up late. I was researching and I guess I was more tired than I realized. I don’t remember taking a nap, but I must have because I woke up on my couch.”
“Researching what?” Yep, his sheepish shrug said I’d hit the nail on the head. “Is that a euphemism for porn?”
That was not a good enough excuse for not getting sleep.
“Kind of but not really, I had to figure out something and yes pornographic material was necessary in the research, but it’s a real question for a book I want to write.” The words came out in a rush like he was a five-year-old trying to explain that he had a good reason for sneaking junk food.
“Really? What research was worth staying up half the night?” I waited, sipping my coffee.
He sighed, then stopped dancing around the issue. “Simon has a tattoo on his dick and I can’t find out how someone who likes pain would respond in a real-life situation.”
Working for Dakota was never going to be boring, I’d give him that.
“And you can’t just ask because they don’t know about the other books.” Nodding, I started thinking about how to fix that. “Did you find good information?”
He shook his head but looked slightly guilty. “No.”
“So, am I to assume it started out as a real quest for information and quickly devolved into a free-for-all of enjoyment instead?” When he shrugged half-heartedly, I shook my head. “That is not acceptable. You can’t work if you’re not getting enough sleep. Creativity doesn’t run on caffeine.”
The disgruntled expression that flashed across his face said he wanted to disagree with me, but he seemed to be smart enough not to.
“I’m going to spend a few minutes seeing what I can find on erotic responses to pain. You’re going to go get a shower and wake up. Then we’ll discuss what I found and the details of my work. You initially said you didn’t think you had enough for someone to do full time, but I think I’m going to disagree with that. However, we can negotiate once you’re awake.”
I got another blank stare before his brain engaged again. “Shower? I mean, yes, that might be a good idea.”
I narrowed my gaze. “You have not earned an orgasm. Shower and come right back.”
I was clearly the strangest employee he’d ever had, but he wasn’t complaining, just blushing and getting more aroused.
There was no way he was wearing anything under those sweats.
“I…I should…” He swallowed and nodded slowly. “I’ll be right back.”
I raised one eyebrow again and gave him a stern glare.
He made a low noise that sounded almost like a moan. “I’ll be right back, Sir.”
“Thank you.” I sipped my coffee. “Respect is very important in any relationship, working or otherwise, and I plan on taking my role very seriously.”
He was at a loss about how to respond to that, so he just nodded and mumbled something about being right back as he quickly headed out of the room. “Any more than ten minutes and I’m going to know you disobeyed.”
His groan that time was louder and echoed through the house.
Chuckling, I pulled out my computer and a tablet I used to make notes. Dakota’s desk was a mess, but there was a smaller one along the wall that was cleaner and had to belong to Jonah. Assuming he wouldn’t mind sharing for the time being, I headed over to his desk and started working.
My mental alarm clock went off just as I finished up making the last of my notes. Saving everything, I listened and heard footsteps moving through the house. As I stood, Dakota walked into the room, looking sheepish and a bit frustrated.
Good. That meant he hadn’t come.
“I apologize for not being ready when you arrived.” It was obvious he was trying to start off on a professional foot, so I followed his lead for the moment.
“That’s understandable. You were honest about needing help for a variety of things and this just shows that you were not exaggerating.” I smiled when he snorted and shrugged. “We need to lay out the duties you’ve been thinking about, but we’ll leave some flexibility in there so we can adjust things and add as necessary.”
Dakota was back to staring at me. I knew his brain was whirling to organize everything. If I had to guess, he was probably deciding what parts of our conversations were real and what he’d fantasized about. Letting him take a few breaths and sit behind his desk to