His Terms

by Jenika Snow

  “You fucking cunt.”

  The outraged gasp that left Beatrice had Sorcha smiling.

  “How dare you,” Beatrice said, and reared her arm back, intent on hitting Sorcha again.

  Hell. No.

  Sorcha grabbed Beatrice’s hand before it made contact, and brought her own palm right across the bitch’s face. The slap of her hand hitting flesh filled Sorcha with satisfaction, but then she heard the ding of the elevator and knew Rian was about to witness this little cat-fight for himself. Sorcha pushed Beatrice back, and the other woman instantly put on a horrified expression. Rian stepped off the elevator, a giant bouquet of flowers in one hand, his briefcase in the other, and his long black suit jacket hanging around his legs.

  He stopped when he saw them. “What the hell is going on here?” He looked between her and Beatrice. “Sorcha, are you okay?” He started to look angry, set his briefcase down on the floor, and took a step forward.

  Beatrice started crying harder. “Rian, this little piece of trash hit me.”

  Was this woman for real? It was okay for her to hit Sorcha, but when the tables were turned she was acting like Sorcha had just beat her ass. In all honestly the slap hadn’t even been hard enough that her hand stung afterwards. Sorcha had gone easy on the bitch.

  “Sorcha, is that true?”

  She stood up straighter, gritted her teeth, and nodded. “It sure as hell is. And I’m not about to apologize. In fact, I’ll do it again if she wants to insult me more.” She stared at Beatrice, and the other woman was barely reining in her anger, and keeping up the little charade. Beatrice ran over to Rian and pretty much threw herself in his arms, but he didn’t wrap his arms around her, and instead kept his gaze on Sorcha.

  “Rian, didn’t I tell you she was trash? I mean, she hit me.”

  Rian scowled and pushed Beatrice away, and Sorcha watched in surprise as the man she had always cared about deep down, but just finally let the emotions out, was clearly about to put the snob in her place. He turned toward Beatrice and stared at her with this blank expression on his face.

  “You should fire her on principle alone.”

  Sorcha didn’t bother correcting the cunt that she had been insulting her. Besides, she needed that damn slap like she needed to breathe.

  “Leave, Beatrice.”

  Beatrice took a step back, looking outraged. “You’re going to let the help treat me like this?” Her voice was rising to this obnoxious tone.

  He took a step closer to her and said in a low voice, “You’re going to leave, and never come here, call, or try to see me again, or I am going to go to your father and tell him I am perilously close to breaking off ties with the family because his daughter is assaulting my woman.”

  “Your woman?” Beatrice asked in that high-pitched voice that probably attracted dogs. “Since when does a fuck-buddy constitute as your woman?”

  “Since she isn’t bat-shit crazy like you. Now get out, or I swear to God everyone will know exactly how crazy you are.”

  Beatrice was nearly shaking with her anger, but with a hard look at Sorcha, and an even harder look at Rian, she straightened and headed toward the elevator. “If you want what’s at the bottom of the pond, then by all means swim with the garbage.” And then she stepped into the elevator, and, Sorcha hoped, out of their lives.

  For several minutes they just stood there, neither speaking, but their focus trained on the other.

  “I’m sorry about that,” he said with a bit of regret in his voice.

  “It’s not your fault.” She was so exhausted all of a sudden, and leaned against the desk.

  “That should be the last time we see her, especially since the prospect of me outing her to everyone that thinks she’s normal would ruin her reputation,” Rian said and walked up to her. “That is something she won’t risk.” He handed her the flowers. “For you.” He gave her this cocky little half smile, one that she had seen several times, but right now it made her warm all over.

  “Thank you.” She took the flowers, and loved that they weren’t anything fancy, just daisies and baby’s breath, and a few lilies. “They’re beautiful,” she said and looked up at him.

  He reached out and touched the bracelet she wore. “I’m glad these got to you safely.”

  She nodded, licked her suddenly dry lips, and knew that what she needed to say would need to be done now. “Listen, I did a lot of thinking yesterday after I left your place, well, all week actually.”

  He didn’t say anything, but his focus was directed right on her.

  “I hated you for a long time.” She watched as his throat worked. “But deep down I hoped that what I was feeling was for a man other than the one you portrayed.” She glanced down at the flowers. “I wanted you, and felt things for you that pissed me off because of the way you acted.” When she looked at him again it was to see this vulnerable expression on his face. “But after that week with you, and aside from the reason why I was with you, I saw the man that you hold deep in here.” She placed her hand right over his heart.

  “Sorcha, I—”

  “Wait, let me say this because after I’m finished you might kick me out, too.” She smiled, but it was a little forced. “I have feelings for you. I’m not saying I’m in love, but these are not just passing feelings either. I’ve felt this way for you for months now, and something I buried deep inside of me—”

  He stopped her with a hard, passionate kiss, but she placed her hands on his chest and gently pushed him away.

  “No, just let me kiss you,” he said in this desperate voice, and she gave into him. The kiss was long, hard and full of this longing need that she hadn’t even known was there. It was like something had been missing, and until things happened this way she had been in the dark.

  “But what about what I just said?” she asked against his mouth.

  “I want you. You want me, and I’m not about to let anyone stop me from having you, Sorcha.” He pulled back, cupped her face in that way that she had grown to love so much, and smiled up at her. “This is not just sex for me.”

  “You and I don’t fit together, and I’m sure people will bring that to everyone’s attention.”

  He shrugged. “I don’t give a shit about what anyone thinks. I don’t care if it’s taken six months, and one week of having you to myself, to have me realize that I am tired of everything else. I just want you, and am ready to try this out.” There was demand in his voice, and as always, his control. “I will crush anyone that stands in my way, you know I will.”

  She nodded and chuckled, and as surreal as all of this seemed, she wanted to try it out. If things didn’t work, then they didn’t, but she’d never know until she tried.

  “Besides, maybe I’ll take a long vacation to a deserted island, and bring you with me to keep me company.” He grinned.

  “Getting away from everything? I think I like the sound of that.”

  He grabbed her under the ass, lifted her up, and kissed her hard again. Hell, she’d let him take her right here and now, because all she was going to care about from this moment on was how she felt, and not what anyone said, or what was on the surface.

  29

  The following weekend

  He watched her from her kitchen room table, loved that she was in her element right now, even though that meant she washed the dishes from the meal and refused to let him help. He grinned, picked up his cup of coffee, and drank it slowly while he watched her over the rim.

  Truth be told, he could stare at her all day, every day and never get enough.

  When she had invited him over for dinner, he had been surprised, but so ready to move forward with this relationship, or whatever it was they were doing. He wanted a relationship, wanted her to be a part of his life, and he was willing to wait as long as she needed to make that happen.

  He already knew the sun had set, but the night sky couldn’t be seen through the lone window she had. It really did face a brick wall, but she surprisingly didn’t care, a
nd because of that he couldn’t help but grin.

  He stood and walked over to the pictures that lined the bookshelf she had. He saw the pictures of her and a woman that looked exactly like her.

  Her mother that had passed.

  He glanced at her and saw her washing the dishes, and heard her humming along to the song that lightly played from the iPod he had brought over for her. He had filled it with all of his favorites, and some that he thought she might enjoy.

  He was actually impressed she had stopped at End of Days by Thirty Seconds to Mars. It wasn’t a slow, easygoing song, but one filled with a lot of heart, soul, and emotion. Out of Bach, Beethoven, and some of the more modern songs he had loaded on there he smiled that she chose the one that was devastatingly beautiful in its own dark way.

  He walked up to her, stopped just inches from her, and placed his hands on her hips, stilling her. “We never got to finish that dance,” Rian said softly against her ear, and loved when he heard her swallow. A classic song started playing, and he turned her around, pulled her close, and didn’t bother trying to hide his erection.

  He dipped his head low, ran the tip of his nose along the arch of her throat, and heard her breath falter. She smelled good, like the apple pie she had baked for dessert.

  “Rian, my hands are wet,” she said on a whisper, and he knew that the swaying they were doing, and the fact that his cock was right on her belly, moving back and forth, was turning her on.

  “I don’t care, baby.” He wanted her, always seemed to in fact, but the truth was he just wanted to hold her. He did just that, continuing to move back and forth, letting the music surround him, her scent envelop him, and the fact that that this woman made him feel things that he never thought his cold heart would experience.

  “I could fall asleep like this,” she said softly, and he reached his hand to the back of her head, and pulled her toward his chest. She relaxed against him, and he rested his chin on the corner of her head, and just held the woman that he was falling for so fucking hard.

  “I was actually embarrassed and nervous to have you over at my place.”

  He smiled. “I know.” She had seemed really damn nervous when she had asked him over for dinner, and had even warned him that her place was a tin can compared to his place. “But you shouldn’t have been. I actually like your place. It’s very warm, comfortable, and not cluttered with unnecessary things.”

  She pulled back and looked at his face. “I don’t know if I should take that as a compliment or insult.” She rested her head back on his chest.

  “A compliment, baby.” He grinned.

  She wrapped her hands around his waist and sighed one of those contented ones that made a man feel like he was doing all the right things.

  “You are doing all the right things.” She lifted her head and tilted it back. “And yes, this time it was you speaking your mind.” She grinned, and he couldn’t help it. He dipped down and took her mouth with his.

  Rian knew this woman was it for him, and what a fucking incredible feeling.

  30

  Two months later

  It had taken two months just to clear his schedule in order to take this trip, and fuck had that been a long time to spend with the woman that he loved. He lay under a palm tree, the sand between his toes, the towel beneath him not hiding the heat that came through the ground, and the view in front of him giving him major wood.

  Sorcha was walking out of the water, her long black hair in her hands as she wrung it out. She wore a bikini, and her curves were busting out, causing his dick to get painfully hard and having the only thought in his head at the moment be him taking her under this tree. It was a private island, rented out only to people who could afford it, and for the next fourteen days it was just the two of them.

  She stopped a few feet from him, and the look on her face told him she knew exactly what he was thinking about.

  “You’re insatiable, Rian Hartford.” She moved closer, stopped when his toes touched her feet, and grinned.

  “How about you ease my suffering?” He cocked an eyebrow, and grabbed his erection through his trunks. “In fact, I think for the rest of the trip we should be those nude sunbathers I heard about.”

  “No way do I want my jiggly parts hanging all out in the open, getting burned.”

  He grinned. “I like your bits hanging out.” He pulled his shorts down and stroked himself.

  “You know, those six months of working for you I would have thought the man sitting in front of me right now was nothing more than a wishful thought.”

  “I should take offense to that, but you’re right, and I’m horny, so I won’t argue.”

  She reached behind her and undid her top, and let it fall to the ground. Her huge breasts shook slightly, and when she got on her hands and knees the mounds swayed from side-to-side. She crawled over him, being the one in control at the moment, but he was okay with that.

  He liked her thinking she had power, and although she did to a point, in the end it was him that fucked the hell out of her. “You know you can be an arrogant bastard, but the only reason I put up with it is because I know how you really are,” she said right by his mouth.

  “And what is that?” he asked, looking at her mouth and wanting to kiss her silly.

  “Sweet and gentle, slightly transparent with your emotions when you trust someone,” she said the last part softly.

  “I’m only like that with you, baby.”

  She smiled, and it was one that he knew she believed him, that what he said was the God’s honest truth.

  Even if he did keep his cold, hard and domineering attitude toward others, with Sorcha he showed her another softer side. She was the only one that had made him see who and what he really was, and that he didn’t need to be a motherfucker all the time. It had started that week he had her, and over time she’d kept showing him that a good woman could make a beast of a man human.

  “You’re only like that with me,” she said with a smile, and an almost distant, whimsical note in her voice. “Because you love me.”

  He grinned, grabbed her behind the back of the neck, and pulled her forward for a kiss. After several long seconds of kissing her senseless, he whispered against her mouth, “Only with you, baby. And yes, I love you so damn much it makes me think one of these days I’m going to wake up and realize this is all a dream.” And with that he pulled her on top of him, wrapped his arms around her body, and told himself he would never let her go.

  Epilogue

  Three years later

  The sun beat down on her, but it felt good. Life felt good. She straightened, the garden her and Rian had put together just last month was hard work, not something she even had experience with, but the children loved to play in the dirt and plant flowers so it was all worth it.

  Sorcha lifted her hand and shielded the sun from her eyes as she looked over at the swing set. A smile formed on her lips as she watched Rian play with their twin girls, Louisa and Charlotte. With their dark hair and blue eyes, the girls were spitting images of their father.

  Over the last three years so much had happened. They’d gotten married, bought a house with an actual yard… a lot of yard to be honest. Rian had a vision in mind, a vision that included their children running around and never having to worry about where they’d be able to play, never have to hear the sound of rush hour traffic, or smell the scent of car exhaust.

  And after they’d gotten married, Sorcha had gotten pregnant, as if fate were saying, “here you go, let’s see how the two of you handle twins”.

  And they had handled it, pretty damn well.

  Their home was big enough they could have had a handful of children, and maybe they would. They both wanted more, even if the girls were little spitfires, which Rian said they took after Sorcha in that regard.

  She turned her attention to the flower garden, rose bushes on one end, and wildflowers on the other. The girls had picked so many different varieties that it was an array of shapes an
d colors in the garden. It was beautiful.

  The girls started laughing and Sorcha looked over at the swing set again, watching as they ran around playing tag. Rian strode up to her, the grin on his face enough to make her heart skip a beat. He was in front of her a moment later, his lips on her no doubt slightly salty lips. But the passion that came from him told Sorcha she didn’t care about the dirt or sweat.

  He wrapped his arm around her shoulder and they turned to watch the girls play. Sorcha rested her head on his shoulder, even to this day thinking about all the things that had changed in her life, and with Rian. He was a family man through and through, that was for sure.

  She tilted her head to look at him. “I bet you never thought you’d be in this situation right now.” Rian chuckled softly.

  “I didn’t, but God does it feel incredible,” he said softly, the grin on his face broad.

  She hadn’t known what “home” felt like, but with Rian by her side, with their children running around and laughing, she finally knew that this was what it meant.

  He stared into her eyes and there was so much truth and vulnerability in the depths. “I may have never seen myself with anyone, baby, not having a wife or a family, but the moment you came into my life, you turned my world upside down for the better.” He cupped her cheek and leaned in to kiss her softly on the lips. “I knew you were the one that was meant to be mine. I knew I could never let you go, contract or not.” He grinned and Sorcha shook her head and chuckled.

  Rian Hartford might still be that arrogant, demanding man she knew all those years ago, but with her, with their children, he was a gentle giant that would give up his world if it meant making them happy.

  He really was a devil in disguise, but that devil was the angel who was her husband, the father of her children, and the man she loved more than anything else.