Rush

planned to make her job at the pastry shop permanent, but she liked
     the couple who owned it. They’d been good to her. It was a place she’d often frequented,
     and she’d struck up a rapport with the older couple. And no, it wasn’t a job worthy
     of all the money Jace had put into her education. It had been an impulse to ask if
     the shop owners needed extra help. It bought her time to figure out her next step,
     and it made her feel good that she wasn’t completely dependent on Jace for her support.
     He’d doneenough for her over the years. She didn’t want him worrying over her any longer.
    As she settled onto the bench, she glanced around her to make sure no one was close
     enough to see what she was reading, and then she pulled the contract from her bag
     and nervously peeled the cover page up so she could begin to read the contents.
    Her eyes widened as she read further. She turned the pages automatically as she battled
     between disbelief and an odd curiosity.
    He hadn’t lied when he said that he would own her. That she would effectively belong
     to him. If she signed this contract and entered into a relationship with him, she
     was ceding all power to him.
    There were exacting requirements that she make herself available to him at all times.
     She was to travel with him, be at his disposal. Her work hours were what he made them,
     and her time belonged exclusively to him within those work hours.
    Good God, there were even precise requirements when it came to sex.
    Her cheeks blazed with heat and she hastily glanced up, afraid that someone would
     see her and know exactly what she was reading. And she wanted to make damn sure no
     one was close enough to see what was typed on those pages.
    If she signed, she agreed to cede power to him not only in the bedroom, but in all
     aspects of their relationship as well. Decisions were to be made by him. She was his
     to command.
    Perhaps most disturbing was that as detailed as the contract was, the actual description
     of what she may be required to do was vague because, in essence, everything was covered
     by the fact that she was to give him whatever he wanted, whenever and however he wanted
     it.
    In return, he guaranteed that all her needs would be met, physically and financially.
     There was nothing at all aboutemotional needs. That wasn’t Gabe’s style. She knew enough about him to know he’d
     hopped off the trust train when it came to women. They’d have sex. And they’d have
     a quasi relationship as defined by the contract, but intimacy wouldn’t come into play.
     Nor would emotions.
    He reserved the right to cancel the contract at any time and could if she broke any
     of the terms that she agreed to. It was very cold, like an employment agreement that
     gave cause for termination. And she supposed it was very much a double job offer.
     One as his personal assistant and one as his mistress. Plaything. Possession.
    The job as his PA was just a mask for having unfettered access to her. He wanted her
     at his beck and call in the office and on any business trips he took. But he took
     it a step further, because her time away from the office was his as well.
    She frowned as she reached the last page. It was all very well and good to have her
     read the contract and arrive back on Monday with a decision, but the contract told
     her nothing other than the fact she gave up all her rights and he took over every
     aspect of her life. There were no specifics! What did it all mean? What did he expect
     from her?
    Was he going to tie her to his desk and fuck her at thirty-minute intervals? Did he
     expect her to give him a blowjob while he was on a conference call? The only reference
     she’d discovered was a clause under the point referring to sex where it stated that
     such acts could and would involve bondage, restraint and pain play at his discretion.
    She couldn’t even wrap her brain around all that could entail.
    She wasn’t an idiot when it came to sex. She wasn’t a virgin, and she’d had steady
     boyfriends. But they were decidedly vanilla relationships, and she was fine with that.
     It had never occurred to her to break out the kink.
    It all just sounded very porny to her, and it was made sillier bythe fact that there was an actual contract where she signed away the rights to her
     own body.
    The longer she sat here and read over it, the more worked up she got.
    She skimmed through another paragraph extolling the importance of her