Breaking the Storm (13 page)

“Oh
, fuck you, Knox. It’s not going to happen.”

His
lips twitched. “You'd be surprised at the kind of things I can make you do.”

I
wanted to throw my glass at his head. My teeth clenched. “Not going to happen.”

“What
happened to what the client wants, the client gets? Well, this client wants you.”

Speechless,
I just looked at him before saying, “I’m not for sale, Knox.”

He
regarded me steadily. “All of your escorts have a price. Including you.”

I
scoffed. “You don’t have enough money to make me do the depraved things that I don't doubt you want.”

“Haven’t
you heard? I’m a rich man now. Something you told me was required to be in your life,” Knox responded.

I
sighed heavily. “Okay, Knox, you win. I get it. You’re angry at what happened between us.” I pursed my lips as I continued. “But guess fucking what? I'm just as mad at you for cheating on me with that slut Kaydee.” I took a deep breath when I felt myself teetering on the verge of rage. “You want an apology? Okay, I apologize. Now, can we please get past this shit?”

His
green eyes narrowed. “Let’s be very clear. This is about business. And I take business very seriously. So let’s not play games, Storm. You will be my slut. This is not negotiable.”

“Bullshit!
This is fucking personal. I wasn't the only one that fucked up. You did too. A fact that you have conveniently forgotten.”

His
jaw tightened. “What’s your answer?”

“No!”

His scowl deepened. “That’s a fucking shame. You see, the once-starving guy who wasn’t good enough for you is now a filthy rich and powerful man.” He smiled, but it didn’t reach his eyes. “A powerful man who will fucking break you by destroying your business. Just one word to a couple of well-connected friends and you won’t be able to pay a client to return your calls.”

My
pulse raced. “You wouldn’t.”

“I
will and I won’t lose a bit of sleep over it.”

This
was my worst nightmare come to life. In our business, reputation was everything. If it was tarnished, so was the business, a business that had been in existence for centuries, and I couldn’t be the one to single-handedly destroy it over pride.

I
sighed heavily. “I agree.”

Leisurely
, he got to his feet and pointed to the spot on the floor before him. “Come here. Now.”

I
crossed my arms across my chest defensively. “Hell no. Don’t talk to me like that.”

“Enough,”
he snarled. A real
shut the fuck up
snarl as he pointed to the spot in front of him. “Here. Now. Storm.”

The
command in his voice was obvious. Despite my anger, arousal started to seep through my body. I licked my suddenly dry lips, straightening my shoulders. His physical magnetism was palpable. And before I could help myself, I was walking over to him. I had to fight the angry tremble that threatened to overtake my body. Even after all these years, the pull between us was still there. Strained, but still there.

He
traced a finger across my lips. “Let’s set expectations, shall we?” he said without blinking.

“Let’s
,” I responded with an attitude. “Under no circumstances am I having sex with you and there will be absolutely no kissing. Regardless of what you and Ryker think, we don't sell sex. We sell companionship without the drama. That means under the terms of the contract, I will make myself available for any social or business event you need me to attend with you. Anything else is off the table.” My body was tight like a highly strung violin because I knew that he planned on breaking me like fine china. And I refused to let my heart and soul be lost when his game was over.

He
caught me by the jaw, his fingers clamping gently around my chin. “Denial is pointless, Storm.” His voice lowered, strumming itself over my sex like a guitar. My breath caught in my throat. This was bad. “You'll belong only to me in every sense of the word.”

I
clamped my legs together, hoping to hide the rise of desire.

“Do
you understand what I want?”

I
knew exactly what he wanted. My family was a walking commercial for dominance and submission relationships. Mom and Aunt Lia had years of experience as dominants with submissive men willing to let Mom and Aunt Lia hurt them any way they chose. And Light was a submissive all the way. She was just waiting for a worthy dominant. And me… I couldn't see myself trusting any man enough to submit to. To kneel at his feet, relinquishing my power.

I
gritted out. “Everything you say is law. And my body belongs completely to you.”

“See,
I know you better than you know yourself. I know what's important to you. Power. Order. Authority. But I'll let you in on a secret. Your submission to me is more important.”

“What
are we doing here, Knox? A real D/s relationship is based on trust. That's something that we don't have.”

“So,
we'll build it. We'll push the boundaries.”

My
fingers clinched as fear raced through my body. He was going to pick at my heart and soul like a vulture. My body would be his tool, his weapon.

He
stroked my chin. “Choose this, Storm. Don't let your brain talk you out of something you need.” He stroked my hair in the way he used to. “If it’s closure you want, then grab this with both hands.”

My
thoughts spun. I cleared my throat and then swallowed. “This is not closure. It's unearthing shit that I buried years ago.”

He
arched a brow. “Denial… again. Let's put all the shit on the table, shall we? You strung me along while still dating Luke. I cheated on you. Then you broke up with me for not being rich enough.” I tried to interrupt, but he stopped me. “Don't, Storm! You had no intention of taking our relationship to the next level. You had every intention of ending it. At least admit that much.”

I
wanted to scream that I had to end it. To keep him alive. Because I was so close to falling in love with him. That my love was a death sentence for him. No man could understand the burden I carried like a cross on my back—the Credence Curse. The family secret.

I
was done denying this shit; this connection between Knox and me was going to happen. But this time, I knew for a fact I wouldn't fall in love with him. He had changed for the worse. He was cold and bitter. And me, I didn't believe in anyone but me. I was so emotionally broken that I knew nothing about feeling anything. He was right. We could both get closure with a lot of hot sex thrown in. In the end, we could both walk away and put a period at the end of this with no regrets and no hatred.

I
nodded slowly. “Okay, let's do this. But let's get one thing straight. Me breaking up with you had nothing to do with money. You may not believe it, but it's a fact.”

His
slight mocking smile returned. “You will be at my beck and call at all times. I have a five-night concert tour and several events that I'm committed to attend. After that… we'll play it by ear.”

“At
all times? I have a business to run.”

“A
business you won't have if you fuck me over on this deal. Are we clear?”

I
stepped back from him irately. “Crystal.”

I
was totally screwed and with no sleep… cranky. No matter how many different scenarios I concocted in my mind—there was no way I was getting out of this unscathed. I had been staring at the contract for hours, scanning for anything that would give me a way out of being Knox's sex toy, and I found absolutely nothing.

Desperation
had set in and I was tempted to beg Reason to find some loophole in the contract. Something I knew didn't exist in any of her ironclad contracts. That's why we paid her outrageous fees—she was that good of a lawyer.

Taking
another sip of coffee, I tried to calm myself before calling her. On the second ring, she answered.

She
yawned loudly. “Storm?”

“What’s
the deal with not responding to my text about last night’s tiger debacle?”

I
heard shuffling before she responded. “Storm, it’s fucking six o’clock on a Saturday morning. Sleep for me is a necessity.”

“Oh
, don’t try to pull that vampire shit on me. You’re a hybrid vampire—a latent one at that. You don’t need to sleep through the daylight.”

Reason
laughed. “Now you’re just being mean by pointing out all my genetic flaws. You’re lucky that I’m not a sensitive kind of girl.”

I
smiled, enjoying the banter. That's why she was my best friend, and I loved her like a sister. A bond that was formed from practically growing up together. Her family, a long line of lawyers that have handled all of our legal affairs for centuries.

“Please
. If you could, you would have a T-shirt printed boasting your hybrid status.”

Reason
was the black sheep in the family. Her mother a human. Her father a vampire. Her birth was a shame to her blueblood family that did everything in their power to ostracize her. Her saving grace was that her father was a very powerful and ruthless man who literally loved her more than life and did everything in his power to make her fit into the vampire world. But Reason wanted no part of it, totally ignoring his attempts, much to his embarrassment. She was like me. We lived more comfortably in the human world.

“So
what happened last night?”

Reason
shuffled her cell. “Another client chose to ignore civility and got into a scuffle in a club with another music artist over who had the right to take over a damn VIP section.” She scoffed. “What morons. Anyway, as you can imagine, it got rough, wicked, and wild with both camps brawling like MMA fighters. They tore the fucking club up. Patrons and employees got injured. And of course, my client called me all panicked about getting arrested.” She sighed. “I told him to leave the club before the media got wind of it. So, in a nutshell… I had to disturb a perfectly good Friday night to go sweep things under the rug… again. The life of a celebrity lawyer sucks, my friend.”

I
swung around to look at the Manhattan skyline. “What are you complaining about? You’re a well-paid celebrity lawyer. Suck it up.”

Reason
responded with a laugh. “It’s more like being a well-paid babysitting service that keeps me rolling in the bucks. People would be surprised at the magnitude of shit that doesn’t get into the papers all due to my creative sweeping abilities.”

I
rolled my eyes. “Blah—blah—blah—stop bragging… back to my contract issue.”

“It’s
air tight. I’ll call Tiger Lady this morning and explain the finer things in life—like the huge penalty fee associated with lying and wasting company time. Then I’ll hit her with the fact there’s also a fee for any hint of her defaming Credence O. And if that’s not enough, I'll also point out that if we have to drag this shit before the Other Council, my legal fees alone will drag that bitch under.”

I
cringed at the mention of the Other Council. “Well, let’s hope it doesn’t come to that. Credence O. can’t afford a scandal.” Never mind the fact that most of the Council members hated my family. The only saving grace was that my family had a seat on the Council. Aunt Trulista would ensure we had a fair court hearing if it came down to that.

I
sighed. “Call her and let me know if I have to get involved.”

“Okay,
talk to you later, baby cakes.”

I
swung around when I heard rustling. Light sauntered in wearing low-slung sweatpants and a tight white T-shirt that read “Bite Me.” I smiled with satisfaction. At least I wasn't the only one who had a rough night. The shadows under her eyes said it all. She carried two extra-large cups of what I knew were lattes and an expensive black shopping bag from an exclusive boutique in SOHO that catered to celebrities. It wasn't unusual to see the clothes from there on the red carpet.

She
plopped down into the chair in front of my desk and sighed. “It's six in the morning. What are you doing up so early?” She took a huge swallow of coffee.

I
looked at her with an arched brow. “Uh… working.”

She
took in my scrubbed-clean face and hair pulled back into a tight ponytail. “You look like shit. What time did you get in last night?”

I
didn't need her pointing out something that I was fully aware of. I looked like crap and felt like it too. “Are you the damn warden now?” I snapped.

Her
eyes narrowed. “What flew up your ass this morning?” She threw the bag at me. “This is for you.”

“What
is it?”

“Open
it and find out. Some hot-looking guy just dropped it off a couple of minutes ago.”

I
looked at it like something was going to jump out and bite me.

“Didn't
you hear the doorbell ringing?” she grumbled. “Freaking doorbell disturbed my beauty sleep.” She took a sip of coffee. “All I know is whoever sent what's in that bag has damn good taste. A pair of thongs in that shop cost a pretty penny.”

I
pulled out the card, reading it aloud. “
Storm: My driver will be at your house at 9 p.m. sharp. Wear everything. No panties. KG.
” I pulled out the nude, backless dress that was so short that if I bent over, you would see my crotch, which was probably the point.

Light
took a large sip of coffee, eyeing the dress enviously. “Whew, baby… that dress is smoking hot. Me likey. Who's KG?”

“Knox
Gunner.”

Light
choked on her coffee. “I'm sorry—what are you talking about?”

I
bit my bottom lip and waited as she continued to stare. “The client is Knox Gunner. Apparently, he's Ryker's friend.”

“Holy
smoke… and?”

“He's
pissed off at me.”

“For
what? He was the one caught with his pants down. Literally.”

“That
night I said some ugly things to him about me just having fun with him for kicks and that I was still seeing Luke.”

She
waved her hand impatiently. “And you think he's still pissed about that? Granted, you said some ugly things, but that was years ago. Both of you need to let that shit go.”

“I
was willing to do that. But by virtue of Ryker's refusal to budge on the escort issue, that was not an option.”

“Wait!
Ryker pushed for this?”

“Yes.
You interested? Because he was very blunt about the fact that he has a thing for Credence women.”

Light
sat back tiredly. “Oh, hell no! He's too much of a project, and I'm not willing to put in the work. Instant gratification… that's me all the way.”

“You
did say that you were looking for a Dom.”

She
plopped her feet on my desk. “Yeah… a Dom that will occasionally let me on top from the bottom. From what I heard about Ryker, that could never happen. Nope, not interested. Now how do we solve the she-wolf issue?”

I
gritted my teeth. “I sort of resolved it.”

She
leaned forward with wide eyes. “Sort of? This should be good.”

“I
made an agreement to be his escort in lieu of a she-wolf.” I took another big sip, looking at my nails like it was the best manicure ever.

“Holy
shit! When I said break some rules… I didn't mean all of them.”

Swinging
the leather chair around, I walked over to the safe, pressing my thumb to the sensor to open it. I placed the contract back in, slamming it shut. I shrugged. “I had no choice. I'll honor the contract. He'll get bored within a couple of days. He'll chalk it up to getting his revenge and move on with his life. I can deal.”

“You
can't have sex with him. Shit, you can't even go out with him. It's the Credence rule.”

“I
made that very clear. No sex. No kissing. Straight business and I guess lots of humiliation.”

“He's
a Dom?”

I
nodded my head.

She
clapped her hands with delight. “Oh damn… this keeps getting better and better. I told you it would happen.”

“I'm
not a submissive, Light. I love power. I refuse to relinquish that to anyone.”

Light
looked at me with disapproval. “Storm, get over this prejudice that you have against submissives. They hold all the power. It's just not supposed to feel like it.”

I
was resigned, knowing what he truly wanted. “He wants me to feel powerless, but I'm not sure how far my dominant personality will take this shit before calling it quits.” I wasn't a quitter, just realistic about the power he held over me. It made me fucking uncomfortable.

She
arched a brow. “I'm sure he thought of a way to ensure that doesn't happen,” she stated flatly.

I
looked at her with shock. “How did you know?”

She
shrugged. “He wouldn't be much of a Dom if he didn't.”

“If
I quit, he'll ruin the business by essentially tarnishing our name.”

She
raised a brow. “Oh, that's hardcore. But it also means that he wants you bad.” She stared into space before smiling softly. “Would it be so hard to see where this takes you?”

I
sighed. She was right. When it came to sex, I wasn't a prude. And if I were truthful with myself, I wouldn't mind closure with Knox. In fact, I needed it. But D/s was not something remotely on my wish list

Light
continued. “It's exhausting to be in control all the time… at work, in bed. Let him drive for a while. Admit it. This is the sweetest deal ever.”

“But
it's not going to be easy, Light. You know me.” I smiled. “I'm an Aries. We don't give control. We take it.”

“Well
, welcome to a whole new frontier, baby, because the power dynamic has just shifted in Knox's favor.”

“Yeah,
that's what makes this so fucking scary.”

She
smirked. “So you're going to be a rock star's groupie for a while. Whew, lucky you. And you know that blow jobs do count as sex? Just so we're clear.”

I
ignored her, looking at the dress again. “How the hell did he know my size? And I'm not wearing this shit. If I bend over, you'll see my crotch.”

“Well
, I hope that Brazilian wax is still in effect because he seems to be the type to like it well-groomed down there.”

“I'm
really happy this is so amusing to you. I don't like this shit at all. Telling me what to wear. Where to be. It's disgusting.”

She
smiled cheekily. “I hope the irony of this situation is not lost on you. This is exactly what our escorts feel with every client. But the difference is they enjoy it.”

“I'm
not an escort.”

“Look
, Storm, stop complaining. The worst that can happen is that at the end of this assignment you learn something about yourself.”

“And
that is?”

“That's
the journey you have to take. It's not ideal. I recognize that. But you need to loosen up a bit here. Besides, I think that we both agree that you and Knox have some unresolved issues. Just fix them. And move on.”

“It's
easy for you to say that when you don't have to put up with the depraved things I'm sure he's planning for me. I can deal with straight-up sex, but the other stuff is a bit more challenging for me.”

“He
may go easy on you since you’re a newbie. But either way, several rounds of rough-and-tumble sex might make you a new woman.”

I
rolled my eyes. “So in essence, your answer to this mess is to fuck it out? And whoever’s left standing wins?”

“Yep,
there's nothing that a good lay can't resolve. Just don't get all emotionally involved.” She looked at me pointedly. “Look, he wants revenge? Well, the sweetest revenge is turning the table on his ass by getting something out of this deal. No-strings-attached sex from the hottest man alive.”