"Mr. Trielle." Kayden stood and extended her hand over the clutter on her desk, catching Shayla's thumbs up as she quietly exited.
"Hunter." Instead of offering his right hand, he used his left to capture hers and draw her out from around her desk. He held her gaze for several intense seconds before indulging in a slow, arousing perusal of her body.
Feeling exposed down to her darkest secrets, she warded off a shiver and gave free-rein to her irritation. "Would you like me to strip and turn around? Wouldn't want you to miss anything. That's why you're here, right? To size me up?"
"An enticing offer, Kayden." He released her hand. "If I thought it stemmed from anything other than a feeling of vulnerability, I would take you up on it."
She frowned. "It has nothing to do with vul-"
"Don't." His voice stern, he cupped her chin in a grasp that was no less commanding for its gentleness. "I will tolerate many things during your training. Lying …is not one of them. Neither to me, nor yourself." He loosened his hold to run his thumb over her lips, leaving an electrifying fizz in its wake. "Not until you learn the limits of my tolerance and the consequences for exceeding them."
Caught in his compelling gaze, Kayden fought the urge to rock up on tiptoes and offer up her mouth for his plundering pleasure. The thought of where else he might plunder caused a flood of sensation between her legs. "Now why don't we sit and discuss my terms for our agreement. Then perhaps we'll revisit your generous offer."
Freed of his hold and potent gaze when he turned to take the chair in front of her desk, Kayden felt both relieved and bereft. It wasn't until she was firmly reseated in the position of power behind her desk that his words registered. "Your terms? What about mine?"
"I am well aware of your terms, Kayden. You were quite meticulous in spelling them out during our e-mail exchanges. Normally, I would never have agreed to participate in anything like this. But you intrigued me."
"Yes, it is an intriguing concept. Everyone thinks so."
He shook his head. "Not the idea…you. The reason I decided to make this surprise visit instead of having you come to me."
"I don't understand."
"People's reactions are influenced by environment. I needed to see you in yours. Get a true sense of your wants. Your needs. Learn what I need to know to be sure we'd be a suitable match."
"You're kidding, right? We've been together all of what…" she glanced at the clock on the wall, "fourteen minutes and you're saying you know me? Not likely."
"It has nothing to do with time. I just needed to look into your eyes."
"You expect me to believe that?"
He took a deep, measured breath, drawing attention to his impressively wide chest. Knowing she would feel the pleasurable weight of it in the not too distant future made her breasts tingle.
"Are you saying you don't believe it?"
Not entirely sure she didn't and remembering what he'd said about lying, she opted for a change in subject. "Maybe it would be best to get on with your terms. It's getting late and you probably have something-someone-back at your club that needs your attention."
"As luck would have it, I'd only recently returned from a much needed rest in the Philippines when I came across your interesting request. I hadn't committed to training a new sub yet."
She almost asked if it was his arm that needed rest from whipping women into submission, but she doubted he'd see the humor in it. Taking measure of the bronzed, healthy looking and extremely fit man sitting across from her, Kayden was seriously beginning to question her so-called luck.
This was a game, nothing more. Her body wasn't supposed to be humming along to the tune of the power he seemed to exude without so much as a quirk of his little finger. Unnerved by her reaction to him, she attempted to regain some control by saying, "It must be nice having a private island hideaway to escape to."
One dark-brown eyebrow rose slightly.
The satisfaction she felt by his apparent surprise made her smile. A fair hand at reading people herself, she'd sensed he wasn't a man easily impressed.
"You would have had to dig long and very deep to find that bit of information. Was it curiosity about me personally or can I assume you research everything this thoroughly?"
"Everything."
"Club Kimberlite?"
She nodded.
"The submissive lifestyle?"
Another quick nod.
Only to regret it when a predatory smile touched his lips. "Excellent. Then I will expect much more from you as you already have a fair knowledge of what I'll require of you."
"I never said I knew everything. And I'm sure the experience is a far cry from reading about it. That would be like slapping a collar on a dog, snapping on a leash and expecting it to heel its first time out."
He didn't so much as blink at the deliberately crude parody she'd drawn. Why she felt the need to crack his calm veneer, she wasn't sure. Nor was she sure it was wise. She suspected it was a sudden case of nerves and that he was pressing her beyond her comfort zone way too quickly for her liking.
"You know I don't expect that of you, anymore than you expect me to believe after your in-depth research, you think that's how a Dom perceives his sub. They are loved and cherished as well, if not better in some circumstances, as most wives. That a large majority of couples living this lifestyle are, in fact, happily married to each other."
"You're right. I'm sorry."
"A perfect opportunity for your first lesson. A sincere apology is always accepted."
She got the uneasy feeling there was a but lingering somewhere after that statement. Deciding this might not be the best time to have it clarified, she asked "Exactly what are your terms?" A rhetorical question, since she had a fairly good idea.
The corners of his mouth lifted a fraction. "There's only two. The first-your choice of a safe word. And I think you know what the other one is."
"Total submission." She didn't bother to make it a question.
