Free On His Terms by Jenika Snow

head, and he showed no
emotion on his face. Right then he looked very much the powerful and
indifferent business man she had come to loathe for the last six months, even
when he wore jeans and a tee.
    “Sorcha.” He said her name smoothly and
evenly, and it reminded her of melted chocolate as it rolled off of his tongue
and caressed her. He held a champagne flute with bubbly yellow liquid in it.
She also made out a strawberry at the bottom of the glass.   Taking that first step into his home took
more strength than she thought possible. The door closed behind her. Sealing
her in and having her at the mercy of this very dangerous, yet alluring man.
    ****
    He
watched her step off that elevator, her expression one that was mixed with fear
of the unknown, but excitement for the prospect and possibilities. Rian would be lying if he said he wasn’t happy to see her
afraid, because she would have been a blind fool if she hadn’t been.
    “Here,
let me take that,” he said to her once she was within arm’s reach. He reached
for her bag without waiting for a response, and gave her the glass of
champagne. “I figured you’d need something to help you relax.”
    “And
alcohol was your first choice,” she stated while staring right at him.
    “No,
not my first, but I thought you’d appreciate the drink instead of what I’d like
to do to help us both relax instead.” He let those words hang in the air
between them, and showed that he hadn’t been trying to amuse her with his answer.
What he wanted to do was throw her on the bed and fuck her until they both
couldn’t move, but he wasn’t some kind of beast that couldn’t control his basic
urges. At least not the majority of the time.
    She
didn’t respond, but instead took a long drink from her glass. She was nervous,
and rightfully so, but she’d warm up to all of this soon enough. How far would
Sorcha let him go? Even though she had signed the contract, she would most
likely still be hesitant. How far would he let himself go with her?
    “I’ve
had a meal prepared for us, so come with me and I’ll show you where to keep
your things, and then we can eat.” Again, he didn’t wait for her to respond,
because she really didn’t have a choice. She’d signed the contract, willingly
agreed to be his for this week, and he wasn’t going to sugarcoat anything that
happened from this point on. He could be a gentle, understanding man, but deep
down that really wasn’t who he was. He felt her near, knew she was following
behind him, and led them into the master suite. Rian took a step to the side, and allowed her entrance into the room she would be
sleeping in for the next seven days.
    “This
is your room.” She didn’t phrase it like question, but glanced at him when she
finished.
    He
didn’t speak, but nodded. Of course it was his room. She didn’t think she’d be
staying in another room for this week, did she? He planned on having her every
night, in every way imaginable, including tonight.
    She
was slow in moving, but then again she seemed stunned by her surroundings. This
amused Rian , and not in the douche-bag way she would
have probably thought. He leaned back against the wall, set her bag on the
ground beside him, and just watched her.
    First
she moved over to the whirlpool hot tub that was built into the floor. He could
see her reflection in the mirror as she looked at the candles spread out around
the lip of the bathtub. Then she moved over to the balcony. A glance over her
shoulder, as if she were asking permission to open the doors, had him lifting
the corner of his mouth in a smile and nodding. He didn’t want her thinking she
needed to ask permission to do anything, but he did find it kind of endearing.
Sorcha wasn’t a prisoner in his home.
    She
stepped out onto the balcony. And he contemplated leaving her alone and letting
her enjoy the sights. He knew everything about her, even before he decided to
make up the contract and bring it to her attention.