All's Fair in Love and Mastery (Masters Unleashed 5)

God, she was hot.

Sometimes when a man played with fire, he got what he wanted, at least temporarily. That would be enough for most men, but Grant had a life goal that didn’t include being Arabella Dexter’s fuck toy.

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“You’re welcome to borrow anything I own any time, but when you’re done with it I expect you to return it,” he said, pretending he wasn’t contemplating dragging the fiery little hellion up to her bedroom.

She narrowed her eyes, and he realized something he’d said had pissed her off but he was too lust-addled to figure out what.

“See? You do understand the concept. You’re welcome to borrow my body and my mind anytime you like, Master Grant, as long as you promise to return them when you’re done.” She cupped the underside of her breast and caught her nipple between her fingers. “I belong only to me and I’m not interested in letting anyone else own what’s mine.”

He was so busy gawking at what she was doing with her nipple that it took a long, long moment for him to realize she was waving him toward the door. The little bitch was smirking. He growled some sort of swear at her and stalked to the door, grabbing the handle before turning back.

“I’ll let you know when I’m going to the island.”

She inclined her head, regal as a fucking empress. If he didn’t know how damned submissive she got when he did her just right, he never would have believed she had it in her to submit.

Frustrating, frustrating woman.

She smiled sweetly. “I’ll try to make sure I don’t pack too many of your T-shirts for the trip. You seem to find me wearing them distracting.” Turning, she supplied him with a tantalizing view of her deliciously rounded ass as she sauntered away, leaving him to let himself out.

Chapter Seven

Dex chewed the end of her pen in sexual frustration as she tried to focus on the information in front of her. It was one of the most exciting opportunities they’d had so far at Evil Pixie Brewing Company. Andromeda had made a deal to take over a series of beer gardens in different cities throughout the summer after the original brewer had backed out due to family issues.

Dex tried to concentrate on the stack of paper in front of her, but all she could do was ruminate about the lust in Grant’s gaze early that morning when she’d taken off his shirt and thrown it at him.

Andromeda sighed and closed her copy of the information.

“You’re completely spaced out this morning, Dex. Spill it.” Andromeda arched a brow.

One had to admire the way Master An could make such a simple eyebrow tilt into something that could make a submissive’s insides turn to water. Although Master An was female and femme, she refused to be called mistress because, as she put it, she was no man’s fucking mistress. It was strange how she engendered such respect and fear, considering she wasn’t particularly imposing. Maybe it was the ice-blue eyes paired with her raven black hair, and her air of quiet authority?

Andromeda also loved beer, which was what had not only led to her becoming Evil Pixie’s sales guru, but also one of the people Dex trusted most. She’d helped Dex make her millions, which, in turn, led to Dex paying Andromeda very well.

“It’s a combination of things. Mostly that I can see the whole summer disappearing, and because of the sheer number of events. It sounds fun, but seriously exhausting.”

Andromeda frowned at her, but Dex owned Evil Pixie in its entirety and sure as hell didn’t answer to An.

A whole summer of drunken parties and being off-site? She could hire someone to oversee the party venues, instead of doing it herself, but she felt torn. A stranger wouldn’t know Evil Pixie like she did—wouldn’t pour their passion for the brand into their work, and none of their current employees had the required skill set. But then, she also didn’t want to leave the management of the brewery to someone else.

Dex stubbornly set her jaw and looked out her office window over the sea of stainless and the women moving about their work. The protective feeling she got from watching production had to be similar to how parents felt watching their children. The brewery and the women she employed were not only her responsibility, but were the main source of joy in her life—her entire raison d’être. Risking Evil Pixie by leaving for a good chunk of the summer, thereby risking the livelihoods of her employees, made her apprehensive.

Andromeda sighed. “We can find someone personable to run the beer gardens if you’d prefer to stay here. If I wasn’t such a fucking bitch, I’d go on your behalf—but as it is, we both know I’m not the life of any party.”

Dex snorted in amusement. If Andromeda wasn’t so commanding she wouldn’t hesitate to set her loose on any endeavor she needed help with, but people tended to find her intimidating rather than friendly.

They had gone over the pros and cons of this again and again, and it was quite possible that her primary objection to going forward had more to do with not wanting to host parties all summer. High energy, cute clothes. This was a huge step out of Dex’s comfort zone.

“It feels like a bit of a free fall, but it’s a calculated risk,” An reminded her. “We’ve crunched the numbers and this could work out really well for Evil Pixie.”

“I know, but it’s an aggressive marketing scheme. What if it works so well that we can’t keep up with production? I don’t want to expand so far that we’re practically a macrobrewery. I don’t want things to get cold and impersonal. I don’t want to hire a big group of strangers I’m not sure I can count on. I don’t want our quality to suffer.” She chewed on the end of her pen, thinking. “Money is good, but we don’t have to be greedy. I’d rather stick to an operation where I don’t have to trust quality control to other people. I don’t want to have to hire managers I don’t know, and be in the position where I can only hope they won’t be dicks to my employees.”

Andromeda nodded. “I get all that. If you think about it, though, this expansion would be just part of a process you’ve been engaged in since we met. Maybe this is a big step, but it’s not like this place is as small as it used to be either. You’ve found people to trust along the way and hired them, then promoted them. This would doing the same thing, only a little faster.” She took a sip of her tea, still looking smooth and composed although she had to be telling Dex off in her head. “The plan to get the brand name out there this way could totally flop,” she offered, as though that were a more comforting scenario.

“I suppose that’s true.”

“If not—hell, promote from within. You know who you can trust. Then the workers who’ve been with you the longest will be around to tell you who is and isn’t working out. You have an open door policy and I don’t think anyone who works here is afraid to come to you if they’ve got issues.”