On His Terms (17 page)

“Franklin, I didn’t expect you
back from Europe until later this month,”
Rian
said
with a bored tone in his voice.

“Yes, well things came up, and I
have been meaning to call you.”

“Have you?”
Rian
asked, but he didn’t seem like he cared. “You mean you’ve been meaning to call
me about the paperwork that you should have signed weeks ago, and how you
haven’t been returning my calls?”

“
Rian
,
I told my secretary to forward my messages to you. She didn’t?”

Rian
didn’t respond, just continued
to stare at this man and drink his champagne.

“I’ll
have her fired immediately for her incompetence.” The older man was starting to
sweat, and the nervousness in him was very clear.

Okay, this seemed like a tense
conversation, and the sound of
Rian’s
annoyance was
becoming even clearer with each passing second. This Franklin man was clearly
up Shit Creek without a paddle.

“I’m going to find the restroom,”
Sorcha said to
Rian
, and when he looked like he was
about to argue
she
leaned in and
kissed him softly. He got this dark, aroused look on his face. Sorcha smiled,
and moved away before he could stop her. She didn’t need to use the restroom,
and mainly wanted to gawk at the house, but
Rian
clearly needed to speak with that man and Sorcha didn’t want to stand there and
feel any more uncomfortable.

For the next fifteen minutes she
walked around, stopped to look at the paintings that hung on the walls, the
vases that had their own spotlights on them, and even the glass cabinets that
showcased what she knew had to be
Fabergé
eggs.

“They’re beautiful, are they
not?”

The thickly accented voice came
from behind her. She turned and stared up at a darkly handsome man. His black
hair was slicked back, his dark suit and shirt, tie, and even his eyes matched
the whole “Tall, Dark, and Handsome” thing he had going on.

“Excuse me?”

He pointed to the case. “My eggs,
they are beautiful, right?”

She looked at the case again and
nodded. “Yes, they are.
Breathtaking even.”
He moved
closer, and the scent of his cologne came through like a warm blanket. He
lifted his hand, and it was so close to her that she felt the heat from his
body spear through her.

“These are original handmade
creations by Peter Carl
Fabergé
.” He started
explaining each of them to her, and she realized his accent was Russian. “These
were in my family for the last three generations, and I hold them very dear.
They are one of my most prized possessions.”

“They’re beautiful.”

“They’re not the only thing that
is beautiful in my home.” He turned her around and gave her this very cocky
smile. It was one she had seen plenty of times with
Rian
.
“I saw you alone, wandering the halls and admiring the artwork. You aren’t like
the other snobs at the party.” He grinned again.
 

Oh.
Ok. Wow.
This
guy was totally hitting on her, and she was at a loss for words right now.

“I’m Dominic
Adroniv
the Third.” He took her hand before she could react and brought it to his mouth
for a soft kiss. “Tell me, why are you here alone…” He lifted his eyebrow.

“Sorcha, my name is Sorcha Case.”

“Sorcha, Irish in origin and
meaning light.”

That took her back a step. “Yes,
that’s correct.”

His smile was so darkly handsome
that it actually made her slightly uncomfortable. “So, Sorcha, why are you here
alone?”

“I’m not actually.”

That had him looking amused.
“Well, then the man that accompanied you doesn’t deserve your attention if he
left you alone.”

“I actually wanted to go to the
restroom, and got caught up in all the artwork.” She stared into his dark eyes
and then looked over at where she knew
Rian
was. His
back was to her, but he was now engaged with several other men in conversation.
“I’m actually here with him.”

He turned and looked at where
Rian
stood, and as if her cocky bastard of a man that was
driving her mind and heart wild heard them, he turned and stared at them.

Dominic
retreated
a step and clasped his hands behind his back.
“Ah, Mr.
Rian
Hartford, the devil of the corporate world.”
Dominic sounded a bit impressed when speaking about
Rian
.
“He plays hardball, but I’m glad to say I have him in my court.”

“That he certainly does.” She
instantly felt her cheeks heat, because the thoughts that had entered her mind
were less than innocent. Dominic cleared his throat, and she snapped her head
toward him.

“I certainly don’t try to pick up
women that are already taken, especially by
Rian
.
Please accept my apology for trying to woo you with my
Fabergé
egg charm.”

She chuckled softly and glanced
down. “It was a very nice charm, just for the record.”

He smiled and bowed, actually
bowed to her in that old-world gentlemanly way. “With that I’ll leave you to
enjoy the artwork, and just so you know,” he pointed to door off to the side.
“The bathroom, for when you’re finished.” He bowed again, and then turned and
left her alone.

She looked at
Rian
again, saw that he watched her with curiosity and with a hint of heat, and then
his attention was drawn toward the men speaking to him again. She glanced at
the eggs again, stared at the detail put into each one, and then finally turned
to the bathroom.

She
pushed open the door and stared at the marble gold and white opulence. Clearly
this Dominic man did not skimp on the price tag when it came to decorating his
place, even the bathroom. After using the facility she went to the sink and
washed her hands. After drying them she stared at her reflection in the mirror,
surprised her hair was still in the same perfectly placed up-do as when she
first got it, and for the first time in her life she actually felt as beautiful
as
Rian
said she was. Of course she didn’t think she
was ugly, but what woman didn’t have off days where they looked at themselves
in the mirror and thought they looked like death run over twice? The bathroom
door opened, and before Sorcha could see who it was the woman started speaking.

“I
wondered where you went off to.” The woman that spoke was gorgeous and svelte,
and had a body that was tight and toned. Her blonde hair was left down and
flowing,
and her lips were bright red, which matched her
dress. In a nutshell she was gorgeous and perfect, and the type of woman that
annoyed Sorcha.

“Excuse
me? Do I know you?” Sorcha turned around and stared at the blonde. No, she had
never seen the woman, especially not if she ran in these kind of circles.

The
woman crossed her arms over her chest, which popped out her breasts. “No, we’ve
never met, but you’re seeing a man that isn’t yours.” The woman curled her lip
in disgust and glanced up and down Sorcha. “I’m Beatrice,” she lifted a
perfectly plucked eyebrow, “and
Rian
belongs with
me.”

Oh.
Okay, this was awkward, as clearly
this was the woman
Rian
had gotten the text message
from. “I’m Sorcha—”

“Save
it. I know every woman wants
Rian
. He’s quite the
catch, wealthy and comes from a good family, but you and I need to get
something straight.” The woman stepped forward. “He has commitment issues, and
because of that I am giving him a little bit of breathing room.”

Sorcha
knitted her brows when the woman stepped forward once more. They were only
inches from each other now. “I think you misunderstand what is going on here.”

Beatrice
shook her head. “No, I didn’t misunderstand anything. You’re just another one
of his sluts that he’ll get rid of when he gets bored.”

Anger
filled Sorcha, and she curled her hands into fist by her sides. This woman
insulted her, yet she knew nothing about her. “Kind of like you, right?” Sorcha
lifted her eyebrow in return and smiled when Beatrice’s face went red.

“How
dare you? Do you know who I am?”

“I
don’t give a shit
who
you are. Clearly you don’t know
who
I
am.” Sorcha took a step closer,
and although she wanted to slap this bitch, she wasn’t going to. “Now back the
fuck up, and when
Rian
gets ‘bored’ with me, he’s all
yours.” Sorcha hated saying that, because her feelings for
Rian
had grown, and thinking about him with another woman, especially this Medusa
type one, hurt. But she didn’t need this shit. She moved by Beatrice and left
the bathroom. Halfway down the hallway she was yanked to a stop, spun around,
and then Beatrice was in her face.

“I
can tolerate
Rian
sowing his oats until he realizes
that I am the woman for him. I’ve been watching him do it for years, waiting
for my time when he’d finally see me, and I’m not about to let some poor bitch
that can’t even handle her bills, who is a secretary for
Rian
,
get
in the way of me being with him.”

Sorcha’s
anger rose, and she tried to control
herself
, but she
just couldn’t, not anymore. “Seems like you’re just like every other woman he’s
fucked, and then tossed out.” She was so much better than this, better than
arguing with this petty bitch, but there were some things that she just
couldn’t control, and being insulted by this rich bitch was pushing it. “You’re
nothing but a snob.” Sorcha gritted her teeth, but before she could say
anything else, or walk away, which was the smart thing to do, Beatrice slapped
her right across the face. The sound of flesh hitting flesh echoed off the
walls and cathedral style ceilings, but it was the sudden deathly silence that
filled and surrounded Sorcha. She cupped her cheek on instinct, felt her rage
grow as the blood rushed to the point of abuse, and knew that if it came down
to it she’d beat this bitch’s ass. Instead of taking the bait she turned and
left.

“Sorcha,”
Rian
said in this concerned voice.

She
walked by him and shook off his hold when he tried to stop her. “Please,
Rian
. I can’t stay here. I just need to be alone for a
little bit, gather my thoughts.” She wasn’t trying to be a bitch to him, or
push him away from how she felt. But everything Beatrice said struck her deep,
and all she needed was a little alone time. Yes, she was running, but there was
nothing wrong with that on occasion.

“Please,
Sorcha baby,” he said in this pained voice, and she wanted to just run in his
arms, but she refrained.

“I
just need a minute,
Rian
. We’ll talk later.”

He
clenched his jaw, but nodded. It looked like he wanted to argue, but he nodded.
Surely he knew what it meant to need some time alone. She headed right out the
front door and found the limo they had come in parked a ways down. The driver
stood beside it, and she walked toward him. He saw her approach and
straightened, looked behind her probably for
Rian
,
but she just climbed in the back seat without his help.

“Miss?”
he said and leaned down to look in the open doorway.

She
wanted to go home, to her home, but instead she looked at him and told him to
take her to
Rian’s
place. He looked at her cheek,
probably saw a handprint covering it, but she just turned her head away and
told him without words to get the fuck moving and stop gawking.

God,
she wanted
Rian
more than she had ever wanted another
man. But if he cared for her as much as she thought he did, as much as she saw
in his face as he looked at her, could she really live in this kind of
lifestyle?

Chapter
Fourteen

Rian
wanted to go with her, to follow
Sorcha out and talk to her. He had seen part of the altercation between
Beatrice and Sorcha, but Beatrice was lucky Sorcha hadn’t kicked her ass,
because his woman could have taken her easily. He fumed that Beatrice had
confronted her, and hit her, and he wasn’t going to stand by and let this
slide. Of course he had known Beatrice would be here, because her family ran in
the same circles as he did. But to think she’d stoop this low, actually hit
Sorcha because of her jealousy, pissed
Rian
off.

“Excuse
me.”
Rian
excused himself from the stockbrokers he
spoke to and made his way toward Beatrice, who was now speaking with another
socialite. He stopped behind her, so angry he was squeezing the champagne glass
so tightly he thought he might shatter it. The woman Beatrice was speaking with
straightened and looked at him, clearly sensing his rage, and excused herself.

Beatrice
turned around and stared at him with this bored expression on her face. “
Rian
, I take it you saw that little show?” she said and
glanced around, clearly not caring how shit went down.