Six: Meeting Aaron Voss
2051 Words
The building was enormous.
Seraphina stood on the pavement outside and tipped her head all the way back and just stared in awe.
Glass and steel climbing so high into the sky it made her feel genuinely tiny standing at the bottom of it, the morning sun catching the upper floors and turning them into something that glittered as if it was showing off.
She had seen tall buildings before but this one was different.
"Close your mouth," Daniel said beside her, the warmth in his voice obvious even when he was teasing her.
"I'm not—" She closed her mouth. "I was just looking."
"Mhm." He nudged her gently with his shoulder. "Come on."
He took her hand and pulled her through the revolving doors and the entered the lobby.
Daniel steered them toward the reception desk and she followed quietly.
The woman behind the desklooked up as they approached.
"Good morning Stella." Daniel leaned slightly against the counter, "How are you? How was the weekend, did your sister end up visiting?"
Stella's whole face softened.
"She did actually, it was lovely. Thank you for remembering Mr Davis."
Her eyes moved to Seraphina, staring at her face, moving down then coming back and there was a particular look on her face.
Seraphina felt her jaw tighten.
Who was this glorified receptionist to look at her like she was trash?
Ten seconds passed.
"Are you going to keep staring at me," Seraphina bit out harshly, "or are you going to do your job and let your boss know we are here?"
It was rude. She was aware. She did not care even slightly.
Daniel made a sound beside her that was not a cough but was trying to be and his hand found her wrist, fingers wrapping around it and squeezing.
She ignored him, watching how Stella reached for the telephone, dialed and waited, speaking respectfully to the person on the other end then she set it down and looked at them both.
"He asked me to escort you both up," She said simply.
"Thank you so much Stella," Daniel said warmly, like nothing had happened.
Stella came around from the desk and led them across the lobby toward the elevators at the far end.
Daniel kept his hand at Seraphina's back.
"You didn't have to say that," he murmured near her ear as they walked.
"She was staring at me."
"She was just looking."
"There is a difference between looking and staring Daniel and she was staring." Seraphina gritted out through clenched teeth, frowning.
He pressed his lips together and said nothing else and she took that as agreement.
The elevator was all dark paneling.
She stared at nothing in particular until the doors opened onto a corridor that was all clean lines and expensive quiet.
Stella led them to the end where a set of large double doors waited, swiped a card against the panel on the wall and stepped back.
"You can go right in," she said. Then she turned and walked back toward the elevator without another word.
Daniel pushed the door open.
Seraphina walked through it.
The office stopped her in her tracks.
Floor to ceiling windows on two sides showing the whole city.
A startled gasp suddenly escaped her lips.
It wasn't the beauty of the room that stole the air from her lungs. It wasn't the view or the opulence. It was the man sitting in the massive white leather chair behind the desk at the far end of the room.
He was facing the door, waiting. His legs were crossed, one ankle resting casually on the opposite knee. He held a tumbler of amber liquid in one hand, the ice clinking softly as he swirled it.
His suit was charcoal grey, tailored to perfection, hugging broad shoulders and long legs. His hair was dark, swept back, and his eyes—those eyes—were fixed directly on her.
Her breathing seized. Her heart stopped beating, or at least it felt like it did, the blood freezing in her veins.
Her wide eyes stared at his for a long moment.
He stared right back. He didn't look surprised. He didn't look confused. He looked at her with a knowing gaze that stripped her bare right there in front of her husband.
Slowly, agonizingly, the corners of his lips curved upward. It was a twitch of muscle, but she saw it.
Oh Lord.
She needed to get out of here. The urge to run came so fast it made her knees tremble.
She pulled against Daniel’s grip, her fingers clawing at his palm, trying to break free, but he held on tight, mistaking her panic for nerves.
The memories crashed over her—dark room, rough hands, the sound of his voice growling commands in her ear, the way he had used her body until she couldn't remember her own name.
The man who had cuffed her wrists to a headboard and edged her until she was crying and sobbing was her husband's boss.
This was not real.
This was definitely a nightmare.
She pinched her soft skin so hard she winced, opening her eyes and expecting to find herself back in her home but she was still in the office.
So this...this was real?!
What if... What if he tells Daniel?
The thought was a ice pick in her brain. If he told Daniel about that night, about the things she had let him do to her, the things she had begged for... Daniel would be destroyed.
He would look at her with disgust. He would see the w***e she had been for this man, the submissive slut who had spread her legs and taken every inch of his c**k without knowing his name.
Panic clawed up her throat, choking her. She felt the heat rising in her cheeks, a flush of shame that had nothing to do with the temperature of the room.
She needed to leave right now.
"Sera?" Daniel's voice came from beside her, quiet and slightly confused. "You okay? You've gone pale."
She could not answer him.
Her heartbeat increased as Aaron Voss rose from his seat and came around the desk toward them.
Daniel, sensing her panic, tightened his grip on her wrist and stepped forward, placing himself between Seraphina and Mr. Voss.
"Sir, is there a problem?" Daniel asked and Seraphina could hear the confusion in the tone.
If only he knew...
Mr. Voss response was a light, dry chuckle that seemed to vibrate through the floorboards and set Seraphina’s skin on fire.
It was the sound of a man holding all the cards, amused by the bluff of a player who didn't even know the game had started.
He didn't even glance at Daniel. His eyes remained fixed on Seraphina, looking past Daniel’s shoulder as if her husband were nothing more than a ghost.
The intensity of that gaze stripped her naked, peeling away what she wore, leaving her feeling exposed.
Her breath hitched in her throat, a ragged, audible gasp she couldn't suppress.
Mr. Voss took a slow step around the desk, his presence overwhelming the space.
"I had no idea you had such a beautiful woman as your wife," He commented, his voice a smooth rumble, like gravel turning in honey.
He didn't say it as a polite pleasantry; he said it like a man inspecting a piece of art he had already admired in private, claiming ownership in the same breath as the compliment.
His eyes still didn't leave Seraphina’s burning face. He watched the flush rise up her neck, the way her pulse fluttered frantically at the base of her throat. He was drinking in her panic, savoring the taste of her fear.
Daniel let out a breath he seemed to have been holding, his posture relaxing as he misinterpreted the comment.
He turned slightly, keeping a hand on Seraphina but smiling at his boss. "Oh, thank you, sir. Thank you. I... well, I tell her that every day, but..."
He started rambling, his voice washing over Seraphina without penetrating the haze of terror she was trapped in.
"I know I'm lucky, sir. Really lucky. She's been my rock through everything."
"You are indeed very lucky, Daniel."
Seraphina's face burned hotter, a feverish heat that threatened to consume her.
How could he be staring at her like that and complimenting her in that manner right in front of her husband?
And Daniel was blind. He was a fool standing on the edge of a cliff, smiling and chatting about luck, completely unaware that the man standing before them had already had her in every degrading way imaginable.
He didn't even notice the way Mr. Voss’s gaze swept over her body, lingering on the curves of her hips in the tight black pencil skirt, tracking the line of her thighs.
He didn't see the possessiveness in the older man's eyes.
Seraphina felt powerless to stop it. Her body was betraying her, reacting to the dominance radiating from Mr. Voss despite the terror screaming in her mind.
He didn't look away. His gaze dropped, sliding from her face down to the neckline where her white blouse met her skin.
Her n*****s tightened instantly, pressing against the thin fabric of her bra, hard and aching. The traitorous response made her knees weak, a rush of unwanted heat pooling between her thighs.
She stood there, gripping Daniel’s hand, praying for the floor to open up and swallow her whole, while Mr. Voss smirked.
Before she could speak, Mr. Voss reached out, and caught the hand that wasn't clutching Daniel's.
He lifted her hand, bringing her knuckles to his mouth.
The contact was electric.
He pressed a kiss to her skin, not even breaking eye contact, looking up at her from beneath dark brows.
"It's a pleasure to finally meet you, Miss Davis," he murmured.
Seraphina’s stomach flipped.
The tingles that sparked where his lips touched her shot up her arm, racing down her spine to settle between her thighs.
She hated that her body remembered him, that it responded to his voice with a Pavlovian ache that had nothing to do with fear and everything to do with the dark, twisted pleasure he used to inflict on her.
She forced a smile, though it felt brittle and terrified.
"It's Mrs..." Her voice wavered, so she cleared her throat and tried again, pulling her hand back slightly, though he didn't let go immediately. "Mrs. Davis."
She took her hand back, ignoring the way her skin still burned from his touch.
She could have sworn she saw his eyes darken dangerously, the pupils blowing wide until the irises were just thin rings of obsidian.
The correction didn't shame him; it seemed to challenge him.
"I apologise for the mistake"
He didn't sound sorry at at all. In fact, the slight curl of his mouth, suggested he had made that mistake deliberately, just to see if she would correct him
What had she gotten herself into?
He turned his head slowly, finally acknowledging Daniel’s presence, though his attention felt like a dismissal.
"Would you mind excusing us Mr Davis? I would like to speak to your wife about—"
"There will be no need for that," Seraphina interrupted, raising her voice.
She hadn't planned to speak, but she couldn't contain panic rising in her chest.
She couldn't be left alone with him.
"I won't be taking the position Mr Voss. I appreciate you wanting to help but I'm going to keep looking elsewhere. Thank you."
Daniel looked at her, his mouth open, confusion knitting his brow.
He glanced from his boss to her, completely lost by the sudden escalation.
But Mr. Voss didn't look at Daniel. He fixed his gaze entirely on Seraphina.
He stared at her for a long moment with those dark, unreadable eyes that gave nothing away.
The amusement in his face evaporated, replaced by something cold and dangerous.
"Mr Davis. You know I do not repeat myself." His tone remained the same but the warning in it was impossible to miss and Seraphina felt it shoot straight down her spine. "So I am going to say this once. Walk out of that door and close it behind you."
Seraphina's mouth popped open in shock.
- Writer
