His Taste (By His Command #7) (billionaire domination / erotic romance) (6 page)

Two men stood near the door of the hotel room and a third man stood face to face with Jonathan.  For a second I thought an altercation was about to break out but when Jonathan saw me, he smiled.  A full smile.  A salesman kind of smile.

That kind of smile, even on Jonathan, I didn’t like.

“
This is Mr. Denninbraugh,” Jonathan said.  “He’s a banker and investor all the way from Connecticut, here to talk to us, Isabella Grace.”

“
My pleasure,” the man said, his voice deep with the touch of a southern accent.  Certainly not in the demographic of Connecticut, but I smiled, trying not to worry about the small details that could wind up killing someone.

“
I must apologize,” I said, surprising myself how etiquette friendly I sounded.  “My appearance... I didn’t realize this meeting...”

“
Oh, no, no,” Mr. Denninbraugh said.  “This is completely informal.”  

Judging by the expensive suits on Jonathan Black and Mr. Denninbraugh, it seemed like the most formal meeting in the world.

“
It’s okay,” Jonathan said, “Isabella had a sickening kind of date last night.”

“
Bad food?” Mr. Denninbraugh asked.

“
I hope not,” Jonathan said, “I own the hotel and restaurant.”

“
Of course you do,” Mr. Denninbraugh said and smiled.

“
More along the lines of bad company,” Jonathan said.  “The kind of thing that just makes you sick.  I’m sure you understand.  And Isabella here is just getting
wet
in my business...”

Jonathan didn’t say getting my feet wet, he just said getting wet.  And he looked at me, knowing what he meant and how he meant it.

“
I do hope you feel better,” Mr. Denninbraugh said.

“
I already do,” I said.  “Nothing a little sleep and coffee won’t fix.”

“
Ah, yes, coffee.”

“
Have some downstairs,” Jonathan said.  “Pristine quality.  The perfect beans.  The perfect cup.”

“
I will,” Mr. Denninbraugh said.  “I will take advantage of all I can.  Considering our arrangement.”

Both men laughed and then shook hands.  It was a hand slapping, vicious handshake.  They held tight and shook fast, much longer than a normal handshake.  Mr. Denninbraugh turned, adjusted his tie, and nodded to the two men at the door.  They hurried to open the door and escort him out.

The door shut and Jonathan looked at me.

“
I have a long day of business,” he said.

“
Who was that?”

“
A man who is going to help me with a side project,” Jonathan said.  He waved his hand at the door.  “Nothing more than a greedy pawn I’ll move along my board.  I always win, always.”

“
He seems shady,” I said.

“
Everyone is,” Jonathan said.  “Even the most trained...”  He raised an eyebrow, hinting at my disobedience about the text messages.  

I made no comment and retrieved a cup of coffee.  It was the best coffee I ever had, spoiling my tastebuds for life.  Then again, I hoped I would never have to resort back to a different kind of coffee.

If I could only keep Jonathan Black satisfied enough.

“
You’re leaving for the day?” I asked, hating to know the answer he’d give me.

“
Of course,” he said.  “Time operates twenty four hours a day, seven days a week, right?”

I nodded.  I sipped my coffee.

“
I do the same,” Jonathan said.  “While the rest feel they’ve earned a break or deserve something that isn’t there, I’ll be ahead of them, as intended.”

Jonathan checked his cufflinks and walked to the kitchen in a hurry.  He moved so fast that I actually backed up.  It was my natural reaction and Jonathan loved it.  His body pressed against mine and he inhaled me.  I couldn’t imagine anything smelled good on me at that exact moment since I had just woken up and had been drinking coffee.  

He touched my jaw and exhaled.  His lips touched mine for a second and then he backed away.

“
My advice,” he said, “is to rest, relax, and be ready for Kellen.  I do have a few more rules for you to follow.”

“
Of course,” I said.

“
I actually expect you to think about Kellen,” Jonathan said.  “As much as it makes me sick to ponder, that’s what you’re going to do.  I want him to want you so desperately, Isabella Grace, more than any person he’s ever thought about in his life.”

And that’s how Jonathan left me.  For hours, he was gone, conducting business.  The more time that passed, the more the thoughts drained on me.  I wasn’t sure what to expect from Kellen let alone what Jonathan wanted me to do.

For as long as he was gone, the second Jonathan walked back into the hotel room, it felt like it was all of ten minutes.  I couldn’t explain, how my body and mind were so thrown off.  I had already showered but waited for Jonathan to choose my clothing.  

“
You’re leaving in five minutes,” he said.  “Kellen is downstairs, siting alone, waiting for you.”

“
You saw him?” I asked.

“
Yes.”

“
You talked to him?”

“
Are you supposed to ask me questions?” Jonathan boomed.

I stiffened and shook my head.

“
He’s there, waiting.  You go now.  To start, I want you to sit with him, bring him in.  He’s thinking about you, thinking about last night.  All is not lost here.”

I rushed to get dressed, choosing something between formal and casual, shirt and pants that were more comfortable than the dress from last night and definitely covered up a lot more.  

Jonathan took a look at me and approved.

“
Are there rules?” I asked.

“
He’s going to touch you,” Jonathan said.  “Be prepared to repeat what you did...”

The shower.

I nodded.

“
I want to know what he’s working on next,” Jonathan said.  “So I can tear it away and destroy it.  I want to destroy it all and make it my own.”

“
Yes, Mr. Black.”

We stared at each other for what felt like hours.  I eyed Jonathan up and down, memorizing everything of his again.  A man of power and a man of chiseled and intense perfection, like nothing I’d ever encountered.  Even after all our time together it still amazed me to look into his eyes and feel that intense feeling.

I’d die for Jonathan Black and the look in his eyes told me he felt the same about me.

“
I better go,” I whispered.

He nodded.  

I turned and opened the door.  Jonathan called for me.

“
Isabella Grace, we’re going to be so happy together...”

-8-

He sat at the same table but in a different suit.  Yesterday’s was black with an off-white undershirt and black tie.  Today, Kellen went for a brighter look with a blue suit, black and blue stripped tie, and a baby blue undershirt.  Something about it made him look younger than he already looked.  The color of his eyes spoke to that youthfulness but with each step I took towards him, closing the gap of my comfort zone, his eyes had more and more power.  It didn’t surprise me that Kellen used his
good boy
looks to bring people in and his business sense and power to keep them close.

“
He told you I was here,” Kellen said.  He pointed at an empty plate and an empty glass.  Apparently he had been waiting for company.

“
I’m sorry?” I asked as I started to walk by the table.

“
Okay, I understand.  Play the game.  Circle around.  Shake it all for my eyes to see.”

I stopped dead in my tracks.

That actually had been my plan.  To walk right by Kellen and torture him a little bit.  Make him come back to me again and try to start over, to regain all the power I had lost yesterday when he stood and walked away.  

But that didn’t happen.

Not even close.

I turned and looked down at Kellen.  “Fine.  He mentioned you were here.”

“
And you had to rush to see me, didn’t you?”

“
Something like that,” I said.  

“
Why don’t you sit and explain the
something
then?”

The brightness of his eyes almost made me feel bad for him.  Whatever he thought he knew, Jonathan knew ten times more.  Jonathan could destroy Kellen in any way he wanted... in business... in his mind... with his bare hands...

“
Come, Isabella, sit.  Please.  I won’t command you, but I’ll properly invite you.”

I looked at Kellen and considered walking away.  Somewhere inside me I believed there had to be a better way to take care of things.  But I reminded myself that this wasn’t just what Jonathan needed from me.  This somehow connected to ‘K’.  Jonathan told me Kellen wasn’t ‘K’, but could I believe it?  Should I believe it?  The way he spoke, how he acted, the outer shell of innocence and the intensity of power on the inside... it made sense.  He was staying somewhere local, maybe across the street.  He had walked down the hallway of Jonathan’s hotel room.  Did he have a key card to get in the room?  Was that what he had planned that day... until I opened the door?  

“
You look flushed,” Kellen said.  “Are you okay?”

Kellen slid from the booth and stood next to me.  His hands were gentle as he took my arm.  My eyes widened and I thought about my punishment the last time he touched me.  But Jonathan’s rules were different now.  It was okay to be touched.  To touch him.  I’d just have to shower.  To wash Kellen away.

“
I’m fine,” I whispered.

“
You don’t seem it right now.  I’m going to sit you down.  You don’t have to stay but please at least catch your breath.”

I nodded and Kellen guided me back to the booth.  

I sat and took a deep breath.  Whatever power I thought I had was now long gone.  There I sat, the same old Isabella Grace, feeling feeble, under the spell of a fantasy that may or may not exist.  Staring ahead at Kellen, who looked concerned about me and nothing else.  

“
Does he hurt you?” Kellen asked.

“
Who?” I snapped.

“
Jonathan.  Does he hurt you?”

“
Nobody hurts me,” I said.  I regained my composure and looked around, trying to pretend that Kellen was boring me.

“
Why are you here?” Kellen asked.  “He obviously wants something from me and is using you.”

“
I guess I could ask you the same question,” I said.  “There’s hundreds of restaurants in this city and you choose this one?  In a hotel?”

“
Good food,” Kellen said.  “And a great view...”

He smiled and my skin broke out in shivers.  The way he smiled suggested I was the
great view
, but I thought about, someone watching Jonathan and I from across the street.

“
Why not just handle your business face to face?” I asked.  “Why sneak around like this?”

Kellen laughed.  “My business is handled.  It was done face to face.  I’m not sneaking around, am I?  I’m in plain view.  You saw me.”

I felt my lip wanting to curl.  “So you feel Mr. Black isn’t a good customer?”

“
He’s a great customer,” Kellen said.  “But his numbers didn’t match.  I can handle a few dollars here and there, but three billion?”

“
It’s accounted for.  There’s an investigation...”

“
Investigation?” Kellen asked.

“
The money pertained to some personal matters.”

“
Personal matters, huh?  I wasn’t aware that Jonathan Black had a heart to make anything personal.”

Kellen smiled and reached for his glass.  It had a few ice cubes and an amber cognac.  He sipped and didn’t take his eyes away from me.

“
You’re doing it all on purpose, aren’t you?” I asked.  “You like messing with him.”

“
Of course I do,” Kellen said.  “He deserves as much torture and negative attention as he can handle.  And for that, I am truly sorry...
for you
...”

“
For me?”

“
Sure.  You’re in the crosshairs.  And you’ll always be.  You don’t think I haven’t heard about the murders?”

“
The murders?” I asked.

“
You’re a terrible liar, Isabella,” Kellen said.  

I stiffened, wishing I could control the way my face turned red or white, or just looked plain guilty.

Kellen reached across the table and took my hand.

“
It’s okay, I’m not very good at lying either.  I prefer to find my own truths...”

That’s one way to get around using the word
lie
, just another snake in the grass tactic Kellen probably used.

I really didn’t like the man, at all, and it started to make me angry.  Why would Jonathan waste even a second with this man?  Why did it matter what Kellen wanted?

“
Now you look angry,” Kellen said.

“
Well, if I’m not going to get answers from you, I’m not going to waste my time.  Whether you believe it or not, Kellen, I have my own life to live.”

I started to stand and Kellen matched me.  

“
You said my name,” he said.

“
Yeah.  Does that matter?”

“
He allowed you to say my name?”

I saw the glimmer in Kellen’s eyes and saw my opening.  I took a breath and hoped Jonathan wasn’t near, wasn’t watching.  If this was all going to happen and finally come together, it would be done one way or another.  

I wiggled towards Kellen, coming close but not touching him.

“
I don’t care what he says,” I whispered.  “I don’t care what he wants me to say or not to say.  I... I had to say your name.  I’ve been thinking it for a while...”