Perfect Alignment

Chapter 1-1

Chapter One

“Nice Necklace.”

Emma’s head whipped around and a blush heated her cheeks. Oh god, that really had been the voice of her boss’s husband. She raised her eyes to his slowly, hope flaring that he was just being polite. One look at his sharp-eyed gaze killed that hope. How had she never pegged the man as a Dom? Alpha, sure, but it had never occurred to her that the tall, dark and scrumptious ex-military man would recognize the b**m symbol she’d talked herself into wearing. Clearly she was an i***t. Her blush went supernova.

His grin softened into a more gentle smile. “Hey, don’t worry. I’m sure most people here won’t know what it means.”

Gamely she cleared her throat. “Yeah, well, that’s sort of what I figured. But here you are, only a few hours after I put it on.”

He laughed and reached out to take the coffee she’d been making for him, adding the lid to the to-go cup himself. “I’m sure anyone around here who knows what it means will be respectful of it.” He frowned. “And if they’re not, you let me know.”

She fiddled with the silver pendant and took a deep breath, forcing the remainder of her embarrassment away. Wasn’t this what she’d wanted? To be free to be herself? Soon she’d be starting her senior year in college, her last year of freedom. Once she went back home… Well, she didn’t want to think about that too much right now. Not when she had a full year left to live the life she wanted to live. “Thanks, Caleb.”

Another cocky wink and he turned to find his wife, interrupting the chat she was having with one of their usual customers to kiss her soundly before walking out of the coffee shop. Emma sighed as she started working on another coffee order. That was what she wanted. Not Caleb himself, exactly, though the man was pure sin. But what her friend and boss, Taryn, had found with the hottie. Love.

She’d been surprised when Taryn had hooked up with Caleb, who was so unlike her previous boyfriends. But that surprise had been nothing compared to the shock of discovering that Taryn and Caleb weren’t a couple. They were a threesome with Taryn’s best friend Richard. Emma had known the handsome and sweet doctor was gay. She hadn’t known that when Richard and Taryn weren’t involved with other people, they kept each other company in bed. All that had changed when the three had come together.

They were exclusive and though Taryn refused to do a civil or religious ceremony, Emma knew they’d done something private and they all wore rings. She thought their relationship was the healthiest one she knew of, outside of her parents. And now Emma had to wonder if the fact the three shared a bed was the most interesting thing going on in their bedroom. No! She would not imagine her boss in bed with all those hands gliding over her… No! Absolutely not going there.

She forced her mind back to her work, handing off the drinks she’d made and starting another round. Her shift wouldn’t be over for another hour. She’d been filling in for a coworker between her vacations. Junior year had come to an end and she’d immediately headed home to California to spend time with her parents. She’d loved seeing them, being there, working the family store, but she’d also been excited to come back to take a private vacation. One that would keep her mind on her own s****l needs, not those of her friends.

Being with her parents had shown her how different her life would be once she graduated college and returned full time. Not that she didn’t love it there, she did, but she just couldn’t be the free-spirited person there that she’d started to become here. Especially when it came to s*x. Which was why she’d put the necklace on that morning. If this was the last year she’d be able to express her sexuality in the way that felt so natural to her, then she was going to live it to the limit.

A not-too-sharp slap on her butt startled her. “Hey, that’s s****l harassment,” she complained.

“Yeah, yeah, take it up with human resources.” Taryn grinned at her, unrepentant.

“You are human resources. And payroll, corporate and whatever else you want to be.”

“I know. I love being boss. Which reminds me.” She pulled a key ring from her back pocket and handed it to Emma. “This is your birthday present and bonus combined. It’s rented for the week, all paid up. As long as you don’t get in any accidents or anything,” she added with a grin.

Emma frowned. “I have a car. It’s not the greatest or anything, but it gets me around.”

“It’s not the greatest, and you know I hate when you take it into the city. I know you plan on going out there while you’re off, and I thought you might like to do it with your top down.”

It took a second for the meaning of that to work its way through Emma’s brain. Finally she got it and squealed. “A convertible? You got me a convertible?” She launched herself at Taryn, wrapping her up in a bear hug.

Taryn laughed. “Rented. Not got, rented. For one week, that baby’s yours.”

Emma followed the pointed finger and looked out the window to a black Mustang, top down, gleaming in the parking lot. She turned back to Taryn as the woman pressed the car key into her hand.

“Go ahead, get going. Derek just got here, I’m sending you home early. Have a great vacation.”

“Thanks, Tare. You’re the best boss I’ve ever had.”

Laughing, Taryn pulled back and shoved her toward the door. “If we don’t count relatives, I’m the only boss you’ve ever had.”

Late the next morning, Emma was on her way. She’d tossed and turned all night, like a kid who couldn’t sleep before going to Disneyland. She laughed as she put her suitcase in the trunk. She wouldn’t mind a visit to that park, but she was much more excited to be going where she was. Not just to Boston, but to the club she’d found, filled with people like her. And s*x.

Stupid s*x. Wonderful, glorious s*x. Damn annoying, complicated s*x. Because she couldn’t be simple. No, not Emma Lee. She had to go and get herself caught up in something fringe. Something alternative. It had taken her a long time to figure out that there was a name for the thing she wanted. Submission. She swallowed hard just thinking the word. Claiming it for herself.

She’d stumbled around, finding some books, some sites on the internet. Finally, two years ago, she’d made it to a club she liked in Boston—Apex. And she’d found home. Well, not completely, but it had been so much closer to what she wanted, what she needed, than she’d ever found before, that it had taken her a while to realize it wasn’t quite everything she dreamed of.

The club scene was fun. It was entertaining and it was hot. It was empowering. But she found it nearly impossible to actually form a relationship with anyone. There were lots of reasons, but one of the biggest was distance. The three-hour drive didn’t work well with her busy school, homework and work schedule. Normally she stayed with her friend Stephanie, but this time she’d found an online hotel deal and had treated herself. In the last year, she’d made the trip only twice, which was why she was heading there as the first part of her vacation. She was horny as hell.

Laughing at herself, she turned up the radio. The sun was shining, but not terribly bright, and the wind from the open top kept things cool. She’d chosen to take a back road rather than the highway, and had hit a long, solitary stretch. There was no one else in sight, only the occasional small side streets and driveways shooting off to either side of the road. Her foot pressed down harder on the pedal and she yanked the ponytail holder out of her hair. The wind whipped the fine strands in a massaging caress, the sun warmed her cheeks and she sang along to the music at the top of her lungs.

At the bleep of a siren, her foot eased off the gas before her brain caught up to the situation. s**t. She looked down at the speedometer and groaned when she saw it was at fifty, despite the fact she’d already slowed down some. Easing off even more, she flipped the blinker on and looked in the rearview mirror. The cop car was exactly what she’d expected to see. Sighing, she eased onto the side of the road and came to a stop. Well, she wasn’t going to let this ruin her vacation. She’d been having fun, and if she had to pay a little bit more for the privilege, so be it.

When the officer approached her door, she smiled up at him. “Sorry, I guess I got a little carried away.”

“Yes, ma’am. License, insurance and registration, please.”

She pulled the rental car paperwork from the center console and handed it to him, then grabbed her wallet out of her purse and gave him the insurance card and her driver’s license. He didn’t say anything else as he walked back to his car, so she just leaned her head against the headrest and watched his ass in the side mirror. It was a mighty fine ass.

Fifteen minutes passed quickly, spent daydreaming about men in uniforms. The cop returned, handing her back everything and giving her a ticket to sign. She did as he asked and returned it to him with a bright smile. “Thanks.”

His lips twitched a bit, but he didn’t say anything.

Returning her cards to her wallet, she was surprised when he didn’t leave. She zipped her purse closed and looked back at him. His expression, which had been casually stern before, was now hard. And…heated? Surely she was mistaken.

“Ma’am, I’d like you to step out of the car.”

She blinked as he pulled on the handle, opening her door wide. “Um. Okay.” She unbuckled the seat belt and eased out of the convertible, carefully ensuring the long skirt of her dress covered everything it should. He gestured for her to walk to the shoulder of the road. Nerves began to dance through her stomach as he led her to the back door of his cruiser. She noted the car read “Jackson”, so she’d only gone about forty miles from home before getting into trouble.

“Turn around.”

Her stomach was a hard knot as she obeyed, turning back to face him.

“Lace your fingers behind your neck.”

What the f**k? Slowly, she did as he’d ordered. She waited, but he didn’t say anything else, just stared at her. It took her a minute to realize that he’d told her to put her hands behind her neck, rather than on her head, like the TV cops did. The position was so familiar to her she hadn’t given it any thought. She blinked and looked at him again. He’d taken his sunglasses off and his eyes were steady on hers. And they were hot. Ohhhh.

He must have seen the moment she began to get it, because he moved. Smoothly he put one hand on his gun holster, unclipped it from his belt, reached through his open window and put it into his glove box. She could hear the key turn, locking, then the clink of the keys as they dropped down onto the car seat. Other than a few quick glances at what he was doing, he kept his eyes on her. Once that was done, he released her gaze and made a visual inspection of her body. She watched his eyes lower to her neck, where they studied her necklace for a beat, then lower. Her n*****s tightened under his scrutiny and she was glad she was wearing a bra. Or, maybe not.

Finally he returned his look to her face and took two steps closer. His body heat enveloped her and she had to fight not to lean forward the fraction it would take to touch his chest with her breasts. He was only a little taller than her, just enough that she was staring at his mouth until she lifted her chin a bit.

“Are your arms tired?” he asked, his voice soft but no less commanding than before.

“Yes, Sir.”

“But you’ll leave them there for me, won’t you? For a little while longer?”

“Yes, Sir.”

He stepped back again, three full paces, and she had to fight not to whimper.

“This is a bad idea.”

She blinked. Whatever she’d expected him to say or do next, that wasn’t it. But he was right.