Page 112 of Their Famous Dominant (Office Intrigue Duet 4)
Rather than follow Clarissa and Troy up to my apartment, I stalled.
While I had enjoyed the power play with Troy—the boy was going to learn to follow instructions eventually—I had been sorely disappointed in Clarissa’s reactions. She was purposely keeping her distance and it bothered me. Oh, sure, she took the toy, she pressed it to her clit, but not once did it seem as though she was enjoying herself.
She was going through the motions and that pissed me off. I didn’t want a submissive who was merely a warm body in the room, and that was what it felt like with her tonight. Even with Xander’s warning, I had been caught off guard.
When it came to our sexual interactions, she was far too docile. Like she turned off the switch to her brain and only followed orders. And not very well, mind you. Well, that wasn’t necessarily true. She followed orders to the letter. Hell, she hadn’t come because I hadn’t ordered her to.
“Fuck,” I growled.
This was not how I saw this playing out.
Sure, I sensed she truly did enjoy watching me and Troy, but not in an engaging way. If I merely needed an audience, I could’ve very well taken Troy down to the dungeon. Or I could’ve allowed someone to be in the adjoining room, but I hadn’t. I’d purposely secured the room because I hadn’t been interested in someone watching us tonight.
Not because I cared that they saw what was taking place. I merely wanted the chance to explore Troy in my own way. This was all fucking new to me. Taking his cock in my mouth had been so out of the norm I’d been hesitant. I wasn’t a hesitant man, but I found myself wanting to ensure I was pleasing him rather than exploring my own desires.
Perhaps I’d gone about this the wrong way.
I fucking hated that I was doubting myself.
Knowing I couldn’t go to my apartment until the club closed down, I decided to mingle. Maybe that would give me a little time to cool off and figure out just how the hell I could make this work.
I found Xander on the main floor, standing near the bar, Mercedes kneeling at his feet.
“Oh, shit. I know that look,” Xander said when I approached.
“What look?” I pretended not to know what he was talking about.
“The one that says your submissives derailed your scene.”
I rolled my eyes.
When the bar submissive approached, I asked her to bring me a bottle of water.
“Let me guess,” Xander said. “Clarissa tensed up. She couldn’t follow through without your explicit instruction.”
I nodded as I reached for the water. “Something like that.”
“Not to stick my nose where it doesn’t belong,” Xander said, his hand rubbing the top of Mercedes’s head, “but I think you’re going to have to deprogram her if you expect to get anything out of this.”
I nodded because I was still so fucking pissed I didn’t want to talk about it.
“Look,” he said softly. “Clarissa wants to please. That’s her sole objective. You have to keep in mind she has never belonged to anyone. For that reason alone, she keeps her distance. Shane was the only constant for her, but there was never anything between them. They blew off steam together. Everyone knows Shane has an interest in Leah. He has for a long time.”
I knew Leah was Xander’s assistant and this was news to me. Not that I gave a shit who Shane was interested in.
Xander sighed. “Put yourself in Clarissa’s shoes. She’s never had a Dom of her own, doesn’t know what to do now that you’re showing interest.”
It made sense even if it didn’t.
I took a long drink of my water and stared at the stainless-steel bar top. “How do you suggest I deprogram her?”
“Don’t let her out of your sight,” Mercedes said.
I twisted and stared down at the submissive still kneeling on the floor.
She gave me a wicked grin.
Xander sighed again. “She’s been ordered to remain silent. See how well that works for her?”
I grinned down at Mercedes. “As much as I’d like to kidnap Clarissa, I don’t think that’s appropriate.”
“Not technically, no,” Mercedes said, still smiling. “But I don’t think it’ll take much to convince her to stay with you for a few days. You could show her how much you want to spend time with her.”
“Or maybe you could take her back to Chicago,” Xander suggested. “Introduce her to the city, show her around. If she’s going to relocate there, it could prove beneficial in more ways than one.”
“She hasn’t led me to believe she intends to take the job,” I told him.
“Maybe she doesn’t know yet,” Xander noted. “All the more reason to take her to check it out. Show her around.”
It sounded reasonable.
“She likes you, Trent,” Mercedes said. “I’ve known it from the beginning. And I also know that’s the reason she hasn’t been with another Dom in so long. She plays with us because she needs it, but there’s never anything intimate.”
