“I’ve watched several of VCONN’s shows,” she said in a husky purr that tightened things low in his gut. “But I have to admit that my favorite is Erotic Tales from the Crypt.”
He couldn’t have been more surprised if she’d pulled out a gun and shot him dead. “That was our premiere. It hasn’t been on the air in years. How did you…”
That show had made Dallas history, earning more via Pay-Per-View than the biggest boxing match of the year. It had shocked the mostly conservative community, yet they’d gobbled it up and begged for more shows about the Dungeon Master’s exclusive torture chamber.
His hand convulsed on his thigh and a small grunt of pain escaped his mouth. If that show had been her favorite…
She had to be leading him on. Maybe she’d been to Silken and picked up some of the nastier gossip about him. Maybe Kimberly had been spreading malicious lies about him.
But they wouldn’t be lies, now, would they?
“When I saw that VCONN was hiring, I called the information desk and asked if I could watch several archived shows. I ended up watching them all.”
“All?” He winced at the roughness in his voice. The stomach-twisting throb of his bad knee had begun feeding the darker, erotic pain that he’d given himself. Pain compounded with pain turning into desire. If he wasn’t careful, he wouldn’t be able to stand up at the end of this interview without embarrassing himself. “That’s several years’ worth.”
“All of them.” She tipped her head to the side, deliberately showing him the curve of her neck. Making herself vulnerable. Her hands were quiescent in her lap, but she shifted slightly in her chair and he swore her skirt snuck up her thigh an inch. No, two. “I’m very thorough.”
He suddenly wished he kept his crop in his desk drawer instead of hidden in the depths of his closet or beneath the seat of his car. If he brought it out and smacked it on his desk, would she leap from her chair and flee the building? Or would she hike up that skirt just a bit more as she bent over his desk?
The image was all too easy to build in his mind after last night’s fantasy. However, he still had enough blood flowing to his brain to continue that little farce…all the way to her screams of terror. The look of revulsion on her face. The police sirens and the slamming of prison bars when she pressed charges.
His intercom beeped again and he barely suppressed the sigh of relief. He’d been saved from committing a monumental error.
“Mr. Connagher? You have a meeting in five minutes?”
It took all his control to reach out with a hand that didn’t tremble in order to respond. “Thank you, Lisa.” He took a deep breath and concentrated on putting his corporate face back on. Not the desperate Master in need of a flirtatious submissive who just might not be afraid of a little dungeon play. “And thank you, Ms. Holmes. I hope you have a very successful career here at VCONN.”
Disappointment made her bite her luscious lip, sending another surge of lust through his body that he refused to show.
A little dungeon play in a controlled environment was one thing. When you were a woman dating a much larger, stronger man in a position of authority who also had a lust for pain and one vicious crop, it was entirely different. This wasn’t a show. No one was going to call time-out and let her walk away, because once the sadist had her in his grasp, he wouldn’t unchain her until he’d drained every last scream of pain.
Standing, she held her hand out to him again. “I look forward to working with you, sir.”
He deliberately shifted his weight to his bad knee as he stood. His face stiffened with pain, and he saw the flicker in her eyes that registered his withdrawal with resignation. Hopefully she would take the hint and stay far, far away from him. He gave her a brief, entirely professional handshake. “Unfortunately, I rarely deal with the day-to-day duties of handling employees any longer. Ms. Kannes will see to any questions you may have.”
“Maybe we’ll run into each other on set,” she said with a hopeful gleam in her dark eyes.
Coldly, he forced himself to snuff out that flame before it could scorch them both beyond recognition. “I doubt it, Ms. Holmes. Good day.”
He watched her walk toward the door, letting his hungry gaze travel down her spine to her nicely rounded buttocks and hips. Perfect for his crop. She gave him one last glance over her shoulder, her mouth soft, her eyes shimmering, whether with hurt or regret he couldn’t say. It didn’t matter.
Would I lie to you, Ms. Holmes? So dangerous, this attraction, making every muscle in his body tense with the urge to chase her down and drag her screaming to his bed. Absolutely.
