[Steel]

"If money is the issue, I'd be happy to..." began Rakesh with a condescending smirk.

"It isn't a question of money!" The very idea was annoying to Kusha. Rakesh must think he could buy anyone he wanted. But it wouldn't work on her.

"I'd like you to explain your refusal then," said Rakesh sharply, still not thrown off in the slightest by Kusha's firm "no". "I've seen your work before. I've even spoken to a few people you've designed for in the past. They mention that you sometimes push back against certain design requests, but refusing to work on an element altogether when you're being given complete creative freedom over its appearance and how it fits into the room? That's quite unlike you."

So Rakesh had been talking to her other clients? Kusha leaned back in her chair, staring at him with her lips drawn into a thin line of disapproval. As much as she hated to admit it, he did have a point, in a twisted, backward way. It was unusual for her to refuse outright to design an element of a room. But these were special circumstances after all.

"It's simple," said Kusha challengingly, not backing down from Rakesh's confident gaze. "I don't design obscene furniture. It doesn't fit my brand."

"Yet you designed a room for me with the specific brief of fitting my personality, and I'm an obscene man. My sexuality is a big part of who I am. Why can't my room reflect that?' His words were cool, cutting, and targeted. For a moment, she saw a ruthless schemer hiding behind Rakesh's ordinarily loud personality. It was... oddly a little intimidating.

"Your request is misogynistic. I won't even entertain it," snapped Kusha. Shit. I sound flustered. Every time she tried to shut Rakesh down, images of his monstrous cock would flash before her eyes. But her job was easy here. She just needed to keep saying 'no' until he gave up. Nothing could be simpler... even if Laila’s moans seemed to be echoing in her ears.

Rakesh looked genuinely surprised. "What? Misogynistic? Kusha... I didn't steal these panties. They were gifts. Tokens of affection from women who willingly became mine. Symbols of their submission. Their willing submission. Ask any one of them, and they'll say they have no problem with me showing off their gift. I guarantee it."

Now Kusha knew that she was blushing. What Rakesh was saying had to be bullshit. He may have tricked women into sex. Or paid them. Or bullied them. But so many women just... giving in like that? The word... SUBMISSION. It sent a shudder of horror down Kusha's spine, and sent a flicker of heat through her core. That was what the trophy case represented.. Rakesh's inexplicable sexual success and the humiliating defeat of the women he had bedded. Why would any attractive, independent woman put themselves beneath a creep like Rakesh?

And not just one, enough to fill a trophy case. Rakesh's eyes bored into hers, unshaken by her refusal, infuriatingly confident that she would say yes in the end. Was this the secret? Force of will and patience and a big, throbbing cock? Was that all it took to bring a proud woman to her knees, literally and metaphorically? What would it feel like to give in? To let him have his way? Maybe those other women would tell her how pleasurable it was. But no... she couldn't. Apparently, even that was too much for her.

"Even so," she said, her mouth suddenly feeling dry, "The answer is 'no'."

"For no reason?" asked Rakesh, raising an eyebrow.

"For personal reasons."

This response, to Kusha's discomfort, made Rakesh chuckle darkly. "Well... there we have it at last. It has to do with your feelings about me personally. Well, that's no problem then."

He leaned forward, and suddenly his entire energy seemed to change, becoming forceful. Intrusive. Kusha had to stop herself from scooting back from him on her rolling chair. This wasn't the crass clown she was used to. This was suddenly the sharp-eyed, masculine beast she had spied on while he fucked Laila into submission.

"That means all I have to do is change your mind," the look in his eyes told Kusha that he didn't think that would be difficult. He looked like a wolf closing in on its prey. Kusha opened her mouth, but no words came out. She felt like a rabbit caught in a trap.

"And I will," said Rakesh in a low voice. "You're going to do as I say eventually, Kusha. So why make this harder than it has to be? Say 'yes'. I promise you, you'll be happy you did."

Kusha breathed heavily, caught in a torrent of emotion. Anger at Rakesh's presumption. Disgust with herself for not shutting him down right away. But most of all... a sense of twisted curiosity. What would it feel like to give in? To... submit. It wasn't something that Kusha had ever considered until recently. But seeing the effect Rakesh had on others made her wonder.

The idea was taboo... kinky even, in a strange way. For a woman who had always prided herself on her control and power, giving in to a man's desires just because he said so was forbidden in a way that made Kusha's heart beat faster. True, this was just one minor thing... it would barely count as submission at all. But even getting a taste of what it was like to bend to the will of a powerful man sent a twist of strange arousal through Kusha's belly that she couldn't quite squash.

Maybe it wouldn't be so bad. Maybe bending a little and letting someone else win for once would even be relaxing. She felt totally under Rakesh's power in that heated moment, his eyes locked with hers, the memory of his thick cock sinking into Laila flashing before Kusha's eyes. The way her pussy stretched to take his monstrous cock... the slutty moans that tore from the married mother's throat... the way she had held Rakesh, pulling him closer to kiss him deeply and intimately.