committee has offices there.”
“How about coming up here when you’re finished? I can have lunch ordered in, or we can go out somewhere. Your choice.”
She nibbled her lip. She really didn’t have all that much time, but lunch with him was really tempting.
“I’ll be kind of pressed for time,” she told him. “I’ll probably be an hour with my meeting, and I have to be back at my office by two. Ordering in sounds good.”
“How about texting me when your meeting is about to wrap up so I can order the food? Any preferences?”
She shook her head before remembering he couldn’t see her. “Anything light would be fine.”
“I’ll do it. See you then.”
She put the cell back down on the vanity and stared at herself again in the mirror. Somehow she expected to see a change in her face, some sign of the incredible sex or the indefinable connection she felt with Branch. That one Saturday night had made both more intense and more complicated. No, she still looked like the same Lee Sullivan. Oh, maybe there was a new heat simmering in her eyes or a new awareness of herself. And maybe her dreams last night had been filled with a very sexy man and the outrageous things he’d done with and to her.
And the emotions he stirred in her.
But her outward appearance seemed the same. Good. What had she expected, that a sign would be emblazoned across her forehead that said “Lee likes punishment?”
And that was another thing. Saturday night had reawakened in her something she first realized during her training—she enjoyed pain. It stimulated her pheromones and ramped up the responses of her body. The big difference, for her, is that she never fell into subspace. She could embrace the pain but still, at all times, be in control of her mind.
What if Branch wanted to do this more? If he wanted something exclusive? Was she ready for that with him? She thought she had her life organized, her future planned, and it didn’t include a permanent relationship with a man who was a Dom, whether overtly or not.
Damn, Lee. Indecisive much?
First, she needed to sort out what her real feelings for him where.
After taking a final sip of coffee, she pulled her hair back into a ponytail and turned on the shower. Maybe the hot water would wash away the jumble of thoughts in her brain so she could function today.
*****
Branch signed off the Skype conference he’d just participated in and turned his chair to stare out the glass wall at his favorite view. No, wrong. His favorite view was Lee Sullivan, naked in his bedroom, her ass bright red, writhing in the throes of orgasm. Or sitting cross-legged next to him on the couch, crunching potato chips and screaming at the football game on television. It seemed she fit whatever area of his life he introduced her to like a well-designed glove.
Yesterday morning when he’d woken up with her in his bed, curled into him, the scent of her hair tickling his nose, her perfume imprinted on his pillows, he’d had a sense of peace he couldn’t ever remember feeling. And this morning, when he’d woken up alone? Her absence was even more acute. How had this whole thing sneaked up on him this way? How had he reached this point so quickly where he wanted her in his life all the time?
Did she feel the same way? Did she want to explore this further and see what they had?
“Knock knock.”
Branch looked up to see Max standing in his doorway.
“Come on in.”
He saved the spreadsheet on his computer and turned in his chair.
“Karen wasn’t at her desk, so I just barged in. You real busy now?”
Branch shook his head. “Yes, but no. I need a break from looking at these numbers.”
He had been expecting this. Max knew Lee had spent Saturday night at his house and was no doubt after an update on that stupid bet. And it was stupid. Idiotic. What had he even been thinking? He hadn’t been; that was the problem. His ego had gotten in the way. Even then, it might not have been a problem if
“How about coming up here when you’re finished? I can have lunch ordered in, or we can go out somewhere. Your choice.”
She nibbled her lip. She really didn’t have all that much time, but lunch with him was really tempting.
“I’ll be kind of pressed for time,” she told him. “I’ll probably be an hour with my meeting, and I have to be back at my office by two. Ordering in sounds good.”
“How about texting me when your meeting is about to wrap up so I can order the food? Any preferences?”
She shook her head before remembering he couldn’t see her. “Anything light would be fine.”
“I’ll do it. See you then.”
She put the cell back down on the vanity and stared at herself again in the mirror. Somehow she expected to see a change in her face, some sign of the incredible sex or the indefinable connection she felt with Branch. That one Saturday night had made both more intense and more complicated. No, she still looked like the same Lee Sullivan. Oh, maybe there was a new heat simmering in her eyes or a new awareness of herself. And maybe her dreams last night had been filled with a very sexy man and the outrageous things he’d done with and to her.
And the emotions he stirred in her.
But her outward appearance seemed the same. Good. What had she expected, that a sign would be emblazoned across her forehead that said “Lee likes punishment?”
And that was another thing. Saturday night had reawakened in her something she first realized during her training—she enjoyed pain. It stimulated her pheromones and ramped up the responses of her body. The big difference, for her, is that she never fell into subspace. She could embrace the pain but still, at all times, be in control of her mind.
What if Branch wanted to do this more? If he wanted something exclusive? Was she ready for that with him? She thought she had her life organized, her future planned, and it didn’t include a permanent relationship with a man who was a Dom, whether overtly or not.
Damn, Lee. Indecisive much?
First, she needed to sort out what her real feelings for him where.
After taking a final sip of coffee, she pulled her hair back into a ponytail and turned on the shower. Maybe the hot water would wash away the jumble of thoughts in her brain so she could function today.
*****
Branch signed off the Skype conference he’d just participated in and turned his chair to stare out the glass wall at his favorite view. No, wrong. His favorite view was Lee Sullivan, naked in his bedroom, her ass bright red, writhing in the throes of orgasm. Or sitting cross-legged next to him on the couch, crunching potato chips and screaming at the football game on television. It seemed she fit whatever area of his life he introduced her to like a well-designed glove.
Yesterday morning when he’d woken up with her in his bed, curled into him, the scent of her hair tickling his nose, her perfume imprinted on his pillows, he’d had a sense of peace he couldn’t ever remember feeling. And this morning, when he’d woken up alone? Her absence was even more acute. How had this whole thing sneaked up on him this way? How had he reached this point so quickly where he wanted her in his life all the time?
Did she feel the same way? Did she want to explore this further and see what they had?
“Knock knock.”
Branch looked up to see Max standing in his doorway.
“Come on in.”
He saved the spreadsheet on his computer and turned in his chair.
“Karen wasn’t at her desk, so I just barged in. You real busy now?”
Branch shook his head. “Yes, but no. I need a break from looking at these numbers.”
He had been expecting this. Max knew Lee had spent Saturday night at his house and was no doubt after an update on that stupid bet. And it was stupid. Idiotic. What had he even been thinking? He hadn’t been; that was the problem. His ego had gotten in the way. Even then, it might not have been a problem if
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