Page 49 of Sub Mission

“Fine,” Ari snipped. “I don’t wantyoursanyway.” His entire body wiggled in an exaggerated display of dislike before he added, “I’m not into that kinky shit the two of you do in your playroom.” For sheer meanness, he leaned in and kissed me on the cheek. “Because of that, I won’t take him away from you. Asshole.”

Seth pulled me into a polite hug, kissed the top of my head, and laughed at Ari. “You don’t know what you’re missing, Arizona. Not only is there a really good chance that you would enjoy it, you seriously need a strong Dom to take you into hand and spank that ass of yours until some of your sassiness tones down a level or two.”

Polite. Hug. Kiss on top of head.

Fuck. That. Shit.

I turned to face him, grabbed both of his cheeks, and yanked him down for a smoldering kiss. When our lips met, I gave him everything I had to offer…used every skill he’d taught me in our three months and twenty-seven days together. My body melted against his hardness, craving the feel of his muscles more than I craved the very beat of my own heart. Whenever we touched, it always felt like an explosion of fireworks would erupt inside of me.

He didn’t resist my horny attack and even returned my kiss, just not with his usual level of passion. I wasn’t certain what caused his hesitation and if my heart wasn’t linked so tightly with his, I might not have even noticed. But, I noticed. There was hesitation…a nervousness that I couldn’t begin to understand. Embarrassed, I finished my kiss and stepped away from him. On a bright note, he kept me plastered to his side by linking his arm around my waist. On a much dimmer note, even that touch felt somewhat nervous or uncomfortable.

I cleared my throat, giving myself time to squash down the feelings of panic, and asked, “How did the meeting go? Do I get to finally make myself useful again? Do something besides desk duty?”

My heart splintered with each passing moment. He didn’t want me anymore. What other explanation could there be for his sudden lack of passion?

“We’ll discuss it at home,” Seth answered shortly, but softened the answer with a pat to my ass. “You ready?”

Ari’s eyes darted between the two of us, a confused expression on his face. Not one to hold anything back, he said, “Seth, either you’re really constipated or there’s a stick up your ass. You’re acting weird. Stop it.” Turning to me, he said, “And don’t think I’m letting you off the hook about what happened earlier. Tomorrow. Lunch. Honesty.” He turned and looked nervously at the elevator. “For now, let’s get the hell out of here. I’ve got things to do and places to be.” He grabbed his backpack from his desk and said, “I need a ride home. Let’s go. I don’t have all night to watch the two of you do the awkward dance.”

Seth looked at me and I shrugged my shoulders, letting him know I didn’t have a clue. I had bigger things to worry about than Ari’s need to do things and go places. There was a damn good chance the man I loved was falling out of love with me.

“What’s his deal?” Seth whispered as we followed Ari to the elevators.

“Not a clue.”

Seth frowned. “What’s your deal?”

By this time, we were standing in front of the elevator doors. Ari paced back and forth, a lot like I’d done earlier. He was right; it turned annoying pretty quickly. Turning to Seth, I answered, “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“What’s taking the elevator so long?” Ari interrupted. “Does it always take this long? It never takes this long.” He glanced at his watch and swore. “Fuck this; I’m taking the stairs.”

Seth reached out and grabbed Ari’s arm as he tried to make his escape. “Nobody’s taking the stairs, Ari. We’re on the fifteenth floor! The elevator will be here in a few seconds. Calm down.”

As if on cue, the elevator dinged, and the doors slid open.

“See? Told you,” Seth said with a laugh. He let go of his hold on Ari and motioned for me to enter ahead of him.

I took two steps and collided with a hard body compiled of muscles and tattoos. The jolt might have sent me tumbling to the ground if Seth hadn’t stepped up to put his equally hard body behind me, causing the collision to occur between me and Seth instead of me and the floor. Possessive Seth immediately maneuvered our bodies until he was between me and the new muscle man. The devil in me wondered if I could flirt with the stranger to bring Seth’s caveman out. Maybe then, he’d take me the way I wanted him to? The reasonable side reminded me that acting the flirt when I didn’t mean it would make me an asshole.

“Watch where you’re going,” Seth growled out a warning.

“Yeah, sorry about that,” the man answered in an equally manly growl. “Someone plowed straight into me while I didn’t move an inch. That’s all on me.” When he finished with his sarcastic remarks to Seth, he looked around at me and said, “I am sorry. You okay?”

Smothering a grin, I answered, “I’m fine. No harm.” Cutting my eyes in Seth’s direction, I added, “I’m not as fragile assomepeople tend to believe.”

The stranger laughed, and Seth scowled.

“I bet there’s not one damn fragile thing about you.”

“What the hell is that supposed to mean?” Seth demanded, rudely ignoring the newcomer. “I don’t think you’re fragile. Were you implying that I did? Because that’s how it sounded.”

“Ding. Ding. Ding. He got it in one!” I chimed sarcastically. I knew this discussion didn’t need to take place in front of anyone, much less someone we didn’t know, but my frustrations and insecurities were at a peak and, I could no longer be held responsible for not making reasonable decisions.

Stranger took pity on me. “Hey, I’ll leave you guys to it if you could just point me in the direction of Landon Honeycutt’s office. I have an interview that I’m about to be late for.”

My eyes narrowed as I actually paused long enough to take a good look at the man who’d nearly knocked me on my ass…the one who Ari had referred to as an asshole during our earlier conversation. In my opinion, he wasn’t nearly as handsome as Seth and didn’t make my heart or cock do funny things, but I could definitely see how the rest of the female, and male population, could be intrigued by his looks. And by intrigued, I meant “let me find the closest flat surface so I can bend over, drop my drawers, and let you fuck me” kind of intrigued. He was as tall as Seth and stacked with just as many muscles. His inky black hair was long enough to look shaggy but short enough to tame if necessary. And his eyes were a bright green, like they were stripped straight from the scenery of a fairy-tale. But then he spun off the fairy-tale world with tattoo sleeves hot enough to make one think when he wasn’t living in fairy land, he was dancing with the demons in hell.

Who was this man to Ari and why did he dislike him so much?

---