Tied Up By The Boss (The Key Party Chronicles) (2 page)

Jack smiled at her, trying to put her at ease.  He remembered his first key party.  He’d sweated through an expensive Armani suit he’d been so nervous.  Lea was looking at him with wide chocolate brown eyes, clearly dismayed at seeing him.  He had to admit he was disappointed she wasn’t happier to see him.  He kept a strict professional distance in the office, but he wouldn’t mind spending some quality, personal time with her.  She was exactly the kind of woman he was attracted to.  Smart, funny, sweet, and sexy as hell.

Tonight she was wearing a scrap of black material that passed for a dress.  It was short enough to show off her some of her thighs and flimsy enough that he could see the outline of her nipples through the fabric of the halter top.  It was tied in a bow at the back of her neck and it was all he could do not to reach out and tug it open, watching her dress fall away.  Lea’s figure was curvy and generous and he could already feel her body pressed close to his. 

“You’re wearing high heels again.  You’re taller.” 

Wow, was that a stupid thing to say.  Smooth, Jack.  Very smooth.

She looked down at her feet and looked back up at him with a trembling smile.  She was still embarrassed.  “Sneakers didn’t go with the dress.”

“You’re probably right.  I don’t know much about fashion.  Are you okay?  Can I get you a drink?”

Lea chewed on her full lips and Jack felt his cock harden in response.  He’d imagined those lips around his cock more than a few times.  In his mind’s eye, he could see her on her knees under his desk, sucking him dry while
he was on the phone with a client.

“What I really need is a taxi,” she sighed.  “I don’t think Gary’s going to drive me home.”

Jack quirked an eyebrow.  “Would you want him to?  I couldn’t help over hear…”

“Fantastic.  My humiliation is complete.”  Lea grimaced.  “My boss witnessed my breakup with my jerk of a boyfriend.  Maybe I could show you pictures of me in junior high as an encore?”

He didn’t want her to be humiliated.  He wanted her to be happy she’d run into him.

“I bet you were cute in junior high.”

She shook her head with a laugh.  “No, I bet you were cute in junior high.  I had red hair, freckles, glasses, and braces.”

He eyed the tumbling, flaming red curls that just touched her shoulders and wondered if the
y felt as fantastic as they looked.  “I’d say you turned out okay.  And I had glasses, too.”  He pointed to his eyes.  “Lasik.  About ten years ago.”

She giggled
and pointed to her eyes, her lashes impossibly long and thick.  Jack wondered if they were natural or if she used mascara or something.  “Contacts.  Since college.  And yes, I could use a drink.”

He grabbed her hand and realized the heat he’d felt when he’d touched her at the office hadn’t been his imagination.  His skin burned and tingled as he led her across the apartment to the bar.   He ordered himself a beer before turning to her. 

“Um, a martini.”

He took their drinks and nodded over to a quiet corner of the living room.  Personally, he didn’t like to make small talk.  He wasn’t comfortable talking about the weather or if the Cubs were going to do it this year.  He could talk about his work all night, but he knew it would put most people to sleep.  They settled on to a small loveseat and he waited until she seemed relaxed.

“Is this your first key party?”  He already knew the answer but it seemed like a good opening gambit.  He really did want to make her feel less nervous.  She had nothing to be nervous about.  If she decided to stay, she would be the most popular and coveted woman at the party.  Not only was she beautiful, she was new.  New blood was always something this group of kinky, bored people was looking for.

“Yes,” she nodded.  “I had no idea
where Gary was bringing me until we got here.  Shit, that reminds me.  I need to call a taxi.  Can you hold my drink?”

Jack didn’t want her to leave, but understood that parties like this weren’t for everyone.  He liked that he could come and play a little but not have to have the onus of calling someone the next day.  He
wasn’t looking for a relationship.  Not now anyway.  Lea dug into her tiny handbag and pulled out her cell.  By the time she hung up, she was smiling.

“Fifteen minutes
or less.  It’s amazing how fast a taxi can get to rich neighborhoods.”

He laughed.  She had a point.  “Where do you live?”

“Bucktown.  I share a place with a friend.  It’s close to stuff and near the train.  I’m splurging on a taxi tonight since it’s so cold.”

She didn’t know it but he wasn’t going to let her pay for that taxi ride.  It wasn’t her fault her boyfriend resembled a horse’s ass.

He relaxed back into the soft cushions of the couch so he could watch her expression.  He might be about to piss her off.  “Can I ask why you’re leaving the party?  Do you not like sex?”

Her face turned a pretty shade of pink but she didn’t sock him in the eye
, which was a good start. 

“Despite what you may have overheard, I like sex fine.  I just don’t think that casual sex with a stranger is for me, that’s all.”

He nodded.  “It can be impersonal, although that can be its own positive aspect.  You can be anything or anyone.  You don’t have to be Lea Taylor tonight.  You can experiment without fear of being judged or ridiculed.  Trust me, this is a very non-judgmental group.  They believe in live and let live.”

She played with the stem of her martini glass, not looking at him.  “You make it sound like a vacation from myself.”

“It is, in a way.  Aren’t you the least bit curious about what goes on here?  Aren’t you curious about doing something that’s out of your comfort zone?”

She didn’t answer him, just kept staring at her drink.  “Have I upset you, Lea?  I’m sorry if I have.  It just seems to me that if you really wanted to go, you would have marched out of here a long time ago.  I think maybe, just maybe, you’re thinking about staying.  I think you’re curious about what can happen here tonight.
  I think you’re curious if there’s another Lea inside you.”

Chapter Two

It was as if his laser-like blue eyes could see right through her.  She fidgeted on the small couch, not sure how to answer his query.   She’d been wondering herself why she hadn’t marched out the apartment in righteous indignation when she’d found out what kind of party this was.  Her curiosity was aroused, that was true.  Her body was also aroused as she listened to Jack talk about being someone else for a night.  She’d been safe, logical Lea for a long time.  It might be nice to be someone else, even if it was only for a few hours.

“Do you come to these parties often?”  She wasn’t ready to answer his questions so she asked one of her own.  He smiled indulgently as if he recognized her diversion tactics.

“About once a month or so.  My first party was about five years ago.  My then wife thought that this would enrich our marriage.”  He shrugged.  “We divorced two years later so I guess it didn’t work.  For us, anyway.  There are several married couples that swear it saved their marriage.”

“She thought it would
help
your marriage?  How can sleeping with someone else help your marriage?  It doesn’t make any sense.”

She drew in a breath as he started to play with one of her curls, wrapping the hair around his finger.  “You’re very young, Lea.  Marriage is complicated at the best of times.  Sex is a biological need and can be separate from emotion.  I’m not a possessive, jealous man.  If Carrie wanted to sleep with another man, as her husband, I felt it was my responsibility to make that happen for her in a safe environment.
  After all, if I’m going to spend the rest of my life with a woman, what’s one night out of a lifetime?”

Lea knew her mouth was hanging open but she couldn’t help it.  This was further proof the rich really were different.  She wasn’t sure what to say so she went the safe route.  “I’m not all that young.”

The corners of his mouth lifted.  “What are you?  Twenty-five?  I’m thirty-nine.  Trust me when I say that life doesn’t get any less complex as you get older.  But the decisions do get easier.”

“I’m twenty-four.”  She plucked at the skirt of her dress.  “Why do the decisions get easier?  I would think it would be the opposite.”

He put his beer on the table and placed his hand over hers.  “I find as I get older I’m more aware of what’s really important.  It makes things easier.  What people think of me isn’t really important.  It’s what I think of myself.”

His fingers were warm and she wanted to find out if the rest of his body was as well.  “You make everything sound so straightforward.”

“It is.  Do as you please, Lea.  Life is short and chances don’t always come around twice in a lifetime.  If you want to stay here tonight, stay.  If you want to leave, leave.  No one will judge you.  Your parents won’t ever know.  Your friends don’t need to know unless you tell them.  Only you can make yourself feel guilty.”

She could hear the sincerity in his voice.  As his assistant, she’d heard him talk thousands of times, so she knew when he really believed in his words.

“You know.”

He chuckled, the warm sound wrapping around her like a blanket.  “And you know about me.  I trust you.  Do you trust me?”

She did.  Jack Britton was a man of integrity.  She’d seen slimy lawyers at the firm and he wasn’t one of them.

The doorman interrupted before she had a chance to answer.  He was standing in the middle of the room.

“Did anyone call a taxi?  There’s a taxi at the front of the building.”

His voi
ce was loud and the room became dead silent.  She could feel Jack’s gaze on her.

“Well, Lea?”  His voice was low so no one else could hear.  “Are you staying or going?”

She swallowed the lump that had formed in her throat.  She could leave and go on as she had been.  Dependable, good girl, Lea.  She could stay and experience something she would probably never experience again.  It didn’t make her less of who she really was.  It simply made her someone who was open to trying new things.  She straightened her shoulders and drank down the rest of her martini in one gulp.

“Staying.”

Jack nodded.  “I’ll pay off the taxi.  Be right back.”

While Jack was gone, Lea took a good look at the guests milling about.  She hadn’t been interested before, but now the thought she was about to sleep with one of them had her scanning the crowd.  Could she really have sex with a man she didn’t know, had never met, and would never meet again?  It was an intriguing idea to be with someone and not worry about what they thought of her afterward.  If she wanted to be on top, she didn’t have to worry about whether they thought she was too aggressive or if they were
emasculated.  If she wanted to be fucked hard and fast, she didn’t have to be embarrassed about asking for exactly what she wanted.  Jack was right.  It was freeing.

Jack was back, his hand under her elbow.  “You didn’t run and hide in the bathroom.  That’s a good sign.”

“Is that an option?”

He smiled.  “The house has five bathrooms, so I would say yes.”

“Can I ask a few logistical questions?”

He nodded as she watched the hostess talking to her rat of an ex-boyfriend.  They seemed very close and Lea wondered if this was Gary’s first key party. 

Nope.  He’d done this before.  He was too relaxed for anything else.

“There has to be thirty people at this party.  Where does everyone… you know?”

“Not everyone stays here.  Some leave with their partner and go home or to a hotel.  I, personally, like to go to my home.”

“Oh.”  She knew Jack lived in Lincoln Park.  She’d seen his address on some health insurance papers she’d filed for him.  “What is the difference between the two fishbowls?”

This time Jack grinned.  “Vanilla means regular sex.  Nothing kinky.  Non-vanilla means you’re open to doing something more.  Maybe get spanked or tied up.  Things like that.”

Heat washed through her and she shifted on her high heels.  “Oh, well, I see.”

Her arousal went several notches higher as she imagined herself draped across her boss’ lap and his big hand spanking her bare ass.  She didn’t have time to dwell on it though.  Their hostess was now in the middle of the room with the two fishbowls, holding them up with a big smile.

“Okay, everyone.  It’s that time.  Are we ready?  Gwen, it’s your birthday so I think you should kick everything off.”

One by one
, women stepped up, covered their eyes, and grabbed a set of keys from one of the fishbowls.  It was clear that many were regulars as guests smiled at their matches and headed off to either find a bedroom or left the apartment.  Finally, Lea took a steadying breath and stepped forward slowly.  Jack had been silent as he’d stood next to her, neither pushing her nor holding her back.  Clearly, he wanted her to make her own decision.

She stopped in front of the fishbowls and out of the corner of her eye she saw Gary’s smirk. 
He was a total jerk and she was well rid of him.  Constance held up the two fishbowls.  “Which one?”

Lea could feel the heat washing through her face.  Redheads could never hide their emotions.  She was probably flushing all over.  She could see Gary’s car keys in the vanilla fishbowl.  There was no fucking way she
was going home with him.  She’d rather become one of those crazy cat ladies people avoided at Halloween.

“That one.”  She pointed to the non-vanilla.  If she was going to be someone else tonight, she might as well be someone who had the night of her life.  She covered her eyes and dug her hand deep into the glass bowl.  Her fingers grasped a set of keys, feeling a raised design on the key chain, and pulled them out, holding them up
as the other women had done.

She held her breath as she waited for her match, but she didn’t have to wait long.  Jack strode forward and wrapped his fingers around the keys and her hand. 

“Let’s go.”  He gently extricated the keys from her grip and she realized the ridged area she had felt was the Mustang logo.  His hand pressed into the small of her back and she trembled as they walked to the front door.  She was surprised her knees hadn’t given way.  She was so excited and yet so nervous, all at the same time.

Before she knew it she was wrapped up in her coat and they were walking down the dimly lit street.

“I live just a few blocks away.  Do you mind walking?”

She shook her head.  The cold was cooling off her libido
, which was welcome at this point.  She needed to keep her head on straight even if she planned on having kinky sex with her boss at some point this evening.  That’s when it hit her.

She was going to have sex with Jack Britton.

She’d fantasized endlessly.  Tonight she was actually going to do it.  She pushed away thoughts of what tomorrow would bring.  How awkward it might be, or how he might treat her differently in the office.  Tonight she was going to do something she normally wouldn’t do.  And she was going to do it with Jack.

* * * *

Jack was waiting for her to bolt.  He’d ushered her into his brownstone, hung up her coat, and was now stoking a fire so they could warm up.  He hoped a quiet atmosphere would relax her, since she almost vibrated with tension.

“How about a glass of wine?”

Lea shook her head.  “One drink is my limit.  I don’t want to get tipsy.  I want to be sober so I can really experience this.”

He wanted to give her an out.  “You don’t have to do this if you don’t want to.  I can drive you home if you want.”  He walked closer so there were only inches between their bodies.  “But I want you to know I’m very attracted to you.  I’ve fantasized about us doing this.  Being together.  I want you, Lea.”

Her eyes widened and she licked her lips.  “Me, too.  I mean, I’m attracted to you, too.  I’ve had a few fantasies of my own.” 

“I bet mine were naughtier.”

She smiled, her eyes dancing with mischief.  “I don’t know about that.”  She placed her hand on his chest and his cock tightened in his jeans.  He admired how courageous she was being.  She was amazing as well as beautiful.  “I imagined dropping a file on the floor and well, since I was on my knees…”

His hands came up on her shoulders, pressing lightly.  “That sounds like a hot fantasy.”  She dropped to her knees and began fumbling with the button on his jeans.  He reached down to help her but she was already unzipping his fly, her hand reaching
for him.  He pushed his jeans down, along with his boxers and his hard cock sprang free.  The expression of delight on her face as she ran her hands up and down his cock made his arousal almost painfully intense.  He reached out and did something he’d been longing to do for months.  He tangled his fingers in her silky red curls.

“Suck me.”

She didn’t follow his command at once.  Her tongue flitted out like a butterfly, licking here and there, never lingering in one spot too long.  Finally, her hot mouth engulfed him, making his breath ragged and his balls draw up.  The pressure in his lower back built as she sucked, her head bobbing, her tongue licking the sensitive underside with each stroke. 

The heat in his body was overwhelming and he started to pull off but her
arm wrapped around his buttocks to hold him in place.

“I’m about to come,” he bit out, his voice gravelly.  He didn’t
want to ruin the mood by coming in her mouth and pissing her off.  Instead, she sucked him harder and he groaned in completion as his hot seed filled the cavern of her mouth.  She swallowed greedily until he was spent and had to reach out and steady himself by grabbing the back of a chair so his knees didn’t buckle.  She sat back on her heels and smiled up at him.  Her expression told him she was completely aware she’d destroyed him. 

He reached down and pulled his pants up, self-conscious he hadn’t been able to hold back very long.  Her hands ran up and down his jean clad thighs.  He caught them and pulled her to her feet, capturing her lips in a long, slow kiss.  He wanted to explore every nook and cranny of her mouth and lips.  She tasted like martini and something warm and inviting.  He took his time and
when he lifted his head they were both breathless.

“Can I ask you a question?” 

He nodded.  “Sure.  Anything you want.”   He smiled.  “I’m in a very good mood so take advantage of it.”

She snuggled against his sweater, not looking at him.  “Did you have a date tonight?  I mean, do you have a girlfriend?”

He tipped her chin up so he could look in those luscious brown eyes.  A man could get lost in eyes that deep.  Right now they were a stormy gold as if she was afraid of his answer. 

“No, I didn’t have a date tonight.  I
’ve rarely dated since my divorce.  I’m not looking for a relationship and most women want one.  That’s why I frequent the key parties.  No commitments.  Just two people who want to explore something together, although I don’t always find a partner at the parties.  I prefer non-vanilla sex.  Not everybody is okay with that and there are always more men there than women.  So even if a guy wants to go vanilla, there’s no guarantee.”

“People don’t come in pairs?” 

“New men have to come in pairs.  I’ve been coming for years so I don’t have to bring a female.  Constance always invites several women who are looking to explore their sexuality.  But we still always have too many men.  There are times I go home by myself.”