, as if disgusted by her willingness to trust him without good reason. “I need to make some phone calls,” he said. “Please familiarize yourself with our corporate policies and your job description.

You’ll find them in your email inbox.”

She heard his footsteps and then a moment later, the low yet comforting sound of his voice on the phone. She couldn’t make out what he was saying and didn’t really bother to try and eavesdrop.

It was strange, working in the office with him after what had happened between them last night.

But what really happened last night from Easton’s point of view? Not much.

You’re a virgin with little experience, so you think it was such a big deal, but to
him it was probably less than memorable.

Still, she didn’t think it was everyday that an employee showed up at his secret sex dungeon and got naked for him on command. Or maybe it was—who knew anything in this strange new world?

Letting go of thinking that was getting her nowhere, she was soon reading (and memorizing) the corporate policies. It didn’t take her long to finish those, and Easton was still on the phone in his office when she was done. Fidgety and anxious to do something, she went and found the cabinet where there was a canister of high-quality coffee grounds.

A few seconds later, she’d started brewing a pot of strong coffee. Maybe Easton would want some—either way, she was going to have a cup herself.

Sitting back down at her desk and sipping her freshly brewed mug, Kennedy allowed herself to smile. She looked at the contract that Easton had left for her to sign when she’d first come into work that day.

It stated that she was an at-will employee, which meant that the company could terminate her at any time, and for any reason. It also stated her salary, which she’d had no idea of when she’d decided to do anything and everything to get the job.

Her salary was listed at a stunning eighty-five thousand dollars a year.

The number swam through her head, lighting up the darkness as if fireworks had gone off in her brain. EIGHTY-FIVE THOUSAND DOLLARS A YEAR.

That was nearly triple what she was set to make as a junior, part-time professor at MIT. And the contract even stated that she was entitled to corporate bonuses at her employer’s discretion. She had no idea what the bonus structure was, but if it were even another few thousand dollars, as far as Kennedy was concerned, she would be rich.

She’d signed the contract almost instantaneously. Now she would just wait to give it to Easton.

Had he given her such a generous salary because of the extracurricular activities he seemed to expect from her? Did it even matter?

Kennedy sipped her coffee and leaned back in her chair. She smiled again. Of course it mattered. She didn’t want to be some office whore. But then again, there was a big part of her that was so happy to feel alive and awake and turned on—she didn’t care if it was wrong.

What about Nicole?

The thought struck her hard and the smile faded from her face. Yes, it was true.

The whole point of coming to the city and trying to work here had been Red and Nicole—especially
her
…finding them, having a way to meet them without having to explain the truth about anything.

Yet it was also imperative that she not appear to be some kind of freeloader—

some disgusting groupie trying to live in a fantasy world revolving around two perfect, wealthy individuals.

I don’t need anything from them
.

Oh, but you do
, she replied to herself.
In fact, you want everything from them
.

“What are you doing?”

The voice came from behind, startling her out of her reverie. It was Easton, at the door of his office, staring at her with a puzzled, annoyed expression.