Tempting Elizabeth Read online

  “Good girl.”

  She winced as he called her that. She hated that endearment. She was no one’s girl. Not good or otherwise. She was a Domme. Was he trying to goad her? She wouldn’t put it past him, but it was impossible to tell, and he would deny it if she confronted him.

  Flynn had a nice rhythm going again in no time, swatting her butt up and down her cheeks, going lower each time until he included the backs of her thighs. The effect was mesmerizing. Soothing. She couldn’t help but relax a bit more with each blow.

  When Flynn stopped and set a palm on her jean-covered butt cheeks, she found herself jerking out of a strange state of bliss, disappointed he was done. Though she’d never admit that out loud. And besides, what the hell was wrong with her? She never submitted to any man. She hadn’t in many years, and even then, only a few times. She shuddered at the memory and forced herself to focus on the here and now. “You still with me, E?”

  Elizabeth squeezed her eyes closed. E? Since when did he assign a nickname to her? Jesus. She decided to ignore it. “Of course. Why wouldn’t I be?”

  “You seemed pretty relaxed. Just checking. We don’t have to continue if you don’t want to.”

  She righted herself and turned to face him, causing his hands to fall away from her body. She narrowed her gaze at him. “Are you trying to outdo me?”

  He frowned. “No. This is important. I’m just taking your pulse like any good Dom would do.”

  She glared harder and gritted her teeth. “Are you suggesting I’m not as good as you because I didn’t insinuate you were too weak to continue?”

  Flynn reached up and touched her cheek with two fingers. His voice was calm and concerned when he spoke again. “Jesus, Elizabeth. I’m not trying to compete with you. I’m just trying to be a good guy here. Relax.”

  He looked sincere, and she realized she was being a total bitch because she was incapable of trusting him to be exactly that—a good guy. He’d done nothing to insinuate he was anything but a caring, considerate Dom.

  She blew out a breath and lowered her gaze, rolling her tight shoulders a few times. “You’re right. Sorry.” Before she could lose her nerve, she undid her jeans and wiggled them over her butt. She was wearing a thong, so lucky for her nothing extremely intimate would be exposed to his gaze even though she’d gotten a fantastic view of his entire cock.

  It had been difficult not to stare. His dick was fantastic. Thick. Long. Hard… Had he been hard for her? Or just in general?

  She knew one thing, seeing his dick and then having his hands on her had made her damn thong wet, but he wouldn’t be able to see that. One of the best parts about being female—her arousal was easier to hide.

  Elizabeth settled once again over the bench, spreading her feet several inches to avoid that reprimand again and taking deep breaths. This part would be harder. She was surprised to realize she trusted Flynn. Completely. He would never do anything to harm her. This wasn’t a joking situation. He knew the damage he could inflict if he didn’t take this seriously.

  Once again his hands were on her, one on her lower back and one on her heated butt. “Your skin is pink,” he murmured.

  Yeah, not surprising. Even though her skin wasn’t as white as many other people’s, she still couldn’t hide flushed cheeks—not on her face or her ass. The crop would have left its mark even through the denim barrier. She said nothing.

  “Safeword?”

  Jesus. “Red.” She didn’t dare add the word Sir to that response. It was awkward enough being forced to say it. She so rarely ever put herself in these shoes—submissive ones. It wasn’t in her nature. She would be glad when this scene was over.

  She heard Rowen speak and then tuned out the short conversation he had with Flynn, taking the time to breathe deeply and center herself for the next phase.

  Soon enough, Flynn lifted the crop and began to tap her butt in quick flicks, raining down on every inch of bare skin with mild enough pressure to lure her back into that sweet edge of bliss again.

  It was unnerving that he managed to get her to relax at all. No one else affected her like this. She ignored the weirdness, unwilling to face it right now. She was enjoying this too much to think about it very hard.

  As he continued, her jeans slipped down a few inches, uncomfortably wrapped around her thighs.

  Flynn paused, smoothing his hand once again over her heated cheeks. “You’d be more comfortable if you took your jeans off, E.”

  She flinched, considering his words. Again, she wondered if he had a motive here. She had to remind herself this was not a fucking contest. After all, even if she did remove her damn jeans entirely, she’d still have her thong on, and she’d still have seen more of him than he saw of her.

  She pushed to standing slowly and glanced around. Two other women in the room were currently on the receiving end of a crop, and both of them had removed their jeans. Fine. No big deal.

  Elizabeth kicked off her sandals and shrugged the denim down her legs, stepping out and then shoving them out of the way with her bare toe. Without a direct glance at Flynn’s face, she resumed her position.

  Flynn nudged her feet apart with one of his and then resumed his spot next to her. Was he standing closer? Or maybe it was just in her imagination because her naked legs heightened her awareness. His hand seemed larger as he spread his fingers on her lower back again.

  A shiver raced down her spine, infuriating her because she couldn’t stop it.

  He resumed tapping her with the crop several times before picking up the pace and adding to the intensity. She began to feel the sting on her already heated skin.

  And then he added her thighs, swatting up and down from the backs of her knees to her butt cheeks, covering every inch of skin. It shouldn’t have seemed so intimate, but it did. She tried not to think about the last time she’d let a man get this close to her.

  Elizabeth closed her eyes and took long, deep breaths. She never let her guard down like this, not even for a clinical demonstration. Every time she’d taken one of these classes to learn something new, she’d managed to disassociate and keep it all business. Flynn was getting under her skin, and she didn’t like it.

  When Flynn suddenly tapped the inside of her thigh a few inches below her pussy, parts of her long thought dead came back to life with no warning. She flinched, rising onto her toes and holding her breath, shocked and annoyed that her clit was swollen and her thong was wet.

  If Flynn noticed her demeanor, he didn’t say anything. Instead, he swatted the inside of her other thigh, a bit higher.

  All the blood drained from her face as her legs started to tremble and her heart raced. She was aroused. Very very aroused. Something she never expected to feel again in this lifetime with another human being.

  She needed to stop this freight train right now before she embarrassed herself, so she spun around, grabbed Flynn’s wrist, and met his gaze. “I think I got it. Thanks.” Next, she bent over, grabbed her jeans, and quickly shrugged into them. She kept her gaze down, not wanting to read his expression.

  Did he have any idea how horny she was or that she was shaking or that she was unnerved? She hoped not.

  Luckily, Master Rowen spoke, keeping her from needing to face Flynn again. “I want to thank everyone for coming this morning. You all did great. Let me know if you need any more help with crops. My wife, Faith, is with our kids this morning, but she’s usually with me at the club on weekends, and I’d be happy to use her backside to do more demos.” He rubbed his hands together, chuckling.

  Elizabeth had met the blue-eyed blonde last Friday night in the break room at the same time she’d met Lincoln’s wife, Sasha, and Carter’s wife, Brooke. It had been obvious the owners of this club and their wives were a close-knit family. Elizabeth was envious of their relationships.

  A rumble of voices thanking Master Rowen filled the room, and then Lincoln wandered in. “There’s an amazing lunch spread in the break room. You’re all welcome to stay and continue ta
lking.”

  When Elizabeth squatted down to put her sandals back on, a shadow fell over her. “You okay?”

  She tipped her head back to meet Flynn’s gaze again. “Yep. Of course. Thanks for partnering with me.” She rose to her full height, once again noticing how much Flynn towered over her. At least she was pulling herself back together.

  “You staying for lunch?” he asked, frowning slightly as though he didn’t quite believe she was telling the truth.

  She hadn’t intended to, but she didn’t want to be rude or appear to be running away. “Sure. I could eat.”

  He nodded over his shoulder toward the break room. “Come on then.”

  Chapter 7

  Flynn was completely out of sorts. Nothing about the last two hours had gone as expected. He was seeing a side of Elizabeth he’d never known existed. Hell, the only Elizabeth he’d ever seen in all the years he’d worked with her was the ruthless, hardworking overachiever.

  The Elizabeth from this morning had let her guard down just enough for him to see she was human and had vulnerabilities. He’d seen her squirm, and he doubted many people got to see that side of her.

  Nor had he ever seen the woman currently enjoying a sandwich from his restaurant. She had moaned around several bites, and her eyes were currently rolling back. “Damn. This is good. Wonder where they got them.”

  He started to tell her, and then decided against it. He didn’t want to take a chance that she might switch back to raving bitch mode if he bragged about his family restaurant. So he changed the subject. “How’s Miami treating you so far?”

  She wiped her lips. “Not bad.”

  “You came here to open a business? What happened to the position you took in Atlanta?”

  “The company folded. I realized after I took the job that they’d only hired me as a last-ditch effort to salvage things. They were too far gone. It was a disaster from the start.”

  He lifted a brow, unable to keep from taking a jab. “You? Queen of all things. Controller of the universe. Couldn’t pull them out of the mud?”

  She smirked. “You can’t start a fire with wet logs.”

  He chuckled. “Now what?”

  “Now I start my own business.”

  “Doing what?”

  “Not sure yet. I’m looking around. Taking my time.”

  “Do you know anyone in Miami?”

  “You.” She gave an exaggerated groan.

  Now he laughed. Who knew she could be funny? Maybe she hadn’t intended to humor him, but it was cute seeing her like this. Relaxed. Not currently in the process of crucifying him. Maybe she wasn’t always a bitch. Just at work. He doubted she currently had a boyfriend since she’d recently moved and didn’t seem to know anyone in Miami. However, he wondered if her past boyfriends saw a side of her that was more laid back.

  On the other hand, the idea of her relaxing was inconceivable. Apparently she’d been a Domme for a long time. There was a good chance anyone she dated submitted to her. That seemed far more likely. But sad somehow. Especially because she had let down her guard ever so slightly this morning. Flynn suspected she had a submissive side hidden in her, and if she let it out, she would be a sight to behold.

  Hell, his dick had gotten hard working with her. It had nothing to do with submitting to her. He marginally tolerated submitting to anyone, even for the purpose of education. But the way she’d touched him. Her hand on his back. He’d gone into his head and imagined himself demanding her to touch him that way.

  Flynn realized she was staring at him funny, waiting for him to respond. “Oh, right. Besides me.”

  She lifted a brow, smirking again. “You take up an entire city. How could I have room for anyone else?”

  He couldn’t resist tapping a finger under her chin. “Are you saying I’m a strong Dom? You thinking about submitting to me? Coming to your senses?” He knew that would get a rise out of her, and frankly, he didn’t care. She was a conundrum today.

  “Ha.” She swiped at his hand, shoving it out of the way. “You wish.”

  Yes. Yes, I do. He couldn’t imagine why. Was it the challenge she presented? Had to be that. In response, he decided to pretend he’d been kidding and laughed. “Hardly. I doubt anyone can control you without you topping from the bottom.”

  “Flynn, no one controls me under any circumstances, so I never need to top from anywhere but the top.”

  He thought there was a crack in the veneer somewhere, and he might just be interested in figuring out how to break it open, but it was going to take some time. The next words that came out of his mouth shocked even him. “If you need someone to show you around Miami, I have a few hours this afternoon.”

  She cocked her head to one side, lifting an eye. “Is that supposed to be a trick?”

  He shook his head. “Nope. It’s a legitimate offer. Maybe we can make peace.”

  She continued to eye him speculatively before finally nodding. “Okay. I’ll take you up on that.”

  He watched as she devoured the rest of her sandwich, some potato salad, and a brownie. He decided not to mention where the food came from for now. It was enough seeing her enjoy the meal as well as listening to her moan over it. If she’d known he owned the restaurant, he seriously doubted she would’ve so candidly raved about it.

  As the group dispersed, Flynn said goodbye to Rowen and Lincoln and met Elizabeth in the parking lot. “You want to leave your car here? I’ll bring you back after the tour.”

  She seemed a little flustered, and he wondered if her regular hat would go back on now that they were outside. “Uh, sure.”

  He led her to his silver SUV.

  As soon as they were inside, buckling up, she glanced around. “Honda Pilot. Interesting. I would have pegged you for something sportier.”

  He laughed. “Nope.” The truth was he often needed the extra space to haul food around. Like today.

  “So practical,” she murmured.

  “So snarky,” he responded as he started the engine, flashing her a grin to soften his next words. “Are you capable of normal human interaction? Or is everything with you a contest?”

  She held up both hands. “No contests. Promise. Show me your town. I’ll be good.”

  He flinched at the word and leaned closer. “Excuse me? Did I just hear you say you would be a good girl?”

  She winced. “Don’t twist my words. I don’t like to be called that.” She narrowed her gaze. “Ever. We aren’t in Zodiac anymore. Besides, I’m neither good nor a little girl no matter where I’m physically located.”

  “Why don’t I doubt that?”

  Chapter 8

  Elizabeth was shocked to find herself enjoying the afternoon in the company of the one man she would’ve said she never wanted to see again in her life. Turned out Flynn Taylor wasn’t so bad when you plucked him out of the cutthroat business environment. Of course, there was a good chance he was thinking the same thing about her.

  The truth was she hardly recognized herself. It had been ages since she let her hair down and relaxed in front of just about anyone. She knew he thought she was a bitch, and he wasn’t wrong. She was a bitch. It was her shtick. It was also the reason she’d had very few friends, and fewer dates, in her lifetime. No one wanted to be around her, and not just at work.

  Sometimes it was a lonely existence, but most of the time she had existed purely on climbing the ladder and reaching higher degrees of success from morning to night for so many years that she didn’t have time for anything else.

  It was intentional. It was safe. She got a rush out of dominating other people when she went to a club, and that was as social as she wanted to be. Wasn’t it?

  As she stared at Flynn’s profile while he pointed out the best beaches along the coast, she felt a tightness in her chest. A reminder that she hadn’t really been living. Not for a long time. Maybe not ever.

  She wouldn’t tell him or anyone else that, but it was true. Life had dealt her a strange set of cards, and she’
d played them to the best of her ability. Frankly, she was proud of her accomplishments and refused to look in the mirror and ask herself what she might be missing out on.

  Her foundation was shaky today. Maybe she’d had too much caffeine before heading to the club this morning. Maybe the sun had gotten to her recently. She for sure hadn’t known the woman who slipped into a blissful state while her arch nemesis cropped her bare ass.

  She squirmed again in the seat of his SUV at the memory of how wet her thong had been and how much she’d wished he would reach between her legs and stroke her to completion. It unnerved her then, and it still did now. Her cheeks were heated, and she couldn’t shake the images assaulting her as she let her gaze wander from his muscular thigh to his tanned arm to his square jawline and ruffled hair.

  His hair was a shade of brown just lighter than hers and slightly longer than it had been three years ago. She found herself wondering how it might feel under her fingers and then shaking herself out of the weird daydream.

  “There are some great restaurants along this strip,” he was saying. “Let me know if you need any recommendations.”

  “Thanks. I will.” She couldn’t imagine when since she didn’t know anyone to dine with. Not to say she never went to restaurants alone. She did. But not usually nice ones. That made her feel oddly out of place.

  Flynn circled around to several shopping areas, pointing out the various boutiques and hair salons. “Did you say you don’t know what sort of business you’re thinking about opening?” He glanced at her as he stopped at a light.

  “Not yet. Lately I’ve been thinking perhaps a sex toy shop.”

  He smiled.

  She stiffened at his reaction. “What? You don’t think that’s a good idea?”

  He met her gaze. “It’s a fine idea. I’m just trying to visualize you ordering everyone around. Adult toy stores are usually kind of laid back. You…are not.”