Choosing Rena (22 page)

“Jackson?”

He looked around for his missing
partner before focusing on Olivia. “We have a serious issue.
Where’s Jude?”

She frowned. “He went out on the main
floor to deal with a security issue.” She waved a hand to the
chairs in front of her desk. “Why don’t you sit and I’ll have him
paged.”

He continued to pace, before finally
throwing his body into the chair. She picked up the phone on her
desk. “Lisa, please let Jude know I need him in my office. Thank
you.” Setting the receiver back in its cradle, she stared at him.
“Okay, what’s going on? Is it Rena? Or are you going to make me
wait until Jude arrives?”

His heart swelled at the thought of
his feisty little sub. “Rena’s great. Spectacular even.” He rubbed
the bridge of his nose. “She loves the paddle as much as I do,
submits to my every whim sexually, but is still feisty enough to
put me in my place outside of the bedroom or playroom. She’s
everything I want in a submissive.” Tipping his head back, he
studied the ceiling, pissed beyond belief some asshole was
threatening his new relationship.

“Then what’s wrong?” Olivia steepled
her fingers as the door opened behind him.

“You needed me, Mistress?” Jackson
didn’t need to turn around to know it was his partner and not
Micah. He could tell by the heavy irregular tread as the person
walked further into the room. Jude had damaged his hip during their
last tour and still had a limp as a souvenir to remind
him.

“What’s wrong is some deranged asshole
has given me a choice. Either I give up Rena or he’s going to ruin
our business.”

Jude hissed, coming around Jackson’s
chair and sinking into the opposite chair. “Dammit. You got the
call too? When?”

“As I was leaving Rena’s apartment
tonight. It came up as an unknown number and I couldn’t tell
anything about his location. I think he might have been using some
kind of voice modification, or even something as simple as a
handkerchief over the mouth piece.”

“Was it the same crap I
got?”

Jackson nodded. “Yep. Either break off
my relationship with Rena or he’ll destroy Larson Securities.” A
frown crossed his face. “Other than Louis - I don’t know who else
might be targeting me, but something the perp said makes me believe
that it might not be Louis. The disdain he showed for anyone in the
lifestyle is something I don’t think Vayarti would
have.”

Jude frowned. “Disdain?”

Jackson sighed. “Yes, he stated I was
not to corrupt Rena with my depraved proclivities any longer. Does
that sound like any Dom we know?”

Olivia frowned. “No.” She turned to
the computer. “Have you bothered to ask Rena what club she
frequented with Louis in New York?”

Jackson wanted to crawl
into a hole. As much ground as Rena and he’d covered, the specific
subject of her past at the hands of Louis Vayarti had not come
up.
Other than for me to assure her I’d
never treat her in the same manner as the conniving asshole
did.
“Sorry, I never asked. I have…other
things on my mind…when I’m with her.”

Jude had the audacity to laugh. “Now
that’s the Playboy Cajun I know and love.”

Olivia dragged her hand
over her face. “Lord save me from men.” She typed for a few minutes
on the keyboard in front of her. “I have several friends at
the
Le Salon DeSade
and
Paddles NYC
. Perhaps they’ll know Mr. Vayarti’s reputation.” She glanced
up from the screen. “Pet, you might want to see if your contact at
the courthouse can tell you if Louis has been released and if so
when? If he wasn’t free at the time of the call, then we definitely
have the wrong man.” She pushed away from her desk and approached
him. “Jackson, you’re going to have to talk to Rena about this, and
prepare her for the possibility you may have to keep your distance
from her until we have the situation resolved.”

“Until the situation is resolved?” The
softness of his tone should’ve warned the other occupants of the
room, but neither paid any heed to it.

Sighing, Olivia leaned back
against the edge of her desk. “I’m not saying it’ll be easy. But is
it worth Jude’s business,
your
business to flout this man, because you don’t have
the patience to wait a few days for us to run down some
leads?”

Jackson’s lips thinned as anger grew
in him. “So you’re telling me I need to put the business before
Rena. I can see where your priorities are.”

“Stand down, Levough. That’s not what
Olivia was saying at all.” Jude surged to his feet to tower over
him. But Jude’s harsh reprimand was lost on Jackson. The idea of
staying away from Rena so early in their relationship bothered him,
especially when he knew if the situation was reversed it’d take a
crow bar to pry Jude away from Olivia’s side.

“I’m not going to have this discussion
now. I merely came here to let you know about the situation – not
to have you dictate what I should or shouldn’t do. I refuse to stop
seeing Rena merely because some idiotic asshole doesn’t like it.”
Jackson stood, pushing past his friend. He paused at the door to
look over his shoulder at his partner “If you were honest with
yourselves, you’d realize what you’re asking of me is unreasonable,
when we both know if this situation was reversed both of you
wouldn’t even follow your own advice.” He gave a sigh. “I’ll see
you at the office Monday morning.” He glanced at Olivia. “Unless
you’re banning me from the club, I’ll see you Monday night,
Olivia.”

As he walked out the door and down the
hall, he wondered how his life had gotten so fucked up and if he’d
just managed to alienate two of his few friends. It didn’t matter
though. He would not allow anyone to dictate his life ever again,
not even his partner.

* * * *

After spending a long weekend by
herself, Rena had come to several conclusions. One was that perhaps
she was more than ready for something a bit more permanent with
Jackson. She’d missed him like the devil, but she was going to kill
him for keeping her in the dark, which was why she was standing in
his office on a Monday morning at ‘o-dark thirty’.

She’d been surprised when
Olivia had called Sunday afternoon to talk to her. In desperation,
she’d called after Jude hadn’t been able to get ahold of Jackson
and had incorrectly assumed Jackson was with her. She’d been
shocked to find out Jackson had actually given Rena the weekend to
think.
That’s when Olivia gave me the
rundown of what my Master is trying to pull. How dare he endanger
his livelihood when a simple call to me would’ve been more
appropriate?

Moving behind the desk, she
was tempted to go snooping but decided against it, instead standing
in front of the floor length windows to watch the sun rise. She was
probably going to earn one helluva a punishment today without
compounding it by going through his personal affects. Why? Because
frankly she was pissed. They were supposed to be partners.
And partners don’t hide things from each
other.

The sun was just cresting the horizon
when she heard a noise behind her. She didn’t bother to look,
knowing without a doubt it was him. The surge of awareness she got
each and every time he stepped into the room with her was proof
enough. The room suddenly filled with light as Jackson flipped the
switch. She blinked, her eyes unused to the instant
brightness.

“Rena?” The surprised tone didn’t
shock her. She could only assume he figured he wouldn’t see her
before their date tonight. Finally she turned to face him, taking
in the dark suit he was wearing. The dark blue pin-stripe pattern
suited him, with its contrasting hues against his blond hair, plus
it brought out the blue in his eyes. He was in a word – eye candy
and she was a diabetic ‘jonesing’ for her next fix, despite the
danger he represented.

“You and I, White Boy, need to have a
talk.” She crossed her arms over her chest, meeting his eyes
without lowering her own. “A little birdie told me our…relationship
has caused an issue…”

The blue in Jackson’s eyes turned
glacial. “I can’t fucking believe Jude went to you…”

“Don’t!” Rena made a slashing motion
with one hand. “This has nothing to do with who told me, Jackson.
We happen to be partners or that’s what you told me. Outside of a
scene or in the bedroom we would be equals. Have you changed your
mind?”

He seemed taken aback. “Of course
not.”

She stepped closer to him. “Then would
you care to explain to me why you’d do something as foolish as
putting your business at risk for a damned date?” She backed away.
“I would’ve understood, Jackson.”

His jaw clenched. “It’s the principle
of the thing, Rena. Why should I allow some deranged psychopath to
have a say in how I live my life?”

Her hands flew to her hips.
“Jackson Levough, I’d like to smack you around. The fact that
it
is
a deranged
psychopath should mean something. I’m not saying we should never
see each other but taking a few days off to catch said “deranged
psychopath” and prevent them from hurting some innocent bystanders
and/or damaging your business seems like a sound idea.”

He looked torn, so she pushed a little
bit harder, stepping so close her nipples brushed his chest. “And
truth be known, Sir, you’re not going to get rid of me that
easily.” Her hand slid between their bodies to stroke over the
bulge hidden under his suit jacket.

He hissed. “I’m not?”

“No, Sir. Now that I’ve decided I want
you, until you tell me emphatically you no longer…” She squeezed
gently to emphasize her words. “…desire me, I’m yours.”

He groaned, rocking up into her palm.
She ducked her head, wanting to smile at his reaction, but too
chicken-shit to let him see it. She wasn’t sure how much further
she could push before she found herself face-first across the
gleaming surface of his desk. His early taunt on the phone about
his fantasy of paddling her in his office lingered in the back of
her subconscious.

“And if I told you to strip and bend
over my desk?” His gruff question didn’t surprise her. For once
they seemed to be on the same wavelength, but first she had to get
an agreement out of him.

“I would,
after
we finish our
discussion.” She nipped his lower lip before backing away. He
growled low in his throat before removing his jacket. Ignoring the
quivering of her thighs, she continued presenting a calm
façade.

“Then you better speak quick, because
once I reach for you, you’re not going to have a choice in the
matter.” His eyes glittered with desire as he unbuttoned the cuffs
at his wrists. “I’m going to bend you over and use your dark little
ass to break in my new ruler.”

Swallowing around the sudden lump in
her throat, she watched as he rolled up his sleeves. “I think it’s
a good idea to keep our relationship on the down low until we’ve
caught whoever it is behind the attacks here at your office and
Jude’s condo.” She spoke faster as he loosened his tie.

“Do you now? And what pray tell are
you going to be doing during our little hiatus? Finding another Dom
to scratch your itch?” He pulled the length of silk free of his
collar before dropping it on his desk.

She shook her head
vigorously. She knew he wasn’t serious. He was playing the big bad
Dom to coax her arousal higher…
and damned
if it isn’t working.
She clenched her
fingers, trying to hold their trembling from his view. “Hell no.
I’m going to be too busy helping you and Jude figure out who’s
behind this to bother with finding another Dom. Besides I like the
one I have.” She sucked her lower lip in between her teeth. Had she
assumed too much? They hadn’t talked about anything permanent
between them, only to explore where their relationship might
go.

“Damned right, you like
me.” He unbuckled the slender belt around his trim waist. The
jangle of the buckle as he freed it seemed loud in the office. Then
he grabbed her by the wrist, jerking her up against him, his free
hand buried in her loose hair. She wanted to moan as he tightened
his fist, the sting erotically delicious. “And if I have my way
about it, you’re going to love me,
ma
peekôn.
”

She gasped as she suddenly found
herself face down on the desk. How had he done it? One moment she’d
been standing between him and the windows, but now she was pressed
against his desk pad calendar with her skirt hoisted up around her
waist. The squeak of an opening drawer had her moaning. She just
knew the ruler was in the drawer. The sharp crack of it hitting the
edge of the desk caused her to moan. She’d wanted to feel that
ruler against her ass since he’d mentioned his fantasy.

“Please…” She didn’t even twitch as he
set the ruler down to pull her panties down. The caress of air over
her butt only heightened her anticipation. Gripping the far side of
the desk, she braced herself for the first blow.

“Please what? Don’t punish my little
slut for questioning me?” His finger slid down the crack of her ass
before testing her wet folds. He chuckled as he encountered her
moistness. “Or perhaps it’s please punish me?”