“A good life is a series of small rebellions.”
I lifted my head. “Who said that?”
“Gorepheus.” He pointed to himself.
“Smart guy.”
He nodded, his piercings glinting in the fading light. “He is. Handsome, too.”
I sighed. Maybe a little rebellion wouldn’t be so bad. “Fine, play porn at work.” I waved toward his monitor. What Mr. Porter doesn’t know won’t hurt him. “Let’s do this.”
He grinned and tapped the keys as I shielded my eyes. I tried to deny the little thrill of excitement breaking the rules gave me, but it wasn’t working. The corners of my lips quirked up, trying to give me away with a smile.
He stood and flicked the overhead lights off. “Okay, it’s starting. Check it out.”
I peeked through my fingers. A nude woman with a thin, but still killer, figure sat on the floor as a topless man covered in gorgeous tattoos circled her.
“Ready?” he asked.
She stretched leisurely and settled on the floor on her back, giving him a smile. “Do your worst.”
“Is he going to hit her?” I dropped my hands as the camera focused on the woman.
“No, well, maybe later if that’s what she wants. Shibari is a particularly specialized form of bondage, not BDSM in the hitting sense.”
“So he’s just going to tie her up?”
“Yeah.” He nodded as the man in the movie began wrapping rope around the woman’s ankles and linking it to her torso.
Before long, I was entranced by the delicate way he positioned her limbs, taking his time knotting, tying, and adjusting. He broke a sweat as she remained serene, even as she was trussed up with her legs drawn up into an M pattern.
“It’s actually kind of beautiful.” I rested my head on my hand.
“Yeah. I’ve been practicing a little myself. Not enough to do it for real, but I’m trying to work up to it.” Carey scooted his rolling chair closer to mine and turned the screen. “Now here comes the even better part.”
The man lifted the woman and tied her ropes around some wooden rods on the ceiling so she was hanging helpless, totally at his mercy.
I stared at her face, her eyes glassy. “She has no control over any of this, but she looks so . . .”
“Happy,” Carey finished for me.
“Yeah. I would be losing my mind.”
“Maybe not.” Carey’s voice was quiet. “Strong people are often the sort who would really benefit from giving up control, if only for a short time.”
The man in the video stripped the rest of the way, appearing back on-screen totally nude and more than ready to go. He ran his hard cock across the woman’s pussy before easing inside as she let out a pant, though her expression remained calm. He started a slow rhythm. Carey shifted in his chair, and my skin flushed as the man flexed and thrusted.
“I think maybe we’ve seen enough.” I said the words but I still watched the woman, her serenity turning to pleasure as she gave over all control to the man who’d tied her so beautifully.
“Just a little longer.” Carey’s arm rested against mine, his voice husky.
The light flicked on, and I jumped with a startled squeak.
“What’s going on in here?”
I whipped my head around to see Kennedy leaning against the glass door, a grin on his face. How long had he been standing there?
“Nothing.” Carey tapped a key and the screen went dark.
“Porn at the office. My, my. I had no idea you were such a naughty little minx, Ms. Carmichael.”
So much heat rushed into my cheeks that they felt sunburned. “W-We were just—”
Kennedy snorted. “It’s okay. I get off on tying up chicks, too. No worries.”
My embarrassment turned to anger. “You get off on pushing people around. You’re a bully.”
“I am?” He smirked, and I wanted to backhand the look off his face. “Good one, Carey. I didn’t realize you were this savvy.” Kennedy shook his head at me. “Oldest trick in the book, Scarlett. Want to get a girl on her back? Turn her on. Porn is the easiest way to do that.”
“That’s not what I was doing.” Carey slapped his laptop closed and shoved it into his bag.
“Sure it wasn’t.” Kennedy sat at the head of the conference table.
I glared at him. “It’s fine, Carey. Mr. Granade is just jealous he didn’t get to watch, too.”
“I saw plenty. Trust me.”
“I need to get home anyway. I’ve been here all day. The decryption is still running. I’ll let you know if anything happens.” Carey hurried toward the door, embarrassment dogging his steps.