BoardResolution by Joey W. Hill Page A

they’d likely understood her every wish. Though Matt alone seemed to have a clear window to her darkest fears, with no curtains to keep out his shrewd gaze.
    “It brings a woman to climax almost immediately, and keeps her there, through programmed adjustments of the angle, for a prolonged period of time, to satisfy her fully. It stimulates her between the legs and the buttocks both.”
    “I’m not sure. I’m… I’ve never…done that.” She’d actually never done any of this, but she’d never contemplated anything in that back area, even in her fantasies. She didn’t know if that was naïveté or revulsion, but she didn’t feel revolted about the idea now. Just nervous.
    “It will be very gentle,” he promised. “Not invasive at all. And I’ll stop if you want me to stop.”
    It was strange, feeling as if she were alone with him, but at the same time being aware of the others that were listening. Of Matt in the shadows, watching over it all, his presence a pulsing awareness in her body.
    He’d known Jon would be perfect at this juncture, after that first hard climax. To slow her panic, after having lost her infamous control. The handkerchief was in a ball in her sweaty palm, her fingers clutched tightly on it, as if her subconscious was afraid she’d drop it by accident and be misunderstood.
    She’d seen Matt choose a moment of intense conflict to have lunch brought in by a pretty, cheerful office assistant, diffusing tension. Or he’d suggest a break, and they’d adjourn to the roof garden to enjoy the spectacular view of the city. It changed the moment, made his opponent feel cozened, good about giving Matt and his team nearly everything he wanted. He did it so strategically that the calculation was obscured. Even recognizing it, she felt its effect stealing over her own senses, as if that emotional part of her could care less about what her rational mind knew.
    She could set him back on his ass by denying Jon now, but she was curious, extraordinarily, intensely so, about what Jon had devised.
    It was as if her body, so long suppressing its enjoyment and exploration of physical desires, now could not get enough. A lever had been flipped, suggesting she could safely do and explore everything tonight. Had Matt known that? Provided her a unique way of losing her virginity?
    And when that moment came, would it be him, in front of all of them? Or would it be all of them? Somehow, despite the titillation that such a thought should cause, based on how aroused she was, the idea did not please her. She could not block the vision that rose within her of more private desires. Just her and Matt, the ruthless hands becoming gentle, the weight of his body bearing her down, taking her into its shelter…
    She reined back that thought. It didn’t matter if it was him, or the whole group. In fact, there was no reason to get emotional about this situation at all. Tennyson Rule Eleven: Unpleasant experiences at the hands of your enemy become lessons to turn against him later. While she wasn’t certain she’d call this an unpleasant experience, and Matt was an unpredictable business partner versus an outright enemy, she’d known her physical innocence combined with her looks was a handicap in an industrial world dominated by men. She’d put on a good façade, and managed to do well enough without full understanding, but by losing her innocence here tonight, in these many ways, Matt was really doing her a favor, giving her a leg up.
    “I really want you to be the first woman to try it,” Jon repeated the appeal.
    “But I just…climaxed.”
    “It won’t matter,” he said. While she’d been subconsciously aware for some time of the sexual undercurrent between herself and all of them, seeing the desire unmasked in his direct gaze slammed it home so that she could not draw a deep breath under the intensity of it. “That’s its magic. By the time I give you the full setting, your body will be more than ready, and