Page 72 of The Assignment: Room 3

“Oh God, I’ve just inflated your ego. All I meant to say was you’re too hot to be just friends with any woman. It’s always going to lead to the bedroom, or in your case, the playroom.”

“Then why are you fighting it? Be my friend. Let me show you what it is to have a man worship your bodyandyour mind. I don’t want to bejustfriends, Celest. I want more.”

I see the war waging inside her, her expression stern as she clearly talks herself out of sleeping with me. “I think it’s for the best if we just stay friends. Our whole lifestyle is about contracts. A set of rigid rules to work within. What we’re doing is…”

I stand from the chair and round the table, wrapping her hair around my fist before tugging her head back and kissing her with everything I’ve got. There’s a sense of urgency I’ve never felt outside of a SEAL team mission, which was life or death. It’s a ridiculous comparison, but I give it my all, nonetheless. She’s breathless by thetime I let go. “What we’re doing feels so fucking good, pet. Tell me I’m wrong.”

“I…” She grabs my face and pulls me in for another kiss.

I could lose myself in this woman.

Fuck!

Chapter 14

CELEST

What am I doing? The scent of Flex’s cologne tantalizes my senses as we kiss like no one is watching. With anyone else, I’d be more cautious, but it’s not like he and I haven’t done plenty with a crowd standing by, enjoying the show.

He pulls me down into his lap, wrapping his arms around me in a tender embrace. “If you just want to be friends, pet, you can’t kiss me like that because it makes me want to lay you out on this table and fucking devour you.” I gasp, so turned on I can barely breathe.

It sends a shiver down my spine, but I use all my self-restraint to stand and put some distance between us. “We should probably get going. I promised Gracie…”

“Churros. I know. I’ll take you home with time to spare. I’m not going to hold you against your will or anything.”

“I’m sorry. This just caught me really off guard today.”

“Don’t apologize. I’m the one who stepped outside the bounds of our agreement. I thought I had made my intentions clear. Obviously not.” I don’t have a comeback. He’s right. I wanted to keep him at arm’s length. I’ve known for a while that I’m kidding myself.

“Then why do I feel like we’re not going to interact anymore?”

“I don’t know where you’re getting that from, Celest. I can’tattempt to understand how you feel if you don’t want to share any details with me.”

“It’s not your job to understand. We fuck and play. I told you that it can’t be more than that. Now you know. I have a daughter. My mom lives with me to help look after her while I’m at work. I come to the club on a Friday or Saturday night, and I can’t offer more than that to a potential Dom. When you say things like, ‘as your Dom,’ you muddy the waters, and I don’t have the luxury of just seeing where things go. I’ve made that mistake before.”

“I’m not just some random guy.”

“No, you’re not. You are an amazing Dom. I’ve seen you with previous subs who would gladly crawl on their hands and knees through broken glass for you.” He stops me before I can continue.

“I don’t want to hear any bullshit that I’m too good for you. You’ve seen the façade. Everyone shows you what they want you to see. When I say we’re friends, I don’t take that lightly. I want to fuck you and dominate you in the most depraved ways possible, but you’re also the only woman I’ve allowed to fall asleep in my playroom. You’re the only sub I’ve driven home because I genuinely care about your safety. The only woman I go out of my way to have lunch with just so I can talk to you for an hour. I know that makes me an utter dick to every sub I’ve ever had. We’re here today because I really wanted to move things to the next level outside of the club.”

“Why?” My heart is hammering in my chest, even though I know this is never going to end well. Maybe I’ve been letting myself dream for a moment, but it needs to stop.

“Because I like you.” He moves to kiss me, but I turn my head as much as it pains me.

“Can you take me home, please?” I struggle to keep my emotions in check.

“This isn’t how I wanted today to go.”

“That’s what happens in my life, Flex. My plans revolve around my daughter.”

“As they should. I’m not asking you to put me before her or your mom or anyone at all. I’m saying give me a chance to show you thatwe could be so much more. That you are so much more than what’s between your legs.”

Why is he so adamant to be my friend? It doesn’t make sense to me. “I’m not doing this. I’ve been here before. A Dom decides he can ‘fix’ me, lets me catch all kinds of feelings, and then splits when he finds out about Gracie. The one person who means more to me than anything else in the world is treated like baggage to be handled. An inconvenience in their day.”

“Then you need a better caliber of Dominant in the future.”

“I’m not your new project, Flex. I guarantee I am too broken for a guy like you.”

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