The Dom: Steamy Boss Romance (Manhattan Records Book 2) Read online

  Before I reached the door, I heard Finley asked why I’d fired Ashlee, and I stopped. He sounded annoyed, and I knew my friend well enough to know that the emotion wasn’t aimed at her. I could only think of one reason why he would ask that question in that manner.

  She’d told him.

  A rush of pride went through me, and I could honestly say I’d never felt anything like it before. It was more than just a basic admiration for someone. I’d had times where I’d expressed pride in a sub’s restraint or obedience, but it had always been about sex, control, and the like. Not that there had ever been anything wrong with that, but I’d never felt this level of pride for something not in a sexual scene.

  I continued to listen as Ashlee explained what had happened between us, ashamed at how she was protecting me by saying that I’d ‘overreacted.’ That was far too kind. And then she even credited me with her having told her mother about finding Finley.

  At what felt like a pause in the conversation, I started moving again, stepping into the library before they could continue. My eyes automatically sought out Ashlee and found her looking paler than when I’d left, but she gave me a genuine smile, and I relaxed. She looked as if a weight had been lifted.

  I crossed over to her and kissed the top of her head. “Dinner will be ready in a few minutes.” I looked over at Finley. “Everything okay?”

  “Apparently, I’m a father.”

  It was only now that I could hear how completely shell-shocked he sounded. Understandable. It wasn’t every day that a college impulse became a twenty-three-year-old daughter.

  “And you knew.” He looked up at me.

  “I did,” I admitted. “But it wasn’t my place to tell you.”

  He nodded. “You’re right.” Finley stood. “But I think at some point, you and I are going to need to have a conversation about your intentions toward my…daughter.”

  Fuck me.

  I had a better suggestion. “Let’s have dinner first.”

  Fourteen

  Ashlee

  My father had been an only child, and my grandmother had been a seamstress. She’d died a few years ago. I’d known all of that from my basic research, but when Finley said I had her laugh, it was new information.

  He didn’t talk about his dad, and I’d never been able to find anything about him. Still, I didn’t ask. He’d only known about me for a couple hours. I could hardly expect to hear his entire life story over Nate’s deliciously prepared salmon.

  Even though I hadn’t been able to find family in my research, a part of me had held on to a secret hope that he’d just been so private that extended family hadn’t made it into the media. It didn’t seem like there was much chance of that, but he was here, and that was enough.

  The best part was, as the night wound down, was knowing that this wasn’t the end. I’d see him again at work, and we’d make time outside of work to keep getting to know each other.

  “Dinner was great,” Finley said. “You never fail to surprise me with your culinary skills, Nate.”

  “Thanks.” Nate held out his hand in what looked like one of the most awkward gestures ever. He’d been tense ever since Finley had made that comment about needing to have a fatherly talk, though I didn’t think it was because he was concerned. Finley hadn’t actually been serious. I suspected it was more that it’d really hit home for Nate that his best friend was my father.

  “We’re not going to make this weird,” Finley said, rolling his eyes. “Well, weirder than it already is.”

  I grabbed Nate’s outstretched hand and pulled it down to my side. “We’ll both see you on Monday.”

  Finley reached out and squeezed my free hand. “It’ll seem normal soon.”

  I hoped that was the case.

  After Finley left, I let go of Nate’s hand and turned to go to the kitchen. Before I could get more than a couple steps, he grabbed my wrist.

  “Where are you going?”

  I gestured with my free hand. “To the kitchen to wash the dishes.”

  “I have a dishwasher for a reason,” he said.

  “All right, but I need to put the pan to soak, or you’ll never get it clean.”

  “I have actually done this before, you know.” He tugged on my hand, and I stumbled back into his chest. “And I already took care of it.”

  I leaned into him, smiling. “So, what do you want to do before I head home?”

  He slid his arms around me, hands settling at the base of my spine. His eyes gleamed with a familiar light. “You’re not going home.”

  I tipped my head back. “I’m not?”

  “No. You’re staying here tonight.” His voice deepened, hitting that Dominant note that sent a shiver down my spine.

  “I am.” I made it a statement instead of a question because I knew he was actually giving me the option. If I said I wanted to go home, he’d let me. But I didn’t want to go home. Not if he was taking charge again.

  “Good.” He bent his head and brushed his lips across mine. “The first thing we’re going to do is get us both out of our clothes and into a shower.”

  I liked that idea. Bare skin. Wet bare skin. I could picture the drops of water sliding down those rock-hard pecs, clinging to one pebbled nipple, following that trail of golden hair down chiseled abs…

  Nate’s index finger tapped my cheek. “Don’t get lost in your head, le soleil. What I have planned is going to be better than what you’re imagining.”

  I opened my mouth to say something, but he gently closed it. I didn’t need him to tell me that he could come up with much better sexual fantasies than I ever could. My brain didn’t work that way, but I was glad his did.

  “While we’re in the shower, you’re going to help me with something. After we’re done, I’m going to reward you for your courage tonight.”

  I didn’t brush off his praise. I basked in it. Nate didn’t give empty compliments.

  He kissed me again, lingering a little longer this time. A little hungrier. Heat curled in my belly, and my fingers curled in his shirt. I went up on my toes, needing to be closer to him. It was never close enough.

  We made our way to the guest bathroom, shedding clothes along the way so that we were both deliciously bare by the time Nate turned on the shower. While we waited for the water to heat, he took down my hair, running his fingers the whole long length.

  “Such a beautiful color,” he murmured as the strands slipped between his fingers.

  Before I could figure out if I was supposed to thank him for the kind words, he was picking me up and moving us both into the shower. While I hadn’t yet been in his bedroom or master bathroom, I could only imagine how large the shower in there must be since this one fit the two of us easily enough. If we’d tried to do this in my shower, it would’ve been a disaster.

  Neither of us spoke as Nate washed my hair, fingers massaging my scalp until I was practically purring. My eyes were closed, head tilted back, water the right temperature – I was in heaven. I lost track of time as he worked conditioner into my hair and let it do its magic while he washed my body. Nothing he did was specifically sexual, but it was all sensual. Each caress stoked the fire inside me, somehow managing to relax me and wind me up at the same time.

  I’d nearly forgotten about him saying that I was going to help him with something, but it came rushing back to me when, after he’d finished cleaning me, he put my hand on his cock.

  My fingers curled around the shaft instinctively, and I immediately opened my eyes to watch. He was thick and hard already, curving up toward his flat stomach. I moved my hand up until the tip disappeared into my fist, and then back down to the base where my fingers couldn’t even touch.

  When I started to go to my knees, he stopped me with a hand on my arm. “Just your hand,” he said. “And I want you looking in my eyes while you do it.”

  I nodded mutely, raising my gaze to meet his. My hand moved over him with smooth, steady strokes, and I held his eyes, watching his irises darken
to near-black. I tightened my grip, and he groaned, sending a rush of arousal straight through me. I wanted him to make that sound for me again. Up and down, my skin slipped across his as I alternated speed and pressure, observing the slightest changes to his breathing, to the noises he made.

  “I’m going to come.” The words ground out from between gritted teeth.

  I squeezed as my fist went from the very bottom all the way to the tip, and the moment my thumb swiped across the top, he came. His eyes closed, but I kept watching his face as I milked every last drop from his cock, releasing him only when his entire body shuddered, telling me that he was too sensitive for me to keep touching him.

  I washed him then, careful not to handle him too roughly. By the time I was done, his breathing had returned to normal, and his eyes were open, intent on me as I moved. He didn’t speak, though, until we were toweling off.

  “Go lay on the bed. I’m going to get a few things together and then join you.”

  Curiosity piqued, I considered asking what he intended to do, but I trusted him to surprise me with something I’d enjoy. I was on the bed alone only for a few minutes before Nate came out of the bathroom, towel wrapped around his waist, his hands full of things I couldn’t quite make out.

  “Do you remember your safe word?”

  I nodded. “Beagle.” He raised an eyebrow, and I added, “Mr. Lexington.”

  “Good. Don’t forget to use it if it’s too much.”

  I honestly didn’t know how to take that.

  “I’m going to make you come. A lot.” As he spoke, he laid out what he’d brought. A bullet vibrator. A smooth plastic cylinder that I assumed was another vibrator. A phallic-shaped dildo that wasn’t quite as large as he was.

  “Thank you, Mr. Lexington?” I made it a question, unsure why he’d feel like he needed to warn me if he was going to let me come.

  “You’re going to thank me every time you climax,” he continued. “Until it’s too much and then you’re going to beg me to stop. That’s when I’ll finally fuck you, and you’re going to ride that line between pain and pleasure until your body can’t tell the difference.”

  I caught my breath as it finally sunk in what he intended to do, as I imagined what it would feel like to have him still applying pressure and friction when my nerves were raw from too much stimulation.

  What the fuck had I gotten myself into?

  Fifteen

  Nate

  As I always seemed to do when I introduced something new to Ashlee, I waited to see if this would be the moment she’d finally decide it was too much. This was tricky, though. People didn’t always realize that too many orgasms could be harder to handle than being denied that release. From the way her eyes widened, I assumed she’d figured at least some of that out.

  Then she nodded, and I could breathe again.

  “You’re allowed to move, but not away from me. If you try to get away, I’ll tie you up so you can’t.” I took one of her feet into my hands and pressed my thumbs against her sole, massaging the tight muscles there. “You have the power to stop me, but if you don’t use your safe word, I will assume that you’re continuing to consent to what we’re doing.”

  This was the part of a good Dom / sub relationship that a lot of people didn’t understand. The sub truly had all of the power because they could end a scene with a single word or gesture. It was the sub’s choice to hand over control, and they could always take it back.

  “I understand, Mr. Lexington.” Her tone was demure, but there was no mistaking the heat in her eyes. She wanted this as much as I did.

  I switched to the other foot and repeated the brief massage. She moaned this time, and I wondered how I was going to make it through this scene without coming before I was ready. This would be an exercise in self-control and denial for me as much as it would be a lesson in painful pleasure for her.

  “You’re going to start things,” I said as I took a step back from the foot of the bed. “Touch yourself. Show me how you get yourself off, but don’t take too long. I have a lot planned for you.”

  “May I touch my breasts too?”

  Damn if her question didn’t turn me on. The expression on her face made it clear that she was asking because she wanted me to either give or deny permission. She wanted to give up that choice.

  “Yes,” I said, my voice hoarse. “Show me what you do when you need to get off fast. All of it. Don’t hold anything back.”

  She flushed, the color creeping across her chest and down her breasts, but she didn’t argue. One hand slid down her stomach to those fiery curls, and she let her legs fall apart to give me a full view of a single finger delving between her folds. Her other hand moved to her breast, fingers plucking at her nipple even as her lower finger stroked her clit.

  Blood filled my cock, and I was tempted to jack off while I watched her, but that would make this about me, and this was supposed to be about her. One of the reasons I’d come in the shower had been to allow me to focus on her now. Not touching myself was my own practice in orgasm denial, and I was more than willing to do that for this woman.

  A soft whimpering sound came from Ashlee, and she squirmed as her finger moved in rapid circles around her clit. The fingers on her nipple pinched and held the flesh tight. Her teeth sank into her bottom lip, and her eyes closed. I wanted to order her to open them, but I’d told her to do things like she did on her own, and if she closed her eyes then, she should close them now.

  Suddenly, her entire body stiffened, all movement freezing as she came. Seconds ticked past and then she went limp, my name coming out in a breath so faint that I almost thought I imagined it, but as soon as she opened her eyes, I saw the tinge of embarrassment and knew she’d done it unconsciously, not registering it until this moment.

  I walked around the side of the bed and leaned across to give her a kiss. Soft and deep, my tongue stroked inside her mouth, a silent promise of all the ways I planned to explore her body tonight. By the time I finished with her, she’d have come more times than she ever dreamed possible.

  Ashlee was close again. I’d brought her to climax once each with the three toys I’d laid out, and then coaxed her up onto her knees so I could stretch out underneath her and put my tongue to good use. She’d barely finished coming when I started licking her, cleaning the excess moisture from her pink skin. Every pass of my tongue made her squeak and gasp, but she still obeyed when I used my hands on her hips to encourage her to move. When my lips closed around her swollen clit, she cried out, voice cracking.

  I could feel her thigh muscles trembling as she grabbed the headboard above me. I sucked harder on her clit, and her climax slammed into her. This time, the strained little mews falling from her lips had a hint of pain. I stroked her hips and down her thighs as I shifted our positions to allow me to sit and hold her in my arms.

  She was still shaking as she buried her face against my chest, the vibrations making my stiff cock ache as it pressed against her ass. I wanted so badly to be inside her, linked with her in the most intimate way possible. But I’d set the guidelines for this encounter, and I needed to stick with them, no matter how bad my case of blue balls got.

  “Thank you, Mr. Lexington.” She breathed the words against my skin, and I felt another burst of pride. She’d done as I’d told her, thanking me every time she came, but she had yet to beg me to stop.

  I tipped her head up and kissed her, giving her a little bit more time to recover before we started again. I worked one hand free as our mouths moved together, reaching for the bullet vibrator again. I flicked it on, and the faint buzzing filled the otherwise quiet room. She whimpered as I broke the kiss, her eyes meeting mine as I trailed the cool metal up the inside of her calf and then her thigh. A shudder ran through her, and I paused, waiting for her to say it.

  She didn’t.

  I kept my gaze on her face as my fingers ventured once more into familiar territory. Her body jerked when it touched her clit, and she grabbed my arm, nails diggi
ng into my skin. The pain was sharp, but I pushed it to the back of my mind and kept my attention on her.

  “Nate…” My name was barely a whisper. “Please…”

  “Please what, le soleil?”

  The metal was already warm and slick as I moved it from her clit down to her entrance. Her nails dug in deeper, her body tensing as the sensations threatened to overwhelm her. It wouldn’t be long now.

  “I don’t know if I can do it.” She writhed on my lap, and I could see her fighting not to pull away.

  “Do what?”

  “I don’t know if I can come again,” she admitted.

  I kissed her forehead. “You can, le soleil. One more time. One more and then you can beg me to stop. One more, and I’ll fuck you until I come, and then you can be done.”

  She nodded her head. “Okay. Okay. One more.”

  “Good girl, le soleil.” I passed it over her g-spot and she cried out, her back arching, nails scratching, legs jerking. She twitched and twisted, but I held her tight, rubbing until she screamed as she came.

  I moved quickly, knowing she was done. She might not even feel up to having me inside her, but as soon as I laid her back on the bed, I reached for a condom and rolled it on. Better to be prepared.

  “Again?” I asked as I went to my knees in front of her. “You know what to do. Beg me to stop, and I’ll fuck you. Say your word, and I’ll take care of myself after I finish taking care of you.”

  “Yes, please.” She raised her head enough to see me. “No more. Please. Fuck me. I can’t. I can’t. Fuck me and be done. Ple–”

  The last word turned into a silent scream as I drove into her with one smooth thrust. I didn’t hesitate, didn’t wait, or even pause. This wasn’t about drawing things out, making her feel good. Going slow would actually feel worse for her right now, and with how badly my cock had been throbbing, I was grateful for it. I didn’t think I could last much more than two or three more strokes. She felt too good, and I was too far gone.