Taken by the Tycoon Read online

  She’d lost twenty pounds and rediscovered a libido she thought had disappeared ages ago. During the last five years of her marriage to Marvin, sex had fallen by the wayside. When it had happened, Violet had accepted her lack of carnal activity as part of life. She’d convinced herself she didn’t need it and had effectively shut down her body’s needs, replacing sex with food.

  Now that she was single again, her sex drive had begun to thaw out of the deep freeze in which she’d buried it. The music played on, and her hips wouldn’t be still. She bopped in her seat all the way to the club. She was playing tennis with her friend Leta today. A game on the clay court beat a trip to the gym any day.

  When she arrived, she greeted Leta and they played two sets. Leta won both, but Violet didn’t mind. She was more of a social player than a competitive one. Truth be told she liked the companionship more than the tennis, but she needed the exercise so it was a great trade-off. Plus, she also didn’t mind the admiring stares she’d been getting from some of the male players on nearby courts. Maybe she should consider playing mixed doubles…

  After the match, the women went to the locker room to clean up. Once they were showered and refreshed, they made their way to the main dining room. As Violet walked past the entrance to the men’s grill, she glanced inside and found herself staring straight into the eyes of none other than Stuart Swearingen.

  His blond hair, long on top, short at the neck, gave him a youthful and devastatingly handsome appearance. He wore a starched, white button-down shirt that highlighted his deep tan beautifully. He raised an eyebrow and flashed her a cavalier smile with the confidence of a man who knew his affect on women—namely, making them weak in the knees.

  Startled, Violet gave him a nervous smile in return and rushed past the doorway.

  “What’s gotten into you?” Leta asked.

  “Nothing,” Violet hissed. Then, “I’ll tell you once we’re sitting down.” She looked over her shoulder worried someone might hear.

  Violet and Leta sat down and ordered some iced tea and chicken salad for lunch.

  “So what was going on back there?” Leta asked.

  “Nothing really. It’s just that Stuart Swearingen was back there. Do you know him?” Violet attempted indifference but was afraid it failed miserably.

  “Who doesn’t know him?” Leta waved her hand in front of her face.

  “I mean, do you know him?” Violet persisted.

  “I’ve met him a few times.” Leta shrugged. “Why?”

  “I don’t know.” Violet giggled. “He’s so hot.”

  “Violet, you have a crush on him!” Leta laughed.

  Violet blushed. “Okay, maybe I do.” She tossed her napkin in her lap with a flourish. “So what?” she asked with mock defiance.

  “Well, I could care less, but he’s awfully young.” Leta said in a sing-songy voice.

  “I don’t see why that matters,” Violet said, brushing Leta’s words aside. “It never hurts to window shop,” she said, then changed the subject to Leta’s mother-in-law who was coming to town the next day, much to Leta’s chagrin.

  An hour later, Violet hugged Leta goodbye, then made her way back to the ladies’ locker room to grab her bag of tennis duds. Standing in front of her locker, her mind wandered to all the errands she had to run, what she needed from the store… She was creating lists in her head when a breeze drifted up her arm, and she felt a presence behind her.

  “Violet.” A gruff voice sounded in her ear, and an alarm bell rang in her brain. With her body still facing the lockers, she turned her head ever so slightly to see who it was.

  It was him. Good Lord, what was he doing in the ladies’ locker room?

  “Yes?” Her voice warbled, and her knees threatened to buckle.

  “I waited until your friend was gone. I wanted to talk to you.” Stuart Swearingen rasped in her ear. He was right behind her, centimeters from touching her.

  “You did? Why?” Violet’s heart raced and her muscles tensed. What could he possibly want with her? A part of her was outraged he had the gall to enter the women’s dressing room unannounced and sneak up behind her, but another part was fascinated and intrigued by his odd behavior. It wasn’t fear she felt exactly, but excitement, a shot of adrenaline coursed through her veins.

  “It’s been a long time,” he growled.

  “Yes, it has,” she answered nervously. “You’ve grown up quite a bit.”

  He chuckled. It was a deep throaty sound and made her legs quiver. “I guess I have, and you’ve never looked sexier.” Heat rose between them as he closed the distance separating them. “I’ve seen the way you look at me.” His breath was moist on her neck.

  Mortified, Violet snapped, “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

  He chuckled and took one of her hands in his. “Yes, you do.”

  Violet took a step backwards to close her locker, and her derriere bumped against his pelvis, sandwiching his erection between them. He lifted her hand to his lips and planted a kiss on the inside of her wrist. Goosebumps surfaced on her skin, and she shuddered with delight.

  “Have you ever considered being a sub?” he asked.

  “A what?” she responded.

  He pulled her to him and nuzzled her neck. “A submissive. I like to dominate.” He spun her around to face him, then placed his hands on her waist and pulled her to him. To her surprise, he bent his head and touched his lips to hers. His mouth captured hers, and his tongue darted between her lips, invading, exploring. Violet’s pulse raced and she found herself returning the kiss, following his lead. She melted into his arms, giving in to his passionate embrace. A warm, hazy cloud of longing settled over her and she couldn’t remember the last time she’d been kissed like that, but it had to have been years.

  Then he stepped away, leaving her breathless and wanting.

  “Let me know if you’re interested.” With that, he pressed a business card into her hand, threw her a sexy wink then strolled out of the women’s locker room as if it was his private boudoir instead of a public lavatory for members of the opposite sex.

  Violet stared down at the card in her hand. Clutching it in her palm, she gathered herself and somehow walked to her car on unsteady feet.

  * * *

  On the way home from the club, her mind whirled and she tried to make sense of Stuart accosting her in the ladies’ locker room. She had never had a man approach her so brazenly, much less kiss her like that, so she had no frame of reference for such behavior. The experience was shocking, but that’s what made it all the more thrilling.

  Continuing to puzzle over his intentions, she sat at a small desk in the kitchen and opened her laptop. The only clue she had was when he said he liked to dominate. The first internet search for “submissive” provided unsatisfactory results, but when she added the word “dominant,” a whole new world opened up. She started reading blogs about the dominant/submissive lifestyle, and pieces of the puzzle began to fall into place.

  Margaret came into the room and pulled a diet soda out of the refrigerator. “Hey mom. Whatcha doin’?”

  Popping her head up, Violet instinctively slammed the laptop shut. “What? Who me?”

  Margaret gave her a funny look. “Yeah, you. What were you doing, Mom, watching porn?” She joked.

  Violet rolled her eyes. “Don’t be ridiculous. Just checking the weather. We really need some rain. My tomatoes…” she trailed off.

  “Hey, what’s for dinner?” Margaret asked. Violet noticed the clock on the microwave said 5:49. Wow, she’d been immersed in a kinky world on the Internet for hours.

  Smiling, she stood up and clasped the computer to her bosom. “Why don’t you order a pizza for us, sweetheart?” Violet said and headed for her bedroom.

  In her room, Violet locked her door and perched on the bed. She continued reading until her head felt like it would explode. Then she took off her reading glasses and attempted to process the info
rmation she’d found.

  It sounded like being a sub was a sexual thing. A sexual thing where one’s “master” dominated them in all sorts of ways, including bondage, beatings, hard-core sex, even humiliation. Her nerve endings felt as though they were on the outside of her skin. Stuart wanted to do all that to her? It seemed incredibly difficult to believe he had that kind of interest in her.

  But the thought of being helpless, at his mercy, brought a tingle to her whole body, especially the spot between her legs. In fact, the idea aroused her more than she had been in ages, and she reached her hand down and stroked her pussy, something she had almost forgotten how to do.

  But what about the pain? She wasn’t sure if she would like being hurt, being flogged and whipped didn’t sound very sexy, but the idea of being bound and unable to do anything to stop his advances—now that was hot!

  Taking a deep breath, Violet contemplated how much of this forbidden world she wanted to know about firsthand. Did she dare call him?

  The idea of being Stuart’s submissive frightened her. Violet worried about how this would affect her reputation if anyone ever found out, plus there were the concerns about her physical safety. Not to mention the fact that she was too old for him. It was one thing for older men to date younger women, but when older women went out with younger men, people talked, and she had a good ten years on Stuart. But none of her qualms could compete with the allure of being Stuart Swearingen’s sex slave, even if only for a brief encounter. The man was incredibly attractive, and what he proposed was beyond enticing.

  As scared as she was to take the risk, she couldn’t pass up the opportunity to explore whatever it was he had proposed.

  Violet tentatively picked up the phone and texted the number on Stuart’s card.

  Stuart? It’s Violet.

  Then she dropped the phone onto her bedside table like it was hot. What did she know about dating or sex these days? She felt like a fool wading way out of her depths where, at any moment, a wave could come crashing down over her head and whisk her out to sea. The last time she was single, there was no texting, and you waited for the man to call you, not the other way around. She wasn’t sure she liked this new dating where there didn’t seem to be any rules, or at least, if there were, she didn’t know what they were.

  Her phone dinged with an incoming text and she let out a breath she hadn’t realize she’d been holding. She looked down and saw that, thankfully, it was from Stuart.

  Hello, Violet. I’m happy to hear from you.

  Her heartbeat boomed in her ears.

  Thanks. I have a few questions, if that’s okay.

  Fire away.

  She breathed in, trying to steady her nerves and typed.

  So this submissive thing, is it mostly sexual?

  She couldn’t believe she’d mentioned sex in a conversation with this man so soon after they’d begun communicating, but he’d initiated it and it felt like she had no choice but to follow his lead if she wanted something to happen with him.

  Yes.

  She stared at his response. So he wanted to have sex with her. The way he pressed her up against the lockers at the country club was her first clue, but this confirmed it, and the notion filled her with a combination of fear and excitement. She pictured him naked, poised over her and it made her sigh with longing.

  Yes, that was all he was going to say about the matter? She needed to ask some more questions, and she hated that he was making her work for it.

  What about the pain? That makes me nervous.

  Any pain I would inflict upon you would be to enhance your sexual pleasure.

  Oh. Good, she was worried he was into hurting women, but if it was about sex, she was more inclined to try it.

  Okay.

  After she pressed send, she sat back on the bed, her fingers absently making their way between her legs.

  Her phone binged.

  I’d like to tie you up.

  Violet moaned. The idea made her incredibly horny, and she stroked herself through the fabric of her pants.

  Then what?

  She pressed send and smiled at her own boldness. Sending an encouraging text like that to a relative stranger was definitely not appropriate behavior. In fact, it was decidedly naughty, and she reveled in it.

  Then I’d strip you naked and tease you and please you until you begged me for more.

  Whew! Her nipples hardened, and she rubbed herself harder. He was working her up into quite a frenzy. She could feel her pussy growing wetter by the text.

  That sounds nice.

  As soon as she pressed ‘send’ she wished she could take it back. Nice? How lame! She bit her lip waiting for his response.

  It didn’t take long.

  You look beautiful. I’m picturing you wearing sexy, black stockings and my cock is so hard it rips through them when I take you.

  Holy crap! He’d taken this from a Q&A to flat-out sexting. She’d heard of this sexting stuff, but she’d never done it before. Reading his words again, she couldn’t help but reach down and pull her pants and underwear down to her knees.

  Damn, you have a big cock.

  She pressed send before she had a chance to think about it. Clapping a hand over her mouth, she giggled at her text. Not very original, but every man liked to hear that, didn’t they?

  Lol. Thanks. And since you admire it so much, I’m going to use it to fuck you—deep and hard.

  Her heart fluttered in her chest and she rolled her clit between her fingers. Her pussy was slick and she used her juices to lube her fingers while she played with herself. She pinched a nipple and was tugging at it when another text came in.

  I’m going to fuck you until you beg me to stop.

  Do it.

  Sending those two words were all she could manage. A dare, said as much to herself as to him. Her brain had stopped working and she rubbed her pussy intently. She twisted her nipple at the same time, picturing Stuart, gorgeous Stuart, tying her up and fucking her poor, helpless body senseless. She was about to come when she looked down and saw another text.

  Then I’m going to keep fucking you. You will be mine, and I’m going to ravage you until all you can think of is me.

  His words sent her over the edge in a powerful climax. Her limbs shook as she soared over the ledge into a sea of bliss that left her dizzy, and she lay there spent, wrung out in the most pleasurable sense.

  Was that good for you? Violet, are you still there?

  She could hear his sexy voice saying the words in her ear even though she was only reading them. How did he know she would be touching herself to his words?

  Yes, it was amazing. How about you?

  She felt rather brazen admitting to masturbating, and she was certain she was doing just that.

  Intense. Meet me for coffee tomorrow.

  Okay.

  She hadn’t even needed to think about it and had texted back almost involuntarily.

  Hyatt. 11 am. Think of what you will use for your safeword and tell me then. Ciao.

  Alright. Bye.

  And as quickly as his presence entered her bedroom—and made her come—he was gone. The experience had been both fulfilling and slightly strange at the same time. Dating in the twenty-first century was going to take some getting used to…

  She re-read their text messages, and Stuart’s words gave her a thrill in her belly all over again. While she probably didn’t have much of a future as a phone sex operator, she had scored a date with the hottest man in town. And it wasn’t lost on her that he wanted her to meet him at a hotel.

  Chapter Three

  Her heart in her throat, Violet approached the table from which Stuart watched her like a lion stalking a gazelle. He’d chosen a large, high-backed chair in a corner of the Hyatt’s tearoom, and he reminded her of a king on his throne, the five o’clock shadow he sported at eleven o’clock in the morning on a weekday reflecting a devil-may-care attitude.

&
nbsp; Self-consciously, Violet fiddled with the pearls around her neck as she sat down across from him. “Hello,” she said nervously.

  “Hello, Violet. It’s nice to see you,” he said.

  She smoothed her dress. “You too.” While it was incredibly flattering for Stuart to be interested in her, it unnerved her at the same time. The man could have any woman in Texas, hell, any woman in the world for that matter. So why her? She’d already guessed she was one in a long line of women he probably had on a string. Like a baseball team—consisting of stars, pinch hitters, and lowly bench warmers. A man this attractive could be dangerous.

  They ordered drinks, a latte for her and an espresso for him before he began, “So, what do you want to ask me?”

  Now that she was in his presence, Violet felt cowed. She couldn’t decide what intimidated her more—his vast wealth, his fame, his impossibly good looks, or his youth, so she chose E. All of the above. Being in such close proximity to him twisted her stomach in knots.

  “I guess I’m still unclear about the dominance/submissive thing.” She felt tongue-tied, stupid.