Submit to Desire by Tiffany Reisz Page A

combed his hair and made a study of it. It was a good base
haircut already, only too long. Clearly he hadn’t gone to see his French barber
in some time. She decided to cut it fairly short in the back and leave the top
nice and wavy and purposefully disheveled looking.
    He recoiled as she brought up her scissors.
    “Big baby,” she said again.
    “The more you taunt me, the more you’ll pay for it
tomorrow.”
    “Your punishments are the most fun I’ve had in years. You’re
going to have to find a better threat.”
    “Any suggestions?”
    Charlotte thought about it. She took her first snip of his
hair. It fell in a wet clump to the floor. “I guess you could kick me out
earlier than we talked about.”
    She saw Kingsley’s face in the mirror turn. The mask of the
playful pervert temporarily dropped.
    “I will not kick you out, Charlie. This was a business
arrangement, recall? You are here to learn and then meet my client.”
    She continued to snip away.
    “I know. I’m not complaining. I’ve had the time of my life.
I’ll just, you know, miss you.”
    “I warned you that if you made me take my clothes off you’d
fall in love with me.”
    “Don’t get so cocky. I’m not in love with you. I just like you.
A lot.”
    “You know, you may like my client even more than you like
me.”
    “Is he less arrogant than you are?”
    “Slightly.”
    “Then I probably won’t.”
    Kingsley laughed and she continued her work on him in silence.
When she was done with the back of his hair she moved to the front. She blocked
his view of himself in the mirror as she snipped away at the sides and top of
his rich brown hair. He had only a hint of a few gray hairs and no balding at
all. Along with the arrogance gene, he’d gotten the great hair gene, too. She
set her scissors aside and ran her hands through his hair over and over again,
tousling it this way and that. She took a tiny dab of hair serum and ran it
through his waves.
    “Perfect.” Charlotte stepped aside. She watched with
anticipation as Kingsley studied himself in the mirror.
    “My god,” he said. “I’m even more handsome than I thought.”
    Charlotte slapped him on the bottom, and he pulled her into his
arms. It was a very good haircut. He looked younger and even more roguish. In
fact, he looked very French. Très even.
    “Your revenge is complete. You won the game and got to play
barber.”
    “Stylist,” she corrected. “If I beg can I get to do one more
thing tonight that you never let me do?”
    “Beg away and we’ll see how magnanimous I’m feeling.”
    “Can I sleep with you in your bed tonight?”
    Kingsley sighed and kissed her on the forehead.
    “Charlie, while I adore hurting you, I must admit I don’t
actually enjoy hurting you.”
    “It’s okay. Thought I’d ask.”
    “You may stay with me tonight and every night until you leave,”
he said.
    She grinned up at him. “Really?”
    “ Oui. Now take off your clothes and
get into my bed. I need to start punishing you for all your
insubordination.”
    “Yes, sir.” She took off running to the bed. Kingsley came in
after her and crawled on top of her.
    “Admit it,” she said as he opened her robe and kissed her
nipples. “You like me, too.”
    “I do. A good barber is so hard to find.”
    * * *
    On her last day at Chez Kingsley, Charlotte woke up
alone in his big red bed. She was surprised he was up so early considering how
late they’d stayed up playing and fucking last night.
    Tired and lonely, Charlotte showered in Kingsley’s bathroom and
dressed. She returned to her own room and packed her things. She had a feeling
she’d be back at her own apartment by tomorrow. She’d promised Kingsley she
would keep an open mind about his client, whom she would meet tonight. Kingsley
had told her very little about him. All she knew was that he was, as Kingsley
said, “not unattractive,” “wealthy,” and was “longing for a deeper connection
than his previous relationships.”