Of course he did.
“Take a bath, Alexandra.I want to book our next session for tomorrow.I’ll pick you up at two.”
I wanted to tell him I had plans, but with the cease-and-desist in place, we both knew I probably didn’t.I wanted to tell him to go fuck himself, but a part of me I didn’t like all that much wanted to tell him to fuckme.I settled for an eye roll he couldn’t see and then hung up before I said something I’d regret.
IOPENED THE PHOTOFOR about the hundredth time and stared at the image on the screen.I’d looked at it so many times I ought to make it my fucking wallpaper, but I couldn’t stand the idea of anyone else seeing Alex like that, which was insane given her profession and the ease with which she shed her clothes.Feeling possessive was a new thing for me and one I wasn’t entirely comfortable with.
The woman knew how to set a scene.An almost empty wineglass perched on the edge of the tub, its scarlet liquid a sharp contrast to the white porcelain.Her long legs stretched out in front of her, unobscured by bubbles.I’d sent her bath oil instead of bubble bath for exactly that reason.Rather than pretending to be shy, she’d taken full advantage of the water’s translucency.I could clearly see the soft mound of her stomach and the gentle swell of her breasts.She’d cropped the picture just below her nipples but it was enough to remind me what it felt like to have her pebbled flesh, tight and aching against my palm with nothing more than the thin silk of her blouse between us.Or my new favorite thing to imagine: her skin with nothing but the slick of water and scented oil as a barrier.
It was her hand that captured my attention and made it hard for me to think of anything but replacing it with my own—a fact I was sure she was acutely aware of.Her palm covered her sex, her slender fingers sliding between her legs in a way that made my fucking mouth water.She’d sent the photos as I was getting ready to walk into a dinner meeting with a potential client I’d been courting for months and instead of giving the client my full attention, I found myself glancing at my phone, waiting for her hand to magically move and show me what I wanted to see.What I wanted to taste.It was like the best retro porn.Pure unadulterated sex without actually revealing anything, so I was left wanting so much more.I had no doubt she knew exactly what she was doing and my preoccupied—hell, fucking obsessed—state was her desired effect.
I’d stolen glances between courses and hoped that the client read my distraction as confidence and a lack of eagerness.We weren’t the only firm trying to hook them.If I was lucky, the others had been so busy fawning over them, they’d find my apparent disinterest intriguing.Or more likely, it would be one more thing for the other partners to take me to task about.After the recusal debacle, I couldn’t afford many more.I might be the boss, but I wasn’t the only one and Jared knew me well enough to tell when I was bullshitting him.Coupled with the line I’d fed him the other night at dinner, it was only a matter of time before he put things together and realized I was fucked in the head over a woman.
None of that had stopped me from making plans for our session or from keeping those plans.Itwouldstop me from having sex with Alex—for today at least, which was frustrating as hell.I couldn’t remember a time I’d wanted a woman more.It was as if every single thing she did was designed to amplify that desire, which was exactly why we wouldn’t be having sex.Regardless of how much I wanted to be inside her, we weren’t doing it until I was sure she was willingly submitting and not just playacting.
I wanted the real thing or nothing at all.That was a lie.I wanted Alex any fucking way I could get her but I still had at least enough control to set and hold some standards for myself.I didn’t want to be one more man she sharpened her blade against.
The town car pulled up in front of her building five minutes before I was scheduled to be there.I glanced up in time to see the curtain on her apartment window flutter closed.So much for surprising her.I opened the door, letting in a rush of low country heat and humidity so thick, it felt like I could cut it with a knife.It was hotter than normal for this time of year and felt like a storm building.An afternoon thunderstorm might break the tension and suit my purposes perfectly.
I strode to the entrance of her building, frowning when I found the door unlocked.It was one thing not to have a doorman.Most of the older buildings downtown didn’t, but it was another thing entirely to leave the building open to any drunken tourist or homeless local to wander into the dark stairway and wait for the residents.That was unacceptable.I ignored the fact it had served my purpose with the cleaning crew.The ease with which I’d gained access to her apartment was one more thing to add to the list.
Ignoring it until I could figure out how to fix it, I hurried up the narrow stairs to the second floor.I scanned the doors, stopping in front of the one with the 2A stamped onto the cast-iron knocker.I raised my hand to rap on the door but it opened before I had a chance, revealing Alexandra dressed in the pale-pink pencil skirt and matching bra and sheer blouse I’d had my personal shopper deliver.The nude-colored pumps were hers and if she’d followed my directions, they were the only other things she was wearing.I couldn’t wait to find out if she’d obeyed me.
Her expression was a mixture of irritated and interested, and for the moment at least, it looked like interested was winning.Sending her clothes had been a stroke of genius.She was so used to taking her clothes off; I was determined to keep putting them back on her.And if I left off a piece or two, it only emphasized her vulnerability, something I was pretty sure she didn’t feel when she was totally naked.
“Good afternoon, kitten.”Honestly, pet names didn’t really do it for me, but I loved seeing the way her eyes flashed when I said the word.
“What’s up, pup?”
Laughter erupted from my throat, ending with a very undignified snort.This woman—this sexy smart-ass—was going to be the death of me.
“Point taken, Alexandra,” I said, crowding her until she gave in and took a step back against the wall.
I didn’t want to physically intimidate her—not exactly—but I needed to be the one who set the tone, and I couldn’t afford to let her start to top from the bottom or we’d never get to the place I wanted to be.The kind of dominance and submission power play that could turn the exchange into a duet, into music we made together and not just two people performing side by side.
I leaned in until I felt the breath from her parted lips on my face.Her eyes were wide, pupils dilated and I’d bet much more than the thousand dollars I’d paid her for the session that she was wet and ready for me.Ready to find out how fucking perfectly we fit together.I hated it for both of us that we needed to wait.It would be so much easier to close the fraction of an inch between us and kiss her until we ended up back inside her apartment, and I ended up inside her.Easier but so much less satisfying.At least that was the lie I told myself as I stepped away from her without giving in to the urge to taste.
