Page 57 of Boss of Her

“Likewise,” Olivia said. “Talk soon.”

As Simone hung up her phone, Jade joined her by the window. In the days since she’d spent the night at Simone’s house, Jade had been quieter, more reserved. Simone had been giving her the space she needed, all the while fighting the urge to track Philippa down and ruin her the way she’d threatened to ruin Jade. It was what she deserved.

But the battle wasn’t Simone’s to fight. How Jade dealt with Philippa was her choice, and hers alone. The best Simone could do was be in Jade’s corner.

“Here.” Jade handed her the document. “The report you wanted. I’ve flagged all the important parts.”

Simone flipped through it before setting it aside on the coffee table in front of the window. “Excellent work.”

Jade’s cheeks flushed. That was her usual reaction to praise, but it had been absent in recent days.

“You seem much better today,” Simone said. “It’s good to see you smile again.”

“It’s all because of you,” Jade said. “When I got that email the other day, it was like I was dragged right back to when everything with Philippa went down, and I just fell apart. Butyou were there to catch me. I don’t know what I would have done without you.”

“All I did was listen.”

Jade shook her head. “It was more than that. You listened without judging me. You let me pour my heart out to you. You were there when I really needed someone. And you’ve been there for me in so many ways.”

She reached out and took Simone’s hand, her gaze dropping to her feet.

“You always know the right thing to do, to say, to make me feel comfortable and confident. You’ve helped me realize things about myself, discover parts of myself that I didn’t even know existed. You always give me exactly what I need, even when I don’t know that I need it. And that?” She looked up at Simone, meeting her eyes again. “That means the world to me.”

Simone cupped Jade’s cheek in her hand. “Youmean the world to me, Jade.”

She leaned in and pressed her lips to Jade’s. Jade deepened the kiss, igniting the embers within Simone’s body. She could feel the same desire in Jade, in her lips, in the way her body pressed back against Simone’s, in the thumping of her heart against Simone’s chest.

Jade drew back slightly. “I’ve been thinking, and I want to repay you. You’re always taking care of me, and I…” She peered up at Simone from under her eyelashes. “I want to take care of you, for once.”

The heat inside Simone’s body flared. The lust in Jade’s eyes, the thirst in her voice—she wasn’t hiding behind coy glances and murmured words any longer. This side of Jade, this confident, passionate side, had grown stronger over time, but after everything with Philippa reared its ugly head, it had all but disappeared.

Tonight, a glimpse of it was showing again. And Simone wanted nothing more than to draw it back out.

“I want to serve you,” Jade said, her voice soft and honey-sweet. “Please, Mistress?”

Simone drew in a deep breath. This broke all of her rules, both written and unwritten. While they’d long dropped the pretense of keeping business separate from pleasure, this was the one line they hadn’t crossed, the only remaining boundary between their personal and professional lives.

And they had an understanding. Simone held the reins. Simone decided when, and where, and how. Simone controlled every element of Jade’s pleasure.

But Jade lived to fulfill her every whim. She lived for Simone’s pleasure.

So why not let her serve her Mistress?

Simone locked eyes with Jade, her voice dropping to a whisper. “You want to serve me? Then you will serve me on your knees.”

Jade exhaled softly. And without hesitation, she dropped to her knees.

Simone’s pulse raced, satisfaction and desire surging through her veins. But she didn’t let it show.

“Not there.” Her eyes never leaving Jade’s, she sauntered over to her desk and took her place behind it, a hand on the back of her chair. “Here.”

Jade straightened up as if to rise to her feet, but a shake of Simone’s head froze her in place.

“No,” she said. “Crawl.”

A crimson flush rose up Jade’s cheeks. Slowly, she got down on her hands and knees, lowered her head, and crawled across the marble floor, over the Persian rug underneath Simone’s desk, stopping before her chair.

No, herthrone.

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