Chapter 4
CHAPTER 4
BECKETT
W hat a fucking day. News of Preston Kingsley’s interest in finding a new investment firm had spread like wildfire and he’d been fielding calls from his partners and the board of directors all morning.
Yes, I heard. Yes, of course, I’m going to do whatever I can to get him. Yes, I know what a man like Preston Kingsley would do for our company.
Unfortunately, not a single one of those phone calls had gotten him any closer to the man himself. All of his usual contacts were being annoyingly tight-lipped about whether or not they could get Beckett within throwing distance of Kingsley.
God, he hoped Ruby caved to his offer to punish her. The kind of mood he was in made the prospect of putting a brat in her place even more tempting than usual.
“You look like hell,” Ice greeted him when he slid onto the bench across from his friend.
Tugging at his tie, Beckett sent Ice an annoyed glare. “Fuck you too.”
Both of Ice’s brows rose to his hairline. “Someone’s in a mood. Bad day at the empire?”
“No. Just a stressful one. My white whale has been spotted in the waters again and I really fucking want him. Just have to figure out how to get close to him.”
“If that whale happens to swim in my waters, you know I’m happy to help.”
The offer went a long way toward soothing Beckett’s significantly ruffled feathers. “I’m not going to abuse our friendship that way.”
“Please.” Lifting his bottle of water to his lips, Ice rolled his eyes upward. “What’s the point of being this good-looking if I can’t use it to help my friends out every now and then?”
Beckett snorted out a laugh. “Yeah, yeah.” But the need, the hunger was gnawing at him in a way it hadn’t since he’d first started his company. “If I run out of options… I’ll think about it. There’s no guarantee you could help, anyway.”
“Just let me know.”
From the corner of his eye, he spotted Braden approaching their table. Now it was a different kind of hunger clawing at him as Braden greeted them looking suspiciously smug. “Gentlemen. Mind if I join you?”
“Sure.” Ice slid over, making space for Braden beside him. “To what do we owe the pleasure?”
Braden’s pale eyes sparkled with amusement when he met Beckett’s gaze. “Ruby came to see me a little while ago.”
“Did she?” Excitement buzzed along Beckett’s skin, chasing away the exhaustion that had plagued him all afternoon.
“Mmhmm. She wanted to come clean about helping Lottie hide from me after the… incident last night.” Tilting his head to the side, Braden’s gaze roamed Beckett’s face, seemingly searching for something. “She tells me you offered to discipline her in my stead.”
“I did. I’m glad to hear she came clean.”
“Wait.” A smile tugged at the corner of Ice’s mouth as he looked from Beckett to Braden and back again. “He finally made a move on pretty little Ruby?”
“I did not make a move. I simply… offered her absolution.”
“Yeah, just call you Father Beckett,” Ice said with a snort. “That’s a move and you damn well know it. And it’s about time.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
The two men across from him shared a look, and Ice shrugged. “It means we’ve all been watching you flirt and dance around your feelings for her for weeks now.”
Irritation crawled up Beckett’s spine. “I don’t have feelings. It’s just a scene.”
Before he could argue the point further, Holden strode up to the table, his dark gaze zeroing in on Beckett. “We need to talk.”
The hairs on the back of Beckett’s neck stood on end. “About?”
“Your girl. Ruby. You have a scene planned with her tonight?”
“She’s not my girl, but yes, we have a scene planned.” Suddenly feeling wary, Beckett narrowed his eyes. “Why?”
Holden grinned, a toothy smile that would have looked somewhat intimidating on a normal man. But when the man in question was a Marine built like a goddamn brickhouse, it looked positively terrifying. “The girls have something of a bet going on, a bet that says Ruby can be such a brat during your scene you’ll never want to have anything to do with her again.”
“Is that so?” The familiar hum of a challenge buzzed along Beckett’s skin. So Ruby thought she could really shake him that easily?
Not a chance.
“It is so. But I need you to stick, no matter what she does.”
Curiosity piqued, Beckett tilted his head to the side. “Oh? And why is that?”
“Because she’s got Frankie convinced that if she brats hard enough, she’ll shake me. Which we all know is bullshit, but you’d be doing me a solid if you could help prove Ruby wrong. God knows Frankie gives me enough fucking heartburn as it is, she doesn’t need someone encouraging her to be an even bigger brat. And maybe if you stick, it will finally convince her I’m serious when I say I’m not going anywhere.”
He would have done so without Holden asking, just to prove he could. And because he genuinely enjoyed putting bratty little girls in their place during a scene. But he couldn’t resist leaning back a bit, pretending to give it some thought. “I don’t know… what’s in it for me?”
“Finally getting your hands on Ruby isn’t enough?” Holden asked, raising a silver brow.
“That is, indeed, its own reward. But I never agree to a favor without negotiating something in return.”
“Thought you might say that, you bloodthirsty asshole.” But a knowing smile curved Holden’s lips. “I hear Preston Kingsley is asking around about a new investment firm.”
That had Beckett sitting up straight again, his heart practically beating out of his chest. “Don’t tell me you know Preston Kingsley.”
“As a matter of fact, I do. We were in the same fraternity together in college. Lost touch a bit when I was overseas, but when I came back he gave me some really great tips on getting my business started. And I’ve helped him out with some security threats over the years. I can’t guarantee a meet, but I would be happy to casually mention I’ve worked with Stone Investments and know the founder personally.”
The whole thing was ethically sketchy at best. But he would have taken the bait anyway, if for no other reason than to show naughty Ruby he wasn’t the kind of man who turned tail and ran just because a sub gave him a little attitude.
So it wasn’t really any worse now, just because he stood to gain from sticking things out a little longer. Right?
“How long do you think you need to prove your point?”
“Frankie’s even more stubborn than me, so let’s call it thirty days. You stick it out that long and it should be enough to prove Ruby’s theory is bullshit.”
The odds were high that another firm could swoop in and steal Preston out from under him in that timeframe. But so far, Holden was his only tangible lead and he was already feeling a bit desperate. “Done.”
They shook on it, and Beckett slid from the booth, flashing a grin for his friends. “Now, if you gentlemen will excuse me, I have a brat to tame.”
Ruby
She was still trying to convince herself she hadn’t made a huge mistake by agreeing to Silver’s offer when a shadow fell over the table. “Ladies.”
Oh shit, oh shit, oh shit. Heart pounding, she forced herself to look up, forced herself to smile as if she wasn’t second-guessing every decision that had led her to this moment. “Hey there, Beckett. Something we can do for you?”
Fire flashed in his eyes, telling her he’d caught onto the fact that she’d dropped his usual title, but the smirk he wore never faltered. “That depends. Are you ready for your punishment, Ruby Red?”
Thank god she’d already told everyone about their scene so she didn’t have to explain the situation in front of him. She wasn’t sure she would have managed to get the words out with him looking at her like she was the juiciest cut of meat at the butcher shop.
But since she had, and she’d promised Frankie a show, she was able to set her embarrassment aside to flash him a cheeky grin. “What punishment?”
Her cheekiness earned her a raised eyebrow to go with the smirk. A lethal combination if she’d ever seen one. “Pushing your luck already, little girl?”
God, she was a sucker for being called ‘little girl’ in that silky warning tone. It took everything she had not to simply melt at his feet. “What? I’m not allowed to ask questions?”
“I’ll take that as a yes.” Instead of pushing the issue, he turned to Cordelia. “Delia, do you mind if I borrow Ivy for a bit? If she’s up to it, I’ll need her during negotiations.”
The heart that was already threatening to beat out of Ruby’s chest raced even faster. What the hell could he need someone else to sit in on their negotiations for?
“Do you want to help Master Beckett, blossom?” Cordelia asked, running a hand down Ivy’s bare arm.
Practically bouncing with excitement, Ivy nodded. “Yes, Ma’am.”
“Go on, then. I’ll be watching.”
As Ivy slipped from Cordelia’s lap, Beckett turned back to Ruby, his hand held out toward her. “Coming, Ruby Red?”
Now or never . Placing her hand in his, she let herself be pulled to her feet and tried to ignore the jolt of electricity that raced through her at his touch.
“You guys should come watch the show,” she said to the table with another bright smile. “Apparently I’ve been a very naughty girl.”
“Yes you have,” Beckett murmured in her ear as he led her away, with Ivy trailing along behind them. “And playing the brat is only going to make it worse on you in the long run.”
“Who says I’m playing?”
Instead of scolding her as she’d half expected, Beckett tossed his head back and laughed. “Touché, Ruby Red. Touché.”
They settled at a more secluded table, with Beckett on one side and Ruby next to Ivy on the other. And Ruby watched, fascinated, as Beckett transformed in front of her eyes. From charismatic playboy to… well, Daddy . There was no other word for the stern set of his jaw, or the glint in his eyes that promised swift retribution for any misbehavior.
“Before we negotiate our scene, I need to let you know that I don’t do aftercare outside of committed relationships. I find it often leads to an emotional involvement that can… muddy the waters, so to speak. Ivy, on the other hand, enjoys taking care of people and she often assists my play partners with aftercare. Does that work for you, Ruby?”
Disappointment stabbed at her chest. She hadn’t even realized until that very moment how much she’d been looking forward to being cuddled and pampered by him.
But she’d heard that about him before, and even though it was a disappointment, it wasn’t a deal breaker. And she knew Ivy well enough to feel comfortable trusting her with such a delicate part of the process. “Fine by me.” Turning to Ivy, she grinned. “I like snuggles and soft blankets and chocolate. Oh, and to have my hair played with. I don’t know why but that always helps.”
“Got it. Do you need me for anything else, sir?” Ivy asked Braden.
“No. Thank you, Ivy.”
With a nod, Ivy slipped from the booth and disappeared into the shadows, leaving Ruby alone with her ‘disciplinarian’ for the first time.
Across the table, Beckett smiled. But not the same charming, boyish smirk she was used to. No, this smile was that of a predator finally cornering its prey, and it sent shivers racing up Ruby’s spine.
Goddamn the man was potent.
“All right, Ruby Red. Let’s discuss your punishment.”
Refusing to let him see what an effect he was having on her, she leaned back against the bench seat. “What did you have in mind?”
“To start with, I’ve found being bent over for a good hard spanking helps to put a naughty girl in the right frame of mind.”
Snorting out a laugh, she rolled her eyes, deliberately exaggerating the gesture for his benefit. “Is that the best you’ve got?”
“Since we’re just getting to know each other, we’ll keep things simple tonight. A spanking, followed by half a dozen of the best with my favorite Delrin cane—unless that’s a hard limit for you?”
“Nope.” She hated being caned, but she loved the marks it left behind. So not a hard limit, but more than enough to have her regretting her choices.
“Nipple play? Clamps?”
“Both are fine.” More than fine, as far as she was concerned.
“Good.” Leaning back a bit, Beckett tapped his fingers on the sleek wood of the table, his gaze boring into her as he let the silence between them drag out.
It was all she could do not to break that silence and demand to know what he was thinking so hard about. But she had a feeling that was exactly what he wanted, so she grit her teeth against the urge until he finally spoke again.
“I don’t normally allow naughty girls to orgasm during a punishment. But if you’re a very good girl for me, I might be willing to reconsider. If you’re open to sexual contact during our scene, of course.”
Open to it? She was damn near willing to drop to her knees and beg for it. “I’ll allow it.”
“Perfect. Now, do you have any questions for me?”
“Yes.”
Beckett narrowed his eyes slightly. “Let me rephrase. Do you have any questions about our scene, specifically, that are not of a smartass nature?”
Deliberately puffing out her bottom lip, she sniffed delicately. “Spoilsport.”
“Ruby.”
There was enough steel behind her name to have her shifting uneasily in her seat. “No, I don’t have any questions about our scene.”
“Good girl.”
Fuck. She had wildly underestimated the effect his praise would have on her. Squeezing her thighs together under the table, she cocked a brow. “So… is that everything?”
“Yes. But once we get down to the pit, you’ll be expected to address me appropriately. That means ‘Yes, Sir’ or ‘No, Sir’ when asked a question. If you forget or refuse, you will be punished. If you refuse a direct order, you will be punished. If you are mouthy or sarcastic or otherwise disrespectful, you will be punished. Have I made my expectations perfectly clear?”
“Crystal. Shall we get started?”
Rising to his feet, Beckett once again held out a hand. And when he pulled her up to join him, he didn’t step back to give her space. He crowded her, deliberately, using his free hand to capture her chin and tilt her head back. “It hasn’t escaped my notice that you are being even brattier than usual tonight. Do you know what I love most about playing with brats, Ruby Red?”
“What?”
His lips curved, and fear snaked up her spine at the predatory gleam in his eyes. “Watching them break.”