“No, that’s not what I mean. But I do mean kinky fun. Are you in?”
I narrow my eyes, mulling over my answer. “Okay. What do you have in mind?”
“You’ll see.”
He leads me into the shower and we take turns washing each other. I never realized how much fun a shower could actually be before I met Ian. By the time we’re through, he has a huge hard-on and I’m hot enough to make friends with a doorknob or something. The strange thing, though, is he makes no attempt to scratch the itch—for either of us. I’m beginning to wonder if his version of kinky fun involves sexual torment and I have a strong feeling it does.
Ian dries us both off and we go into the bedroom to get dressed.
“Here. Wear this one,” he says, pulling my short black cocktail dress out of the hotel room closet. The dress is made of slinky fabric and it has three-quarter sleeves and a plunging vee-neckline that’s held together by satin lacing, providing peek-a-boo glimpses at what’s inside.
“Okay.” I take the dress.
“Do you have a garter belt?”
“No. But I do have silk stockings that stay up without a garter. Do you want me to wear those?”
He nods. “And your black stilettos, please.”
It’s not until we get in the taxi that he makes his next request. Once he gives the driver an address, he leans in to whisper in my ear. “Take off your panties.”
I look at him as if he’s lost his mind. “What?”
“You heard me. Do it.”
“In here?” I screech, thinking about all the people and… stuff… that’s been on these car seats. “It’s not hygienic.”
He shakes his head, a gesture he uses when he is dismissive of my concerns. “Keep the dress underneath you, but do as I say, Ella.”
I look at him with suspicious eyes but my hand slowly travels under my hem. Watching the driver in the rearview mirror, I surreptitiously slide down my panties, being extra careful that my butt does not touch the icky car seat. When I work them down off my ankles, Ian holds out his hand and I give them to him. He pockets them without taking his eyes off me and those eyes? Smoldering.
“I’m not sure I like this, Ian.” My voice is shaky.
His voice is smooth and deep. “My money says you do. Care to make it interesting?”
“How interesting?”
He shrugs. “We’ll keep it manageable. Say a thou?”
I chew my lip nervously and nod my assent. His hand snakes up my dress and he touches me intimately, then thrusts a finger up into me. Then two. After only a moment, he withdraws his hand and holds it up in the glare of the streetlights outside. His fingertips are glistening. “I win,” he whispers and licks my ear. Again I glance at the driver and see his eyes in the mirror. Nosy bastard is watching us and I can only hope he didn’t manage to see anything worthwhile.
In a few minutes we reach our destination. Ian comes around to open my door and help me out—and, believe me, with no panties, a rather short dress, and high heels, I need help. He pays the driver and leads me to a shop front. I look up. A jewelry store?
“Why a jewelry store, Ian? And why is it still open at nine o’clock, by the way?”
“No questions. Tonight you’re my sub: just be quiet and follow my lead. Okay?”
I nod. I can do this—it’s exciting and it may just be fun. I’ll play nice for now. “Lead the way.”
Before we could get in, his phone rings. Checking the caller, he frowns but takes the call. “Talk,” he orders the poor slob on the other end of the line.
He listens for a long moment. “Please tell me you’re not kidding? This is good news, Jonas, the best news. Have Terence get his ass on a flight to Beijing ASAP. Oh? Well, then, have him follow them to Hong Kong or around the fucking world, for all I care, as long as he gets to them quickly. No, Terence speaks fluent Mandarin and can muddle his way through Cantonese; he needs to be the one to court them. And notify Jackson Delacroix about the offer. Tell him we’re definitely interested but we need to show a healthy profit on the sale—we’ve sunk too much into it already. Have accounting do their best to pretty up the books—to the legal extent possible. Keep me posted.”
“Good news, I take it?” I ask after he disconnects.
“If I ever say I don’t believe in God, remind me of this day, Ella. I just received a gift from heaven, routed through China. We’ve been bleeding out on this solar panel company we took on, hoping for tax waivers into 2020. With recent budget cuts, the government phased out the waivers starting next year. We were set to take a bloodbath on it. A Chinese firm offered to buy us out. They can make it profitable because it’s an open secret that the Chinese government illegally subsidizes their green energy companies so that no American company can effectively compete. If they take it on, it’s a win-win for everyone involved. Especially me.”