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  “Before Sandstone Ventures came along, I didn’t have to be,” I retort as I pull the door closed. What is it about him that makes me want rebel and obey all at the same time?

  “Where’s Jose?” I ask. I had never seen Mark driving himself before.

  “At this point, it’s better if no one knows that we’re meeting.”

  “Even Jose? I thought you trusted him.” The older man always had a smile and a joke for me whenever he drove us to visit Glenvale.

  Mark’s silent look is answer enough to that question.

  Mark turns on the map light in the back. It’s a surprisingly roomy vehicle for a single man to drive around in. Maybe it’s his mobile office. He reaches into the door side pocket and pulls out a folder with copies of the same documents Kenneth Allen gave me.

  “Have you read these?”

  “Yes,” I reply unwilling to admit I can’t make heads or tails out of most of them.

  “Then you know what the problem is, right?” Mark speaks in a clearly controlled focused manner. It’s hard to sound professional in the back seat of an SUV in an empty parking garage, but he pulls it off nicely.

  “I know I lost my company, and it’s a problem,” I respond petulantly, and then remember he doesn’t have to help me at all. “Honestly, I really don’t know much about what they say. It’s all legalese to me.”

  “They say you have thirty more days, four weeks, to save your company.”

  “Thirty days?”

  “That’s how long you have to file a rejoinder. About four weeks. If you don’t find a reason to file, or don’t file on time, Lynx Magazine’s assets, talent, stories and resources all become the property of Ladies World.”

  “What do I need to file?”

  “You need evidence that you were wrongfully put out of the company because of corruption, personal gain, or by an inappropriate system, and you want the matter legally reviewed. If you have evidence, a judge can stop the merger to Ladies World. But you need real proof, not just theories and venom.”

  “I don’t have it. Do you?”

  “No, but I have a plan. It’s going to take almost all thirty days, and it’s risky for me, but I think I might be able to find something you can use to file. However, I’m going to need your help and I’m going to need you to trust me.”

  “I must trust you, I’m here aren’t I?”

  “I mean you need to trust me with more than a passing glance. You need to trust me body and soul, to give your whole self to me and rely on me to do what’s right.”

  “Here we go again with a lecture on what I need. Can you please stop being my life coach and just help me save my job?” I’m shocked by this turn of events, and this talk about my body makes me edgy and wet all at the same time.

  “I have a proposal for you. Are you ready to listen with an open mind, or should I wait a few more days while the clock ticks down on Lynx?”

  His face is passive, calm, waiting. I consider throwing another casual snide comment at him, to drive a barb into him, to spur him to drop his cool exterior just for a second. I want see the real Mark again, the human one, the one that can feel pain. The Mark that had been in the office. The caged animal just underneath the surface that had grabbed my hips, bent me over and used me like an object. That Mark had been frightening, but even more terrifying is how much I want to see that part of him again.

  Stop it. This isn’t just about me, or my company. Dad is counting on me. So is Janice. And the rest of my employees. Time is not on my side and tossing cruelty at Mark won’t bring me any closer to getting Lynx back.

  “I’m ready,” I say with my head down like a school child in the principal’s office. How does he keep doing that to me?

  “Here’s my proposal: I think I have a way to get you the proof you need to file a rejoinder. I can’t tell you what it is, or how I’m going to get it. But I’ll need your trust, your cooperation, and a source inside the magazine you can go to who won’t reveal you. You need to be very close to your former employees. I will give you my expertise, time, investment, and strategy to make this plan work. In short, I will give you your job back and the humility necessary to run it.”

  “And what do you expect in return?”

  “You will give me your body, your will, your trust and your obedience for the next thirty days. You will do what I say without question, and you will submit to my instructions, my desires and my discipline.”

  I freeze for a second, trying to process what he said. My body?

  “Are you serious?” I ask him. “Is this something you and Blake designed together? He fucks me over and then you get to fuck me?”

  Mark continues speaking in that clear controlled way as if my accusation just bounced off the ceiling into oblivion.

  “You will submit every part of your body, your mind and your soul to my will. While we are working on getting your company back, you will also be learning the basic things you need to know to keep it. Remember that if you had heeded my advice, you would never have gotten yourself into this position in the first place. If the reed will not bend, it must break. But I promise you this: on the day I hand you the keys to your office and your sexual freedom you will be thankful you said, ‘Yes’ no matter how challenging the next thirty days may be.”

  “You think that just because of what happened in the office, you can blackmail me like this?”

  “Not at all. I want to be very clear, Julia. If you accept this proposal we will go forward in what will be an interesting and risky adventure. If at any time you wish to stop this agreement – whether it’s getting your evidence or the sexual submission, all you have to do is say, ‘I don’t want this anymore’ and I will stop. I’m not here to force you. I’m here to offer you a chance.”

  “I trusted you, Mark.” I turn away from him.

  “And I trusted you. I trusted your judgement to make the right decisions for Lynx. I never forced you to make any decision you didn’t want to make, but you never trusted me enough to take my advice.”

  My hand reaches for the door handle. I’m trembling slightly, but I don’t open the door. I don’t run. I don’t leave.

  “Julia, by helping you, I am putting everything on the line. I am going against a decision that my own company has made. If I do this, I may be planting the seed to destroy everything that my father has built. Why should I risk it to return Lynx to your hands if you’re only going to dig yourself into a deeper hole later on?”

  My mind fills with images of women sprawled lewdly on satin sheets, blindfolded and handcuffed. Images of collars whips and, paddles crowd out any ability to think rationally. Then out of the haze one image crystallizes in my mind. I am kneeling on the ground, my arms are tied behind me with thick coarse rope, my pencil skirt is hiked up to my waist, my bared bottom exposed as Mark presses his rigid manhood against my heated lips, stretching me open.

  I can’t do this. Something inside me wants this too much, and it scares me.

  He rests a warm hand on my shoulder, “There is more than one way to be strong, Julia. You know one of them, I can teach you the other.”

  The silence stretches. The door handle is slippery and cool from my sweat, but I can’t let go. It’s my only root in reality right now.

  “Can you really do it? Can you get Lynx back?” I ask quietly.

  “I think that I can. But I need your help. I won’t be able to tell you everything, and you must accept that. I will ask and teach you to do things you never imagined doing, and you must accept that too.”

  Mark opens his door and puts a long leg out onto the pavement, “I will give you some time to think about it. But I need your answer tonight.”

  He walks around the perimeter of the parking garage with his hands in his pockets staring out at the starry sky.

  I could keep pressuring my lawyer. I could try to get this ‘evidence’ on my own. I could sell the Wall Street story to another magazine to scoop Ladies World. That would surely bring me a lawsuit, but at least I�
��d get the last laugh. Or, as my slit begins to moisten, I can take Mark’s offer.

  Sexual submission? Total trust? Even if I could get my body to cooperate, how would my mind ever fall into line? And what did he mean by teaching me another way to be strong? Yet, everything he has told me has been true. Every place he touches on me catches afire and ignites a craving within me that only he can satisfy. He was right about Lynx. He was right about me. If I had just listened to him and not gotten involved in a street fight with Ladies World, things might be different now. What more do I have to lose at this point? I have the power to stop it. He has the power to make it work.

  I unlock the door and push it open, finally loosening my grip and wiping my sweaty palms on my skirt before walking over to him.

  “Well?” He asks with a slight smile.

  I swallow hard and speak as if I’m before a board of directors.

  “I accept your proposal.”

  Chapter 4

  In elementary school, I had a ponytail that reached halfway down my back. My mother would comb my hair every morning and braid it carefully, fixing it with a purple elastic band. It had to be purple because it was my favorite color, and the only color I was willing to have in my hair. I don’t know who started it, but there was one year when all the boys thought it would be funny to yank on the girls’ hair during class. First it was Maria. She went home crying. The teacher gave all the boys in the class a stern talking to, but that didn’t stop them. Next was Carolyn. Her mother had to come pick her up. When Brian Carter yanked on my ponytail, he ended up bawling on the floor with a bloody nose. We both went home that day, but none of the girls in the class ever had their hair pulled again.

  I don’t have a ponytail anymore, but sometimes I still check behind me, to catch the boy who thinks that I’m an easy target.

  The empty parking lot seems larger, though nothing has changed. Mark and I walk back towards his Escalade.

  “So, um, when do we start?” I ask as we reach his car.

  “Now,” there is something hard in his gaze that sends a twinge of pleasure between my thighs. “Kneel.”

  Why did I even ask? I take a deep breath. I had agreed to his proposal just moments ago, but I’m not sure that I’m ready. I look around the empty parking lot, the fluorescent lights creating shadows of the thick concrete support columns. What if someone sees us here? What will Mark think of me if I submit to his will so easily? Maybe I should have put up more of a fight. Maybe I should have run away. But where would that leave me?

  Mark watches me, his bright eyes piercing into me as if he can see my doubt. One look at his face and I know that it had not been a request. Bending down in my heels, I awkwardly lower myself to the dirty concrete. There is something comforting about it. Just giving in to his demands and letting him lead for the moment. My heartbeat pounds in my ears and my thighs feel slippery.

  “Beautiful,” he says and reaches out to brush my cheek with his hand. His other hand slowly unzips his pants and brings out his erect cock for me to see clearly for the first time. His hand leaves my cheek and grips the back of my neck pulling my face toward his member.

  I stall as he brings me forward. Is this what I just agreed to? I’ve got my job to recover, my dad’s hospital bills, my sense of dignity and pride to think about and I’m going to achieve these things by sucking Mark’s beautiful, rigid, cock? My mouth waters in anticipation, the tingling of my clit undeniable and yet it is so hard to bend to his will.

  “One minute in and you’re already resisting,” Mark says solemnly. “I see we have a lot of work to do. And, we only have thirty days to do it. So let’s get started.”

  “Mark, I want to…it’s just…”

  “Open your mouth,” He says firmly his hand once again guiding my face forward. I open my mouth and take his cock into it; first kissing the top then moving my head so my tongue can run along the bottom of his shaft. I open wider to take more of his cock in me, shielding my teeth with my lips and bobbing my head up and back as the ridges and bumps of his cock glide over my tongue. My tongue flicks at the base of his shaft as I reach farther. His hips begin a slight movement and he leans his head back clearly enjoying the sensation.

  I try to move my head to guide his cock to my cheek and not down my throat but he will have none of that, instead guiding my head with his hands. He starts to push farther and I gag on his cock. He withdraws it just enough to let me breathe then gags me with it again. Tears form in the corners of my eyes. I desperately try to move my head to keep up with him, but the gagging and retching continues until he withdraws. His wet, red cock is now swollen and pulsing.

  He pulls on my arm and guides me out of the car, leaving the passenger door open. I stand before him and he kisses me deeply.

  “You have a beautiful mouth,” he coos. “Mine.”

  Before I can respond he turns me around facing the seat and pushes my back down with his hand. Instinctively, I realize he wants to bend me over the car seat the way I did on his desk that very first night. My brain buzzes with excitement when I feel him lifting my skirt and lowering my underpants. How I long for him to fill me again.

  Smack! He slaps my naked cheek cause a sharp warm pain then he slaps the other, my bottom tensing under this onslaught. Over and over he smacks my quivering globes as the heat builds between them.

  “Mine,” he murmurs. I feel his fingers insert themselves into my pussy, moving back and forth. “And this is mine.”

  He lines himself up and with a solid full thrust impales me on his cock. I cry out at the sudden stretching of my channel and my voice echoes all around the garage. Between the stinging of my ass cheeks and the rough pounding in my insides I am lost in a flurry of pleasure and pain. He grabs my hips and pumps his cock into me, his balls making slapping noises against my backside as I lay bent over the seat.

  I still taste his precum in my mouth and my breasts are rubbing against the harsh fabric of the vehicle sending my entire body into the chasm. Occasionally he withdraws almost all the way out, then slaps my cheek again before pushing himself entirely back in. My body is now raw from his hard cock delving into me over and over. I feel his stretching and pulsing inside of me and I start squeezing him, encouraging his lust. He grabs me harder, pulling my hips and pushing them to force himself even deeper inside me. Short stabs punctuated by long, slow withdrawals take me off balance.

  “Please,” I whisper, unable to take much more of the rough pounding. I hear him growl in a guttural moan as I feel his seed squirt deep inside me. My bottom is still stinging from his slaps as he removes his cock, then rubs the head over my slit.

  “Mine.” He says in a breathless whisper and somewhere I feel that word lock around my brain too. Holding me down by the back still, I feel the head of his cock go up and down my crack then stop right on top of my anus. The small puckered opening quivers at the stimulus.

  “Also mine,” he chuckles as I lurch forward, stung by the implication. He pats me gently on the backside. “But not tonight.”

  Allowing me to stand for a moment he turns me to face him and kisses me deeply. I long to embrace him, but as my arms reach out, he is pushing my shoulders down directing me to my knees, my head once more in front of his now dripping, spent cock.

  “Clean me,” his says softly and I open my mouth to obey, using my pursed lips to wipe and dry his cock, as the taste of both of us mingles on my tongue. “Good, good.”

  He reaches down and picks me up, his arm muscles showing their strength. Placing me back in the SUV, he closes the door. I’m too shell shocked to do much of anything. He lowers the tailgate just long enough to get a blanket from the back, and then climbs inside. I notice his pants have been re-zipped and his smile is broad and peaceful.

  Mark places the blanket over my shoulders while kissing my cheek and nuzzling my ears, he gently brushes his fingers through my hair.

  “You’re so beautiful, Julia. I’ve wanted you for so long, you beautiful brilliant star.” He kisses me
gently on the forehead then wraps his arms around me holding my body as I cry releasing all my confusion and tension. We rest nestled like tender lovers for a time. Eventually he taps me on the shoulder and tells me it is time for us to go.

  “I don’t understand something, Mark,” I say when I have energy enough to talk. The truth is at this moment I really don’t understand anything. “I know by taking this risk and trusting you I will get my job back, but what are you getting from all this? It surely isn’t about the sex.”

  “I am getting a chance to shine light in the darkness and recover the Holy Grail from its ancestral hiding place so it belongs to me alone,” he replies with a wry smile.

  “What?”

  “Don’t worry about what I’m getting, Julia. I promise that it’s worth it.” Mark opens the car door and helps me to my own car. Guiding me gently by the arm, he places me in the front seat of my vehicle. A little smile escapes his lips as I yelp when the seat hits my sore bottom. He promises to call me and steals away as quickly as he appeared.