On His Terms (20 page)

Rian
started to thrust back into her.
“Brace yourself on your elbows, Sorcha. I want you to watch as I take you. I
want you to see my cock going into your sweet little wet pussy, and know that
you’re mine. This is mine, and I don’t share.”

Those
words meant so much more than face value. She did as he asked, watching with
wide eyes as he pushed the remaining inches into her and pulled back out. He
did this with measured, expert movements, skilled in knowing how to torment and
arouse her without even trying. His focus was on her when she glanced at him.
Head downcast, gaze trained right on her, and eyelids at half mast,
Rian
looked frightening as much as he looked attractive.

“Watch,
Sorcha.” His face looked controlled, but his voice was strained. His arms were
braced on either side of her, and his muscles bunched. It was a façade, because
he was losing it, too.

She
glanced down between her thighs, and a gasp-moan left her at the sight. The
light still came through the window, and gave her an illuminated, unobstructed
view of what was going on. Her pussy hole was stretched wide around his cock,
his thickness impressive yet frightening. He moved faster into her, pulling out
and pumping back in. The sound of their wet skin slapping together filled the
room, drowned her senses, and drove her need higher.

“Do
you see how perfectly you’re made for me?” His deep voice cracked, a telling
sign that he was about to go over the edge. Her climax was so close she could
feel it start in her lower back, the pleasure slowly building until it would
explode within her.

“Oh,
fuck. I’m so close, Sorcha, so damn close.” He groaned and grunted. “You’re
going to come again, baby.” He moved his thumb to her clit and started rubbing
it quickly. He pounded faster and harder into her, the sound of her pussy
suctioning his dick loud to her ears.

So close.

She
fell back on the bed, loving the way
Rian
worked that
digit on her clit. Sorcha moved her hands back to the headboard, grabbed the
slats tightly, and braced herself for the onslaught of pleasure. She opened her
mouth to scream out, the eroticism so magnetizing she couldn’t control herself.
Her pussy tightened of its own accord and milked his cock until her whole body
ached from the aftermath. She opened her eyes, not even realizing she had
closed them.

His
breathing hitched, and his face became a mask of pleasure when he suddenly
jerked out of her, grabbed his shaft, and stroked it quickly. The vision of his
cock in his hands, glistening from her juices, was a sight beyond words. He
groaned, his eyes never leaving hers as ribbon after ribbon of cum shot out of
him and landed on her stomach and chest. That sight alone could have given her
another orgasm.

He
stared her, a small, satisfied smile tugging at his lips. “I could watch you
come all night long.”

“I
don’t know if I could handle all night long.”

He
moved off the bed, and she watched him walk into the bathroom. His naked body
was certainly a sight, and she realized that being with him made her feel truly
beautiful. She didn’t feel fat or ugly when with him, because the way he looked
at her, touched her, and kissed her, told her that
Rian
liked every bump and curve on her body. Lying there, sated and relaxed, she
closed her eyes. The sound of running water pierced her relaxation, but she
kept her eyes closed and smiled. A moment later she felt a warm, wet cloth
smooth over her flesh. Opening her eyes, she watched as
Rian
cleaned her off before slipping into bed beside her. He covered them with the
blankets and pulled her so she was flush with him—back to chest. Staring out
the window, she could see the sky and stars, and tonight they looked so clear.

God,
this man had made her fall for him, and that scared the hell out of her. Even
after all the shit that had happened she couldn’t block her emotions out for
Rian
. She was returning to work Monday, and she didn’t know
how things would play out. How awkward would it be once work started again?

All
she could hope for was that letting her heart open to more than just
disinterest toward this man wouldn’t hurt her in the end.

****

The end of the contract

Sorcha
tightened her hold on her bag and stepped out of the bedroom.
 
The week had flown by, and now that it was
Sunday evening she would be returning to her crappy little apartment, with her
crappy personal possessions, and her mundane life. She supposed she didn’t have
any more debt concerning her mother’s hospital bills, which would help her
immensely on saving up and maybe one day getting a small house she could call
her own. She moved toward the study, expecting to see
Rian
there. He sat behind his desk, his phone pressed to his ear, and his voice
tense and low.

“I’ll
have the proposal drafted up, and have the figures in place if it takes me all
fucking night.” He was silent for a moment as he listened to whoever he was
speaking with. “No, I’m not going to have someone else do this, because if I
want something done right I clearly have to do it myself.” After a few seconds
he hung up, exhaled, and stared out the window.

“The
car is taking you back?” he asked and looked at her.

She
nodded and felt this emptiness start to fill her. She could see this flicker of
emotion cross his face.

He
stood and moved toward her, and when he was a foot from her, he said, “I can
take you back.”

“You
don’t have to do that. I know you are swamped with work, and with the workweek
starting tomorrow it’ll be hectic.” Although she wanted more from him, this was
all so new for both of them. Yes, they had said how they felt, had expressed
their emotions, but they also needed to really think about all of this.

“I’m
sorry I’ve been busy on our last day.” He cupped her face. “There was an issue
with some paperwork never being drafted, and a potential client backing out of
a deal we had set in motion for a while now. I’ve been trying to patch things
up so I don’t lose a shitload of money in the process.”

She
nodded and smiled. “I know, and it’s okay.” Sorcha didn’t bother admitting that
today she had snuck in glimpse of him working, or the concentration he
exhibited, and of how much she wanted to kiss the look of determination off his
face. It may have only been a week that they had spent together, and those
seven days had gone quickly, but it seemed like they had been together for far
longer, even if it sounded silly and cliché.

“You’re
thinking an awful lot right now,” he said deeply.

“I’ve
been thinking a lot lately, especially after the party and the whole Beatrice
thing.” She spoke just as softly. Something passed across his face, and she
wanted to ask him what he was thinking.

“Yeah,
not the most memorable time of this week.”

That
was an understatement, but she was about to tell him that what she had been
thinking about concerned them, and how she wanted to see where they could go.
Sorcha didn’t want this to be the end of their time together. She might have
hated him before all of this, and a week wasn’t nearly long enough to determine
if anything more than a sexual relationship could blossom, but she knew she
wanted to try. But she also knew that
Rian
had a lot
on his plate right now, and that they had plenty of time to work the small
stuff out.

“Are
you ready, Miss Case?” Theodore asked from behind her.

“I’m
ready.” She stared at
Rian
, and then leaned forward
to kiss him soundly. For several seconds all they did was stand there, their
lips pressed together and their breathing the same hurried tempo.

“I’m
not about to let you go,” he said against her mouth, but it was so soft she
didn’t know if she had heard him correctly.

Pulling
away shouldn’t have been so difficult. Sorcha wanted to tell him that she
didn’t want him to let her go, that she wanted to go further, but she didn’t
say anything, and instead smiled. “I should go and let you get back to work.”

“Okay,
if that’s what you want.”

No,
it wasn’t, but she did need to get home, even if she wanted to stay here with
him.

He
shoved his hands in his front pockets. “I’ll see you Monday, Sorcha.”

“Okay.”
She turned and headed toward the front door, but glanced over her shoulder once
more. There he stood, dress slacks and button-down shirt all crisp and perfect,
his shirtsleeves rolled up his muscular forearms, and the first few button left
undone at his collar. He was wealthy and gorgeous, but that wasn’t why she felt
this way. No, she felt this way because these were the first real emotions she
had ever experienced. She didn’t want to ignore that because of the one side of
Rian
that he portrayed the majority of the time. With
one last look at him, she left, and went back to her apartment, and the only
thing on her mind was what in the hell the future held?

She
arrived back at her place, grabbed her bag, and watched from the corner as the
black luxury car pulled away.

“Hi,”
Cora said from the front steps of Sorcha’s apartment, a cigarette in her hand.

Sorcha
had messaged her friend on the way back from
Rian’s
,
so she was just glad she wasn’t going to be alone, and had someone to talk this
out with. They both entered the building, climbed the steps, and once inside of
her place she shut the door and leaned against it.

“So,
tell me. The texts didn’t give me shit,” Cora said, the curiosity clear on her
face.

Sorcha
pushed away from the door and walked past the kitchen, but she stopped when she
saw a vase with so many white and red roses in it she couldn’t even count them
all. On the table was a card and box wrapped with blue tissue and tied with a
white bow. Sorcha glanced at Cora, who was propped against the couch. “What’s
this?”

Cora
shrugged. “No clue. There was a note when I got here twenty minutes ago from
the landlord that you had a package at his office. I picked it up for you.”

Sorcha
nodded. “Thank you.” She set her bag down and grabbed the card. Inside it just
read, “It’s not over”, and it was signed with the initials RH. The postage on
the card stated that these had been ordered today. “God, he had these sent over
while I was still at his house,” she said to herself, but Cora came to stand
beside her.

She
whistled low under her breath. “Seems like a week was plenty of time to have
the arrogant Mr. Hartford falling head over heels for you,” Cora said and
snatched the card out of her hands. Cora read the card and set it on the table.
“Open the box.”

Sorcha
reached for it, unwrapped the dainty little thing, and when she opened the lid
her heart stopped.

“Holy
shit, look at the diamonds and pearls on that.”

Inside
were the bracelet and earrings that
Rian
had given
her on the night of the dinner party, the ones with the little sparrow and the
dainty little jewels on them.

“That’s
one hell of a parting gift.” Cora walked into the kitchen and grabbed two
glasses and a bottle of wine. “You have a lot of explaining to do, because I
have a feeling
Rian
Hartford doesn’t give that kind
of shit out to just any woman he screws.”

Sorcha
looked at the earrings and bracelet again. She looked at Cora, who held out a
filled glass of wine to her. “I think I want more with
Rian
than just this one week.”

Cora
gave her a sympathetic look, and said, “Honey, we need to get a major buzz on
if we are going to go down that road.”

And
for the next hour Sorcha spilled everything that had happened in the last week,
and how she was digging herself a hole when it came to wanting a man like
Rian
Hartford.

Chapter
Sixteen

Monday morning

Sorcha
stepped off of the elevator and into the office of
Rian
Hartford. It was early, and she didn’t expect him for another hour or so, but
already her nerves were a wreck. After drinking a bottle of wine with Cora last
night, and then looking at the jewelry after her friend had left, she knew what
she wanted to do. Aside from the animosity that they had shared these last six
months, and the fact her being with him for that week had been less than normal
in any sense, Sorcha couldn’t deny that what she felt for him wasn’t just a
passing emotion. She set her purse on the table, and the bracelet
Rian
had given her slid down her wrist. Her heart beat
faster at the sight and feel of it. The sound of the elevator approaching told
her
Rian
was early. She had refrained from calling
him after Cora had left to thank him for the gift, because she would much
rather tell him in person. What surprised her the most, though, was that Cora
backed up any decision she had. She was a true friend, and if things didn’t
work out, then Sorcha knew Cora would still have her back, and be that shoulder
she needed.