“He told you I was here,” Kellen said. He pointed at an empty plate and an empty glass. Apparently he had been waiting for company.
“I’m sorry?” I asked as I started to walk by the table.
“Okay, I understand. Play the game. Circle around. Shake it all for my eyes to see.”
I stopped dead in my tracks.
That actually had been my plan. To walk right by Kellen and torture him a little bit. Make him come back to me again and try to start over, to regain all the power I had lost yesterday when he stood and walked away.
But that didn’t happen.
Not even close.
I turned and looked down at Kellen. “Fine. He mentioned you were here.”
“And you had to rush to see me, didn’t you?”
“Something like that,” I said.
“Why don’t you sit and explain the something then?”
The brightness of his eyes almost made me feel bad for him. Whatever he thought he knew, Jonathan knew ten times more. Jonathan could destroy Kellen in any way he wanted... in business... in his mind... with his bare hands...
“Come, Isabella, sit. Please. I won’t command you, but I’ll properly invite you.”
I looked at Kellen and considered walking away. Somewhere inside me I believed there had to be a better way to take care of things. But I reminded myself that this wasn’t just what Jonathan needed from me. This somehow connected to ‘K’. Jonathan told me Kellen wasn’t ‘K’, but could I believe it? Should I believe it? The way he spoke, how he acted, the outer shell of innocence and the intensity of power on the inside... it made sense. He was staying somewhere local, maybe across the street. He had walked down the hallway of Jonathan’s hotel room. Did he have a key card to get in the room? Was that what he had planned that day... until I opened the door?
“You look flushed,” Kellen said. “Are you okay?”
Kellen slid from the booth and stood next to me. His hands were gentle as he took my arm. My eyes widened and I thought about my punishment the last time he touched me. But Jonathan’s rules were different now. It was okay to be touched. To touch him. I’d just have to shower. To wash Kellen away.
“I’m fine,” I whispered.
“You don’t seem it right now. I’m going to sit you down. You don’t have to stay but please at least catch your breath.”
I nodded and Kellen guided me back to the booth.
I sat and took a deep breath. Whatever power I thought I had was now long gone. There I sat, the same old Isabella Grace, feeling feeble, under the spell of a fantasy that may or may not exist. Staring ahead at Kellen, who looked concerned about me and nothing else.
“Does he hurt you?” Kellen asked.
“Who?” I snapped.
“Jonathan. Does he hurt you?”
“Nobody hurts me,” I said. I regained my composure and looked around, trying to pretend that Kellen was boring me.
“Why are you here?” Kellen asked. “He obviously wants something from me and is using you.”
“I guess I could ask you the same question,” I said. “There’s hundreds of restaurants in this city and you choose this one? In a hotel?”
“Good food,” Kellen said. “And a great view...”
He smiled and my skin broke out in shivers. The way he smiled suggested I was the great view, but I thought about, someone watching Jonathan and I from across the street.
“Why not just handle your business face to face?” I asked. “Why sneak around like this?”
Kellen laughed. “My business is handled. It was done face to face. I’m not sneaking around, am I? I’m in plain view. You saw me.”
I felt my lip wanting to curl. “So you feel Mr. Black isn’t a good customer?”
“He’s a great customer,” Kellen said. “But his numbers didn’t match. I can handle a few dollars here and there, but three billion?”
“It’s accounted for. There’s an investigation...”
“Investigation?” Kellen asked.
“The money pertained to some personal matters.”
“Personal matters, huh? I wasn’t aware that Jonathan Black had a heart to make anything personal.”
Kellen smiled and reached for his glass. It had a few ice cubes and an amber cognac. He sipped and didn’t take his eyes away from me.
“You’re doing it all on purpose, aren’t you?” I asked. “You like messing with him.”
“Of course I do,” Kellen said. “He deserves as much torture and negative attention as he can handle. And for that, I am truly sorry... for you...”
“For me?”
“Sure. You’re in the crosshairs. And you’ll always be. You don’t think I haven’t heard about the murders?”
“The murders?” I asked.
“You’re a terrible liar, Isabella,” Kellen said.
I stiffened, wishing I could control the way my face turned red or white, or just looked plain guilty.
Kellen reached across the table and took my hand.
“It’s okay, I’m not very good at lying either. I prefer to find my own truths...”
That’s one way to get around using the word lie, just another snake in the grass tactic Kellen probably used.
I really didn’t like the man, at all, and it started to make me angry. Why would Jonathan waste even a second with this man? Why did it matter what Kellen wanted?
“Now you look angry,” Kellen said.
“Well, if I’m not going to get answers from you, I’m not going to waste my time. Whether you believe it or not, Kellen, I have my own life to live.”
I started to stand and Kellen matched me.
“You said my name,” he said.
“Yeah. Does that matter?”
“He allowed you to say my name?”
I saw the glimmer in Kellen’s eyes and saw my opening. I took a breath and hoped Jonathan wasn’t near, wasn’t watching. If this was all going to happen and finally come together, it would be done one way or another.
I wiggled towards Kellen, coming close but not touching him.
“I don’t care what he says,” I whispered. “I don’t care what he wants me to say or not to say. I... I had to say your name. I’ve been thinking it for a while...”
Kellen raised an eyebrow. He reached for his glass again and took another drink. I stood silent, giving him the chance to either fall into my trap or to back away and run like hell.
“Well, aren’t you just setting yourself up for heartache?”
“Why do you assume that I’m the one with a heart?”
Kellen smiled. “He doesn’t deserve you, not for a second. You know that, somewhere in your heart. Did he tell you what he did to me?”
“No. He said you wouldn’t help. That you... ruined his project.”
Kellen’s eyes lit up. I’m sure my face burned red but I cracked Kellen’s shell. It was that simple. He blinked and his lips quivered, wanting to smile ear to ear, like a child winning a trophy. I realized that Kellen was as obsessed with Jonathan Black as I was. We wanted the same thing from Jonathan... pleasure. We may have had different ways of achieving that pleasure, but it remained.
I touched Kellen’s hand, the tips of my fingers against the back of his hand.
“You hurt him,” I whispered. “That’s why he hasn’t come down here. He’s... scrambling. Up there.” I looked up. “That’s why I wanted to do this. To find you again. He just paces the room. Stares out the window.”
“He stares out the window?” Kellen asked. “Dangerous move, isn’t it? For a man with so many enemies, I’d hide all the time.”
“What did he do to you?” I asked. “I need to know.”
“Why? Why does any of it matter to you?”
Kellen started to retreat. He was obsessed with Jonathan but he wasn’t stupid.
“I want to know what he did... so he can’t do it to me.”
Kellen swallowed and looked down at his seat.
“I can’t join you right now,” I
said. “I have another... arrangement...”
I thought of using the word ‘meeting’ but it didn’t have the same appeal as ‘arrangement’.
And it worked on Kellen.
He looked at me like a lost child. He looked ready to beg me to stay. I could tell he was about to start shaking, not wanting to be alone.
I had done it.
I had opened him.
And now I had to leave. To leave him with his thoughts and worries, and to keep him on the edge. I fixed my mistake from the night before. But I had to contain myself. Keep a straight face. Keep working it.
“Can I see you again?” Kellen asked.
“If you’ll tell me everything,” I said. “I can’t wait forever. Not for you, not even for him.”
Kellen’s eyes looked ready to pop. They were so blue and actually beautiful, but the innocence they contained proved to be his greatest weakness. He wore his heart everywhere, he was too exposed.
“Tonight, I’ll be here,” Kellen said. “I’ll explain...”
I leaned towards Kellen, surprising myself at my sudden action. I really thought I was going to kiss him. And I wasn’t exactly sure why I had that sudden burst of need to do so. Maybe because he was so innocent. Maybe because I felt bad for him, for whatever fate Jonathan Black already had decided for him. Maybe because... I understood how he felt when it came to Jonathan Black.
Whatever it was, it passed before I didn’t anything crazy. I still had an inch of space separating myself and Kellen.
“See you then,” I whispered.
I had the power as I walked away. True power. Real power. Raw power.
And in those few minutes as I left and thought about it, I understood it.
I understood the power.
I understood the love of it.
And I understood why a man like Kellen couldn’t handle it and why a man like Jonathan Black could.
-9-
It felt like the same scene. Opening the door I found Jonathan waiting for me. Sitting on the couch. Staring at the door. His face cold, sober, giving me no indication of what he knew, how he felt, or what he wanted next.
I closed the door and stood with my hands at my sides.
When he finally looked at me, his eyes were intense. Hungry. Driven. Beautiful.
“All that Kellen has ruined is fixed now,” he said. “My next real estate project is officially underway, Isabella Grace. And by you distracting him, that pencil neck punk, I was able to do it without him knowing. When he finds out what I’ve done... it’s perfect.”
I nodded.
My heart felt relief at first. If this was all a business thing, Jonathan taking Kellen down financially, that didn’t bother me. What bothered me was that it still didn’t answer a thing about ‘K’. Jonathan had shattered the cell phone, the only communication I had with ‘K’... and the thoughts pounded at me. What if ‘K’ had been sending messages? Warnings? Threats? Plans?
“You know what you need to do now,” Jonathan said. He acted calm and waited for me to react.
“Of course,” I whispered and took a step.
“Wait a second,” Jonathan called out. “Not like that. I can almost smell him right now. You were close this time, and I understand it. But it makes my blood boil. It makes me want to explode, Isabella. It makes me want to find him, right now, and end it. For good.”
Jonathan Black turned me on with everything he said and did, and yes, that included murder. His power over everything, even life, was addicting for me. But I couldn’t handle it right then. I wanted it all to be over. And I knew what he really wanted out of me then.
I retreated that single step I took and had my hands at the bottom of the shirt. I took it off and threw it to the floor. My breasts pressed against my bra and as I bent over a little, they started to pour out. My fingers unbuttoned my pants and my hands were gone, inside them, forcing them down my hips and then legs. I stood back up, my pants just below my knees. I knew how it made me look... dirty, desperate, vulnerable. Just how Jonathan Black wanted me. I reached behind my back and unsnapped my bra, feeling the weight of my chest push forward. My nipples became swollen and achy, just knowing Jonathan stared at me and knowing what Jonathan could do to me if he wanted to.
My bra fell to the floor, right at my feet. My body warmed as my nipples throbbed. I let out a sigh and a moan.
“You look ready for me,” Jonathan said.
“I always am,” I said.
My hands touched the front of my panties. I pushed, taking the skimpy silky garment down, revealing the rest of my bare body for Jonathan’s eyes to enjoy. I pushed my panties until they were just above my knees and I stopped. I looked even more desperate now. My tender fold visible, my left hand close to touching myself, but I didn’t. I stood for a few seconds, breathing, bracing myself, and trying not to lose control to my needs.
“Clean yourself,” Jonathan said. “So we can be done for now.”
“Yes, sir,”I said.
I moved my legs, purposely not using my hands. I kicked my pants off as my panties worked down my legs. My breasts bounced when I moved and each time I lifted one leg and then the other, the wetness between my legs rubbed against itself, over and over, sending a wild sensation through my body.
“You’re turned on,” Jonathan said. “You’re practically dripping, Isabella Grace.”
“Because of you,” I said.
Jonathan’s lip curled. That hadn’t been the reaction I was looking for. He turned his head, looking to the bathroom.
I understood.
I walked naked to the bathroom and started the shower. In a matter of seconds, the hot water came and I stepped into the shower. I let out a relaxing moan as the water hit me. Yesterday, when I put my head back into the water, my thoughts were washed away. Even if it only lasted a few minutes, it was worth it.
It didn’t work now.
I had my entire body under the rushing water, breathing in heat, steam, and even droplets of water. Nothing worked. Everything attacked me. Jonathan Black. ‘K’. Kellen. Then I thought of the man Jonathan met earlier... Mr. Denninbraugh. Jonathan’s face when he said he handled his next business venture. Everything happened fast with Jonathan, something I should have been used to by then. But I wasn’t. It occurred to me that every day would probably be the same.
The bathroom door clicked shut and I jumped.
Jonathan was with me, again. I watched his blurry figure move towards the foggy glass door and open it. He stood with the same look on his face, even as a fine mist of water hit him and a cloud of steam pushed against his face.
His Taste (By His Command #7) (billionaire domination / erotic romance) Page 6
