On His Terms (10 page)

“Um, yeah, she is okay, I guess.”
She glanced away, trying to recall if Cora had ever been to the Hartford
office, but she came up blank. There might only be two businesses in the
building, but the attorney office held a lot of employees, and Cora had only
set up the interview appointment with an answering service for
Rian
. “How exactly do you know about Cora?”

He didn’t answer right away, just
brought the glass to his mouth again and took a long drink while watching her
over the rim. When he set the now empty glass back on the table all he did was
stare at her.

“Why do you do that?”

He lifted a dark eyebrow in
question. “Do what?”

“Stare at me … constantly, like
you are trying to figure me out.”

He didn’t respond right away yet
again, and she found herself shifting on the seat.

“I know everything about you, so
I’m not trying to figure anything out, Sorcha,” he said in an almost bland
tone.

What did he mean by that? How
much more than the personal information she had given him on her resume and
application did he exactly know?

“Besides, I enjoy looking at
you.”

The heat seemed to increase in
the room, and she swallowed at the intensity of his words. But she pushed those
feelings of lust aside, of just giving herself to him and “breaking the ice”
and focused on what they were talking about now. She thought about his words,
about what exactly he meant when he said he knew all about her. A man like
Rian
Hartford had resources to burn, and she knew exactly
what he now meant. “You dug up my information, didn’t you?”

He smiled, but it was a darker
one, and made her feel like this small prey before this giant predator. “Do you
really want to know the answer to that?”

She felt her annoyance for this
man start to return with a vengeance. “I wouldn’t have asked otherwise.”

The sound of a clock ticking in
the background broke up the sudden silence, but then she saw him grab for the
bottle of wine, refill his glass, and set it aside. “I look up everyone who
comes to work for me, Sorcha. There are men out there that would like to know
how I run things, what my contacts are, and because of that I have to protect
myself and my business.”

She licked her lips, knowing he
had to look up certain things. “I have a feeling a man like you
doesn’t
stop at the surface.” The look on his face told her
he knew what she was implying.

“A man like
me?”
He
sounded amused.

“A man that
doesn’t like to stop when he gets the bare facts.
You keep digging because you’re
egotistical and have to know everything.” She saw a muscle under his cheek
start to twitch, and she knew she was pissing him off. Good, because she
couldn’t count the number of times he had pissed her off since being in his
presence.

“No, you’re correct. I keep going
when I scratch the surface, but the reason I kept gathering information on you
wasn’t because you were working for me.” He started tapping his fingers on the
table, and Sorcha realized it was a habit he had. She had a feeling it didn’t
have anything to do with the fact he was nervous—because a man like him surely
didn’t feel that type of emotion—but because he was getting angry.

“So, what did you find out? I
assume shit I wouldn’t want anyone knowing unless I felt like telling them?”
She clasped her hands together and stared him down as hard as he was doing to
her.

“You have quite a mouth on you,
don’t
you.
” He didn’t phrase it like a question.

“And you have quite the nerve
digging into people’s lives when you have no business doing so.” She could
understand him doing that to an extent, but she assumed he’d found out some
information on her that she would have liked to keep to herself. “Besides,
isn’t that why you wanted me, because of my mouth?” She hadn’t meant the
literal sense, but she noticed how he dropped his gaze to her lips.

“Yes, your mouth was one of the
reasons I wanted you, Sorcha.”

She didn’t know what to say to
that. On one hand she wanted to be furious that he had the gall to pry into her
life. But on the other hand she was so aroused just being in his presence that
it was hard to think straight.

She had decided against a bra
with her dress, and right now she was regretting the hell out of that decision,
especially when she knew her nipples were hard.
Rian
confirmed that when he lowered his gaze to her chest, stared at her for a
second, and then looked at her face again.

“Are you cold or aroused, Sorcha?”
He leaned forward, and his warm breath that smelled faintly of the wine they
were drinking bathed her face.

A small shiver worked through
her, and she opened her mouth, not knowing what she would say.

“I’d say you’re aroused, Sorcha.
I bet your pussy is all nice and wet for me, isn’t it.” Again, he didn’t state
it like a question, and in fact sounded like he was speaking to himself. When
she didn’t respond he leaned back slowly, and the chair creaked under his
weight. He was a big man, but not bulky like a body builder. He was tall and
lean, with hard muscle packed on. He was like a swimmer, a sexy, apathetic,
swimming god. This man knew exactly what he did to the female population. He
knew exactly what
he
was doing to
her
by the way the corner of his mouth
lifted in a cocky fucking smile.

Clearing her throat, she took
another drink.

“You have anything you want to
ask me before we take things into the bedroom?”

Her heart started to beat so hard
and fast that she actually reached out and held onto the edge of the table. She
needed her hard veneer back in place, needed to show him that she would not put
up with his arrogant bullshit. And she needed to set her own rules so he knew
where she stood. “What exactly are your plans tonight?”

“Does it really matter what I
want or plan on doing as long as no harm comes to you? You signed the contract,
so the specifics do not need to be spelled out.” He leaned forward again and
covered her hand with his. “I can guarantee that your wet little cunt will be
soaking by the time I’m done with you, and that you’ll be so sore between your
thighs you won’t be able to walk comfortably tomorrow.”

Her heart skipped a beat. “You’re
a sadistic bastard.” She hadn’t meant to say that out loud, and hadn’t even
said it with malice or disgust. Sorcha heard the desire in her voice and felt
her face heat.

“I never claimed to be anything
else, and I know you didn’t expect a bed full of fucking roses.” He said it
with such a straight face, with a voice as hard and cold as the granite lining
his apartment, that she gritted her teeth. She loved to hate
him,
that
was for damn sure.

“Now, what I can do for you is
have a bath drawn so you can clean off, and then after that.” He flashed this
straight, white toothed grin at her, but it reminded her of a wolf about to
attack an innocent lamb. “After that, Sorcha, you’re all mine.” He stood and
put his hands in the front pockets of his jeans. “Enjoy the fruit and whipped
cream. I know I will enjoy licking it off your body before our time is up.” He turned
and left her alone, and all she could do was sit there and stare at the whipped
cream that was a few inches from her. She imagined exactly where he would
spread the white, fluffy topping on her body. She crossed and uncrossed her
legs about a hundred times thinking about that, and then when he finally came
back and escorted her to the
bedroom,
she had to force
herself to walk straight. Yeah, this was going to prove to be one interesting
week, especially when she felt her resistance crumbling already.
   

Chapter
Nine

Rian
gave her half an hour to bathe,
and that was being generous. He could have watched her wash herself, run that
sponge along her curves, her breasts, and between her legs, but he’d give her
this moment of privacy. She had only been here for a small window of time
anyway, and he could not be this selfish bastard with her just yet. But once
she was finished all bets were off. She would be his, would be by his side for
the entire seven days, and he’d show her off. He did have to work from his home
office during their time together, and had several functions to attend this
week, had purposefully had them scheduled this way so he could take her with
him. He wanted others to see that she was with
him
, because she was this gorgeous example of what a female should
be like.

He
tossed back the rest of his scotch and contemplated going for another glass. He
had drunk two already, but a third was starting to sound more appealing.
Instead of risking getting drunk and not being able to fully enjoy the night
sober, he set the cup on the coffee table and stood. He moved toward the
windows that overlooked the city and clasped his hands behind him. He was
having a hard time being around her and not showing at least a small amount of
control. Normally
Rian
didn’t fight the desires he
had, didn’t try to tame himself, but he found himself doing that because he
didn’t want to frighten or make Sorcha feel uncomfortable. He told himself he
only had a week with her, and that she knew what she was getting into, but for
the last six months he’d watched her, grown fascinated with her, and had this
sort of obsession concerning his secretary. Of course he’d never admit that to
anyone, least of all her, but it was what it was.

He
headed down the hallway and to his bedroom. There he leaned against the
partially opened doorframe and watched as she slipped out of the bathtub and
reached for the towel. The water and bubbles slid down her back, along the
crease of her big, round ass, and trailed down the length of her thighs. She
wasn’t thin by any means, not sickly skinny like the women he had been with
before … like the women that were part of the elite society he associated with.
No, Sorcha was all curves, full and lush in all the right places. Her hips were
wide, generous, and when she turned to the side slightly he got a sight of the
slight roundness of her belly. Her legs were long, thick, and made to wrap
around his hips to hold on as he fucked the hell out of her. When she bent
slightly at the waist to get the towel he got a small glimpse of the pinkness
between her legs, and his cock jerked forward. He palmed himself through his
jeans as he watched her towel off, and when she turned around and gasped at his
voyeurism, he grew harder still. He ached, fucking ached, to be buried inside
of her, and that time had come now.

“How
long were you standing there?” she asked softly, and held the towel tight
against her damp body. She was red from the bath, and the room smelled like
lavender. She’d smell like the flower, and he’d run the tip of his nose up and
down her body, memorizing that smell.

“Long enough.”
He pushed away from the
doorframe, moved inside of the bedroom, and shut the door behind him. They were
alone, would stay that way until tomorrow morning, but a closed door always
alluded to the idea of privacy. He moved closer to her, watched as she moved a
step back, and smiled in amusement. “You actually think you can run from me,
Sorcha.” He tilted his head slightly, scanned his gaze up and down her body,
and then looked back into her eyes. “That’s cute.” He stopped when she came up
against the wall. “You look afraid.”

“I
am … a little bit.”

“You’re
afraid of me?”

She
shook her head.
“No, not of you, but of what you want to do
to me.”

Her
voice had this power moving through him. “And I plan to do a lot to you,
Sorcha.”

“I’m a little concerned there
will be—”

“Pain?”

She nodded.

“You’re afraid I’ll hurt you
because that’s what gets me off?”

“I don’t know, honestly.”

He moved closer so a foot only
separated them. She had looked away from him, and he took hold of her chin with
his thumb and forefinger. “Look at me.” When she was staring right at him he
finished. “I would never harm you. The pain that I think you’re referring to,
which you
think
you’re afraid of, is always in a controlled environment
and only meant to heighten your pleasure.” He stroked her cheek with his finger
and looked at her mouth. “And I’m not a sadist in the sexual sense, not really.
I just want you, Sorcha, and went to great lengths to ensure that.” He leaned
forward another inch until he could feel and smell the warm, sweet scent of her
wine-laced breath along his mouth. “Anything I do to you will bring you just as
much pleasure as it will bring me.” He used his hold on her to tilt her head to
the side, baring her throat, and having her at his mercy with just this small
hold. If she just tilted her head an inch their lips would be touching.

“Out of all the women that you
could have, all of the models, actresses, heiress, why would you want me?”

“I told you why, Sorcha.” He
still stared at her mouth.

“I can’t believe that is the only
reason. I can’t believe that me hating you makes you hard.” She was breathing
heavier now.