Chapter Ten
THE BOARDROOM AT Luntian was exactly what Wynd expected from a mid-tier company trying to project success on a limited budget. Medium-sized space, leather furniture that was well-maintained but showed signs of age, and floor-to-ceiling windows covered by cream-colored blinds.
His gaze swept over the room, taking inventory of every detail. Security cameras mounted in the corners, a projector system for presentations, and a small sidebar with coffee service and water glasses.
It wasn't the most luxurious boardroom, but it would do for what he had in mind.
And as for Star...
She remained standing by the entrance, her coral blouse a bright splash of color against the neutral tones of the room. Her face was pale and her posture stiff; she looked as if she was ready to bolt at the first sign of trouble.
He could feel her gaze following his every move, and he sensed her mood turning curious when he walked past the chair at the head of the table—the power position she obviously expected him to claim—and instead selected a pair of seats opposite the floor-to-ceiling windows.
Wynd pulled out a chair for her. "Sit down, Ms. Moreno."
She did as asked, and he sensed her jerking in her seat in surprise when he sat beside her rather than across from her.
Good.
"Do you know why I came here?" Wynd drawled.
She shook her head, those expressive brown eyes wide and uncertain.
"I left you a note."
"I...I saw it."
"And?"
She swallowed hard and started wringing her hands in her lap like a schoolgirl called to the principal's office. "I...I didn't realize—"
"That I was waiting for your call?"
"I honestly didn't think you were. It just felt so impersonal—"
"I would never care to ask for something that didn't matter to me."
"I'm sorry—"
"No, Star," he cut her off gently, his voice softer than his expression. "I'm the one who's sorry."
Her eyes widened in surprise.
"Because what you've done means I'll have to punish you."
"O-Oh."
That she actually said this out loud—breathless and wondering rather than frightened—almost made him smile.
Almost .
"Are you scared?" he asked, studying the way her breathing had already changed.
She nodded so quickly in answer that he was finding it more difficult to keep his face expressionless.
"But it's not only that, is it?"
A blush stole over her cheeks as his gaze slowly traveled over her body.
"You're already wet, aren't you?"
"W-Wynd!"
He clucked his tongue. "When I ask a question, I expect an answer. Are we clear on this?"
She slowly nodded, a deep flush now staining her cheeks.
"Are you wet for me?"
Star looked at him in dismay, her lips parting as if she wanted to protest again. But when his expression remained unyielding, patient and implacable, she eventually choked out, "Y-Yes."
"And what do you think I should do about it?"
"Nothing!" The word burst out of her, desperate and breathless.
"Wrong answer."
She started pushing her chair back, the wheels scraping against the polished floor.
"Stop."
She froze mid-motion, her hands still gripping the armrests.
"I need you to be really close—" Wynd purred the words out in a dangerously silkened tone that had all the women in his past forgetting their own names. "—if I'm going to punish you properly."
"P-Punish?"
She croaked the word out, but her voice was tinged with both horror and helpless desire.
"Yes."
His confirmation had Star looking around as if everything was new to her. And indeed it was, since she now knew that this boardroom was about to turn into her torture chamber.
Perfect.
Anticipation was always worse than the actual punishment itself, and half the pleasure came from watching how she was now tormenting herself. Star was now squirming restlessly in her seat, hands tightly gripping the armrests as she pressed her thighs together in an obvious bid to relieve the aching need he could practically feel radiating from her.
"Turn your chair to face me, Ms. Moreno."
She swallowed hard, the sound audible in the quiet room. "W-Wynd—"
"Mr. Sullivan would be more appropriate," he corrected in that same dangerously silkened purr, "considering we're at your workplace."
The words had her biting down hard on her lower lip, and the sight of those perfect white teeth against soft pink flesh sent heat straight to his groin.
"Need I remind you again?" he asked quietly, his gaze fixed on her mouth. "If you keep doing that, you're tempting me to break my word."
"I'm s-sorry, M-Mr. Sullivan." She released her lip immediately, but the damage was done. It was swollen now, glistening, and the sight had him wanting to punish her even more.
"Now come closer."
Her chair swiveled in his direction as she wheeled it toward him, the movement hesitant and jerky.
"Closer."
Another inch.
"More."
Another inch.
"More."
And another, until he heard her sharp intake of breath as their knees finally bumped against each other.
The contact was electric, even through layers of clothing, and it caused her to gasp, the sound underscored by helpless yearning.
"And now..."
Wynd adopted a tone to make it seem as if they were simply discussing quarterly reports instead of her complete surrender, and he waited until her dazed gaze was lifted to his before issuing his next command.
"I need you naked under your skirt."
The shock on her face was a delicious sight...but it was not enough.
"You don't have to worry about the security cameras," he continued in that same reasonable tone, gesturing casually toward the corners of the room. "All they'll see from that angle are our faces. They won't know what's happening...unless, of course, your expression gives everything away."
She shook her head. "Wy—Mr. S-Sullivan, p-please."
"This punishment can get a lot worse if you don't do what I ask in the next five seconds."
"I..." She started to speak, then stopped, her mouth opening and closing like she couldn't find the words.
" Please ..."
" It's ..."
The five seconds were up, and being a man of his word, Wynd reached for the remote control on the conference table and pressed a button with deliberate slowness.
"Mr. Sullivan!"
But it was too late. The automated blinds began rolling up with a quiet mechanical hum, and in mere moments, the two of them were completely exposed to anyone who happened to walk past the boardroom. The view was crystal clear: two figures seated close together at the conference table, apparently engaged in an intimate business discussion.
He turned to her, leaning forward until his breath fanned across her face. "Will you now do as I say?"
Star looked at him, lip trembling hard, and her voice even more tremulous as words of surrender came tumbling out. "Y-Yes, Mr. Sullivan."
She rose shakily to her feet, and she almost had him smiling again, with how she bent down as if accidentally dropping something near her chair...when what she was really doing was stepping out of the delicate scrap of silk that had been hidden beneath her modest skirt.
"Give it to me, please."
Her fingers trembled as she placed the ivory silk in his outstretched palm. The fabric was warm from her body and damp with her arousal, and his jaw clenched at the evidence of her desire.
He could feel her wide-eyed gaze following his every move as he tucked the silk into his inner jacket pocket, right over his heart.
"This is mine now."
"B-But—"
Wynd raised a brow. "Are you complaining, Ms. Moreno?"
She quickly shook her head, sending her dark hair swaying around her shoulders.
"You're learning. Good."
Wynd reached for one of the folders that had been waiting on the conference table. "Now, let's see..." He glanced at her over the folder, his expression all business despite the intimate game they were playing. "We need to make this look realistic, Star."
"S-Sorry..." She hastily grabbed the other folder from the desk, her movements jerky with nerves.
"Are you nervous?"
"What do you think?"
She was finally past her shock, with the stormy expression on her face promising that things would only get more interesting from here.
"You sound angry," he taunted.
"I think I am."
"How surprising, for someone who had originally struck me as unfailingly optimistic. Can't you think of anything positive about this situation?"
Star smiled sweetly at him, and her tone ever so pious as she did something that not even his fiercest rivals had the courage to do.
"I'm positive I'm going to pay you back for this—"
It had been so long since someone had threatened him, and for it to come from Star of all people—
Wynd found himself doing something he hadn't done in years.
He laughed.
There was just something about this woman...
Something about her that made him do and feel things that were completely out of character. And while a part of him hated that loss of control...
Another part of him hungered for her even more because of it.
The longer he knew her, the more uncontrollable his desire became.
And that was why...
He leaned forward abruptly, taking her by surprise.
"Start reading the contract out loud," he commanded.
Star looked at him as if gauging how far he would go if she were to refuse.
" Now , Star."
It was now his turn to issue a threat, and even though the retribution he promised was only implied—
Star cleared her throat.
It was more than enough to have her back down, followed by the first few words of the contract spilling past her lips in a shaken and slightly breathless tone.
"This p-private financial audit a-aaaah ..."
His Star ended up gasping the moment she felt his fingers move under her skirt...before slowly settling over her knee, his touch feather-soft but unmistakably possessive.
"Keep reading," Wynd instructed coolly even as his hand continued its forbidden ascent over the smooth bare flesh of her thigh.
"A-Agreement is e-entered into on t-this daaaaaaay ..." Star's voice wavered anew as his fingers inched closer to the juncture between her trembling legs.
"Don't stop," Wynd ordered, his own voice rougher now as he felt the heat of her body beneath his palm.
"B-By and between W-Wynd S-Sullivaaaan..." She whimpered this time, her entire body shuddering as his fingers finally reached her core.
"H-Hereinafter referred to as 'C-Client'..."
Wynd began stroking the swollen folds made slick by her need.
"A-and..." She jerked in her seat, her agonized gaze flying to his the moment he slowly pushed one finger inside her welcoming heat.
"Eyes back on the contract," Wynd growled even as the tight, wet warmth surrounding his finger threatened his own sanity.
Her breasts were rapidly rising and falling under her blouse, but he was nothing if not patient, with Wynd waiting until her gaze finally returned to the contract she held in her trembling hands—
Finally.
He pushed his finger deeper inside her, and his Star cried out, her body jerking in the chair.
"Stay still, Ms. Moreno," he warned quietly, "because I see someone about to walk down the hallway."
Another whimper escaped her as she fought to remain motionless while his finger remained buried inside her. "Mr. S-Sullivan—"
"Continue reading."
"S-Star M-Moreno, h-hereinafter..." She was close to gasping each word out as his finger began to move, slowly and steadily thrusting in and out of her with deliberate precision.
"R-Referred to as 'A-Auditor'..."
Her knuckles had turned white with how hard she was gripping the folder as he increased both the pace and force of his movements, his finger driving deeper with each thrust.
"W-Whereas, C-Client s-seeks aaaaaah..."
Wynd moved his chair closer, the action allowing him to thrust his finger deeper into her, just deep enough to brush against the barrier of her innocence—
"Mr. S-Sullivan!" S he looked at him in sweet distress, her eyes glazed with need.
"Come for me. Now."
His Star shattered before him, her body convulsing around his finger as she tried desperately to muffle her cries of pleasure. Her head fell back, the elegant line of her throat left exposed as her entire body trembled with the force of her release.
Watching her fall apart from just his touch filled Wynd with a satisfaction so terrifyingly profound...that his own world started to fall apart as the truth of his feelings became devastatingly clear.
I love her.
He loved how her smiles reached his soul even as it tore down the walls he had built around his heart. He loved her innocent and fearless ways. Loved her enough to know that she was the only one in this world to make him feel that way.
And that was why...
I can't let this continue.