Read Online The Businessman's Tie (The Power to Please, Book 1) by Deena Ward - Free Book Online Page A

he asked.
    I nodded.
    “I know, the decorating scheme is austere. In its defense, it’s
intended to let you know how clean it is, so there’s no doubt.”
    “Mission accomplished,” I said.
    He opened a door in the base of the side table. It was a
mini fridge. “Are you thirsty? Water, juice, soda?”
    I shook my head no.
    He closed the door and walked over to me. The demeanor of
polite cordiality dropped away as he reached out and ran his fingers down the
length of my bare arm.
    His voice was low and warm. “It’s okay if you’re nervous,
and a bit scared. It excites me.”
    He put his arms around my waist and gently pulled me closer.
“Remember, you can always walk away. The door is only locked to the outside.
You’re free to leave any time you wish.”
    “I’ll remember,” I said, my voice sounding strange in my
head, reedy and thin.
    He was tall, my head reaching just shy of his chin. He
leaned down and whispered near my ear, “You don’t have to do anything. I know
what needs to be done. Trust me and let me guide you. You’ll be fine.”
    He soothed me with more honeyed words, and pressed soft
kisses on my ear lobe. He told me to relax, to enjoy the moment. I put my arms
around his neck and did as he said. It was easy, with him.
    Apparently, we were here to do more than watch, but I was no
fool. I’d figured as much. And Michael was handsome, thrilling in a new way. It
was no difficult task to enjoy what he did to me.
    His warm breath played across my neck and his hands caressed
my back. Then he kissed me, his lips light and gentle on my own. His scent was
a masculine musk.
    Then his tongue reached out to test me. We tasted one
another. He tasted of fresh oranges, rum and a hint of mint.
    He unbuttoned my shirt, kissing me all the while. I let it
happen, wanted it to happen, so when he slipped it from my shoulders, and
headed straight for the clasp of my bra, I didn’t try to slow him down. Slow
was the last thing I wanted.
    He unclasped the bra and whisked it away, then cupped my
breasts, lifting them, feeling the weight. When he had touched me earlier in
the evening, I hoped there might be more. Here was the more. I sighed and pressed
against him.
    He tasted my breasts with lips and tongue and made a sound
that might have been “yes,” but I couldn’t be sure. My breath grew ragged and
loud.
    I wanted his skin next to mine, so I reached out and tugged
at his shirt. He stopped nuzzling me long enough to let me remove his shirt,
then he returned his attention to my breasts. I ran my hands over his smooth
chest, my palms playing over the defined muscles of his lean torso.
    While he sucked my hard nipples into his mouth, his hands
moved to my waist, and in a moment, he unzipped my skirt and let it pool around
my feet.
    I reached for his belt then, wanting to see more of him, but
I had no more than touched the buckle when Michael grabbed my wrists. “No.”
    He pushed my arms behind my back and restrained them with
one of his large hands clamped around my wrists. With his other hand, he
grabbed the hair at the nape of my neck and pulled my head back until I was
looking up into his cold blue eyes. I felt a shiver of delicious fear rush over
me.
    “Time to lay down some ground rules,” he said. “This isn’t
what you’re used to, I know, but I bet you’re a quick learner. Are you?”
    I said I was. I damned well hoped I was.
    “I allowed you to take off my shirt,” he said. “That was the
only boon you’ll get from me tonight. Anything else that happens, and I do mean
anything, will be at my direction, my command. You’ll do nothing without my
permission. Do you understand?”
    His gaze bore into mine. I wanted this. Strange and
unfamiliar as it was, I wanted it, like I’d wanted The Businessman to have his
way with me in the hall. I wanted to give myself over to something bigger and
stronger than myself. To let him take charge.
    “Yes, I understand,” I said.
    He claimed my mouth, his