“I think this is a good opportunity,” Declan replies. “You’ve been asking me to put a person on some marketing for us, and this gives her a chance to show what she can do without being overshadowed by a team.”
Another silence.
“Okay,” Axel concedes. “We’ll give it a try.”
“Great,” Declan says. “I’ll leave it to you to work out the details.”
I nod. “Understood.”
Axel turns. “No time like the present to go over some initial details. Do you have time?”
“I-I think so.”
“Let’s meet in fifteen minutes in conference room two-D. It’s the farthest from the sales section, so the chatter from calls shouldn’t be too loud.”
“Okay.”
Axel stands and rests his hand on my shoulder, the heat of his palm scorching even through my blouse. “I’ll see you there.”
“Yes, sir.”
His fingers tighten slightly, and once more, I hear that catch in his breathing. Then he walks from the office.
“You okay?” Declan asks.
I force a smile and turn to him. “Surprised, is all. I wasn’t expecting to be put into a lead role on a project so soon.”
Declan laughs. “Normally, I would wait, give you a chance to get your feet under you. But we’re in a good spot for this. You were brought on in anticipation of growth, but we’re properly staffed with the work we do have. It means I can do this, and it does not negatively impact the rest of the department.”
“I see.”
“Don’t worry. Axel won’t take it easy on you because you’re new or an employee. He expects the same quality that we provide to clients.”
“Understood.”
He smiles. “Go on, get ready.”
I stand and return to my desk, where I grab a pen, notepad, and a copy of the client intake form.
Start from the beginning. He’s like any other client, I remind myself as I head toward the conference room. He’s not your unbelievably hot boss. He’s a man who needs you to develop a marketing campaign. Get the basics: the goals, any comments or survey results, and an idea of what platforms he wants for the campaign.
Sex is definitely off the table.
Axel seems upset, almost angry, as I fill in the client intake. His arms are crossed, and he sits away from me on the other side of the conference table. It’s a far cry from the demeanor he’d had only a few minutes earlier in Declan’s office.
I’m not ready for this, and he knows it.
His eyes never leave me. I can feel them even when I’m busy filling out the form or taking notes. A shiver goes up my spine, knowing that he’s so intently focused on me.
I have to be professional and prove that I can handle the project.
It would help, though, if Axel stops staring. It makes me feel exposed and vulnerable. Though, I think he wants me feeling that way.
There’s something about him, dark and hungry. He’s a predator about to strike, and I’m the only prey in sight.
7
Axel
Walking into the club is like shedding a skin, removing the mask that is Axel West, an entrepreneur and successful business owner, and revealing the true me—Axel West, a dominant man who appreciates a submissive woman.
The red star on the back of my hand shows that I’ve been carded and am old enough to order alcohol if I want it. But a nod with the bartender as I walk in, and a soda is waiting for me by the time I reach the bar.
“Opening a tab today?” she asks as I pass over my card.
“Yeah, why not?” I agree. “Big spender with all my sodas.”
She shrugs. “Still easier than paying one by one.”
“You have a point.”
She prints off a ticket with my order number, paperclips it to my card, and drops it underneath the cash tray in the drawer. I take my soda over to a table with a good view of the door. I’ll see who comes in before heading back to either the get-to-know-you room or the sex rooms beyond that. I’m almost finished with my drink when I see one of my regular submissives walk in, a shock of wavy red hair draping her shoulders and down the top of a sequined emerald-green dress.
I nod to myself. If there’s anybody who can make me forget about Harper, it’ll be her. I stand and straighten my tie as if I’d been waiting for her all along. She sees the motion and smiles at me, hips swaying as she walks over.
“Good evening, Axel, sir,” she purrs, pressing herself against me. “Were you waiting for me?”
I slide one hand around her slender waist. “You know I was.”
“It’s a good thing I came tonight, then. It would be a shame to disappoint you.”
“I’d have to punish you if you disappointed me,” I reply.
“Oh, no.” She laughs. “Can’t have that.”
“I should hope not.”
I motion to the empty side of the bench, and she slides onto it while I wave for a waitress. A few minutes later, I have a fresh soda, and she has a glass of wine. We discuss the scene, her limits for the night, and terms for stopping play.
Normally by now, my cock would already be half-hard, ready to plunge into the willing beauty. But it has barely twitched by the time we stand and head back.
I am generally a private-room man, but I’ve learned from observing her in the past that she can be a bit of an exhibitionist. I decide that changing things up might be what I need, and an audience could be the spark that I am missing.
We walk through the hallway until we reach an open door with an X symbol on it, and I lead her inside, leaving the door open as an invitation for others. As soon as we cross the threshold, the scene starts. She pauses a few steps in, and my hand moves from the small of her back to grab her hair.
She moans as I pull her head back.
“You want it, don’t you?” I demand, voice dropping as I take control.
“Yes, sir,” she breathes, her pupils dilating. “I need you.”
“You’re going to have to work for it. You need to earn your pleasure.”
Her lips part, her breath quickening.
My cock is still stubbornly limp, and I decide to up the ante. I release her hair, run my hands down her sides until they rest on the rise of her hips, and pull her against me so she can feel my lack of an erection. “You’re going to have to work very hard.”
“Yes, sir,” she replies, though I note a slightly different tone to her voice. I’ve just made her aware that I’m not quite feeling it tonight, and she might be the only one of us getting off.
One of my hands slides forward, and I cup the heat of her sex through the front of her dress. She moans into the touch.
“Is this what you want?”
“Yes, sir.”
I think back to Harper using those same words in Declan’s office, and my cock twitches in interest. I wonder how she would sound, pain mingling with pleasure as I bind and take her.
I hear footsteps as a few people come in, and I know it’s time to get the show on the road. Within a few minutes, the redhead is naked and bound to the X-cross.
She’s beautiful and obedient. I tell her not to come and push her over the edge several times without her falling. I tease her, sometimes using a wand to drive her fast, other times moving a tickler up her sides to play on her overstimulation.