“The apple pie should be done pretty soon, but you’ll need to set it out to cool on the wire rack. I put that right there.” Lucy pointed diagonally behind her. “I have everything else either covered up so that it stays warm or in the other oven.”
I nodded and she walked around me before she headed toward the hallway that led to the front door.
“Good night, Mr. Cross.”
“Night.”
She closed the front door, and I was alone once more. Some might say a house with five bedrooms and six bathrooms was excessive for one man, but I didn’t care about what other people thought I should do with my money. Plus, the only reason the public really cared was because the tabloids wrote about it and it sold copies. It was a never-ending cycle.
A glance around my home told me that everything was perfect. The cleaning service had finished up several hours ago, so my home was immaculate. Although I was barely here, it didn’t hurt to have someone freshen up the house frequently. I’d bought this townhouse several years ago when I decided I wanted to have somewhere to lay my head down in NoHo. It didn’t hurt that the house had a gym already in the basement. One less thing I needed to wait to have built. It also wasn’t unheard of for me to stop by for a quick workout after a conference call and grab lunch here before the next event or meeting I needed to attend.
The wine room was heavily pushed by the seller’s real estate agent as a bonus. I walked over to my bedroom door and locked it without looking inside. That was the last place I wanted her to go in case she had decided to snoop. Something told me if she got the chance, she would take it. No one stepped foot in there without my permission.
I couldn’t deny that I enjoyed Anais’s grit and determination to fight to get what she wanted even if it meant fighting me to get it. I was used to having people fall over me to make sure that I was well taken care of, and it was a nice change of pace to have someone who wouldn’t just take my shit. It also made the fight and eventual takedown even better. I knew this experience would be enjoyable for both of us once she learned what being mine was all about. And she would learn quickly.
I walked back into the kitchen and looked at the notecard Lucy had laid out on the counter for me. She had done everything that I had requested to prepare for tonight’s meal. Part of me wondered if I was doing too much as I saw the candles flickering out of the corner of my eye. Was I trying to get a good reaction from Anais by doing all of this? I would say so, but only so that I could catch her off guard and get my way in the end. To make her think that this little arrangement would be no big deal as I laid my requirements on the table. She didn’t know what she was getting herself into and I looked forward to her reaction. I checked the clock again and straightened my suit jacket. I went for my standard all-black suit without a tie. I ran a hand through my hair and then there was a knock on the door.
“Right on time,” I said to myself as I took one more sweep of the room before heading to the front door. So, she hadn’t put up a fight to come here. Interesting.
I looked at myself in the hallway mirror that my interior designer had insisted on installing and made sure that I had gotten nothing on my suit. I opened the door and startled Anais based on her wide-eyed look.
“This isn’t what I had in mind when I said you should wear something similar to the dress you had on at Elevate.” An image of her in the shimmery gold dress that ran on repeat in my mind made my dick shift. I could have said hello first, but where was the fun in that? Plus, it was the truth. I expected her to be rebellious given the conversations we’d had, but I hadn’t been expecting this.
“I must have forgotten,” she said with a shrug as she entered my home. “I’m surprised you opened your own door.”
“I’m very capable of opening a door. But you don’t seem to be capable of following directions. That will be rectified.” My words had their intended effect when she averted her gaze before facing me once more. I gestured for her to walk into the foyer and I closed the door. She looked back for a second before she walked farther down the hallway.
“I’m shocked your place is nice. Then again, you have enough money to buy anything, including women.”
I knew she was doing her best to change the subject, but this wasn’t the last she was going to hear about her ability to not listen to my instructions.
Is her plan today to cause as much irritation as possible? Nice try. “Thank you. Dinner should be ready in a few. I’ll take your coat. We’ll go downstairs and pick out a bottle of wine.” She handed me her coat and I placed it in the coat closet.
“I didn’t say I wanted a glass of wine.”
I raised an eyebrow at her since I had done my homework. “Follow me.”
I nodded my head and walked toward the stairs leading to the basement. I flicked on the lights and walked down with Anais trailing behind me.
“Pick any bottle.” I held open the glass door that led into the wine room.
It seemed as if Anais’s mouth was permanently open as her gaze moved from bottle to bottle. “Some of these bottles of wine have to be hundreds of dollars.”
“Some are even a few thousand.”
It took a few seconds, but she closed her mouth and continued studying the bottles of wine. Finally, she picked one. “Here, I’d like to try this one.”
“Excellent choice, this bottle is from Tuscany.”
A ghost of a smile appeared on her lips briefly before it vanished. “Is this a thousand dollars?”
“It’s not.” I didn’t tell her that it was damn close to it. “All right, come on and I’ll open this up.” I let her go upstairs first before I turned the lights off and followed.
Once we were upstairs, I walked past her giving her the opportunity to roam around the open area that was my living room, kitchen, and dining room. I poured myself a finger of whiskey into a glass I’d set out a few moments ago. While I was opening the wine bottle, I glanced up to find her examining my home.
“If it wasn’t cold outside, I’d take you up to the roof so that you could see all of Manhattan.”
“I wouldn’t be interested.”
“Don’t lie to me.”
I grabbed both glasses and walked over to her. She settled on looking out the window closest to my couch. When I approached, she took a seat on my couch and I handed her the wine glass. Small talk during regular business meetings annoyed me to no end and this wasn’t much different. “So, you decided to come, which means you are agreeing to our deal.”
“Yes, but I’m going to negotiate the terms.” She leaned forward and placed her wine glass on the coffee table.
“You think you have negotiating power in this situation?” It was amusing to think that she did, and I could see that she was getting upset.
Her eyes darted around the room and she clenched and unclenched her hands. She was probably imagining slapping me across the face and the thought forced me to hide any excitement. I dared her to do it in my mind just so she could experience what type of punishments I would unleash if she defied me.
“So what you want me to do is strip and lie on my back, so that I’m in prime position for you to take me whenever you want? Is that what you want? Well here, then.” She pulled off her sweater and I saw hints of the plain black bra she was wearing underneath.
I scoffed as I leaned forward to place my glass on the coffee table next to hers. “Stop. Is this your way of exerting power? You have no leverage here, Anais. It’s cute that you are trying to act as if you do though.” I could see when the realization hit her because her entire mood changed. Her face switched from being upset to downright angry. What she did next surprised even me.
She whipped out her cell phone and lay back on my couch. She ignored me for several seconds and I leaned over and snatched the phone.
“Hey—”
“Are you trying to order a vibrator?” I asked. There wasn’t much in this world that surprised me, but I would admit that this did it. My lips twitched as a chuckle threatened
to come out my lips. “Is this supposed to get under my skin?”
“I figured since I wasn’t going to get any pleasure from this, a vibrator would be an excellent investment. Or maybe I can grab mine from home.”
“You won’t be needing any kind of toy unless I’m the one using it on you. Here’s the thing, Anais. You control nothing for the next thirty days. I do. I control your pleasure and everything else. When and how, it’s all up to me. Once you understand that, this arrangement will be beneficial for both of us. Now we are going to sit down and enjoy a meal together.”
I knew the edge in my voice got to her because her eyes refused to meet mine. My little speech had rendered her temporarily tongue-tied because all she could do was look down at her hands. The dinging of my oven timer cut through the tension.
“Dinner?” she asked, her head shooting up from its prior position.
“Yes, you know the meal that comes after lunch?” I asked her with an eyebrow raised. I stood up from the couch and made my way to the kitchen. My open-concept townhouse allowed me to easily see her in the living room from the kitchen. “That would be the pie that Lucy left.”
Her eyes turned to me. “Who is Lucy?”
“My personal chef.”
She visibly relaxed at my answer. Fascinating.
“Hiring a chef was the best option for me because of work and traveling.” I put on an oven mitt and turned to grab the pie out of the oven.
“Or you could just meal prep like the rest of us.”
I silently chuckled to myself before I said, “What was that?” I stood up and turned to face her, placing the hot dessert on the counter.
“Nothing. I said nothing.”
This might be more fun than I thought after all.
10
Anais
Dinner was awkward to say the least. I stayed quiet, only opening my mouth to eat the meal that Damien’s chef had left for us. The melt-in-your-mouth lobster tail was delicious, along with the truffle mac and cheese and sautéed spinach.
“There’s pie for dessert.”
I thought it was a bit much to make all of this food for someone who was coming over to settle a debt. Then again, it wasn’t like Damien had spent the time making it himself. I didn’t know how I was going to fit any more food in my stomach after what we’d just eaten. That, however, didn’t stop me from nearly polishing off my second glass of wine. I hoped it would help calm the anxiety I was feeling about what would happen after dinner was over.
“More?” he asked, gesturing to my almost empty wine glass.
I shook my head because my goal was to keep a straight head and two glasses would keep me there.
As I took another sip of the wine, I looked around the townhouse that Damien called home. I would describe it as a bachelor pad, although the outside of the house looked like a pretty standard New York City townhome. The modern-sleek dark décor that was in Elevate was present in his home, which made me wonder if Damien or his interior designer played a part in the club's design. The wood floors were stunning and something I hoped to have one day when I owned a home.
“What time can you move in tomorrow?”
I glared at Damien. “Say what?”
“You heard what I said.”
“And I can’t believe that you still have the ability to leave me flabbergasted. I’m not moving in with you. I refuse to pay rent for my apartment if I’m not living in it.”
“You won’t have to worry about that because it will be taken care of. The entire thing.”
I raised an eyebrow. “You mean Ellie’s portion too?”
“The entire thing. I don’t like to repeat myself, Anais.”
My mouth had no filter when it came to Damien. I also couldn’t help myself, but something inside of me worried that I might dig a deeper hole and I still had so much to lose. He shouldn’t be allowed to treat me or anyone else like this. I thought that my words might anger him. Instead, he gave me a small smile.
“You and I are going to have a lot of fun.”
His voice deepened when the word fun fell from his lips, sending a small current of electricity through my body that I refused to acknowledge. There was still fear, however. Fear about not knowing what he had in mind or what he had planned. That seemed to be one tactic he used to keep his enemies guessing.
“You’re moving in here and there’s no room for discussion. If you don’t, the deal is off and I don’t think you can afford that, can you?” His words sent a tremble down my spine. Once again, he was right. I couldn’t afford for the deal to be off. Too many people were counting on me to cancel this debt, even if they didn’t know it.
“Can I make one request?” I asked, attempting to take a fresh approach.
He shrugged his shoulders. “You’re allowed to ask. Doesn’t mean I’m going to grant it.”
I placed my fork down on the table and folded my hands. I peeked out the window before turning my attention back to Damien. “I don’t want anyone to know that this is happening.”
He tilted his head to the side, seemingly digesting my request. “Are you trying to keep me as your dirty little secret?”
I rolled my eyes. “Call it what you want. I don’t want people to know that the reason why you and I are together is because I am trying to settle a debt on behalf of my father. That includes my parents. Now, I assume that there will be questions if we’re ever seen out in public, but I want to keep this as tight-lipped as possible. I also want it down in writing that you will cancel this debt once the conditions are… met.”
“I can work with that.”
I was shocked I was able to get that minor victory, but I didn’t make a big deal about it. “I also still need to go to work because Monroe Media Agency clients count on me to do my job.” I had the ability to work from home and flexible leave, but that wasn’t something I wanted him to know. “Oh, and I don’t want to sleep in the same bed as you.”
“Anais, you will get used to the idea of what I say goes. I had no intention of you not going to work or doing your job so you’re in the clear there. And you won’t be sleeping in my bed because I don’t sleep with anyone. I sleep alone.”
I mentally thanked Ellie because his revelation didn’t startle me. I watched as he placed his utensils on the table and a dark look took over his face. The smile that appeared didn’t do him any favors either.
“I can’t wait to break you.” His voice was low and deep, causing the words to come out sinisterly.
“So that means I’ll have my own room?”
He nodded. “You’ll have your own room and bathroom. No one enters my bedroom but me unless I give you permission.”
That was the first time I had felt relieved all night. At the very least, I would have my own space away from him. But it did draw up questions about why he was so protective of his bedroom.
“I assume since you have a chef that you have a cleaning service. Are they not allowed in there either?” I asked the question as innocently as possible, hoping to not make him suspicious about the fact that I was digging for information. I hadn’t planned on entering his bedroom, but the secrecy made the red flags in my mind fly high and proud.
“They are, but they mind their business.”
I had to force myself not to roll my eyes as I picked up the double meaning behind his words. “You make it sound as if you have a red room or something.”
He snickered. “Funny you should mention that because we are going to go to Elevate at some point soon. That way you don’t have to beg and plead for Kingston to let you into the basement.”
“I did nothing of the sort.” I could feel my body betraying me due to his comment, but I would never admit to it.
He sat back in his chair and folded his arms with a smug look on his face. “Yes, you and Ellie did, and I’m sure it was just to see what was going on down there. I’m happy to take you on a tour of the aspects of Elevate that you haven’t seen yet. Trust me, there are plenty.”
“Oh,
no.”
He can’t do this.
“Oh, yes.”
Yes, he can do this.
“I already told you, I’m in control of your pleasure and it will be a pleasure for me to take you there.”
I could feel my pulse racing. I raised my hand and placed it on the side of my neck. He can’t be serious, can he?
One glance at his face told me he was.
I cleared my throat and said, “Last, I want us to be monogamous during this arrangement.”
“Is this in reference to my reputation?”
I did my best to keep my voice even. “No. This is something that I wanted and thought you might agree.”
He didn’t answer right away, and I couldn’t tell if he was thinking about my suggestion or doing this on purpose to make me sweat. If I had to be honest with myself, it was a bit of both.
“That works for me since I don’t share what’s mine.”
“I’m not yours.”
“You are for a month.”
He had me there.
Damien pushed back from the dining room table, stood, and walked over to the living room area. “Why don’t we get started now?” He tossed the question over his shoulder.
I thought the way I dressed to come to dinner would have turned him off. I jumped up and stomped behind him, my heart rate picking up speed. “But I’m not dressed—”
“Whose fault was that? You seem to have a very hard time following directions.” He sat down on the couch and lazily let his eyes roam over my body. “Did you think that just because you dressed down that would stop me from collecting what’s owed to me?”
The smug smile appeared once more on his face and I wanted to knock it off.
This was all a game to him. “Since you were in such a hurry to take off your sweater earlier, why don’t you do it now?”
Savage Empire: An Enemies to Lovers Dark Billionaire Romance (Broken Cross Book 1) Page 7