Calloway never talked about the nightmare he had—and that was fine. His reaction was much better than the impulse he used to have, which was to get so wasted he passed out and forgot the nightmare altogether. He didn’t push me away or tell me to leave him alone. He let me wrap my arms around his body and hold him until the panic passed.

He told me his father used to be a violent maniac with cruel approaches to punishment, but he never went into the details of his childhood. I suspected there were more problems than he let on if he was still having nightmares as a grown man.

But I refused to ask because he would tell me when he was ready.

The following morning, neither one of us said much to each other. Calloway was distant, but not cold, his mind somewhere else. He did his daily routine of showering, shaving, and then drinking a cup of coffee before he left for work.

Since we worked at the same place now, I had to wait inside his house for a few minutes before I left, just in case anyone found it suspicious that we arrived together every single day.

I didn’t care what anyone thought of me. I pursued what I believed in and left the haters behind. But this was an entirely different situation. If my teammates didn’t take me seriously, I wouldn’t be able to accomplish all my goals. It was important for me to earn their respect. The second they knew I was screwing the boss, all my integrity and credibility would go out the window. They would assume I only got the job because I got under him every night—and on top of him.

We had a meeting that afternoon, working through lunch, and it was the first time I’d had to interact with Calloway in front of other people. I knew I could behave myself. I just hoped Calloway would do the same. He didn’t care what the office thought of his personal life—but he didn’t have anything to lose.

I walked into the conference room and purposely didn’t look at Calloway. Lunch was set up in the back, an Italian meal with fettuccini and salad. I put a few scoops of everything onto my plate and grabbed a water before I sat down—far on the other side of the room.

Even though fifteen feet were between us, I pressed my thighs tightly together and looked over my notes while taking a few bites of my lunch. Anytime we were in the same vicinity, I thought about him in inappropriate ways. Thankfully, my office was on the other side of the building and nowhere near his. I could actually think straight with the door closed.

“Hey.” Dean took the seat beside me in a collared shirt and slacks. He was roughly the same age as I was. He left his job at another nonprofit in California before he moved to Manhattan. “I love lunch meetings because of the free food.”

I chuckled. “Yeah, that makes two of us.” I gave him a smile so I wouldn’t appear to be rude then turned back to my lunch.

“I’ve been meaning to ask you something.” He spread out his things on the table in preparation for the meeting.

“Sure.” I assumed he needed help organizing a clothing drive for the schools in the inner cities of New York. That was his department, which focused on providing for school-age children that needed clothes, technology, and books.

“Are you free tonight?” He looked at me expectantly, his handsome face full of confidence. He was a good-looking guy with a heart of gold, but I’d never paid much attention to him.

I could feel Calloway’s gaze snap in my direction, the heat from his look searing right through my skin. Without seeing his face, I knew his expression was dark and absolutely terrifying. Jealousy was a subject we hadn’t encountered just yet, but it was obvious he was incredibly possessive of me.

“To work on a budget plan?” I asked, hopeful I was jumping to the wrong conclusion.

“Actually, I’ve kind of had a crush on you since you started here last week. I was hoping you’d like to go on a date with me.”

Dean was nice, respectful, and friendly. If I’d never met Calloway, I probably would have said yes. But now that Calloway was the man who shared my bed every night, it was hard for me to picture myself with any other man.

I spotted Calloway in the corner of my eye, his shoulders positioned toward the two of us. His fingers rested against his mouth, blocking the crushing way he clenched his jaw. His eyes were trained right on Dean, prepared to rip his head off.

I pushed through the conversation so Calloway wouldn’t stab Dean through the eye with a pen. “You’re so sweet, Dean. But I’m seeing someone.”

“Oh…” He hid his disappointment with a curt nod. “I guess I should have known. You’re such a beautiful—”

“Let’s get this started.” Calloway rose to his feet, looking terrifying with his squared shoulders and clenched hands. His pitch-black suit matched his sour mood, and he maneuvered to the front of the room with an alarming grace. He opened his folder on the table then rose to his full height, his tempered eyes immediately landing on Dean. “Where are we in the budget plans? I asked you to put them on my desk this morning, but yet, they are nowhere to be found.”

Oh no.

Everyone sitting at the table flinched slightly at the anger in their boss’s voice. They glanced at Dean, hoping their coworker had a good answer.

I had a feeling Dean was going to get fired today.

Dean was just as shocked by Calloway’s hostility as everyone else. He watched his boss with trepidation before he finally opened his folder and looked through his things. “I just thought I would wait until the meeting—”

“I don’t care what you think, Dean.” With both hands on the table, Calloway leaned forward and stared him down. “I’m your boss, so if I ask you to do something, you do it. You think you know how to run this company better than I do?”

“Uh…” Dean stumbled before he found the right answer. “No, I just—”

“Just, what?” Calloway’s ice-cold eyes stared into Dean’s, combustive and nuclear.

This was bad—really bad. “Mr. Owens.” I paused and waited for Calloway to meet my gaze.

After a heartbeat, he did. His gaze wasn’t as threatening when he looked at me. It was slightly soft, the same expression I saw when he screwed me with both aggression and passion.

“Dean just told me he had some technical difficulties, so he wasn’t able to get the budget report printed. He actually came to my office to use my computer, but I was having the same problem.” I wanted to save Dean before he lost his job, and I wanted to counteract Calloway’s rage. If I didn’t put out his fire, he would burn everyone to ash.

Calloway stood up straight, some of his senses coming back to him. He didn’t say another word on the subject and moved on. “Vanessa, where are we on the new donors?” He crossed his arms over his chest and looked at her, slowly returning to his calm self.

Now that the attention was off Dean, he sighed in relief. “Thanks. I’ve never seen him act that way. And I’ve been here for years.”

“He must be having a bad day,” I whispered, unable to come up with a better excuse for a grown man having a tantrum.

“A really bad day,” Dean said. “I’ll make sure I don’t cross him again.”

That was definitely the smart thing to do.

* * *

I went home after work, finding Christopher on the couch playing a video game.

“Yo,” he said without looking at me, his fingers hitting the buttons sporadically.

“Yo,” I said back. “Calloway flipped out at work today.”

“Why?” He paused the game. “Because you suck at your job?”

“Ha,” I said sarcastically. “You’re funny.” I sat on the other couch and slipped off my painful heels. “One of my coworkers asked me out in front of Calloway.”

“Uh oh,” Christopher said with a chuckle.

“Calloway flipped out and nearly fired him. I had to redirect the conversation so Calloway wouldn’t be a complete ass.”

“Did he tell the guy you two were dating?”

“No,” I answered. “But he yelled at him about something related to work…even though his anger had nothing to do with work.”

Christopher seemed amused more than anything else. “Man, that guy has it bad. I hear wedding bells.”

“I don’t know about that…” I didn’t mind the idea of spending forever with Calloway, but I was still annoyed with that little performance during our meeting.

“If a guy gets that jealous, then he’s head over heels. Trust me.”

“You don’t know anything about relationships.”

“Exactly. I’ve never been jealous over one of my ladies. I slept with this girl named Jessica, and the next day, I saw her on a date at a bar. Do you think I cared? Nope. Couldn’t care less. When a guy does care, you know it’s real.”

“So, I’m supposed to think that was sweet?”

He shrugged and unpaused the game. “It’s better than him not caring, right?”

“I don’t mind that he cares. I just—”

A knock on the door stopped me in mid-sentence.

Christopher paused the game again and smiled. “Wow. Wonder who that could be?”

I rolled my eyes and answered the door, spotting Calloway on the other side as I expected. In his black suit, he still looked angry, like I was somehow responsible for what happened that afternoon.

I refused to speak first, so I stared him down.

And he did the same back to me.

Christopher picked up on the tension and turned off his game. “I’m gonna take a shower…” He walked down the hall and shut his bedroom door, giving us some privacy.

Calloway didn’t take his eyes off me once. “Can we have this conversation at my place?”

“Depends.” I crossed my arms over my chest. “How is this conversation gonna go?”

He clenched his jaw when I didn’t blindly follow him. “Some arguing. Some apologizing. And then some really good make-up sex.”

“Who will be the one apologizing?”

“That remains to be seen.” He backed out of the doorway. “But sex is guaranteed, and I don’t want to fuck you hard when your brother is in the next room. So, let’s go.”

The only reason why I complied was because of the last part. Regardless of how annoyed I was, I always wanted good sex from him. It was better than yoga, a hot cup of coffee from my favorite bakery, and brunch with a friend on a Sunday.

We walked to his place a few blocks over, neither one of us saying a single word to each other. His hands were in the pockets of his coat, and he ignored the looks every passing woman gave him. Normally, he’d place his hand on the small of my back when he guided me across an intersection, but he refrained from touching me.

Once we were inside the house, away from prying eyes, he turned on me. “I know I got out of hand with Dean, but he shouldn’t have crossed me like that.”

“Crossed you?” I took off my jacket and hung it on the coat rack. “Calloway, he doesn’t even know we’re seeing each other. How was he supposed to know? Besides, he backed off when I told him I was seeing someone. Honestly, he’s a pretty nice guy. Just because he asked me out doesn’t make him a criminal.”

“It does when it’s my woman he’s asking out.” He clenched his hands by his sides like he wanted to punch something. His eyes were cold like icicles, just as they were earlier that afternoon. His five o’clock shadow made him appear more threatening.

For some reason, I found that sexy. I was annoyed with him, but I wanted to jump his bones at the same time. “You handled that situation horribly. I suggest you don’t let it happen again. Your employees really respect you. Don’t ruin that.”

He closed his eyes for a moment, his temper fading away. “I know they do.”

“Then you better apologize to Dean.”

“I’m not gonna apologize to him. But I’ll work to keep my temper under control. That’s the best I can do.”

I knew that was all I would get out of him. “Chances are, someone is gonna ask me out during the course of this relationship. And I know women probably ask you out all the time. We have to tune it out and keep moving forward.”

“They better not.” His anger made a resurgence. “If any man asks you out again in my presence, he’s dead.” He undid the front button of his jacket and tossed it on the couch. “This is all new to me. I’ve never been jealous before. I’m handling it the best way I can—even if it doesn’t seem that way.”

“It doesn’t.”

He sat on the couch, his long legs stretched out before him. He loosened his tie with one hand and stared at me. “If you watched a woman hit on me, you’d go insane too. Don’t act like you wouldn’t.”

“I would.” Without ever experiencing it before, I knew I would be ticked. “But I wouldn’t flip out the way you did. I know you’re faithful to me, so there’s no reason to be angry.” I slipped off my heels then kneeled before him at the foot of the couch.

His eyes watched my movements carefully. “I don’t even look at other women. Just you.”

I undid his slacks and pulled them down with his boxers, revealing his hardening cock.

His hand immediately went to my hair, getting a fistful of it within his fingers. He pulled back my head slightly just to tighten the grip.

“Let me make it up to you.” I lifted the base of his cock and licked his balls, feeling the rough texture with the surface of my tongue.

He closed his eyes and moaned under his breath, his chest rising as he sucked in air.

I sucked one ball into my mouth while I massaged his length, which was now hard as steel. A drop of pre-come oozed from his tip and dripped down his length, meeting my tongue at the bottom.

Calloway opened his eyes and ripped off the tie around his neck. Then he did something I didn’t anticipate. He pinned my wrists behind my back and tied them together with his soft tie, making a knot within five seconds that kept them bound together.

He scooted me backward then rose to his feet, his slacks and boxers hitting the floor.

I didn’t know what was happening, but I liked it. I liked sitting on my knees with my hands tied behind my back. His cock hung in front of my face, twitching in anticipation before he entered my mouth.

He looked down at me with hunger in his eyes. His hand reached for his base, and he pointed the tip against my mouth. He circled the head around my lips, tracing the outline like lipstick. “You’re mine, Vanilla.” He pressed his tip in the crack of my lips then pushed through, my jaw naturally opening for the girth of his cock.

He gripped me by the back of the neck as he thrust into my mouth, pulling me inward so his cock could reach my throat every single time. He fucked my mouth aggressively, his other hand resting on my shoulder so I could remain balanced on my knees. “I’m the only man who fucks this mouth.”

I flattened my tongue so his cock could slide over the rough surface, picking up more saliva before he hit the back of my throat. My gag reflex was initiated a few times, but I fought against it, wanting his cock more than anything else. I felt my pussy soak my panties as mounds of saliva dripped from my mouth and down my chin. Tears sprang from my eyes because his cock was so big.

But I loved every second of it.

“You look so beautiful with my cock in your mouth.” He moved his hand to the back of my head and thrust deeper, fucking my mouth harder than he fucked my pussy. His length was like a steel rod, hard and straight.

He was the one who looked beautiful. Standing over me with his large height and powerful physique, he reminded me of a god. The muscles of his stomach clenched every time he thrust his hips. His biceps flexed as he pulled my mouth onto his cock. His expression was the best part. He looked so aroused that his lips parted, enjoying every sensation my throat and tongue gave him.

I wanted to come, but I knew he would give me what I needed once he was finished. I wanted to feel his come in my mouth anyway.

Calloway moaned quietly then stopped his movements, his cock still resting on my tongue. “Suck my tip.”

I did as he commanded, sucking the head of his cock until I got every drop of his lubrication.

He pulled his hard cock out of my mouth. “On the couch, ass in the air.”

I didn’t think twice about it. Without the use of my hands, I fell forward on the cushions, my hands still bound behind my back with the silky tie keeping my wrists pinned together. My pussy was scorching, waiting for his cock to pierce me.

Calloway positioned himself behind me and grabbed the fabric of the tie between my wrists. Without warning, he shoved his massive cock inside me, giving my body no time to prepare for his girth. He yanked my hands so my back arched in a strained way. Then he pounded into me without mercy. “Mine. Do you understand me?”

All I could do was moan.

“Do you understand me?” he said with more authority.

“Yes,” I said with a moan, enjoying his hard length moving deep inside me. I was just about to come when he stopped.

He pressed his lips against my ear, breathing hard. “Sweetheart, I’m not gonna let you come until you tell me what I want to hear.”

Every second he didn’t move inside me was torture. I needed that release. I needed to come all around him. If I didn’t get it, I would go insane. “I’m yours, Calloway. Only yours.”

He kissed the shell of my ear then breathed into my canal. “You’re right about that, sweetheart. And what else?” He moved slowly, teasing me.

I didn’t know what else he wanted me to say, so I blurted out my first instinct. “And you’re mine. All mine.”

He shoved himself completely inside me, giving me every inch. “Yes.” Then he pounded into me hard, driving into an orgasm that was explosive and powerful. Every inch of my body felt the unstoppable pleasure. It was so good I nearly forgot to breathe. The sex was rough enough to leave me sore the next day, but it was worth every second. His mouth returned to my ear again. “Ready for it, sweetheart?”

“Yes,” I said with a pant.

“Here it comes.” He gave his final thrusts before he inserted every inch deep inside me, depositing his seed and filling me to the brim. Some of his come spilled over and dripped to the cushion below me. When a moan erupted from his throat, I knew he liked his handiwork. “When Dean looks at you tomorrow, you’re going to feel me inside you—even if I’m nowhere in sight.”

* * *

Calloway sat on the couch beside me, reading a hardback while the TV was on. The volume was down so the basketball commentators couldn’t be heard over the speaker. The fire in the hearth crackled and popped, bringing warmth to the living room.

I was doing paperwork beside him, wanting to be on top of all my responsibilities so I could impress the others. The easiest way to be accepted into a new team was by doing good work and not cutting corners. I could get away with almost anything since Calloway was my boss, but that type of behavior didn’t interest me. The reason I took the job was so I could help people—not be lazy.

I became distracted when I noticed the knuckles of his hands. Veins ran over the back of his hands, protruding like thick ropes. They led up his forearm, which was chiseled with fine muscle. Every time he moved his fingers, they stretched and shifted under the skin. This man was so handsome that even his hands aroused me. They were so masculine, and I found myself wanting to kiss every knuckle.

Calloway noticed my stare, so he looked up, his beautiful eyes targeting me. In a black t-shirt and sweatpants that were loose around his hips, he looked like the cover of a GQ magazine. He didn’t ask what I was staring at—at least not verbally.

“I like your hands,” I explained.

“Thank you for the compliment,” he whispered.

“I like this.” I trailed my finger over a thick vein.

“Nurses like them too,” he said with a quiet chuckle.

I didn’t understand the comment, so I stared at him blankly.

“Easy to get in an IV,” he explained. He turned back to his novel, his eyes following the words from left to right.

I wondered if that meant he’d been in a hospital. Although, if his father used to beat him, that answer was obvious. I turned back to my notepad and made some notes. After a few minutes, I felt his gaze burning into my cheek. I answered his look with my own.

He placed the ribbon between the pages as a bookmark before he closed the book. “You liked it when I bound your wrists together.” He uncrossed his legs and spread his knees apart, his long legs stretched out onto the hardwood floor.

Since I couldn’t tell if it was a question or an answer, I didn’t respond.

“I’d like to do it again if you did.”

I’d never had a man bind my wrists together—at least not in that context. I’d never had a man go anywhere near my ass either. But I found myself doing unorthodox things with Calloway—and liking it. “I did.”

He moved his arm to the back of the couch and rested his fingers against the side of my neck. His fingertips touched strands of hair as he caressed me. “There are other things I’d like to try with you too—if you’re willing.”

“Like what?” I knew couples did kinky stuff, like tying each other to the headboard and eating stuff off one another. They were things I never cared about, but after I met Calloway, I understood their appeal. “You want to handcuff me to your bed? Eat stuff off me?”

His eyes darkened as they focused on my lips. “Yes, among other things.”

“I have an open mind.” But I also wasn’t that adventurous either. As long as it was tame, I’d be okay with it. It wasn’t like Calloway was into the shit Hank used to be into. We’d only been dating for a short time when he demanded sex from me. When I said I wasn’t ready, he tried to make it happen anyway. That was how I broke my arm—in two different places. Hank had specific interests sexually, like hurting me. I didn’t find out about his tastes until I was admitted to the hospital.

“Good,” he said. “I’m glad you finally trust me.”

I didn’t see what trust had to do with it. The moment I gave my virginity to him, my feelings were pretty clear. I knew Calloway was nothing like Hank or any of the evil men I’d encountered on my journey through life. I wouldn’t have been sitting there beside him in that very instant if my heart wasn’t already on the line. I was skeptical of a man this great, but my doubts went away long ago. “I trusted you a long time ago, Calloway. I know you would never hurt me, lie to me, or mislead me.”

His fingers paused on my neck, and his eyes softened in a way they never had before.

Sometimes I wondered if I loved him. We’d only been seeing each other for five months, and that seemed far too soon to develop those kinds of emotions. But on the other hand, I noticed the way my heart always quickened when he was near. I noticed how well I slept when his massive body was beside mine. I noticed how happy I was when I saw his face first thing in the morning. Maybe it was too good to be true.

But maybe it wasn’t.

Calloway pulled me into his side and pressed his lips against my temple. “You’re my whole world, Rome.” He left his mouth in place as he held me, the scent of his natural, masculine fragrance washing over me. “The way you make me feel… Sometimes it scares me.”

“It scares me too.”

He kissed my temple again. “I guess we can be scared together.”