Chapter 1
SWEET SEDUCTION
The room was bright with daylight when I pried my eyes open. Once again, I was alone in his bed. I dared a glimpse at the alarm clock and cringed. It was close to one in the afternoon.
He was surely in class. And I was definitely not making it into the office today.
My entire body ached when I tried to sit up. Every muscle. Every hair. Every fiber. I felt like I’d been hit by a semi. A semi named Alex.
I groaned and forced my legs out from under the covers. The distance between the bed and the door seemed like a mile. Maybe longer. Especially with nothing to hold onto in between. But I had to pee, and I definitely needed a shower by the sweet and somewhat pungent smell that wafted from the comforter when I flung it back.
The scent of sex was amazing when you were in the throes of it. Hours afterward? Not so much.
Forty-five minutes later, I felt somewhat better with my skin scrubbed, hair washed, and some breakfast in me. I didn’t want to get him used to personal service—especially since I said I wasn’t going to be his maid. But I’d helped mess up the bed, so I changed the sheets.
It had been a while I was getting my second cup of coffee that I’d noticed the folded note on the counter... under my phone.
— M, I didn’t want to wake you. You looked so beautiful and peaceful in my bed. I could easily get used to that sight. I have class all afternoon and then a poetry group meeting at the café up the street where we first met. Come by for a bite around 5:30 if you want. Hope to see you later. - A —
Something inside my chest swelled at his words. It had been a tumultuous two weeks. Although I’d been with doms who were okay about being out together in public, most had been behind-bedroom-doors relationships. I’d not considered that Alex might be okay with more than that. Especially since I wasn’t even close to his generation.
I wasn’t sure if there was a laundry facility in the building or if he had to use a laundromat. So I grabbed the dirty sheets and headed to my place where I ran them through my washer while I checked my Email and tried to plan a rough work itinerary for the rest of the week.
I’d also collected the black-and-white shirt I’d grown fond of so quickly. My intent had been to wash it for him since I’d worn it quite a bit the past two weekends. But the moment my nose caught his scent on it, I bit my lower lip and moaned, my mind spinning. I threw the shirt into the dryer on the wrinkle-release cycle and hung it up while the sheets dried then went to pack a bag. Just in case.
Shortly after five o’clock, I parked my car at Alex’s apartment. Then I walked up the block to the café, my grin becoming roguish when I saw there was a back entrance.
I nodded at the two workers in the kitchen when I passed and stopped at the end of the wide but short hall that opened into the main space of the restaurant. He must have used it to sneak up on me that first night. Stopped where I had to watch myself.
Now, Alex was seated with a group of five other students around a circular table, facing my direction. He was listening to a dark-haired girl on his left and didn’t seem to notice me at first.
I leaned my left shoulder against the doorway, my opposite hand in the back pocket of my jeans. The position of my right arm pushed my breasts forward so that they strained even more than usual against the buttons of his dress shirt that I’d left untucked. The coolness of the wall pressed against the bare skin below where I’d rolled the sleeves up to my elbows. A light breeze from the ceiling fan tousled my loose hair around my shoulders, tickling the exposed cleavage above the glimpse of my black, satin bra that was visible between the top three buttons I’d left undone.
The conversation continued between a couple of the students before a baldheaded guy on Alex’s right leaned forward. Alex turned towards him, and then his head snapped back, his eyes meeting mine over the head of a blonde who had her back to me.
I tipped my chin at him to continue.
He did, but he also sat up straighter. After at least five more minutes, he gathered together some papers that had been spread out between the group. Then he stood, and they followed suit. There was a short period of grasping hands and patting backs in one-armed hugs amongst them before the girls paired off with the other two guys. The bald-headed guy waved at Alex then brought up the rear while they departed out the front door.
The door hadn’t even shut yet before Alex was crossing the room. His eyes were ablaze with desire when he stopped only a few inches away from me. They scanned my chest then lifted it to my face. But he didn’t give me a chance to stare into his stormy depths because his hands cupped my cheeks and held me still while his lips descended on mine.
Both of my hands moved at once to grasp his arms, squeezing gently when his tongue pressed and then invaded my mouth. Then I was panting, staring at him as he took a step back, releasing me.
“I think it should be against the law for you to wear my shirt outside.” He passed the back of his hand across his mouth and groaned softly. “Where’s your car?”
“At your place. But I’m hungry.” I sauntered past him and chose a more intimate table for two in the back corner near the hall.
I sat in the chair against the wall and raised an eyebrow at him when he hesitated. Then he was joining me, relief on his face when he took the opposite chair that had him facing me...away from the rest of the room. Before he sat, I could see the reason why and smirked.
“Wipe that grin off your face, Little One,” he whispered, leaning across the table.
“And do up at least two more buttons, please.”
“Since you said, ‘please,’ Sir...” I lowered my chin but kept my eyes on him while I slowly closed up the top of the shirt, leaving just the one around my neck open.
“So, what’s good to eat here.”
There was a soft growl from him. “Wouldn’t you like to know?”
The waitress chose that moment to step up to our table.
Alex’s face was red while I ordered a sandwich and drink. He placed his order then laid his hand on the table, palm up.
“How were your classes?” I placed my hand in his before thinking about the connotation, sighing when his fingers closed around mine.
“Unbearable.” He stared at our joined hands, his thumb stroking my knuckles.
“Do you have any idea how hard it is to sit through almost five hours of lectures when you know there’s a naked woman lying in your bed?”
“Nope.” I grinned at him when he glanced up at me.
“Besides, I was only there until about one.”
His eye roll made me giggle. “You know exactly what I mean.”
“Yes, but it’s fun to tease you.”
“Oh, trust me. I know you do that very well.” He sat back as our drinks arrived. His hands wrapped around his cup, but he didn’t taste the contents. And he didn’t look at me.
I sipped my cold latte and watched him. How his shoulders hunched when he set his elbows on the table. How his fingers absently stroked through the condensation creating patterns then wiping them out. “Is something wrong?”
He sighed but smiled. “No. I’m just remembering.”
“Good things, I hope.”
His smile grew wider on one side, and he finally took a drink. “Yeah. Yeah. Good things.”
“That’s all that matters then.” I left him to soak up his memories while we waited for our food to arrive, my own mind traveling down its own track into the past.
“Max?”
I blinked and looked up at Alex. At his crooked grin. It was apparent by the sparkle in his eyes that it wasn’t the first time he’d called my name.
“Hmm?”
He tilted his chin at me then looked down. “Weren’t you hungry?”
I dropped my gaze to see a plate with a sandwich and a pile of homemade chips. I munched on one of the latter. “Sorry.”
“Don’t be. You’re adorable to watch when you’re lost in your thoughts.”
There went the temperature in my cheeks. I reached for my sandwich to hide my embarrassment.
“Did you get anything done today, or did you just lie around my place in your sexy body?”
I almost choked on the bite I’d just put in my mouth. I coughed, took a long sip of my drink, and blinked at him through watery eyes.
His chuckle did not help the situation.
I was feeling ornery and flipped him the bird since I still couldn’t speak.
“Mmmmm. My, my, Little One. Feisty tonight, aren’t we?”
“Asshole,” I managed under my breath and then gulped down another swig of the cold coffee.
“Now, that’s a territory we haven’t discussed much for you,” he grinned, taking a big bite of his food. “Hard or soft limit?”
I just rolled my eyes at him.
We ate the rest of our dinner discussing normal things. Like his poetry meeting, when I asked. Was I working on any good stories for clients? How his classes were going. Did I have plans for next weekend?
The sky was dusky and the temperature cooler when we left. He held the front door open for me, and we stepped into the foot traffic outside. His fingers brushed mine when he matched my pace. A few steps later, they were laced together.
It was surreal, walking hand-in-hand back to his apartment. Like we did this every day... like two people dating did. Except for one, it hadn’t been that way with my other partners. Any time we had been in public together, it was... professional, for lack of a better word. No vanilla PDA, and definitely not any kinky. I’d always made it clear upfront that I wasn’t an exhibitionist. And I didn’t want to be paraded around like a slave or doll being shown off. This is why most of my time with them had been behind closed doors. The public outings had always been upscale events where we were wined and dined, and I was, basically, arm candy. Also, the reason I wasn’t with those Doms anymore. Not my thing.
Back at Alex’s place, I retrieved his clean sheets from my car. He just cocked an eyebrow at me and then let me into the building and his place.
“I have some things I need to work on for a couple of hours, Max. But you’re welcome to stick around. I’d love to fall asleep with you again tonight.”
I gave him a quick kiss on the lips. “That’s fine.”
“Don’t take my shirt off,” he mumbled, his hand behind my head for a moment, preventing me from stepping back. His teeth tugged on my lower lip before he kissed me hard and then released me.
We parted ways. Him going to his office. And me panting in the kitchen before I went to put the sheets away on shaky legs.
It was while browsing his toy drawer that I got an idea. He was bent over his desk, music playing serenely from his laptop, when I snuck out and took a drive. An hour later, I was organizing his plethora of kinky accouterments in shallow, plastic bins, storing the lids underneath each box. I wasn’t as nerdy to go as far as labeling them, but I had to say it would be much easier to find something on impulse now.
