Page 78 of Owned (Office Intrigue Duet 8)
“I believe that,” she said in a husky whisper.
We stood there for longer than I’d intended, caught up in the moment. I wanted to touch her, to taste her. I’d been fighting the urge since I left her last night, and it was beginning to become my sole focus.
Braelyn cleared her throat, stepped back, and ducked her head. “All right. So you’ve taunted me with a ridiculous salary and an office that’s bigger than my apartment.” She looked up. “But you’re forgetting one thing.”
I could’ve told her she was wrong, but I decided to play along. “And what’s that?”
“Where am I supposed to live? Or do you expect me to take a flight into work every day?”
“You’ll live in the main house,” I said simply.
“No. I couldn’t… You said guests don’t stay there. I can’t impose like that, Talon,” she said quickly.
“It’s not an imposition.”
“But it’s your private space. That you share with your possessions.”
I could tell she was determined to keep me at arm’s length. I’d wondered if she would after what had transpired between us last night.
“We’ll discuss living arrangements later,” I decided. “Work might be a moot point, anyway.”
Her head cocked to the side, eyebrows angling downward. “Why’s that?”
“I figure you’re not cut out for what we do here.”
Yes, that was me taunting her a little. Two could play this game.
“Then you underestimate me.”
“Would you feel the same if I told you the seven possessions you’ve seen don’t come close to how many are actually on this island?”
She snorted, as though I’d told a joke. “I can handle your fetishes, Talon. Have you met my brother? When it comes to fetish-fueled fantasies, I think I’ve heard just about all there is from him.”
“Not even the tip of the iceberg,” I said, keeping my voice low. “As for your brother … his extracurricular activities are tame in comparison.”
“Does he know that?” she countered.
“Let’s just say I’ve made a similar business proposition to him, as well. He’s considering my offer. Now, would you like me to finish the tour or have you seen enough?”
Her eyes narrowed. “Okay, fine. I’ll bite. What is it you do here?”
“Are you sure you want to know?”
I could see in her eyes she didn’t know the answer to that. She was curious, yes. And she probably considered herself well-versed in the world of Domination and submission because her brother was a self-proclaimed Sadist who didn’t bother to keep his sexual proclivities a secret. But what she didn’t understand was her brother’s desires really were tame in comparison to many out there, including someone’s preference for owning another person, to have them readily available to use in any manner they saw fit. Or conversely, for someone to want to be the object that was being used.
“Let me show you around first. I’ll ask for your thoughts on it after.” Without waiting for her to respond, I turned and headed back down the hallway.
“Hey, boss?” Zion called out as I passed. “You got a sec?”
I detoured to his doorway, saw Zion sitting at his desk, his laptop open in front of him. From where I stood, he looked like a regular Joe Office hard at work.
Zion motioned me in with a crook of his finger then pointed to his laptop.
I entered, walking around his desk to see what was so urgent, not even thinking about Braelyn following me.
“Oh, my God,” she breathed.
Zion looked up, chuckled. “Micah, let’s press pause for a moment.”
Micah’s eyes opened, his hand pausing on his hard, ridiculously thick cock.
“Don’t mind him,” Zion told Braelyn. “He’s following my instructions. I find I relax more when he’s around.”
Braelyn was still staring at the naked man affixed to the wall. Micah’s arms were free, but his thighs and torso were bracketed with steel braces that were attached to the wall, his heels precariously perched on shallow metal steps protruding out of the wall, to counterbalance gravity, of course. His balls were hanging lower than normal thanks to the weights dangling between his legs, but his cock was iron hard, held firmly in his fist.
“I didn’t mean to intrude,” Braelyn said, her eyes snapping back to Zion’s face as though she was embarrassed to have witnessed a naked man jacking off.
“No need to apologize. Micah goes where I go,” Zion said, as though that would reassure her. “And I use him at my leisure.”
That he did. And since Micah had been Zion’s possession for nearly five years, I figured it worked for the two of them.
“Zion is one of Owned’s very first clients,” I explained to Braelyn. “It took him some time, but he finally found Micah.”
“After several attempts, mind you,” Zion said, his rough, raspy voice sounding strained although it was not. The man’s vocal cords had been severely injured thanks to a bullet that, according to all the doctors and surgeons, should’ve killed him. I was grateful it had not. I considered Zion my most valued employee, as well as my closest friend.
