Chapter 9
If Cassie had thoughtTuesday was bad, Wednesday was a nightmare. Every time she left her desk, she got side glances and whispers.
She was happy to find the elevator empty when she headed down to IT. It would only take a minute to get to her destination, but she was grateful for that small moment. For some reason, she hadn’t thought it would be this bad.
Even Jesse was encountering some of it, and he’d texted to see how she was doing. That alone made her day better. She couldn’t imagine any of her previous boyfriends checking in with her like that.
Jesse had wanted to take her out to lunch, just the two of them, but then he’d been called into a meeting. Considering the previous manager of his department had been fired, Cassie had no doubt Jesse had his hands full.
She exited the elevator and made her way down the hall. IT was tucked away in a corner on the second floor, away from all the other departments. It was also freezing and she’d forgotten to bring her sweater.
Grayson Hyde, the head of IT, was bent over a computer, his glasses halfway down his nose. He didn’t look up when she approached. “Hi, Grayson.”
His only response was a grunt. This wasn’t unusual. He got hyper focused when he was working on a problem.
“I have some papers I need you to look over and sign.”
“Put them on my desk.”
“Mr. Masters needs them this afternoon.”
Grayson sighed and stood to his full height, which wasn’t much more than hers. He took the papers, scanned the contents, and scribbled his name.
She took them from him and slid them into a folder. “Thank you.”
Cassie turned to go and was met with four very curious faces peeking out of nearby cubicles. They all ducked back into their respective offices when they realized they’d been caught.
She bit the inside of her cheek as she marched toward the elevator, her irritation growing. It wasn’t as if she was screwing her boss. She was dating his son. It wasn’t a big deal.
But clearly, it was. At least for her coworkers.
Most of them, anyway. Alinda still greeted her with her usual smile when they’d run into each other in the break room, and Nester hadn’t batted an eye when she’d almost bumped into him as she’d rushed into the elevator earlier. It gave her hope that maybe once people got used to the idea of her and Jesse being an item things would calm down. Go back to normal. She hoped.
When she returned to her desk, her boss’s door was open, so she took him the paperwork he’d needed from Grayson. He was working on his computer. “I have the paperwork you asked for from IT.”
He took the papers. “Thank you.”
She nodded and turned to go. That was another thing she was grateful for. Her working relationship with her boss hadn’t changed in all this. He still treated her the same. Still greeted her the same way he always had when he came in and still had the same expectations of her. It was the stability she needed as she spent most of her day at her desk doing work for him.
With only a few minutes left of her workday, Cassie began shutting down her computer and straightening her desk.
She removed her purse from the drawer where she kept it and stood. When she looked up, she came face-to-face with those sea-blue eyes she often found herself getting lost in.
“Hi.” The word came out on a soft breath as her body reacted to his presence.
He smiled, making her heart rate kick up a notch. “I was hoping we could grab dinner since we weren’t able to have lunch.”
She looked around, seeing who may be watching them. “I don’t know if that’s a good idea.”
Jesse frowned and his tone hardened. “Have you changed your mind?”
Her eyes widened and she shook her head. “No. I just…” She glanced around again. “Maybe we shouldn’t be seen together at work.”
“I told you, Cassie, I’m not hiding. They’ll get used to it.”
She nodded and stepped out from behind her desk. Walking over to her boss’s door, she knocked.
He looked up. “Heading out?”
“Yes, unless there was something else you needed.”
“I think I’m good. Enjoy your evening.”
“You, too.”
Only a handful of people stared at Cassie and Jesse as they made their way to the parking garage together, but that was because the rest had already left. Jesse walked her to her car and waited for her to unlock it. She opened the car door and turned to face him.
His fingers brushed against hers as they stood too close to each other. “Drive home. I’ll follow you.”
“Okay.” She didn’t move to get into the vehicle.
Jesse’s gaze lowered to her lips. “Get in the car, Cassie.”
It took a lot of effort on her part, but she did as he asked, lowering herself into the seat. He gripped the door hard, his knuckles turning white before shutting it, turning around, and striding away.
Cassie closed her eyes and took a moment to center herself before she backed out of the parking space and headed toward her apartment.
Twenty minutes later, she pulled into the parking garage attached to her building. Jesse was right behind her. He got out of his car and met her as she was climbing out of her vehicle.
Her smile disappeared as he pulled her against him. He crushed his mouth over hers, his hands running down her back to cup her ass.
She circled her arms around his waist, kissing him back with all the pent-up tension she was feeling. It wasn’t only about not being able to touch each other anytime they wanted. It was also that she felt safe with him. She felt as if he’d catch her if she fell and it was an intoxicating feeling.
He broke the kiss and pressed his lips to her temple. “Baby, we need to stop or I’ll lay you out right here on the hood of your car.”
Cassie tucked her head into his shoulder as she tried to catch her breath. “I don’t think my neighbors would like that very much.”
“Right now, I couldn’t give a shit about your neighbors.”
She chuckled. If she were being honest, she wasn’t sure she did either. Which was unusual for her. She’d known Jesse less than two weeks. Normally, she’d never consider sleeping with him this soon, but whenever he kissed her, she lost all sense of reason.
He kissed the top of her head. “How are you doing?”
It took her a moment to realize what he was asking. “I’m better now.”
He smiled. “Are you ready to go, or would you like to change first?”
Glancing down at her outfit, Cassie knew she should change. Her three-piece suit didn’t exactly scream dinner date. It was more along the lines of a business lunch. “I should probably change.”
Jesse took a step back, making sure she was steady on her feet, then took her hand and led her into the building. He waited in the living room while she changed.
When she emerged from her bedroom, Jesse scanned her from head to toe. She’d opted for a spring dress since he’d said they were going somewhere casual. It had spaghetti straps, a low neckline, and it showed off her figure.
His eyes darkened and she felt something low in her belly. Maybe she should tell him she didn’t want to go slow, beg him to take her to her bedroom and strip her naked.
The thought was appealing, but then there was the whole dominance and submission thing to consider.
She was still contemplating her options when Jesse groaned. Before she could react, he took her hand and led her out the door.
* * *
Jesse blew out a breath to calm himself before opening his door and sliding behind the wheel. He’d never had an issue finding women. Not women to date or women to sleep with. None of them, however, had made him feel as out of control as Cassie did. He wanted to claim her in every way. Screw the consequences.
If it were only sex, that could be dealt with. Sexual attraction came in various forms and intensities. But this was on a whole other level. He both wanted to know everything about her and simultaneously wanted to fuck her and never let her leave his bed. That hadn’t happened to him before.
Not wanting to deal with a whole lot of people in a restaurant, Jesse drove to the park. It was a place he liked to come to when he needed to be alone with his thoughts. It had gardens, a lake, and plenty of benches where one could sit and process whatever problem or situation was plaguing them.
“I haven’t been here in years,” Cassie said as they made their way over to two food trucks parked in the opposite side of the parking lot.
Jesse guided her over to one. “Joe has the best hot dogs.”
“Do you come here a lot?”
“I come here when I need to think.” Normally, he wouldn’t admit that to someone he was dating, but he wanted Cassie to know.
“There was a lake near my dad’s house I used to go to sometimes. Especially, in the first couple of years after my parents’ divorce.”
He noticed Cassie referred to her dad a lot. She’d told him about her family, including her younger brothers, but family wasn’t at the top of his mind right now. “How did the rest of your day go?”
Cassie shrugged as she took a bite of her hot dog. “A lot of nosy people, but no one said anything directly to me. I know they were talking behind my back, but I tried to ignore them.”
“They’ll get over it eventually.”
He received no response.
“Cass, I know this will be difficult at first. People like to gossip. They’ll move on to other things once they realize it isn’t a big deal. We’re just two people who happen to be dating.”
“I’m not sure some of them will ever see it like that. There’s always going to be a question as to whether one of us is getting special treatment because your dad owns the company.” She met his gaze. “I knew it was going to happen, but I naively hoped since I’d been there for so long and they all know me that they wouldn’t make such a big deal of it.”
Jesse took her hand and moved it into his lap. “If it gets to be too much, I want you to tell me.”
“There’s nothing you can do.”
“Cassie.” His tone conveyed how he felt about her dismissal. Even though they hadn’t discussed the specifics of the power dynamic part of their blooming relationship, he was still a Dominant. Open communication was a critical part of a power exchange. It was best she understood that from the beginning.
She held his gaze for a long moment before looking across the lake. “I’ve been doing some research.” The breeze ruffled her hair, lifting it away from her neck, and she tucked a strand behind her ear. “How long have you”—her gaze took in their surroundings, making sure no one was close by—“been into dominance and submission?”
He was pleased she’d brought up the subject and that she’d caught on to the fact it wasn’t her boyfriend who had been insisting on her telling him if things got worse at work. “I began dabbling in college, but I didn’t do much besides some basic scenes until I moved to Europe.”
The muscles in her neck constricted as she swallowed. She still wasn’t looking at him. “What if I can’t do it? Will you still want me to be your girlfriend?”
“You’re worried you won’t be able to submit to me?”
She shrugged. “I’m not sure. I don’t have a lot of experience when it comes to men and sex and certainly not”—she lowered the volume of her voice to a whisper—“the type of sex where you do kinky stuff.”
Jesse couldn’t help but smile. There was no one close enough to hear them. “I quite like the fact I’ll be the one introducing you to a world of sexual pleasures.” He ran his thumb along the inside of her wrist. “Have you filled out the papers I gave you?”
Cassie nodded.
He decided to test the waters. They couldn’t do anything torrid, but he could have some fun teasing her. He gave her arm a gentle tug. “Come here.”
Again, she glanced around them. When she spotted no one close by, she scooted closer.
“On my lap.”
Her eyes widened. “What if someone sees?”
Jesse raised an eyebrow and waited. He wanted to see if she’d trust him enough to do what he requested.
After several long moments, she stood, took a step to her left, and sat down on his lap. She went to turn so her legs hung off the side of his lap, but he stopped her. “No turning. I want you facing the water.”
She swallowed but didn’t fight him.
He took the napkin she still held in her hand and stuffed it, along with his own napkin, in his pocket before leaning back against the bench. “Rest your back against my chest.”
Cassie leaned back.
Pressing a kiss to the skin at the base of her neck, he circled his arms around her. To the outside observer, they were a young couple cuddling by the water, enjoying the way the evening sun danced across the water.
Jesse positioned his legs between hers and pulled her thighs apart slightly. It wasn’t enough to see up her dress, but it would allow the breeze to caress her inner thighs.
He felt her stiffen. “Relax.” Then to add to his words, he ran his thumbs along the underside of her breasts. “Watch the water and just feel.”
Slowly, Cassie began to let the tension leave her body. If their circumstances were different, if they were in a different place without the wandering eyes of children, he may have pushed things, but they weren’t and she wasn’t quite ready for that yet, even if his cock was rock hard and begging to thrust into her pussy.
They sat on the bench until the sun began to set, turning the trees brilliant reds and oranges. Most of the families had gone home. Even the animals were starting to settle in for the night.
He sat up, bringing her with him. “I should get you home.”
Cassie turned in his arms. Her gaze lingered on his lips, and he knew what was on her mind. It was on his too.
Jesse brushed his lips across hers, and Cassie closed her eyes. He waited until she opened them again. “I promise I’ll kiss you properly when I get you home.”
“What if I don’t want to go home yet?” she whispered.
He rested his forehead against hers and took a steadying breath. She was difficult to resist, but he knew it would be worth it. “Tomorrow, I want you to bring a change of clothes to work with you and let Brie know you won’t be home tomorrow night.”
Cassie licked her lips and nodded.
Before things could get out of hand, Jesse stood, lifting her. She let out a little squeak, gripping his biceps as he guided her feet to the ground.
Jesse grinned. “Get to the car, Cass.”
She turned to walk away, presenting him with her ass, and he couldn’t help himself. He gave her behind a swift but firm swat.
Cassie jumped and looked back at him. Their gazes held for a moment before he saw one side of her lips curl up. Something told him she was going to like being his submissive and he couldn’t wait to see her kneeling before him, ready, willing, and eager to follow his command. Tomorrow night couldn’t come soon enough.