So not only did she have these scenes to do, but they would be like tests in a way. If she didn’t pass, her opportunity to investigate him would stop. Period. She was taking a big risk for herself and for this case. Exposing herself like this could get them nowhere in the investigation, yet could totally change her on some level. She wondered again why she’d agreed to do this assignment, but then an even bigger question suddenly came to her, and she blurted it out before thinking better of it.
“Why are you agreeing to this? I mean, you don’t know me.” She knew why she’d sought him out, but she didn’t understand why he’d agreed to it so quickly. It was wrong to question him because, at any time, he could reject her and she’d have to report back the failure, but on some level, she needed to know his reasoning.
“Because, pet, you came right when I needed a new challenge.” He leaned in and gently brushed his lips across hers. Shelby gasped, and he retreated with a smile. “And I’m very much looking forward to it.”
Chapter Two
Mason stood inside his plush new office and grabbed his tablet off his custom walnut desk. The leather of his executive chair still had that new luxurious smell, one he would never tire of. When he’d been promoted to senior vice president of capital management a couple of weeks ago, he knew all his hard work over the years had finally paid off. Being in his mid-thirties, Mason was the youngest VP at the company, but he was also the only one who didn’t have a wife and children at home who demanded some of his time. He’d climbed each rung of the corporate ladder with eighty-hour workweeks, new clients, and the appropriate amount of ass-kissing—though he loathed to look at it that way. He knew when to stand strong and when to schmooze. It was the nature of the business. He didn’t make the rules, but he knew how to play by them.
Especially when they got him something he wanted.
He deserved to be where he was at today. He’d earned his position the blood-sweat-and-tears way, unlike his boss, who could only claim blood as his method. Not because he’d spilled any of his own. William Baxter was one of the founding members’ great-nephew. He’d coasted into his position simply because of what coursed through his veins. The man was senior executive director of private clients and managed the funds of some of the wealthiest people in the world—a position Mason would do anything to get.
He would probably never become the CEO of Fieldstein and Baxter since he hadn’t been born into the family like William, but Mason was content with his track to one day take over his new boss’s position. Even if that meant he’d have to ruin the man’s career in the process. It wasn’t personal. Mason would never indulge in something as weak as emotion in his career. It was business, plain and simple.
He took the elevator up to the floor where the executive staff primarily worked since he was scheduled to meet with his new direct boss in five minutes for a conference call with some brokers. He knew how to play the game—come too early and William would think he wasn’t busy enough, but come too late and William would be insulted by Mason wasting his precious time. It was a tune he’d danced to way too many times, and he never missed a step.
He was a shark when it came to business and knew the game so well he could go through the motions of his job, saying all the right things without even really having to think much about it. But that also afforded him the opportunity to be someplace else mentally…whether it was intentional or not.
As he walked into William’s office, took the seat offered, and began to listen in on the call, his mind strayed to the place it had often sought since meeting the beautiful Shelby. On the outside, he listened to the execution of securities transactions, but in his mind, he was undressing Shelby, touching every inch of her body, kissing every exposed part of her, and bringing her to orgasm over and over while the voices of his colleagues droned on in the background. He’d envisioned paddling her bottom until it was rosy and hot to the touch, hearing her cry out as the confusion of pain as pleasure set in, and picturing her reaching subspace as euphoria took over her body and mind.
“That’s an interesting point, Carl, but not why we’re meeting. Mason will look into the hedge fund issue,” William said toward the speakerphone.
“Sure thing,” Mason replied easily. This wasn’t the first time he’d mentally played out the scenes he’d planned for Shelby, but that didn’t mean he liked her controlling his thoughts. He’d fantasized to the point of obsession, and that bothered him. He was a master at domination, yet could easily detach himself emotionally when it came to harmless play. For some reason, this one woman had perplexed him. He didn’t know her, had never met her before that night, but he was already attached to her on a primal level. He’d found himself dreaming about her at night, moaning her name when he took himself in hand in the mornings, and getting lost in the pools of emeralds that graced her lovely face whenever he blinked longer than a second.
And he hadn’t even seen her naked, had only held her and very briefly kissed her. That was all. And apparently, that was all it had taken to hook him.
He’d told himself it was just because he’d been bored lately and she was a new distraction, but even that felt false. He couldn’t explain his reaction to her, but one thing was becoming painfully clear—he needed to get a handle on this sudden fascination. He didn’t like it when he wasn’t in control of anything, and that included his own emotions. He preferred things tightly tethered in all matters of his life, and when he thought of that woman, he felt frayed at the ends.
No, he didn’t like that at all.
She’d come to him for guidance, and his sense of duty had swelled. With any sub he’d have had a hard time rejecting such a request, but with Shelby, he could not have turned her away even if he tried. It was that connection he did not understand but couldn’t deny.
As a Dom, he’d easily put her needs before his. There was no doubt about that. However, as the man he was, he needed a dose of self-preservation. Hell, he’d wanted her to wait to be sure she was ready to submit, but instead, he was giving himself the time he apparently needed to control whatever connection he’d felt toward her. He could not let normal male weaknesses deter him.
As a powerful businessman, however, he really didn’t need the distraction of Shelby right now. His plan for William had already been put into play, things already in motion, and he couldn’t stop the momentum even if he wanted, which he didn’t. He’d worked too fucking hard on his plan. It wasn’t a good time to get involved with a woman on any emotional level. He glanced over at William and watched as the man continued with the meeting. Yes, bad fucking timing.
Something was going to have to change.
He clenched his jaw. He’d made an agreement with Shelby, so he couldn’t back out. It wasn’t that he was a man of his word. It was his role within the community that solidified his resolve to help once he’d agreed to. Only now, he’d have to switch gears. He would still guide her on her discovery as he’d promised, but there really was only one option for him now.
And he couldn’t fucking stand the idea that had formed. It did not sit will with him. At. All. But he saw no other choice.