“Hey, Max. Any rooms open?”
“Number three is all yours,” he said, clicking something on his tablet.
“Thanks.”
With his fingers on the small of her back, Logan guided her down the steps, stopped at the third door closest to the stairs, tapped in a code, and the doors swished opened.
“That has impressed every other girl,” Logan said, grinning.
Harper laughed. “My retina gets scanned every day. Xander keeps asking our R&D about using droplets of blood, but so far—”
Logan pulled her into the room so fast, that her breath whooshed out of her as he pushed her against the closed door.
Her stomach fell to the floor, and she gulped. Never, ever, would she have talked about the inner workings of Axis Management with anyone. Yes, Logan was a trusted member of Team Stealth, but certain things didn’t leave the executive space.
“Do you remember the one rule I stated at the start of this night?”
“Yes, Sir.”
But she’d let Xander’s name slip.
“Did you agree to keep that rule?” He raised an eyebrow. The intensity of his glare immediately had her looking away.
Cupping her face with both of his palms, the heat from his body seared into her flush. Harper wiggled under his grasp.
“Yes Sir,” she whispered.
“That’s the second time tonight you didn’t do what I said. Are you willing to submit to punishment, or do you want to leave?”
It was ironic how much she prided herself on self-control and yet, she had failed to follow simple directions with Logan.
Trying to sort her thoughts, her eyes roamed over the tufted grey headboard, the Queen bed with the fluffy pillows, the padded bench at the end of the bed and texture grey panelling on the walls. Sound barriers, she thought. The room had an air of being calm and luscious.
No, she didn’t want to leave.
“I’ll stay,” she said.
“Good.” Logan’s hands slid over her shoulders, down her sides, and stopped at the slash of her robe. With one quick tug, he pulled it open
She bit her lip as his hands went through her hair.
“When I said I wanted under your veneer, I meant it. I want to bring you to stillness, to turn off your mind and for you to trust me with those emotions you work so hard to conceal. Kneel,” he said, expectation clear in his tone.
A team of highly trained private operatives obeyed this man, and she couldn’t help but do so, also. Harper sank to her knees, the coolness of the wooden floor seeping into her warm body.
“Open your legs, wide as you can, there.” Logan put a hand on her shoulder. “Does that feel comfortable?”
“Yes, Sir.” What was he going to do to her? She knew he loved his whips and his ropes, and both were off the table.
“Good. Stay like that, silent for two minutes,” Logan said.
This wasn’t what she’d expected. Harper bit the inside of her cheek, swallowing down her retort. Willing her hands not to move, she stared straight ahead.
Letting out a shaky breath, Harper tried to stay still.What if this isn’t for me?She had wanted this so much, but after merely a few seconds, she found it hard to maintain her stillness against her racing heart. Forcing herself to breathe deeper, she tried to rely on her dance training; she picked a spot and focused on it.
The memory of her mother’s studio rose from the dredges of her locked past. If only she had done more. The next moment, she closed her eyes hard, her wrists feeling stressed as they were lashed behind her, her aunt’s menacing voice telling her she wouldn’t be good for much booming in her mind.
“Harper.” Logan’s calm voice interrupted her memory. She opened her eyes to see him squatting in front of her. “You’re doing this because I asked you to focus on pleasing me.”
