I'm sure my boss was smiling as he turned to walk away. Twenty minutes later, from the ground floor room that had been given over as my office, I looked out across the estate and saw Valentine climb into his waiting helicopter and take off toward LA. With a clench of envy, I watched his broad chest lift up into the cockpit, followed by the skinny chatelaine, Delilah. I wondered where they were going for their lunch date. Fuck it, I had to get over this girly thrall for the rich hunk.

Just do the job and take the reward, then get away before he consumes you.

“Did I not tell you that yesterday was the last time you'd walk across this office on your heels?” Valentine growled when I breezed into his office with the plans later that afternoon.

He was again a different man from the one who'd taken me around his winery with a zeal to share his passion with me. I stopped abruptly, high on my toes with my arms splayed like a night prowler when the alarm sounds. I returned to the door, removed my favorite Manolo sandals and felt instantly more vulnerable with the loss of those four dagger inches. I padded across the carpet again, feeling its silk luxury beneath my feet.

“Get off your heels,” Valentine said in a dangerous low purr. I stopped again, this time without the comedy act, non-plussed by his tone and confused as to what was required of me.

“Get down. On your knees.”

What? He wanted me to crawl around in his office as though I were a slave in the palace of the Emperor Nero? I opened my mouth to speak and caught his steel gaze, the wide set of his luscious mouth, the lips I burned to feel on my body, and I slowly bent my knees, sinking to the floor.

“Good. Now come here,” Valentine ordered. His eyes ravaging my body as I put my hands to the ground and crawled across to the chair.

“No.” he said, when I moved to climb into my place. “Come here. No, come around to my side.”

I crawled around the edge of the desk and stopped when my nose touched the edge of Valentine's chair. In the next instant, the collar was wrapped around my neck and locked in place again, this time without the chain.

“You did something very bad last night, didn't you?”

My boss bent down and murmured just above my head. What was he referring to? The phone call to Josh, complaining and saying I wanted to leave? Was there any way he could be listening in on my cell, or was my room bugged?

“I just wanted someone to talk to. Last night was kinda- lonely.”

Mostly because two men I had the hots for had both ignored me all through dinner. Even the sight of my naked tits smothered with cream and chocolate coffee lusciousness had done nothing to gain their attention. I realized that I'd desperately wanted something from them.

“I'm your closest confidante- You have me to talk to now.” Valentine's voice contained a deep scowl. “You no longer have any need for Josh Perrine in your life. But that isn't what I'm referring to. Don't you know what you did to cross me?”

I racked my brains for any other transgression I’d made.

“Answer me.”

“No Sir, I don't know what else I did wrong.”

In one move he lifted me under my arms with great strength to drop me face down across his lap. His powerful lift flew me through the air before one heavy palm connected with my buttock in a resounding thwack. I let out a little squeal and bit down hard, pursing my lips into the grip of my bite as he brought his wide hand down again. My tunnel clenched inside all the way up to my stomach as voracious want pummeled through me.

Please let every morning at the office start this way.

“Now do you know?” he gritted.

“No, sir.”

Had I done something untoward with Marc Chappelle during dinner that had annoyed him? I couldn't remember looking at the handsome older French guy much, not when Jay Valentine dominated the room with his presence. He held all my attention and hungry fantasies.

“Very well.”

He slipped his fingers along the inner curve of my thigh, making me shudder with excitement. When the tips edged inside the leg of my panties and grazed across my clit I gripped down on a quiver of pulsations. Heat rose into my breasts, shelved over the other side of Valentine's solid thigh.

“What's this?” he demanded. “Dripping wet as usual. I think I'm giving you more pleasure than punishment for your rebellion.”

His thumb and two fingers stretched my folds apart and pushed inside my pussy.

“Empty,” he exclaimed. “I was very concerned about that Ms Cannon – How you were not experiencing any pleasure during the tour this morning.”

He wouldn't believe that I'd enjoyed being with him just as much as having a climax delivered every half hour from a device buried inside me.

“I, I-er, I removed it last night. So I could sleep.”

“Did I ask for your excuses? I asked how can it be and the answer is that you removed it. You know you shouldn't have done that without my permission.”

“I'm sorry.”

“I'm sorry, sir.”

“It won't happen again, sir.”

“Sorry doesn't really cut it. When I do something wrong it costs me millions or I receive punishment. I don't get to say sorry and think it goes away. So what's it going to be in your case?”

“Another spanking?”

“But that gives you more pleasure than you deserve. I can tell by your heart racing into my thigh that you're extremely excited at being spanked. Also I have zero desire to see the remnants of some other man's treatment across your perfect ass.”

Wow, he almost sounded jealous that Josh had left me with that reminder of who the boss was. It made me glad to know he cared, even just a little. I felt his arm reach to open a drawer in the desk, then close it again. When he raised his hand, my immediate impulse couldn't be stifled-I made the unspeakable error of wincing. Valentine’s hand came down on the lowest point of my back, caressing and soft.

“Are you afraid of me?” he said in a dulcet tone.

I nodded barely moving my head.

“Why? You know I would never hurt you for my own pleasure.”

“It's because, I-”

“Speak honestly with me. We can share anything.”

“I'm used to having a safe word,” I whispered.