Page 20 of Royal Bosshole

The next morning,I woke early, unable to sleep. I went for a run at dawn, even though my muscles were still aching after last night’s boxing session. I thought about how it all went down.

“What the hell’s gotten into you?” Peter had asked. “You’re making this too easy.”

I swung at him, and he laughed. “All right, all right. But you going to talk or what?”

“Just work stuff,” I’d said, hitting him in the gut and feeling satisfied when he made an oof sound and bent over.

“No, no, no,” Peter had said. “I think there’s more to it than that.” He’d dodged my next swing and caught me in the jaw. “There’s a woman.”

“Shut up.”

He’d laughed and did a little boxer dance. “I knew it!”

“Fuck’s sake,” I’d said. “Don’t ask any questions.”

“You know I won’t leave this. If I win, you’ve got to tell me everything.”

Unfortunately, my mind was so distracted that he did win, and he’d grilled me over a drink at the bar next door to the gym. I told him about the latte secret and my plan and then the thing with Lily.

“So, you think that she will now give you her secret because you licked her pussy?” he’d asked, and I rolled my eyes, clenching my jaw.

“No, I just—” I hadn’t known exactly what my plan was supposed to be anymore.

Having Lily in my arms and having her taste on my tongue had fucked everything up. I hadn’t been able to give Peter a satisfactory answer the night before, and even as I gulped down the cool dawn air on the streets of the city, I still didn’t have one.

All I knew was that I wanted to do it again. That going to work with her after what had happened was going to be a fucking nightmare unless I was able to get my hands on her again. A woman had never in my whole life affected me like this. I’d had relationships, sure, and I’d been physically with many women in my lifetime, but there was something about Lily. Something unexplainable that made me feel like I was being drawn to her on a string.

I was so used to dominating. I was the leader of a country; I had been given privilege from birth. I was the VP of a growing and very successful company. I knew what it was like to get what I wanted, and the women I’d chosen in the past had always understood that. They’d wanted to be dominated, always giving into me and my desires. Always thinking that whatever I did was the best.

But Lily was different. She said what she thought, and she fought back. She didn’t fall for my initial charming act, and she’d been suspicious of me. Even when I could feel her desire in the office last night, she still looked a little wary. I was so used to women falling into a puddle of need at my feet that this intrigued me. And then she’d shocked me even more, kissing me first, making me the one being dominated.

I was even more surprised that she let me do what I did, opening up to me like a fucking flower. In my interactions with women, we decided everything beforehand. We laid it all out so that each person got what they wanted. But with Lily, things just happened. I hadn’t even thought about any conditions. All I wanted was to make sure that Lily took pleasure from me, and even when she’d been limp under my tongue and fingers, she’d still had a sarcastic comment ready at the end.

Fire. I liked that. A little too much. All night I’d had visions of her riding me in bed, taking control of me for once. Telling me how she wanted it and telling me how to give it to her. I ran faster, trying to push these images from my mind. I wanted to have fun with her, but I couldn’t lose my self-control in the process. I still had a plan, a purpose for being in the city. But the need to get that latte secret was fading fast, and I knew that she might be more inclined to give it to me if she was fucked until she screamed, but I didn’t care. I wanted to be with her just because I wanted it.

That was bad.

I finished my run, and I as I rode the elevator up to my apartment, my phone rang. It was Peter.

“Hey, so, any clearer thoughts about what you’ll do at work this morning?”

“Peter, like, don’t you have a job? Something else to focus on besides my life?”

He laughed. “Come on, James. You know you’ve needed someone normal to be with for a long time. That Sandy lady is insane, and I was so happy when you cut ties with her.”

“I can’t get involved with someone. Not like that. You know I’ve got a plan. Got to stick to it.”

I strode into my apartment and turned on the coffee machine.

“Just for fun. Sounds like she’s into it too. Just saying, think about it! Don’t bring any more of those crazies around me. Believe me, this is about self-preservation.”

I laughed, and when we hung up, I poured myself a cup of coffee. Walking into the living room, I sat in the armchair and lifted a picture of my parents from the table next to me. I was almost a little glad I had a distraction today, since it was the tenth anniversary of my mom’s death. She was smiling in the picture, and she and my dad looked so happy, it was almost sickening.

But he didn’t get to be king. He couldn’t find who he was meant to marry.

I knew that hurt him even though he’d loved my mom to death. Still did. And as I stared at her smiling face, I wondered what she’d have to say to me now. I thought she would have liked Lily.

Don’t mess things up, James. Be sensible. Don’t hurt anyone.

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