Chapter 41

41

June

I spin around and scowl at him. "Did you call me—" I notice the smirk on his features and bite the inside of my cheek. "That wasn't funny."

"Neither were you, challenging me in front of the team."

"'But I had to do it. You were in the wrong; you know that."

"Doesn't change the fact that you questioned my capabilities in front of others."

I curl my fingers into fists. "But I had to do it. If I hadn't, you'd have fired him and never forgiven yourself for it."

He inclines his head. "That might be true."

"You know it is true."

"It is," he concedes, "but what you did needs to be punished."

Excitement pinches at my nerve-endings. My belly flutters. Yes, I want to be punished. I need to be punished by him. But I don't say that aloud. Instead, I toss my head. "So, I prevented you from committing an error, and you're going to punish me for that."

He nods slowly. "You defied me. I can't let you get away with that." He looks me up and down. "I'll wager, you raced in here and confronted me because you wanted my attention."

Yes, I did, is what I think to myself. But outwardly, I scoff.

"Don't deny it. You were angry that I haven't spoken to you all day. And you were upset that I didn't spend last night in our bed."

He called it our bed. I shiver. I really like the sound of that. It means, he acknowledges that his place is by my side at night. And yes, I missed him, but I'm not going to admit to that. When I stay silent, he takes a step forward. "You were looking out for my emails all day, weren't you?"

"I was not." I tip up my chin.

"And you kept checking your phone to see if I'd messaged you," he says in that silky voice that feels like he's trailing a scarf across my skin. I shiver.

"What are you talking about?" I try to keep my voice noncommittal, but it comes out in a squeak.

"You could barely concentrate on your work because you kept looking at my office door, hoping to catch a glimpse of me."

Yes. It's true. I shake my head. "Your sense of importance is even more bloated than I thought."

His lips twist. Oh my god, that smile on his face is like that of a shark. It's mean and full of intent to punish. And so, so hot. Why do I like this sadistic side of him? Why does it excite me so much that he's going to make me repent for what I did, no matter that I was in the right? I take a step back, and his eyes gleam.

"You going to run, little July?" he asks in a silky voice that sparks a fountain of heat in my lower belly. "Are you?" He moves toward me, and I know I can't let him catch me. Yet, I want him to catch me. But not without a chase.

Without giving myself time to think, I spin around and race for the door. When I reach it, there's a click, and I realize he's locked it. I turn around to find he's prowling toward me at a leisurely pace. He has his phone in his hand. "I have access to the app that controls the security on this floor." He slides the device into the pocket of his slacks and continues to head in my direction.

"You're an asshole," I spit out, mainly to goad him further, and am rewarded by the flash of lust in his eyes. Ooh, he knows I'm pushing him and is playing along. He knows, at some point, I'm going to goad him over the edge and then... Then, I'm going to see that side of him he's been trying to hide since we got back from Paris. I sidle along the wall, away from him. He merely corrects his trajectory and continues walking toward me.

"How dare you try to punish me, when you're the one who's in the wrong?"

"Thought we established that doesn't matter. You go against me, you pay the price," he rumbles.

"And what about the fact that you didn't even speak to me on the way home from Paris."

"So, you did feel neglected." He smirks.

"I didn't say that."

"If that wasn't the case, why are you complaining?"

"Because…" I move around him in a circle, leaving enough space between us that he can't touch me…yet. He continues to turn with me, so it feels like he's in the center and I'm circling an orbit around him. He's the sun and I'm but a planet imprisoned by his gravitational pull. There's an illusion of freedom, in that I have my own orbit, but my path revolves around him. My life is him. I am him. The realization strikes me to the core. I falter. He jumps forward, arm out to righten me, but I find my balance again.

"You okay?" There's worry in his eyes.

"I'm not a weakling, Sir."

His eyes flash again. No doubt, it's in response to my using ‘Sir'. It's one of the levers at my disposal. It's how I know he doesn't hold all the power in this relationship, either. That I can manipulate him, too... Not always, but sometimes. Like right now, when I need him to fuck me like I'm not just his wife but also his submissive.

"And you haven't caught me yet." I continue to wind my way around the room, moving to the other side of the table.

"Is that a challenge?" His chest seems to increase in size. His shoulders swell. He senses the thrill of the chase, and the predator in him can't help but feel called to give chase.

"Me, challenge you, Sir?" I flutter my eyelashes at him. I'm trying to be cute in the hope of riling him further. And I realize I've succeeded when his nostrils flare. He comes to a halt, and we eye each other across the width of the conference room table.

Then, because I have nothing to lose and because I really want to know, I ask, "Why did you cut short the honeymoon and return to London?"

"It was for an important meeting."

"Oh." It's almost an anticlimax that he tells me the truth without my having to coerce it out of him.

"In fact, we have another meeting coming up tonight." There's a look on his face I can't interpret.

"We?" I knit my eyebrows.

"You'll want to come to this one." He nods.

"Oh?" I cast my mind over what it could possibly be for. "I don't have anything on for this evening, and I don't recall putting any appointments in your calendar, either."

"It's not to do with the office."

"It's not?"

He shakes his head, slowly walking around the table. He approaches me without making any sudden moves, his gait casual. He's trying to look as benign as possible, which has about the same effect as a panther trying to fade into the undergrowth; meaning, he only succeeds in appearing more threatening.

"Stop." I throw up my hand.

I'm not surprised when he keeps coming.

"Don't come closer."

He bares his teeth. "You don't tell me what to do." Then, he swoops down on me.

I scream, then turn and dash forward, only to be yanked back when his big hands grab my waist. "Let me go!"

"No." He lifts me up like I weigh nothing, and flips me around, before plopping me onto the table. Before I can protest, he's planted himself between my legs. His movements are so confident, so dominant, a shiver squeezes my lower belly. He's so large, I'm forced to pry my legs wide apart. He grips the sides of my skirt-clad thighs and leans in. "Where were we?"

"I… I was trying to leave. "

"And I chased you and caught you. You're mine now."

His bossy voice sends another shudder up my spine. I'm so turned on, I can feel moisture trickle out from my slit. And the possessiveness in his voice? Oh my god. I seem to be burning up from the inside. "Sir, please…" My voice emerges all breathy, and I sound as if I'm pleading. Only, I'm not sure what I want from him. The fact that he's holding me under his firm grasp makes me feel like he's controlling me, and I love it. I do. It also makes me want to push back a little. To test him. To see if I can be bratty enough that he'll want to punish me further. So, I reach down between his legs and grasp the tented fabric at his crotch.

His eyes snap blue fire. His lips curl in a snarl. Tension spools off of his body and saturates the air between us. It pushes down on my chest, and I feel faint with need.

"M-may I, Sir?"

"You haven't earned it yet."

Ugh, that menacing, unrelenting edge to his voice makes me faint with need. My pussy clenches in on itself and comes up empty.

"Please, please, Sir," I pant. "Please. I'll do anything you want, Sir. Anything."

"Hmm." He places his hand over mine and squeezes down. His cock becomes impossibly hard under our joint grasp.

"Do you want that, little July, hmm?"

"You know I do," I squeak.

"You'll have to earn it." He encircles my wrist with his fingers, and when he applies pressure, I release my hold on his cock.

"Tell me how," I pant. "Please sir, tell me what to do."

"Unzip me," he growls.

It doesn't even occur to me to disobey. I lower his zipper, and the r-r-ripping sound feels like someone's dragging broken glass over my nerve-endings. The hair on the back of my arms rises.

"Take it out," he commands.

I glance down to where the swollen head of his cock peeks out from the waistband of his boxers. And when I slide my fingers around the thick shaft, it jumps. The crown is almost purple, and the girth is so thick, my fingers don't even meet around it. I swallow. "You're so big." How did he fit that thing inside of me ?

"Squeeze it from base to crown."

I follow his order and watch as precum glimmers at the slit. My mouth waters, and without waiting, I bend over, folding myself in half, and lick it up.

He groans, and a sense of power squeezes my chest. I look up at him. "May I, Sir?"

His grip on me tightens, then he steps back and lowers me to the floor. He shrugs off his jacket, folds it and drops it between us. He pushes down on my shoulder, and I slide down to place my knees on the cushion formed by his jacket. Oh, he was trying to make sure my knees don't hurt. His gesture is sweet, while the deliberateness of his movements leaves me in no doubt that he's in control. He threads his fingers through my hair and positions my head so my mouth is in front of his cock.

"Open."

I part my lips, and he places his cock at the rim of my lips. Then he takes my hand and places it on his thigh.

"Anytime you want to stop, tap my leg." His voice is serious, his gaze searching. He's concerned about my welfare. I realize now, no matter how much this man likes to play, he'll always put my safety first. And yes, he'll push me, like I do him—but he'll always place my needs front and center.

I nod, and some of the tension goes out his shoulders.

"Good girl. Now show your Master how much you want to please him."