Free In His Cuffs by Sierra Cartwright Page B

handle it before anything else.”
    “But—”
    “Put it on my desk, Gloria,” he reiterated. He stepped aside.
    All but flouncing, she brushed past him.
    Without an invitation, he entered Maggie’s office and took the seat her mother had vacated.
    She wished he hadn’t entered her domain. Almost every office on this floor was bigger than hers, and the conference room with its glass wall would be even better.
    Here she was, very much on edge. His eyes were as blue as she remembered—intense and deep. That surprised her a little. She was certain her memory was tainted by the scene they’d shared. Surely no one’s eyes were that penetrating. But his were.
    His scent was slightly different today, though. He still smelt of masculine spice, but it was stamped with confidence that beckoned her to move closer, something she refused to do.
    What in the hell had made her think that fucking him was a good idea?
    She had to get him out of here, quick, before she asked him to bend her over his chair. “Did you need something…?” Maggie hesitated. Calling him Mr Tomlinson would remind her of the Den. On the other hand, she had never addressed him David at work. Now that he’d compelled her to call her Mr Tomlinson as a term of respect rather than derision, he’d effectively changed the dynamic of their relationship.
    He waited.
    “Did you need something, David?” she asked.
    “I’m in negotiation to acquire another company.”
    She sat up in her chair. With the solemn expression on his face, she’d expected him to mention what had happened on Saturday night. But he was talking business while she was all but obsessing about the time they’d spent together? Obviously he was better at separating events than she was. She gave herself a mental shake and forced herself to concentrate on what he was saying. “And you’re telling me this, why?”
    “They’re a competitor of ours.”
    She let out a breath.
    “If the deal goes through, it will impact you.”
    “How so?”
    “Your role will grow. I’ll need more time from you.”
    “Good God, no. You’ve got all you’re ever going to get from me.” She stiffened her spine.
    He propped an ankle on the opposite knee. He looked so corporate, so unconcerned by her response.
    “Hear me out,” he said.
    “There’s not much reason for that. If you want to go around buying up businesses in your free time, go right ahead. You and I have a written agreement in place. I have eighteen more months that I’m obligated to help you. Then I’m a free agent. I’m not open to negotiation.”
    “Everyone has a price, Maggie.”
    Maggie. At work, he’d always called her Margaret. Until now. It seemed they’d both shown up with a new rule book today.
    She twisted her fingers together on top of the desk. Then, seeing he was studying her, noting her betrayal of nerves, she pressed her palms together.
    “I’ll do whatever it takes to keep you and your talents on the payroll. Of course I’m hoping you’ll stay with me because you want to, since we—”
    “Excuse me?” Anger, hot, searing, embarrassing, blazed through her. Had he used her? “Was that what Saturday night was about? Part of your plan to manipulate me?”
    He dropped his leg to the floor and leant forwards.
    “Flog me and fuck me as a way to keep me working for you?” she demanded. “It wasn’t enough that you tied my performance to my mother’s financial security?”
    “If you think that was about anything other than my desire for you as a woman, as a submissive, you’re wrong.”
    His flat statement made her blink. He didn’t meet her emotion, he defused it.
    She collapsed back in her chair.
    “Let’s keep things straight, Maggie,” he said softly. “When I saw you at the Den in that skirt and those shoes with your hair all around your shoulders…” He trailed off, reached for the door and, with a flick of his wrist, sealed them in intimacy.
    She grabbed hold of the chair arms.
    “I was