When I return to his desk, where he’s staring vacantly ahead at his computer screen like he’s checked out, my heart aches. I’m sure it has to do with his uncle, but I wish he’d open up so I could at least be there for him.

“Everything okay?” I run my hands behind my thighs, tucking in my skirt, and take a seat across from him.

His gaze lifts from the screen to me, and his brows furrow as he pulls in a heavy breath.

“Take off your shirt,” he orders. “Take everything off.”

My nipples wake in response to his command, and my fingers trail my buttons, popping them one by one as he pulls a black satin ribbon from his top desk drawer. It’s the same one from the pink box yesterday, and he uncoils it in his hand before rising and coming toward me.

“Stand.” There’s a desperate, hurried undertone in his single, biting word. And he moves like a man who’d do anything to feel an ounce of something normal again – whatever normal might mean to him.

The moment my clothes are lying in a heap on the floor, he turns me around, taking my wrists behind my back and tying them together with the smooth ribbon. With his hand gripping the bend of my elbow, he leads me to a leather-wrapped Chesterfield sofa and presses me into a seated position.

His fingers work his button and zipper until his fully erected cock is mere inches from my face. We lock gazes for a second, and he holds the tip of himself up to my mouth. My lips part as I accept his velvet smoothness into my mouth. My tongue runs the underside of his head, dragging along the ridges and coming back to swirl the tip. With my hands tied tight, I can’t control my movements as well, and I have to rely on the steady bucking of his hips to keep the momentum going.

But maybe that’s the point. His whole world is falling apart, at least I assume, and he needs to control everything about this situation.

My mind reminds me to stop psychoanalyzing him and suck his cock. I’m not here to figure him out, and clearly I’m nothing more than a couple of holes to fill to him.

“Harder,” he says, thrusting deeper into my mouth. It wasn’t like this the last time, and it takes everything I have not to gag. The head of his cock hits the back of my throat with every insertion, and my eyes water.

It was fun last time. This is unpleasant. At least it’s not painful.

His hand grips my chin, pressing my mouth tighter around his engorged erection and creating a tighter seal as he pumps himself into me. His cock writhes and unloads, and the warmth of his orgasm drips down my throat. He’s too deep in my throat for me to even taste.

When Dane’s finished, he pulls himself from my mouth and zips up before sitting down next to me and untying my wrists. I wipe the tear tracks from my cheeks, hoping he doesn’t think he made me cry.

“You know, Angel, if you’re ever not comfortable with something, you just need to say stop. That’s your safeword.”

“I know.” The ceiling fan above blows cool air on my naked body, and I clutch the sides of my arms as I hunch into a ball.

“There may be times,” he says, “when I push you, test your limits. There might be times when I’m craving more of an intense experience with you.”

I nod.

Dane removes his jacket and slips it over my shoulders before reclining back into the Chesterfield. He reaches for my arm and pulls me on top of him.

Are we cuddling right now?

“It’s important,” he says, “after intense moments, to offer you comfort. Help bring you down a bit. It would be extremely irresponsible of me to fuck your mouth until you gag and then send you on your way.”

His hand spreads his coat over my backside like a blanket, and my bare flesh is flush with his white button down. The warmth of his skin permeates the barrier and soaks into me.

“You did excellent.” His palm cups my ass and hoists me into him, deeper.

I know none of this is supposed to be romantic, but it’s a sweet gesture, and I could lie here all afternoon and not move and be perfectly content.

“You’re coming to Golden Oak Saturday,” he says, combing his fingers through the ends of my tangled hair. “You’ll be staying the evening at my estate just outside of the city.”

The bar-be-que. Cortland’s parents are coming over Saturday.

“Oh? This Saturday?” I stall, trying to think of an excuse. “That’s kind of short notice.”

“You have plans?”

“Family plans,” I say. “We’re having a cookout.”

His lips curl. “This is a bit more important than a family cookout.”

“I have no doubt,” I say. “But we have company coming, and I’m not sure I can get out of this.”

“What time?”

“I don’t know. Probably noon?”

“Okay, so you should have no problem doing both.” Dane cups my ass and leans into my ear. “And I’m not entirely sure why I’m allowing you to argue with me right now and speak to me without addressing me properly, but consider yourself lucky I’m not getting the gloves out again.”

I smile into his chest, where he can’t see.

“What if my car isn’t fixed by this weekend?” I know for a fact I won’t be able to hitch a ride to some mansion Saturday night. I couldn’t come up with a plausible excuse even if I tried.

Dane sits up, gently pressing me off him, and I miss his warmth in an instant.

“I was going to wait, but since you brought it up.”

He is not giving me a car. There’s no way.

He strides to his desk, opening the second middle drawer on the left and pulling out a set of keys with some weird green emblem on the keychain.

“While you work for me, you’ll drive a car from my fleet.”

I flip the keychain over and read Land Rover.

“It’s a black Discovery, and it’s parked in the underground garage in spot forty-seven. You can take the elevator down and it’s right there.”

“Dane…Master...” The rectangular fob is smooth and pristine cupped in the palm of my hand. “Thank you. This means more than you could possibly know.”

No more commuting with Cortland. That’s what this means.

“I have an offsite unscheduled visit at one of the wind turbine factories over in Greenwood,” he says, dipping his hands in his pockets. His gaze indicates he appreciates the fact that I’m still very much naked.

I tug his jacket off my shoulders and hand it back, taking my time dressing before him because he seems to enjoy the show.

“I won’t be back before the end of the day,” he says. “But feel free to take the afternoon if you’d like. We’ll train a bit more the next couple days, and then Saturday night will be our final compatibility test.”

Oh?

“It’s just as much for you as it is for me,” he says. “Though my ability to leave a woman satisfied has never been an issue in the past, and I don’t anticipate it being an issue for you either.”

So that’s what Saturday is. He’s going to screw me.

I’m going to lose my virginity…

In a mansion…

To the most gorgeous man I’ve ever laid eyes on…

A tingling sensation fills my chest, working up to my neck and settling in the top of my head like bubbles. Nervous excitement expands every part of me, and there’s a hitch in my breath accented by a flush in my cheeks. I turn so he can’t see it. I’d hate for him to know I’m this excited.

Sneaking out with Cortland always gave me a rush, but this goes far beyond anything I’ve ever felt before.

I’ll have to sneak my dress and shoes into the house, which shouldn’t be a problem. I can shove them in the enormous Louis Vuitton weekender bag he got me, and now it’s making sense as to why he’d get me that bag.

He wants me to spend weekends with him.

That might be tricky.

“Could I come over later than nine?” I’m not sure if I can sneak out any earlier than ten. “Just to be safe. I’m not sure how long our company is staying.”

Dane’s eyes flick up before narrowing at me. “I suppose. But from here on, you’re to keep your weekend schedule completely open. You’ll find I’ll almost always need you on weekends.”