“Say ‘Yes, Mr. Armanelli.’ We need to establish the boss-employee relationship early. If you travel with me, people are going to have to know you’re not my fuck toy and that I’d never be with you. They need to know we’re only working together.”
I didn’t ever want to be with him, but why did him not wanting to be seen as my boyfriend hurt? “I highly doubt anyone would think that the recluse genius hacker who’s part of a mob family is dating someone like me.”
His hand inched up as I talked, like he wasn’t listening. His pupils dilated, his gaze changed, his grip on my thigh tightened. “If they did, we’d change the narrative online anyway. The internet writes the news.”
“So no worries, then.” I rolled my eyes.
“You still haven’t said, ‘Yes, Mr. Armanelli.’”
“I’m not going to either.” I crossed my arms, ready to defy him.
“Good.” He smiled, unraveling the belt quickly. With a flick of his wrist, the end of it hit my center, causing a zing to fly through every part of my body.
Pain was subjective, and here it felt more like pleasure. I gasped, “What the fuck, Cade?”
“You listen and you get rewarded. You don’t, you get punished. You can ride my belt all you want, but when you don’t obey me, I’ll discipline you.” He leaned forward, mouth so close to mine that I could have taken his lips if I wanted. “Remember that, Izzy.”
“I don’t think I’ll be working for you for long, then,” I murmured, getting lost in the way he held my gaze captive. My body ached for him, and I knew that wasn’t a good sign. I blamed it on Gerald, on the fact that I’d gone without sex and excitement for months while he traveled and screwed someone else. “And this will be the last time between us. I can scratch an itch like this with someone else.”
“Sure you can,” he murmured as he finally stood back up, pulled out his cock, and positioned himself between my legs. I felt the head of his cock and that cool metal piercing spreading my folds, reminding me of how big he was and how my body longed to fit around him, to mold to him. “They won’t scratch it like I do, though, and you’ll come crawling back, begging for me to take your breath away again. But, sure, this will only happen one last time.”
“Should I thank you?” I asked him, voice full of condescension.
“You probably are going to want to.” He chuckled, then his tone sobered. “Tap my wrist twice if it’s too much, got it?”
Before I could even tell him to elaborate, his hand shot out to grip my neck. He cut off my oxygen and made me wheeze for air.
I clawed at his wrist, but I didn’t tap. I wouldn’t. If this was the game, I was going to win.
He tsked at my futile effort. “This is my breath now, baby doll.” He thrust inside me, bottoming out balls deep on the first one. The large oak desk may have moved. I couldn’t even gasp, but he saw how I arched, how I bit my lip in bliss, and he squeezed my neck even harder. “And I get to control when you breathe, when you feel, when you see stars, or when you see darkness.”
His other hand worked my clit, rolling it hard and fast as he thrust in and out while ravaging my neck. And I got closer and closer to those stars while nearing the black hole of passing out from lack of air.
Cade wasn’t a gentle lover. He wasn’t even a lover, really. He was just the guy fucking me into a different sort of universe than I’d ever experienced. His cock alone—so rigid, thick, and long—would have done that on its own. Yet he’d brought in breath play, he’d whipped my clit before working it, and he expected me to take each hard thrust with vigor.
I hated that I did, that I wanted him more than any other man before. My body worked to stay conscious, to meet him thrust for thrust, more concerned with an orgasm than taking another breath.
“Fuck.” He swore low as he ripped his hand from my neck and planted both of them on the desk right behind me to give himself more leverage so he could fuck me harder.
Gasping for air, I gripped the front of his shirt and tightened my pussy around him as I came. The rush of oxygen back into my lungs pushed me over the edge. He muffled my scream and let out a string of Italian as he emptied himself into me.
“Fuck, fuck, fuck,” he muttered as he hung his dark head of hair onto my shoulder. “You’re flirting with passing out, love. You’re not careful enough.”
I didn’t respond, just gulped in more air. We both stayed where we were for what felt like forever. He didn’t even pull his cock from me. It was like he wanted it to stay buried there. When he finally lifted his head, those eyes of his weren’t burning whiskey this time. They were warm like a light coffee that could wake you up and make you want to plow through the day together.
He searched my face and then traced one finger over my mouth. “You have lips made for sinning, Izzy.”
I rolled them between my teeth and gently pushed him away. He didn’t fight me but exited my center slowly, pulling my skirt down with him. I shouldn’t have let him do even that, but I watched how his hands smoothed the fabric, how he brought his hand underneath to slide my panties back into place, and his touch was as light as a feather.
He took a step back to look me over as he tucked himself into his trousers. “I’m not kidding about the breath play.”
I shrugged. “I’m fine.” I was better than fine. I was satiated like I’d never been before.
“Next time—”
“There won’t be a next time, remember?” I hopped off the desk. We were colleagues, not fuck buddies.
We both needed to draw a line, and this was it. Especially with upcoming trips together, with a team relying on us, with one of the biggest corporations depending on me.