Don't Ever Stop: A BDSM Billionaire Romance (17 page)

‘Mr. Cooper…’ I gasped.

‘When we’re like this, Rose,’ he said, meaningfully, ‘you can call me Redmond.’

CHAPTER THIRTY

Liberty. Peace. Strength.

I knew things had changed, because on Monday morning I arrived at work
an hour early
. A whole hour! But I didn’t go straight to work, to impress Tegan with my keen new attitude. Instead, I went for a walk, among the early morning streets. I watched street vendors setting up for the day, men and women in blue overalls sweeping the streets, and tired-eyed commuters, stopping off at Starbucks for their early morning caffeine fix.

I, on the other hand, felt sprightly. I’d spent the whole of yesterday revising for my shorthand exam, which was tomorrow afternoon, and even though I’d only got five hours sleep, I felt like a new woman. Like I’d been reborn.

I’d spent the whole of yesterday eating, too. Mr. Cooper (should I call him Redmond?!) had given me a list of ‘healing foods’ he’d told me to snack on throughout the day. Mom was a little disappointed I didn’t want to touch her lasagne, but she seemed happy that I was at least eating properly again, and had a load of food at my disposal as I worked. Even my father, who rarely commented on such things, said it was good to see me ‘fattening up’, and that maybe taking on my new job had been ‘a good move, after all’.

I walked across the plaza, to the spot that was fast becoming my favorite place in the whole of New York. I’d been to this fountain before starting my job at Global, then I’d been again the night Redmond had first told me his secret. Now, here I was: a woman who had been tied up, naked, and whipped in a warehouse, called a ‘little whore’, and made into her boss’ slave for three hours – and all because she’d wanted it! Not many people could say they’d done what I’d done. I wasn’t quite so green any more.

Of course, I was still a virgin. Redmond and I hadn’t fucked on Saturday night. He’d bathed me, slipping that sponge into place that made me gasp with pleasure, but each time I was ready to give myself to him completely, to let him do absolutely anything that he wanted, he’d pulled away. He explained to me that what had happened between us wasn’t some twisted ploy to get sex out of me. That our bonds were deeper than that, and he didn’t want this to be some sort of ‘dirty casual sex’ type thing. I told him it didn’t have to be casual, thinking that maybe, just maybe, we could make a relationship out of this – but he ignored my remark.

When I got out of the bath, he kissed me on the top of the head, like he might kiss a child, and then ordered me a cab. He thanked me again, tenderly, and I left.

The more I thought about it yesterday, though, the more pleased I was that we hadn’t had sex. I couldn’t give everything away to Redmond in one go. Saturday evening had been intense enough as it was without
that
. Besides, I wanted my first time to be about love. Pretty corny, eh? But true. However I felt about Redmond – and I had an awful lot of feelings, right now – I wouldn’t have sex with him before I knew that he loved me. I had no idea whether that would ever happen, but I didn’t want to ruin the moment by worrying about it. Redmond and I had done something intimate.
So
intimate that I’d probably never be able to tell another soul about it, as long as I lived. It was the naughtiest, most erotic, most daring thing I’d ever done. And it had made me feel like a new me.

When I got to the fountain in the plaza, I jumped up and sat on the stone edge, and looked in. I wondered which of the many coins lying at the bottom was the one I’d thrown in, just over a fortnight ago.

I reached into my pocket and took out another coin. Looked again at the picture on the back of it. Torch, olive branch, oak branch. Liberty. Peace. Strength.

I’d told Redmond, back in our first meeting, that I was looking for peace. Had I found it? I’d certainly found something. A kind of acceptance for myself. Redmond had shown me a sacred space for me in the world, one where I could accept my vulnerability and weakness, and could be a supplicant for those who were more powerful than me. People like him. Where, in a safe and controlled environment, I could surrender to someone completely. All my life, I’d been told I ought to be smarter, more confident, more ambitious… In those three hours with Redmond, all I had to be was naked. I don’t just mean physically naked, though of course I was. I mean open, completely open and honest and myself. There was nothing but truth in the way I’d presented myself to him: the honesty of my nude body, the openness to letting him take charge. All it took was trust, and trust was an empowering attribute. When you’re with someone you trust, anything’s possible.

I became aware of the ointment on my buttocks, the light smearing of grease on my skin. I wondered whether it had seeped through my pantyhose and was at all visible on the fabric of my skirt. Rather than fearing how that might look, I found the thought quite arousing. A big greasy mark across my butt cheeks. What would people think I had been doing? Innocent little Rose, with a greasy butt? The thought of it made me smile.

I turned the coin over in my fingers a few times and looked back into the water. I didn’t need to make a wish today. I put the coin back in my pocket.

Time for work.

CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE

Fly In The Ointment

‘You’re early,’ said Tegan, as I sat down at my desk.

‘Yeah,’ I said. ‘Shorthand exam tomorrow. Thought I’d start off the week on a good note.’

‘Glad to hear it,’ she replied. ‘I’ve been in for an hour already. Big deadline.’ Tegan had grown much bitchier with me since I’d started. I’d let it get to me last week, but not this week. I felt more in control today, more able to fight my corner. I wasn’t going to end up working with another Jen.

‘I was up working until two in the morning,’ I said, ‘otherwise I’d have come in earlier. Anyway, if you don’t mind, I’d better crack on.’

Out of the corner of my eye, I could see Tegan’s mouth opening and closing. She’d never seen me this cocky, and it felt good.

I opened up my emails, and was relieved to see I had no more outstanding work. I needed to keep swotting up for this test tomorrow. If I failed that, I may not be able to work here much longer. Regardless of what might have been going on with Redmond outside of the office, I knew I had to remain on his good side in here.

I opened up my shorthand revision file, and began focusing on the hieroglyphic-esque shapes in front of me. Pretty soon, all memory of ropes, welts, and ointment had drifted from my mind, and all I could think about were phonetics, phrasings, and diphthongs…

*

‘It’s almost three, Rose, you’ve not even stopped for a toilet break,’ said Tegan, raising her eyebrows at me.

‘Oh shit, lunch!’ I said, remembering I hadn’t stuck to my food plan today. I needed an avocado and cashew nut salad, if I remembered correctly. They sold them at the canteen on the next floor up. Redmond would be disappointed if I didn’t keep fattening myself up for him.

‘There’s cake in Room 341 at half three. Nisha’s leaving party. Did you meet her?’

I nodded. I remembered Nisha. The plump, attractive woman who’d served us tea during my first meeting with Redmond. The one who hadn’t stopped scowling.

Tegan leaned in towards me conspiratorially, her eyes sparkling, and I realized she had warmed to me since I’d shown more of an interest in my work. Maybe she wasn’t so bad, after all. ‘Rumor has it she’s leaving because of Redmond.’

‘Mr. Cooper?’ I replied, blushing as I said his name out loud. ‘Why?’

‘Turns out they’ve been having a
thing
together,’ she grins. ‘Someone saw them saying at a hotel together, about a month ago. She’s been looking for a new job ever since.’

A thing? A month ago?
My heart was racing.

‘So, what… he’s fired her?’

‘No, no, at least I don’t think so. She’s angry with him, as far as I can tell. At least, that’s what everyone can gather. She said something about him being a “pervert”. That’s all I know.’

‘So is it still going on? The thing between them?’ I could barely get the words out, I was so pumped with adrenaline.

Tegan shrugged. ‘Beats me. If they
are
together, it’s not going very well. And it’ll be going even worse if any of the shareholders find out. This sort of information is dynamite in the wrong hands. Redmond Cooper, screwing his PA? If NewsBiz get hold of that, they’ll screw
him
for all he’s worth.’

I swallowed nervously, then stood up. ‘I have to go get lunch,’ I said.

‘Remember! Half three!’ Tegan called as I walked off.

I marched, quickly, into the staff toilets, and locked myself inside the safety of a cubicle. Then I put my head in my hands and began to weep.

What a fool I’d been.

CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO

The Inevitable Retaliation

‘I’m having such a nice day, Patrick,’ I said, lying back on the grass, the sun beating down on me. ‘It really feels like the start of summer.’

Patrick and I had come out for what Patrick called a ‘liquid picnic’ in Central Park. Unfortunately, alcohol isn’t permitted in the park itself, though, so we’d been to a bar beforehand, and now we were lying on the grass with a lemonade. We agreed we’d do this for an hour, and then we’d head to another bar again. Seemed like a reasonable plan.

I was wearing a baby blue picnic dress. It’s something I’d worn when I first started university, four years ago, and finally, now that I’d put on a bit of weight, it fitted me again. It no longer sagged at the bust, and I even had hips now, making its pretty A-line shape actually look like an ‘A’, and not just an ‘I’, which is how it looked when I tried it on a few months ago. It felt good to be returning to my old self. It felt good to be hanging out with Patrick, too.

‘I have to admit, Rose,’ said Patrick, lying on the grass beside me, ‘I didn’t think you were interested in spending time together. You’ve acted a bit weird with me a couple of times now. I’m glad you got in touch.’

‘I’m sorry, Patrick,’ I said. ‘It’s the stress of starting a new job. My head hasn’t been screwed on properly. It’s all okay now, though.’ I wasn’t sure if I was telling Patrick this because I actually meant it, or because I wanted to mean it.

Was it okay? I hadn’t spoken to Redmond all week, although he’d been continuing to email me my food requirements. He hadn’t bothered to suggest meeting up this weekend, though, and, to be honest, I was glad of that. I needed some time to process this Nisha thing. I couldn’t believe he’d been fucking Nisha just a few weeks before what happened with me and him. Maybe he still
was
fucking Nisha. And the fact she’d called him a ‘pervert’. What did that mean? Had he tied her up too? Spanked her with a birch rod, and then given her a nice, healing hotel bath? And if so, how come he’d agreed to fuck her and not me? What was wrong with
me
?

I’d been having all sorts of messed-up thoughts since Tegan had broke the news to me. I’d been so distracted that I’d
completely
flunked my shorthand exam. I just knew it. I didn’t get the results until Tuesday, but I already knew how badly it had gone. I didn’t get an ounce of revision done after I’d spoken to Tegan.

I looked up at the light, fluffy smattering of clouds in the blue sky, making out shapes like Rorschach Test splatters. I could see a teddy bear, a whip, an erect penis…

‘So,’ said Patrick, lying down beside me, ‘how did your exam go? That was this week, wasn’t it?’

’It went great,’ I lied. ‘Can’t wait to be a full-blown journalist.’ I stopped looking at the clouds and rolled onto my side. I picked a handful of grass and sprinkled it on Patrick’s pant leg. I smiled mischievously and he smiled back. ‘How’s The Chronicle?’ I asked him. ‘Have they found a replacement for me yet? How about Jen?’

‘There’s a newbie in the office. Richard. He’s about forty, teetotal, likes golf… As you can probably imagine, we get on like a house on fire.’

‘And Jen?’

‘She never came back. Didn’t even collect the stuff off her desk. Christina has heard from her though. Apparently she’s got a job as a recruitment consultant in Queens. Making far more than she was at The Chronicle, no doubt. She’ll be just fine.’

‘Oh. Okay. Well that’s good,’ I lied again.

Don’t get me wrong, I was having a nice time with Patrick. A nice, wholesome, fun time. I just felt like – for some reason – something was missing. Perhaps it was the booze.

‘Hey,’ I said, ‘it’s gone five. We should go get another drink soon.’ I held up my half-full lemonade bottle in front of Patrick and swung it around over his head, pretending I was about to pour it. ‘A real drink.’

‘Sure.’ Patrick hoisted himself up onto his elbows. ‘If you don’t mind missing the recital.’ He nodded towards two Hispanic-looking guys, who had started strumming their guitars a few meters away.’

‘I think I’d gladly give the recital a miss,’ I smiled, hearing the beginnings of a corny tune starting up.