Page 5 of Dirty Arrangement

“Next, you'll remain the baker at Simply Sweet, but your uniform will be up to me.”

“My uniform?” Thinking about the heavy, shapeless white chef jacket, I blink.

“Yes. I'll be redesigning what you'll be wearing at work. On top of that, as you represent me now, I'll be picking out your outfits for every day wear as well.”

“Wait, what?” Shaking my head, I let out a nervous laugh. “Hold on. My work uniform makes sense, but you can't tell me what to wear the rest of the time!”

“Did you listen to me at all? You representme. What you do, how you look, that is all in my hands.Youare in my hands, Alice.”

I pull a grimace. “You don't own me.”

The hard glint in his emerald eyes turns my legs to jelly. He rises in a quick movement, looming over me. He reaches out, cupping my jaw in his fingers. His touch sends sparks from my heart to my pussy, leaving me stunned. I never realized I have such an attraction to powerful men. My body is going wild. “According to that contract, you're my investment. I'm sinking money into that bakery, foryou. If you displease me, I can fire you and take every cent out of your hide. You don't have that kind of money to lose, do you?”

I lick my lips. “No.”

His thumb caresses my cheek, feeling my sizzling skin. It wanders close to the corner of my mouth. “I'll give you one more chance. If you don't want to play my game, I'll tear that contract up before my lawyers see it. It's your choice, Alice.” He strokes my skin and I whimper. I can see he's breathing faster now; as fast as I am. This situation is fucked but we're bothintoit. I don't know what to do... I'm not sure I can walk away. I can barely stand.

My words come from far away, everything in my head rolled up in cotton. “I'll play.”

He moves his mouth towards mine. I'm sure he's going to kiss me. His smirk is a promise of pleasure and torture... but only his whisper brushes me intimately. “Good.”

When he pulls away, I have to resist grabbing his shirt to yank him back for the kiss he teased me with. My inner thighs are soaked; I feel achingly empty.What is wrong with me? What have I gotten myself into?

“As I was saying,” he says, adjusting his navy tie, “I'll decide your outfits. Next, if I want you to meet me somewhere or to simply attend something at my request, you will do so. You must always be available at my word.”

It's not like I have a social life to worry about, but I still squirm at this rule. I copy his cynical smirk. “Basically, you're saying I'm your slave now.” I expect him to argue.

“Yes,” he nods. “That about sums it up. Questions?”

I don't know if it's the anger, the desire to push him, or something more, but I jump to my feet and square off with him. “Just one. How much do you get off on acting like you own me?”

A growl-like sigh leaves him as he leans closer. His face is all hard lines, but his mouth looks soft... inviting. He's pissed off that I'm standing up to him but I swear he loves it, too. He likes that I'm not weak. The energy between us is hot as hell—I see the outline of his hard-on, and his eyes dart to the front of my dress. I know my nipples are firm bullets that my bra can't hide.

Before either of us does anything else, his speaker buzzes. “Mr. Volt,” Violet says, “your 3:30 client is here.”

He glares at the door over my head. I can see him debating of he should lock it and tell his client to go away. I imagine him bending me over the desk, shoving aside the pastries I'd pathetically thought would change my fate, and discovering how wet my pussy is right now.

Christ, whats wrong with me? Have I just not gotten laid in forever or what?

Thomas backs away, his palm stroking over his hair. He closes his eyes, breathes deep enough to make his shirt pull over his chest, then sighs. “You can go, Alice. Return to work tomorrow as usual, I'll have everything ready for you.”

My legs manage not to buckle under me as I reach for the box of pastries. I'm sure he doesn't want them—he told me as much. He places his fingers on the back of my wrist.

“Leave those,” he says flatly.

“But I thought—”

“Leave them.”

When his hand is gone, the skin he touched keeps buzzing. Unsure what else to do, I retreat towards the door. “Okay. Fine. I guess I'll... just go.”

He turns sideways, arms folding tight, as if he's doing his best not to grab for me. The idea has my heart throbbing all over again. I have to get out of here, whatever is in the air is making me act insane.

But when I leave his office, marching head down so I can avoid his receptionist's curious look, my body keeps pulsing. My desire doesn't fade. Distance does nothing for how much I want to run back into that room and melt under his fiery green eyes again.

I should be relieved he didn't kiss me.

I'm not.

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