The Boss (The Boss 1)

“No!” He’d recovered from his violent coughing, but his face was still bright red, and his eyes sparkled with humor. “No, it was not. I forgot I was dealing with a depraved individual. I’ll try to plan our encounters with an eye for avoiding anything you might spin into juvenile humor.”

“Good luck with that.” I leaned down, as his hands came up to dive into my dark hair. I’m so glad I left it down today, I thought as his mouth covered mine and his palm cradled the back of my skull. It might not seem like it would be terribly sexy to kiss someone who’s just been eating sushi, and okay, maybe it wouldn’t be my first choice without a toothbrush, but in the moment I would have kissed him if he’d just been eating limburger cheese. Every “accidental” touch had set my body on fire, and the intimacy of being so exposed to him had only ramped up the sensations about a thousand percent. He kissed me slowly and thoroughly, and pulled away with obvious regret.

“As much as I would like to sweep all of this onto the floor and climb on top of you, that would create a bit more of a mess than I would be capable of explaining when Rudy came to our meeting at three.” He brushed his lips across mine once more, briefly, then pushed back in his chair. “I have something for you, since we won’t be seeing each other over the weekend.”

He turned in his chair and grabbed the iPad he’d lent to me before.

“There’s some reading material I hoped you might look at. I’ve made notes in the margins.” He passed it to me, the screen already illuminated.

I looked down. There were indeed three books loaded in the ebook app. The Submissive’s Handbook. The Big Book of Kink. The Dominant Mind.

“I felt that before we moved forward, you might want a primer. Then you’d be better equipped to tell me what you’d like to do, and what you’re comfortable with.” His voice was soft and low, like a caress, and I shivered. The cover of one of the books showed an artistic black and white photo of a woman on her knees, her back arched, breasts high, her body held in the position by the intricate binding of ropes. Her eyes were blindfolded with a pale sash, her mouth parted as if in anticipation. My pussy flooded with renewed heat at the thought of Neil doing such a thing to me.

“I’ll read these,” I said, a little out of breath from the vivid flash of fantasy that had assaulted me. I tore my eyes away from the picture to meet his amused expression. “Definitely.”

“I’m glad to hear it. Although, I don’t expect you to learn everything on your own. I’ll be more than happy to give you some hands-on training.” He moved the plate between my legs aside and helped me down from the desk.

“How selfless of you.” I smiled sweetly at him as he stood.

“I prefer my partners to be as informed as possible.”

The plural reminded me of something I knew I would have to ask, eventually. I supposed I should ask it right then. “Speaking of partners...”

“I think I know what you’re going to ask.” He scratched the back of his neck, looking sheepishly away. “I know you’re not looking for a serious relationship, so please, don’t misinterpret my intention when I tell you... I would rather we kept our sexual relationship monogamous.”

Okay, not the answer I was expecting. Not that I minded. “I’m fine with that. If one of us meets someone and we’d like to pursue things we can just... end this.” My throat closed up a little at the prospect. I’d just found him again; how would I feel if Neil suddenly ended things a few months down the road to date somebody? That would be horrible.

I pushed those feelings of insecurity aside. I couldn’t expect that he remain available to me if his needs changed, just because I wasn’t ready for something more. He couldn’t expect the same thing of me, either. I added quickly, “Besides, that’s really safer.”

“Ah, another point we do need to cover before we go any further. I saw my doctor on Wednesday afternoon and had some tests done, the usual, you know.” He waved a hand dismissively. “The results will be in on Monday, but I have to apologize for not broaching this subject sooner. That was irresponsible, and disrespectful of me.” He cleared his throat and added, “If you wouldn’t mind—”

“I actually just had my yearly physical about two weeks ago. Still haven’t gotten my results, though.” I shrugged. “I assume you have much better insurance than I do.”

“Yes, one of the benefits of being embarrassingly rich is that you find out if you have syphilis much earlier than the average peasant would.” He sounded mildly exasperated by the fact that I’d referenced his wealth again, and I made a mental note to not bring it up anymore. I was about to apologize, when he added, “Contraception is another concern. I’m perfectly happy to continue using condoms. Please don’t feel the need to – “