Shades of Pleasure: Five Stories of Domination and Submission (7 page)

Was this guy for real?

She stared at the Homes section of the paper as she ate,
forced herself to pretend he wasn’t there, just to get something solid in her
stomach. She had a feeling she was going to need it.

Kyler seemed to respect her need for a little bit of quiet.
He sat silent beside her, eating, reading the financial section. Just as she
took her last bite, he folded the paper and cleared his throat. “Now that we’re
both rested—and full—I want to talk to you about Becker.”

She pushed her empty plate forward and set her elbows on the
hard countertop. She flattened her hands on the cool surface. “Yeah.”

If only she were there for a different reason, like on a
date. This sucked.

“I want to ask you again to tell me what Becker’s holding
over your head.”

Staring at the black stone, the flecks of brown and gold,
she shook her head. “It doesn’t matter.” A cordless phone sat within reach. She
picked it up, weighed it in her hand, flipped it over and stared at the glowing
keypad.

She heard him sigh heavily.

He gently took the phone from her and set it on the counter.
“I’m trying to find a way to handle this situation so that neither of us gets
hurt in the process. But if you don’t tell me, I can’t guarantee to do that.”

How she wished he could handle Becker without her getting in
the middle.

She glanced up at him, noticed how serious his expression
was. How focused he seemed to be. “That’s nice of you, but like I said last
night, there’s nothing you can do. I’m screwed.”

He pushed his fingers through his hair. “I’ve been thinking
about this all night.”

“Me too.”

Their gazes met, and she swore sparks were flying through
the air.

Insanity. To be reacting this way when she was facing such a
totally devastating threat to everything she cared about. It took her a few
seconds to summon the strength to untangle her gaze from his, but she did. Went
back to staring down at the countertop. And her thoughts took a swerve back in
the right direction—toward the important stuff.

If only there was a simple answer. But if life had taught
her anything, it had taught her that simple answers usually led to lots of
complications in the future.

There was a loooong stretch of uncomfortable silence.
Finally, Kyler said, “Okay, this is the deal. You’re going to…” He sighed.
“Dammit.”

She looked at him. He was obviously struggling with this,
and for that she felt sorry for him. Here he was, trying to deal with an
asshole, while doing his best to keep her out of things. He was a nice guy. A
nice guy who didn’t deserve the shit he’d been dished.

Life was so unfair sometimes.

She’d lost the bet. He’d won. Fairly and squarely. But that
didn’t stop her from wanting him to tell her to just leave, go to work, do what
she’d planned, and he’d deal with the fallout when the time came.

The insane part of her didn’t want to go anywhere.

He sighed for the bazillionth time. “You’re going to stay
here, and I’m going to handle whatever happens.”

She wanted to believe he could do just that—take care of
everything. Make all her problems go away. Just like she wanted to believe he
wouldn’t totally freak out if she told him exactly what dirt Becker had on her.

Maybe he’d believe it was a lie? Made up?

No, probably not.

She should just come clean. After all, he was bound to learn
the truth soon enough. All the board members and vice presidents would know by
lunchtime Monday. Wouldn’t it be better to tell him now? Prepare him?

Oh God, she felt sick. She swiveled the stool, facing him.
Took several deep breaths. Then a few more. “Okay. I’ll tell you.”

“Okay. Good.” He didn’t smile. He just sat there, looking at
her expectantly, patiently waiting for her to untie the knot from her tongue.

God, this was hard. Where to start? She couldn’t look at him
as she spoke. “This goes back a few years. My parents died. It was one of those
freakish things that never should’ve happened but did.”

“I’m sorry.”

She believed him. “Thanks.” Still not sure she could do
this, actually confess to a crime that might land her in jail for years, she
took a few more deep breaths. “This is hard to talk about. I haven’t told
anyone, since what I did was against the law. But, well… I didn’t have any
choice. My brother and I were sent to live with an older cousin and
well…she…something happened to her too…and I knew my brother would end up
getting sent—”

The phone rang, interrupting the explanation she was trying
so hard to get out. She was both glad and annoyed.

Kyler glanced at the caller ID screen on the phone’s back.
“Shit. I need to take this. Hang on.”

He hit the button. “Hey. Give me a second,” he said to the
caller. To Elena, he said, “I’ll be back in a minute.” Then he left the room.

Oh. My. God. What am I thinking?

She had just about told Kyler her darkest secret, a man she
was not only really attracted to but also a vice president at her work. Had she
lost her mind? She wasn’t telling him another word. She’d nearly made one of
the biggest mistakes of her life.

Saved by the phone.

She needed to get out of there, before she did something
she’d really regret.

She hurried upstairs to her room, found her purse, dug out
her cell phone, and flipped it open. Two bars. She hoped she had enough battery
power to talk her prying best friend into driving over here to pick her up.
Quickly, she scrolled down to Ashley’s phone number and hit send.

But just as Ashley answered, there was a loud knock at the
door, and then it swung open and Kyler barged into the room, looking like a
bull seeing red.

Shit. What now?

She snapped her phone shut and dropped it into her purse.

“Who’re you calling? Becker?” He snatched her purse out of
her hands, and she shrieked, caught completely off guard, petrified. He threw
it out into the hall and slammed the door, blocking the exit with his bulk. “We
need to talk.”

She just glared at him. Thank God she hadn’t gone any
further with him last night. Or told him anything this morning. He was acting
like a total jerk all of a sudden.

God, she was such a total idiot!

He crossed his arms over his chest and stared right back at
her. “I just had an interesting conversation about you.”

Shit, maybe someone besides Matt knew her secret. But how?

“I was such an idiot. I didn’t want to believe it at first.
But then, all the evidence was pretty damning.” He paused for a moment then
started walking a wide circle around her. “You’re quite the package. Hot body.
Gorgeous face. It makes sense.” He stopped directly in front of her, pinched
her chin between his forefinger and thumb, lifting it until she made eye
contact with him. “Too bad every word that comes out of your mouth is a lie.
You almost had me.” He actually snarled that last sentence.

“A lie? I—uh…” She had no idea what he was talking about.
But that didn’t stop her from feeling really crappy.

He released her chin and took a single step back from her.
“Anyway, your little secret’s out.”

It was? Oh God! Now what? “I tried to explain, earlier—”

“Just don’t,” he interrupted. “I’ve heard all I can stomach
right now. It’s making me sick. I thought you were different, that you’d just
found yourself dragged into someone else’s shit…but I know better now.” His
eyes narrowed to cold, piercing slits. “I’ll have the situation wrapped up by
Monday afternoon…”

Did that mean she could go home? Right now, that sounded
really, really good. She’d need to pull her brother out of the hospital if she
could. Pack some things.

“But I’m holding you to your word. I know I can’t trust you
now. I let you loose, and you and Becker will have my career flushed down the
toilet by the end of the day, weekend or not. No, since you lost the bet,
you’re going to pay the price.” She could literally feel the heat of his
enraged glare on her skin. It burned like a branding iron. “You’re here with me.
My slave. For the next three days. You won’t speak until I tell you to. Eat.
Nothing. I. Own. You. If you try to leave, I’ll have you arrested.”

Oh, this was just great. It was obvious Kyler was seriously
pissed. Whether he knew that secret, or something else—whatever that might
be—he had decided he was going to make her pay.

Revenge was one dish she’d never enjoyed, not serving…and
especially not swallowing.

Kyler had never felt so out of control of his emotions
before. He was so enraged right now he wanted to pound something to dust.

He needed to get out of there now, before he did something
he’d regret. Without speaking another word, he left the room, slamming the door
behind him. He went down to his gym, cranked on the heavy metal music, and
worked off his anger with a hard run on the treadmill and supersets for his
chest and shoulders. By the time he was done, he was sweaty, sore and a little
bit calmer.

Maybe he should send the scheming bitch home and deal with
this situation a different way. For some reason, she pushed his buttons, made
him feel things he didn’t want to.

Dammit, he’d actually thought he knew her. What a fucking
fool he’d been.

The information had come from the one person he knew he
could trust. It couldn’t be a lie. Stacy had no reason to make things up,
especially something like this. She’d been his friend for years, long before
he’d brought her onboard at work. They’d never been lovers. She couldn’t be
jealous in that respect, and she’d worked herself up in the company, to a
position higher than Elena’s. Again, no reason for her to be jealous there
either.

It had to be true—Elena wasn’t being manipulated into this
thing with Becker like he’d thought. Elena was Becker’s lover, and was
expecting a promotion once Becker, the obvious choice for VP of sales, received
his promotion.

Such bullshit, all of it.

He wanted to make both of them pay, but for some reason,
more of his anger was directed at Elena. No doubt because she’d stung his
pride. He thought he was a good judge of character. Becker, he’d always
suspected was a shit. But Elena…she was quite the little actress.

Now, if only he could tell his dick she wasn’t worth shit.

His cock still got hard when he saw her. His blood warmed.
How could he be so fucking attracted to a woman he detested?

Yes, he should probably send her home and let his old man’s
private detective do his job. But he knew Becker would find a way to get his
fake proof to the brass before the end of the weekend, and who knew whether the
detective Kyler had just called would get anything to counter it in time? Nope,
dammit, Elena couldn’t leave. Not until his detective had something or she’d
told him where the fake documents were.  If he was going to save his ass, he
needed something concrete to take to the board. He had to strike before Becker.

There was no way in hell those two scheming fucks were going
to screw up his life. He knew exactly how to make Elena talk. He’d use the same
tool against her as she’d used against him.

Sex.

* * * * *

Elena made it as far as Kyler’s front door but she didn’t
have the guts to walk out. At this point, she had no idea what he knew and what
he didn’t. She also had no inkling of what proof he might have against her or
whether he’d meant it when he’d said he’d have her arrested if she left. At the
moment, she supposed the devil she knew was a better risk than the demon she
didn’t.

She went back up to her room and shut the door, flopped on
the bed, closed her eyes and tried to think her way through this mess. Things
were going from bad to worse somehow. Was it a coincidence?

Think, Elena, think.

This wasn’t the first time she’d had to think her way out of
an impossible corner. Many years ago, she’d found herself with her back up
against a wall, forced to choose between two impossible options.

That decision had impacted so many things, including this
whole crap with Matt and Kyler. And still, she knew if she’d been given a
second chance, she wouldn’t have been able to make any other choice.

It had been for her brother.

Worry for him made her insides hurt. When she didn’t show up
today, he’d be upset. That might not be a big deal for most kids. But for Eddy,
a small disappointment could cause major problems. He was so fragile. Delicate.

She glanced at the clock. Kyler had been gone for over an
hour. What kind of hell could he be planning for her? She didn’t want to
imagine.

If only he’d tell her what he’d learned, let her try to
explain. Or not. Depending upon what it was, she supposed an explanation might
make things worse.

The door swung open and he walked into the room. His skin
was glistening with sweat, his face flushed, and the ends of his hair were
spiked, wet.

“Glad to see you didn’t leave.” His words were clipped, his
voice frigid.

“I wanted to,” she confessed, sensing he needed to see a
little honesty from her. Whatever had made him so upset, she guessed, had to be
somehow directly tied to him, his pride. It was his emotional reaction that
made her think so. The “I was such a fool” statement.

He nodded.

“Will you tell me why you’re so angry?”

He looked away.

Her nerves crawling, she watched his throat work as he
swallowed. Nothing.

“You won’t give me a chance to explain?”

“I don’t know if I can believe anything you say.”

Where did that leave her? This man, whose eyes were cold as
icicles, held her job in the palm of his hand. Her job, the medical insurance
that paid for her brother’s treatment. Her entire future. She couldn’t get any
more desperate than that. “What will it take to prove to you that I can be
believed? I stayed. Right? You didn’t lock me in. You won the bet, and I didn’t
leave, even though I wanted to.”