She wasn’t sure if his parting comment was a promise or threat. Settling down to work, she vowed to put him, and her decision to reveal who she was to Master Grayson out of her mind. She was still more comfortable talking to the man she’d met over the phone than
the law officer.
Avery became so immersed in her work once Grayson left she didn’t hear him return until another click of the lock caught her attention. Peering around the computer, she saw him leaning against the door, arms folded, his gray-green gaze on her.
“You have good timing,” she greeted him, glancing at the wall clock. “Two hours? I’m sorry; time flies whenever I get online. Almost everyone I’ve assisted in this town has had the same problem, outdated hardware and software, but I have you updated for now.” Pushing back, she rose and ran her suddenly damp palms down her jean-clad thighs, his slow, purposeful steps and predatory look in those enigmatic eyes sending her pulse skyrocketing.
“Excellent. I believe you could use a break now.” He crooked a finger, beckoning her to come around the desk to him.
Her gaze skittered to the door and back to him. “What kind of break did you have in mind?” she asked as she obeyed the silent order without thinking about it.
“A fun one. Don’t worry, no one can enter. As long as you’re quiet, they won’t hear anything either.” His look stole her breath; his next command robbed her of speech. “Bend over my desk.” Gripping Avery’s hips, he turned her and, with a hand pressed between her shoulder blades, urged her down. “I decided not to wait until Friday night at the club to continue your education. Ever play with beads?”
He held up two purple beads attached on a slim cord about a fourth of an inch apart. Avery shook her head, her mouth going dry as Grayson slipped his other hand around to undo her jeans. He didn’t hesitate to yank them and her panties down, the sudden naked exposure pulling a gasp from her. Her stomach muscles contracted as the cooler air wafting over her bare buttocks popped up goosebumps and pebbled her nipples into prominent pinpoints brushing the desktop from where she leaned on her elbows. Excited and uncertain all at once, she stuttered, “I… don’t know about this. What if…”
“Let me worry about the what if’s,” Grayson interrupted her as he skimmed his fingertips across her butt, Avery’s cheeks clenching in automatic response to the light, stimulating touch. Setting the beads on the desk in front of her face, he trailed his other hand up her inner thigh and traced the damp seam of her pussy with his fingers.
“Sheesh!” she exclaimed in a whispered huff, shocked at her instant, fiery response to the ‘barely there’ grazes. “Grayson… ow!” The pinch he delivered to her right buttock stung but, just like other erotic pain he’d introduced her to, the small throbbing burn it left behind worked in her favor instead of against it.
“We’re in a scene, so it’s Sir, or Master Grayson, even though we’re not in the club. And, I suggest you keep your voice down,” he warned.
Avery swore under her breath, noticing his lack of remorse over causing her outcry. Just like at The Barn, his touch stripped her of all willpower and tossed her into a heightened state of unfulfilled ecstasy. Praying for relief and enough composure to keep silent with it, she laid her head down and bit her lip as he explored her pussy and inched into her rectum with slow finger jabs that ignited the sensitive nerve endings along her inner walls. She could feel her cream seeping down her thighs, hear the damp slurp of his now three fingers moving in and out of her sheath as he worked a second digit into her ass. Discomfort gave way to pleasure as he initiated a tandem rhythm between the two orifices that drove her crazy.
“Sir, please.” She quivered as he scraped her swollen clit with a nail then slid away too soon for the small contractions that touch produced to burst into an orgasm.
“I think you’re ready for the beads,” he drawled, withdrawing his fingers to pick up the toy. “I brought two sets and want you to wear them home, and then for thirty minutes every day between now and Friday night without climaxing.” He tugged on a few curls of pubic hair. “And I want this gone. Understand?”
He pushed the beads inside her pussy, nestling them deep. Avery shifted her hips, moaning as they rolled around, teasing the already inflamed tissues anew, the strange sensations racking her body with shivers of arousal and distracting her from that last dictate. “I… what if I can’t?”
“Then I won’t finish what I’ve started.” Grayson’s hard, implacable tone revealed how serious he was. Spreading her buttocks, he pushed two greased balls into her rectum with a soft warning. “And Avery? I’ll know.”
As he refastened her jeans and helped her upright, Avery looked up into his chiseled face and didn’t doubt he could take one look at her and know if she’d indulged in an orgasm. Taking her elbow, he relieved part of her unease when he said, “You can come back another time to work on the rest of the computers. In the meantime, I’ll have Rebecca cut you a check…”
Avery stumbled against him, her knees almost buckling when walking stirred the toys into small vibrations, both his offer of payment and quick steadying reflexes jarring her into responding in a rush. “No… I mean, thank you, but I don’t want payment.” She wouldn’t risk cashing a check until she talked to him, so there would be no point in taking payment. He must have read something about her dilemma on her face, his look reminding her how astute he was.
“This is something else we need to discuss, but it can wait as I have to get back to work. I’ll pick you up on Friday.”
Grayson didn’t give her time to argue as he ushered her out of his office and it took all of her concentration to keep from groaning against the warmth spreading from her crotch up to her face. Afraid of what Rebecca and the one deputy still at his desk might see, and think, she waved while keeping her face averted.
Out on the sidewalk, he gripped her nape, holding her head still for his kiss before releasing her with a pat on the butt. “Remember my instructions.”
Grayson pivoted, and as Avery stood in bemused stupefaction, watching him go back inside while leaving her a jumbled mess of frustrating sensation, she again missed seeing Cassie’s frigid look as the other girl came out of the beauty shop across the street.
Cassie clenched her hands into fists as soon as she recognized the look on Avery’s face. It wasn’t bad enough the bitch continued to monopolize Master Grayson’s attention at The Barn, but now he was welcoming her at work, and from her red-faced appearance, he’d lavished his dominance on her. Since she’d never known him to do that outside of the club, her jealousy and anger toward the interloping newcomer escalated several more notches. Vowing revenge, she stalked off, her dallying making her late in returning to work.
It was a good thing the military had taught Grayson discipline, he mused as he returned to his office and the mountain of paperwork he could now deal with a lot easier with his smooth running computer. Otherwise, he would have found himself ruled by his dick right now and risking his position as sheriff by fucking Avery over his desk. Her slick heat still coated his fingers, a reminder of how her snug pussy gripped him and of the little ripples along her damp inner walls he could produce with just a few strokes. He hadn’t been with anyone in the past two weeks, not since he’d first invited her to the club, and if he didn’t get relief soon, he would combust.
Why those rapid responses added to his suspicions of knowing her from somewhere, Grayson couldn’t imagine. He sure as hell had never fucked her before; that experience and her expressive face would have been unforgettable. After discovering how much he’d enjoyed spending the afternoon with her at Caden’s ranch, he’d decided to push faster and stronger for more answers. If any other woman would have been so evasive with him, continued to hold him at arm’s length and revealing nothing personal about herself, he would have walked away long before this.
Grayson insisted on honesty from the subs he spent time with, and from himself. If he could admit it was more than his concern as sheriff for Avery’s welfare that had him itching to drag everything there was to learn about her from her stubborn, wary head, she could damn well come clean with a few suspicious issues. And he was prepared to do whatever was necessary to get the answers he needed.
Chapter 9
Chicago
Detective Darren Lancaster spotted his partner at the corner table in the popular cop hangout a block from their precinct. Gritting his teeth, he maneuvered through the Friday night crowd, irritated with Chad for his constant harping over Avery’s whereabouts. Yeah, her abrupt disappearance after Chad had discovered her snooping was suspicious and both miffed and concerned him. While he wouldn’t hesitate to arrange an accident if she proved to be a risk, as he’d mentioned when Chad had first alerted him to the girl’s computer searches, he wasn’t about to gamble calling more attention on either of them with the tragic death of a city employee he had ties with unless it became necessary. Now, if he could just get Chad to chill, maybe he could enjoy the fruits of his illegal endeavors.
Dropping into the vacant chair, Darren frowned at his irritating friend from across the table. “Now what?” he growled, not bothering to hide his annoyance at this summons.