Mile High (Up in the Air #2)(52)

“Did you like Frankie?” he asked. The change of topic made me flush, but for a different reason. And why did he sound so smug when he asked that question?

My mouth tightened involuntarily. “Have you slept with her? Because you seem to like her,” I told him, trying to pull my hand away.

He gripped it more tightly, still with that smug smile. “No. She’s a very close friend of mine, though, so I would like you to get along with her.”

I felt my face turning red. I looked away from his infuriating face. “I doubt I will. She likes to touch you, and talk about your body.”

“Would it make you feel better to know that she’s a gold star lesbian, and a dominant herself? She and I are as about as platonic as a male and a female can be.”

I blushed impossibly harder, feeling silly and ridiculous suddenly. Because it did make me feel better to know that. Worlds better. I was a fool.

“What is a gold star lesbian?” I asked him.

“Never been with a man, never even thought about it. She liked you, I could tell. I should probably be the jealous one, with the way she was looking at you. But I’m not. She’s too good of a friend. She may be envious of what we have, but she would never cross a line. She knows that you’re important to me.”

“I-I wouldn’t-even if she wanted to,” I stammered, feeling flustered at where the conversation had gone.

Did he think I would be submissive to any dom? I didn’t understand that, and I was just too embarrassed to ask. I wasn’t just interested in James because he could dominate me. I wondered, for the first time, if he felt that I used him for only that aspect of himself. I wanted to ask him, but the words just wouldn’t come out. I never felt used by him, and I had just assumed that a man so perfect and confident couldn’t feel used. Not by someone like me.

He kissed my hand softly as we pulled up to my house. “I know. But in some circles, having a dom so much as approach your sub is a huge breach of conduct. It’s not something you have to worry about. And I don’t feel threatened by Frankie. It would please me if you two could be friends, actually. Would you be willing to go have dinner with her sometime? The three of us, I mean.”

I felt a little mortified. I had very nearly been openly rude to the woman. “If she still wants to, I would be willing to. I feel like a fool. I was so jealous of her. I thought for sure you two had been lovers.”

He just smiled that smug smile again as he ushered me out of the car. “She won’t be fazed by that. I’ll set it up.”

I had only thirty minutes to get ready once we walked in the door. I hurried, packing up my suitcase before moving to get dressed.

I had just slipped off my bra, grabbing the one I preferred for work, when James pressed up behind me.

He had already changed into dark blue slacks and a pale blue polo that hugged his chiseled torso distractingly. He had been ready before I’d even finished packing. He gripped my br**sts, kneading at the supple globes. He moved his fingers to my ni**les, twisting them almost cruelly.

I gasped, arching my back. He released the captive flesh abruptly. I felt him digging into his pocket, still pressed hard against me. I looked down at my quivering br**sts while he fastened nipple clamps to each hardened crest.

He slapped my ass, hard, before stepping away. “Okay, get dressed. And don’t even think of taking those off. I’m driving you and Stephan to work. He’s already ready and waiting.”

“Won’t you be late for the flight if you drop us off first?”

He just gave me a look. “I’ll make it. But you need to quit arguing and get dressed. If I have to take the time to spank you, then we’ll both be late.”

I scrambled into my clothes, double checking my suitcase to make sure I had everything.

“Remember, you don’t need to pack for New York anymore. You’re all set up there, and you can buy anything you want, if I overlooked something. By the way, I was a little distracted, but your hair looks lovely. I like the cut. It brings out those devastating eyes of yours.”

I shot him a look. He thought my eyes were devastating? The irony wasn’t lost on me, his exquisite turquoise gaze captivating me at a glance.

“Thank you. Thank you for the spa day. It was a very nice treat for my friends and I.”

“Anytime. You can take them as often as you like. The staff knows that you have carte blanche status. You don’t need an appointment, or even to call ahead, though it’s never a bad idea to give them a heads- up. Everything that’s mine is yours, love. I mean that in every sense you could imagine. Feel free to test it.”

I straightened my tie as he spoke, feeling the clamps on my heavy br**sts acutely.

I moved to my vanity, clasping my watch over the angry marks on one wrist. I studied the other one, wondering how to cover it. It really wasn’t even uncomfortable. It just looked rather conspicuous. As I studied it, James circled it with long fingers, reaching into my silver jewelry box. He pulled a smaller box out of it that I hadn’t even noticed before. He opened it, showing a platinum bracelet that closely matched the band pattern of the rolex he’d given me.

“You’re shackled and collared, my love,” James said as he fastened it onto my wrist. They did indeed look like shackles, I thought, as he led me from the house, pulling my suitcase. “Do they chafe your wrists too badly?”