“Do we have an agreement?” He bit at my earlobe, his breath tickling the shell.
I shuddered against him. “Yes, Daddy.”
“Good boy.”
4
Vane
“I’ll see you in the morning,” Bell said, eyes downcast as he stood in the doorway of his apartment. He shuffled in place a little and had a thin blanket he’d dragged off his bed wrapped around his shoulders. His impromptu covering sagged open and his chest and stomach flashed me. I licked my lips. Fuck, I wanted to lick along that line underneath his belly button, along that smooth skin that teased down to his groin, and run my tongue along the line of the Apollo’s belt he had; it was lightly defined and beautiful, just enough to make me want to trace it with my fingers—if I had more time.
Damn it, if this wasn’t just how these things went—I get off and then leave—it would have been nice to shove him back in the living room and put him on his knees for round two. I knew, somewhere deep down, if I just fucked him enough times that belly would be full of my baby. And those fucking hips of his….
Bell glanced up at me, his cheeks flooding with an enticing pink that did nothing to convince my feet to walk away, but at the same time, this was one arena where I already had a thousand practiced lines ready to go.
Did I have an exit strategy prepared? Hell yes.
But wanting to stay, or being allowed to do so, wasn’t a scenario I’d mapped out. For one uncomfortable moment, I thought about trying to ease the thick tension that began to gather between us, but I wasn’t certain what the point of that would be. Unless…. I took a deep breath and flashed him my best smile.
The tint in his cheeks darkened and he dragged the blanket closer around himself.
“Tomorrow afternoon. Same time?”
He glanced up into my face and sucked in his cheeks when his gaze met mine, like he was thinking.
He’d have excuses, of course. I waited. He wasn’t a shy man.Maybe he’ll flat out tell me my kink is one step too fa—
“Uh… yeah. Tomorrow works for me too.” He shrugged and did his best to straighten his spine, but there was no missing the nervous bob of his Adam’s apple.
Nodding, I backed away, too stunned to formulate a reasonable response. Bell stared after me. One of his neighbors, a tall redhead with too many freckles and muscles, was headed toward me, and he raised a hand, so I did the same in return before I could think better of it.
“I didn’t realize Jax had a boyfriend,” he said casually. Too casually. The ginger stopped to glance in the open doorway and his left foot caught on the heel of his right foot and he almost stumbled and fell on his face. I didn’t reach out to catch him.
Bell mumbled something that might have been “Hi, Pete.”
The neighbor looked back and forth between us. Bell slammed the door hard, and I found myself chuckling. I winked at the poor man.
“He doesn’t have a boyfriend, but I doubt you’re rich enough for his blood.”
The ginger righted himself and snarled in my direction, no doubt ready to say something crude, but I didn’t particularly care what he thought about… well, anything. I turned away from him, one hand in the air in a wave, and strode off for the end of the hall. I straightened my tie as I took the stairs two at a time down from Bell’s apartment to the street. I dragged in a deep breath as soon as I hit the crisp air, stuck my hands into my coat pockets, and forced myself not to smile as I strolled outside.
“What are you doing?” I grumbled under my breath as I checked the time. “Whatever you want,” I answered myself, feeling smug, even for me. Fuck, that had been a good… well, fuck. Excitement ate at me. I hadn’t expected much of anything from this little debacle waiting to happen, other than getting off in a delectable ass, but now that I’d had Bell, I was happy I’d gone after him. I should really be glad he threw himself at me. I’d have to talk to him about that habit in the morning. If I was trying to breed him, he could only turn that ass in the air for me.
I couldn’t wait to see the expression on his face when I told him he had to stay exclusive if he wanted to climb his way up my ladder. How far could I push him before he cracked and ran off? Electricity coiled in my gut. I knew what it was like to rely on sex to get yourself out of a tight spot. Once or twice became habit when there was a world of people out there who wanted to get off and you had a nice face and body.
And his reaction to what I enjoyed had been intriguing. He hadn’t immediately been disgusted, rather curiously subdued, like the breeding and baby talk hadn’t bothered him. Maybe he wasn’t excited about it, but I could work with that. Tolerance was far preferable to a few of the reactions I’d had in the past. I stopped walking in the middle of the sidewalk and people streamed around me as I thumbed open my phone screen. My heart raced. Well, in for a sin, in for a dozen. Why the fuck shouldn’t I see how much he would take in stride?
My heart hammered so hard my chest hurt as I called Jean-Paul. I was taking Bell out of the intern pool forever. He wasn’t going to be handed off to someone else in the building. I growled at the mere thought. I knew Davies in Public Works wouldn’t hesitate to nail a willing ass, and I wasn’t interested in ending this until I was good and ready.
“Yes, sir?” Jean-Paul said after less than three seconds. I blinked at the sidewalk and started moving in the direction I thought I’d parked my car earlier, but I had a delicious fuck-glow going on, and I wasn’t one-hundred-percent certain it really was this way. Pole lights went on along the street and I strode forward through the gentle light.
“Do you hover over your phone waiting for me to call?”
“Of course, sir.” Jean-Paul’s tone was bright, but I could hear a bite of sarcasm and it made me smile.
“Can you think up something else for Bell to do tomorrow? We’re keeping him.” Jean-Paul made a slight scoffing sound. “Send your ideas to me as a message. Don’t use the office email.”
He sucked in a breath, and I knew he’d never ask me directly what was going on, that’s what made him so good at his job, but I could tell he was intrigued by the small thinking hum that carried to me along the line. “Yes, sir.”
