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The conversation made Alex think of a conversation she had with Will. Too bad he wouldn’t be here this night to see the results. “Jocelyn’s no submissive,” Will had told her. “She’s a blatant sexual dominant. I wonder sometimes when Reggie’s going to buckle under her will?” Alex couldn’t imagine Reggie ever being subdued by any woman. And she knew better than to think that Jocelyn was solely a dom. Despite what terror she’d create tonight, submission was as dear to Jocelyn as taking charge, though Alex wasn’t certain if her dear friend yet realized the depths of either of her most potent passions.
***
The library was awash with warm light from the glowing lamps. Though the atmosphere about the room was at that jittery stage before a storm begins, before tempests toss on oceans, and battlefields break out with the rumble of confrontation.
“And to think I defended you,” Jocelyn said to Helena as she stood behind Reggie’s desk, her fingers resting on the edge in an imperious style. While Alex sat in a chair just to the woman’s right, Reggie sat at the back of the room, resting one elbow casually on the arm of his leather chair. A silent observer, nothing more, his gaze took in the stunning sight of his wife in a glory he rarely witnessed. She used this stance with him when she was working as his consultant, when she wanted to make her point heard through his objections; though for reasons of romance she’d regularly cracked under his more imposing posture. There was just enough difference in their similar overbearing styles to make their relationship work—Reggie remaining the dominant to the end. But now, with no challenge to her authority, there was no breach in her resolve, and he could admire the brilliance that so matched his own.
“I’m sorry, ma’am. Could you explain?” Helena replied to her employer’s statement.
The girl was just haughty enough to piss Jocelyn off—the little brat thinking she could divulge secrets, that she had the right to spy on her and Alex, giving tidbits of information to her husband. The more Jocelyn thought of it, the more furious she got.
“You betrayed my trust,” Jocelyn said. “Going out of your way to glean information about my relationship with Alex, and then informing my husband behind my back. Did he ask you to perform this task?”
“No.”
“Then you did it solely on your own?”
“Yes, ma’am.”
“And why?”
The young woman’s beady eyes just stared, there was little innocence in their gaze. Despite the words she used, and the way she attempted to be coy, there was a seasoned manipulator behind them.
“I wanted to be part of your lives,” Helena answered.
“Oh?” Unusual answer, Jocelyn thought. Her glance strayed to Alex who nodded. “In what way?” she asked.
“You indicated you’d spank me, ma’am.”
“I did, didn’t I? And so you boldly try to put a wedge of mistrust between my husband and me? To make us act on your need for punishment?”
“I suppose that’s so.”
“What an artful deceiver you are? Which of us do you really want, Reggie or me?”
The girl balked at the question, while all eyes focused on her. Jocelyn could see that she wanted to turn about and look at Reggie, but that freedom wasn’t available the way that Jocelyn fixed her with her stare.
“Which one?” Jocelyn said with a winter’s gaze, and a cold wind in her voice.
“I have no preference, ma’am, though I thought it would be easier to have you.”
From the corner of her eye, Jocelyn saw Reggie shift in his seat, his hands in front of him, fingertips touching—a thoughtful pose, but nothing but a calm, observant, and non-committal expression.
“Easier to have me?”
“You seem less bound by pretension,” the girl added.
Jocelyn would like to have smirked at the appraisal of her husband, but didn’t.
“My problem, Helena, is that I can’t devise a punishment that befits your breach of good judgment, the lies and the treachery you’ve used.”
“But wasn’t it treacherous to conceal your relationship with Mrs. Kozak from your husband?” Helena responded with the simple question.
Jocelyn didn’t flinch at the sly retort. “Whether it was treacherous or not is not your business. And if you’d really wanted to get to me, you could have found a better way to do so. I must say the thought of enjoying the comforts of your body has been a pleasant thought in my mind. But you’ve ruined that possibility.”
“Oh, please no, ma’am.”
“You’re not even worthy of a good correction.”
