AllFreeNovel
Share Us
How could he have been so sublimely stupid?
He’d been so focused on dominating her and assuming what she wanted that he hadn’t taken the time to truly hear what she was asking for.
Independence, and even more, love. Real love. Not a love with expectations and limits, but something that empowered her to express every bit of her personality, to reach for every one of her dreams.
All of it could coexist in a D/s relationship, but he had acted too quickly without taking everything into consideration and thinking it through. After what they’d shared on Saturday night, he’d been hungry for the whole package. He’d wanted her in his bed, in his collar, in his life. And he’d moved too quickly to get it. He hadn’t appealed to her heart as well as her brain. Selfishly, probably.
He’d done a hell of a job of screwing things up. He hadn’t needed any help for that. But now how the hell did he fix it?
For the second time in his life, Nathan Donovan was at a loss.
* * * *
“Yeah, sorry, Kelsey. We’re out of the chocolate syrup for the mocha.”
“What?” She blinked back her disappointment. In all the years that she’d stopped at Marvin’s for her morning mix, this was the first time she hadn’t been able to get what she wanted. And she’d been counting on it. She hadn’t slept well for the last couple of nights, and she’d needed the pick-me-up.
“It’s on order,” Marvin went on. “Should have it in about an hour. I can get you a regular coffee, and you can come back for it?” he suggested.
“An hour?”
“Maybe a little less.”
“Do you have any spinach and feta scones?”
“Sold out a few minutes ago.”
“Before eight in the morning?”
“Been raining,” he said, as if that explained everything. “Lot of customers. Tell you what. You come back later, your mocha’s on the house. Hate to disappoint my favorite customer.”
“No problem.” But it was. Now she was tired, heartbroken, thirsty and hungry.
She popped up her umbrella the moment she stepped outside and made a dash through the wind and rain.
Under the portico of the building that housed Donovan Logistics, she closed the umbrella, shook it off then headed for the elevators.
Rankowski lifted a hand in greeting as she walked by.
After pushing the button for the fortieth floor, she closed her eyes and exhaled. Until this week, she had never dreaded going to work.
Then again, she’d never stupidly had an affair with the boss.
Yesterday, tension had radiated from Nathan. They had treated each other cordially but had only interacted to talk about business matters. They were back to Mr. Donovan and Ms. Lane, but not in a friendly, teasing way.
She’d sent Lara Donovan a text message around nine a.m. By ten, they’d set up a lunchtime meeting. The meeting had gone well, and she and Lara had instantly related to each another. At the end of the meeting, Kelsey had told Lara she’d like to be considered for the job.
Because of the way she felt about Nathan, she was confident in that decision.
She fucking loved the man. Working with him threatened to destroy her a day at a time.
It had been hard to watch him come and go without remembering the way he’d touched her, the way he’d said dirty things to her that no one else ever had, the way he’d seared the word slut into her ass cheeks.
She couldn’t pretend it hadn’t happened.
Worse, she couldn’t pretend she didn’t want it to happen again.
This morning she’d woken up needy. She’d tossed and turned. Finally, with thoughts of him rolling over each other in her brain, she’d turned onto her belly and worked a hand between her pelvis and the mattress until she’d found her pussy.
Since he wasn’t there to tell her she couldn’t, she’d played with her pussy, thinking about the Punishment Pole, and the way he’d fucked her ass.
Memories of the last look he’d given her before walking out of the door had crashed into her, and the chance at an orgasm had vanished.
In frustration, she’d gotten out of bed far too early and heading to her office to do some work. She’d found herself looking at photographs, though, of Galveston and the Bolivar Peninsula. And she’d recalled his invitation to attend the family meeting at the ranch. The opportunity to take pictures in Corpus Christi had excited her. She also knew that the ranch was home to some unusual birds, including the stunning green jay, something she’d never seen.
She sighed. If she’d been able to accept Nathan’s offer to move in, she would have had access to the amazing habitat on a daily basis.
The elevator slid to a stop. She exited before walking down the corridor to the office suite.
