Owned (Office Intrigue Book 8) by Nicole Edwards (bill gates book recommendations txt) 📕

I figured the fact I associated more as a submissive kept me from relating to the dynamic there. However, I knew it was true because I’d witnessed it firsthand in her hotel room, the way she’d brought out Brad—who’d been awkwardly naked—then taken charge with her inspection of the possession.

So my question: was she seeking the possession for herself or for Brad? Or maybe both?

I would never pretend to understand human desires. They varied in so many ways. Even my own.

I was curious as to why they’d chosen now to get more acquainted with their new toy, but again, I couldn’t seem to look away.

Which was probably the reason I didn’t notice right away that Laura was at the far end of the table, a look of sheer ecstasy on her face. Again, I didn’t have a clear view, but from what I could tell, she had a possession kneeling in front of her. Her chair was pushed back from the table, her hand settled on something—likely his head—between her splayed thighs.

Heat swamped me. The fact that I couldn’t see made it all the more erotic. My imagination was running away from me.

I swallowed hard, then reached over and touched Talon’s leg. “I think I need some air.”

He didn’t hesitate, pushing back from the table and assisting me to my feet. He led the way outside, Taurus directly behind us.

“Do they always do that?”

“We give them carte blanche to explore while on the premises.” Talon took my hand, cupped it in both of his, and held it against his chest as we walked toward the waterfall. “Have you never been to a club before?”

“No,” I admitted. “Never.”

“Well, like I said, this is par for the course. Once they get comfortable, it only gets more intense. Because this is their opportunity to get intimately acquainted with what they’re intending to keep for a lifetime, they tend to take advantage of every minute.”

In a strange way, that made sense.

“How did it make you feel?”

I wasn’t sure how to answer that, but I knew I had to be truthful. Both with myself and with Talon. If I started lying or making excuses to avoid embarrassment, I would likely start believing it. I didn’t want to do that.

“It made me hot,” I admitted, stopping on the winding path. “I didn’t expect it. Couldn’t look away, either.”

“Not an unusual reaction,” Talon noted. “What was it that turned you on?”

That was a good question, so I considered it for a moment.

“I think it was the visual aspect,” I finally said.

“Not the dominance?”

I turned to face Talon. “No.”

“You sound certain.”

“I am.”

“How so?”

“Partly because the Dominant was a woman, I think. It didn’t affect me at all. Plus, I’ve tried that whole thing before,” I admitted. “Thinking I was submissive, seeking a Dominant. It didn’t work out.”

“Why?”

“You like to get right to the heart of the matter, don’t you?” I countered, sighing heavily.

“It’s the only way to work through something, or so I’ve learned from experience.”

Yeah, well, I wasn’t sure this was the time or place for me to work through this issue.

Especially not when I was seconds away from throwing myself at this man.

*

TALON

It was bold of me to question Braelyn so thoroughly. I wouldn’t apologize for it, because I wanted to know. And because I knew she was trying to work through it on her own.

I had witnessed her reaction to Brad and Leah, the way her breathing had grown labored when she’d watched the possession handling the submissive, stroking Brad while he clung to him like a man in desperate need of release. That had been what Braelyn had enjoyed. When Leah had barked her command, I noticed Braelyn had lost most of her interest, shifting her attention to the brazen woman at the other end of the table who’d put one of her potential possession’s oral skills to good use.

“Tell me,” I urged, keeping an edge in my voice.

Braelyn sighed, turning to face the water washing over the rocky ledges leading into one of the wading pools.

“I dated a guy once,” she said softly. “He was a Dominant. It didn’t work out for us.”

“Because you didn’t enjoy being dominated or because he failed to meet your expectations?”

“A little of both. Part of it was his … lack of domination. I think he wanted to be the alpha in the relationship, he just didn’t know how to go about it.”

“Taurus, bring us drinks,” I commanded my possession. When he went off to do my bidding, I turned back to Braelyn, who was still facing the waterfall. “Did you hear what you just said?”

She turned to face me, her dark eyebrows lowered. “I’m sorry?”

“You said this man you dated wanted to be a Dominant. As though he could go to the store, select it like one would a tie. When he got it exactly the way he liked it, approved of the fact it matched the look he was going for, he would don it for a while.”

She continued to stare at me.

“You understand that’s not how it works, don’t you?”

Still no words.

“So what was it about this man that made him a Dominant?”

“He said he liked to be the boss.”

Said and liked to be were the words I heard in that comment. None of them were very inspirational.

I grinned, stared out over her head.

“What? It’s a quality of a good Dominant,” she declared.

“Did you read that somewhere?”

Her dark brows lowered. “I’ve done my research on the subject, sure. You can find a lot of information online.”

“Online?”

Her gaze held strong when she said, “You’re into BDSM.”

“If you’re stating I enjoy bondage, discipline, domination, and submission, then I would agree. I don’t care much for sadomasochism, though, but I figure there’s a time and place for everything.”

“Ransom says you’re a Primal.”

Yes, I’d heard that before. “That’s a label someone pinned on me long ago.”

“So you’re not?”

“Labels are a way to define someone’s preferences so others are aware of them. Similar to me being referred to as a