In His World (For His Pleasure, Book 28) (4 page)

The main room itself was cavernous, lit primarily by two enormous chandeliers that hung from the high ceilings. Two lengthy white pristine couches faced each other over by an unused fireplace.

“Good afternoon, Mr. Hawk,” a man said, stepping suddenly into view from behind them and frightening her.

Chloe jumped and gave a strangled cry, clutching onto Brody’s muscular arm reflexively.

He turned to her, smiling—but his eyes had that hungry look again and his bicep bulged, flashing his strength. “It’s fine, Chloe. That’s just Freddy, my Domestic.”

“He’s like a butler or something?” she asked, feeling her cheeks flush as she let go of Brody’s arm.

Freddy stood there, tall and strangely pale, wearing a gray suit, his white hair and white eyebrows bushy and almost comical. “You can call me a manservant, a butler, a domestic, or anything else that pleases you, ma’am.”

She smiled. “Sorry about that, I just got startled. My name’s Chloe.”

“A pleasure,” Freddy said, inclining his head slightly.

“Freddy, could you let the kitchen staff know that we’ll be requiring lunch here as soon as possible? Our restaurant plans fell through, unfortunately,” Brody told him.

“Yes, Sir.” Freddy looked gravely concerned. “Any instructions?”

Brody turned to her. “Do you like steak?”

She nodded. “Sure.”

He looked at Freddy again. “Let’s have salad, a couple of steaks, mixed vegetables, and a bottle of that Malbec I’ve been saving for a special occasion.”

“Special occasion?” Chloe asked, confused.

“We’re celebrating you coming to work for me,” Brody told her.

“Excellent,” Freddy said. “I’ll make sure it’s underway immediately.”

The butler gave another subtle nod of his white head and then turned and headed down the cavernous space. Further down, occupying its own separate area of the room, were a long dining room table and chairs. Freddy passed by the table, slowing briefly to adjust the centerpiece, then sped up and headed for what must have been the kitchen.

“Come outside,” Brody said, waving her toward the terrace.

As she stepped through the open doors and outside, Chloe was swept away by the openness and beauty of where she was standing.

The terrace itself was as long as the great room, with gorgeous white chairs for sitting, and another table and chairs further down, appropriate for eating and entertaining outside.

Brody walked to the brick wall and leaned over it, his forearms resting on the edge as he looked out over the city.

For a moment, as he stood in profile, Chloe felt like she was watching a beautiful film star in a movie. The way the sun hit his face, illuminating his hair and skin, while casting part of him in shadow.

It was the perfect illustration of who Brody Hawk seemed to be.

Light and shadow.

The accessible along with the mysterious.

Finally, she joined him over by the edge of the terrace and stood a foot or two away from him, looking at the majestic skyline.

“Not bad, huh?” he said, still looking out.

“It’s the most incredible view,” she said, looking down for a moment, just long enough to feel that strange sense of vertigo you could have from such a vantage point. She blinked and looked away, stepping back from the edge.

Brody turned and reached for her arm. “Are you all right?” he asked.

She nodded, closing her eyes momentarily. “I just got dizzy for a second.”

His warm hand felt strong and protective as he held her forearm lightly but firmly. “It will pass,” he said.

She opened her eyes and found herself staring directly at Brody, and he at her. His green eyes were so intent and focused, she was almost frozen in place by them.

“I’m okay,” she said, trying to gather herself. Her heart was beating very quickly, and now she felt on the verge of a full-blown panic attack.

Everything suddenly seemed strange, surreal and eerie.

The sky above her seemed all too big, too wide and expansive, and Chloe had the sense that she might just float off the terrace and up into the air and never stop—a helium balloon let loose, floating up and up and up.

“You don’t look okay,” Brody replied, his hand still on her arm.

She didn’t know how to react. She was growing frightened—this was all too much, too sudden, the changes so big as to overwhelm her. She felt completely out of her depth, like she was standing at the edge of a cliff.

Brody Hawk was a force of nature, a human being with a life and personality big enough to consume her completely if she stayed too close to him for too long. “Maybe I don’t feel so good,” she said.

“You probably just need some food,” he said.

“I don’t think so.” She pulled away from him. “I think I should go home. Get some rest.”

“Chloe,” he said, letting her go. “You’re fine.”

“I’m just not feeling well. I’ll be better after some sleep.”

“You can sleep here,” he said.

“I don’t want to sleep here!” Chloe shouted. Her voice sounded much louder than she’d intended. “You’re pushing me,” she followed up, even more aggressively than she’d intended.

Brody’s lip twitched, but it didn’t seem to be like a smile. It was something else—perhaps the first sign of real frustration.

Chloe found that she liked it, liked knowing that maybe there was someone or something human in there after all. Something behind the impenetrable shell of Brody’s gorgeous good looks and superhuman charisma.

“Of course I’m pushing you. I push the people around me to be better,” he said. “I don’t accept mediocrity. And this is a
working
lunch, remember? That means you go home when I say, and not a moment sooner.”

“I haven’t signed any contract yet,” she retorted.

This was good. Arguing with him helped to take her mind off the panic, the sense of being sucked off the terrace and into the big blue sky—the building pressure in her chest that made her feel like she might be drowning in the ocean of Brody Hawk’s immense personality.

“You verbally agreed,” he said, his body still relaxed, but now suddenly more forceful as he moved forward.

She was reminded of how he looked in the ring, the few clips she’d seen of him as he danced around an opponent so fluidly, almost like he was doing ballet, and then suddenly throwing a vicious barrage of punches that would send them falling unconscious to the canvas.

“I need to see the contract,” she said, hanging on for dear life in the face of his pressure.

Brody smiled now. He pulled out his phone, and began texting for a brief time. “They’re being drawn up as we speak,” he said, a moment later.

“You can email them to me,” Chloe told him. “I’m going home.”

“They’ll be ready within the hour,” Brody told her. His smile faded. “And if you leave, I won’t email them. The job offer will be rescinded if you disobey my order to stay.”

“So that’s how you treat employees? Even if I’m sick, I can’t go home to recover?”

“You’re not sick.”

“I might be sick.”

“But you aren’t.” His green eyes were closing in on her now. He was moving closer, closer, his body seductive and frightening all at once.

“You don’t know what I feel.”

“I know you’re scared,” he said. His voice was completely confident, assured of his own knowledge and power. “You’re frightened because this is a big change, a big step for you.”

“What do you really want from me?” Chloe said suddenly.

Brody stopped moving. His eyes narrowed. “What?”

“You heard me.” She took a deep breath, knowing this would open up new lines of attack. But she was ready to go on the offensive now. “You know nothing about me, about my qualifications. Yet you offer me a job, you take me to a fancy restaurant, and now back to your penthouse apartment. This isn’t a normal job.”

“I’m not a normal man.”

“But what do you really want from me? Besides the job?”

Brody’s lip twitched again. “I don’t like the tone of voice you’re using with me, Chloe. You work for me.”

“You keep saying that,” she told him, “but I don’t yet.”

“Keep talking like this, and you’ll talk your way out of a second job today. And then where will you be?”

That stung. She bit her lower lip before gathering her courage for another assault. “You still haven’t answered me,” Chloe said softly.

Brody stared at her a long time. “Ask me again, but be sure you really want the answer.”

Chloe felt the pressure once more in her chest, expanding, pushing, collapsing into her lungs so she could barely breathe. “What do you want from me?” she asked, almost a whisper.

Brody stepped closer once again, and she was reminded of him doing what he did best as a boxer—going for the kill.

His voice was throaty, growling his intention. “I want to own you completely, Chloe.” His breath was on her cheek as he leaned closer, his mouth inches from her skin. “I’m going to mark you as mine—
my territory
. And I’m going to do it my way, which means I will make you take everything I can possibly give. All of it—every last drop, until you are mine and mine alone.”

Chloe felt her entire body shudder with the sheer intensity of need that his words provoked in her. “Oh, God,” she whispered, as he reached out and traced his fingertips down the length of her arm, grabbing her wrist forcefully.

“Now you know what I want,” Brody said, his lips nearly on hers, but still not touching.

“Why do you want to hire me? I mean…you’re talking about something…something else,” she said, her legs shaking. She was losing it, losing her tenuous hold on the situation.

Brody Hawk wants me. And I want him so badly, I’d do anything—I’d do it all right this very second
.

“You need a job, and I’m a fair man,” Brody said. “Besides, if you’re to be traveling with me, you’ll need a position to justify your accompanying me
everywhere
.”

“Okay,” she said, nodding as if anything he said had made sense.

“Okay?” he replied, squeezing her wrist more tightly and dragging her body into his. Now she could feel the front of his body against her, pressing into her. She could feel his enormous bulge pushing into her lower belly.

She’d never before felt the body of a man that was so intense, so physically fit, every muscle was defined, every movement could be felt—he was more animal predator than he was human.

“I still don’t understand what’s happening,” she told him.

“Come on, and I’ll show you.” He never let go of her wrist, but instead walked purposefully, holding her wrist as he made his way off the terrace and back through the great room, turning down another hallway.

He was holding onto her as if she was a child, made to follow dutifully behind her father.

Chloe didn’t know what to think. Her mind was stunned, spinning from what Brody had told her so bluntly.

I’m going to mark you as mine—my territory.

Finally, they entered what could only be the master bedroom.

There were floor to ceiling windows on two sides of the room, and wall-to-wall gray carpeting that was plush beneath her feet as she entered. The room was neat, enormous but minimally furnished.

The biggest piece of furniture in the room was a large, modern bed. Directly across from the bed was a couch, pushed flush against one of the giant windows.

Brody let go of her wrist and faced her.

She felt nervous enough to collapse. “What’s happening?” she whispered.

“This is happening,” he said, unbuttoning his cuffs. “I’m happening to you, because I chose you, Chloe. Out of all the women in the world, I choose you.”

She swallowed. “Choose me for what?”

“To be mine,” he said.

“I don’t get it.”

“You will,” he said, and then he closed the distance before she could so much as take a breath, and his lips were on hers, and she was falling, falling, falling.

His hands roamed across her body, over her breasts, conjuring up sensations of pleasure she’d never known possible.

She was on the bed, and he was taking her, doing exactly as he wanted.

Soon, her blouse was off, and then before she knew it, Chloe was wearing only her bra and panties, and Brody Hawk was kissing her, his tongue slowly and forcefully entering her mouth while his strong, firm hands cupped her breasts and squeezed until her pussy contracted with furious excitement, wet and supple. Moist, wanting him, needing him, her fear overcome by her intense desire for him.

Brody sat up suddenly, all in one motion, removing his tie and encircling it around her wrists as she lay on her back, staring up at him.

“What are you—“

“Shhh…” He stared down at her, cinching the bonds tighter until her wrists were immobilized, the heels of her palms nearly flattened against each other.

Brody got up, and then dragged her towards the headboard, before affixing the tie to one of the slats. Chloe’s arms were extended fully now, and she had little wiggle room. It wasn’t painful, exactly, but neither was it comfortable.

She felt vulnerable, her heart was pounding so hard that her chest was visibly moving. Beads of sweat stood out on her cleavage, her belly. She could feel the dampness of the hair on her forehead.

Brody continued looking down at her. He was still fully clothed, although his suit coat was off. His muscular torso was visible in its contours beneath the thin fabric of his dress shirt. He moved quickly, so fast that everything he did was part dance, part attack, part stillness.

He reminded her more of a panther, a big cat—then he did of any man she’d ever seen.

His hands were on her hips and then sliding her panties down her legs. She gave a quick squeal of surprise.

“Now you’re revealed completely,” he muttered, gazing between her legs at her slick, bare mound that seemed to pulse with excitement that was its own.

The fact that Chloe was halfway terrified didn’t matter to the part of her that was so sexually aroused, she felt ready to pop.

“Brody,” she gasped. “What is going on?”

“I’m going to fuck that beautiful cunt of yours until you can’t see straight,” he told her, and then he reached under the bed and retrieved more restraints. Moments later, her ankles were bound and tied to the bedposts.