Page 30 of Preferential Treatment

She shrugged. “You see a guy in a scruffy old Cubs hat, you don’t expect him to have a Russian accent. Or own a multi-billion dollar company. Or drive a Bentley.” She glanced at his driver. “I assume you don’t want your staff to… overhear anything?” she asked quietly.

“As long as you don’t shout, it will be fine. The divider is up.”

She glanced at the car, her expression unreadable, then back at Mikhail. She didn’t say anything, though, and simply slid into the open door. Mikhail closed it and went around to his side.

“Where would you like to go, knyazhna?”

She looked caught off guard by the question. “Um… I don’t know. Michigan Ave?”

He pressed the intercom button built into his armrest so that he could speak to the driver. “Korsch, Michigan Avenue and Oak Street.”

A moment later, the vehicle glided smoothly into traffic. Mikhail settled back against his seat, turning his attention to Kate. She was busy looking around the vehicle’s interior with a guarded watchfulness that Mikhail recognized. The transition from immigrant grad student to CEO of one of the wealthiest companies in the world had been a strange and tumultuous ride. He’d adapted to the material comforts, maybe even come to take them for granted, but he still remembered the initial shock of finding out how differently the other side truly did live.

Well, he was on the other side now, and if it pleased Kate, he would lavish what he could upon her until this choking obsession finally abated. Fuck, how he wanted it gone. And yet, the thought of it being over filled him with cold terror.

It would fade. It always faded. And when it did, the fear of losing her wouldn’t even exist. Because he’d be done. He’d have gotten what he needed, and Kate would be just another happily compensated former companion. This particular arrangement had perhaps captured him a little more intensely than past arrangements, but that only meant that the satisfaction when it ended would be that much better.

Or so he told himself.

“You look distracted,” Kate said.

He realized he’d been staring past her, out the window, in silence. When he returned his gaze to her face—a lovely face, cool and poised, with blue-hot fire in her eyes—he found that icy fear gripping him again. This would eventually end.

“Mikhail?”

He shook himself. “I’m sorry. I was lost in thought.”

Kate considered him for a moment. A mild smile curled her lips. “I know how to help you focus.” She pulled her phone out of her pocket. A second later, the cockring was buzzing around his shaft, sending little shocks of pleasure through his core. He drew in a fast breath, fingers curling on the armrest. His cock twitched, beginning to swell and stiffen. She had lowered the intensity back down to the mildest setting, but it wasn’t the physical sensation that was making him hard. It was the knowledge that she was controlling it.

The vibrations stopped, though a ghost of the feeling continued to fizz through him.

“There we go. Now I’ve got your attention.” She slipped the phone back into her pocket with a smirk.

“Oooh, I’ve been wanting a pair of noise-canceling headphones.” Kate picked up a display model and examined them. They were baby blue with rose gold accents.

“Not those,” Mikhail urged, reaching for a plain black model from a different brand. He handed the box to her. “These are better. Actually—” he pulled the box away before she could take it “—the selection here is not very good. Most of these are marketed for their aesthetic, not function.”

Kate looked down at the pretty blue headphones in her hands. “I mean, I don’t need the latest and most advanced in headphone technology.” She wasn’t a super discerning audiophile, and she cared more than a little bit about how nice the headphones would look while she was wearing them.

“Nobody needs it,” Mikhail said impatiently. “But why would you settle for the lesser option when you can have the best?” He peered critically at the rest of the headphones. “This one isn’t terrible,” he said doubtfully, reaching for a different box. “But if you want the best—” He sucked in a sudden sharp breath, going still as a statue.

Kate stood next to him, phone out, thumb holding down the vibration button. “I want the blue ones.”

Mikhail made a pained sound. “They’re not—”

She dialed up the intensity of the vibration. “I don’t think you heard me,” she said with an innocent smile. “I like the blue ones.”

“Knyazhna—”

She increased the intensity again. He gripped the display shelf, breathing shallowly.

“Are you going to give me what I want, or do I have to—”

“Can I help you guys?”

Kate’s eyes went wide as saucers. She immediately let off the vibration, shoving her phone into her pocket as she turned to face the approaching salesman. Mikhail said nothing, still leaning heavily on the shelf as he regained his breath.

Kate pasted on a polite smile. “Oh, no thanks, we’re just—”

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