Chapter Seven
Xia
The GoldenEye IV Airbus...
The absolute gall of the man! Xia raged inside her mind as she flung the small towel she’d polished glasses with on the counter.
What the devil am I? Chopped liver? She was highly irked that he had the audacity to ask her.
.. scrap that... instruct her. Got that?
Instruct her to approve his search for a potential Mrs. Oliver.
.. as if she didn’t exist. Yeah, I have a couple of extra pounds.
.. perhaps more than a couple, but I’m damn sexy, yet classy, and I’ve been told, beautiful. So, what’s his case?
Casting a debilitating glare his way, she stepped around the bar.
If Rex Oliver thought for one minute she was going to hand over her future husband to any of these drooling women on the plane, he’s got one hell of a surprise coming.
You’re mine, buddy. It’s just going to take some time to make you realize it. So? How do I handle this shit show?
“What every girl in our position would do... shoot down all those quirky and pert potentials!
“I don’t want to chase my potentials away.” Rex looked her up and down. “Good thing you’re dressed appropriately. I’ll introduce you as my assigned club coordinator.” He started walking only to stop abruptly.
Xia followed and stumbled into his rock-hard back. Rubbing her nose, she took a step back to glare at him.
“Next time, use your brake lights, would you? Geez, it feels like my nose is cracked.”
“If you read the protocol properly, you would know the expectation for any sub or coordinator is to walk a step behind her Dom to the right.”
She simmered at how much fun he seemed to be having at her expense.
“Since I wasn’t intended to be either of those, I didn’t need to study those pages. A bartender’s place is behind the bar.” Her fists jabbed into her waist in a pose she realized could be seen as disrespect toward a Master of the club.
“Everyone on board this flight has to adhere to protocol. Inflight staff also play in the dungeon, so be warned. I won’t stand for ignorance as an excuse to be disrespectful. Is that understood, sub?”
Xia had a valiant fight with her inner submissive, which she lost when the words crawled from her lips.
“Yes, Master R.”
“Good girl.” He smiled at what she was sure was a flash of bright red pleasure coloring her cheeks. “So, what’s your sub name?”
“Er, the one I’ve been using at other clubs, or do I need a different one?”
“Whichever you prefer.”
“I’m known as Angel.”
“Ah... because of your skill. Very appropriate. Well, Angel, let’s introduce ourselves to Little Red Riding Hood.”
“Excuse me for asking, but wouldn’t the subs you play with find it strange to have a club coordinator present in your private suite? I mean that is the actual purpose of not scening in the dungeon, isn’t it?”
“For now, I’m going to use the Sky Dungeon. If sex is the natural conclusion of the scene, we’ll move to my suite.” He winked at her. “Of course, that decision will depend on your interim assessment of the potential. If it’s a no, it’ll end there. If it’s a maybe or a yes, well...”
“You’re going to base your decision on whether to have sex with a sub on what I think of her?” Xia stared at him wide-eyed. Excitement stirred inside her.
“Of course. It’s your sole purpose, remember. Helping me find the perfect Mrs. Oliver.”
“And you trust me that much?”
“Well, Cheri and the Club Masters at the clubs you frequented assured me there is no one better to see past any facade to the real submissive. I can’t think of anyone more suitable.”
“So, you’re looking for a sub, not a wife?”
“I need a wife who would be the perfect sub.”
“What if none of the ones you play with on this flight meets my approval? Does that mean you’re going to go... er, I mean... have no sex at all?”
“Hmm, I didn’t consider that, but no, that definitely won’t do.” He smiled as he cupped her chin. “If that should happen, then you would just have to be a stand-in for this trip.”
“I... me? What... a stand-in? F-For what?”
“Sex... fucking... doing the horizontal tango.”
Xia stuttered so much she couldn’t formulate a word to express her indignation.
“What was that, Angel? I couldn’t quite catch what you’re saying.”
“I am not a sex object, Rex Oliver, and I refuse to be a substitute to scratch the itch someone else caused. If you want to have sex with me, you’re not just going to snap your fingers and expect my legs to open.”
Liar! Her subconscious scoffed at her.
“Ah, so you want to be wooed? I can do that.” Rex smiled broadly. “I can even throw in a short scene to get you in the mood, if that’s what you prefer.”
Xia’s eyes narrowed to slits. “That’s it. I quit. I refuse to be your wife whispering sex substitute! I’m going back to being a bartender.”
The warning flash in his eyes only fueled her defiance. Xia spun on her heels, marching toward the bar with all the determination of a woman who absolutely, definitely wasn’t affected by his presence.
Nope. Not at all.
“Stop.”
One word. Softly spoken but with so much power and confidence that it was all it took for her feet to betray her brain’s very clear keep walking command. Her inner submissive practically purred while her rational self was throwing a mental tantrum.
“Turn.”
His voice dropped an octave, flowing over her like expensive dark chocolate—and just as bad for her willpower. The war between her submissive nature and her stubborn pride was brief and completely one-sided. No! Do not turn! Her body pivoted before her brain finished shouting its protest.
“Little wimp,” she muttered to herself, annoyed at how quickly her inner sub had rolled over like a puppy expecting belly rubs. Being a natural sub had its advantages, but there were just as many disadvantages. Denying a powerful dominant using his Dom voice was one of them.
“For an experienced sub, you are rather naive in believing insolence and disobedience would be tolerated purely because you’re an inflight employee.”
His words wrapped around her like warm honey.
.. if honey could make your knees weak and your pulse race.
The slight curve of his lips told her he knew exactly what effect he had on her.
Her inner submissive did backflips of joy while her pride desperately tried to maintain some semblance of dignity.
It was like watching a chihuahua try to resist a belly rub—technically possible, but ultimately futile.
Xia drew in a staggering breath. Rex’s presence seemed to grow, filling the space between them until he might as well have been a mountain in an expensive suit.
When had he gotten so... large? Her brain helpfully supplied a mental image of him as some sort of corporate Hulk, except instead of turning green, he just oozed dominance.
Even knowing he was toying with her, Xia couldn’t muster the confidence to openly defy him. Not while he appeared to be ten feet tall.
“The moment anyone steps onboard and inside the club, the lifestyle and CDS protocols are in place and have to be adhered to. Do not for one moment believe you are absolved or won’t be punished.” He walked closer until they stood toe to toe.
“Oh!” The gasp escaped as his large hand wrapped around her throat, lifting her to her toes. The gesture should have terrified her; it always did when other Doms did it. Instead, her inner submissive was doing the emotional equivalent of throwing rose petals at his feet.
“This is your only warning, Angel. Next time, I won’t be as lenient.”
“Yes, Master R.” The words slipped out on a shiver as her body pressed against his from knee to chest. Even as heat flooded her veins, she tilted her chin back defiantly against his grip. “But I refuse to be your sex toy.”
“I don’t recall labeling you as such.” He tilted his head as his eyes sharpened. “Are you claiming that you’ve never had sex just because you needed relief?”
“Of course not, but I refuse to be your relief for someone else’s effort.” Her fingers itched to trace his muscles, and she mentally slapped them back.
Bad hands. No touching the hot Dom. Not while he was being such an asshole, at least.
“Not to worry, little one. I’ll make sure you are as much in need before I fuck you.
” His fingers tightened as she opened her mouth to protest. “Ah-uh, enough.” His breath caressed her lips as he continued, “Don’t underestimate the effect your gorgeous curves and unchecked submission have on me, subbie.
One thing you can be assured of. When we do fuck, it’ll be because you awakened the lust to be fed. ”
“I thought you never got involved with employees,” she whispered, her traitorous heart doing somersaults as his grip gentled into a caress.
“Fucking you isn’t becoming involved, Angel. It’ll purely be a culmination of a scene we will both agree to.” His eyes narrowed. “Remember that, subbie, and don’t expect anything to come of it. Your goal is to help me find my other half, not to fall in love with me.”
Too late for that, you gorgeous idiot. She smiled sweetly as another thought followed. My goal now is to make you fall in love with me.
Wait! Her brain screeched to a halt like a cartoon character hitting a wall.
Too late? The logical part of her mind started pulling out charts and graphs proving the impossibility of love at first sight.
She’d literally spent years rolling her eyes at friends who claimed such nonsense existed.
“You can’t fall in love that fast,” she’d lectured countless times. “It’s just hormones and fantasy.”
Yet here she was, her heart doing interpretive dance moves whenever he looked at her, while her inner cynic sat in the corner having an existential crisis. The woman who’d preached the scientific impossibility of instant love was suddenly composing mental sonnets about his eyes.
Love at first sight, her heart sang gleefully.
I might have decided he was the man for me, but this is temporary insanity, her brain argued back.