The Exposé 3 (7 page)

“So you stepped up instead.
That’s a really big deal.”

I’m struck with a new
admiration for the man in front of me. He didn’t have to take
on the responsibility for his friend’s failings, but he did.
Not many guys would be so strong.

Or so damn sexy.

Dax shrugs off my praise. “It’s
nothing. I’ve tried to do more, but Maria’s stubborn, she
won’t let me interfere. She reminds me a little of you that
way,” he adds with a rueful grin.

“I’m going to take
that as a compliment,” I laugh.

He arches an eyebrow. “If
you must.”

Our
gaze holds for a long moment. The chemistry between us crackles back
to life, like the drama of the night has made Dax forget how much he
hates me. Whatever the reason, suddenly I’m painfully aware
that the two of us are alone again.

My body tenses with awareness and
anticipation. The last time I was here, I didn’t make it out of
the elevator, but before that...

I remember his hands on my skin,
the amazing feel of his body on mine.

Damn.

My cheeks get hot. I can tell
from Dax’s expression, he’s seen my reaction.

He knows exactly what I’m
thinking.

“So tell me, what’s
so important you came all this way over again?” Dax sits back,
watching me like a panther watches his prey. “You’re all
dressed up.”

His gaze trails over my body. I
cross my legs, feeling very revealed in this outfit.

“I
was at a party tonight.” I decide to cut right to the point.
“Hosted by Dimas”

Dax’s face darkens.

“I
overheard him talking to Andrew Landsley,” I add. Dax doesn’t
look surprised, so I continue. “I’ve seen him at the
club, right? They were talking about the land development, down by
the waterfront. I googled it in the cab on the way over, and it’s
currently protected for the environment, but Andrew is chair of the
zoning committee.”

Dax curses under his breath.
“That’s what all this is about? He’s causing no end
of pain, for some fucking bureaucratic regulation?”

“That
regulation is worth a hundred million dollars, maybe more,” I
correct him. “Dimas has bought up a bunch of property, evicted
all the residents. If Andrew decides to push for rezoning, strip away
all the environmental protections, then Nikolai’s sitting on
prime land. Think about it: waterfront condos, shopping development,
office buildings. He’ll make a fortune!”

Dax gets up and goes to the bar.
“I’m going to need something stronger for this.” He
holds up a bottle of whiskey. “Want one?”

I shake my head. I can’t
risk getting out of control this time.

Dax
pours himself a drink. He knocks it back in one go. “Nikolai
came to me, told me he wanted photos of the politician. You know, in
compromising situations.”

“So he could blackmail him
into the vote.” I nod. “Makes sense, in an evil asshole
way.”

Dax snorts. “Evil asshole,
that’s about right.” He shakes his head. “Damn. No
wonder he’s going to so much trouble, with this much money on
the line.”

He
walks back over. This time, he sits beside me on the couch.

“What
are you going to do?” I ask, trying to focus on the problem,
and not his body, so close to mine. “You’re caught in the
middle here. As long as Andrew holds the cards over the land zoning,
Nikolai needs leverage.”

“Not
just leverage. He needs to blackmail him,” Dax reminds me.
“Which I’m not going to help him with. Not under any
circumstances. My club is a safe place. Every time a member walks in,
I’m promising to protect their secrets. That’s the
unspoken code, it’s the foundation of everything I do.”

He
looks determined, and damn, it’s hot. It would be easy for him
to roll over, give Nikolai what he wants, and make the whole mess go
away. But he’s standing up for something, trust and loyalty, no
matter what the cost.

“We’ll think of
something,” I reassure him. “There has to be a way out of
this.”

His eyes flick over to me. “We?”
he echoes.

I hold his gaze. “I thought
you realized by now, I’m stubborn.”

Dax’s
eyes blaze into mine. “And how am I supposed to trust you this
time?” he demands. “How do I know you’re not in
league with him? Or that you won’t just turn around and screw
me over for the sake of your newspaper career?”

“I swear, I’m telling
you the truth. I’ll do anything to prove you can trust me.”

“Anything...” Dax
gulps the last of his whiskey, then puts the glass down. He gets up,
and my heart sinks.

This is it, he’s going to
throw me out now, send me packing without listening to another word.

But
instead, he gives me a look that twists my insides. And I know what
that look in his eyes means.

Hot. Dark.

Hungry.

“Get
up,” he orders me. I don’t think twice before getting to
my feet. Fuck, I’m already turned on, just from that
deliciously dominant tone in his voice.

I wait, standing there as he
slowly loosens his tie. Please don’t let this be another
fake-out, I find myself silently praying. I can’t take another
one of his games, not when the heat is racing through my body, and I
can imagine how amazing it will be to have his hands on my skin.

His mouth.

That tongue...

Dax
stalks closer, until he’s just inches away from me. “Why
are you still here?” he asks, reaching out to touch my cheek.
He traces his thumb over my lips, sending heat rushing straight
between my thighs. “Dammit, Zoe, I can’t figure you out.”

Nor can I. Getting even more
involved with him is dangerous, but I can’t stay away.

“I want to help,” I
insist weakly. But that’s not the whole truth, and we both know
it, so I force myself to continue.

“And I want you.”

Dax’s stare darkens.
Something changes in his expression, like he’s finally reached
a decision.

“Then
take off your clothes. Now.”

Yes
.

I
obediently strip off the skimpy dress I’m wearing, leaving me
in nothing but black lacy lingerie. All it takes is one look from
him, and the drama and conflict between us fades away. Right now,
there’s nothing but this heat, the chemistry compelling me to
wait for his next order, his next move.

Anything he wants, I need it too.

Dax gets a dangerous look in his
eyes. “You want me to trust you,” he says. “So you
need to give up that same trust to me.”

My mind races. What is he talking
about?

“Come.”
He turns on his heel and strides across the loft. I want to resist
his orders, but I can’t help but follow. The cool air whispers
against my bare skin, and I find myself nervous all of a sudden,
almost naked in my skimpy underwear and heels.

Dax
leads me up to the bedroom, set on a mezzanine level above the main
loft. It’s outfitted in sleek, minimal decor with a vast bed in
the middle of the room. He dims the lights, so there’s just a
soft glow from the spotlights above the headboard. My thoughts are
zinging around in my head, but Dax just eyes me coolly, completely in
control.

“Sit,”
he says.

My stubborn streak rears its
head. “I’m not a dog,” I reply.

His eyes rove over me. “Funny,
I was just thinking you need a collar.”

My
stomach flips. Oh my God, what am I getting into here? In a flash, I
remember all the sexy, adventurous things I’ve seen at the
club. Bondage, flogging, threesomes...

The
thoughts are scary -- but hot, too. Every one of my encounters with
Dax has been the wildest sexual experience of my life. He keeps
raising the bar, so what’s he planning next?

Dax goes to the dresser and opens
a drawer. He pulls out two of his ties, then waits.

I fight a battle in my mind
between arguing with his domineering tone, or just submitting and
getting to the good stuff.

I submit.

I take a seat on the edge of the
bed and give him an expectant look. Dax’s mouth quirks with
amusement.

“Nobody would ever mistake
you for a sub,” he smirks.

“I
thought a sub’s failures were always the fault of her Dom,”
I reply sweetly.

He
chuckles. “I should just let you loose in the club with a
Dominatrix whip and heels.”

“Sounds like fun.”

“Really?” Dax steps
closer. He trails his hand across my shoulders and collarbone, making
me shiver. Slowly, he takes my wrists and binds them together with
one of the silk ties.

My heart races.

“I thought you liked it
when I pushed you around,” he murmurs, suddenly yanking the
ties tight.

I gasp.

“You didn’t have any
complaints when I ordered you to suck my cock.”

His tone is casual, but that
makes what he’s saying so much hotter.

“Or when I pinned you down
and fucked you up against the wall. You were begging for more,”
Dax muses, tugging my bound arms above my head. I have no choice but
to lift them, totally restrained.

My breasts jut out, covered only
in lace. Dax smirks, using his other hand to lightly stroke and tease
the tender swells of flesh. “See, that’s your secret,”
he continues, his voice low and sexy. “You’re stubborn
and head-strong, but deep down, you want a man who knows how to push
back. To tell you when to shut the hell up and get on your knees.”

I
wish I could argue, but the truth is, that’s exactly what I
want. I love the steel in his voice, and the glint in his eye.

I’ve never met a man like
him before.

“Now,
let’s see how much control you’re willing to give up,”
he murmurs. “Close your eyes and open your mouth.”

I shiver. God, how does he do
this to me? Just a moment ago, I was determined to hold my own, but
now my thighs are clenches, my nipples hard. I would do anything he
asked of me.

I
close my eyes and slowly part my lips.

There’s
a pause, and then I feel the cool rustle of silk against my skin. The
world goes dark as Dax slips the other tie over my eyes and ties it
behind my head.

Now my hands are bound, and I’m
blindfolded too. Totally at his mercy.

And totally turned on.

I hear the sound of a belt
buckle, a zipper, and my pulse races as my mouth goes dry. But when I
start to close my jaw to swallow, Dax growls, “I said open.”

I
obey, choosing instead to run my tongue over my lips, wetting them. I
hear him inhale.

“New
plan. Lay back,” he commands.

With
my hands tied, I have to awkwardly scoot back on the bed until I’m
laying on the crisp linens, anxiously awaiting his next move. I feel
a slight tug on my wrists, pulling them back above my head. He ties
them to the headboard, so I’m bound in place.

Silence.

“Dax?”
I can hear my heart pounding, waiting for Dax’s next
instruction. The seconds stretch, and I’m struck with a
terrible fear that this is all some kind of elaborate payback. He
could leave me laying here, tied and blindfolded. If the point is to
prove that I’m powerless, he’s making it, alright.

But even through the nerves, I
remember the way he looked at me. Touched me. Like he wanted to
possess me completely. He wouldn’t just walk away.

Would he?

“OK,
I get it. You’ve proven your point,” I say, nervous. I
twist my head around, but I can’t hear anything. “I have
to trust you right now. That’s what you wanted, isn’t
it?”

There’s no reply.

I
hear music start to play down in the main room. It filters up to me,
something electronic, sexy and intense. It wraps around my mind,
heightening every sense as I lay here in the dark. I can feel the
scratch of my lace lingerie against my flushed skin, the pressure
from my restraints, the liquid heat between my thighs as I picture
all the things he could do. The darkness seems to swallow me up,
until the pounding of my heart pulses through my body in an
intoxicating rhythm.

What will he do to me? How far
will Dax go to prove his point?

I feel the air shift around me.
Heat, close, just out of reach.

I freeze.

It’s him.

DAX

I watch her squirm on the bed,
testing her restraints. I tied them deceptively loose: enough to give
a little, but not so much that she has any real control.

Let’s
see how the most stubborn person I’ve ever met likes being at
my mercy.

I sit on the bed beside her,
holding the glass of whiskey I refilled downstairs. She turns her
head towards me.

“Dax?”

I don’t say a word. I can
see her chest rising and falling as she pants a nervous breath. Fuck,
she’s gorgeous. Her body is waiting for me, arrayed in black
lace and tempting scraps of silk. The dim lights glow on her tanned
skin and sensuous curves.

I’m going to enjoy this.

Blood
is pounding in my veins, hardening my cock and setting my nerves on
edge, but I force myself to hold back. Last time I claimed her, it
was hard and fast. Pure animal instinct. Tonight, I’m going to
take my time. Sample every last delight this body can provide, and
show Zoe what it really means to feel pleasure.

Tonight, I need her to surrender
completely. I have to know she’s not hiding anything from me
anymore. I want her begging, I want her screaming my name.

I want everything, dammit, and I
won’t stop until she’s mine.

I
take an ice cube from my glass, and let it drip over her bare
stomach. Zoe flinches as the freezing water hits her skin.

“Dax?” she asks
again, her voice rising with nerves.

“Shh,” I tell her,
finally breaking my silence. “Just relax.”

“Kind
of hard to do when I’m trussed up here like a prize turkey,”
she says with her usual sass.

I let myself smile, knowing she
can’t see me. “Quiet,” I order her, louder. “Or
do I need to gag you as well?”