Chapter 8 #2
Her head tilts and strands of her blond hair caress her neck and cleavage.
I don’t even bother to avert my gaze. She has a beautiful pair of tits.
Ones my hands and mouth are itching to touch and taste.
I return my gaze to her face when she keeps silent.
The look in her eyes has slightly altered, and I know the effects of the aphrodisiac are in her bloodstream now.
I’ve never been into forced sex, but God, the Fuck Me look in her eyes makes me wish she’s mine to do with as I please. And I wish many, many things with this woman.
She shakes her head. “It’s… umm… Your online bio said you’re the CEO of S3, the hedge fund company.”
“Yes, that’s true. But I’m also a few other things.”
A corner of her mouth lifts, and she glances over her shoulder at the dissipating mist. “An aphrodisiac inventor, obviously. Where the hell do you learn to become an aphrodisiac inventor anyway?” She’s pulling her wrap from her shoulders in a slow, sexy movement that makes my temperature spike.
“I can tell you, but then I’ll have to fuck you. And you don’t want that, do you, Keely?”
Her mouth compresses. “That’s not even remotely funny. And it’s the sort of thing that will see you slapped with a sexual harassment suit.”
I straighten. “But I’m not your employer. We don’t even work together. I’m just your tour guide. Shall we continue?”
She stares at me for another few seconds before she nods. I walk her into the next room.
“This one is pretty much self-explanatory.”
She gazes warily around the spank room as if she expects one of the many whips and floggers to attack her any moment. I restrain a smile and watch her walk around the room, checking a list on her tablet.
“I have eight gadgets on my list. There are nine in here,” she snaps with a touch of exasperation. “I can’t start emailing clients the activity sheets if things are going to be added and taken off without my knowledge.”
“I had the last addition flown in this morning.”
“Which one is it?”
“This one.” I lead her to a black and indigo velvet free-standing cubicle. Inside, there are two horizontal bars at the top with restraints dangling from them. I watch her face as she examines everything.
“How is this different from the bench and the bed?” she asks.
I smile. “It won’t make sense until you witness it for yourself. Wanna be my guinea pig?”
She rolls her eyes. “I think you know the answer to that.”
Despite her reply, the interest in her eyes is clear to see, as is the unsettled pulse at her throat that hasn’t quite returned to normal.
I decide to test the true level of her interest. “I’m testing it out tomorrow. Swing by and see for yourself.”
Her gaze connects with mine. “You’re testing it out? Who with?”
I hide a smile at the ticked-off note in her voice I’m sure she thinks is nothing but curiosity. I recognize it for what it is. Keely Benson is territorial. She’s deeply possessive to a depth I’m sure even she isn’t aware of.
“Stop by after lunch. See for yourself.”
Leaving it at that, we finish the tour of the deck. We bypass the middle deck, where the construction crew is putting the finishing touches to the restaurant, bar and pool areas, and head for the deck below.
“So, why the need to own a sex boat?” she asks, again in that offhanded way, which gives the false implication that she doesn’t care about my answer.
“Why does any red-blooded male need one?”
“Two things spring to mind. Either you’re a sex maniac or you need a penis extender?”
I smile. “If I’m a sex maniac, I’ll hardly confess to it, will I? As for this being a penis extender, if you want to see the size of mine to judge for yourself, you need only ask.”
Her eyes drop to my crotch instantaneously, almost a reflex action. My body responds to the flash of hunger in her expression, and I grit my teeth against the powerful arousal moving through me.
Being around her is worse now than it’d been in Montauk, and it’d been pretty fucked up then.
My phone’s presence in my pocket reminds me that I have a way out of this.
One call to Hani and all will be well again.
She is sending me two girls tomorrow, but that is different.
They are just test subjects for the various additions I’ve made to a few sex implements on the yachts.
Like everything I create, I need to make sure it’s fully tested before I release it to the public.
My blood rushes a little faster through my veins at the thought of taking them through the routines. It would alleviate some of my pent-up frustrations, but it wouldn’t be anywhere near the usual twelve-hour sessions I need to place my edge back under control.
My hand itches to take out my phone, but like every other time I want to take that final step toward numbing myself, I hesitate. The part of my brain that worked out my problem a long time ago knows this is yet another form of punishment, another form of self-flagellation for my sins.
I’d continue to live in this hell if I didn’t know that my rage and pain will spill to an innocent bystander.
Someone who doesn’t deserve it.
Someone like Keely.
I focus to find her answering her own phone. “About time you called back,” she snaps, but I catch a note of affection in her voice.
Affection, a now alien feeling that makes me cock my head and listen, the sound of it a concept punished out of my system a long time ago.
She flicks a glance at me. “Yeah, too late, B. He’s already sicced himself on me.
” She stops and listens. “Fine. Whatever. Tell your husband that the next time he hires one of his friends to work on a project with me, he should give me a heads up. I don’t like surprises.
” She rolls her eyes at whatever Bethany says.
“No, sister, flattery will get you both nowhere. Now leave me to work, and don’t forget to feed Jeigerhamster,” she snaps, then her gaze softens. “Yeah, me too. Bye.”
She joins me in the hallway, and we walk for a minute before I say, “You named your pet Jeigerhamster.”
A smile plays on her lips before she bites it away. “Watch it. You mock, you die.”
“And you think I sicced myself on you?”
She glares at me. “Didn’t you? You knew I was working on this project, right?”
“Yes.”
“After what happened in Montauk, I figured you’d excuse yourself or at least make sure our schedules don’t clash?”
I shrug. “Why would I?”
“You don’t care that I saw you freak out and try to kill us both in that car?”
“I don’t really care what you think. And there are more effective ways to end one’s life.
Driving headlong into a tree offers no guarantee that you’ll be killed instantly.
You could end up with nothing but a scratch or two.
Or partial paralysis. If you want death to be certain and irreversible, there are more efficient ways. ”
She inhales sharply. “Are you joking?”
“No.”
Wariness creeps into her eyes. “You sound like you’ve thought about this a lot,” she says.
I wonder whether to bludgeon her with the truth. Is this tough girl from Brooklyn equipped to handle the evil that stains my heart and plagues my nightmares? “I’m an inventor and an architect, amongst other things. In order to innovate, I have to know how to disinvent.”
“And that includes learning how to kill?” Her voice quivers with a sick curiosity she doesn’t want to admit—a curiosity I understand all too well.
“Are you sure you want to know the answer to that, Keely?” I taunt.
She stares at me for a moment before she collects herself. “If you’re trying to increase your air of intrigue and mystery, save it. I’m not on the market for freaks and weirdos.”
“What are you on the market for?” I parry. “A quick fuck to alleviate that ache ripping you apart inside?”
A flush rises from her neck. “Don’t be an asshole. My sexual needs are none of your concern.”
“So you haven’t done anything about it?”
“Have you done something about yours?” she throws back at me.
“Not yet.” I meet her gaze, give her a glimpse of my monstrous hunger, and am rewarded by a light shudder that accompanies her next breath.
“Damn it,” she mutters before she turns away.
Her gaze lands on the sign on the double doors in front of her, and she slams to a stop.
Indigo Swinger.
She glances over her shoulder at me, and I’m even more convinced that despite her dirty mouth and aggressive exterior, Keely Benson isn’t the siren she purports to be.
Granted, she’s still a sex bomb. One that could detonate in my hands if I’m not careful.
All the same, I feel the thrill escalate and race through my blood.
“Is this a new addition?” she asks, indicating the sign.
“No.”
Her swift intake of breath makes her nostrils flutter, and all I want to do in that moment is take possession of her.
“Wow. Okay.” She seems lost for a moment before she straightens her shoulders. “I think I’ve seen all I need to see here. I want to see the upper deck now.”
We continue the tour, pretending the charged atmosphere between us doesn’t exist. With each minute that passes, with each inhalation of that sexy scent, which clings to her skin, I want to flatten her to the nearest surface and take the edge off the insane need pounding through me.
By the time we finish the tour, I’ve made up my mind.
Fuck the consequences.
Fuck the voice of reason telling me to take the safe option and call Hani.
I’ve never known a hunger like this for any other woman.
Regardless of whether I risk exposing her to the monster that lives within me, by the time I escort her to the launch that will take her back to her hotel, I succumb to the inevitable.
Keely Benson will be mine.