Page 32 of The Boss

“Ashlee,” his voice was even and his expression unreadable, “is there something you want to tell me?”

“Um, yeah.” I looked down to where his hand was still under my dress. “Maybe without your finger inside me would be better.”

To my surprise, he actually flushed as he pulled back to sit on the low table in front of the couch. “Speak.”

I pushed myself up until I was sitting rather than slouching and tugged my skirt down to my knees. The material was still bunched, but at least I no longer felt entirely naked. Despite that, I couldn’t quite bring myself to look anywhere but at my clasped hands on my lap.

Direct seemed like the best approach under the circumstances. If he still wanted me, we could move on, but if he was going to send me away, I didn’t want to drag that out.

“I’m a virgin.”

A beat of silence before his response. “I see.”

I risked a quick glance, but I still couldn’t tell what he was thinking. “It’s not a big deal.”

He raised an eyebrow.

I hurried to explain what I meant. “It wasn’t something I felt like I needed to just ‘get over with’ because people thought it was weird that I hadn’t had sex yet, but I’m not waiting for some perfect moment or perfect person or anything like that.” I was vaguely aware that I was rambling, but I wasn’t sure how to stop myself since Nate didn’t seem like he was going to. “I won’t read more into this than there is.”

He held up his hand as I finally said something he wanted to comment on. “What is it you think is between us?”

I twisted my fingers, all of my previous pleasure vanishing as anxiety took over. “A good time. Enjoying something physical.”

He leaned forward and put his hand over both of mine. “Look at me.” I raised my head and let my eyes meet his. “Do you know what I am?”

I frowned. “That sounds like the sort of question where any answer is going to get me in trouble.”

One corner of his mouth ticked as if what I’d said amused him. “You’ve heard plenty of rumors about my…proclivities, and you’re not an unintelligent woman. I’m certain you can put it together.”

My brain scrambled to put together pieces but kept coming up empty…until I remembered something Flora had said about how Nate could tell her what to do. “Are you saying you’re a,” I searched for the correct word, “Dominant?”

Nate leaned back, a pleased smile on his face. “I am. That’s a broad term that covers a wide variety of preferences, but it should tell you at least two important aspects of my personality.” His smile remained, but something about it darkened as his voice lowered. “I’m in control, and I don’t like secrets.”

I shivered, goosebumps breaking out across my skin, but I wasn’t afraid. Not of Nate or of what he would want to do. Maybe I should have been, or maybe I should have hated it. But I didn’t. I wanted to know more. I wanted to knowhim.

“You kept a secret from me,” he continued. His hand slid off mine and onto my knee. “A big secret.” His fingers moved under the hem of my dress. “And I want to punish you for it.”

A nervous thrill went through me. “Punish?” The word came out in a squeak.

“I want to fuck you tonight,” he said plainly, “and I want to do it my way. If that’s not what you want, I’ll call for Angus, and he’ll take you home. No hard feelings, no repercussions. If you want to stay, we’ll move forward, beginning with your punishment. It’s your choice to make.”

Twenty

Nate

Nothing tonight had gonethe way I’d envisioned it, and while I normally hated things to not follow my plans, it had definitely been…interesting. Considering I’d ended things with Roma because I was bored, I wasn’t going to complain. Especially not after I’d made Ashlee come twice.

Except I thoroughly expected this to be the end of it. The moment I’d slid my finger inside her, I’d suspected, but it had been the way she’d grabbed my arm and the expression on her face that had confirmed my suspicions. Her telling me that she was a virgin had been more about finding out if she’d be willing to admit it to me than it had been about the actual information.

Between her explanation about why she hadn’t yet had sex and the fact that she hadn’t freaked out when I’d mentioned punishment, I thought there was a distinct possibility that she might stay.

But I didn’t want to hope that was the case, because if I did and she left, I’d feel like an idiot. I had to make her think that it didn’t matter what she decided, that I’d be fine. It wouldn’t devastate me when I called Angus, but I would be disappointed. I’d never had sex with a virgin, and it wasn’t something I would’ve thought I wanted, but if it meant getting to feel and see Ashlee come apart underneath me, getting to teach her all the ways I could bring her pleasure…

Allthe ways?

This wasn’t a relationship. It wasn’t even an arrangement. This was one night of sex. On Monday morning, we’d return to being employer and employee. Nothing more.

But I still wanted tonight.

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