“Mr.Jensen hired us to clean your apartment.I hope I didn’t ruin the surprise.I assumed you knew.”
Her pretty face looked stricken, and I relaxed my forehead and pasted what I hoped was a friendly smile on my face.It wasn’t her fault Erik Jensen was an assuming know-it-all bastard who’d gotten someone to break into my apartment.And if the vacuum and the Happy Housekeepers logo on her navy polo was any indication, she and her crew had taken cleaning off my to-do list for the day.
“It’s okay.Thank you,” I added, hoping I was right about the cleaning thing and that they weren’t part of some kind of elaborate petty burglary ring.
She flashed me a quick grateful smile as she resumed dragging the massive vacuum down the steps.I took a few tentative steps toward my front door, uncertain what I was supposed to do since there were still people inside.Calling Jensen and telling him to stay the fuck out of my apartment was at the top of my list, but I wasn’t sure I wanted an audience for that.Before I could decide, the door opened and people all wearing navy polos and carrying a variety of cleaning paraphernalia filed past me.It was like watching a clown car empty out of my small apartment.
“All finished,” said the last one through.
The young woman held the door open for me, and I murmured my thanks as I entered my cleaned to within an inch of its life space.There wasn’t a speck of dust or a smudge anywhere and the place smelled like a delicious combination of lemon and lavender.I set the bread on my spotless kitchen table and crossed the immaculate living room with its freshly vacuumed carpet—it was almost a different shade of aubergine.I didn’t want to think about how much dirt the Happy Housekeeper people must have gotten out of it.I pushed open the bathroom door and decided I’d sell a kidney if I had to to get them to come back every month.
My towels were stacked in perfect order and the cosmetics I’d left in disarray on the counter had been organized and tucked neatly into their spots.The pale-blue box holding the bath oils Erik sent me sat on top of a fluffy folded white towel.It was like walking into my own personal spa.I stood frozen in the doorway, trying to choose between soaking my abused muscles in my scrupulously clean tub, eating my fresh bread, or calling Erik and—I couldn’t decide between thanking him or yelling at him.It was hard to stay angry when faced with so many delicious choices and an unscheduled afternoon stretching out in front of me.That didn’t mean I wouldn’t try.
My phone buzzing with an incoming text managed to unstick my feet.I slid open the screen and saw a new message from Sir.Yep, I could definitely try.
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PROBLEM SOLVED.NOWYOU DO WHAT I WANT.
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My finger hovered overthe screen, responses already flooding my head.The words were coming too fast for a text so I hit the Call icon and waited for Erik to answer.I didn’t have to wait long.There was only one ring before I heard his voice, warm and rich with just enough of a drawl to feel like melted caramel washing over me, on the other end of the line.
“Yes, kitten.”
Any indecisiveness I’d been feeling vanished at his greeting.
“I’m not your fucking pet.”
“Not yet, but you will be.Myfuckingpet.”He laced the word with enough heat to let me know exactly what he was thinking.
I used sex as power often enough to know exactly what he was doing, but there was something else there too.Something that made me believe he’d enjoy every minute of it.The sex more than the power.It was the opposite of the way I usually felt about it.I hated it but my body responded, and I pressed my legs together to ease the ache I didn’t want to feel.
“You had no business breaking into my apartment.”In my mind, I had a thousand comebacks, most of which started withyou arrogant fucking prick, but breaking and entering was the first complete thought I could get hold of.
“Ididn’t break into your apartment.I had someone let the cleaning crew in to take care of the dust bunnies so we could concentrate on the hard limits.”
I wanted to hate the ease he used to throw my words back at me, but I couldn’t help but admire him a bit too.The man was arrogant and assuming to a fault, but he got shit done.Competence was the new sexy where I was concerned.
“Now you have the afternoon to take a bath,” he said as if him saying it made it so.
It pissed me off that his suggestion mirrored what I’d been planning to do.
“When you slide your fingers inside your sweet pussy, I want you to imagine it’s my hand touching you.My hand bringing you to the edge of orgasm over and over before finally making you come.My fingers your hot cunt clenches around when you can’t hold back any longer.”He dropped his voice as he spoke until it was a low rumble in my ear, linking his words to my throbbing clit.
I hated that he could make me feel so much without even touching me—hell, without even being in the same room.But I was curious too, both about my response to him and how much more he could make me feel.I had no trouble getting myself off, but in my experience, sex with a partner was adequate at best.I didn’t need to do it to know that sex with Erik would be anything but adequate.I didn’t need to do it but I wanted to.Not that I would.Unless I did.Fuck.
“We can consider this your notification that you’re going to come.Although, I’d love another picture or two of you in the tub.Have you had a chance to try what I sent you?”
My brain stuttered for a moment, trying to catch up with his words and then I realized something.
“Why did you send the bath stuff to Charlotte’s office when you knew my home address?”I’d assumed he didn’t have it or hadn’t bothered to look it up.But if he’d done it just to embarrass me in front of my friend, I wanted to know.
“I didn’t want to cross that boundary until you invited me to.”
“So what’s changed?I sure as hell didn’t invite you to my apartment.”
“I moved the boundary.”
