Claimed by Her Bears Read online

  Forcing his animal to stand down, Jason resumed his walk along the line until he stopped in front of Harry Golding.

  The man’s Adam’s apple bopped wildly as he swallowed, and he nervously adjusted his wire rimmed glasses.

  “Those of you, who have been slacking on the job, however…” Again he let his words trail off, and stepped away.

  “Harry, please stand over to the left, opposite Heidi, will you?”

  The poor guy went so pale, Jason thought he was going to pass out, but he dutifully scrambled across. That, at least got a reaction from Goldie, as she swore under her breath.

  “If you’ve got something to say, please do so out loud, Miss Lockwood,” Jason said, and the look of disgust she threw his way, made him hard as nails. All that spirit of hers would be at his mercy soon, and she’d regret her disobedience.

  “Nothing that would make any difference, Sir.”

  The intonation she put on that title made it clear she meant it as an insult, but she wasn’t done yet.

  “Let me guess, you want me on the reject side, too?”

  A strangled sound escaped poor old Harry, and Jason pulled his hands into fists to stop himself from simply grabbing his insolent mate and putting her over his knee in front of the entire office. Instead, he jerked his head in the direction of Harry, and Goldie stalked past him. Head held high, she gave a good impression of not caring either way, but he caught the glimpse of tears in her eyes.

  “Figures.” That one word muttered under her breath stung more than it ought to, and Jason had to remind himself that she didn’t know him, or his methods, so he shouldn’t blame her for her assumptions.

  By the time he divided the staff into the two sides there were considerably more on Goldie’s side than Heidi’s, and that woman had lost some of her superior air. It must be dawning on her that they could not run the office with what would be a mere skeleton staff on her side.

  Jason grinned at her, and her eyebrows shot to her hairline, when he swung round and addressed Harry Golding. Poor guy was sweating so profusely his shirt was stained in wet patches, and Jason mentally scheduled some sessions with a confidence coach for the man.

  “Like I said there will be some changes around here, starting with you, Harry.” Goldie, who stood next to the man, put a hand on his arm, as though to reassure him, while she watched Jason warily.

  “Step forward, please, Harry,” Jason said and when the man did so, offered him his hand.

  “Congratulations on your promotion, Harry.”

  A collective murmur went through the staff, and Jason rather enjoyed the way Goldie’s eyes widened and heat stained her cheeks, as it no doubt dawned on her that she had been wrong condemning Jason’s actions.

  Behind him Heidi bristled in outrage, but he ignored her muttered swearing.

  “What the fuck?”

  As for Harry, the man looked dumbstruck, but took Jason’s proffered hand in a surprisingly strong handshake.

  “Promotion? Me, but that would mean…” He glanced past Jason toward his former supervisor, and Jason nodded.

  “Yes, that’s exactly what it means. Hard work and initiative get rewarded in this company, and this promotion is long overdue. I’m well aware how you’ve been holding things together, ably assisted by Miss Lockwood, here.” He paused to look at Goldie, and she visibly squirmed. “You will both be getting a pay raise for your efforts, whereas—”

  “You can’t do this. I have rights. I’ll sue.” Heidi’s predictable shrill protest rang in Jason’s ears, and releasing Harry’s hand he turned round and stared the woman down. He deliberately allowed his bear to show in his eyes, and she took several steps away from him in fear.

  “By all means try, Ms. Symmond. My lawyers will have fun ripping your suit to shreds, that’s if you have an ounce of evidence to support your claim. I, on the other hand, have full written proof of you taking advantage of the staff under you, and passing their ideas on as your own. That might have worked on the previous CEO, but I’m not an old man easily impressed by your flattery and smokescreen. Facts don’t lie.”

  Heidi went an interesting shade of green as she scrambled for the right words, and Jason nodded to the two burly tiger shifters he’d employed as security. They sprang into action, and stepping up to the woman, grasped an elbow each.

  She tried to tug her arms away, but she was no match for their superior strength and in a last ditch attempt of defiance spat at Jason. He ducked the spittle easily enough thanks to his faster shifter reflexes, and the mucus filled liquid sat on top of the shag pile carpet for a bit, before it sank from view.

  “You’re not doing yourself any favors here, Ms. Symmond. I'm really tempted right now to throw you out on the streets without your severance.”

  Her mouth worked, but no sound came out, and he knew he’d made his point.

  “However, you have worked here for a number of years, so collect your severance pay on the way out. Keep in mind that if I hear of you bad mouthing the company or its staff, I will send my lawyers after you, and by the time we’re done, you won't be able to get a job anywhere in the country. Are we clear?”

  “You can’t do that. Any of this. You’ve only been here five minutes, you…” Heidi Symmond swallowed nervously as he advanced on her and smiled.

  “Try me, I dare you.”

  Parts of him wished she would. He would enjoy breaking the bitch down, preferably tied to the stocks with her screaming for mercy, while everyone took a turn beating her ass. Alas, that would have him up for an assault charge, but it was a satisfying mental image, nonetheless. Maybe he had more of Catalina’s sadistic streak in him than he’d realized. He smirked at that thought process, and stepped away.

  “If you think for one minute that I didn’t keep tabs on the company from the US you’re very much mistaken, Ms. Symmond. Take her outta here and get her off the property, boys.” He directed the latter part of his words toward the tiger shifters, and they dragged a still protesting Heidi away. Good riddance to bad rubbish as they said in this country.

  Jason smiled again, and stepped up to the remaining four people on the dismissal side.

  “You, I’m giving one last chance. Consider yourself on a final warning. Prove to me you can do your jobs, and there’s a continued place for you at Sexations. Otherwise I'll fire you instantly. Are we clear?”

  “Yes, Mr. Stanhope.”

  “Sorry, sir.”

  “Thank you, and yes, we are.”

  Only one guy remained utterly stoic and walked out.

  Well, that went better than he’d hoped.

  “All right, now that we cleared this up, back to work, folks. Harry, I’ll be in my office if you need to run anything by me.”

  He stopped to look around his staff, and nodded toward Goldie.

  “Miss Lockwood, I expect to see you in my office at closing time. Do not disappoint me. We have things to discuss.”

  Chapter Three

  Closing time came all too soon for Goldie’s liking, and it was with a certain amount of trepidation that she shut down her computer terminal and waved goodbye to a cheerful Harry.

  “Good luck with the boss. Any idea what he wants you for?” Harry asked, and she shook her head and crossed her fingers under the desk. After all from the heated look he’d thrown at her when he’d ordered her to come and see him, she had a fairly good idea what he might want. She had completely disregarded his earlier instruction to go home, and she feared for her backside.

  She read enough BDSM erotica to know that not obeying your Dom always resulted in punishment, and while strictly speaking he wasn’t her Dom, and she certainly didn’t think of herself as submissive, she had let him believe that she was open to explore that dynamic with him.

  Damn my propensity for letting my mouth run away with me.

  While the rational side of her clung to the hope that closing time or not they were still in the office, and he was surely too professional to do anything here, the reckless si
de that seemed to have woken up kicking and screaming from the moment she’d met him—yes, that side jumped about in excitement at what was to come.

  “Well, whatever he wants you for, you’ll be fine. I’ve found him to be nothing but fair in his dealings today.”

  Harry smiled at her and left, and Goldie marveled at the change in him in just one afternoon. It seemed every time he’d visited Jason’s office, which had been on several occasions, he left walking a little bit taller. Goldie smiled after the man. She’d always known he would come into his own, given half a chance, and away from Heidi’s cloying influence. In fact the whole office had breathed easier this afternoon. It was somewhat of a marvel, really, how one person could influence people to such a degree. Bad in Heidi’s case and with extremely positive results under Jason Stanhope’s care.

  The last person cleared out of the office, and to buy herself some time, Goldie hot footed it to the ladies’. She was pretty sure no one in the whole history of humankind had ever taken so long to pee and wash her hands, and she grimaced at her reflection in the mirror. A frightened, yet excited, version of herself stared back at her. With her eyes wide, her skin flushed, and her boobs heaving with the mere effort required to carry on breathing, she looked a mess. Lord help her, he hadn’t even touched her yet, and she was this aroused just from trying to anticipate what he might do to her. It was insane, that’s what this was. Her knickers were soaked through with her arousal, and acting on the need to get the soggy mess away from her sensitive parts, she yanked them down her legs and stuffed them in her handbag

  After one last look in the mirror and with a deep breath to steady her nerves, she pushed open the door to the ladies’ and promptly screamed. Her handbag clattered to the floor, and she stood frozen to the spot, trapped in the heated pool of Jason Stanhope’s gaze as he leaned against the wall opposite the entrance to the ladies’. The only way out of the narrow corridor was past him, and when the mountain of a man pushed away from the wall, he completely blocked the exit. Not that she could have moved anyway. She was too aware of the way the air thickened between them and the way he ran his amber gaze slowly over her body. Her skin heated under his quiet perusal, as though he was actually touching her, and she clenched her thighs together in a vain effort to relieve the resulting ache in her pussy, and to hold in the fresh wave of liquid arousal that threatened to spill past her pussy lips. His nostrils flared as he stepped closer, and she had to crane her neck to look at him, when he crowded her against the wall.

  “You weren’t tryin' to avoid me now, were you, sugar?” When he bent his head to inhale deeply next to the sensitive skin under her ear, his beard created the most delicious shivers along her skin, and Goldie didn’t even try to suppress her moan. Her breasts grew heavy, and her nipples tightened to painful buds that she shamelessly thrust against his muscular chest. Even through their combined clothing she could feel the hard muscles that made up this man, and it made her feel utterly small and feminine.

  “No, Sir, I wasn’t.” The barely functioning rational part of her grimaced at the breathy porn star imitation of her voice, and she winced when Jason wrapped a fist into her long hair and tugged her head up, until she had no choice but to look at him.

  Heated approval crossed his features, and she gasped when he pressed his groin into her belly. The hard, long ridge of his aroused cock dug into her abdomen, and Goldie whimpered like a newborn kitten.

  Never in her life had she wanted anyone as badly as she wanted her boss right now, and fuck any possible consequences.

  “Please, Sir…”

  Jason flashed her a sinful grin, which would have set her knickers aflame was she still wearing them. Now it just caused her juices to overflow onto the top of her thighs, and heat stained her cheeks, when she could smell her musk in the air. Lord only knew what he must think of her.

  “Glad to see you’re finally remembering your station, little subbie. Too bad you didn’t when you decided to go against my orders, and came back to the office. I seem to recall telling you to go home?”

  Goldie tried to nod, but the tight hold he had on her hair made that impossible, so she somehow managed to groan her answer.

  “Yes, Sir, you did, but I thought … ow.”

  The sharp yank to her hair brought tears to her eyes, but it was the disapproval in his gaze that hurt far more.

  “Let’s get one thing straight, girl. If I issue a clear command to you, I expect it to be obeyed, not challenged. You agreed we should pursue this, did you not?”

  “Yes, Sir, but….”

  With an animalistic growl that trembled through her and settled straight in her clit, Jason released her abruptly, and Goldie had to lock her knees to stop herself from sliding to the floor in a pile of Jason Stanhope induced feminine goo of arousal. He ran a hand through his hair and muttered to himself as he paced along the narrow corridor, and Goldie could only stare at him in awed fascination.

  Leashed power and dominance simply oozed off his large frame, and she couldn’t shake the feeling that she had no idea what she was letting herself in for here. None at all, in fact, but lord help her, if she didn’t want to learn. It was that inbuilt need that gave her the courage to step in front of him. He ground to a halt when she put her palms on his chest, and his delicious scent intensified, until she couldn’t help but lean in closer, and sniff him.

  The action seemed to unleash something inside of him, because with a muttered curse, he grasped her wrists, and pushing her back against the wall, wrenched her arms high above her head and kissed her.

  Goldie groaned in surprise, and Jason wasted no time in slipping his tongue past her lips. His masculine scent exploded on her taste buds, and they both groaned when she kissed him back. A short lived moment, before Jason took charge of the kiss, and plundered her mouth with breathtaking intensity. He only stopped the kiss to let them both draw some much needed air into their lungs, before he delved back in possessing her mouth like she desperately hoped he would her body. She ground herself against the hard ridge of his cock, and when she brought one leg up to wrap it around his hips, he broke the kiss and swore. In the dim lighting surrounding them his eyes seemed to glow in their intensity, and the low growls erupting from his chest pushed her need for him into the stratosphere.

  “Please, Sir, I need—”

  “What do you need, sweet thing?” He ran his nose along her jaw as he asked that question and then licked a path of heated awareness down the pulse point in her neck, until he reached her collarbone, while he transferred both her wrists into one of his large hands, and ran the other slowly down her side. Grasping her ass cheek, he froze when it seemed to dawn on him that she was sans knickers, and he squeezed her butt with so much force she was sure he would leave bruises. Not that she cared right now. As revved up as she was that sweet sting of pain just added to the all-consuming fire racing through her veins.

  “Fuck me, you go commando at the office, woman?” he asked, and frowned when Goldie giggled.

  “Only when my infuriating boss has me so riled up that my knickers were so wet they were uncomfortable.”

  Goldie couldn’t believe the words that tumbled out her mouth, and if she could have got away from him she would have run, but he had her so effectively pinned that she could hardly breathe, and, besides, judging by the small smile that spread across his features, and the way his eyes twinkled in wicked intent, he clearly liked what he was hearing.

  To prove his point, he pulled back slightly until he could cup her mound, and Goldie jerked when he tightened the flat of his palm across her needy pussy. His thumb found her clit with unerring precision, and closing her eyes, Goldie gave herself up to the tingling sensation that signaled her impending orgasm. So close, she was so damn close.

  Before she could tumble over that sweet cliff, however, he not only withdrew his magic fingers from her needy cunt, but he also stepped away from her completely. Bereft of his body heat and with her body teetering on the edge, Goldie shivered a
nd not caring of his watching her, brought her hand down to finish the job herself.

  “No.” That one word sliced through the air like a whip, and brought her arousal down a sharp notch. He looked utterly furious with her right now, and while the imp in her urged her to ignore that command and bring herself the relief her body craved, something about his tense stature stopped her. Balling her hands into fists, she concentrated on just carrying on breathing. Once she had somewhat of a tenuous control on her overwhelming need to come, she managed to croak her question.

  “Why, Sir?” That same imp made her look pointedly at his groin, where his cock was threatening to burst the zipper of his tailored trousers.

  Jason adjusted himself with a rueful grin, and shrugged his massive shoulders.

  “That will go down soon enough, and if not I'm gonna have a whole mess of fun jerking off to mental images of you.”

  Goldie was aware that her mouth had fallen open at his heated words, and his grin deepened as he brought his fingers, slick with the evidence of her arousal to his lips and licked them clean one by one.

  A renewed surge of heat raced through her veins at the decadent act she was witnessing, and she groaned her denial at his next words.

  “You, however, my sweet little Goldilocks, are not allowed to come. I want you nicely revved up and gagging for it. Call it punishment for earlier, girl, and trust me I will know if you got yourself off, and the punishment I had originally planned for you will be easy in comparison to what you will get then. Now, be a good girl, pull your skirt up, spread your legs and let me see my pussy, so that I can have a nice mental image to jerk off to.”

  ****

  Goldie’s deep throated moan in answer shot straight to his balls, and Jason barely suppressed a groan of his own. At this rate he wouldn’t make it out of the office without the need to rub one out, but his current discomfort would be worth it, to put his point across.