“Don’t underestimate me.”
“All along, Sarah, my mistake lay in overestimating you.”
“I’m not the same woman.”
She was better. Stronger. More determined. All the more reason to be wary. “Take your shower,” he told her.
He stepped aside. As she passed, she trailed her fingers along his arm.
After picking up her discarded robe, he followed her. He tossed the garment on the bathroom floor, near the soiled towels.
While she showered, he went to her closet. He selected an ankle-length sleeveless dress with a criss-cross back. He particularly liked the row of buttons up the front. The question was, how many of them would he allow her to fasten?
In record time, she rejoined him.
“Leave the bottom three buttons open,” he instructed, handing her the teal-colored dress.
“That’s one of my favorites.” She slipped it on. “How does it look?”
“Unfasten another button,” he said. “I want to see your knees.”
With a nod, she did as he said.
“Better.”
Sarah removed a clip from her hair and fluffed the length around her shoulders.
“Beautiful.”
She pushed her feet into a pair of sandals and grabbed a small purse. “I take it we’re going somewhere?”
“We are.”
“Breakfast?” she guessed, following him into the elevator. “My coffee has about worn off.”
“After we’re done.”
She frowned but didn’t question him.
In the lobby, Julien was holding court.
“Nice shoes,” Sarah told him.
“They’ll be available in ladies’ sizes this fall,” he said.
“Want to be our spokesperson?” Kennedy asked Julien.
“I’m wearing them, aren’t I? That ought to be worth a million dollars to your bottom line.”
“It would be if the press were here,” Kennedy lamented.
“And none of us would have nearly this much fun,” Julien said.
Reece knew that, except for annual BondStreet corporate gatherings, Julien fought to keep the press away from his life and business. When people sent in an RSVP to one of his functions, they also had to include a signed confidentiality statement, swearing to keep all the event details private. Attendees even agreed not to publish pictures of the festivities on their own social media accounts. Still, rumors swirled, and everyone expected an intrepid paparazzo or two to charter a boat or helicopter to spy on the festivities. “If you’ll excuse us,” Reece said.
“Don’t do anything we wouldn’t,” Julien said.
Two women, tanned, toned, dressed in only bathing suits as if they were getting ready to compete in a beauty pageant, walked over and flanked Julien.
Kennedy shook his head and extracted a ringing phone from his pocket.
“Last call until you’re back on the mainland,” Julien warned as Kennedy answered.
“What kind of phone is that?” Sarah asked.
“You’ll know in about three months,” Julien replied.
“Prototype?”
He nodded. “It will be the hottest thing on the market this spring.”
One of the ladies left Julien and went toward Kennedy.
“Fickle,” Julien said.
Shaking his head, Reece guided Sarah toward the boutique.
“I’ve heard he hasn’t gone on a date in over a year,” Sarah said.
“Julien doesn’t have time for distractions. He prefers intellectual discussion, or maybe someone to play his latest video game.”
“Maybe that’s what they want to do,” Sarah said, looking back.
“I’m sure it is,” Reece agreed. He was certain that was why they’d shown up as close to naked as possible.
“Are we going shopping?” Sarah asked when they neared the boutique.
“There’s something I’d like you to try on for tonight’s party.”
“I brought—”
He glanced at her, and she shut up.
A second later, she added, “What I mean is, I’d love to try it on, Sir.”
Inside the store, he pointed out the dress that had caught his interest.
“Excellent choice,” the saleswoman said as she eyed Sarah. She thumbed through the hangers to find the right size before leading the way to the changing room.
Reece followed along.
“Let me know if there’s anything I can do to help,” the woman said.
“We’re fine,” he assured her. “Thank you.”
The woman opened her mouth, but then shut it again. Without any further protest, she left them alone.
“Really, Reece, I can manage on my own,” Sarah informed him.
“I’m sure you can.”
“But you’re not going to let me?”
“I want to be here.”
“In that case, I’d love to have you as my lady’s maid.”
“Don’t push it.”
She grinned. “What girl wouldn’t want one of the world’s most famous CEOs to take off her clothes?”
The oversized room was luxurious, as he would have expected. Three full-length mirrors were affixed to the walls. And a padded bench completed the space.
Reece closed and locked the door before capturing the bottom of Sarah’s dress. He swept it up, pulled it off her then tossed the teal material toward the bench.
“Took care of that,” she said, voice hardly over a whisper.
He liked the look of her, naked, except for sandals, only inches from him. Though she’d showered, the faint scent of a floral essential oil lingered on her skin.
“Bend over,” he instructed. “Grab your ankles. I want to see if you have any red marks from last night.”
“There aren’t any. I looked. Besides, you saw me naked in the shower.”
He folded his arms.
Immediately she bent and took hold of her ankles.
“Spread your legs a little. Just a couple of inches,” he said, placing a hand on her back.
When she complied, he fingered her pussy.
“I like your version of shopping, Sir,” she said with a soft sigh.
“It’s the hands-on approach,” he agreed. Once he felt her orgasm begin to build, he moved his hand and said, “Try on the dress.”
He took it from the hanger and held it for her.
“You really do have a mean streak,” she protested.
The material skimmed her body, clinging to her curves in all the right ways. It was revealing, yet classy, feminine.
“It’s…” She turned sideways to glance in the mirror. “Risqué.”
“Sensational,” he added, drawing a finger down her spine. “I like this part.” The dress she’d worn last night had covered less skin, but this seemed more provocative. “And this.” He traced the V between her breasts.
“I think you can see my toes.”
He shook his head. “It’s not that low-cut.”
In the mirror, she caught his gaze. “You don’t think it’s too much?”
“I think it’s perfect.”
She examined herself from a few more angles. “You have a talent for picking out things that suit me.”
“We’re not done yet.”
“Oh?”
He sat on the bench, grabbed her wrist and tugged her over his lap. Breath whooshed out of her, leaving her a little limp. Before she could recover, he flipped up her dress, exposing her buttocks. “This dress will most definitely work,” he said.
“Do you only think about one thing, Mr McRae?”
“Several, actually.”
She squirmed. “Spanking me and—”
“You can think about the others for a while.”
“Fucking me?”
“That’s one of them, yes.” He brought his hand down hard on her right butt cheek.
She yelped, more from shock than pain, he was sure. The sound echoed off the ceiling and sent a ripple of satisfaction through him. “You were right. There wasn’t a red mark. Now there is.”
He liked the sight of it, his mark on her skin.
“Thank you.”
Reece shrugged off the sudden feeling of possessiveness and helped her up.
While she changed, he sought out the saleswoman, made the purchase and instructed her to have the package delivered to his room.
Sarah met him near the shop’s entrance. As the idea for his next stop tumbled through his mind, he realized that he intended to test himself as well as her.
“Let’s go next door.”
Outside the door, she paused and frowned. “It’s a jewelry store.”
“They have chokers,” he said. “You can pretend it’s a collar.”
Chapter Five
For Sarah, time seemed to slow. “I’m confused,” she said. “I thought we only agreed to the weekend together.”
“We did.”
“So…” She searched his face, looking for something, anything to give her an idea of what he was thinking.
His eyes, so blue and enigmatic, were unreadable.
She had spent the first few weeks after she’d run from him feeling grateful that she’d gotten away. Then she’d spent a few months trying to sort out her life and re-establish her business. And when she’d started to date again, she’d begun to see Reece in a different light, and she’d started to regret her decision. For the past few weeks, she’d been consumed with the idea of seeing him, getting over him, moving on with her life.
But after last night, she had realized that was impossible.
Everything she’d once felt for him was still there, the passion, the energy, the joy. The sex had magnified it.
The fear, though, if she was honest, was worse than it had been two years ago.
He’d changed as much as she had. Part of her wished that he was the man he had been before. Kind, caring, willing to do anything to soothe her.
This man was harsher, feelings and reactions buried beneath the hurt.
Despite that, she was facing the fact that she wanted more time with him.
And she recognized he had all the power.
She had no doubt that he desired her. Though he hadn’t said so, she’d be willing to bet he’d scene with her, at least until he found someone else.
That thought stung.
How the hell had she thought she could do this?
It had all seemed so simple when she wasn’t standing only inches from him, her body humming from a heady, dangerous combination of pheromones. “Help me out here. I don’t understand why you want me to wear a choker for only one night.”
“It would look sensational with your dress.”
The plunging neckline did call out for jewelry. “So that’s all?”
“Let’s try it out. We’ll go in, select something together, and I’ll put it on you before we go down to Julien’s party. You’ll attend as my submissive, for the whole world to see.”
A wicked combination of desire and apprehension unfurled deep in her stomach. He’d said he would test her. And this felt like a significant one. Carefully she asked, “Can we talk about what that means to you?”
“If anyone asks, you admit you’re my submissive.”
“I think your friends already know, or at least they suspect.”
“They do.”
“No one else’s opinion would matter.”
“True.”
“Now I’m really puzzled. Is there any specific behavior you demand from me?”
“The same courtesy you usually show me.”
She was aware of others walking by, but no one seemed to notice them. And why would they? Julien’s guests valued their privacy, and most of them were absorbed with their own lives.
“No kneeling by your side while you feed me treats from your plate or give me sips from your champagne?”
“Now that you mention it…”
She scowled.
“Sarah, when have I ever asked something like that from you? Some couples may enjoy that. But I certainly don’t demand that kind of behavior. It might be entertaining at a play party in Houston, if we both agreed to it.”
“I still don’t get it. How would it change anything between us?”
“That’s my point.”
“Could you be a little less obscure? I feel as if we’re speaking different languages here.”
“It changes nothing, except what happens inside your mind. It’s a commitment from you to me.”
“But only for tonight.”
“Only for tonight.”
“You’re paying for it?”
“I am.”
“Then I want a really nice one.”
“I want you to have a big, thick one. I want it to be so heavy that you to have a difficult time holding your head up.”
She started to object, but then she saw it, a lessening of the tension next to his eyes. It was a contradiction to his serious tone. She wondered, over the years, how many times she had missed the subtle clues as to what he was thinking.
“As long as it’s on your credit card, you can get me whatever you want.” Even as she said it, adrenaline flooded her system. This wasn’t the same as the collar she’d found in his drawer. It meant nothing as far as a lifetime commitment, but some of her old doubts were there, swirling.
He offered his arm and she took it. “We’re looking for a choker,” he told the gentleman behind the counter.
“Yes, sir. Anything specific? Gold? Silver? Platinum?”
Reece looked at her and quirked his right eyebrow.
“Silver or platinum.”
“My lady has good taste.”
“White gold would also be okay,” she said.
The clerk pulled out a few choices. A few were delicate—a couple were stout enough to hold a good-sized pendant.
“Anything appeal to you?” Reece asked.
“Whatever you like, Sir.”
Reece pointed to one and told the man they’d like to try it on.
“Excellent choice. White gold.”
The necklace was wide and there was no price tag, which told her a lot.
“Lift your hair.”
When she did, Reece fastened the choker around her neck and settled it into place. “How’s that? Too tight?” His voice teased her ear, warm and reassuring.
She took a deep breath and released her hair. “No. It’s fine.”
The clerk instantly offered a handheld mirror.
Reece was still behind her, and she saw them together, with the choker snuggled against her throat, right above her collarbone.
The expression on his face—pleasure and triumph—thrilled her. She didn’t take it as gloating, she took it as masculine pride.
“What do you think?” the salesman asked.
“What do you think?” she asked Reece, their gazes locked in the mirror.
“I think it’s stunning.”
“So do I.” She exhaled a shaky breath.
“Would you like to have it?”
“I—”
“What?” His tone was tight.
“I’m sure it costs too much.”
The clerk named a figure that had a comma in it.