Flesh: Part Five (The Flesh Series Book 5) (2 page)

Lucian definitely
wasn't playing pretend. BDSM seems to be a big part of his sex life.
I wonder if he's even capable of having normal sex.

“
Well,
whatever you want to do.” I shrug.

“
Don't
you want to go back?” Janice walks around the side of the sofa
with a bowl in her hand and two spoons inside. She sets the bowl
between us, sharing the leftover batter from the cake.

I take my spoon and
start scraping the side of the bowl. We have a rule where we always
leave enough cake batter so that we can each get at least two
spoonfuls of raw cake. I think it tastes even better than cooked
cake, but it's so bad for you.

“
I
honestly don't want to go back.”

“
Why
not?” She quirks an eyebrow at me. “I thought you had a
good time when you went.”

“
I
did have a good time, but it's not something I'd want to repeat.”
I keep my eyes on the bowl as I speak. “You know, I really only
got into BDSM because you've been so obsessed with it. I was curious,
but now my curiosity is satiated. Now I want to go back to normal
relationships.”

She nods, obviously
not excited that I don't want to continue the BDSM journey with her,
but accepting, nonetheless. “Alright. Well, I'm glad you tried
something new. I, personally, want to keep looking into it. Maybe Sir
can eventually point me in the right direction to find a Dom of my
own.”

“
I
hope it works out for you.” I smile weakly at her.

“
Me
too.”

We finished scraping
the bowl, and she takes it back to the kitchen to put it in the sink.
The scent of chocolatey decadence fills the room as Janice pulls the
cake out of the oven, making my mouth water. It also reminds me that
I haven't eaten since lunch. To be honest, I haven't really been
hungry until now. Thinking about Lucian seems to have erased my
appetite. Perhaps that's one good thing that's come out of this,
though I'm sure that it's only temporary.

The movie ends, and
I quickly take the opportunity to switch the channel to something
else before Janice returns. Reality television is just as good as
anything, watching teenagers drink and fight and have fun. This
doesn't feel real either, but at least it's better than some bullshit
fictitious love story.

“
I
didn't think you liked this stuff.” Janice screws her face at
the television as she comes back to sit next to me.

“
I
don't, but there's nothing else on.”

“
I
think Meet Joe Black is coming on on channel two fifty-nine.”

“
Ugh,”
I groan, resting my head on her shoulder.

“
What's
wrong? You love Meet Joe Black.” She looks at me. Then
something seems to click inside of her head. “Oh. Oh, oh, oh.
Trouble in paradise already. Tell me all about it.” She pulls
away and turns towards me.

Everything inside of
me is fighting the urge to cry again. All I can manage to say is, “It
didn't pan out.”

“
What
do you mean it didn't pan out? I thought he was a client of yours.”

“
He
is.” I rub my eye absentmindedly. “It's just...It's
nothing. It turned out to be nothing. I don't want to talk about it
anymore.”

Her face fills with
concern, but she decides to let the subject go. “Alright. Well,
if you want to talk about it, you know I'll listen. That's what best
friends are for.” She smiles softly.

“
I
know, and I appreciate it.” My eyes flit up to meet hers.

She turns back
toward the television, straightening herself. “No Meet Joe
Black, then. Let's see if we can't find a show about a woman stabbing
a dude to death. That should make you feel better.”

I laugh, “Really,
Janice?”

“
Well,
I don't think we're going to find a movie about a woman cutting a
guy's dick off. Those are few and far between.”

“
Oh
Lord.” I rest my forehead on my palm, wondering how I got
blessed with such amazing friends. “When is that cake going to
be ready?”

CHAPTER TWO

It's Thursday, and
things have returned to normal. As soon as I get to my desk in the
morning, I open my email to a response from Lucian.

Miss Underwood,

I'd like for you
to come over tonight to discuss the selections you've made for my
bedroom. Please arrive at 8PM.

Regards,

Lucian Reddick,
M.D.

Reddick Plastic
Surgery

Entitled bastard is
the first thing that comes to mind. I can't help but wonder if he
even cares that he's making me work longer hours. At least, I get
paid for it. My next check should be huge, since I'm able to clock
the time that I'm at Lucian's house(within reason). Hopefully, this
won't be my last paycheck.

“
I
got another email from Lucian asking me to come over,” I tell
Derrick at lunch.

His jaw instantly
tenses from the news. “Are you going to go?”

“
I
have no choice.” There's no emotion in my words, because I'm
now completely numb to the whole Lucian Reddick situation. The power
he's held over me is gone. I just hope I can maintain this mentality
when I'm face to face with him.

Derrick hesitates,
“You do have a choice, Amy. I know it's against the rules, but
I can still go with you. There's no reason why you have to see him
alone.”

Warmth floods my
heart at Derrick's sweet suggestion. He really wants to protect me.
It's an endearing thought.

I slide my hand
across the table and place it on top of his, giving it a gentle
squeeze. “I appreciate the offer, but there's no reason why
both of us should lose our jobs over this.”

“
You're
not going to lose your job.” He shakes his head. “Tyra
will understand as long as that jerk doesn't call and complain about
you.”

“
And
what makes you think he won't?” I give him an earnest look.
“When he breaks the contract, he's going to have to tell her
something.”

His expression
sulks, then turns hopeful again in the blink of an eye. “Maybe
he won't break the contract.”

“
We
both know that's not how these things turn out.”

***

It's rendezvous
time, and I'm strictly business. There were no additional hours after
work spent changing my clothes and fusing with my makeup until it's
perfect. I'm wearing the same thing I wore to work today: a pair of
blue capris with a white button-down shirt and a gray blazer. It's
not easy access. There's no way he's getting into my steel-clad
chastity belt tonight. I've spent the entire afternoon mentally
adding lock after lock to it. Lucian would have to have some
romantic, amazing confession of love to break my resolve, and that's
definitely not happening.

I arrive on his
doorstep promptly at 8PM. Even though I tell myself I'm not
interested in him anymore, my heart is still fluttering; my whole
body is rigid. Part of me fears that he'll answer the door half-naked
again. Will I really be able to resist all of that bulging muscle and
perfectly kissable skin? The answer is that I have to. I have to, or
else I'm going to keep plummeting down the spiral of depression I've
been fighting to claw myself out of ever since I realized that I'm
engaged in a meaningless relationship with him.

“
Right
on time, as always.” Lucian beams at me as he opens the door.

The knot in my chest
softens a bit. He's wearing a shirt today. A white button-down shirt
with gray slacks. It's the first thing I've seen him in that hasn't
immediately made me want to drop my panties. While I still find him
undeniably attractive, the fact that I don't instantly want to peel
his clothes off means that I might stand some chance of resisting
him.

“
It's
my job to be on time,” I reply curtly, stepping over the
threshold.

The next thirty
minutes are spent in complete professionalism. Lucian's focus is on
the project, sitting next to me and going through my furniture
selections. Out of everything I've picked out, his preference leans
towards a sled bed with four matching pieces all done in dark cherry.

“
Of
course, I'll want to go see it physically before we purchase it.”
His finger makes a lazy circle in front of my tablet.

“
Certainly,
Doctor Reddick.” I nod.

“
Doctor
Reddick?” He quirks an eyebrow at me.

If a look could
slice through skin and bone, he'd be in two pieces. I'm not playing
games with him anymore. I'm not his submissive.

“
Yes,
Doctor Reddick,” my words are pointed.

His expression is
somewhere between concern and offense. He's not happy that I'm not
giving in to him, not being the mousy, little obedient girl he's been
interacting with all week.

“
Is
something wrong?” he asks.

“
No.”
I try to soften my tone. Even though I feel incredibly bitter towards
him, I don't want my bad mood to scare him away before he's even done
anything wrong. If we can keep focused on the task at hand, then
maybe I can escape his house unscathed for once. Perhaps my obvious
disinterest will throw him off enough to make him give me space.
“Let's continue.”

I turn my attention
back to the tablet and swipe it with my finger to start going over
the selections I made for his guest bedroom. As we look at the beds,
I keep thinking about the one that's currently in his guest
bedroom—the one we first had sex on. It will get moved to
storage soon. Stored away like my feelings for him. I'm not sure why
I'm thinking about it as such, but in truth, while I'm trying
desperately to focus on business, half of the stuff going through my
mind revolves around everything that Lucian and I have done up to
this point, how he's treated me, how I feel towards him. It's like I
can't get away from those thoughts, no matter how hard I try, and
there's an ever-present tension from being around him, like the
muscles in my neck and upper back are wound so tightly they might
snap if I move my head the wrong way. I hate the way it feels. More
than anything, I just want our meeting to be over so that I can leave
and go home and take a nice hot bath.

“
Is
that all for today?” Lucian glances over at me when I finish
scrolling through the pictures.

“
That's
it.” I type a few notes into the tablet about which furniture
he likes before shutting it down and stuffing it into my purse.

“
Shall
we go into my bedroom to discuss furniture placement now?”

“
That's
not really necessary. I'll have Derrick plug the dimensions of the
furniture selections you like into the digital blueprint of your
house and then send you some layout choices tomorrow.” I stand,
preparing to leave.

“
I'm
pretty sure I'm going to want the sled bed.” Lucian gets up as
well. “Since we know how many pieces are in the set, it would
probably save you some work if we went and looked at it now. I can
tell you where I want the pieces, then you can have that guy put them
into the blueprint tomorrow and send it to me. That way, you only
need to make one.”

It takes everything
in me not to sigh. While I know that what he's saying does make
sense, I can't help but feel that there's some ulterior motive in him
wanting me to come into the bedroom. Still, it's my job to keep him
happy. As long as things stay professional between us, I should at
least try to do my job.

“
Fine,”
I reply, though I'm pretty sure that he can tell I'm not happy about
it.

Lucian leads the
way, and I blankly stare at the back of his shirt. Soon, I'll be
thinking about everything we did in his bedroom together. To be
honest, I'm surprised that it's not making me horny. I want him.
There's no doubt about it. But for once, my heart trumps my hormones.
I know what giving in to him will do to me. I know that he doesn't
really care, and for that reason, I've built an emotional wall around
myself. He's not breaking down my guard this time.