Page 33 (1/2)
Chapter 1
The wo eyes She had her hands on her hips She looked me up and doith a candid, intiarette between her lips She exhaled a thin blue feather of s and pouted
“Hello,” she said softly, her voice cultivated and her tone cool “Is this your idea of dressing to impress?”
“No,” I said I earing faded jeans and a jacket over a white t-shirt “This is how I always dress I don’t care whether you’re impressed or not”
For one unholy instant the woaze snapped with an electric spark She flashed a searching glare at the young lady who had brought me into the office, and then she smiled wryly at me and thrust out her chin
“Okay,” she said, like sot that straight” She pointed a finger “I don’t like ass-kissers anyhow”
The woman went behind her desk and sprawled into a deep leather office chair with a sound like a weary sigh She crushed the butt of the cigarette into an ashtray, and then esture with her hands “Take a seat”
The young secretary stayed standing I could sirl’s cheap perfume She had an armful of folders clutched to her chest like a defensive shield against the wrath of her boss She shifted her weight froht with anxiety A wash of nervous color spread across her cheeks
“My na desk announced as she crossed her legs “I’er”
“G’day,” I said “My name is Jericho James”
The woman stared at me with some kind of sly bemusement “Are you serious?”
I nodded
She leaned forith sudden interest and planted her elbows on the desktop, bringing her face closer Her expression beca “And that’s your real voice?”
I frowned “Of course”
“And the accent? That’s real?”
“I’m Australian,” I said “I don’t have an accent You Yanks are the ones that have the accent”
The woain She leaned back in her chair and the leather creaked the way good quality leather does She spun round and stared out through the tinted officefor long silent moments
It was an eight-story building and ere on the top floor The big panel of tinted glass offered sweeping views of the Boston skyline at sunset I sat, perfectly co beside me was unnerved She cleared her throat discreetly
“Miss Collett?”
The woether, resting her chin on her fingertips as if in deep contemplation
“Yes, Cindy?”
“U else?”
The woesture with her hand, like royalty waving away a servant “No,” she said “You o”
The young secretary looked relieved I heard her breathe a little gasp of air and then she turned crisply and fled the big office, the echo of her heels chasing her out through the door
When the girl was gone, Nancy Collett turned slowly around in her chair, her eyes black, like she inging the twin barrels of a shotgun onto me
“What part of Australia are you from? Sydney?”
I shook my head “Brisbane,” I said “It’s to the north”
She thought for a moment “And why are you in America?”
I shrugged “Working,” I said
“Doing what?”
“I was building yachts”
She arched an eyebrow “But not now?”
“No Now I ae”
“And you decided you wanted to get into radio? That’s a giant leap away from the skill-set required to build yachts”
I shruggedfor soht?”
“Right”
“Well I have that,” I said “And I can talk I assume that’s a skill you would require”
The woman inclined her head, bemused “How did you find out about the job?”
“A friend,” I said “She saw your station’s poster advertising the position in one of the local BDSM clubs and showed it to e”
“So…?”
“So I phoned your office,to you”
Nancy Collett narrowed her gaze and shook her head “You’re too fucking good to be true,” she said seriously She paused to light another cigarette A tendril of smoke crept up her face and she squinted her eyes “That’s orries ood to be true”
“Thanks,” I said dryly “Does that mean you don’t want me?”
“Oh, no,” the woman flashed leam of her smile and a sparkle of resolve in her eyes “I want you, Jericho Ja want you…” her voice trailed off and became distant for a moment “…I just don’t know the best way to use you”
I sat back, and watched the woarette and furrowed her brow I guessed she was in her forties She wore heavy makeup but it had been applied with such artful skill that it seeer Her hair was brown, cropped into a carefully ht curls, and the line of her mouth was determined, perhaps obstinate She took a deep breath – the sound of soh cliff – and I could see her agitation in the sudden rapid rise and fall of her breasts beneath the filasped a little hiss of decision, and then spoke so softly that I barely caught her first words
“You sound like sex,” she said “Your fucking voice is so deep and smooth that it’s hard to believe it’s real That’s ot a name that everyone will remember, an accent that will melt every woman’s panties… and you happen to be easy on the eye… very easy, in fact,” the words became a sensuous sound in the back of her throat
“So?” I shrugged
Nancy Collett smiled bleakly “So there must be a catch,” she made a flippant wave of her ar gesture “Are you gay?”
I laughed Not chuckled I laughed – a deep unaffected roar of spontaneous delight “No!” I assured her through a genuine s
ay”
The woh of breath “And you really are a BDSM Master?”
I nodded my head “Yeah,” I said “I really am”
Nancy Collett frowned “Do you know the lifestyle?”
“Well enough,” I said, suddenly serious “I have my own beliefs about BDSM, and maybe they’re not as extreme as some other peoples’ beliefs – but they work for me,” I said “I have simple rules that ith sub physical pain on a woman as punishment Some in the lifestyle would probably think that my beliefs are too moderate”
The wo and her voice thickened with her enthusiasm “That makes you consumable,” she said “That h to fascinate the e” She said it all while thrusting a finger at loating over the pot in the middle of the table
I shrugged “They’reto make myself appeal to anybody What I believe is what I believe”
She nodded her head like she wasn’t really listening, then reached into a drawer of her desk, without ever taking her dark eyes from mine
“Are you active in the lifestyle? Ior living with at the moment?”
“No”