On Her Terms (Premiere Companions Book 2)

by Doris O'Connor

  EVERNIGHT PUBLISHING ®

  www.evernightpublishing.com

  Copyright© 2016 Doris O’Connor

  ISBN: 978-1-77339-016-1

  Cover Artist: Jay Aheer

  Editor: Karyn White

  ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

  WARNING: The unauthorized reproduction or distribution of this copyrighted work is illegal. No part of this book may be used or reproduced electronically or in print without written permission, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in reviews.

  This is a work of fiction. All names, characters, and places are fictitious. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, organizations, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

  DEDICATION

  For all my lovely readers, and especially Nicole.

  ON HER TERMS

  Premiere Companions, 2

  Doris O’Connor

  Copyright © 2016

  Chapter One

  It had seemed so easy in theory. Now, the moment had arrived—not so easy.

  Nicole nervously shredded her paper napkin, convinced that everyone in the foyer would know why she was waiting there. After all, she had nursed the same coffee for the last forty five minutes, and she didn’t belong here…

  None of this was her. Not the sinfully expensive dress she’d have to be peeled out of, nor the hotel room waiting upstairs, and certainly not what she had signed up for. Dammit, she would have one night of passion, however, before she signed her life away in a loveless marriage, arranged by her father.

  Tears threatened, when she allowed herself to think about the turn her life had taken. Finding your long lost parent ought to be a joyous occasion in any girl’s life, not the start of a nightmare. At least, now she knew why her mother had run, and kept her father’s identity a secret, until her death. Nicole had been so happy when he’d made contact. Every girl’s dream come true, discovering the father she’d wondered about her whole life not only wanted to get to know her, but was as rich as Croesus.

  Of course nothing in life was that simple, was it? Barely six months into this new, exciting existence, and she was expected to seal a business deal.

  How dare her father sell her virginity as though as it was a prize? Utterly archaic and immoral, not to say illegal in her opinion. Still, all her objections had fallen on deaf ears.

  “I can’t see why you make such a big deal of this, girl. You have to get married sooner or later, so why not help your father out in the process? This is simply how we do things. Jamison wants you. He won’t sign on the deal I need without you in his bed. You could do so much worse than him. And he’s marrying you, for pity’s sake. Not as though you’ll ever want for anything. Be grateful. Or do you want to go back to that slum existence I pulled you out of?”

  That barb had stung, really stung, and Nicole had sat there open mouthed, utterly unable to form a reply.

  “There, now, don’t upset yourself. You’ll like Jamison, you’ll see.”

  Her father’s words rang in her ear, and she picked up another napkin. At this rate she’d have made enough confetti to throw at her own wedding. She pulled a face at that thought. Despite her best efforts to pull out of this sham, she was getting married on Saturday. The church was booked, half the town invited, and she had the most beautiful wedding gown sitting in her closet … and she had yet to meet the groom.

  “He’s busy, and still out of town, but he’ll be there, don’t you worry. Jamison never reneges on an agreement. I’ve known the man for the last twenty years.”

  And that was exactly what Nicole was afraid of. While she’d never clapped eyes on Jamison Oliver Stanthon—the internet had brought no further clues to the man’s identity—by the very definition of being one of her father’s longest standing business associates, he was old.

  She was turning twenty-three for goodness sakes, not forty-three.

  So, she’d taken matters in her own hands. After all if her father could use Premiere Companions, then so could she. She’d met enough of the ladies provided by that agency over the various functions Papa had made her attend, to know this high class escort agency screened their employees very carefully. If she was going to do this—lose her virginity on her terms— then she would do so as safely as she could. Her enquiries had proved most fruitful, so here she was. Who knew Premiere Companions would have just the man for the job?

  That should probably worry her, but, at least she was assured to be assigned a man of experience, one who knew what he was doing, and most importantly one of her own choosing. If it was also one last act of rebellion toward her father and the man who was effectively forcing her into marriage then so much the better.

  The sleek looking sports car pulling up outside the hotel snared her attention. Her throat went dry when its occupant flung his hold-all over one shoulder, and strolled toward the entrance.

  Dressed all in blue, like he’d said.

  When he smiled at the valet, Nicole’s nerves fled, and everything south clenched in need. Good grief. That smile promised all sort of wicked delights. The rational side of her knew that might not be him. After all why would a man as ruggedly handsome and clearly well off need or even want to sleep with women for money? Surely, they would be falling at his feet, but a girl could dream, right?

  This man had the long legged walk of a predator, full of intent focus, and when his piercing blue gaze sought hers through the pane of glass separating them, she couldn’t have looked away if her life had depended on it. Dressed in what had to be a tailor-made blue business suit, which brought out the cobalt in his eyes even more, his salt and pepper hair and the five o’clock shadow he already sported on his chiseled jaw, despite it just having turned midday spoke of his experience. Exactly what she’d asked for. Nicole hadn’t held onto her virginity for this long to give it away on a whim, after all, and men her own age had never done it for her.

  Which might well be why Papa thought she wouldn’t object to marry a man his age, which would have been true, had she actually chosen the man herself. Like she’d chosen her escort for tonight.

  All conscious thought and the ability to breathe left her when the stranger stopped just outside the window and gave her body a slow, lingering appraisal, which should have ticked her off. Nicole was used to men staring at her. She was the daughter of the famous Don Cabrizi, after all. Worth a fortune in her own right, and utterly untouchable unless Papa sold her, like he had done.

  When at long last this stranger’s piercing gaze connected with hers, something hard and dangerous flashed across his features. Had she not been watching him so intently, she might have missed it, but then he smiled, inclined his head to the entrance, walked off in that direction, and Nicole drew a much needed breath into her oxygen-starved lungs.

  What on earth had just happened? That had to be the man she was here to see, surely, and if he was…

  Not for the first time, Nicole thought she might be in over her head. She’d thought this way she’d be in control of the whole thing. After all, she had made her expectations very clear, but this man seemed far too much of anything for her to have any control over what might happen. Which was what she had asked for on paper, but she hadn’t expected to have such a visceral, gut-wrenching reaction at first sight. Heaven only knew what would happen when he spoke to her, let alone touched her.

  She couldn’t do this after all. Nicole almost knocked over the remains of her cappuccino in her haste to get away from the tiny table, before a shadow blocked out the sun streaming in.

  “I hope you’re not thinking of leaving so soon.”

  Oh my goodness, that voice.

  Like molten chocolate it drippe
d into her consciousness. Deep, dark, with the hint of an American accent, those gravelly tones held her spellbound. When a heavy hand landed on her shoulder, she sank back into her chair without any conscious effort at all.

  “Nicoletta Cabrizi, I assume?”

  There was a hint of humor in that dark voice this time, and disappointment gnawed a hole in her gut. Of course he would recognize her. She’d been a fool to ever think she could get away with this, yet she had to try.

  “I’ve no idea who you are, or who that might be. If you don’t mind, I’m waiting for someone. He’ll be right here.”

  The chair opposite scraped along the marble tiles as this stranger pulled it out. His hold-all made a heavy thud on the floor when he threw it down, and then folded his long frame into the dainty looking piece of furniture.

  He should have looked ridiculous in it, but the way his tall body filled out that seat simply enhanced this man’s masculinity. One leg crossed at the ankle over his knee he rocked back on the chair legs to regard her thoughtfully.

  “Nicoletta.” He rolled her name of his tongue in such a way that it felt like a caress. It made her blink away unexpected tears, because only dear Mama had ever put that intonation on her name like that. As though she was the most precious thing in the world.

  “Don’t call me that.”

  Her voice came out much sharper than she’d intended it to, and far too breathless, damn it. She forced herself to look at him directly, and the glimmer of amusement she saw in his blue eyes made her angry.

  “Why not? It is your name is it not?”

  “That’s none of your business. Like I said I’m waiting for someone, so—”

  “Jamie, from Premiere Companions, at your service, Nicole.”

  She gasped at his interruption, not least because it was accompanied with the most sinful smile she had ever seen on a man. His gaze dropped briefly to the scalloped neck of her dress, where her breasts were doing their best to test the scaffolding in her bra, and his grin deepened, before he tipped his chair back on all fours, reached across the little table separating them, and put his hands on hers.

  Nicole jumped at the innocent enough contact, and when he leaned closer, she involuntarily took a deep inhale of his scent. She couldn’t place it. Something earthy, virile, and dangerous like the man himself.

  “Relax, Nicoletta, your secret is safe with me. Though I have to wonder, why a woman about to get married is seeking out the services of Premiere Companions.”

  She tried to pull her hands out of his grasp and failed miserably when he simply tightened his hold with one hand and grasped her chin with the other.

  “Easy there, bellissima. I’m not here to judge, I just wondered that’s all.” His thumb caressed her bottom lip as he murmured those words, and something inside of Nicole twisted when she saw him smile. It didn’t reach his eyes, and a nasty shiver climbed up her spine.

  “How do you know all that?” She finally managed to croak that question, and breathed a sigh of relief, when he released her, and shrugged.

  “I wouldn’t be very good at my job if I didn’t do the required research. Yours was an unusual request, so when the owner of Premiere Companions approached me, I did some digging. You didn’t cover your tracks very well, and besides your face has been all over the papers lately. Your upcoming wedding is big news, bellissima.”

  “Yes, well … too bad my groom isn’t all over the papers.” She couldn’t keep the bitterness out of her voice, and it made her say far more than she ought to.

  “For all I know, he’s got a hunchback, and is covered in warts or something, and that’s why there’s no pictures of him anywhere.”

  A short laugh was her answer this time, and she shifted on her seat when she looked up at him. She hadn’t even been aware of dropping her gaze, but he seemed to have that effect on her. If she didn’t look at him, then perhaps she could hold onto her own free will a little while longer, which was a preposterous thought, yet there it was. Sure enough when her gaze connected with his, the intensity behind those blue spheres meant she had difficulty breathing again. What on earth was it about him that pulled her in to his command so effortlessly?

  Maybe it was simply that she was in the presence of a Dom. That’s what she’d asked for, after all. To experience one night of hot sex and submission. To be spanked for fun, just once. She wanted, needed to know if it was as hot as it sounded in her favorite BDSM romances her e-reader was crammed full of. What she hadn’t counted on was the effect such an inherently dominant man would have on her submissive side.

  She hadn’t even known she was submissive until she started reading and doing some research of her own, and all the puzzle pieces had clicked into place with a resounding gong. No wonder she’d had no problem holding onto her virginity.

  Even if she hadn’t been so busy caring for her ailing Mama, no man had ever revved her engine as much as the fictional Doms she’d read about, and this man, regarding her thoughtfully. She was getting wet sitting here, for pity’s sake, which should have been mortally embarrassing. Anyone could see them, and they had to move this up to the room booked in her mother’s maiden name, lest her bodyguards cotton on to the fact that she wasn’t at the hotel spa across town. A small smile kicked up her lips at the thought of the look on those apes’ faces when they enquired after her at reception, only to be told she wasn’t there.

  “What is so amusing?” he asked.

  “Oh, nothing.” When he raised an eyebrow in silent query, her stomach flipped over and she rushed on to explain. “Just picturing the expression on my protection detail when they realize I’m not where I’m supposed to be, that’s all.”

  “I see, and where do they think you are?”

  “My father’s spa across town at Hotel Cabrizi, of course. I mean it would never do to frequent the competition, would it?” She waved a hand around the grand foyer of the Savoy, and tried for a nonchalant smile, which froze on her lips when she saw the way he looked at her. He didn’t seem amused, far from it.

  “They don’t seem very good at their job if you can give them the slip that easily. If you were under my…”

  He let the words trail off, and that unspecified shiver crawled back up her spine.

  “If I was under your what? Protection detail?” She laughed as she said that in an effort to defuse the situation, but some subtle shift in his demeanor gave her pause for thought. There was something dangerous about him after all. That quiet alertness which she’d seen in the men protecting her father.

  “Who are you?” she asked, her heart beating faster at the truth staring her in the face. “Has my father sent you? You’re here to cart me off back home, aren’t you? Dammit. I won’t go.”

  Her voice rose in her agitation, and when the couple at the next table looked over, she remembered where they were, and swallowed the rest of the hot words bubbling on her tongue. As for him, he simply smiled, rose to his feet, grasped their bags, and nodded his head toward reception.

  “We should discuss this in private, don’t you think, bellissima? I’ll hazard a guess you haven’t picked up the keys yet, right?”

  The abrupt change in subject matter made her blink in confusion, and shake her head.

  “I thought so. Come on then.”

  Placing his hand in the small of her back, he gave her no choice but to go where the gentle pressure led her. In truth even that innocent contact made her knees wobble. Nicole was tall for a woman at just under six foot, but this man dwarfed her completely. Even with her heels on he was still a head taller than she was. Lean muscles flexed under his jacket sleeve when she stumbled on her heels and his arm slid round her waist to steady her.

  “Careful there, Nicoletta. I don’t want you hurt, unless it’s by my hand.”

  That ominous statement made her miss another step. Fortunately they’d reached the reception desk by then, and Jamie released his hold on her. She breathed easier for the few moments it took for him to check them in, and when he fac
ed her again card key in hand she swallowed hard.

  “Shall we?”

  Chapter Two

  She really had the most expressive face, and the pictures had not done her justice. Far from it. Hers was a natural, translucent beauty. She’d inherited her mother’s fair skin and her father’s dark hair and eyes. An intriguing mix, which simply enhanced the porcelain quality of her skin. Flesh which would mark beautifully under his hands and teeth, and his dick gave up any pretense of not being affected by her and the sadness in her brown eyes.

  Nicoletta wore the grief about her mother like an invisible cloak, but there was a vibrant energy behind that mask she presented to the world. He wanted her, pure and simple, and he would have her one way or the other, but he had to be careful here. She was far too intelligent, and lying to her wasn’t really an option. He’d have to stick to the truth as much as he was able to.

  She didn’t answer his question, just took a deep breath and turned on her heel toward the bank of elevators, and he indulged himself watching her perfect ass sway in front of him.

  Nicoletta carried herself with an inborn grace, not often found in one so young.

  Then again, not many women of her age had to nurse their cancer-riddled mother for years and then were snapped up by a father like Don Cabrizi. While the official version was that the man had left his life of crime behind, following his lengthy stay in prison, his sort had their hands in many pies. Business had certainly thrived while the Don had been supposedly incapacitated, and being reunited with his long lost daughter had done wonders for the man’s public persona.

  Nicoletta Cabrizi was the darling of the newspapers, and very much a target for her father’s enemies, which was why the Don had arranged her marriage. It was as much for her protection as it was to cement the business relationship he had with Nicoletta’s affianced. After all, who could protect the Don’s daughter better than his new head of security? And judging by the ease in which Nicoletta had slipped away from her bodyguards, a new man at the helm was very much needed.