Page 54 of Role Play
“So… green,” he repeated. Drumming his fingers across the table, his rhythm matched my racing pulse. “Green will act as your positive safeword. And to reiterate, when you use it, it needs to be for something new that we are trying that you are enjoying. I don’t want you shouting green over and over as you’re coming or as I’m licking your pussy. If I tell you that you are not to make a peep and you keep shouting green over and over? That’s cause forpunishment.”
My blush deepened. “Okay,” Iagreed.
“I mean, I like to think that I’m a good enough Dom that I’ll be able to read you when you’re liking something, but if having a code word for yes makes you feel better, I think we should tryit.”
“You’ve never had thatbefore?”
“Nope. You’ll be myfirst.”
I smiled. “Bet you haven’t said that to a woman in years,” Ijoked.
He smiled too, but this one lacked the enthusiasm he had a moment ago. “More recently than you think, Ibet.”
Well, what the hell didthatmean? God, I wanted to know more about him. I wanted to know whose ring that was he carried with him on his pinky finger. Why he freaked out when he dropped me off at my apartment. And why he was so damn obsessed with food and my stupid eatinghabits.
“So,” Ash said from where he was seated across the table. “Let’s get back to my rules.” Right. Rules. Freaking great. “We talked about the food. Anything else that stood out to you in mycontract?”
I wet my lips, my gaze dipping briefly to the carved lines of muscle across his chest. “You know, it’s really not fair that you get to sit at this table and even though you’re naked, I can’t see you. You can still see me.” I gestured to my breasts, still very much inview.
The hint of a grin teased his mouth. “What would you like me to do? Talk to you while doing ahandstand?”
I did a mental double take. “Youcan do ahandstand?”
“Hey—I do yoga. And I’m insulted by the surprise in yourvoice.”
Well, now I did want to seethat.“Anyway,” he cleared his throat and continued. “Was there anything else in the contracts that stood out to you?” He shuffled through the paperwork, pausing, eyes cast down at one of the sheets. “You missed one,” he said, holding up the Silhouette Studios consent contract that I hadn’tsigned.
Beneath the table, I wrung my hands together. This was the moment I’d been dreading. “Yeah, about that. It’s just a small thing, but… I don’t really want to file the paperwork with Silhouette Studios HRdepartment.”
Ash’s gaze jerked up to mine. Okay… maybe it wasn’t such a smallthing.
“Why?” heasked.
I shrugged, doing my best to act nonchalant. I couldn’t exactly say:Because your boss is my uncle and we’ll both be busted by filing that paperwork. “I’m just not comfortable with it being on public record or common knowledge that I’m sleeping with my boss. What if people think I’m trying to sleep my way to the top? Or Kelly finds out and decides to make my life a living hell atwork?”
He nodded, thoughtful. “I understand that… and I respect it. But you said it yourself last night, these contracts are for both of our protection. It’s irresponsible not to signthem.”
God, he was right. I hated that he was right. He signed his name, then slid the paper and pen down the table toward me. It felt like a sword being drawn, challenging me to a duel. How could I sign this? Signing this meant filing it with HR. Filing it with HR meant a meeting with Uncle Rich. I tapped the pen, theclick, click, clicksound echoing loudly in the silence between us. “What if we do something other than signing something that goes toHR?”
He lifted a brow. “Goon…”
Panic was swelling in my chest. This was my last chance to convince him or else I’d truly have to explain why I didn’t want to sign this thing. My cheeks warmed and I pressed my palm to one, as if I could hide my blush. I was out of excuses if this didn’t work. “Well… ” I swallowed. God, I was going to sound like a crazy person. Maybe I was. Maybe Ash was turning meintoa crazy person. “I don’t want anything signed going to the studio. It’s better this way for both of us.” His brows knitted between his eyes. Shit. Wrong choice of words. “I just mean, it’s better for the perception of both of us. You already slept with my boss,Kelly…”
“I’m aware of my sexual history,yes.”
“The real issue Silhouette is concerned with is litigation and protection of its employees. So…” I grabbed my phone, wincing at the shattered screen and I punched Ash’s name into the phone, holding up my hand, palm out to him. “Don’t answer,okay?”
He sat back in his chair, muscled arms folding at his chest and studied me as his phone rang. Eventually, his voicemail picked up, and at the sound of the beep, I said, “I, Luciana Rodriguez am consenting to a sexual encounter with AshLivingston.”
I hung up and offered him a hopeful smile. “See? Now we’recovered.”
He stared at me, the lines around his mouth deepened with his scowl. “Not exactly. But it’s better than nothing. Why don’t we revisit thislater?”
I nodded, breathing a little easier. I could live with that. I knew we needed something that proved this was consensual. I just really, really didn’t want Uncle Rich findingout.
“What else?” Ash pressed, tapping the contracts with his pen. “Any other issues with thecontracts?”
“The sweet girl thing,” I said. “It just… I don’t know… feels generic.” Generic and it sliced open a scar that was still in the process of healing. He didn’t know—couldn’t know—that it was the one and only term of endearment my father had for my mother. Used so rarely, but she cherished those words—waited for them, and clung to them when he showed heraffection.
