Enslaving Dana (Mission Pleasure Book 3) Read online

  She leaned down to take a closer look. Each petal curled perfectly. “Where the hell did you learn to do this stuff?”

  Bastien shaped a tiny purple flower with his big hands and she marveled at the delicacy. He really was a master.

  He shrugged. “Just from watching tv shows and reading.”

  “Well, you’re a freaking genius.” The couple who’d requested the cake had read the review in the paper and became regulars. Although their big day was right around the corner, they’d wanted something special, and were willing to shell out two grand to have the perfect cake. If this went well, it could become a lucrative side business.

  Bastien dabbed some icing on the back of the flower and attached it to the cake. “Done.” He moved back and a grin spread over his face as he admired his work. “Not bad.”

  She ended up standing next to him. He smelled of vanilla and buttercream. She wanted to lean in and lick his neck, see if tasted as good as he smelled.

  Naughty Dana.

  Instead she bumped her shoulder against his. “Not bad my ass. That is fan-fucking-tastic. You are definitely getting a bonus for this, pal.”

  As Bastien turned, his hip brushed hers. The air between them contracted. She found it hard to breathe as he looked down, heat sizzling in his eyes. They’d both worked so hard to contain the sexual tension flamed between them. And they’d done a damn good job. Especially her. She’d managed to stop herself from jumping on him or falling at his feet as a gesture of her submission.

  At night things were different. He took charge of their online relationship and she’d been exploring aspects of BDSM. He’d given her things to read and together they would talk it over.

  It got harder each day to keep her hands off him. She knew what he was like a Dominant. Their one night only whet her appetite and now she wanted more. However, she knew that couldn’t happen. Not now when her fledgling business was doing so well.

  He rested a hand on her hip, licked his lower lip and said, “And what kind of bonus would that be?”

  Her pulse thundered as his fingers tunneled under the hem of her blouse and stroked bare skin. She wanted to fist her hands in his shirt and drag him towards her. Her treacherous nipples tightened. He smelled so good.

  “Bastien, I don’t think…”

  He cut her off by putting a finger to her lips. “Then don’t think.” He curled his fingers on her hip, digging into the skin.

  She moaned at the sharp stab of pain. Before she could protest, Bastien swooped down and captured her lips. The kiss was light, gentle at first. He coaxed her, nibbled delicately at her flesh. He tasted of mint, vanilla and pure man. Unable to stop herself she caved. Her hands gravitated to his chest, she grabbed a handful of his t-shirt and opened her mouth under his.

  Bastien accepted her invitation. He cupped her face, angled her head to the side and deepened the kiss. His tongue swept against hers. Devoured her. She couldn’t think. He permeated her senses and her whole world shrunk down to minute details. His smell, his taste, the fierce way he claimed control of the kiss. She’d never been kissed like this before, as though he needed her to live.

  She felt the steady thud of his heartbeat in his chest as he stroked the roof of her mouth in a sensual gesture that made her toes curl.

  Jesus, the man could kiss.

  Dana felt like she was drowning in sensation. He tilted his head, deepened the kiss further before swiping his fingertips over the underside of her bra. Desire shot between her thighs, made her clit pulse and moisture soak her panties.

  Yes.

  She’d fantasized about this. Dreamed he’d take control. If he took what he wanted, he’d take the decision about moving their relationship to the next level from her. She wouldn’t have decide between the personal and the professional. He’d do that for her.

  And she couldn’t let him. As much as she wanted to sink into him, she was a grown woman aware that actions had consequences.

  She dragged herself out of the sexual haze and pushed back. “No. God, I’m so sorry. I shouldn’t have.”

  Bastien looked at her thought hooded lids. His lips were wet and slightly swollen. It made him look even more inviting. “Is there a problem?”

  She could feel the burn on her chin from the scrap of his beard. It felt sooo good, but she had to stay true to their arrangement. “We haven’t discussed this and I can’t let you take control.”

  Bastien quirked a brow.

  Dana bumbled on, embarrassed by her moment of weakness, mortified she’d clawed at him. “I mean, I want you to take control but I can’t put that decision in your hands and absolve myself of any responsibility. That would be cheating. We haven’t discussed taking this into the real world. How would it work? I’m your employer. I’m not sure I’m ready to cross the line we set. I shouldn’t have kissed you like that.”

  A dark look flashed across Bastien’s face. “Really? Didn’t you enjoy it?”

  A shiver of desire ran down her spine. He looked so dominant, like he could sweep her off her feet and lock her away, demanding sexual acquiescence, agreement be damned.

  Enjoy it? That kiss was the highlight of her freaking year.

  She opened her mouth to continue when the bell rang in the café.

  “I should…” she sloped past him, glad of the reprieve.

  Fortunately the new customer gave her something to focus on other than the sheer embarrassment of kissing her co-worker. As she steamed the milk for a chai latte, she mentally berated herself for being so stupid. He must think her a flaky bitch—one minute telling him to keep things professional, the next pawing at him like he was some kind of sex object.

  With the latte brewed and a spiced brownie plated, she took the customers payment just as Bastien emerged from the kitchen. He’d washed up and had his jacket in hand.

  “Okay if I head out early today? Cake is done and I’ve cleaned down.”

  Dana nodded, swallowing the bile in her throat at his casual tone. “Sure. See you tomorrow.”

  He gave her a tight smile, one that didn’t reach his eyes. “Yeah, see you tomorrow.”

  She watched his perfectly formed butt exit the café and her heart sank. That had been…awkward.

  She hoped she hadn’t damaged what they had.

  * * * * *

  Bastien swirled the reposado tequila around the glass before taking a sip. The taste of alcohol burned a path down to his gut. He enjoyed a good glass of tequila, not the crap shit bars sold in bulk shots, but well-made sipping tequila. Although it was only four in the afternoon he hoped the booze would dull the storm churning through him.

  “If you’re gonna drown your sorrows, my friend, you need more than one finger of tequila.”

  Bastien looked up as his friend and CIA operative, Alex St. Clare slid into the booth opposite him.

  He tilted the glass toward Alex and said, “Purely medicinal.”

  As Alex motioned to the bar tender for another round, another man slid in next to Alex. His impeccable suit screamed money and looked entirely out of place in the semi-dive bar Bastien frequented, but he knew Joshua Quinn had been in worse places. They all had when they were overseas serving as marines. When they’d left the marines, Joshua got them involved in his defense contracting company that earned millions. While Alex and Bastien cashed out, comfortable with their small fortune, Joshua had continued the business and made it a billion dollar company. Lucky bastard had it all—success, money, prestige and his own submissive, soon-to-be-wife, Ruby.

  Joshua loosened his tie. “So, as much as I love seeing you guys in the middle of the afternoon, in a shitty bar where my shoes stick to the floor, what the fuck is going on?”

  After Bastien kissed Dana and she’d pushed him away, he’d needed to vent. She drove him bat shit crazy. Leading a double life as Bastien—her fun, friendly employee by day and by night, Sir A—wild Dominant, wasn’t easy. He yearned for her physically. It was getting harder to separate their relationship. The more he got to kno
w her, the more he wanted.

  He thought he could do it, he thought he had more control, but today he’d been unable to stop himself from kissing her. She looked so fucking good, her curves teasing him as she walked around the cake. The look of admiration in her eyes made his cock harder than steel. He had to taste her. She’d been like wildfire in his hands, coming alive as he’d deepened the kiss.

  He shifted in his seat. Fuck, even now he was getting hard thinking about it. Add her eager physical reaction to the submissive side he knew she had, and his cock practically begged to be inside her every fucking minute of every fucking day.

  Alex clicked his fingers in front of Bastien’s face. “Hey, hey, earth to asshole. You can’t call us in the middle of the day and then go all stoic on us.”

  The bar tender bought over three tequila’s and Bastien waited until he was out of ear shot to let rip.

  “Things have…developed…with Dana.”

  “Define ‘developed’,” Joshua said as he leaned back and picked up is drink.

  Bastien had already told his friends about Dana, about their arrangement and his foray into online dominance. “I kissed her.”

  The sarcastic “ooooohh’s” from the men sitting across from him made Bastien flip them the bird. “Fuck you, assholes.”

  Alex chuckled. “Sorry man, we didn’t mean to rain on your parade. But kissing her isn’t the end of the world.”

  Bastien inclined his head in agreement. “True. However, she’s my boss and I kissed her. I broke the agreement, I didn’t have control and she pulled away.”

  “How was it?” Joshua enquired.

  “Amazing. Mind-blowing. Definitely not enough. Given what I know about her, I wanted to push, you know? See how far I could take her in that moment.”

  “And?” Joshua continued as he quirked a brow.

  Bastien blew out a stream of air. “And I feel like a fucking asshole. Felt like I was violating her trust.”

  And therein lay the huge fucking problem. At first he’d enjoyed the idea of seducing and teaching her online as Sir A. He’d connected with her on so many levels he wanted more. He wanted her in his life, in his bed, at his fucking feet.

  Alex threw back the last of his drink and said, “So what are you going to do about it?”

  “No fucking clue.”

  Joshua drummed his fingers on the table. “You have to tell her you want more. That the online stuff isn’t enough.”

  “I know, but how do I do that without coming off as a complete asshole? How can I balance work with what I want from her?” He couldn’t lose Dana. As much as he hated to admit it, it would crush him to be sidelined by her. Even thinking of her with another Dom set his head pounding. He couldn’t risk losing the job he adored or letting Bitter Sweet down, but he needed her. All of her. He couldn’t reconcile the two.

  Joshua stopped tapping. “I think I have a way. It involves you convincing Dana to come to Decadence.”

  Chapter Nine

  Dana settled back into the sofa wrapped in her robe. Nerves danced like butterflies in her stomach. Bastien sent her a text message just as she’d been getting in the bath. He wanted to video chat with her tonight.

  As their night, chats were reserved for their alter egos, apprehension sped her pulse. After he’d kissed her today, her emotions were reeling.

  He’d caught her off guard with a sizzling kiss. One that she could still taste. Pushing him away hadn’t been the right answer, but hell, what was she supposed to do? The ethics of the employer-employee relationship still bothered her, but more than that, she worried her feelings ran deeper than his. Or could do. What if they took it one step further in the real world, it didn’t work out and things got out of hand? She wouldn’t ruin her fledgling business for a what-if relationship.

  A video chat icon flashed onto her screen.

  Video chat request from Sir A.

  She took a deep breath and hit “accept”. Better to get this conversation out of the way. At least if they cleared the air now, they could avoid any awkwardness off screen. He seemed pretty pisses when he walked out of Bitter Sweet. She hoped they could defuse the tension. The only way forward would be to nip their nightly antics in the butt and remain just colleagues. She intended to make that clear.

  Bastien’s face popped up on screen. The tight lines around his mouth and eyes told her all she needed to know.

  “Hey,” he said. His deep, baritone voice sending shivers down her spine.

  She propped her iPad up on a pillow on her knees and pulled the lapels of her robe closer. “Hey back.”

  He scratched his chin. “Thanks for accepting my call.”

  She nodded. “It’s okay.”

  “I was a jerk, walking out like I did earlier. I’m sorry.” His eyes bored into hers and she swore he stared into her soul. “I had no right to come at you without discussing it first.”

  She tried to lighten mood, to move away from the intensity she could feel radiating from him through the internet. “Aren’t Dominant’s supposed to be hard-asses? Don’t they usually play hard to get? I never thought they apologized.”

  “Dominant’s never play hard-to-get, especially not when we want something. When we know something is right. Then we do everything in our power to claim our submissive.” He raked his hair. “But we don’t always go about it in the right way.”

  She closed her eyes. She could only imagine how someone like Bastien would claim his woman. It quickened her pulse and tightened things low in her body. Despite the situation she was one hundred per cent attracted to being claimed.

  “Dana?”

  “Sorry,” she said, bringing herself back to the moment. There was no point lying to him. Now was the time to be honest. “I did feel uncomfortable. We never talked about moving anything into real life. It threw me off guard.”

  “And I’m truly sorry for that. I never wanted to make you feel uncomfortable. That’s the last thing I ever want.”

  She gave him a weak smile. “It’s okay. I believe you.” And she did. “But I don’t think we should continue with anything more than friendship. We work together. I’m not sure how a real submissive-Dominant…” What was it they had as submissive cupcake and Sir A? A relationship? A hook-up? “Thing would work with me being your boss. We’ve been over it before when we started the online stuff, and I’m just not sure it would work.”

  The lines in Bastien’s forehead deepened. “Don’t shut me out.” A dark intensity rolled off him. “We definitely have a ‘thing’. Let me show you how it can work in real life. Let me guide your submission. Please. I want to be the Dominant who shows you how amazing it can be. I’m sick of talking to a computer screen. I’m sick of not being able to touch you. I watch the way your ass moves at work and I want my hands on you.”

  Dana had to stop her jaw from dropping. Regardless of all her misgivings, her body heated. He wanted her. Although he’d been extremely professional at work, he’d been secretly fantasizing about her. Had he gone home at night and touched himself thinking of her? It was a heady thought. Still, she had misgivings.

  “I don’t know. As I said, how would this work with me being your boss? If I’m your submissive, it’s a conflict of interest. What if you don’t agree with me? Would you pull Dominant rank? I can’t deal with that. I need control. It’s my business, Bastien.”

  He shook his head. “I understand. You’ll have control. Inside work, I’ve told you, you’re the boss. 100%. I listen you to on matters of business. I take direction and orders from you. I’ve done it for six weeks now. I’m a big boy, Dana. I know how life works, but fuck, I want more than online. I want what we had at Decadence. Let me know show how good things can be for real. Let me be your Dominant. Trust in me.”

  Zings zipped around her body, igniting her nerve endings. She tingled at the thought of him commanding her to do anything. With Daniel and her life before Bitter Sweet, she’d been so afraid to take risks. She’d had a perfectly adequate existence but she didn�
��t want to live an adequate life. When it came to the end she wanted to look back and say she didn’t have any regrets. She knew without a shadow of a doubt if she passed up Bastien’s offer, she would regret it.

  It was time to be brave.

  “Okay, Bastien. We’ll give this a trial run outside of work. You can teach me about submission in the real world. I accept.”

  Heat blazed behind his whiskey colored eyes, turning the amber to burnished gold. “Good girl,” he said.

  His praise sent an answering wave of heat through her. Her submissive side preened at the compliment.

  “Now,” he shifted on screen, whet his delicious lips, “time for your first lesson.”

  Blood roared in Dana’s ears. Lesson, now? Surely he’s wasn’t serious? Her emotions were on overload. She didn’t even know if she was in the mood for a lesson in submission.

  “Bastien, I’m not sure about this.”

  “Trust me,” his eyes radiated warmth and she let herself get lost in them for a few heartbeats.

  Of course she trusted him. He’d helped her through the opening of Bitter Sweet. He’d introduced her to submission at Decadence. He’d being as gentle as she could have hoped for. Since he’d come into her life, he’d been unwaveringly stable, agreeing to everything she asked of him.

  “Okay,” she whispered. Unsure if he’d heard, she cleared her throat and repeated it.

  Bastien rubbed his beard and sat back in what looked like an office chair. His demeanor changed. His posture rigid. It was as though someone flicked a switch. Gone was the easy going Bastien Berkley, replaced by a more intense, more dangerous Bastien. She’d only glimpsed this side of him when he’d spanked her ass. He usually kept a tight lid on it.

  She liked this version of him. It quickened her pulse and sent zings of electricity zipping along her skin.

  “Let’s begin,” he said. His voice deeper and husky than usual. “Part your robe for me.”

  Her cheeks heated. Apart from a functional pair of cotton panties she was naked beneath her robe. Although they’d had numerous talks about sex, and he’d spanked her ass, this was different. More intense. Deliberate.