I was ablaze, enraptured by the way his cologne lingered. Pressing my forearm to my nose, I inhaled his provocative scent. I could have told himno, could have insisted I get back to my desk, but he’d stood there with his hands shoved in his pockets ruling the room and wielding his authority.
I was addicted to his touch; the way his hand moved over me with the ease of a man who’d explored my curves and knew what I needed and could perfectly deliver it.
By the time I made it back to my cubicle, I had perspiration spotting my upper lip and my heart was racing from the effort of trying to subdue this terrible ache inside me.
I whipped my cell phone out of my handbag, ready to beg him to let me take off the chains. The call went to his private voicemail.
Right. Great. This is fine.
Fuck it…
With trembling hands, I fumbled trying to get Shay on the line. My call went to voicemail again.
Leaving early could get me in all sorts of trouble. Still, with just half an hour left, it was possible that no one would notice if I just slipped away…
The memory of Cameron’s touch down there caused me to shiver. I was caught in the eye of a storm that was Cameron Cole. Snapping up my purse, I scurried over to the elevator and practically leaped in when the doors slid open.
Pressing my phone to my ear, I left another message. “Cameron, please call me.”
Ignoring my calls was his way of proving he had power over me. That teasing in his office had been the least of his manipulation. Cole was a persuasive man, yet I still had some fight left in me.
In a daze, I walked through the foyer and headed for the exit, stepping through the revolving door. Light rain touched my skin and brought freshness to the air. Raising my face to the sky, I let the droplets fall on me and sprinkle my clothes.
I wanted to run through the rain. Let the freedom soak in.
The idea of making my own way home sinfully beckoned.
HYPER-VIGILANT,IWALKED BESIDESHAYas we followed the dominatrix down a sprawling hallway, my thoughts processing every possible scenario.
These places tended to have heavy hitters running them. Although I admired this high-end club for having its priorities straight by not letting just anyone in—like me, the man without the membership—it was unsettling because I’d not had time to research the place. The stakes were high if an interloper got hold of sensitive information or even snapped a photo—the risk of blackmail ever present to the elite who’d entrusted their fetishes for a steep price.
The voice of Ariana Grande replaced the classical music. That, and the modern décor, seemed specifically designed to appease a younger clientele with too much money.
I gave a sideways glance at Shay. I’d sabotaged his adventure and now he was going to have to endure my witty repartee on how I saved his ass.
Within a minute, we were standing in what looked like the director’s office. Our dominatrix host folded her arms across her chest and leaned back against her impressively sized desk.
A brief scan of the room confirmed the office was possibly hers. A blue Louis Vuitton handbag lay on the seat of a leather chair and the room’s décor exuded a feminine touch.
She’d haphazardly lined up her books on the left hand bookcase, avoiding a reverence. The number of books on travel told me she obviously had a thing for Europe. On the back wall, she proudly displayed her instruments of kink: bejeweled butt plugs, whips, handcuffs, chains. The sight of them, and other accoutrements, stirred my intrigue and had me feeling nostalgic.
This was her territory and I’d be wise to let her know I accepted that.
“I didn’t catch your name?” I asked.
“Galina.” She shot me a hard look. “But you will address me as Mistress.”
So she wanted to play it that way.
Her vying for domination over us was awe-inspiring, but allowing her the upper hand wasn’t going to happen. I scanned the room again as a whisper of intuition told me this wasn’t her office after all. Though she’d wanted us to believe it.
My gaze landed back on her, and I tried to get a take on what we were dealing with. A flutter of her eyelashes revealed she wasn’t the boss and was used to deferring. Her pouty mouth had quivered when we’d first stepped out of the elevator, and she’d glanced behind her as we’d followed. Someone else was in charge and she seemed fearful of them.
I stepped forward. “Mr. Gardner had no idea I was coming to meet with him.” I threw in a smile.
Galina bit her lip, showing a further hint of sub by lowering her gaze. Then her expression settled into a serious frown. She was thinking, “What would the boss do?”
She turned that dark glare on Shay. “There’s a fine.”