Page 91 of Degrees of Control

Laughter. Deep bubbling laughter inside his chest.Pressure, Jimmy-Boy, can’t you feel it rising?

Beside him, Charlotte was wearing the face he hated the most, the one that said she was hurting—her lips slightly puckered, her eyes as big as the moon. “Please, James. Just tell me what you’re thinking and we can make it right.”

He almost cracked. Almost gave in and told her everything, then an old trick came to mind. It was a cheap trick, but he knew it would work and today seemed to be a day for old things to resurface. James placed his latte aside and pulled his girlfriend onto his lap. She was so tiny it was like picking up a kitten.

“James! What are you doing?”

He ignored her giggling protest, reached up and placed her chai latte safely out of the way, then he kissed her. Not deep—they were in a fuckin’ airport—but long enough that he knew it would make her knees weak. Then he put his mouth close to the pink shell of her ear. “Want to know what I’m thinkin’, do you?”

She nodded, her mouth already plumping with tell-tale arousal.

“I’m thinkin’ I should make you go into the bathroom and take your panties off.”

She shivered in his lap. “We shouldn’t—”

“This wouldn’t be a James-request,” he interrupted. “This would be the man who comes home smellin’ of sweat and diesel and tells you to suck his cock before you get him his dinner. You know his name don’t you?”

Charlotte closed her eyes. “Mr Hunter.”

“That’s the one. You always do what he says don’t you?”

“Yes.” Charlotte was going boneless the way she always did when he talked dirty to her, when he shifted their relationship from egalitarian to one where the man ruled with an iron fist and his girl did what she was told if she knew what was good for her.

He’d always dominated Charlotte sexually—it was what they both liked, but they’d been playing around with the 1950’s housewife scene more and more lately; Charlotte donning frilly little aprons with nothing underneath and getting spanked for imaginary household infractions. That was probably all his fault, come to think of it. Another subconscious attempt to show her he wanted her for his wife. For keeps.

Don’t think about that. Focus, asshole.

With a quick glance around to make sure no one was paying them any mind, he reached inside Charlotte’s denim jacket and began stroking her nipple through her top. “Why do you always do what Mr Hunter says?”

“I get punished if I don’t.”

James had started this scene as a distraction but damn if he wasn’t getting fucking hot from it. He shifted Charlotte’s weight against him so she could feel exactly what she was doing to him. “That’s right baby. Know how I’d punish you today? I’d wait till the cabin got dark, spread a blanket over your legs and make you finger your little snatch for me. Would you like that?”

She shook her head.

“You little liar. I think you’d like it just fine. Until you found out you weren’t allowed to come, that is. That I’d make you spend the whole trip right on the edge.”

“Please don’t do that.” She bent forward and pressed her face into his t-shirt. He smelled her hair, the fresh floral scent of her, and it hurt how bad he wanted to ask the question.

Marry me, be my wife.

For a moment he thought he could do it, then the nauseous feeling rose, burning in his throat. He couldn’t fucking do it. He rubbed her nipple a little harder through her bra, pinching the sensitive tip the way he knew she liked it. “If you spent the whole journey tugging on your nipples and rubbing your cute little clit, I could keep you on edge for—what was it? Fifteen hours to LAX?”

She nodded, her eyes wide.

“Would you like that, baby? Would you like being kept wet and squirmy so that when we land, you’re begging for me to drag you into a bathroom and take care of you?”

“Yes,” she whispered. “Yes.”

And though he’d never zoned out during dirty talk before, he did it then. He imagined her saying yes to his proposal, imagined that he was man enough to get it done. And then the announcement came over the speakers. Their plane was boarding. They smiled at one another, morphing back into everyday people and then Charlotte got off his lap. He stood adjusting his now-aching cock with a sense that his problems were only going to intensify.

Maybe if it looks like the plane is going down I’ll be able do it,he thought as they made their way to their terminal.Then I can enjoy being engaged for about fifteen seconds before I die.

Chapter 2

Charlie knew her attention should have been on her friends. It had been over two years since she, Sophia, Jordan and Hayley had all been together in the same room. There were so many stories to swap, new developments to analyse and memories to reminisce over, yet she couldn’t stop staring at her boyfriend.

James. What in the heck was going on with James?

---