Play by Play

Play by Play Nadia Aidan

Book 1 in the Red Velvet Rope series.

Katherine Higgins is the no-nonsense owner of trendy Las Vegas casino Taboo, and she has a secret. Every night her fantasies are filled with visions of her bodyguard dominating her. Seth Kyoto is Katherine’s no-nonsense bodyguard, and he too has a secret—every night his fantasies are filled with visions of his boss submitting to him. From the moment Katherine hired Seth, their strong personalities clashed. Underneath their mutual animosity is a simmering attraction neither wants to acknowledge, but they can no longer ignore. And when someone threatens Katherine’s life, Seth is forced to stay close to her, closer than either is comfortable with. While they’re stuck together, two secrets will be revealed and every one of their fantasies fulfilled. But they each hold one last secret that, if it comes to light, could ultimately tear them apart.

Ellora’s Cave Publishing

www.ellorascave.com

Play by Play ISBN 9781419931581 ALL RIGHTS RESERVED Play by Play Copyright © 2011 Nadia Aidan Edited by Jillian Bell Cover art by Syneca Electronic book publication February 2011 The terms Romantica® and Quickies® are registered trademarks of Ellora’s Cave Publishing. With the exception of quotes used in reviews, this book may not be reproduced or used in whole or in part by any means existing without written permission from the publisher, Ellora’s Cave Publishing, Inc.® 1056 Home Avenue, Akron OH 44310-3502. Warning: The unauthorized reproduction or distribution of this copyrighted work is illegal. No part of this book may be scanned, uploaded or distributed via the Internet or any other means, electronic or print, without the publisher’s permission. Criminal copyright infringement, including infringement without monetary gain, is investigated by the FBI and is punishable by up to 5 years in federal prison and a fine of $250,000. (http://www.fbi.gov/ipr/). Please purchase only authorized electronic or print editions and do not participate in or encourage the electronic piracy of copyrighted material. Your support of the author’s rights is appreciated. This book is a work of fiction and any resemblance to persons, living or dead, or places, events or locales is purely coincidental. The characters are productions of the author’s imagination and used fictitiously.

PLAY BY PLAY Nadia Aidan

Trademarks Acknowledgement The author acknowledges the trademarked status and trademark owners of the following wordmarks mentioned in this work of fiction: Armani: GA Modefine S.A. Corporation Cheshire Cat: Disney Enterprises, Inc. Coke: The Coca-Cola Company Corporation Jacuzzi: Jacuzzi Inc. UNLV: University of Nevada, Las Vegas Versace: Gianni Versace S.p.A.

Nadia Aidan

Prologue Katherine took her private elevator down three floors to Joshua’s office, where the hotel security department was located. She figured Seth would be on the ground level, talking to the security personnel before he headed home for the day. Seth was nothing if not predictable, which was good for her. They’d gotten into a bit of an argument earlier. He wanted her to stop using her private elevator—said it wasn’t secure enough because if anyone got hold of her keycard they would automatically have access. She’d reminded him that she’d never lost her keycard, and since it was pinned to her at all times, there was little chance that she ever would. Typical Seth. He’d been stubborn on this particular point. And typical Katherine, she’d told him to relax, then for good measure, she’d gotten on the very elevator he didn’t want her to use, bringing a quick end to their conversation. The metal doors slid open and she swiped her card to open the door to the staff hallway. She heard the sound of muffled voices as she neared Joshua’s office so she slowed her steps. The door was slightly ajar and she would have knocked softly on the doorjamb, announcing her presence, but instead, she stilled when she recognized Seth’s voice. Great. Just great. She didn’t want to deal with him right now. She turned to leave but the words she heard next stopped her in her tracks. “I’ll meet you at the Velvet Rope in an hour,” Seth said. Katherine’s eyes widened. The Velvet Rope. As in the Red Velvet Rope. The heavy thud of footsteps drawing closer quickly reminded her of where she was and she raced back down the hallway, hurriedly swiping her keycard again as she pushed inside the small room to get back on her elevator. Her heart thumped wildly and she leaned against the metal walls to steady herself. 6

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What were Seth—and apparently Joshua—doing at the Red Velvet Rope? No, take that back. She got why Joshua would go, but Seth? Mr. Rigid-Unshakeable-SeeminglyAsexual Seth? She smiled. Maybe he wasn’t as asexual as she’d thought. And an hour later she was on her way to find out. She wore a form-fitting red dress with a matching red mask, high heels and an auburn wig. Sexy seductress was so not her style, but she figured she needed to play the role if she wanted to fit in at the notorious club. Though she knew this wasn’t real for her, that nothing would happen while she was there, she was nervous. She clutched a glass of whisky and Coke in her hand, her second one, the rich liquor slowly easing her anxious jitters. The Red Velvet Rope was an upscale and very exclusive BDSM club in Las Vegas, which Katherine had learned about when she met one of the owners a couple of years back at a convention for entrepreneurial women. She’d been intrigued when the female owner told her about the club’s policy and Katherine had promised she’d visit, though she never had. Women and couples were allowed in if they could afford the five thousand cover. Men always had to be invited by a woman unless they were members—and the fee for members, male or female, was not cheap. Seth hadn’t mentioned meeting any women there, which meant only one thing. Her number one and two in security were Doms, or possibly subs, though she immediately decided it was the former. She didn’t know much about the BDSM lifestyle, but she knew the basics, and she just couldn’t imagine Joshua, and certainly not Seth, taking orders from anyone. The place was a maze of hallways and darkened corridors, with a faint crimson haze of light filling the shadowy spaces. The décor was subtle, simple, and as she weaved her way through the club’s many corridors, she fell under the spell of the forbidden place, her body tingling with a thrill of anticipation. There were at least a dozen rooms per hallway, all filled with beds and other contraptions that she’d only seen at sex toy shops. Several of the rooms were empty, but 7

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some were not, and what she saw in them—men and women dressed in leather, bound in chains—made her heart race. Sex was everywhere—the smell, the breathy sounds— and her entire body pulsed with lust. Her breath quickened and she took a sip of her drink, trying to ease the flurry of butterflies in her stomach. What was wrong with her? She acted as if she’d never seen people having sex before. But this was different—totally beyond anything she’d ever known. For the life of her, she wasn’t even sure what she was doing there. If Seth or Joshua caught her, how would she explain? Hell—what if she caught them? What would she do then? She thought about it for a second. She should leave—right now. But then she turned the corner and the choice was taken out of her hands. She saw him. Dressed in a gray suit, his shoulder-length hair pulled back into a ponytail. Seth never wore suits to work—never. But the way he wore that suit, she decided she would have to make them mandatory. God, he was handsome, and different. An air of authority clung to him that was somehow different from his commanding presence at work. At work, he was composed but more subdued. But here, he walked around as if he owned the place, the very personification of raw, masculine power. She followed him, turning down a hall when he turned down a hall, being sure to stay close to the walls, hidden within the shadows. She quickened her steps when he turned another corner, but drew up short when she saw nothing and no one down the hall. Damn it. She’d lost him. She wandered around the club searching for him, and was just about to give up and leave a half hour later when she found him. Like all the rest, the entire door was made of glass so she could see everything inside the bedroom, and what she saw made her nipples harden to almost painful buds and her pussy slick with wet heat.

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Joshua was stretched out on the floor, his chiseled body on display as a beautiful, voluptuous brunette rode his cock. Her arms were bound behind her back, her eyes shielded by a dark blindfold. Above her stood Seth. Even though Katherine couldn’t see his face, the tapestry of tattoos across his naked body revealed his identity. He held the woman’s head between his hands as he pumped his hips back and forth, working his cock in and out of her mouth. Katherine gasped, a combination of shock and need surging through her. She ached to touch herself as the woman pleasured the two men, and in turn they pleasured her. Katherine couldn’t stop herself. She leaned closer to the glass as she slipped her hand beneath her dress to push past her thong and stroke her clit. The woman moaned around Seth’s pulsing shaft as Joshua bounced her up and down on his rod, her heavy breasts jiggling with each powerful thrust. Skin slapped against sweaty skin, their moans and groans of pleasure causing a fresh gush of wetness to seep from Katherine’s slit. She stroked her clit harder, faster, in rhythm with the thrusting cocks of the men she thought she knew, but clearly didn’t know so well. Joshua pushed up inside the woman one final time, his fingers digging into the supple flesh at her hips. Katherine watched him, his face twisted in pleasurable agony, a harsh grunt tumbling past his lips as he came. She fingered her clit faster. She was almost there—almost to that place of bliss. Seth surged forward to shove his cock down the woman’s throat one last time, the muscles in his ass clenched tight. In the distance she heard his ragged groan and imagined his eyes were shut tight, his lips parted slightly as he spilled his seed into the woman’s warm, waiting mouth. It was probably a beautiful sight, and heat roiled through her belly at the image. She gasped in pleasure, a throaty, breathy sound as a pulsing, throbbing warmth started at her core and a wave of pleasure crashed upon her, taking her, tossing her until she was shuddering, the juices of her climax trickling from her body.

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As the pleasurable waves of her orgasm receded, she slowly came back to the present. She hadn’t realized she’d closed her eyes until she opened them and her gaze clashed with his. “Did you enjoy yourself?” Seth grinned down at her. She gasped and backed away, startled that she hadn’t heard him open the door and that she’d been caught. “Wait, where are you going? I was going to ask you to join us.” She shook her head as she continued to step away and he frowned as he watched her retreat. “If you didn’t want to join us, then why did you follow me?” His eyes narrowed and a dark sensual emotion swirled in their depths that made her shiver. “Am I mistaken? I was certain you were a sub.” Her eyes widened. She didn’t know what she was more shocked by—that he’d known she was following him the entire time, or that he thought she was a submissive. “I-I have to go,” she mumbled under her breath so he wouldn’t recognize her voice, or at least, hoping he wouldn’t. She turned to run. He called for her to wait, but she didn’t stop. In seconds she was tearing out of the club’s private garage in her car, breathing a sigh of relief at how close she’d come, but thankful she hadn’t been caught.

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Chapter One

Three Months Later “Seth—I need you—now.” Seth stood just outside his boss’s office but he didn’t move a muscle, except one. His lips quirked into a tiny smile at Katherine’s choice of phrase. Those words—he’d often imagined them spilling from her lips just before he buried his cock deep inside her, so deep she would never be able to forget he was there. But to hear her belting them out in a shrill voice tinged with fury did nothing for him. He remained rooted to his spot, leaning against the wall with his arms crossed. The only clue he gave that he’d even heard her words was the slight arching of his brow when she stormed out of her office, her eyes hurling violent daggers at him. “You wanted something, boss lady?” “Didn’t you hear me calling you?” she snapped. He remained stoic, knowing it pissed her off. “I heard you, but it sounded more like you were calling for a dog than a human being. I figured you weren’t talking to me.”

Katherine’s nostrils flared and she bit down on her tongue to keep from letting out a string of expletives. Seth Kyoto was a thorn in her side. She wanted to wrap her fingers around his neck and strangle him, right after she wrapped her body around his and fucked him until he was completely out of her system and she didn’t burn with this obsessive need that she seemed to have for him. She took in a deep breath, tempering her anger. He’d been in her employ for two years and she knew this was not how to deal with Seth. Unlike most of her employees, who cowed at her commands and jumped when she barked, Seth was his own man. She didn’t intimidate him, she didn’t scare him. If she wanted something from him, she had 11

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to be…nice…polite—two adjectives that did not describe her. Katherine lived and worked in a man’s world as the CEO of Taboo, one of the largest casinos in Las Vegas. She often had to be tough as nails—not soft, and definitely not nice. She gritted her teeth. “Seth, could you come take a look at something with me, please?” His lips twitched at the saccharine tone of her voice, but he didn’t smile. Instead he nodded curtly as he pushed his brawny frame past her into her office. Ugh, she really wanted to strangle him now. He was just so—so arrogant. So unflappable. Nothing she did, nothing she said ever seemed to ruffle him, and she hated that he never lost control, that he was always so composed. He rankled her, rattled her, but she couldn’t fire him. Before he’d come on board as her bodyguard/head of security/sometimes assistant, she’d been losing money to one con artist after another. But when Seth showed up all that had changed. A whiz with numbers, his reserved demeanor and quiet intensity were somehow at odds with his full body tattoos. Still, there was no denying Seth was smart, tough and intimidating as hell—the perfect right-hand man. Now if only they could get along. She turned at Seth’s sharp intake of breath, and knew he now saw the note on her desk. “What the hell is this?” he demanded, his tiger-gold eyes blazing with anger as he read the note with the words Die Bitch painted in vivid red. “That’s what I was just about to ask you. It came in the mail,” she said, pointing at the envelope. “No name, obviously no return address.” “I’ll get Aaron on the phone to see if we can get some prints.” Aaron was their contact in the Las Vegas Police Department and both Seth and Katherine considered him a friend. But even with Aaron’s expertise and resources, she heard the weariness in Seth’s voice and knew he was thinking the same thing she was.

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“You don’t think Aaron will find any prints, do you?’ Seth shook his head. “He hasn’t before, but it’s still worth a try.” With a long sigh, he shoved a hand through his shoulder-length black mane. Tension radiated from his rigid form. “I don’t like this,” he said finally. “First your car, then your doorstep, now your office. Whoever this asshole is, he’s making a point that he can get close to you if he wants.” Katherine didn’t like it either, but what could she do? Each time he left a note inside an envelope with Die Bitch written in what appeared to be red polish. She’d gotten her share of death threats before, mostly from people who’d been banned from her casino for cheating. The threats bothered her but they didn’t rattle her, not like these did. A note here and there was common, but these were systematic, and from the same person. Seth was right. Whoever this was wanted to let her know he could get into her private space and there wasn’t a damn thing she could do to stop him. She sighed. She didn’t like this any more than Seth did but she wasn’t going to lose a good night’s sleep over it. That was Seth’s job. Her job was to run a multimilliondollar casino. She had a long day full of meetings tomorrow, so for now, she was going to let Seth do what he did best while she got some much-needed rest. “Well, let me know if Aaron finds anything—” She grabbed her purse from her desk. “Where are you going?” Katherine had no choice but to stop when Seth blocked her path. “I’m going home.” She looked him up and down with her icy stare as if to say “Get out of my way”. But as usual, he ignored her. “Fine. Just let me make a few calls and get Joshua up here and then I’ll follow you home.”

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She frowned. Joshua was the assistant director of security at Taboo—Seth’s righthand man. She knew why Seth wanted to talk to him, she just didn’t know why she had to wait for him. She was a big girl. She didn’t need an escort and she said as much. “This is not a joke, Katherine. This is the third note in as many weeks. I need you to take this seriously.” Katherine. He only called her by her first name when he was really pissed at her. Most of the time it was boss lady, sometimes Miss Higgins, but never Katherine. She stilled. “I am taking this seriously, but I’m ready to go home, and I see no reason to wait for you.” She shook her head when Seth opened his mouth to protest. “The nice thing about being the boss is that I am the one who gives the orders and I always have the final say.” She stepped around his muscular frame. “Good night, Seth.”

***** Katherine Higgins was a world class, Grade A bitch, but damned if that didn’t turn him on. He let her walk out of her office because it was better that she think she’d won. He then phoned both Aaron and Joshua as he left Taboo. Satisfied that the matter of the threatening note was being investigated, he turned his thoughts to his lovely but infuriating boss. By the time he got to his car she was gone, but her SUV was no match for his sporty convertible. When she finally pulled into her garage, he was already sitting on her couch, his legs stretched out before him. He heard the door to the garage slam shut with a violent thud. She was pissed, but that was her problem. She’d hired him to fill that vague role of bodyguard and assistant, which meant he had keys to just about everything—her home, her office, even her vacation spot in Saint-Tropez. If she didn’t want him to do his job then she needed to fire him, which he was sure she was on the verge of doing when she stormed into her living room where he waited.

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“I told you I didn’t need an escort.” “And since you were gone by the time I got to the garage, you didn’t get one.” “Then what the hell are you doing here?” she fumed. “I’m here to make sure you’re safe—which is my job,” he said patiently, as if he were talking to a petulant child. Some days—many days—Katherine could be trying, but he knew her well enough to know her tough-girl attitude was necessary in her line of work and was more a façade than anything else. She’d had to fight tooth and nail to build Taboo from the ground up into one of the hottest, trendiest casino resorts in Vegas. Katherine had a reputation for being cold as ice, and she didn’t easily let people behind her steely armor. He stood. But she’d let Joshua in. She’d also let her guard down around her secretary, Michelle. There were probably only a handful of people who could say they knew the real Katherine, but he wasn’t one of them. For two years he’d been by her side, spent more time with her than anyone else, and during that entire time she’d never once let her walls down around him. It had taken him up to a few months ago to figure out why that was. Seth ambled to his feet, towering over Katherine. The mocha-skinned beauty stood before him with her hands on her rounded hips, her caramel-brown eyes flashing, the smooth skin of her cheeks blooming red and her full breasts jiggling as her chest heaved from anger. She was all masculine bravado rolled into the sexiest, shapeliest, most feminine package he’d ever laid eyes on. “You can go home now,” she said, her chilly words breaking through his thoughts. He snorted. “I’m not going anywhere.” To emphasize his words, he peeled off his blazer, carefully watching her. Her gaze followed his every move, her breath quickened and the flush in her cheeks turned redder.

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He hadn’t set out to draw her attention, but now that he had it, he relished it. He bit back a smile of triumph—the icy queen wasn’t so cold after all. Of late, Katherine was doing a poor job of hiding her attraction to him, as if something had changed that made it hard for her to keep her desire for him out of her wandering gaze. She wanted him. Good. At least he wasn’t alone in this intense attraction that pulsed between them, hidden beneath the layers of their animosity toward one another. With her taste in men, he hadn’t realized she was attracted to him until recently, until there were moments like this when he caught her watching him, her eyes burning hot with lust. It had taken him some time to figure it out, but now he understood why she fought so hard to keep her guard up around him. Her attraction to him scared her, and the only way she knew how to deal with it was to push him away. But the desire radiating from her was impossible to ignore, even harder to withstand. If she wasn’t careful, one day he might just demand that she fulfill the promise of passion burning in her honeybrown gaze. He’d wanted her for a long time, had been attracted to her from the moment she’d hired him, but he’d kept his thoughts and feelings to himself. He liked his job, was good at it—he had no desire to fuck things up with an ill-fated affair. And that’s exactly what it would be. As much as his body desired her, as much as he was attracted to her feisty and fiery personality, he’d soon come to realize Katherine lived for power, thrived on being in control, which he was content for her to have at work, but not at home, not in his bed, and he wasn’t certain she could relinquish her authority even there. The men she dated—if he could even call them that—were wimps, puppies, boymen who had no backbone. If those were the type of men she wanted then he stood no chance. Seth would never, could never be that type of man. He knew he didn’t always have to be in control to hold the power. She could be the boss lady all she wanted, but if he ever took her to bed, he would take her, master her, brand her until she was so

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thoroughly dominated that when he made love to her, she wouldn’t even dare to come without his command. “Seth?” He stiffened, remembering where he was. “Hmm?” “I asked, what are you doing?” He glanced over at his discarded jacket. “That should be obvious.” He stepped closer toward her, drawing in a ragged breath to ease the lust that his wayward thoughts had conjured. “I’m going to be glued to your side until we catch whoever is doing this.” He shook his head when she parted her lips to speak. “You hired me to be your bodyguard. Now if you have a problem with that, then you’d better fire me.” He waited for her to say something, but she said nothing. Instead, she snapped her lips shut and pursed them into a tight line. “All right. Since you’re not going to fire me, then I’m headed to your kitchen to make dinner.” He shot her a wry glance. “Because we both know you can’t cook.” He bit back a smile when she stuck her tongue out at him and rolled her eyes. Brat. “Since I came straight over, I didn’t have time to stop by my place to get a change of clothes, so Joshua is going to drop by with some of my things. I suggest you take a bath and relax. I’ll call you when dinner is ready.” With that, Seth brushed past her into the kitchen, leaving her standing there in the middle of her living room, fuming mad. She hated being dismissed, hated taking orders, but until he caught the creep threatening her, he was the one in charge, not her, so she’d just have to get used to it. He bit back a sigh. That was easier said than done.

*****

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Katherine’s stomach rumbled at the tantalizing aromas wafting down the hall as she strolled toward the kitchen. Even after a relaxing bath in her Jacuzzi tub, she was still furious with Seth. No one dared boss her around—except him, apparently. He didn’t do it often, but when he did it had a curious effect on her. It rankled her, but somewhere beneath her irritation it stirred something within her, something she didn’t want to examine too closely. “How was your bath?” Seth asked as she walked into the kitchen. She sat down at the table and reached for the glass of wine sitting there. “Relaxing, although I probably would have relaxed more had you not been here.” He arched one brow with a cocky grin. “What? Don’t tell me my presence unnerves you.” He leaned down to set an empty plate before her, his body just inches from hers, so close that with every breath she drew his masculine scent mixed with the spice of his cologne deep into her lungs. She stared up at him, her eyes meeting his, and the flash of sexual awareness she glimpsed within his gaze made her heart skip a beat and her breaths uneven. She didn’t want to be affected by his intense gaze, she fought against it, but it was nearly impossible. She drowned in the golden depths of his eyes, her nipples tightening, pushing against the thin fabric of her white tank top. She stood abruptly, putting as much distance as she could between them. “I’ll grab the food,” she mumbled hastily, relieved that her voice didn’t shake. She busied herself with bringing the plates of food over to the table until he stopped her. “I’ll get the salad,” he said, taking the bowl from her, “you sit down and eat.” She nodded, still ruffled from the tense moment just minutes ago. What had all that been about? He’d simply been ribbing her, but then it had quickly changed into something more. The way he stared at her, as if he knew his words had hit their mark. And he was right—they had. He did unnerve her. Every time she looked at him she had to suppress a shudder, all the while fighting to ignore the sexual heat that clawed at her. 18

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Her intense awareness of him had begun the night she’d spied on him at the Red Velvet Rope and it was getting worse by the day. “You look tense. Have some more wine,” Seth insisted as he topped off her glass. She reached for it desperately, nearly downing the entire contents in a single gulp. The wine would help her relax, take the edge off the lust that now burned through her veins, or so she thought.

***** One and a half bottles later, Seth was starting to seriously regret offering Katherine any wine. He’d had a few glasses, while she’d had so many that he’d grown tired of counting. In the two years he’d known her, he’d never seen her drink so much, but maybe this whole business with the menacing notes was finally starting to get to her. Whatever it was, who knew his buttoned-up, uptight boss was such a lush—or a flirt— and possibly a tease. After dinner, they’d moved into the living room to watch the evening news and she lay stretched out on the couch across from him. Her hair, which had been in a tight and prim knot before dinner, now hung in soft waves over her shoulder. She propped her head up with one hand while she let the other one roam absently along the bare skin of her long, shapely legs revealed by terry cloth shorts. Shorts which, since she was now feeling the effects of the alcohol, were riding higher and higher up her thighs by the second. She was killing him, and if he didn’t know better, he’d think she was doing it on purpose. She reached for the glass of wine on the coffee table between them and the swells of her breasts pushed dangerously against the scoop of her tank top until he swore they would tumble out at any moment. A spike of molten desire caught him low in the gut and he shot to his feet, struggling to hide the obvious bulge in his pants with one hand.

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He couldn’t take this anymore. He wanted to drag her into his arms, strip her out of her clothes and ride her lush, sweet body until neither of them could walk in the morning. Since that wasn’t going to happen, the longer he spent in her presence, the more he just tortured himself. “Oh no you don’t.” He swiped the glass off the table before she could pick it up, ignoring her cry of protest. “You’re drunk and with your long day tomorrow you need to be at full speed.” He walked into the kitchen and dumped the contents down the sink. When he returned to the living room she was on her feet with her hands folded across her chest and a sexy pout on her lips. “You didn’t have to throw it away,” she said with a slow smile, “I could have drunk it later.” He shook his head, the corner of his lips curled into a small grin. “I bet you would have. Come on, let’s get you to bed.” Katherine turned toward the hallway, but after two wobbly steps he didn’t trust her to make it much farther without hurting herself. In a single motion he lifted her into his arms. “Put me down, Seth,” she protested. “I can walk.” He quirked a single brow. “Sure you can.” With an exaggerated sigh, she flopped her head against his shoulder, as if the notion of arguing with him further exhausted her. She burrowed into his warmth, her arms lazily draping around his neck. Her soft breasts pillowed against his chest and her subtle feminine scent combined with her rose petal perfume made him suddenly lightheaded as arousal coiled dangerously in his belly. He didn’t need to be a genius to figure out where all the blood had gone. Seth bit back a low groan as he quickened his steps toward her bedroom, and didn’t stop until he laid her down atop her bed. She began to chuckle softly, just as he released her and straightened to his full height. 20

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He frowned. “What’s so funny?” He didn’t mistake the direction of her gaze, which was focused on his bulging groin, and when her lips curled into a Cheshire Cat grin his gut clenched. “Seth, always so stoic, so unflappable, nothing gets to him,” she taunted softly, her eyes twinkling with mischief. “Until now. What is it, Seth? Is it me?” Her words stirred him and heat surged through his veins, but his expression never changed. “You’re drunk.” She smiled. “In the two years I’ve known you, no girlfriend, no lover. What is it? Are you gay?” His frown deepened. He didn’t like the direction this conversation was headed at all. “Not since the last time I checked, unless you know something I don’t.” She smiled wider. “Sarcasm—you do that a lot.” She pinned him with her warm brown eyes as if she was searching for something written on his face. He remained stoic, unflappable, just as she’d described him. “So what is it? You don’t do commitment?” He sighed. It was too late and he was too tired to have an esoteric conversation with his drunk boss about his love life. “You’re tired and you need to get some sleep.” He turned to leave. “I know all about you, Seth Kyoto.” He stopped then. There were a lot of skeletons in his dark past. He wondered which ones she’d dug up. “I overheard you and Joshua. I know what you like to do to women. That’s probably why you can’t find a girlfriend.” He glanced at her from over his shoulder, his eyes revealing nothing even as his body pulsed with a heady combination of tension and desire. “Who says I’m looking for one?” She shrugged as if she couldn’t care less, which infuriated him. If she didn’t care, she wouldn’t have brought it up. He wanted to grab her, shake her, wipe that silly little drunken smirk off her face. But another part of him, his darker, more primitive side,

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demanded that he crush his lips to hers and punish her for careless and hastily spoken words that probed too deeply into a life he wanted to keep private. He held her gaze, every darkly provocative thought he’d ever had of her, every primal emotion he fought to leash revealed in his eyes, and when she gasped, her lids fluttering in surprise, he knew she saw it too. “You have no idea what I do to women,” he growled out in a dangerously low voice. “Don’t I?” The challenge in her eyes was unmistakable. He clenched his jaw tight, fighting the urge to do to her what he’d longed to do to her ever since they’d met— tame her. “No. You don’t,” he said firmly. He turned to walk out while he still had the strength. “But what if I want to know?” Her voice was soft, a teasing whisper, and the breathy sound threatened to buckle his knees. A weaker man would have caved, given her what in her naiveté she begged for, though he knew she wouldn’t have if she had any idea what he would do to her, but he wasn’t weak. He kept walking until he reached her open door. “Good night, Katherine.” Seth closed the door behind him and kept walking until he reached her living room, where he would spend the night on her couch. He let out a deep breath and closed his eyes. For the life of him, he didn’t know what had gotten into Katherine, what had prompted her to say those things, to challenge him like that. He just hoped that she was so drunk that she wouldn’t remember what she’d said in the morning. Because if she did remember, he knew she wouldn’t let this subject go, just as he wouldn’t be able to ignore her challenge. For both their sakes, he hoped this night would fade from Katherine’s memory with the first light of dawn. If it didn’t, they were flirting with something very dangerous, something that, like a raging wildfire, once ignited could not be stopped nor controlled.

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Chapter Two Katherine glanced up at the knock against her doorjamb. “Hey boss, you busy?” Joshua Diaz leaned casually against the doorframe, his tall, muscular body easily filling up her doorway. A lock of his coal-black hair fell across his forehead and his liquid brown eyes twinkled as he flashed her a flirtatious smile, his tiny dimples winking at her. Joshua had been her employee for almost five years, ever since he’d finished up at UNLV in criminal justice. He was a fast learner, smart as a whip and always had a ready quip to make her laugh. Joshua was also devastatingly attractive and possessed a lethal, sensual charm. And yet she wasn’t attracted to him, not in the least. Often, she’d decided that was pretty sucky for her, that her body craved Seth and not Joshua. Joshua was a straightforward man, relatively easy to figure out, while Seth was a winding labyrinth, a puzzle that was ever changing. She sighed. Just her luck to want the one man she could never seem to read. With a slight shake her head, she pushed thoughts of Seth aside because they made her head hurt, and smiled up at Joshua. “Of course I’m busy, but I always have time for you. What you got for me?” He stepped inside, but stilled as soon as he glimpsed the shadowy figure in the corner. “Don’t mind Seth. He’s taking this bodyguard thing more literally than figuratively these days.” Joshua grinned. “I would too if I was guarding your body.” Katherine couldn’t help but laugh, even as Seth growled behind her, “Get to the point, Diaz.” 23

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“Right.” He cleared his throat, his expression sheepish though not apologetic, which made Katherine smile wider. “I’m glad you’re here, actually,” he said, glancing toward Seth. “Aaron called a few minutes ago. As suspected, no prints, and then he told us what we already knew, the letters are from the same person.” Katherine frowned. “Is that it?” She’d hoped LVPD would be able to get something—anything. “For now it is. The good news is that Aaron was able to pull a few strings since you’re a friend. He sent all the notes to CSI to see if maybe we can get a lead on either the handwriting or the polish used to write the notes.” She glanced between Seth and Joshua. The expressions on their faces told her all she needed to know. “You don’t think they’re going to find anything.” Joshua shook his head slowly. “I doubt it. Handwriting is like fingerprints. For starters, this guy’s handwriting would already have to be in the system for us to get a match, which I doubt it is. Our perp has been pretty clever so far. He doesn’t leave his prints behind so we can’t identify him. I’m sure he knows at some point we’d run the handwriting. I’m betting he was careful as he wrote it out so that we couldn’t trace it back to him. I’d say we’d have better luck with the polish.” Polish, likely nail polish, which could be purchased at practically every dollar store and supermarket in the city. They were nowhere. “I gotta get back to my office. Stick close to her, Kyoto.” Joshua winked at her, “I know I would if I were in your shoes.” Katherine shook her head. “You’re shameless, you know that?” He flashed a wicked grin. “And if you ever want to find out just how shameless, give me a call.” Seth grunted while she chuckled softly and rolled her eyes. Shameless indeed. “Wait up, Romeo,” Seth called from behind her before Joshua could leave. “I need to go over a few things with you before you head back downstairs.”

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Seth stopped at the door before he walked out. “Don’t leave your office until I get back—” “But—” “Michelle has strict orders from me. If you leave your office before I get back she will page me—” Her eyes rounded. “What?” He hadn’t left her office, or her side for that matter, since they’d arrived that morning. If he had his way, she wouldn’t be able to pee without him. This had to stop. “This is crazy, Seth. You’re overreacting and completely overstepping your position.” His gaze darkened, but if he was mad, he didn’t let it show. She bit back a snort. Typical. Seth always kept himself on a tight leash, whereas she could barely keep the fury off her face. “I thought we were clear this morning before we left your place— You’re the boss, Katherine, but until we catch this guy, I’m the one in charge.” She wanted to hurl her shoe at his head, but he walked out before she could pull it off her foot. Bastard. He was loving that he now had the upper hand, that he was now in control. Katherine leaned back in her chair and closed her eyes. Things had been tense that morning as she prepared for work with Seth hovering around her. His very presence in her home unsettled her, but it was the way he watched her that had her heart pumping faster. He’d stared at her intensely, intently, as if he was searching for something, and she knew exactly what that something was. He was looking for even the tiniest clue that she remembered their brief conversation from the night before. Oh, she remembered, all right. He’d thought she was drunk, and she was, but not so far gone that she would have a blackout. She’d known exactly what she was saying, what she was doing.

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She hadn’t set out to taunt him, but when she’d glimpsed his arousal, she couldn’t stop herself. She would never have dared say the things she’d said had she been sober—had she not been able to blame her impulsive behavior on the wine the next day. Seth had undoubtedly done the same and chalked up her strange actions to the alcohol, and it was probably the best for both of them that he did. What she’d seen in his eyes before he’d stormed out of her bedroom had been the same look she’d glimpsed in his eyes that night three months ago. Had she been sober, he would never have let her challenge go unanswered, she knew that for certain. Just as she knew if he ever discovered that she’d lied, that she knew more about his dark desires than he thought she did, he would make her pay. And the worst thing about it was that she wanted him to.

***** Seth waited until he was in the hallway and they were alone before springing his question on Joshua. “Has Katherine mentioned to you that she may be aware of how we spend our time after work?” Joshua’s eyes rounded and he glanced both ways, as if someone might hear them even though the hallway was completely empty. “No. And I’ve never said anything either,” he added quickly. “I know you haven’t,” Seth reassured him, “but I think she may have found out anyway.” “How? You think Aaron?” “No—” “What about—” “I don’t believe anyone’s talked to her,” Seth ran a hand across his face, “but something she said last night at her home makes me think our boss has been snooping—” 26

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“Or moonlighting,” Joshua quipped. The younger man thought he’d just made a joke, but Seth wondered if Joshua was on to something. Seth just needed to do a little digging and he would have his answer. “What are you going to do? You can’t just come out and ask her.” Seth shrugged. “I doubt I’ll do anything. What we do is not a crime, and how we spend our time after work is our business.” Seth turned and headed down the hallway toward Katherine’s office. He needed to get back before she got tired of waiting for him and decided to make a break for it. “Besides, if boss lady is curious, I am more than happy to enlighten her—” “Kyoto,” Joshua warned, but Seth ignored the young man’s stern look. Katherine had started this, not him. “Get back to work, Diaz. I’ll see you later.” As he walked toward Katherine’s office, Seth mulled over what Joshua had said. Moonlighting? Maybe. Maybe his cold-as-ice bitch of a boss wasn’t so cold and uptight after all. Maybe she enjoyed the sting of leather against her flesh, her wrists bound in silk. When he got a moment, he would ask Sonya, the Red Velvet Rope’s manager and one of the owners, to pull the records for the past few months. If Katherine had visited the club, he’d find out. But he had no idea what he’d do with that knowledge if he discovered she’d visited the club and seen him and Joshua. Even worse, he had no idea what he’d do if he discovered his taskmaster of a boss was a true sub, because he certainly knew all the Dommes in the city, and she wasn’t one of them. He ran his hand through his hair and blew out a short breath. If Katherine was a sub then that changed the entire game—but first things first, he had to find out the truth, and then he’d decide what to do after that. He stepped into Katherine’s main office but barely took a step before Michelle blocked his path. Pretty, sweet, efficient, OCD, and completely type-A Michelle looked as if she was about to unravel at any moment.

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“I was just about to page you. I’m so sorry. She slipped out while you were gone. She must have used her elevator.” He settled his hands atop the young secretary’s shoulders. “Thank you, Michelle. It’s fine,” he said in a soothing voice, trying to ease the storm of worry in the poor girl’s eyes. “I’ll just wait for her in her office.” Seth strolled inside, closed the door and locked it for good measure. He didn’t know what he’d do to Katherine when she returned, but whether she realized it or not, what she’d said last night had changed things between them. Hell, he hadn’t realized it himself until now. Katherine knew about him, knew who and what he was, and still she’d taunted him, teased him last night. Katherine loved to provoke him and he never reacted, but this time was different. The restraint and control he was so known for began to loosen, unleashing a dark current of need and lust tinged with the edge of domination. The sexual tension beat through his body, making him restless, and his cock hardened within the confines of his pants. He closed his eyes, his breaths jagged and uneven as he imagined every sinfully erotic punishment he could bestow upon Katherine until he had her complete, irrevocable, sweet surrender. With desire hammering harder and faster inside him, he crossed the room to her couch. She couldn’t have gone far and she wouldn’t be gone long. He sat down on the black leather couch in her office with a direct view to her elevator and waited.

***** Katherine knew she was in deep shit the moment she saw him—all corded fury sitting on her couch. His normally even temper was gone, and she could feel the sensual beast lurking just beneath the surface. Something was different about Seth—very different. She recognized the look in his eyes and her heartbeat quickened at the promise of erotic punishments blazing in the depths of his golden gaze.

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“I can explain,” she said in a rush, “I just went to the basement to pull a copy of the most recent financial log—” “What? You couldn’t have someone bring it to you?” He stood. “Or fax it up here? Email it to you? Michelle could have even gotten it for you.” He stalked over to her. “But no, you had to leave your office because I told you not to. Because you wanted to prove that you could and you couldn’t resist rubbing it in my face because you knew it would piss me off. And you live to piss me off, don’t you Katherine?” Oh God. That look in his eyes—it was growing more intense by the second. She swallowed. He came to a stop before her but she held her ground, thrusting her chin in the air even as her stomach did tiny flip-flops. Her defiant gesture didn’t go unnoticed—he lifted one brow above those arrogant almond-shaped eyes of his. “What am I going to do with you, Katherine?” He inched closer. “What do you think I should do with you? What would you like me to do with you?” His voice dipped low. “To you?” “I don’t know what you mean by that.” “No? I think you do. Last night, you said some things—do you remember what you said, Katherine?” She shook her head quickly. “I was drunk, I don’t remember a thing.” She spun around to face her desk and started toward the other side so that he wouldn’t glimpse the lie on her face, but he stopped her before she could take even one step. He spun her back around, trapping her against the edge of her desk with his body. “Seth—” “Shhh.” He placed a finger to her lips, halting her words. “I think you remember everything you said last night. Every. Single. Word.” She sucked in a breath, fighting for air when his hands slid beneath her skirt, past her stockings and garters to the bare flesh of her thighs. She should have been outraged.

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She should have slapped his face at his audacity and demanded he take his hands off her right now. She did none of those things as she bit back a ragged moan and liquid heat pooled between her legs, her breasts now full and heavy with the weight of her desire. He watched her, his eyes never leaving her as his hands worked their way higher and higher. She fought for her sanity as she struggled to gain control of the situation and made one last futile attempt to stop him. “Seth, I-I—” He immediately silenced her with the press of his lips to hers. His mouth was insistent, demanding, not coaxing but forceful as he pushed his tongue inside to claim her. She shuddered against him, unable to battle the desire pumping through her veins. He tasted of all man and sin as he stroked his tongue in and out of her mouth, tasting her, devouring her. Oh God. She felt as if she were in heaven. She wrapped her arms around him, her pussy clenching with tiny tremors of need when the hard bulge in his pants dug into her belly. His hands made their way to her ass and he cupped the rounded globes, rocking her against his erection as he rotated his hips, grinding against her. She lifted her legs, wrapping them around his waist, now mindless with pleasure as the bulge in his pants brushed against her swollen clit. He kept the pressure against her clit, his heavy cock digging into her, against her, and her legs started to shake as her body began to tremble. He wrenched his lips from hers to stare down into her face, his dark gaze boring into her. “You’re close, aren’t you?” She nodded, unable to speak.

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He worked his hips harder and faster, his hot erection pulsing through his pants against her wet flesh. “I want to see you come, Katherine. I want to see you come right here on your desk against my cock.” “Oh God,” she moaned, her breathing ragged. His words sparked something deep inside her and she gasped as her head fell back. He kissed her neck, his lips brushing against her throat when he whispered, “That’s it, baby, come for me, drench my cock with your pussy juices.” His words triggered her release and she was powerless against the onslaught of pleasure as she exploded into seemingly thousands of tiny little pieces. Coming on a hoarse cry, she buried her face into his shoulder, her body quivering against his. He held her until she quieted, but now that her climax had passed she wasn’t sure what she should do. What had gotten into her? Hell, the both of them? It was as if something invaded their bodies, to the point where they lacked any sense of reason, any measure of control. She lifted her head, afraid of what she would see in his eyes. He smiled down at her. “Better?” She nodded numbly, her mind still cloudy after her orgasm. “Good, because now that I’ve pleasured you, it’s time that I punished you.” “What?” Her eyes snapped open wider as he scooped her into his arms. Her foggy brain cleared instantly, and when he settled onto the couch with her draped across his lap, her ass high in the air, she soon understood what he meant by punishment. “Seth Kyoto—release me right now,” she demanded as she struggled wildly against him, but she was no match for him. He simply flattened his hand against her back and held her down while he worked her skirt up her body until it was bunched at her hips. “Seth, stop this right now.” She bucked against him, and then became desperate when she still couldn’t get out of his grasp. “I swear I will fire you—” “You can fire me, but that still won’t stop me from spanking you.”

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To emphasize his point he brought the palm of his hand down against her bare ass. She screamed in response as tiny needles of pain fanned out across her backside. “I suggest you bite your tongue unless you want Michelle to know what I’m doing to you in here.” She twisted around long enough to shoot angry knives at him with her eyes. “I hate you.” His smile was arrogant but he said nothing. Instead he whacked the hell out of her ass, forcing her head back around. By the seventh whack she was whimpering in pain, with her face buried in her hands to keep from crying out. And yet, beneath the sharp edge of pain hovered something else, a physical reaction that she didn’t want to examine too closely. She lost track of how many times he slapped her ass. It felt like forever, though it couldn’t have been more than a minute. She breathed a sigh of relief when he stopped, his hand gently massaging her flesh instead of striking it. His soft touch soothed her, causing the dull throb of pain to give way to a slow ache between her thighs. He turned her over so that she was seated on his lap and cupped her face, his fingers tender as he wiped away the crystalline droplets on her cheeks that had fallen against her will. “Do you promise to obey my commands from here on out?” She pursed her lips into a tight line. He may have spanked the hell out of her ass, but she still didn’t think she would ever be able to promise that, even if it meant he’d spank her again. “I’ll only punish you again,” he said as if he’d heard her thoughts. “Well, you’ll just have to do what you have to do, now won’t you?” she snapped before she could stop herself, before she could remember who she was talking to. His eyes darkened as his hands tightened around her thighs and she watched him warily. She hadn’t meant that as a challenge, but Seth would never it see it that way.

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“You have a meeting in twenty minutes so you should probably freshen up.” He lifted off the couch, standing them both to their feet. As she walked over to her private bathroom, she thought she was off the hook, that he’d let her comment go, but his next words revealed she was very much mistaken. “We’ll finish this tonight,” he said and she stared after him as he slipped out of her office, the door closing behind him with a purposeful thud.

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Chapter Three Katherine could get used to this, she thought with a wry smile. Seth, preparing dinner, that was. Him in her home? Guarding her every move? She could do without. After dinner, they cleaned up the kitchen, and much like during dinner itself, and on the drive to her home, they didn’t speak much. Seth wasn’t known for many words in the first place, but beneath the silence was a layer of tension that had been there from the moment he’d left her office after what she had decided to call the episode. “You can relax, you know?” Startled, Katherine dropped the plate she’d been washing back into the sudsy water, causing some of it to splash across the front of her shirt. “That’s what I’m talking about. You’re nothing but a ball of nerves.” She glanced sideways at Seth, a curse on the tip of her tongue. He stood beside her, drying off the dishes, his body so close her skin warmed from the heat of him. She wanted to say he was the reason why she was tense, but that would be revealing too much—besides he already knew that. He knew his very presence unnerved her—that she was on edge, wondering and waiting for him to finish what they’d started in her office, wondering and worrying about what he would do to her when he did. She shivered. The anticipation was driving her crazy and he knew it, relished it, enjoyed that he now had her on edge, and apparently planned to keep her there. He plucked the dish she’d just dropped from the soapy water, rinsed it, then dried it. “All right, I’m headed to bed now,” he said when he was done putting the dish away. Katherine’s head snapped up. “What do you mean you’re headed to bed?” she blurted out before she could stop herself.

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She could swear his lips twitched with just the hint of a smile. “I’m tired, so I’m going to grab a quick shower and then I’m off to bed.” He turned to leave. “You should probably get some rest too.” Her eyes rounded. Was he serious? All he wanted to do was sleep? After what had happened earlier? After she’d spent all day fantasizing about what he’d do to her as soon as they got to her home? She’d spent a very long hour sitting through a board meeting, crossing and uncrossing her legs. She imagined his calloused hands against her bare skin spanking her ass again, or binding her then forcing her to her knees to suck his cock, just as she’d seen him do with the woman at the club. By the time her meeting was over, her panties were dripping wet with her juices and her clit throbbed so hard that even the tiniest movement sent a shock of pleasure shooting through her. Her entire body was on fire, hungry, needy, and he wanted to go to sleep? “But I thought—” He turned to face her, spearing her with his penetrating gaze. “You thought what?” His voice was low, and even as his eyes revealed nothing, the deep timbre of his voice was warm and sensual. She shuddered as her eyes traced the curl of his lips when they slowly lifted into a wicked grin. She couldn’t speak—her mouth was open, but nothing came out. Seth nodded, the small grin still on his lips. “Good night, Katherine.” And just like that, just like the night before, he left her there on the edge of sexual frustration, wanting more, needing more, only to be denied.

***** It had taken an almost inhuman strength of will to walk away from Katherine, to leave her standing there alone in her kitchen, but he’d managed to do it, which was why Seth now stood beneath a cascade of pelting water. The warm spray of the shower eased the knots of tension that corded his muscles. He closed his eyes with a groan. Too bad it did nothing to ease the throbbing ache of need that hardened his shaft.

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Katherine. He whispered her name in his head. He rarely called her by her first name, but he thought it was somehow fitting, given the intimacy they’d shared earlier that day in her office. She wanted what only he could give her, what he’d given her a taste of earlier. He’d glimpsed the desperate need to be mastered in her eyes as he’d bared her ass and disciplined her. That look had been there all day, and he could almost feel her desire for him to punish her again pouring off her in waves. Dinner had been torture, cleaning up afterward—pure hell. He ached to master her, to dominate her, to force her complete surrender and claim her, but he wasn’t sure if she was truly ready for what he would do to her. He’d never been this uncertain about a woman, a submissive, before. But with Katherine, things were different. Today in her office, their relationship had changed, but he was the one who would determine if it was temporary or something more permanent. Katherine—always-in-charge Katherine. He blew out a long, shaky breath, his hand curling around the stiff flesh of his cock as the water peppered his skin. What would it be like, feel like, to have her beneath him, completely bound as he rode her body and watched her surrender to him—body and soul. He stroked his hand up and down his hard length, slow at first, but as the image of her grew sharper, he pumped his ruddy shaft harder and faster. He could hear her cries of pleasure, soft, feminine, wanton. Her breath hitching as he pushed inside the dark, tight tunnel of her wet flesh, her warm, full breasts flattening against his chest, her nipples piercing his torso. Seth clenched his eyes shut tighter, his head falling back against the bathroom tiles. It was a fantasy, but he could almost taste her on his lips, smell her, the sweet scent of her perfume. Her cunt was plush, tight, wet around him as he sank into her over and over again. Seth groaned, tightening his hand around his cock as he jacked himself

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faster. Every muscle in his body corded, his gut clenched and he came on a swift jerk, a shattering cry echoing off the walls as he shot his seed in thick ropes against the tile. He slumped against the shower and ran a hand through his hair, finally opening his eyes when his panting eased. He felt like a fool. Countless times he’d fantasized about Katherine, the one woman he could never have, the one woman he shouldn’t even dare to want. Katherine was ballsy, a real firecracker. She certainly wasn’t a submissive, probably didn’t possess a submissive cell in her body, and yet, she’d taunted him the night before, then in her office she’d revealed a side of her that hinted at more than just a passing interest in submission. In the two years he’d known her, he’d never seen her yield or bend to anyone. How could he be so sure that in the bedroom things would be different? What if he was wrong about her? What if he introduced her to that part of himself he’d only shown a chosen few and she rejected it—rejected him? It would ruin their professional relationship, but there was more at stake than that. He wanted Katherine, and not just for one night, a brief sexual odyssey or even a passing affair—no, he wanted more, and from her, he would accept nothing less.

***** Katherine went to bed soon after Seth left the kitchen but she didn’t fall asleep. How could she? Her body pulsed with unfulfilled sexual energy. How could Seth tease her like that, then leave her hanging? Even her attempts at masturbation were useless. After coming so wondrously against his bulging cock, she wanted the real thing, not her hand. She wanted Seth. It took her a long time to fall asleep, as pent-up sexual frustration kept her tossing and turning. So when she was abruptly awoken in the middle of the night, just after one o’clock, she was pissed. She shot straight up in her bed, the blaring of her alarm wrenching her awake. Disoriented, her belly churned with fear as she breathed slowly, trying to gather herself.

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Within seconds, she snapped into action, reaching for the loaded .38 handgun inside the drawer of her bedside table. Chambering the bullet, she slid out of bed and tiptoed across the room. Katherine listened for the sounds of movement but heard nothing, only the alarm. She slowly cracked open her door and, with hesitant steps, walked down the hall. She halted when the alarm abruptly stopped, her heart pumping wildly in her chest. She turned the corner to her living room just as she heard someone shout her name. She raised her gun, screaming when she saw one was already pointed at her. A sharp curse drew her attention to her intruder’s face and she lowered her gun with a startled frown. “Seth?” He flipped on the light and she blinked as her eyes adjusted to the bright glare. “Of course it’s me,” he growled out. “What the hell’s wrong with you?” “What the hell’s wrong with me?” She was incredulous. She’d done nothing wrong. “You’re the one who tripped the alarm.” He glared at her. “I didn’t trip the damn alarm.” She yelped when he wrenched the gun out of her hands. “And what the hell are you doing with a gun, anyway? You could have gotten us both killed.” His words deflated her anger in an instant and she began to tremble, now frightened, realizing that he was right. When the alarm went off, all she could think about was protecting herself. Disoriented and groggy, she’d completely forgotten Seth was in her home. She could have shot him—or worse. “I bought it after the second note,” she muttered weakly. “I know how to handle a gun, and I’m a decent shot.” He glowered at her but he must have noticed the trembling of her body because he tempered his voice when he spoke again.

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“Wait in here until I get back.” He ushered her over to the living room couch. “I’m sure whoever was here is long gone, but I need to check all the rooms and the perimeter to see how he got in and if he took anything. While I’m gone, call Aaron and tell him to get LVPD up here now.” Two hours later, the last of the cops were leaving Katherine’s home. As far as they could tell, nothing was stolen and the intruder hadn’t broken in. Las Vegas’ finest were saying it was just a false alarm, that the equipment had probably malfunctioned, and told them to call the security company. Seth wasn’t buying it. He’d called Aaron who agreed to stop by and take a look after his shift ended later that evening. Seth knew whoever was stalking Katherine was getting closer, their actions creepier, and it was only a matter of time before he acted out. Seth needed to figure out who they were dealing with so they could catch him before this asshole caught up to Katherine. He glanced over at her sitting on the chair beside the couch. Throughout this whole ordeal she’d remained calm and composed, but he knew all of this was starting to wear on her. She stared with vacant eyes out the window, her hands clutching the teacup that had been empty for half an hour. She looked up when he walked over to her. “Let’s get you to bed.” She nodded with a small smile that didn’t quite reach her eyes and stood, setting the cup aside. He followed behind her until they reached her bedroom. He was about to leave when he noticed she stood there in the center of the room, her arms wrapped around her body as if she didn’t know what to do with them. “Katherine? You okay?” She stared at him with wide brown eyes that held something in their depths he’d never seen there before.

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“Katherine—” “Will you stay with me—just for the night? I just don’t want to be alo—” “I’ll stay,” he said immediately. Closing the door, he walked toward her, his heart beating faster with every step. “But where do you want me to sleep?” It was an innocent question, or at least that was what he’d tell himself later. She blinked in surprise until desire darkened her eyes. “Where do you want to sleep?” In your bed, beside you, underneath you, inside you was what he wanted to say, but he said none of those things. “The floor is fine.” “But you didn’t answer my question. Where do you want to sleep?” He sucked in a sharp breath. Christ. All he had to do was say the word, tell her the truth. And yet, he held back. She’d been through a lot already. He didn’t want to take advantage of her when she was already so vulnerable. “You’ve had a rough night and you’re not yourself. You need to get some rest.” She looked away and he swore his heart stopped. “You’re probably right…it’s just that I thought—” She shook her head then as if to stop herself. “You know what? It has been a tough night and I’m not feeling quite myself—” “Katherine.” His gut tightened and he cursed himself silently as he crossed the room, hating that he’d glimpsed a sadness mixed with disappointment in her eyes and knew he’d put it there. He gripped her shoulders, forcing her to face him. “I know what you’re thinking—” Her eyes narrowed. “Do you? Because I’m thinking you have no idea.” He released a small breath in frustration, his sense of reason warring with his own desires. “I know you must think that I don’t want you—” Damn it, he wanted her, but he just couldn’t, not with everything she was going through, not when she was already so vulnerable. “But believe me, Katherine, that couldn’t be further from the truth.”

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“The truth?” She wrenched out of his grasp and folded her arms across her chest. “Please tell me what that is because I’m clueless here, Seth. One minute you’re kissing me, punishing me, and then the next you’re pushing me away. I just don’t get it.” He ran his hand through his hair. He knew that’s exactly how she would see things, but she was right about that last point—she didn’t get it. She didn’t realize just how hard this was for him—that if he took their sexual relationship in the direction they both seemed to want to go there would be no turning back. “Tonight, after everything I’ve been through—that we’ve been through with these crazy notes and this intruder—” His gut twisted into knots when her voice broke. “I just didn’t want to be alone tonight.” He pulled her into his arms, the expression on her face raising every protective instinct within him. She’d never admit it, but she was afraid. She hid it well, but it was still there in her eyes. The warmth of her body seeped through his clothes, hardening his cock, and he let out a ragged sigh as he held her tight, fighting against his body’s desperate need to claim her. “Katherine, you know if I get in that bed with you, I’ll do more than just hold you.” She leaned back, her eyes flashing with a challenge that was dangerous for a man of his nature. “And what if I want you to do more than just hold me?” He bit back a groan at her softly spoken question. “You have no idea what you’re asking.” Her gaze never wavered. “What if I told you I know exactly what I want and what I’m asking for?” “After everything you’ve been through tonight.” He shook his head firmly. “The last thing I want to do is hurt you, scare you—” She frowned. “I trust you with my life,” she whispered softly, “I know you would never hurt me. I could never fear you.”

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She had such faith in him, a trust that he refused to betray. What if he took her and he hurt her, scared her? What if— “What are you so afraid of, Seth?” He sighed. The desires of his body beat against him, demanding he claim this woman. But his sense of reason, logic, held him back. “If you truly know about me and Joshua then you know what I want from a woman when I make love to her. If I take you, Katherine, I will have your full surrender, and nothing less.” Of all the reactions he’d anticipated, he’d certainly never expected her eyes to twinkle with mischief and a grin to curl her lovely lips. “Oh, I get it, you’re afraid I won’t submit to you?” Her eyes flashed with defiance and he knew her next words would seal their fates. “I never would have expected that from you. After all, what type of Dom are you if you can’t make your woman obey?”

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Chapter Four Katherine had baited Seth on purpose, but it had been a high-stakes gamble because she had no idea if he would take the bait or leave her high and dry. But then again, she was the owner and CEO of a Las Vegas casino, high-stakes gamble should be her middle name. Seth’s eyes flashed from gold to silver beneath the sliver of moonlight that peeked through the curtains, and her heart stuttered in her chest at the deep gravel of his voice when he spoke. “You’ve pushed me too far, Katherine. I’m done with your games,” he warned as he stripped off his shirt and pulled his belt from the loops of his pants. “If this is what you want, then I will give it to you, but when this is over, remember that I warned you.” He stepped behind her. “On your knees, right now, and put your hands behind your back.” A fresh wave of juice flooded her pussy at his command, but she hesitated. She ached to experience Seth’s mastery over her body, but what if she didn’t enjoy it, what if— “I said get on your knees, Katherine,” Seth whispered from behind her, his warm breath fanning her neck. She’d blatantly taunted Seth, and more than once. She reasoned the time for reservations had long passed. On wobbly legs, she slowly lowered herself to the floor with her hands behind her back. He took her wrists in his calloused hands and easily secured them with his belt. When he was done he stood to admire his work. She shivered as she watched him watch her. In many ways, he was still the Seth she knew, stoic and unflappable, but there was also another man present who she’d met only once before. That Seth was full of arrogance, a sexual confidence that came from knowing when he made love to a woman, he pleasured her fully, he mastered her and 43

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claimed her completely. Her nipples tightened and her breasts throbbed at the thought that the man before her would see to her complete satisfaction, although she knew he would also take his pleasure from her body until she had nothing left, and yet still, he would take more. She yelped in surprise when he ripped her nightgown from her, leaving her completely naked before him and his hungry gaze. He undid his pants, pulling out the thick hard length of his swollen cock. She whispered his name just as he came to a stop before her, but he shook his head. “You are not to speak unless I tell you. You are not to come unless I tell you. And when I do give you permission to speak, you are to call me Master, is that understood?” “Yes—” She stopped at the frown on his face, realizing he hadn’t given her permission to speak. Instead, she nodded, which earned her a smile. “You’ve always been a quick learner.” He cupped the back of her head with one hand, the other curling around his thick flesh. “Now open your mouth and show me what other lessons you’ve learned.” Katherine had wanted this, waited for this, yearned for it for so long until her fantasies of Seth dominating her had dominated her dreams. Apprehension still pulsed through her, a small fear of the unknown, of what was to come, but her desire was stronger than it all. With a soft sigh, she parted her lips, her eyes closing as he fed her the full, thick length of his cock. She swirled her tongue around him, earning a harsh groan from Seth. Her head bobbed back and forth, taking him all the way inside her, to the back of her throat. He tasted of sweat and all man and she licked him eagerly, inhaling the musk of his arousal until it filled her lungs. She sucked him harder, deeper, her lips wrapping tightly around his thrusting cock. He drew in a sharp breath, his shaft twitching inside her mouth. Precum beaded on her tongue and she eagerly licked it from him, swallowing the tiny drop, her greedy mouth begging for more. 44

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“Shit, Katherine,” he groaned out, low and deep. Seth’s hand in her hair shook, and for just a moment she savored her feminine power over him. Her pussy throbbed, the wetness between her thighs making her needy. She longed to touch herself, to ease the dull ache at the center of her core, but with her hands bound she was helpless, powerless, completely at his mercy. She whimpered as heat crawled inside her belly, clawing at her. “You want my cock inside you, don’t you?” Seth murmured, his voice low and husky, tinged with desire. “You want me to thrust deep inside your pussy.” His words struck a chord inside her and she moaned around his cock, sucking harder at his hot, thick length, but before she could stroke her mouth down his shaft another time, he wrenched his cock from between her lips and lifted her. He undid the belt only to move her arms to the front of her body and secure the leather strap around her wrists. “Lean over the edge of the bed with your arms stretched out,” he whispered close to her ear as he nudged her toward the bed. With her hands bound, she bent at the waist, leaned over the bed and stretched her arms toward the headboard. He pulled away for just a second and she heard the ripping of a foil wrapper as he tore open a condom and then silence while he sheathed himself. A shudder of anticipation raced through her, her body quivering when he caressed the palm of his hand across her naked flesh. “Spread your legs,” he commanded, his tone low and raspy. She parted her legs, yelping when his hand struck her backside. “Wider.” She spread her legs wider, a soft gasp tumbling from her lips when the tip of his cock nudged against her dripping slit. She moaned as the throbbing pulse of desire beat through her. She longed to call his name but held her tongue, for he hadn’t given her permission to speak.

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When the head of his cock pushed inside she closed her eyes, savoring the sweet rush of pleasure, only to let out a whimper when he retreated. With each stroke, he fed her more of his thick, ruddy shaft, only to pull all the way out. When he finally slammed home, she was panting wildly, her cunt dripping wet. “Fuck, Katherine,” he groaned, his thrusts coming swift and hard, “Your pussy feels so good wrapped around my dick.” He leaned over her, drilling her mercilessly. “I always knew you would feel like this—so tight, so wet,” he panted against her skin. She couldn’t help it, the pleasure of him fucking her with such deep, powerful thrusts overrode her sanity. She screamed his name, unable to stop herself, crying out in frustration when he stopped. “Do I need to remind you of my commands? You are not to speak and you are not to come, not until I tell you. Understood?” She nodded with a whimper. “Yes, Master.” He began to move within her again. “Good girl,” he whispered, quickening his pace as he drove inside her with deep, punishing strokes. The sweet musk of sweat and sex drenched the room and clung to their bodies like a second skin. Katherine curled her fingers into the bed, dragging the scent of their lovemaking deep within her lungs. Her pussy was a sopping wet mess as her juices trickled down her thighs. She gritted her teeth, her body tensing, as she fought to tamp down the rising tide of her climax. Seth pummeled her cunt from behind so hard the headboard bounced against the wall, so deep that she could feel him brush against her cervix. His breaths were choppy, stilted, and deep guttural groans poured from his lips with each brutal thrust. He was close and she prayed he would come before she did because already she could feel the sweet haze of euphoric bliss building within her. “That’s it, Katherine,” he breathed, the blunt nails of his fingers digging into her flesh as he gripped her hips tighter, dragging her back roughly to impale her on his 46

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thick shaft with each thrust. “That’s it, baby, hold back your orgasm.” He pumped inside her faster, his strokes shallow. “Wait for it,” he commanded and leaned over her, his bare chest sticking to her sweat-soaked back. His weight was heavy against her back, pressing her torso deeper into the bed, and he rested his palms on either side of her head. The slight shift in position left her spread wider and he went deeper, hitting the back of her pussy which each thrust. She couldn’t do it—she couldn’t fight it anymore. She shook her head from side to side as her sheath began to spasm. He slammed into her once, twice, three times and then stiffened with a loud roar. “Now, Katherine. Come for me now.” He’d barely finished the sentence before she exploded, her entire body quivering as wave after wave of pleasure assaulted her. Her cunt clamped down tight around his cock, now buried deep within her. She moaned as hot spurts of his semen filled the condom that separated them and she drenched his pulsing length with her juices. Their orgasms powered through them, shaking them to the core, leaving them limp with exhaustion and breathless. They lay there for what seemed like hours, neither one moving until their breathing evened and their heartbeats quieted. Seth pulled out of her slowly, simultaneous groans spilling from their lips. Shedding his pants, which were bunched at his ankles, he moved to Katherine and unfastened his belt from around her wrists. Pulling back the covers, he tugged her into his arms and together they lay down. She burrowed deep within the circle of his embrace, closing her eyes as the warmth of him surrounded her. He held her tenderly, lovingly even, which was so at odds to his rough lovemaking and the spanking he’d given her at work. Yet for Seth, it wasn’t. He was soft, yet hard, aggressive, yet patient. He was a dichotomy of sorts, a conundrum, which was why she’d always been drawn to him but could never let him past her walls. She just couldn’t figure him out, not completely. 47

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“Go to sleep.” She opened her eyes to see him staring at her with a small smile, which she returned when he cupped her cheek. “I can almost hear the wheels turning in your head. Go to sleep,” he repeated. “Is that a command?” she asked jokingly. He chuckled. “No, but I will make it one if you don’t relax and go to sleep.” He kissed her forehead and she closed her eyes. He didn’t have to command her to fall asleep, the day’s events had finally caught up to her and the exhaustion was now setting in. Yet she couldn’t resist getting the last word in as she murmured sleepily, “Well, it sounds like a command to me.” After that, she heard nothing else, as she soon did exactly what he’d demanded she do and fell fast asleep.

***** Katherine bit back a small yawn as she slowly opened her eyes, blinking at the bright rays of sunlight filtering through the curtains. She cursed, realizing if the sun was already up then she was late for work. She instantly awakened fully, but then cursed again when she tried to sit up and couldn’t. She glanced up at her wrists, which were bound to the head of the bed, a frown crossing her face as she looked around the room, her gaze searching until it finally landed on a darkened figure in the corner. Her heart fluttered in her chest and her belly instantly tightened into knots when she saw his face—his gaze hungry, predatory, full of lust and desire. “I wondered when you were going to finally wake up.” Seth walked out of the shadows, his hardened, naked body drawing her attention and holding it. Tattoos covered the length of his arms, and she knew a tapestry of ink was splashed across his entire back, but besides the face of a tiger on his left pec, his torso was bare, treating her to the sight of his perfectly defined chest and rippled abs. 48

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Every muscle in his taut and toned body seemed to flex with each step he took toward her until he stood next to the bed, where, apparently, she was his prisoner. “Seth, I’m already late.” She looked up at her bound arms then back at him. “You have to let me out of these things.” His golden eyes flashed as he shook his head. “You’re not going into work today. I already called Michelle—” “What!” Her eyes rounded, fury twisting her features. “You had no right—” “I had every right,” he whispered, halting her next words when he unraveled a small slip of black fabric that she hadn’t seen until now from around his hand and gently slid it across her mouth, her cheek, through the valley of her naked breasts. Even in her anger, lust uncoiled inside her belly and her body began to tremble, her skin flushing with wanton heat. “I don’t feel comfortable with you going into the office today. Besides, it was a long night, and we’re both tired.” One eyebrow lifted, a tiny grin crooking the corner of his mouth. “But if you have a problem with that, I can leave you tied to this bed all day.” She twisted against her bindings as fury pumped through her veins. He was insane if he thought he could chain her to her bed for an entire day and get away with it, and she opened her mouth to tell him just that when he shook his head sharply and lifted the black cloth in his hand. “Will I have to gag you as well?” Her eyes widened, her entire body vibrating with anger. When he let her loose, she swore she was going to rake her nails down his face. Yet she was smart enough to keep those thoughts to herself as she snapped her mouth shut and shook her head. “Good girl,” he whispered, setting the black fabric aside. He sat down on the bed beside her then, stroking his hand across her bare skin. Everywhere he touched her, her flesh tingled until a steady fire of lust and heat burned at her core. Whatever she’d been upset about just moments ago she forgot when he rolled atop her, then settled between her parted thighs, his face inches away from her dripping sex.

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She gasped when he palmed her thighs, spreading her legs wider and pushing them higher against her body. He watched her from between her splayed thighs, and she shivered as a spike of heat passed between them, hot and carnal. The first brush of his lips against her pulsing cunt was pure bliss and she moaned out her pleasure, her head falling back against the pillow. His tongue was rough, spearing her hot sheath in and out until she was writhing and panting. He licked at her juices, lapping up the essence of her pleasure as he devoured her cunt. When his mouth circled her tiny nub, she nearly shot up off the bed, arching her back as a lightning bolt of fire lanced through her. She cried out, her pussy rewarding him with more of its sticky wetness. Seth groaned, low and deep in his throat, eagerly eating from her pussy. He kept his lips clamped around her clit, suckling gently, while he probed inside her tight sheath with his fingers, pumping lightly at first, then harder. She rocked her hips, meeting the perfect rhythm of his thrusting fingers, grinding her hot cunt against his face. Their harsh pants echoed in the room, mingling with the sound of him slurping against her sex. Katherine could feel the wave of heat building inside her, the pleasure almost bursting forth. She closed her eyes as tremors began to vibrate from her core across her entire body, but let out a strangled cry when Seth lifted his head. “Do not come, Katherine,” he whispered against her heated flesh. “Not without my permission.” She whimpered, because she knew it was already too late for her to stem the pleasure surging inside her, so when the first wave of her orgasm hit, she erupted with a violent, quaking shudder. Despite his command, Seth did not stop as he hungrily feasted on her pussy and she screamed out, her entire body shaking and trembling as pleasure burst inside her, sweeping her away. Her chest heaved as she panted, and convulsions rocked her body for a long time after her climax waned. Seth kept his face

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buried between her thighs, against her cunt, lapping up the dripping evidence of her pleasure until she relaxed against him with a long sigh. “I will punish you,” he whispered, “for coming without my permission—but later,” he promised. And he did punish her later, but at that moment she did not care what punishments would follow because she felt as if he’d taken her body and wrung it dry. She was so thoroughly satiated, so utterly exhausted that she didn’t think it was possible, that she had anything left to give. Yet, when he traced a languorous path up the length of her body, trailing kisses against her bare flesh, it was as if she hadn’t just come—her body awakened again beneath the onslaught of his kisses. He kissed her breasts, lovingly, tenderly, drawing the tight bud of one nipple inside the hot, moist cavern of his mouth while he palmed the heavy weight of her other mound with his hand. He massaged and kneaded her soft flesh as he sucked on one nipple, then the other. He alternated between both, licking and sucking, massaging and groping until the tender folds of her pussy were glistening wet. It was as if he sensed her body was ready, primed and needy all over again. With one last flick of his tongue against her ripe nipple, he moved higher, covering her body with his. Reaching over to her bedside table, he plucked up a condom from where he’d left several packets and quickly sheathed himself. And in one fluid motion, he hooked his arms beneath her legs, splaying her wide and open. Seth leaned down to kiss her then and she met his lips eagerly, savoring the spicy taste of her essence on his lips. He stroked his tongue inside her mouth, probing deep, at the same time he plunged inside her with the steel-hard length of his cock, burying himself balls-deep. She gasped against his lips, her tight flesh stretching around his thrusting, hard shaft. The thick meat of his cock pummeled her cunt, hitting against the back of her sheath with each deep stroke. 51

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She struggled to accommodate him, her soft, pliable flesh yielding beneath him. He rode her body fast and hard, the smacking of flesh against flesh echoing in the room, mingling with their deep groans and breathy gasps. Seth held her beneath him, her body pinned to the bed as he drilled her, his cock slamming into her wet flesh, his lips still sealed to hers as he kissed her deeply, thoroughly. His lovemaking was rough, primal, and with each pumping thrust she felt he was branding her, claiming her, leaving his mark on her body so that everyone would know he’d taken her, loved her, and that she now belonged to him. He wrenched his lips from hers, calling her name, and she stared up at him. His eyes were clenched shut, his face twisted in pleasurable agony. The sight of him on the edge of control, ready to snap, was intoxicating. She’d never seen Seth so wild, his composure completely gone. The tight leash he kept on his emotions had finally snapped and her body responded to the wildness of his lovemaking, pouring forth a gush of wetness, coating his thrusting length. He sucked in a sharp breath, pushing harder and faster inside her. She could have come with him, but this time she didn’t. This time she wanted to see him completely snap, his control finally obliterated. She clenched her muscles around him, the tight vise of her cunt imprisoning his thrusting cock. It took him by surprise and he gasped, then groaned, a violent shudder racking his body as he spurted deep inside her with a lewd curse. Seth collapsed against her, his face buried within the crook of her neck as he panted wildly, his warm breaths tickling her skin. When he was finally able to move, he released his hold on her thighs and she let her legs slide down the length of his body to wrap around his waist. With one hand he undid her bindings and she stretched out her arms, then let them settle around his wide back, her hands gently stroking his sweat-soaked flesh until

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Seth’s breathing evened and she knew he’d fallen asleep, his soft cock still nestled inside her.

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Chapter Five The next morning Katherine lay in bed, completely still, waiting, listening until she heard the shower down the hall come on. She slipped out of bed and quickly washed in her master bathroom, then dressed. Before he’d headed to her guest shower, Seth had told her to stay put for the day. But Katherine couldn’t stay put—it wasn’t in her nature. She’d never missed a day at work—let alone two. Yesterday, he’d practically held her prisoner in her own bed— although she wasn’t complaining, she thought with a smile. Still, as much as she would love to spend yet another day in Seth’s arms, the mountain of work on her desk demanded her attention. She scribbled a quick note to Seth and set it on the bed. As she piled into her car and left her home, she decided she’d only stay a few minutes, just long enough to grab a few things so that she could work from home. She knew Seth would be pissed, but she didn’t see what the big deal was. She wouldn’t even be gone an hour. Katherine was just pulling into her reserved spot when her cell phone rang. She didn’t even glance at it. She didn’t need to. When it stopped and rang again, she knew with a certainty who it was. Seth. Ignoring her blaring cell, she got out of her car and walked toward her private elevator then rode up the forty-eight floors to her office. Within minutes, she’d grabbed the files she needed off her desk and was heading back down to the garage. Katherine stepped off the elevator and walked toward her car. Her heels clicked noisily against the pavement as she rummaged through her purse for her keys. She probably never would have even noticed the figure hovering beneath her car had it not been for the small thump followed by a muffled curse causing Katherine to glance up from her purse. 54

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She stopped and frowned at the skulking shadow. “What th— Hey!” Dressed in all black, the intruder’s face was partially obscured by the brim of a dark hat so she couldn’t see the face, but Katherine would have recognized those tacky red talons anywhere. “Get back here,” Katherine yelled when the intruder turned to run. She cursed as she dropped her files with her purse and kicked off her heels to sprint after the culprit, her toned athletic frame eating up the distance between them until she was close enough to launch herself and drag the intruder to the ground. She struggled furiously with the trespasser, fighting to pin the flailing body down. Just when she finally managed to plant her weight atop the intruder’s chest, Seth’s car barreled into the garage, coming to a screeching halt beside her at the same time Joshua burst through the stairwell door, gun in hand, with his security team behind him. Katherine barely noticed any of them as she scowled down at the figure still struggling beneath her. With a flick of the wrist, she flipped off the cap covering the face of the trespasser, revealing long brown extensions. Katherine glared at the woman pinned under her. She’d recognized her the moment she’d seen those red nails. “What the hell are you doing here?” The woman struggled against Katherine’s weight, her face twisted in fury. “Get off me!” she shot back, but Katherine just glowered at her as she clamped her thighs harder around the bucking woman’s body. “Not until you tell me what you did to my car.” “You know her?” Katherine looked up at Seth with a quick nod before returning her attention to the once-blonde-now-brunette figure beneath her. “She’s my ex-husband’s wife.” Katherine glared at her. “What are you doing here, Shannon?” As she stared at the woman, everything began to click into place. This entire bizarre fiasco was so like Shannon with her need for drama, and it all made since now—

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mostly. The crimson polish used to write the notes—Shannon’s favorite color. Shannon knew where she lived, where she worked, she knew everything about her—after all, they’d once been friends. That was, until Shannon had slept with Katherine’s husband. “It was you who sent me those notes, wasn’t it?” When Shannon nodded, Katherine just shook her head in confusion. “Why?” “I just wanted to scare you,” Shannon said in a rush. “Thought maybe it would get you to leave Ricky alone.” “Ricky?” Katherine frowned. “I haven’t seen that asshole in two years.” Not since the divorce. Besides, why would scaring her somehow get her to leave Ricky alone, which was exactly what Katherine asked. “Ricky’s been cheating on me. I thought it was with you. Found all these pictures of you, mementos from your marriage that he keeps locked in his office. He’s obsessed with you. I think he’s even still in love with you. I waited at your place last night and sure thing—he drove past your home.” Katherine’s eyes narrowed. “So it was you who set off the alarm,” she deduced. “Hey, boss,” Joshua interrupted, drawing Katherine’s furious gaze from Shannon. “I checked under your car and found these.” He held up three tiny black objects in his hand. She frowned. “What are they?” “Tire caps,” Seth interjected as he walked over to her. “She was going to let all the air out of your tires, and by the time you left work, all four of them would have been flat.” He gestured to the three caps in his hand. “But you came back before she could even get all the tire caps off.” Seth pulled her off Shannon and then cuffed the other woman. “But you didn’t expect me to leave work early,” Katherine concluded.

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Shannon’s blue eyes flashed with irritation. “You never leave work early,” she snapped. “Come to think of it, I’ve never known you to get to work late either.” Katherine couldn’t help it. Her cheeks heated, and she was sure they were as red as Shannon’s tacky nails. She cast Seth a sideways glance, but he was the epitome of cool professionalism. He didn’t even bat an eye. Typical Seth. “Well, some things change,” Katherine said quietly as she watched Seth turn Shannon over to Joshua, who hauled her off. As soon as Joshua and his team left the garage she looked up at Seth. “What’s going to happen to her?” “Joshua is going to hand her over to LVPD and we’ll file charges.” He shrugged. “Although I don’t think there is much we can do. She’s guilty of stalking and trespassing, but in Vegas, there’s no space in an already overcrowded jail for people like her—” “So she’ll just get away with what she did!” “We’ll get a restraining order so that if she comes near you, she’ll be arrested, but I don’t think you’ll have to worry about her anymore.” Katherine wasn’t so sure about that, but now that she knew who was threatening her, she could honestly say she wasn’t afraid anymore. Shannon was definitely a bit crazy, but she’d never been violent. Katherine didn’t think Shannon would ever harm her, which was probably why she’d sent the notes in the first place. The most Shannon was capable of were empty threats. “Why are you so sure she’ll just leave me alone, just like that?” “She only targeted you because she thought your ex was cheating on her with you. Now that she knows he’s not, she’ll turn her attention elsewhere.” Katherine snorted. “Yeah. So she’ll turn her psycho attention to whoever he is cheating on her with?” She shook her head. “Somehow it just doesn’t seem right that some unsuspecting girl could be targeted and threatened by her.”

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Seth shrugged. “That’s the risk you take when you mess with someone’s husband.” Katherine nodded but she didn’t quite agree. When she’d discovered Ricky was leaving her for her one of her closest friends, she’d been pissed at both of them, not just Shannon. Sure, she could have stalked Shannon, maybe even beat her up, but where would be the dignity in that? It just wasn’t worth it. In the end, she’d brought a quick and quiet end to her marriage and simply walked away. “So what about Ricky?” Katherine questioned Seth, “What’s going to happen to him?” “The most the cops can do is bring him in, question him. If he’s been stalking you too, they’ll insist he stop, of course, and we’ll get a restraining order against him too, but I don’t think he’s guilty of that. I wouldn’t be surprised if his mistress lives somewhere near you. I’ll bet that it’s just a coincidence that he happened to drive by your home either to or from her place. If Shannon had actually followed him, she probably would have found out who he’s really been cheating on her with.” Katherine shook her head. That figured. Shannon had always been impulsive, never completely thinking through a plan to be sure of its soundness. If she’d stalked Ricky and not Katherine, she probably wouldn’t even be in this mess. Katherine let out a shaky sigh. If only Shannon had stalked Ricky and not her. Katherine would have been spared weeks of sleepless nights and constant anxiety. “I hope you’re right. After what Shannon said, I’d hate to think that both her and Ricky were obsessed with me.” She dreaded the very notion. This had been such an ordeal, she just hoped it was all finally over. Seth closed the distance between them and pulled her flush against him to wrap her in his arms. “I actually think she was telling the truth about that. He probably is still obsessed with you.” She frowned at the mysterious grin on his face. “But you just said—”

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“That he wasn’t stalking you.” He cupped her cheek. “But I have no doubt he’s still obsessed with you. I would be too if I’d done something so foolish as to let you get away.” The look in his eyes took her breath away and she flashed him a small smile just as he placed his lips against hers in a quick, gentle kiss that made every cell in her body come alive. When he lifted his head, that dark, intense look that she’d come to recognize shadowed his golden gaze and her heart stuttered. “Now that I know you’re safe and that we know who’s been stalking you, we can finally settle this lingering issue between us.” “Issue?” “Of your punishment.” She started to defend herself but snapped her mouth shut when he shook his head. “I told you not to leave the house and yet you sneak out when I’m in the shower—” “I didn’t sneak out. Sneaking implies creeping and I walked out. Besides, I left a note.” “And had your stalker been truly dangerous,” he continued as if she hadn’t spoken, “you could have been seriously hurt, or worse.” He seized her arm and walked her over to his car. “You’re reckless, Katherine, reckless and impulsive and you deserve to be punished for disobeying me.” She bit her tongue because she knew arguing with him was futile. He would punish her regardless, but then she’d known that the moment she’d left. A shudder raced through her. If she was honest with herself, she could admit that she’d deliberately left her home, knowing that when he caught up to her, he would have no choice but to punish her. “I plan to spend the rest of the day punishing you, until you know exactly who is in charge.”

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She shivered at what she knew he had in store for her, although she wouldn’t be her if she didn’t protest, if she didn’t at least put up a fight. “But that’s not fair, I left a note….” Whatever she was going to say next died on her lips when he opened the trunk of the car and she saw it. Black leather corset, matching “fuck me” heels, a leather collar with a chain link leash, a black flogger and silver handcuffs? What the hell! She looked up at him. “Let me guess. You just happen to carry a readymade bondage kit in your car for emergencies? Just like a spare tire. Never know when you’re gonna need it, right?” His lips twitched and she knew he was fighting back a smile. “The shoes and corset are yours. I got them out of your closet last night while you were in the shower. The rest is mine, and since you already know about me and Joshua, you should know I asked him to bring this over with my things the first night I stayed at your house.” “What? Why?” Seth shrugged. “Truthfully, I don’t know. I just had a feeling I was going to have to discipline you at some point.” His eyes flickered with desire. “And I guess I was right.” “I think I’m offended. While I was here fighting for my life you were dallying about, grabbing stuff to punish me with. Where are your priorities?” He flashed her a wolfish grin and settled his hand against the small of her back as if to say he knew exactly what his priorities were—and clearly she was number one. “I put this all in my trunk last night while you were sleeping. Like I said, I knew this would come in handy someday very soon.” He frowned. “I didn’t realize it would be the next day, but I shouldn’t be surprised. You enjoy defying me only to be punished in return.” “And what? You wanted your bondage kit on hand so that you could punish me at work?” His stoic silence was answer enough and she was incredulous, even as her body tingled at the notion of him disciplining her within the confines of her office.

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He tried to nudge her forward but she dug in her heels, eliciting a sigh from him. “Time for stalling is over, sweetheart.” She opened her mouth to protest that she wasn’t stalling, although she was, but he shook his head, silencing her. “Get in, Katherine,” he whispered against her ear. “We have a long day ahead of us, and it starts with you playing dress-up.”

***** Katherine glanced at her discarded clothes on the back seat, then down at herself. She was dressed for decadence and pure sin. Seth had sat in the front seat watching her as one by one, she’d donned the pieces of the outfit he’d laid out for her. Now up front in the passenger seat, she stretched out in the small space, noticing how the stiletto heels made her average legs look longer, while the corset barely covered the top swells of her ass, which was completely bare in Seth’s car seat. She ran her fingers across the soft satin of the dark corset, then along her thighs. A slight tremor raced through her when she slid her hands around her neck and fingered the leather collar. She accidentally brushed the chain link leash, drawing Seth’s attention. “Come here,” he whispered as he turned on the car and with one hand maneuvered out of the garage, while the other slowly twisted in circles, wrapping the length of the chain around itself, pulling her closer until her face was inches from his lap. She looked up then and their eyes met, yet neither said a word. Pulsing desire stirred her body in forbidden ways and her hands shook as she undid his pants to pull out his hard and throbbing cock. Precum already leaked from the head of his engorged length and she licked at it with her tongue, her belly coiling as passion rocked her and she sink slowly down his shaft, taking him all the way to the back of her throat. He gasped and curled one hand around the back of her head, gently guiding her sucking mouth.

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Up and down she bobbed her head on his cock, sucking him hard until he was panting beneath her, digging his nails into her scalp. “Katherine,” he breathed out on a hoarse groan. The taste of him on her lips was heady, intoxicating, and she worked her mouth faster, swirling her tongue around the uneven ridges of his thick shaft. She swallowed him again, this time as far as she could go, causing him to jerk against her with a sharp curse. Although she hadn’t realized it, at some point, he’d put the car in park and cut the engine. Arching into her, he thrust his hips upward, sending his cock surging deep into her mouth, down her throat. He pumped into her once, twice, three more times before he stiffened and groaned out her name. She tightened her lips around him as she felt him swell in her mouth. Seconds later his cock erupted, spurting jets of warm semen down her throat that she eagerly swallowed until he softened. She let him slip from her mouth and sat up when he relaxed his hold on her head. He quickly righted his clothing then released her chain and slipped out of the car. That’s when she realized they were at her home. He’d pulled into the garage and closed the door. She piled out of the car and began to walk, but stopped when he shook his head. He grabbed a hold of her chain again, and she noticed he had the flogger and cuffs tucked beneath his arm. “Now you may walk.” He led her behind him as he entered her home. Had someone told her she’d be following behind Seth, dressed in practically nothing, as his slave, with a collar and leash, she would have sworn they were delusional, denied it vehemently. She was certain she would have been mad as hell at the very notion. But in that moment, she wasn’t mad at all. Quite the opposite. Every inch of her tingled, her pussy quivered, hot and ready for his penetration. She bit back a moan as the folds of her cunt grew wetter and the stiff peaks of her breasts scraped 62

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against the rough fabric of the corset. No, she wasn’t upset at all. She relished Seth’s dominance over her, openly accepted it, and even now, knowing she was about to be punished, her body craved it.

Seth led Katherine behind him until they reached the bedroom. Once inside he removed the leash, but he kept the collar in place. He liked her in his collar, knowing that she was his slave, his to do with whatever he pleased. Katherine stood in the center of the room, watching and waiting, and his body tightened when she ran her tongue across her full, ripe lips, something she did only when she was nervous. He liked that she was a bit nervous and yet she didn’t question him, didn’t speak at all. He’d never expected Katherine to surrender so effortlessly, so completely to him, but every time he took her, commanded her to please him, she did it with her whole heart—her very soul. He closed the distance between them, absently running his hands along her soft, bare skin. He touched her because he could, but also because he couldn’t bear not to. She was beautiful—his perfect submissive—but she was more than that. She was simply perfect for him. A fist closed around his heart. Now that he’d had her, mastered her, claimed her, there was no way he’d ever give her up, there was no way that he could, which left him wondering, now that he had no excuse to be around her 24/7, how he would ever leave her side. He ushered her over to the bed, deciding he didn’t want to think about that right now. All he wanted to think about was punishing Katherine, pleasuring her, pleasing her. “Get on the bed, facedown.” She scrambled atop the bed and did exactly as he’d commanded. Grasping her hands, he secured one cuff around her wrist, then looped it through the headboard and fastened the second cuff around her other wrist.

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With her arms stretched out, she turned her head to the side to stare at him. His gut tightened at the look in her eyes—full of trust and something else, a darker, deeper emotion that he wasn’t quite ready to examine just yet. He held her gaze as he grabbed the flogger off the bed and her eyes widened as she watched him caress the soft, braided leather, his movements sensual, seductive. He brought the flogger down against the bare skin of her ass while she was still mesmerized by the sight of it. She closed her eyes on a soft gasp, bracing herself against the sharp sting. “Relax, Katherine,” he whispered, running his palm, across the silken smooth globes of her round ass. “It will only hurt worse if you tense up.” She opened her eyes and nodded, and then he struck her again. This time she groaned, but she didn’t clench her eyes shut, and tension didn’t course through her body so strongly. He alternated between flogging her and caressing her soft flesh until he knew the lines blurred between pain and passion for her. That’s when he knew she was ready. Instead of caressing her after a strike, he pushed aside her thong and parted the swollen, pink folds of her pussy to shove one finger inside her heat. Her wetness coated his thrusting digit so he added another and then a third. With one hand he brought the flogger down against the fleshy globes of her ass, and almost as soon as the leather slid off her body, he speared her cunt with his fingers. He kept her this way, on the precipice of pain and pleasure, until he knew she couldn’t take it anymore. “You want to come, don’t you?” She nodded with a soft moan but didn’t speak, for he hadn’t commanded her to. He smiled. Good girl. “You want to come on my cock, don’t you?”

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This time her moan was louder, but still she didn’t say a word, even as her body convulsed with need, every inch of her desperate for the release only he could give her. His own body was swollen and ready, the pain of his engorged flesh beat at him, demanding that he take her. In seconds he stripped out of his clothing and flung the flogger aside. “On your knees,” he demanded as he settled behind her. She was barely on her knees atop the bed before he was gripping her hips and driving home, deep into her wet, pink flesh in one plunging thrust. He’d waited too long to take her. He snaked his hand around her hip to strum her clit but he barely touched her before she exploded with a soul-wrenching scream. He pounded his hard flesh inside her, her cunt drenching him as he plowed through the tight muscles of her spasming sheath. With every stroke she sucked him in and held him tight until his control snapped completely. He buried his cock inside her on one deep stroke and stiffened. His mouth fell open but nothing came out as he gripped her hips and held her to him, his cock bursting inside her as he poured his seed deep within her waiting flesh. He collapsed against the bed, boneless and satiated, and it was a long while before either of them could catch their breath. When he finally found the strength, he unlocked the cuffs and pulled her into his arms so that her body draped across his. For a long while, he simply held her, his hand absently stroking her slick back until he remembered she was still in trouble. “You know I have to punish you all over again.” She lifted her head. “Wha— Why?” “You came without permission,” he said with a grin, his lips furling higher when her eyes darkened with passion. “Oh,” was all she said, and then he rolled her beneath him and took her again, and then again, well into the night, until he was sure she’d learned her lesson.

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Chapter Six The next day at work, Katherine was just wrapping things up and preparing to head home when Seth walked into her office. Dressed in a white t-shirt and jeans, his clothes fit him like a second skin, the shirt emphasizing the chiseled muscles of his arms while his pants clung to the thick bulge just behind his zipper. Her heartbeat sped up immediately as a flush of heat crept over her and she shifted in her seat, wincing at the soreness in her backside. Seth closed her door with a smile. “I take it you’re still feeling the effects of my punishment.” She returned his smile. “A little.” He took her breath away when he leaned down to kiss her gently, his hand lovingly caressing her cheek. They’d woken up that morning, driven into work together, and several times throughout the day he’d come in to check on her, just to see how she was doing. Each time he would treat her to a slow, sensual kiss that would leave her breathless. Katherine had no idea what they were doing, or even what they were, but she knew she liked it, liked being with him, liked simply talking to him—that was, when they actually talked, she thought with a small smile. “I just stopped by to let you know I’m headed out.” “Headed home already?” She glanced at the clock. It was only six o’clock. He rarely left before seven. “Yeah, I need to talk to Joshua for a minute, then head home and do a few things.” His eyes darkened. “And then maybe if you’re up for it we could go out for a late dinner.”

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Tiny butterflies fluttered in her belly—those little girlie butterflies that she swore she never got. She smiled. “I’d like that.” He flashed her one of his rare but charming and devastatingly lethal grins. “I’ll see you later then,” he said, before slipping out of her office. After he left, she spent five more minutes finishing up the project she’d been working on then decided to make a couple of quick phone calls before she, too, called it a day. Seth had left her door slightly open when he walked out so she got up to close it to make her calls. On her way back over to her desk she noticed a ring of keys in one of the chairs. She picked them up. They were Seth’s work keys. He must have put them down when he came in and forgot to get them when he left. He wouldn’t need his keys tonight, but if he got to work before Joshua, Michelle or herself tomorrow, which he often did, he wouldn’t be able to get in, at least not without a hassle. Katherine stepped out of her office. If she was quick she could catch him. If she missed him then she would just hold on to them until she saw him later. “Michelle, can you do me a favor and call down to Joshua’s and see if Seth’s still there?” Michelle nodded and quickly made the call. When she was done she looked up at Katherine. “Joshua’s secretary said you just missed him. He just walked out with Joshua only seconds ago.” “Thanks, Michelle.” Katherine headed toward her office. “Can you also try to reach Seth on his cell and tell him I have his keys? I’m going to see if I can catch up with him before he leaves.” “Sure,” Michelle said as Katherine walked into her office and hopped on her elevator.

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Within seconds she was in the garage and was relieved to see she hadn’t missed Seth as she caught sight of him talking to Joshua through the small window in the door. She hadn’t planned to snoop, but when she went to open the door, she heard her name and stopped. Hunching down so they wouldn’t see her, she pressed her ear to the door. She couldn’t make out much, but what she did set her blood to boiling. She tried to hear more, but then Seth’s cell phone rang, ending their conversation. She listened until both men got into their cars and then returned to her elevator. She was just entering her office when Michelle walked in. “I got a hold of Seth, but he told me to tell you he’d get them from you later.” Katherine did her best to paste on her brightest, fakest smile. “Thanks, Michelle.” The woman nodded and then walked out, leaving Katherine to stew in her office. She couldn’t believe him—that he would actually go to that—that—club, and then tell Joshua he had no intention of telling her about it. She paced back and forth in her office, her entire body corded with fury. That he would do the things he’d done to her, then go to the Red Velvet Rope and hook up with some stranger, had her fuming mad. But more than that, it pierced her heart. She’d given Seth a piece of herself, a part she’d never given to any man ever before. The things she’d let him do to her she’d only allowed because she’d trusted him with her very life. She’d thought she could trust him with her heart too. She grabbed her purse and prepared to leave, the phone calls she’d planned to make long forgotten. If Seth thought he could play her for the fool then he had another think coming. But as she headed to her car, she experienced a tiny twinge of doubt that she’d already judged Seth before she’d even given him a chance to explain himself. She considered that maybe she hadn’t heard him correctly, that maybe she was wrong. Seth had a

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strength of character that was enviable. It was hard to believe that he was capable of such duplicity. As she got into her car and fired up the engine, she decided there was only one way to find out.

***** Dressed in the same red dress and heels she’d worn the first time she’d been there, and with her wig and mask firmly in place, Katherine returned to the Red Velvet Rope on her secret mission. But from the moment she walked in, she discovered it wasn’t so secret after all. “Ms. Higgins, we’ve been expecting you.” Katherine’s eyes rounded. “You have?” The woman smiled, her eyes kind, and Katherine thought she was one of the most beautiful, most sensual women Katherine had ever met. Sex and seduction practically oozed from the woman, and, Katherine realized then where she’d seen the voluptuous beauty before. She was the same woman Katherine had seen with Seth and Joshua when she’d spied on them the last time she was there. “My name is Sonya Montoya,” the woman said, breaking through Katherine’s thoughts. “I can tell you don’t remember me, but we met two years ago. My hair was shorter then.” She smiled jokingly as she extended her hand. “I am one of the owners of the Red Velvet Rope—welcome again.” Katherine shook her hand. “I’m sorry. I knew you looked familiar.” In more ways than one, Katherine decided, but for once she kept a thought to herself. “No need to apologize. It was two years ago.” She opened a door then and stepped aside. “Now if you would follow me.”

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Katherine shook her head. “Follow you? Follow you where?” The last time she’d visited, she’d walked into the main area of the club, but she could see that this doorway led to another part of the club, a section she hadn’t been to. “It’s all right, Katherine. As I said, we’ve been expecting you. If you will just follow me, this will all make sense to you in a moment.” Katherine wasn’t so sure. She didn’t know this woman or who was expecting her, but she was nothing if not a risk taker. She took a deep breath and let Sonya lead the way. They walked down a short, dark corridor, and from the opulence of the rooms she passed she could tell this was the most exclusive section of the club, probably where all the VIPs ended up. Right now the rooms were empty, except one, and she drew up short the moment she entered the room behind Sonya and saw him. Seth? Her eyes widened. And Joshua? Her eyes grew rounder still. And Aaron? “What the—” Katherine looked over at Sonya. “I own the club with the three of them,” she said with a wink. Aaron, Joshua and Seth owned the Red Velvet Rope? She was speechless. “Since we all know it’s you, Katherine, you can lose that ridiculous wig and silly mask.” Katherine glared at Seth, even as she took off the mask and then the wig, letting her hair tumble around her shoulders. She stared at the three men before her, all dressed in dark suits, looking more like Versace or Armani models than the three men she’d entrusted her life and her casino to. She shook her head at Aaron with his close-cropped blond hair, piercing jade eyes and 70

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rugged good looks. Hardnosed, by the book Aaron who was a former marine and now a cop. He swore by rules and she’d never met a more straightforward, straitlaced guy in her entire life. “Even you? But you’re a cop.” Aaron shrugged with a small grin. “It’s not illegal.” She couldn’t believe it. She needed a drink—or to sit down—or both. “Can you excuse Katherine and me?” Seth’s deep voice broke through her jumbled thoughts. “What? Why?” Joshua’s lips curled into a wicked smile. “I thought we were all going to get to play?” Play? Katherine stared at Seth with wide eyes. What did he mean by play? “Katherine’s not ready for that.” Seth’s eyes darkened. “Not yet.” Joshua let out a loud sigh and he seemed to drag his feet but eventually, one by one, everyone slipped out of the room, leaving her alone with Seth. “You set me up,” Katherine said when the door finally closed. “No, you set yourself up.” She was incredulous. “But you planted your keys, knowing I would come after you—” “Yes, but I had no way of knowing you were going to snoop.” He smiled then. “Although I was pretty sure you would. You’re too much of a control freak not to, and then, after I knew you were listening—” “You made up all that stuff about coming to the club and not telling me.” She was furious with him—that he’d played her for a fool. “I knew your wild imagination would do the rest and then your temper would seal the deal.” Her nostrils flared. “Why? Why come up with this farfetched plan to make me think you’re going to cheat on me just to get me down here so you could tell me you’re 71

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one of the owners? Why couldn’t you have just told me over dinner tonight? Was all the deception really necessary?” “Deception?” His lips thinned into a hard, tight line. “Why wear this elaborate costume then scheme your way into my bed—” Katherine’s eyes rounded. What was he talking about? “I didn’t scheme my way into—” “How could you think I would cheat on you with some stranger here?” He continued as if she hadn’t said a word. “After everything we’ve shared, how could that thought even cross your mind?” The raw emotion in his voice tore at her heart, and she realized then just how wrong she’d been, how much she’d hurt him by her lack of faith in him. “You’re here, Katherine, because you don’t trust me—” “No—” “Was this all a game to you?” He angrily shoved a hand through his hair. “The sneaking around, the dress-up, pretending to be into submission—” “No.” She closed the distance between them and curled her hands around his arms, forcing him to look at her. The pain on his face was like a knife slicing through her heart. “Everything I did with you was real to me, I swear.” She glanced down at herself. “The other stuff, the sneaking around, the disguise—I was curious, yes, but it wasn’t a game to me.” She sighed, searching for the right words to make him understand. “I wanted you to do to me what you and Joshua did with Sonya, but how was I supposed to come out and say that? How do I tell the man who has worked by my side for the last two years that I want him to dominate me—that I want him to force me to submit to him?”

Her last words came out on a whisper and she dipped her gaze to the floor but Seth cupped her cheek, forcing her gaze back to him. He stared at her, his heart hammering

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in his chest. For two years he’d stood in the shadows watching Katherine, wanting her—how could she ever think he’d want another? It was wrong to test her, to trick her, but he’d devised his plan on a hunch, nothing more. He hadn’t truly been certain she was the same woman who’d run away from him that night months ago until she’d entered the club. And when he saw her on the camera, when he’d caught sight of her as she’d walked into the club today, dressed in her silly disguise, he’d been furious. Her very presence spoke of her lack of trust in him, her lack of faith. And it made him question everything they’d shared together. If she couldn’t trust him, then how could he possibly trust her? From the moment he’d left his keys and set his plan in motion, he’d questioned Katherine’s interest in him. Had this all been an act—a game to her? Had she purposely taunted him all those times just so she could get him into her bed and try out this whole bondage thing with him? This was neither an act nor a game to him. He’d let Katherine into his world, given her a glimpse into his soul, shown her a part of himself he’d never shown another. If she wasn’t into submission—if this was just a passing amusement to her, he didn’t know what he’d do. He recognized the depth of his feelings for Katherine for what they were, and if she rejected him after everything they’d done… He let out a shaky breath to ease the furious beating of his heart. He ached to tell her how he felt, but not here, not now. He wanted to take her home where he could love her all night, where he could show her just how much she meant to him, so that she’d never have a reason to doubt him ever again. “I was wrong to set you up,” he said finally, “But to be honest, I wasn’t even sure it was you until you walked into the club and I saw you on the monitor. After what you said the first night I spent at your home, I figured you’d overheard me and Joshua and then followed us to the club.” He shrugged. “I was simply following a hunch.” “It’s okay. I deserved to be set up.” She smiled shyly. “You never would have had to do it in the first place had I just come out and told you I followed you and Joshua

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here once before.” Her brow wrinkled into a frown then. “But tell me this. How did you suspect it was me?” Seth grinned good-naturedly. “For security reasons, there are cameras in discreet locations throughout the club that protect the privacy of our guests, while still providing adequate security. I went through hours of tape until I saw you. The image wasn’t clear so I didn’t recognize you but then I remembered how you ran away as if you knew you didn’t belong here.” He cupped her cheek. “Besides, most of our guests don’t wear disguises, and the only person who would is someone who is desperate to keep their identity a secret—which left me wondering why?” She sighed. “I knew the whole costume thing would come back to bite me in the ass. It was overkill, wasn’t it?” “A little, but I think it’s sexy.” He wagged his eyebrows. “Boss lady by day, femme fatale by night. It’s like I have two women in one.” She laughed at that and her eyes twinkled, but he didn’t miss the slight flash of uncertainty in the depths of her gaze. “So am I to assume that means you won’t need to entertain the company of other women here—not even Sonya?” His brows lifted. The statement was made jokingly but he knew her too well to miss the subtle layer of jealousy just beneath her playful façade. He bit back a smile; she had no reason to be jealous, not in the least. He wasn’t in love with Sonya, nor did he desire her in that way, or any other woman for that matter. Before the night was through, he would be sure Katherine understood that—completely. But for now he just gave her the most obvious reason why no woman was a threat to her, not even Sonya, especially not Sonya. “From the moment I claimed you as my sub you became mine, and you, Katherine, are the only woman for me, no one else, and especially not Sonya. Sonya is my business partner and friend, nothing more. Besides, she has always belonged to Joshua.” Katherine’s eyebrows lifted. “They’re lovers? I didn’t know Joshua was seeing anyone seriously.” 74

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Seth frowned. “Not quite. They share a purely sexual Dom and sub relationship.” For now, he thought to himself. Sonya was tired of being just Joshua’s sexual sub. Seth knew she wanted more and so did Joshua. And if Joshua wasn’t careful, he was going to lose the one woman who could see through all of his bullshit and still loved him in spite of it. “The only reason why you even saw me with Sonya is because from time to time, Aaron, Joshua and I will share our sub if everyone is comfortable with it.” “Oh.” Her eyes rounded. “So you would share me?” “Eventually, if you’re fine with it, but only then.” “And what about Aaron? Does he have a sub too?” The image of Katherine’s pretty secretary flashed before him and he smiled. Michelle. Whenever Aaron visited Katherine’s office, he always freaked the young woman out, made her nervous, but Seth knew his friend had a thing for her and that Michelle’s unease around Aaron had less to do with fear and more to do with her physical response to the domineering man every time he walked into her office. “Not yet, but he has his eye on someone very close to you, actually.” “Really? Who?” He shook his head as he seized her hand. “I’ll tell you later.” He was done talking about Joshua and Aaron, especially when he and Katherine had more important things to discuss—and more exciting things to do. “It’s time for us to go home,” he said quietly but firmly. “What? I thought we were going to stay and play,” she teased, repeating Joshua’s parting words. “Oh, we will definitely play,” he whispered with a wicked smile as he thought of his home, and his closet full of leather and chains, whips and floggers and many other toys he was eager to try on her. “Just not here. I think tonight we’ll go to my home.” Katherine smiled up at him and his heart constricted at the depth of emotion in her gaze—so open, so trusting, and full of the love he knew burned in his own gaze.

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“I like that idea,” she whispered, squeezing his hand in hers. They walked out of the club hand in hand and drove to his home, leaving the Red Velvet Rope behind them for now—but not for good.

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About the Author Nadia Aidan is a multi-published author who writes interracial and multicultural erotic romance across all genres. She lives, works and writes on the West Coast of the United States. Under her real name, Nadia holds a Ph.D in Political Science and by day she works as an Assistant Professor. In addition to writing erotic and sensual romances, Nadia enjoys reading other authors, playing flag football, studying muay thai, working out, listening to music, scuba diving and target shooting. Her other interests include collecting Top Cow comics, especially Witchblade and Tomb Raider. She loves professional football and soccer. Her favorite teams are the Washington Redskins and Manchester United, respectively. Nadia loves strong, assertive heroines, which is why she’s an enduring fan of Fight Girls, Xena, Buffy, American Gladiators (new and old) and Le Femme Nikita!

Nadia welcomes comments from readers. You can find her website and email address on her author bio page at www.ellorascave.com.

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