CarnalTakeover (15 page)

Obviously. Daniel frowned and spoke quietly so the men at
the far corner of the room wouldn’t overhear. “Why are you rerunning my
calculations? We’ve already been through them numerous times. Something happen
that I should know about?”

“Nope.” Nat sank into his chair. It squeaked as he turned
the seat from one side to the other. He spoke softly. “Just heard about a new
vendor and wondered if he might be better than Adamson.”

“Adamson. The guy with the sterling reputation that everyone
loves.”

“Hey, he’s not God.”

“Until he fucks up, he is to me.”

Nat lifted his hands in surrender. “It’s your show, Daniel.”

Exactly. Which made it even stranger that Nat was suddenly
eager to replace vendors.

Daniel waited for Nat to explain himself further or change
the subject, ask about Alexandra. Not details, but an overview. Something along
the line of “how’d it go after you kicked us out”.

Nat didn’t.

“I just ran into Junior and Red,” Daniel said in a near
whisper. “Junior looked like he was about to have a stroke when he saw me.”

“Oh yeah?”

“Think I was too hard on him at Alexandra’s?”

“Do you?”

Plainly, Nat wasn’t going to talk about anything to do with
her. Weird. Daniel wondered if Alexandra had had a word with Nat and figured
she must have. “Don’t waste your time on the reports. They’re done. Watch some
porn. Play with yourself.”

Nat pushed back in his chair. It squeaked in protest. “What
are you going to be doing?”

Waiting for tonight. Wondering where all this might lead.

Lucius hadn’t left one message or email. Being free of his
constant griping lifted Alexandra’s spirits immeasurably, until she worried
again about his health. That maybe he wasn’t mellowing but was decaying faster
than he should because of his shitty attitude.

A quick call to his housekeeper put everything into
perspective. In the background, Lucius’ gravelly voice boomed.

“These damn eggs aren’t soft boiled. They’re hard enough for
me to bounce. Who buttered the toast? I want the butter all the way to the
edges, not an eighth of an inch away, not a sixteenth of an inch, but all the
way to the crust. My juice isn’t properly chilled either. The glass goes into
the freezer for precisely two minutes before you pour anything into it. My
instructions are quite clear about—”

“He’s fine, really,” Mrs. Gonzalez muttered into the phone,
blocking his continued bellyaching. “Unhappy as always, even at this ungodly
hour.”

It was barely seven a.m. in San Diego. Lucius liked to get
up early to seize and strangle the day.

“You deserve more money for putting up with his crap,”
Alexandra said.

“From your lips to Satan’s ears.”

Satan was Mrs. Gonzalez’ pet name for Lucius. She’d been
with him for nearly a decade and no longer expected him to grow a heart.

“I’m sure he’ll be screaming at you later,” Mrs. Gonzalez
sighed.

All day, Alexandra waited for his next attack. Didn’t come.
With anyone else, she would have relaxed, figuring the fight was over. With her
grandfather, Alexandra wasn’t so sure.

She thought back to the last time they’d argued…when she’d
brought up her dad. It was the first time she’d done that. Given how Lucius had
fallen to silence, Alexandra wondered if she’d hit a weak spot with him. If he
did blame himself for her dad’s suicide, as any normal parent would, wondering
what he might have done to have prevented it.

Could be she’d finally gotten through to him, and he’d
decided to play things differently with her. Not that he’d be a pussycat but
he’d at least be willing to give her a little space, not to push so hard.

Given his unnatural silence, it was the only thing that made
sense.

With him out of her hair for the time being, Alexandra
focused on Nat. She called his cell phone repeatedly and kept getting
voicemail. He didn’t answer her pages. Not that she blamed him. This was his
downtime. However, she needed to know about the reports.

Shortly before five in the afternoon, he finally picked up
her call. “Hey,” he said, quiet and cautious.

Crud. He’d found something that would cost even more money
and time, dooming all of them. “Ah…hi.” Bracing herself for the worst, she
pulled in her elbows, then said what she had to. “Did you look at those
reports? I’m not rushing you,” she added quickly, “but have you had a chance to
review them?”

“Yeah, I have.” He lowered his voice even more. “As far as I
can see, the only thing we could change is using another vendor instead of
Adamson.”

No way. “He’s the best. Fair. Reliable.”

“That’s what Daniel said.”

The candy bar Alexandra had just devoured threatened to come
back up, along with the rest of the snacks she’d indulged in today, including
two Twinkies. “You discussed this with Daniel even though I begged you not to?
Still, you did?”

“Hell no,” Nat whispered. “This morning, when I got back to
my cubicle with a cup of coffee, he was staring at my screen.”

“You left it on for everyone to see?”

“I didn’t think he’d be here,” Nat shot back. “I thought
he’d be with you, like he’s been for the last couple of days.”

Made sense. Alexandra wondered if Daniel had told Nat
anything about the training sessions, her screaming orgasms, and figured he
hadn’t. That wasn’t the kind of man Daniel was. Now, Junior…

She spoke as softly as Nat had. “Wasn’t Daniel curious as to
why you were looking at the reports?”

“Actually, he seemed pissed.”

Shit.
Alexandra lowered her head to her desk. “You
guys fought?”

“Of course not. I told Daniel he was in charge, which he is.
That ended it.”

Uh-huh. Apparently, Daniel liked being a Dom at work too.
Everyone bending to his will as she had.

Well, maybe not that much. Images of her naked, bound,
spread-eagle in the steam room warmed Alexandra more than the space heater near
her feet. She rolled her forehead over the pitted top of her desk, recalling
how Daniel had whipped her, the decadent crack of the belt against her damp
skin, the burning sting and delicious relief that followed.

She moaned.

“What was that?” Nat asked. “I didn’t hear you.”

Thankfully. “Where’s Daniel now?”

“Ah…” He didn’t continue.

“Nat?”

“Yeah. Glad we connected. Talk to you later. One of my
coworkers just came over.

“Be with you in a sec, Daniel.” Nat said, his voice muted,
telling Alexandra he’d turned away from the phone. “Bye,” he said to her. A
second later, he killed the call.

Not the greatest performance, but Daniel couldn’t possibly
know Nat had been speaking to her about the reports.

Alexandra relaxed until she considered Daniel asking her
about them. If she’d put Nat up to rechecking the figures.

She’d lie of course and pretend everything was fine. The
same way she’d done this morning when Daniel had started acting so odd. They’d
been doing great, then suddenly he’d wanted out of her SUV, claiming to need a
cup of coffee.

He could see as well as she could that the grocery store was
closed, along with everything else in the village. Still, he’d been prepared to
brave the glacial temps rather than stay in the toasty vehicle. Alexandra
didn’t want to think about what had been going through his mind at that point.

Not once during the day had he come to her office. She’d
stopped by his room several times. If he’d been inside, he hadn’t answered the
door or responded to her saying his name. Nor had she found him in the dining
hall, his cubicle or the laundry area. A quick check of the grounds, lit by the
murky twilight, told her he wasn’t taking a stroll or building snowmen outside.

The remainder of her day dragged on endlessly, worse than
when she’d been a kid forced to endure her grandfather’s lectures. She had her
artic gear on at a quarter to six. By 5:59, she was sweating pretty damn bad,
and not from her two tons of clothing. Daniel hadn’t said whether they’d meet
at her office or her SUV and drive to the cabin together. Nor had he indicated
whether he was going to take his own vehicle to her place.

Damn. They’d left too much up in the air.

Alexandra paced, then stopped at how stupid she was
behaving. Like a lovesick twit. Even in middle school she hadn’t been this
unglued when it came to a guy.

Of course, none of those scrawny boys had looked like
Daniel.

She ordered herself to play it cool, and would, just as soon
as she called his cell phone and they made their plans for—

His voicemail answered.
Damn.
Didn’t anyone pick up
anymore?

She shuffled to her SUV, her construction boots too freaking
heavy to pick up, the constant glaze of ice a hazard. Oh crap. She’d forgotten
to pull out her car keys. With her teeth, Alexandra tugged her right glove off
and dug in her coat pocket. Headlights cut across the gloom. Squinting, she
glanced over and smiled. Hell, she grinned. Daniel was behind the wheel, his
pickup pointed in the direction of her cabin.

As sluggish as Alexandra had been a second before, she moved
at top speed now, watching Daniel as much as possible in her rearview mirror.
All Alexandra could see was the outline of his head, his hair less disheveled
than it had been this morning. However, she imagined him smiling as he followed
her down the road.

He honked his horn twice, indicating she was driving too
fast. The way her vehicle kept weaving had already told Alexandra that.
Gripping the steering wheel, she forced herself to slow down. Daniel parked
behind her at the cabin and got out of his pickup at the same moment she left
her SUV.

“What were you doing back there?” he hollered. “You nearly ran
off the road.”

“I’m fine. I made it okay.”

He stomped over to her, the wind whipping his hair. “You
could have been hurt.”

Alexandra stared at him in the faint light coming from the
porch. “You shaved.” She touched his smooth cheek.

Daniel pulled her hand away and deepened his frown. “You
could have killed yourself.”

Not likely. At most, she would have banged up the SUV. No
big deal. Surely, he knew it too, which made her wonder about his concern. What
it could mean. That he was falling for her as she’d already done with him, or
he just didn’t want to waste tonight cleaning up any mess she’d made. Not about
to ask, she rested her hand on his chest and murmured, “I didn’t.”

He screwed up his mouth.

She noticed the bag he gripped. Even with the stiff wind, she
heard the paper crackling in his fist. Given the size of the bag, it could have
held a strap, gag, blindfold, and more rope, or maybe some kind of packaged
food he’d slap together as he had his nutty peanut butter sandwiches.

Stroking the edge of the bag, she asked, “What’s in here?”

His expression gave nothing away. “You’ll see. Once we’re
inside.”

Daniel dropped the bag on the sofa. After taking off his
gloves, parka and boots, he headed for the fireplace even though the cabin was
nicely warm.

Alexandra liked the way he took charge, not asking, just
doing, as though he lived here too.

What a heady thought that was. Having him here every day to
do homey things like laying a fire, making a meal, bringing her breakfast in
bed. Alexandra smiled, then lost it quickly, wondering if he behaved the same
way with other women. What else? He certainly wasn’t a virgin when it came to
knowing what a female liked. Right now, it was her turn to have him take care
of things. Next week, next month, surely next year, he’d be doing this with
someone else.

No, stop. Don’t go there.

She did, unable to keep from wondering about him and other
women. How close he’d come to marriage. If he’d ever wanted a home and family.

Alexandra had thought of little else during most of her life
with it populated by a revolving door of domestic staff rather than loved ones.
She repressed a sigh even as she hurt with longing.

Daniel lit the logs, then rested his forearm on his thigh
and turned to her. “What are you doing?”

She’d just killed the lights. In the flickering flames, his
skin was so beautiful, its deep color a perfect complement to his dark hair and
masculine features. Alexandra pictured him hiking, fishing, hunting, doing all
the stuff guys liked to do that she absolutely hated. Unless he was there to
make it enjoyable. “You want the lamps back on?”

“I want to know what you’re doing.”

Yearning for him. What else? She lied, “Nothing.”

“Exactly. Take off your clothes.”

Ah, he wanted to play. So did Alexandra, though she wasn’t
about to let on how much. Despite her galloping pulse, she peeled off her
gloves slowly, dropping them on the chair. “Would you like something to eat?”

His attention dipped to her pussy. “Eventually.”

He didn’t sound too enthused. Alexandra wasn’t certain if he
was playing hard to get like she was, or if his mood from this morning had
returned, making him want to bolt again. She dropped her coat on top of her
gloves, then bent down and unlaced her boots, moving faster now. Giving him a
reason to stay.

On his feet, he put the fireplace poker back in its holder.

“You want me to undress you?” she purred.
Be your slave?

Unbuttoning his flannel shirt, he sauntered closer. “That
could take all night given how slowly you’re moving.”

She yanked off her boots and tossed them to the side. He
lifted his eyebrows at their loud clunk-clunk, then seemed to want to race her
to nudity. Alexandra tore off her duds faster than she ever had. Her pile of
clothing mingled with his.

Finally, they were both naked. Him standing, Alexandra on
the floor. Daniel padded to her. His semi-hard cock and dangling balls swayed
enticingly with each step. He offered his hand, helping her up. Leaning into
him, Alexandra rubbed her nose against his shaved cheek, liking it nearly as
much as his bristles, adoring his clean fragrance.

“Did you have a good day?” she murmured, stroking his flat
nipple.

He squeezed her ass. “I’m thinking tonight may be better.”

Count on it.
Alexandra pushed to her toes and slanted
her mouth over his, welcoming him home after a hard time at the barracks,
preparing him for an even harder night. Daniel accepted her invitation
immediately, his tongue slipping into her mouth, his kiss commanding, reckless,
uncontrolled, then surprisingly tender and searching.

His gentleness took her by surprise and touched a part of
Alexandra she’d protected for too long, afraid she’d get hurt. Lovingly, she
worked her fingers through his hair to keep him to her. Daniel eased closer,
his body preventing her from escape, assuring her that he wasn’t going
anywhere. They kissed for minutes, their response to each other lingering and
soul-deep.

As far as Alexandra was concerned, nothing else existed
except this. She wanted it to go on forever.

Daniel broke the kiss first, his features transformed with
awe. Bewilderment slowly replaced it, as though he wasn’t certain what had just
happened between them.

She wasn’t sure either but wanted to explore where it might
lead.

“Come on,” he said, suddenly gruff. With his arm around her
waist, he led her to the sofa.

They were going to play here with whatever he’d brought?
“What’s in the bag?”

He handed it to her.

Alexandra stared at its contents. “What is all this?”

“Dinner and entertainment. As far as dinner’s concerned, you
have the four major food groups—sugar, salt, fat and chocolate.”

No kidding. She pulled out a 3 Musketeers candy bar and a
Snickers. Beneath it were Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups, Milky Ways and—
Ohmygod.
The ends of Alexandra’s hair bobbed with her bouncing. She squealed at the
four twin packs of Twinkies. This afternoon at the office, she’d eaten the last
of her hoard, and hadn’t had any stashed in the cabin since her last delivery
came. More than a week ago. “How’d you know I like this stuff?”

“I saw the empty wrappers strewn around your office.”

She stopped bouncing. “You went in there today?” He’d looked
for her while she’d been searching for him?

His smile faded. “I didn’t go in your desk. I just followed
the trail of cellophane to your empty waste can. You do know what those things
are for, right?”

She’d have to be neater in the future. Alexandra kissed him
hard on his mouth, then breathed, “Thank you.”

“For not rummaging through your stuff?”

“No. This.” She held the bag to her chest as she would a
much-loved puppy. “I didn’t know the grocery store was stocking Twinkies again.
I thought they were out.”

“They are. I got those from the guys. Had to go a couple of
rounds with one of them before he agreed to—”

She stopped Daniel with another kiss and didn’t let go until
he was breathless.

“Uh-uh,” he gasped, stopping her from tearing open the first
package of Twinkies and devouring them. “You have to earn that.”

Sounded interesting. Her pussy perked up even more. “By
doing what?”

“Look in the bag.”

She dug deeper and pulled out two DVDs.
Titanic
,the
Leonardo DiCaprio-Kate Winslet version, the other a porn adaptation of it.
Alexandra laughed. “You get these from the guys too?”

“Only the X-rated one. The other came from the grocery
store.”

“You want us to enact the smutty one before I get my
Twinkie?”

Daniel’s shoulders shook with laughter. “There’s a thought,
but no. I’ll show you what I want in a minute.” He snuggled his mouth to her
ear and murmured, “Which would you like to watch first?”

He was letting her decide? Her mouth trembled. He’d gotten
her the best movie of all time, X-rated or not, and all the junk food Lucius
had never allowed her to have once her mom left. Afraid she’d cry, Alexandra
eased back and waved her hand in front of her face.

Daniel looked confused, then worried. “Are you okay?”

“Absolutely. Here.” She offered him the X-rated version.

He took the Hollywood one, popped it into the player and
grabbed the remote.

She waved her hand again. His concern for her pleasure and
happiness wasn’t what she’d expected. Sure, he’d screw her senseless. But him
providing her favorite snacks and playing the movie she really wanted was
beyond anything Alexandra could have anticipated. And they hadn’t even started
their night.

“Uh-uh,” he said, grabbing her arm before she could sink
down to the sofa’s cushion. “I tell you when to sit.”

Their evening had officially begun. Dutifully, Alexandra
straightened. Daniel lounged on the north end of the sofa, one leg stretched
out across the cushions, the other bent at the knee, his foot on the floor. He
took the bag and gestured her down. Like a rock, she sank beside the furniture,
ready to serve. To eat him as her entrée, then finish her meal with the
Twinkies as dessert.

Daniel worked his mouth, fighting a smile. “Sit here.” He
patted the leather between his thighs.

His cock lay on his balls, a magnificent gift from whatever
god had created them and this crazy, mixed-up world. Right now, even the
endless wind and horrible weather seemed heavenly to her. She settled between
his legs, his shaft nestled against the seam of her ass. Daniel slipped one arm
around her waist and held her in his heated caress as he ripped open the first
package of Twinkies.

He drew the moist sponge cake across her upper lip. It
smelled nearly as awesome as he did. She moaned lustily and licked the bottom
of it.

“Don’t take a bite,” he warned, not giving her the chance.
He put the Twinkie on the sofa next to his thigh. “Remember, you have to earn
it.”

By doing what? “I’m prepared to beg,” she said.

His chest quivered with his subdued laughter. “That’s not
what I want.” He flicked on the film. The FBI warning came up.

“You want me to turn myself in to the feds?” she asked.
“I’ll admit to anything, even that I keep a bald eagle for a pet, if you give
me the damn Twinkie.”

He leaned around to see her face. “You have a damn bald
eagle as a—”

“Of course not. But I’ll gladly say that I do.”

“Still not what I want. See the time?”

The clock above the TV was impossible to miss. “Yeah.”

“If you can last ten minutes, you get the Twinkie. If you
don’t, the next time I’ll expect you to last twenty minutes.”

“Last at what—
god.
Don’t,” she cried. “I’m ticklish!”

“You think?” He kept at it, running his fingers up and down
her rib cage. “No sounds.”

Alexandra shrieked.

“Quit moving,” he ordered.

She elbowed him again.

“Damn—ow.” He muttered, “You are so in for it.” He held her
tight and tickled her senseless. Alexandra wheezed and gagged. Finally, he
stopped and panted, “You didn’t last ten minutes.”

Her mouth hung open. She hadn’t lasted five seconds. “This
is too damn hard,” she whined.

“Maybe. How’s this?”

Aw holy mother of…

A low, throaty moan slipped from her.

Daniel stroked her nub again and murmured, “No sounds this
time. No closing your eyes. No wiggling around.”

She stopped squirming.

“You’ll watch the film,” he said. “And you’ll endure this.
If you come before ten minutes are up, there won’t be any Twinkie. We’ll start
again. We’ll keep at it until you obey. Even if it takes the rest of the
night.”

A drop of perspiration ran into her left eye, burning it.
She blinked wildly, wishing for the first time that she’d been frigid or hated
Twinkies.

Given their earlier thrashing, Daniel had smashed the poor
little sponge cake beneath his thigh. Those pulverized globs sent up a luscious
aroma of vanilla and sugar. Not wanting to torture herself with the scent,
Alexandra breathed through her mouth and rested the back of her head against
his shoulder.

He played with her cunt much like a cat would toy with a
mouse. His fingers circled her clit, then rubbed it one, two, three times, only
to retreat as he slipped his hand down the length of her slit, then suddenly
brought it back to brush her nub again.

She inhaled deeply.

The old lady in
Titanic
said something. Music
swelled.

Alexandra couldn’t have given a crap about that. Daniel was
playing with her clit and breasts now, tugging her nipples, lightly stroking
her nub. The play of hard and soft unsettled her. Sensations built in her cunt,
then her boobs…no, her pussy again. Those wondrous bursts of delight surged to
her tummy, warming it, then flowed down to her inner thighs, deepening the
tension.

She ground her teeth and stared at the clock. Only two
minutes had passed. Wait. Maybe it was three. Might’ve been five. Alexandra
couldn’t recall what time they’d begun. Damn.

Oh, oh, oh.

Daniel had rubbed a bit harder. Shit, she was toast, unable
to hold off, uncertain when in the hell it would be okay to climax. “Wait,” she
cried. “When did we start this? I can’t remember.”

“Five minutes ago.”

Thank god.

“But now we’ll have to start over because you talked.”

Prick.
She curled her toes at him rubbing her nub
again.

“You’re not supposed to move either,” he said.

Shivering, Alexandra bargained. “Half a Twinkie for five
minutes. In fact, I’ve already earned it.”

Daniel caught her wrist before she could scrape the treat
from his thigh. “That was before you were bad. Now it’s ten minutes before you
earn half.”

She dug her nails into his leg.

“Draw blood,” he murmured, “and you don’t get any more
orgasms.”

Like a good girl, Alexandra withdrew her claws.

Daniel resumed his carnal torment, lingering on her clit,
rubbing and stroking it without pity. She wasn’t supposed to curl her toes or
fingers, didn’t dare try to wiggle away, couldn’t scream, growl or spit. Time
stood still, her vision too blurry to see the clock, her body slick with sweat.
Her cunt even wetter. Kate Winslet’s voice wafted from the screen, no doubt
with Leonardo lusting after her.

Damn fool, you’re going to
die.

Alexandra figured she’d be right behind him. Already she was
sinking fast, unable to pull in enough air. Minutes ago, her brain had turned
to goo. She’d used up at least a year of heartbeats in the last few seconds.
Yet the sensations in her pussy kept growing and growing and—

She wailed her release, the sounds filled with agony and
pleasure. Loud. Uncivilized. Alexandra didn’t care anymore if this was the last
orgasm she’d ever have. It had been fucking perfect, fierce and draining.

Her lids slid down.