A nasty little impulse clutched his gut. He took Jennifer by the arm and led her down the narrow hallway toward the small office Zane kept.
“Hey, I thought we were heading home,” she protested as she struggled to keep up with him.
“I have a few things to say to you,” he ground out. He punched in the code for the door and the lock gave way. It was a good thing Zane was so predictable. Callie’s birthday was something he knew by heart.
“Don’t,” Jennifer said softly as he closed the door behind her.
They were locked in together. Stef couldn’t miss just how intimate the little room was. It was the first time he’d gotten her alone since she’d been back. No, it was the first time he’d allowed himself to be alone with her. He was in control. She was an artist he liked. She was too talented to be allowed to waste it all. That was why he was here.
That was why he had gone to Dallas.
Then why had he bought her flowers on that day when she’d left?
A little voice was sighing in his head. Why had he been ready to apologize and ask to start over? Why had he told Lana he couldn’t see her anymore? Why hadn’t he been to the BDSM club in Denver in months? Why had he turned down invitations to play parties?
Stef really hated that fucking voice.
“What do you think you’re doing?” he heard himself ask. He turned on her, though the small room didn’t allow much distance between them.
“I am begging you not to do this, Stef,” she said, her fists clenched at her sides. “I am trying really hard to get along with you.
I’m trying to be understanding.”
“Really? What are you trying to understand, love?”
“Why you act like such an ass,” she said and then groaned. “See, I did not mean to say that. I meant to be sweet.”
“Tell me something, did you mean to drape yourself all over James Glen?” Stef felt his hands twitching. She was so close. He could smell her. She’d taken a shower at some point, and her hair smelled like citrus. God, he loved that smell. She always smelled sweet, with just a hint of bite underneath. She was a juicy grapefruit who just needed a little sugar. His cock ached. He was so hard he could pound nails.
Her eyes became wide orbs in the low light. “What are you talking about? I never touched him. He was just being friendly.”
“No, he wasn’t. He was being horny.” There had been nothing at all friendly about the way James Glen’s hand had been ready to cup her ass. It had been a prelude to an invitation to go back to his ranch where he would have done any and all manner of nasty things to her.
James Glen had been looking for a lover for the night. Stef should know. He was desperate as hell, too. Why had he brought her back here? It was too quiet and intimate.
“Well, good for him. Maybe I should take him on. It’s been a long time for me,” Jen snarled. Her foot stomped at the floor, her face blushing in frustration. “Damn it. Stop it, Stef. Stop it now. You’re making me say things I don’t want to say.”
“I’m not making you do anything.” This was what he needed. He needed a good fight to remind him why she was a bad idea. She was a little brat who always tried to push him. She’d tried anything and everything to get her way. Maybe now she was trying to make him jealous. It was working. “You were the one making a spectacle of yourself. You were the one flirting. Tell me something. Is your taste in men really that bad? James has fucked just about every girl in southern Colorado. You really want to be one in that long line?” Her face flushed, her eyes narrowing to angry little slits. Her mouth opened, and he knew venom was just about to spew out of that pretty mouth of hers. Then it closed. Her shoulders relaxed, and her hands went, shockingly, to the waistband of her pants. He watched in a mixture of abject horror and rampaging desire as she pushed her jeans over her hips and presented that gorgeous ass to him.
“How many, Sir?” Her voice was calm, but there was a throaty, aroused quality he couldn’t mistake.
He coughed. He couldn’t help it. He couldn’t find air to breathe in. Her hands were pressed against the wall, her ass thrust out and prepared for the slap of his hand. She was a little awkward, but her presentation was close to perfect. Everything about her called to him, and he wasn’t sure he could refuse the invitation.
Those twin globes were beautifully round and juicy. There were two perfect dimples above her ass, calling to him to kiss the skin there. The line dividing her cheeks was a sweet arrow leading to her pussy. Of their own volition, his hands moved out to caress her ass.
Her skin was soft and hot against his fingers.
“Ten,” he heard himself say. Ten smacks. Two for letting James Glen touch her. Two for smiling at Logan. Six for leaving him. Even as he thought it, he knew he wasn’t being fair. Nothing about this was fair. His brain felt fried. The only thing he could see was her soft, white flesh. She was ready for him. She was submitting to him.
“Yes, Sir. I’ll count.” Her voice was breathy and deep. Her jeans were around her knees. They were skinny jeans, tight when she wore them, and they formed a near perfect binding now. She couldn’t move freely. Her legs were tied together as surely as if he’d wound a rope around them. If he shoved his cock in, it would be tight, so tight. He would have to fight his way in. Thrusting would be hard. He would have to force his dick in and then grind in a slow circle until she moaned and he felt her cunt vibrate around him, sucking at him, milking his cock. Then he could let go. He would spew his cum until he had nothing left. He would grind into her until he was dry and she was full, the exchange complete between them.
Fuck, he didn’t want to wear a condom with her. He hadn’t the first time and didn’t want to now. He wanted to fill her up with nothing in between them. His cock was obsessed with getting inside her bareback. He couldn’t do this. This wasn’t some sub he was training. This was Jennifer. He couldn’t send her away at the end of the weekend. He had to see her every day.
Stef tried to take a step back, his thighs coming in sharp contact with Zane’s desk.
“Is there something wrong, Sir?” Jennifer asked. She hadn’t moved from her position, but her head was turned as she attempted to look at him. “Did you change your mind? I did spend some time with the doctor. Maybe I tried to seduce him, too.” It was the smile on her face that did it.
He reached out and picked up the ruler on Zane’s desk. It was flexible metal with a corked back. He tested it against his palm and then brought it down on her ass.
Jen gasped. Her body stiffened for a moment. Stef waited for her to get back up and tell him to go to hell.
“One,” was all she said.
His cock felt like it was trying to claw its way out of his pants.
The ruler in his hand felt good, but something was off. “This is wrong.”
Now she stood, a fine sheen of moisture in her eyes. “No, Stef, don’t stop. I want it. I like it. This isn’t some lifestyle I want to live, but I love to play with you.”
Stef turned quickly, looking for what he needed. Earbuds. They were connected to Zane’s laptop, but Stef easily removed them. She wasn’t where he’d left her. “Did I tell you to move? That’s two more.
Now, give me your hands.”
She turned, hopping a little because her jeans were caught at her knees. “Sure, let me get out of these.”
“Two more for questioning me, love,” Stef said with great pleasure. Ten had been far too easy, but Jennifer seemed determined to give him more. She didn’t seem to fear him at all.
Her mouth opened, then closed, and she held her wrists out to him without another protest. He wound the earbuds’ plastic wire around her wrists, palms together. He worked quickly, winding it in a pattern that would restrict her movement, but not cut off circulation. Now that he was tying her up, a sense of calm, almost fatalistic acceptance had come over him. He should walk out the door, but he couldn’t. He needed her. He’d never needed another woman the way he needed her. She’d haunted his dreams since the day he met her.