Red Collar Read Online Free

he had heard her because he then added. “Take off your clothes.”
    Kate paled, her eyes widening in panic. She searched the darkness to see him but she saw nothing but his dark outline. Reminding herself of how much this job could change her life, she reached for her back zipper. Her hand shivered as she tried to pull the zipper down. She slid the shoulder strap off. She felt the dress loosen about her and let it fall to her ankles. Her eyes welled with tears. She tried to hold them back but one escaped, rolling down her cheek.
    In the darkness, Clayton Reid watched her. The wall lights were enough to lighten the outline of her face but it was her eyes that captivated him in a way he had never known. And when that tear escaped, cascading down her cheek, he tensed.
    She heard him move closer until she could smell his cologne. She closed her eyes, hoping that this was all just a bad dream. But she felt him move behind her and when he placed his hands on her shoulders, she stiffened.
    “You’re not comfortable, Ms Ripley,” he whispered hoarsely in her ear. “You’re having second thoughts about this?”
    “I… no,” her voice quivered.
    But when he ran his hands down her sides slowly, her body instinctively pulled away.
    “You’re repulsed, Ms Ripley,” he stated, firmly. “Why?”
    “No, I...,” she started.
    “What have you heard? What do you know about me?”
    “Nothing.”
    “Nothing? Are you sure?” he said in a low growl.
    He stepped back and ambled towards the window, his hands in his pockets. “Put your clothes back on.”
    Her eyes rounded in surprise. “What?” she asked, unsurely.
    “You’re fired, Ms Ripley,” he put simply.
    Stunned, she stared at him in disbelief, unaware that she was walking towards him. His words sunk into her soul as she began to realize what the loss of such an exuberant income would do to her life.
    She had planned her life, assessed and reassessed it all of last night. Three years was all she needed to make a turn around and then she would find a respectable job, in a respectable business . An occupation that would not require her to perform illicit services.
    Needless to say, Clayton Reid left a remarkably poor impression on her. She imagined her new employer to be a disgusting, immoral womanizer steeped in debauchery and lewdness. She was certain he had no respect for women. Why else would he advertise for such a contemptuous position in hush social circles?
    She had taken a deep breath as she thought of herself being caressed in his arms or held under him as he would press himself against her, moving into her… She had shivered at the mere thought, a taste of nausea regurgitating in her throat.
    She would never kiss him, she had declared to herself. She would never drop her self-respect to such lowly levels. He could have her as he pleased but she would never let him kiss her. Kissing was all about touching hearts and binding souls and there was no way in which she could give her heart away to such a despicable man.
    But now her head spun from the words he had uttered. You’re fired , she repeated to herself. She couldn’t afford that. The torturous hours she had spent each day over the last few years, calculating her bills, trying to keep up with her mother’s medication and now the responsibility of her siblings ran through her like a storm.
    “Fired?” she said aloud. “Why? What have I done wrong?”
    “You’re clearly repulsed by me, Ms. Ripley,” he said. “Why drag this on any more than it should? Unlike you, I wish to retain my self-dignity.”
    Her eyes suddenly raged; anger coursed through her veins. “Self-dignity? Oh, that’s right now. Because I decided to stoop to your level and accept this abominable contract, I have, of course, lost my right to any self-respect and dignity. But you, Mr. Reid, to even make such an offer in the first place, do not only repulse me! You’ve, in fact, undermined my opinion of you, sir. You’re