The Dom with the Dragon Tattoo (Masters of Submission #5)(5)

“Uh-huh, I’m a Harvard man. I lived here for six years, but this is the first time I’ve been back in almost a decade. The place has changed a lot.”

“I see.”

Rebecca felt slightly relieved when a waiter appeared at their table. “Sir, madam, would you care to order?”

Tyler briefly touched her hand. “Ladies first. What would you like, Rebecca?”

“The seared Atlantic salmon with lemon butter sauce looks tempting along with a side salad. I’ll go with that, please.”

“And what would sir care to have?” The waiter appeared to bow in exaggerated deference as he posed the question.

“I’ll have the rib eye steak, rare, salad, and fries.”

“Thank you, sir, madam.” The waiter removed the menus from the table. “Would you like wine with your meal?”

Tyler looked across at her but didn’t wait for an answer. “That would be good.”

“Very well, I’ll send the wine waiter across.”

“Rebecca, I suggest a good Chardonnay to go with your fish.” The way he spoke sounded like he wasn’t really giving her a choice. Before she could reply, the wine waiter appeared, and Tyler immediately spoke with authority. “I’ll have the 2010 Ribbon Springs Pinot Noir, and the lady would like the 2010 Rued Clone Chardonnay.”

Rebecca liked a man to be dominant when he was her Master and she was his sub, but she barely knew Tyler Stone, and already he seemed to be taking control of her decision making. She cleared her throat. “While the Chardonnay would be an excellent choice, I believe I’d prefer the 2006 Bellecourt Beaujolais. In my experience it tends to pair better with salmon dishes.” She couldn’t help smiling inwardly as Tyler held himself motionless for a second or two, clearly surprised by her forwardness.

Tyler nodded knowingly, and she figured he understood her a little better now. “Beaujolais it is then.” When the waiter moved away, he turned and looked at her, appearing to size her up. His pale-brown eyes held a hint of annoyance in their fiery depths as he scanned her face. She had the distinct feeling he was pissed that a mere woman would dare contradict him. Although she didn’t know much about him, she got the impression he was a pretty dominant guy.


“You have an excellent knowledge of wine.” He relaxed back in his chair and smoothed a hand across the tablecloth. She’d definitely ruffled his feathers.

Rebecca raised an eyebrow. “Would you expect anything less from an ambassador’s daughter? My father and mother would often entertain important guests at our home in Rio and naturally expected me to have a comprehensive knowledge of the finer things in life.”

“I understand you were an only child, Rebecca?”

“Yes.”

“It sounds like a lonely existence.”

She heard herself sigh. “At times it was.”

The wine waiter returned to their table and quietly and efficiently poured wine into two glasses.

Tyler Stone took a sip then nodded affirmatively, allowing the wine waiter to fade away. He seemed completely at ease in his surroundings, just as she’d imagined him to be. To her, confidence in a man acted as an aphrodisiac, and Tyler had it in spades. It had been six months since she’d been this close to an alpha male. Six months since she and Mitch had gone their separate ways.

“Rebecca, let’s get down to business. I’ve been trying to get you to work for Cerberus for well over a year now. You’ve flatly refused to join my team in Houston. Why the sudden change of heart?”

Rebecca nonchalantly sipped at the agreeable Beaujolais, enjoying the feel as the tang from the citrus grapes slowly spread across her palate.

“Surely it’s a woman’s prerogative to change her mind, Mr. Stone?”

“It is, but I’d like to know what makes you tick. You’d be leading a professional team and working in a challenging environment at Cerberus Technology.”

“I have my own team at Omega Computing.”

He drummed his fingers on the tablecloth. “You haven’t answered my question.”

She was thirty-three years old and needed to reassess her life. “I guess there’s nothing keeping me in Boston anymore. I had a long-term relationship that’s over now. It didn’t finish well.”





Chapter Three




Tyler hadn’t liked her changing the wine order. In his opinion she’d done it far too stridently. If he hadn’t thought she’d be a great asset to his company, he’d have put her firmly in her place, just as he would with any wayward sub. Unfortunately, she wasn’t his sub, or, he imagined, anyone else’s. However, Cerberus Technology needed the expertise that Rebecca Miles had to offer, so he remained silent—for now.

His introspection was thankfully cut short when a smiling waiter brought their meals to the table.

As Rebecca helped herself to condiments, he glanced across at her. She was dressed in an unappealing gray business suit, and he figured she’d gone out of her way to make herself unattractive to men, relying on her talent, rather than her looks. Something niggled him though, something he couldn’t quite put his finger on. The drab, sexless image she portrayed didn’t seem quite right.

Think, man, think. What’s wrong with this picture?

Meeting her for the first time, he gained the distinct impression that she hid her real identity behind those ugly thick-rimmed glasses. Surely she didn’t pick them because she liked them? They were hideous. He refused to accept the evidence of his eyes, because somehow he found her strangely alluring, almost as though her plainness hid a rare incredible beauty beneath. He was well aware that didn’t make any sense, but that was how he felt. Rebecca was boringly plain yet achingly beautiful. How crazy was that? Not a trace of makeup adorned her unblemished face, and for some unknown reason he found her lack of try hard refreshing.