Take Me: The Complete Series (Power Play #1-4) (20 page)

“Somewhere more private.”

He leads me off to a booth in the far corner of the bar. He gestures for me to sit, and I give him only a fleeting glance before sliding into the booth. Isaac sits on the same side with me. He moves in close, the heat and weight of him overcoming me.

“What are you doing?” I ask, alarmed by his sudden nearness.

He gives me an innocent look.

“Sitting down, of course.”

“But why are you sitting
here
?”

He studies me for a moment before responding. His face hardens from his usual light-heartedness to something more intense.

“What are we doing here, Hannah?”

His tone is serious.

“We’re talking…”

He shakes his head.

“Why now? We haven’t talked all week.”

My chest seizes up. I’ve already thought about the answer to this question, but that doesn’t make it any easier to lie to him. I shrug a shoulder and give him an uncertain look to buy myself a little more time. He takes it as an opportunity to start making assumptions.

“You missed me, didn’t you?”

My brow pulls together.

“What? No!”

The cocky grin on his face spreads even wider as he bobs his head.

“Yep, that’s it right there. You tried to play hard to get and then you started getting a little lonely.”

He puts his hand on my thigh, giving it a light squeeze. Energy pulses through every muscle in my body at his touch. I tense for a moment, not sure if I should push his hand away or make him take me right there.

The sudden thought of him having me right there in the bar startles me. I need to get a hold of myself!

“That’s not it, at all.”

I place my hand on his, stopping him from going any higher up my leg.

“Then what is it?” he asks, his tone getting serious, again.

Cold nerves wash over me. I can’t keep beating around the bush—I have to be straight with him. I hate feeling like I’m leading him on.

“I need to talk to you about BMG,” I say, flatly.

 
Isaac’s eyes narrow as he considers me. He lets out a deep breath as he pulls his hand away from my thigh. The sudden absence of his touch leaves a cold spot on my leg.

“So that’s it, then?”

“You told me you were going to have your people look over the deal again and get back to us… and we still haven’t heard anything.”

His lips spread into a disbelieving smile.

“Bloody hell. After last time, you finally call me so we can talk
business
?” My pulse races faster with each heated word that comes out of his mouth. “Is that all this is to you? Just business?”

“Isaac don’t be like this—“

“
Don’t be like what
?” He cuts me off. “Don’t be
honest
? I thought that’s what you wanted from me—honesty. Or do you only want the truth when it’s convenient for you?

I let out a frustrated sigh and fix him with a hard look.

“You know it can’t be anything more than that, no matter how we feel.”

His gray eyes go wide as his body turns sideways in the booth to face me.

“Why can’t it be? We can make it whatever we want.”

“It’s not that simple.”

“Bollocks!”

Heat is rolling off of him in waves. It’s the same anger that he had back at my apartment the last time he was there.

“We’ve been over this. Things just aren’t as simple as you want them to be.”

“Bollocks!” he repeats. He gives me a frustrated look. “Tell me
why
.”

“I’ve
already
told you why.”

“Tell me again.”

I give him an exasperated look.

“You live in London. I live in New York! We’ve got our separate lives. You already know all of this…”

He gives me a hard look for a time before he turns away and starts muttering under his breath again. His accent is so thick that I can’t even understand what he’s saying. He’s frustrated, and that’s making me frustrated. Why does he have to keep bringing it up? Why can’t he just understand that some things aren’t meant to work out?

After a long minute he lets out a deep sigh, calming himself before he turns back to face me.

“Fine. You want to talk business, let’s talk business.” The usual little smirk appears on his face. He’s got something on his mind. “You still want me to look over the deal, then I will. But on one condition…”

“What is it?” I ask, slowly.

“You have to go on a date with me.”

My eyebrows rise.

“Isaac, why are you doing this?”

The smirk on his face spreads a little wider and he bobs his head in a nod.

“That’s right. Date Number Two. And this time there are going to be some new rules…”

“New rules?”

“I’ll let you know what they are when the time is right.”

I give him a confused look, and then shake my head, trying to make sense of everything he’s saying.

“Let me get this straight… If I go on Date Number Two with you, you’ll do the deal?”

He cocks an eyebrow at me.

“I’ll give it serious consideration.”

I shake my head.

“That’s not good enough. If I go on the date then I want more assurances.”

The cocky little smirk on his face has spread into a wide, wolfish smile.

“You’re in my world now, kitten. And I’ve got all of the negotiating leverage. How do you Yanks say it?
It’s my way or the highway
?”

My look flattens.

“It’s something like that…”

Despite the fact that I’m annoyed he won’t agree to the deal, I’d be lying if I said that I wasn’t a little excited by the prospect of going on a date with him. The last date was a lot of fun, even despite the fact that it had been rudely interrupted by Declan. I know it’s not the smart thing to do. I know that I’m going to have a hard time keeping my emotions in check. But what other choice do I have? I told Declan that I would do anything to help the company—and this is what I have to do.

“Fine,” I say, after a while. “I’ll go on the date with you. But no funny business!”

The look on his face is one of absolute triumph.

“Why, kitten,
I’m
the one that will be making the rules.”

Date Number 2.

Am I really doing this?

I stare at myself in the mirror, scooping strands of my long brown hair back into place, needlessly. I’m surprised to find that I look a whole lot more determined than I feel on the inside. On the inside I’m a nervous, jittery mess. But I guess that’s to be expected with everything that’s been going on.

Why did I agree to go on another date with Isaac? Staying away from him the last few days has been hard enough, but now I’m going to add fuel to the fire. Do I really think I’m going to be able to keep everything
just business
after yet another date with the Sexy Brit?

I give myself one more final look before checking my phone again. It’s already after seven and I haven’t heard anything from him. Maybe I won’t be meeting Isaac for a date at all if he doesn’t get in touch with me to let me know where I’m supposed to be going.

Just as I’m thinking that, the ringer on my door buzzes, startling me.

Who in the world could that be?

When I pull the door open, one of the building attendants is standing there with an envelope and a package in his hands. He gives me a soft smile.

“This came for you. The courier made it sound pretty urgent.”

I take the envelope and package from him and thank him before I shut the door.

My brow knits together in puzzlement as I stare down at a gold monogram adorning the outside of the envelope. It’s a seal that reads “Drake Holdings” in the middle, with “Isaac Drake” written in a semi-circle across the top of it. I’ve seen the seal before—it’s the official one for Isaac’s company. And his name across the top means that it’s
his
official seal.

The seal on the envelope gives way easily, and I pull out a card with another fancy monogram on it. There’s a message printed on the card. I bite my lip with anticipation as I read it.

===
Drake Holdings
===

Kitten,

Tonight we’ll be playing a little game called
Isaac Says
. The rules are simple. Throughout the night you’ll receive 5 messages like this one. Each will contain a message that begins with
“Isaac Says”
. You must do whatever the message tells you to do.

Failure to comply will result in harsh punishments. Spanking and hair pulling not withstanding.

I hope you’re ready to have some fun…

Isaac

PS—
 

Isaac Says
, wear what’s in the package. Meet me at
Flanning’s
immediately.

PPS—

I’ll know if you break the rules.

===
Isaac Drake
===

A smile spreads across my face as I read the message a second time. I tear into the package that came along with the note. Inside I find a bright red scarf that will go very nicely with the black cocktail dress I picked out to wear. But it’s what is with the scarf that catches me off guard. A pair of thin, red-laced panties sits beneath it. My eyes widen as I hold them up to inspect them.

I read the note again, wondering for a second just how Isaac will possibly know if I don’t do what he says. But I can’t deny the fact that his little game does sound like a lot of fun. He has a way of forcing me out of my comfort zone.

I quickly change into the panties and draw the scarf around my neck. I study myself in the mirror, making sure the scarf leaves just enough of my cleavage showing to make Isaac notice, then I high-tail it down to the street to hail a cab.

Flanning’s
is a steakhouse on the Upper East Side and it doesn’t take long to get there. My mind is racing the whole way there, wondering what other messages Isaac will have in store for me. What other possible activities has the Sexy Brit come up with?

The maitre d’s face spreads into a wide smile when he sees me walk in, as though he recognizes me.

“Ah, yes, madam. We have a table waiting for you.”

I give him an uncertain look, puzzled by how quickly he recognized me. He either doesn’t notice or overlooks my confusion as he turns to lead me to a table located in a secluded little part of the fancy restaurant.

“Please, enjoy your visit.”

He gives me a quick bow before disappearing back to the front of the restaurant. But I’m not paying any more attention to him. My eyes are locked on what is sitting on the table—another envelope with the same monogram printed on it. It looks exactly like the one that was delivered to me. Nervous butterflies flutter around my stomach as I pick it up and slowly break the seal on it.

===
Drake Holdings
===

Kitten,

Isaac Says: Go to the ladies’ room and take your panties off. Leave them in your purse when you come back.

Isaac

PS—

Don’t forget, I’ll know if you don’t follow the rules.

===
Isaac Drake
===

Hairs on the back of my neck stand on end as I read the message for a second and then third time. He wants me to do
what
? I cast a nervous look around the restaurant, certain that everyone is going to know the thoughts going through my head right then—certain that everyone will know that I’m actually considering doing what the message says.

Do I really have a choice?

I don’t know how Isaac will know if I
don’t
do it, but it’s obvious that he’s thought everything through.

I give another quick look around the room before grabbing my clutch and sneaking off to the ladies’ room. It feels like everyone is watching me as I skitter all the way there. I’m sure I’m just being paranoid. I’ve never quite done anything like this—blindly following instructions left for me on a card. Even having sex with Isaac at work somehow seems more innocent than this tantalizing little game he’s starting.

I quickly hide myself in one of the stalls, thankful that no one else is in the washroom to see me. I bite my lip, hesitating for only a few more seconds before I slide the red panties off. My hands shake slightly with nerves as I ball them up and stuff them into my clutch. My heart is racing a million miles a minute as a little smile tugs at my cheeks. I’m not sure if I can’t believe that I’m actually doing this, or if I can’t believe that I’m actually having fun doing it.

Keep focused
, I remind myself.

I’m here for a very specific reason, and it’s only going to make things worse if I forget that fact.

When I make my way back out of the ladies’ room and head back to the table, my breath hitches in my chest.

Isaac is standing next to the table. His eyes lock onto mine as soon as I see him. He’s standing there, waiting for me, with that cocky, secretive smirk tugging at the corners of his lips. He’s wearing a dark suit with a navy blue tie. The nice suit contrasts sharply with the scruff on his cheek and his tousled, messy hair. His cool, gray eyes drink all of me in as I try not to stumble on my way back to the table.

“My kitten,” he says as I draw close. “I see you got my package.”

His eyes fall to the red scarf wrapped around my neck before he leans in and kisses me on the cheek. My heart flutters when I feel the bristle of his chin graze against me, the roughness of a man who is always so delicate with me.

“I see you finally decided to show up,” I tease, when he pulls away.

“What makes you think I haven’t been here all along?”

He swings one hand around, gesturing towards our table, while his other slides to my lower back. He gently guides me toward my chair, then scoots it out and holds it for me. My smile spreads even wider as I sit down and watch him take his own seat.

“It does seem like you’re always watching when I least expect it,” I say. His lips and cheeks pull together in a tight wince. I cock a brow in victory. “Too soon?”

“I suppose I had that one coming.” My grin spreads even wider at the tiny victory. “I see you’re one-for-one on your instructions so far.”

“One-for-one? I’ve followed all of your instructions so far.”

“Is that so?”

In a flash, Isaac reaches a hand under the table and slides it between my legs. It delves deeper, unrelenting until his fingers press against the soft flesh of my sensitive folds. My breath hitches with a sharp gasp as my eyes go wide, startled by the sudden invasion. I’m surprised at how quickly I feel myself get wet beneath his touch.