Surrendered Control (The Control Series Book 1) Read online

"Why?" Amy interrupted.

  "I didn't want to. I had other plans. I had a trust fund, and when I received it, I brought a plot of land at auction. With a few trusted builders and a trainee architect, I developed three houses on the land and sold them at a triple profit. We just went onwards and upwards from there."

  "Do you still use the architect?"

  "He is a shareholder and chief architect of the company. The head builder is head of my operations team."

  "Their loyalty to you paid off, and vice versa."

  "Certainly did. I had wanted my sister to work with us as well but after dad left us she wanted to forge her own way in life. I may have greased the wheels a little bit for her to do that but please don't ever tell her so."

  "You really adore Sophie don't you?"

  "I do. I still can't believe she is getting married. Did you like speaking to her the other day?"

  "I did. She teased me something rotten about you though." Amy snuggled further into James' arms. She shut her eyes and listened to his heartbeat.

  "What did she say? I will have words with her."

  "She was laughing at you for, finally, at your ripe old age of twenty-eight, finding a girlfriend."

  "That's it. She can pay for her own wedding."

  "You wouldn't dare."

  "Try me."

  "She did say something that worried me a little bit. She mentioned that when the press finds out about us, they’ll want to do interviews."

  “They probably will, but we will deal with that when it happens. Maybe I will give them the topless photo shoot they keep asking for, and they will leave you alone."

  "I am not sure I like that."

  "Getting protective over my body Miss Jones?"

  "Maybe a little. I love your tattoo. I caught a glimpse of it when you were changing the other day. Why a male angel? It is so intricate."

  Amy was confident that she felt his heart skip several beats and started rapidly thumping as she asked the question.

  "I saw the design and liked it. Do you want another drink?"

  "No, I still have some of this one." Alright, so he wasn't going to talk about his tattoo. Every time she tried to get him to open up about something that wasn't his business or his family he shut down. She wasn't going to allow it to happen this time.

  "James, am I your first proper girlfriend? Is that why the press will be so interested in us?"

  He groaned. "Shall we watch a film?"

  "Stop avoiding the question."

  "Stop asking the question, and I will stop having to avoid it."

  Amy sat up. "James, please. Why do you always avoid this question? You know everything about my past love life."

  "Yes, I do, and I wish I could erase the thought of another man touching you."

  "Is that why you won't talk to me about your sex life? Because you think I won't like the thought of you with another woman?"

  "Amy."

  "No, James. If we are to have a relationship, then we need to be open with each other. You can’t keep secrets from me." She raised an eyebrow at him as she sat up.

  "You are not going to stop are you?"

  She shook her head.

  "Alright, I give in. I have had a proper girlfriend; I met her when I was sixteen. We were together for five years. Yes, we had sex, before you ask. No, it wasn't as good as my one encounter with you." He smirked. "Now, shall we watch a film or do you want to question me more?"

  "Why did you break up?"

  He got up from the chair and ran his hand through his hair. "We wanted different things from the relationship."

  "She wanted marriage?"

  "No."

  "You wanted marriage?"

  "No."

  "Then what?"

  "We were sexually incompatible Amy."

  He drowned his glass of Prosecco and turned his back to her.

  "Incompatible?"

  "I have certain needs. I am controlling, you know that already, but I also like certain things sexually."

  "Oh. So you are into whips and chains? So she wasn't submissive to that? But you think I will be."

  "You already are Amy, whether you know it or not. Whips and chains are not all what BDSM is about. It is about trust. As your lover, I will expect you to submit to me sexually. I don't mean like a slave, but I do want to look after you, and I will reward you for this submission. That is important to me." He turned back round to face her, and she could see this was hurting him. "Do you want to leave?"

  "Do you think I should?"

  "She did."

  "We have been thrown together by a very intense experience. We still have so much to learn about each other. What you have just said, I won't lie, scares me a little. Mainly because I don't know much about it. But right now, I am not going anywhere." She tentatively reached out and placed her hand over the front of his trousers, his cock instantly sprung to life. "James, you have given to me a lot recently. Will you let me give to you? I want to have you in my mouth."

  "You don't have to."

  "I want to."

  He nodded his consent and she started to undo his belt buckle, then the zip of his jeans. She turned her attention to his cock, which was right in front of her face. It was perfect. He was broad and long; she would barely be able to fit more than half of him in her mouth. Slowly she licked up his length towards the tip and flicked her tongue over it. He let out a gravelly moan.

  The next time Amy swirled her tongue all the way around his cock. She drew him into her mouth, shallowly at first, but as she moved up and down, she took him deeper and deeper, he was stretching her mouth. What would he feel like in her pussy? She cupped his balls, ran a finger over the tight skin underneath, and he grabbed hold of the unit next to them.

  "Fuck, Amy."

  Amy pulled back and took hold of her glass of Prosecco. She took some of the cooling bubbles into her mouth and then quickly took as much of his cock into her mouth as she could. He shuddered and hissed. She swallowed the wine.

  "You are far too much of an expert at this. You sure you are a good girl?"

  She gave a throaty laugh. Her pace quickened, and she was sucking him hard now, taking him deeper and deeper. She then with drew to his tip leaving him bereft of the warmth of her mouth. She was tantalising the proud purple crown with little licks. This was all new to her but somehow she just knew how to please him.

  "You will get the biggest reward ever for this sweetheart."

  Amy knew he was getting close when she looked at where he gripped the unit. The whites of his knuckles were showing.

  "Harder. Deeper."

  She obeyed, and he hit the back of her throat. She gagged a little but swallowed him down.

  "Amy, I am going to come. You don't have to take me, but I will need to pull out if you don't."

  She allowed the word 'no' to reverberate around his cock and took him deep again. As she did, he came with ferocity; she could taste every pulsating wave of his essence. He withdrew from her mouth and Amy swallowed every last drop of him. James bent to kiss her, and he had the withdrawn expression of guilt on his face.

  "Please tell me I didn't hurt you. That it wasn't too much. I am sorry. I got carried away."

  Amy ran her hand over his cheek.

  "No, James. It was perfect for me." She kissed him and nestled against his chest. His heartbeat was so fast. She couldn't tell whether it was because he had orgasmed or because he was terrified. "We will learn this together. Never shy from telling me anything, please."

  He kissed the top of her head,

  "I will try."

  CHAPTER NINE

  James

  "We need to be certain on these figures. This deal has always been problematic, and I am not going to let it run away with us. Simon. What are your percentage errors allowance?" James stood at the head of the big board table, around his were his heads of departments, and they were discussing a contract for building properties in the South American market. James looked towards his head of Accounting; he
was young for the position and an awful flirt, but he was reliable and had been consistently accurate in his calculations.

  "I have allowed two percent fluctuation; this should be no more than one million pounds either way. I know it sounds a lot, but the market is borderline, and the specifications are tightly controlled. We have already greased the wheels, so we shouldn't have to deal with as much bureaucracy in the long term either. I would say the leeway is minus point-five to plus two point five percent. A lot of the work has been done upfront. To not sign now would give us a significant loss."

  "And the plans?" James turned to his head of architecture.

  "Agreed in principal, subject to your signature on the contract."

  "Any repercussions; like over the tensions in the Falklands?" This time, it was his commercial director to whom he turned.

  "Good publicity for improving them. Especially with your donations to the orphanage and women's refuge."

  "So, if we put it to a vote?" Ultimately, any decision on the signing of contracts was his responsibility but he allowed his close team to convey their opinions to him. "A show of hands for yes?"

  All of the team put their hands up.

  "Motion carried. I will sign the documents tomorrow then"

  At that moment, Matthew appeared. He made a sign that he needed to speak to him, and from the look on his face, it was something to do with Amy.

  "Thank you everyone," James said.

  Matthew walked in the door as the members of James' board left.

  "What is it?"

  "Miss Jones, Sir, she has boarded a train out to Essex."

  "What?" James looked at him in astonishment.

  "You didn't know."

  "No, I didn't fucking know. Did she tell you? Why didn't you say anything before now? What the hell is she playing at?"

  "She didn't tell me, Sir. I had a phone call from your mother, and she told me then. She assumed we knew and that Amy was with me."

  "Does she have anyone with her?"

  "Miss Anderson is tailing her, as requested. She won’t interact unless vital for Miss Jones protection."

  James pulled his phone out of his pocket and flicked onto a tracking app.

  "What train is she on?"

  "According to Miss Anderson, it is a fast train to Shenfield in Essex."

  James rubbed at his temple before taking large steps from the room and back to his office. Marie stood to give him his messages as he passed, but he just waved her away. James went straight to his safe and pulled out the file. "Damn it. It is her mum's birthday today. Get the car. She must be going to her grave. She won't be thinking straight and she won’t be looking out for danger. Why didn't she tell me? I could've taken her."

  "Do you think that is wise?" Matthew didn't move. "Maybe she needs time alone for this. If Amy had wanted you there, she would have told you. She is safe. Miss Anderson is watching her, and she is good."

  Matthew didn't often question James' orders that was one of the reasons that got on so well.

  "I will be there for her afterwards. I won't impact on her mourning, but I am not risking anything happening to her. We still don't know what her uncle is up to. He was looking for something in that flat. We don't know if he found it or not. I have to protect her, Matthew. I won’t lose her."

  "James, she isn't Colette. She is completely different. You have to trust her."

  James turned away and clenched his fists. "Don't even mention her name near me. Go get the car." The last words were spoken with cold demand. Matthew had pressed the wrong button. James was doing all he could to keep his mind when he was around Amy. He wanted to do so much to her, but it was wrong, all wrong. He needed to smother her and keep her safe, he needed to prove that he could put that part of his life aside and be the perfect boyfriend.

  "As you wish, Boss."

  When they pulled up outside the park that the app said Amy was in, Matthew turned to him again,

  "Please let her have her moment alone, James. She lost both her parents so tragically, it will still be raw, especially after recent events."

  "I will. Thank you, Matthew. I am sorry for my attitude earlier."

  "I am used to it, Boss."

  James got out of the car and wandered through the trees, past numerous statues of creatures he recognised from the story of the Gruffalo. He eventually saw Amy, sitting on a bench, talking to herself. She had tears in her eyes. A bunch of lilies lay by her feet. The steam of her breath flowed from her mouth as she spoke. James made no attempt to move forward. James could just about hear her voice; she was sobbing as she spoke. He wanted nothing more than to pull her into his arms and hold her, but he knew she needed space.

  "I trusted him, mum, I thought he was all that I had left in the world, and he betrayed me in the worst way. Did you protect me from his real nature? You should have told me. Why didn't you say anything? You always treated me like a princess and hid the nastiness of the world from me. How am I supposed to protect myself now when I know nothing about real life?" James felt guilty, he was the one who had shown her what her uncle was.

  Amy's one-sided conversation changed to a discussion on him. "I really like him, mum. He makes me feel so special. I know he is hiding so much from me, and I want to trust him, but I am scared. What if what he is hiding is dangerous? He is very intense, and everything feels so strange at the moment. I barely know what normal is anymore. Why did you have to die? I need you so much, I need to talk to you. Why did you leave me?" Her voice broke on the last words, and she collapsed her head down into her lap. James knew at that moment what it would do to him if he lost his mother, he saw it in Amy's breaking heart. He went to step forward to comfort her, but something stopped him. He couldn't give her that support just now as there was still had so much that he hadn't told her. James took a step back and turned back to the car. Matthew opened the door for him as came alongside the vehicle.

  "Take me to the nearest train station, Matthew. I will get a train back to London. I want you to return here and bring Amy home."

  "You sure, boss?"

  "Yes. She needs this time to herself. I don't say it often, but you were right."

  "You are doing the right thing, James."

  "I can't let it happen again, Matthew. I need to control this."

  "No, you need to forget everything they did to you."

  James looked up at his bodyguard as he sat.

  "That will never happen."

  "Why not?"

  "Matthew, just drive."

  "James, answer me this? What does she honestly know about you except that you have money?"

  "Nothing."

  "Then if you want to keep her, talk to her."

  James looked out the window as Matthew turned the car around. Could he really take the risk and open up to her?

  Amy

  "Need a lift Miss Jones?"

  Matthew pulled the Aston Martin Rapide S up to Amy.

  "What are you doing here? How did you find me?"

  "Tracked your phone." She should have known. "If you had told me where you were going, I would have brought you here as well. That is what I am here for. It is my job."

  "I thought James may need you, and I didn't want to disturb you."

  "I spend most of my time sitting around his office reading the newspaper."

  "Sorry. I thought he kept you busy."

  Amy wiped away the tears to try to disguise the fact that she had been crying but when he offered her a tissue she knew she had failed. They didn't really speak on the journey back to London. Amy was emotionally tired; she shut her eyes and must have fallen asleep for an hour as when she opened them they were pulling up outside James' house. She sat up and rubbed her sleepy eyes.

  "Thank you, Matthew. I am sorry to have made you drive all that distance."

  "Not a problem Miss, I like to get out of the city sometimes. Anytime you want to go to the country just ask. We’ll take a picnic next time."

  Amy laughed, but secretly vowed s
he would take him up on that offer. "Will you tell James what I did?" James was paranoid about her security, and in the few weeks she had been with him he always had ensured that either Matthew or himself accompanied her when she went out. She found it a little stifling after being able to travel where ever she wanted for the last few years but she also found a degree of comfort in it.

  "If he asks, I will say I took you both ways."

  "Thank you. I know he is worried about my uncle, but this was something I needed to do on my own."

  "I know." He got out and came around to open the door for her before she could question him further. "Go on up. I better get going to pick up Mr North. Don't want him getting grumpy cause he has to get a tube with the regular people." Matthew's cheeky laugh made Amy chuckle as well. And a laugh was what she needed. "Miss Jones, can I just say something?"

  "Of course."

  "Don't give up on asking him about himself. He will open up eventually."

  Miranda handed her a cup of tea as she entered the front door. "How was your day out?"

  Amy pondered her answer. Miranda's question was so genuine and kindly put. The woman had been so helpful. She decided on the truth, even if it did get back to James. Matthew said he would cover for her on the aspects of her safety.

  "I went back to Essex, where I grew up. There’s a park there I visited lots with my mother. It was her birthday today, and I wanted to just sit and remember her for a few moments."

  Miranda came up to her, put her arms around her, and brought Amy close, which took Amy a little by shock.

  "That sounds a wonderfully comforting thing to do. The small places always give us what we need in times of anguish. Come take a seat, you must be tired."

  "I slept in the car on the way home."

  "Have you told James that it was your mother's birthday?"

  Amy shook her head, "I thought he would know. He has that file on me so I figured he would know everything already. He didn't say anything this morning, though."

  "Oh Amy, dear. He is a man, he may have a file on you, but he has no idea how to use it. You will still have to remind him when your birthday is."

  Amy felt deflated as she took a seat on the sofa. She really was naive in so many aspects. She knew nothing and was falling for a man of the world. He would probably tire of her soon and throw her back out on the street. Nobody could fall in love with someone that could barely tie their own shoe laces without some sort of advice.