For His Pleasure: The Boxed Set, Books 1-6 (For His Pleasure, For His Taking, For His Keeping, For His Honor, For His Trust, For His Forever) (40 page)

Lately though, Nicole had started to feel like the connection might be lost. Lately, she’d started to wonder if the man she thought she loved even truly existed, or ever had existed.

How ironic it was, then, when she and Danielle were home from the dance club, slightly tipsy, getting ready for some Ben and Jerry’s ice cream and a little bad reality TV

before bed—that Nicole’s cell phone rang and she instantly knew it had to do with Red.

The connection that she feared was gone, never to return—was as alive as a downed power line, sparking and dancing on an empty street.

Before she even answered, Nicole knew it would be about Red.

“Hello,” she said into the phone, her heart pounding like mad in her chest.

“Hello Nicole,” came the reply. It wasn’t Red, though. It was the man who’d helped destroy him. The voice belonged to Kane Wright.

“Don’t ever call me again,” she rasped. “I don’t know how you got this number—“

“Let’s dispense with the hysterics,” Kane said gently. “I’m calling because I want to see you and speak to you.”

“I don’t have any interest in that,” she said.

“I’ve gone out of my way not to hurt Red Jameson because of you,” came his response in that slightly accented, cultured voice. “But if you disrespect me, I might decide to completely crush the man instead.”

“Isn’t owning his company enough? What more do you want?”

“I think we both know the answer to that, Nicole.”

She bit her lower lip. “What do you want from me?”

“Just a meeting. Agree to meet with me. You don’t have to do anything else.”

Danielle was watching her with wide, concerned eyes.

“So if I meet with you, you’ll leave Red alone?” she said.

“Please, this isn’t some Hollywood film starring Liam Neeson,” he laughed. “I’m not a movie villain, Nicole. The terms are constantly changing and I make no promises.

But if you at least meet with me, there’s a chance for things to work out. And that’s something, isn’t it?”

“I don’t know if it’s worth it.”

“I promise I won’t bite. Give me a few minutes of your precious time, hear what I have to say.”

Nicole swallowed, knowing her answer was probably going to change her life, and possibly Red’s too.

“Yes,” she said.

For His Honor (For His Pleasure, Book 4)

By Kelly Favor

© 2012 All Rights Reserved

Kane Wright told Nicole to meet him at his club, Venture, located in the Meatpacking District. Danielle wanted to go with her to make sure she was safe, but Nicole told her to stay home.

“Who will call the cops if both of us go missing?” Nicole asked her. That shut Danielle up temporarily.

But as the taxi had pulled up outside the apartment and Nicole readied herself to leave, Danielle stood in front of the door. “This is a really bad idea. Why are you still fighting for him, Nic?”

Why am I still fighting for Red?

She didn’t bother trying to answer, because there was no answer—at least, nothing that would satisfy Nicole’s overprotective roommate. Nicole was fighting for Red because she had no choice, and because despite everything, she still knew that he loved her and would have done it for her had the situations been reversed.

The taxi ride was long and the neighborhoods got worse and worse as they closed in on the address for the club.

Finally, just when they reached the most run down, desolate spot of all, the cab slowed and the driver announced that they’d arrived.

Standing outside Venture, Nicole was regretting that she didn’t have Danielle by her side. The cab took off before she had a chance to ask the driver to wait a moment until she was safely inside.

The street around her was empty, and she was surrounded by urban decay—

buildings that looked unused, crumbling. She thought there were likely several thriving crack houses in the area.

The club itself appeared to be closed, but she could hear the steady thump of industrial music coming from within.

Palms sweaty, heart racing, Nicole tried to open the door and found it locked. She pounded on it a few times with her fist. “Hello?” she called out, feeling like an idiot.

A moment later, the door swung open and a man in a skintight dark t-shirt stared her down. He was pale, so pale that she was sure he must be an albino. Or was he just a weird guy pretending to be an albino? Either way, Nicole decided he creeped her out in a major way. His pale eyes were like two glinting white marbles in his head. “Yessssssss?”

he asked with an odd, lopsided grin.

“I’m here to see Kane Wright,” she told him.

“Oh, honey,” he clucked, shaking his head at her. “I don’t think he wants to see you.”

“He’s expecting me.” She tried to stand her ground, even as everything in her told her to just run away as fast as she could.

The albino made a screwy face as if he really and truly couldn’t comprehend the notion that Kane Wright would want anything to do with a girl that looked like her. “If you’re wasting my time, I’m going to make sure you regret it.”

Despite the man’s flamboyant manner, Nicole sensed that he was a dangerous person. For one thing he was muscular, wiry—and he also looked like he’d been in a lot of altercations in his time. Pale, thick scars were visible on his neck, his cheek, and one scar ran the length of his bicep.

“I’m not wasting your time,” she told him. “But you’re wasting Mr. Wright’s time, and I wonder if he’d like that.”

The albino man grinned at her again, a leering, greedy look. “You better hope you’re truly a guest of Mr. Wright’s honey. For your own sake.”

She crossed her arms as he closed the door and disappeared back inside. Nicole once again considered turning around and getting the hell away from this place, but before she could convince herself to do it, the door opened once more.

The albino man was back, with a severely altered attitude. “We should hurry,” he said, the grin wiped from his face. “Come with me.”

Nicole tried to restrain a smile.

Inside, she could more clearly hear the thump-thump-thump of the base from that industrial music. The halls were dark and foreboding, the dim strobe light blinking off and on, and as they walked, she was aware of shadowy people watching her pass by.

She could feel their eyes on her, watching her, thinking god only knew what about her.

Bare chested men, semi-naked women, tattooed, clad in leather—these were the people that inhabited Club Venture.

The albino man led Nicole into a stairwell, and as they walked into it, she heard moans and groans and slurping sounds bouncing and echoing off the walls. The sounds came from a flight below—what must have been the basement level. It could have been a couple or it could have been five people down there, and Nicole didn’t care to know which it was.

They started to climb the stairs.

On the second floor, the albino stopped and led them out of the stairwell, into another long hallway with doors on both sides. “Go all the way down to the last door on the left,” he told her. “Give a knock and Mr. Wright will let you in.”

She started to walk down the long hallway.

“Bye now, honey,” he called to her. “I hope to see you again real soon.” And then he flitted away.

Alone in the hallway, Nicole almost missed her albino chaperone—but not really.

She walked slowly, hearing the thumping music louder again. Finally she reached the last door on the left and knocked.

When the door opened, Kane Wright was behind it. He was wearing a cream colored suit, his hair immaculate, smiling at her as if she were an old friend who’d dropped by his summer house out of the blue. “Nicole, my dear. So good to see you. Come inside, please.”

She was surprised that the room she walked into was large, well-lit, with a white carpet and white, modern furniture to match. A window on the left wall overlooked the inside of the dance club from above. Strobe lights pulsed and flashed and a mob of people moved almost as a single organism below them.

Although this room was removed from the club atmosphere, it soaked it in a little just the same.

“Drink?” Kane offered.

She shook her head once. No.

“Please, have a seat then.” He motioned to one of the white couches. She sat down and felt its immediate luxury, sank into it just enough to feel enveloped.

Nicole had taken great care to dress down for this meeting.

She wanted there to be no confusion, so she’d worn unflattering jeans, sandals, and a light gray sweater. Her hair was not particularly styled and she’d put on no makeup whatsoever.

Kane went and poured himself a drink of some sort and then sat down across from her, affable, as he always seemed to be. “Any troubles getting here?”

She shrugged. “You’ve got a strange employee working the door, but other than that it was fine.”

“Oh,” he grinned. “You must mean Jeffrey. He’s nice enough once you get to know him. And as long as you don’t make fun of him being pale.”

“What happens if you make fun of him?”

Kane took a long, luxurious sip of his drink and then smacked his lips. “I think the last guy who made a joke ended up leaving the club in a stretcher.”

“How lovely. What a nice employee to have working for you.”

Kane shrugged, clearly not interested in what she thought about his associate. “So,”

he said, tilting his glass toward her, “have you heard from Red lately?”

“Why don’t you just tell me what you want?” she said, growing impatient. She crossed her legs and set her jaw, tilting her head slightly the way she did when she was angry or felt threatened.

Kane took note of her posture. “Don’t be so hostile, Nicole. I haven’t been rude to you, now, have I?”

“You threatened someone I care a great deal about.”

“It’s interesting that you’re so protective of a man who continually embarrasses you, Nicole.”

“That’s none of your business.”

“Perhaps not,” Kane sighed. “But for some reason I feel like I want to help you.”

“That’s strange. You don’t even know me.”

“It is strange. I’ve been puzzled by it myself. But I think if we can come to terms tonight, I’ll be able to find out just what I’m so taken with you.”

“Maybe you’re just lonely.”

“Perhaps. But there are plenty of women willing to keep me company, Nicole.

That’s not really an issue. What’s more difficult is finding someone who I deem to be worth of my time.”

“Maybe you should try being a little less stuck up,” she said.

Kane smiled at her as if she’d just given him a huge compliment. “See? That’s part of it. I like your spunk. I like that you’re not going to back down. Sure, at first you might come off like a little mouse of a girl. But peel a few layers back and there’s Lara Croft waiting to riddle you with bullets.”

“I’m don’t raid tombs anymore. I’m officially retired, Mr. Wright.”

“Please. Call me Kane.”

“I’m not very interested in playing games, Kane.”

He nodded slightly. “Understood. But I’m not trying to play a game with you. I’m trying to get to know you better.”

“You sure have a strange way of going about it.”

“Maybe you could give me a chance to start fresh. I’d like you to come with me to The Cayman Islands next week.”

Nicole actually laughed. She couldn’t help it—she thought it was one of the craziest things anyone had ever said to her. “Do women you’ve just met often agree to accompany you overseas?”

“Sure they do,” he said. “And I think you’ve got better reason than most to give me a chance.”

“What reason is that?”

He sat back and folded his hands over his stomach. “I’ve recently found out some disturbing information about Red Jameson. Information that could be very problematic for him if it was to be made public.”

“What kind of information?”

He sighed. “Information about his illegal activities. He could go to jail for it, possibly, and certainly public opinion would be very harsh if any of it were to come to light.”

“I don’t believe you. I don’t think Red did anything illegal.”

“Spouses rarely think the worst of their loved ones.”

“You’re going to threaten to release this information about Red if I don’t agree to go to the Caymans with you?” She shook her head in disbelief. “You’re even worse than I thought.”

Kane just looked at her. “I know you’ll be angry with me for awhile, but I feel confident we’ll get past it. And if you still hate me at the end of the trip, then…” he shrugged.

Nicole stood up. “I’m not going to even dignify this proposition with a response.”

“Nicole, don’t go,” he said.

She stopped and turned to look at him. “If you want to hurt Red, I can’t stop you by having sex with you. I’m sorry but I refuse to do that.”

Kane started to laugh. “Whoever said anything about sex?”

“I think inviting me on a trip to the Caymans is pretty much telling me you expect me to sleep with you.”

“You don’t know me, Nicole,” he said, still laughing. “Red must have truly traumatized you with his behavior if that’s what you think I’m indicating.”

“Then what are you saying?”

“I’m simply asking you to spend some time with me—a few days. Let’s get to know one another.”

“I’m still in love with Red.”

Kane’s smile died on his lips. Clearly, he was a man not accustomed to being told no. “He’s weak, Nicole. When things got difficult between the two of you, he ran away.

What sort of man is that?”

“I can’t change how I feel,” she said.

“I don’t expect you to.”

“Then what do you expect?” She asked, knowing she should just walk out, but afraid to do so.

Kane stood up and came a single step closer to her. “Think about my proposition.

A few days in the Caymans with me. I promise there will be no demands made of you, other than you spend some time with me eating wonderful food, laying on the beach, swimming in crystal clear water. Most people pay quite a lot of money for a vacation like that.”

“And if I agree, you’ll make sure that this information about Red never becomes a problem. You won’t ever release it to anybody?”

He looked her straight in the eye. “I swear I won’t ever put it out there. And it could be very bad for him if anything ever did get out. Homeland Security in particular would be very interested.”

“Would they?” she said. “Why would Homeland Security care about what Red was doing?”

“He was helping undocumented workers from Middle Eastern countries gain access to the U.S. through employment with his company.”

“Why would he do that?” Nicole asked. “That doesn’t make any sense to me.”

“You’d have to ask him why he did it,” Kane told her, turning and walking toward the window that overlooked the dance floor. “Maybe Red Jameson isn’t the man you believe him to be.”

Nicole was spinning from everything Kane had just told her. His threats and promises buzzed around in her head like a swarm of bees. “I think I should go home now,”

she said.

He nodded. “Let me get Jeffrey to drive you.”

“You’ve got to be joking.”

Suddenly Kane broke into a boyish grin. “Of course I’m joking, Nicole. Besides, Jeffrey’s having some problems with his driver’s license right about now. I’ll have my personal driver take you home instead.”

Kane took his cell phone out and texted something rapid fire. Then he looked up at Nicole. “Think about my offer,” he said.

She chewed a little on her lower lip, thinking about what two or three days alone with Kane would be like. There was no way she could ever be attracted to him. In fact, she could hardly stand to be in his physical presence.

On the other hand, if he kept to his word about this trip, all she would have to do is grit her teeth and bear it. Make conversation, go swimming, eat a few meals with him.

She’d of course stay in her own room—that was a deal breaker.

And when it was over, Red would be safe again. Except that she had no idea if Kane Wright would honor the agreement.

“I’m just not sure I can trust you,” she said.

“What have you got to lose?” Kane asked.

“A lot,” she said, her eyes locking on his. “Just because I’m not rich like you, doesn’t mean I have nothing to lose.”

“Here’s my cell number,” he said, handing her a business card. “Don’t answer now. Sleep on it tonight.”

Nicole didn’t even look at his card—she just thrust it into her purse.

Kane walked her out of the room and down the hallway, into the stairwell. As they descended, he gently put a hand on the small of her back. Nicole almost told him not to touch her, but decided it wasn’t worth it.

His gesture made her miss Red all the more. If Red were here, he’d be cracking jokes. She’d welcome his strong firm hand on her back or around her waist.

Kane Wright might be conventionally handsome, but he was all wrong for her. And the worst part was, he didn’t much care. He was one of those men so used to getting what he wanted that it never occurred to him whether or not someone else felt the way he did. It was enough that he was “taken” with her, now he would find a way to force her to feel the same about him.

When they reached the street level, she turned and looked at him. “You know, there’s consequences to how you treat people, Kane. I think you’re going to find that out the hard way.”

Before he could reply, she opened the door and quickly made her way to the limousine waiting curbside.

And then she was taken home.

***

She’d been having a dream about Red—she knew that much. And then she was suddenly awake, heart pounding, feeling he was right next to her. She could remember every single sensation of his body next to hers in bed, how it was to wake up next to him in the mornings. The way he smelled, the way his curly black hair fell onto the pillow, his body sprawling out across the sheets.

Nicole half expected to see him turning over onto his back and grinning at her with sleepy eyes. Pulling her across the gap and into his arms.

She sat up in bed and tried to calm down, as if she were recovering from a nightmare. Only she realized the nightmare was her reality. In the dream, she and Red had been together again, happy again, ready to spend their lives with one another.

It was in her waking life that everything had gone wrong.

Instantly, memories of the previous night and Kane’s threats flooded her mind. He was such a poor replacement for Red Jameson; everything about Kane was a turn-off for Nicole. At least when Red was being aggressive, you knew it—but with Kane Wright, it was all hidden. He didn’t even have the guts to just command her to fuck him. Instead, he’d tried to bribe her, extort her—as if he had to fool her into being with him.

But would he hurt Red if she refused to play along? That was the million-dollar question.

Nicole wondered what Red would advise her to do. Probably he wouldn’t advise anything, he’d have been too busy hunting Kane Wright down so that he could turn his face into a bloody mess.

Suddenly, her stomach lurched. Nicole’s mouth flooded with spit and her throat constricted. Stumbling out of bed, she ran to the bathroom and as soon as she got to the toilet, heaved her guts up.

Last night’s mac and cheese (hurriedly eaten before going out with Danielle) was clearly visible now in the toilet water. Just looking at it was enough to cause her to heave again. More came up, and then Nicole was using some toilet paper to wipe her chin and mouth, tossing it in the toilet. A quick flush and down it all went.

She patted her stomach, feeling a little better now.

What was it, she wondered? A slight case of food poisoning? She’d never had food poisoning before, but she’d always assumed it was pretty brutal. She imagined herself clinging to the bowl, sleeping in the bathroom, every twenty minutes being struck by another bout of nausea.

This didn’t feel like that at all.

Maybe a touch of a stomach flu? Nicole certainly hoped not. She didn’t feel like spending the next twenty-four hours in bed.

She went to the sink and quickly washed her face, patted it down with the nearby hand towel, looked at herself in the mirror. Her eyes were puffy, but other than that she looked fine. Not great, just fine.

How could she ever really be great again? She was lost without him.

Don’t think like that, Nicole told herself. She’d been doing a lot of pep talks lately, telling herself to buck up and stay strong and other clichés that never really helped.

I miss Red. I miss him so bad that it literally hurts. Maybe that’s why I threw up.

She was thinking crazy thoughts. Nicole knew she needed to get it together. But the plain fact was, she was tired of keeping it together, tired of pretending everything was okay. Not only did she miss him terribly, every single moment of the day—but now she also had to deal with Kane Wright completely on her own.

Today was going to be a no shower day. In the past, before the latest and greatest breakup with Red, there had never been a “no shower day”—she took a shower at least once, very often twice a day.

But lately she couldn’t even muster the energy for that. Today she simply put her hair up, put on deodorant and some clean clothes, a little makeup—and done. She didn’t feel sexy or fresh or awake.

Nicole didn’t much care though. Perhaps I’m depressed, she thought. She found she didn’t care too much about that either.

And then it was off to work for the day.

Work had become an altogether different place since Red was fired. The fun had left Jameson International altogether. There was an interim CEO, someone she’d never heard of before, who’d given a twenty minute speech a couple of days ago. He’d talked a bunch about ships travelling rough seas, teamwork, holding strong through the tough times, and on and on.

Nicole had found herself spacing out a few minutes into it and just daydreaming about Red. Their work lunches together, the way he’d looked at her, the hunger in his eyes.

But she knew she wasn’t the only one who missed him. Even Remi had commented on it one day. Remi wasn’t the type to get all soft and nostalgic about anyone or anything, but she turned to Nicole randomly and said, “I put my resume up online yesterday. I just can’t see myself working here in six months. All the life has gone out of this place.”

Nicole had simply nodded, because if she’d spoken, she might have started to cry, and the last thing she needed was to be seen sobbing in her cubicle.

A mental breakdown at her job? No thanks.

Today, she had a busy day, thankfully. Edward was using her as his all-purpose assistant, which meant accompanying him to his meetings, taking notes, getting his schedule straightened out, and going over the reorganized files on the network.

Being busy was good. Being busy was the only was Nicole stayed sane anymore.

Still, in those brief downtimes, the quiet moments, no matter how short they were in duration—she instantly wondered where Red was and what he was doing right now. And of course, the most clichéd line of all: Does he miss me the way I miss him?

Towards the end of work, her cell phone started to buzz. Her heart started racing at the mere possibility that it might be him—that Red might finally be breaking his self-imposed exile.

It was her mother.

“Shit.” Nicole had been avoiding her calls. She’d only called back once, at a time when she knew her mom wouldn’t be around, and left a brief message acting like she’d been disappointed to have missed her.

But now she was starting to feel guilty. So despite her qualms, she finally picked up. “Hey, Mom.”

“Oh! I was so used to getting voicemail, I’m a little startled to hear my daughter’s real voice.”

Nicole smiled—actually it was more of a grimace. “Sorry about that, Mom. Things have been really busy around here.”

I’ve been busy moping, not showering, and occasionally vomiting for no apparent
reason. That’s why I haven’t picked up lately.

“Busy doing what?” her mother asked, a hint of suspicion in her voice. Of course she suspected that Nicole was seeing Red again—nothing else explained the lack of communication.

“Work’s pretty crazy right now.”

“I read in the newspaper that Red was let go,” she said.

Nicole sighed. Shit. She forgot that her ex-fiancé’s entire life was chronicled in the media, so of course her parents knew about the events at her company. “Yeah, the board of directors met and decided that a change was necessary in order to facilitate a new direction.”

Christ, I sound like I’m the interim CEO right now, she thought.

“How do you feel about that?” her mother asked.

Nicole hesitated. “A little sad,” she admitted.

“Hmmmm.” Her mom clearly didn’t like to hear that. “Well, it’s always sad when someone loses a job. But sometimes it’s necessary. Sometimes change is a good thing.”

Nicole could translate her mother’s words better than anyone after all these years.

What she really meant was, I hope you’re not still upset about splitting with Red Jameson, because he’s obviously a loser. First he lost you and now he’s even lost his own company. I hope you’re not pining away for him.

But with her mother, things were rarely spelled out like that unless she knew she could get away with it. And after so long without talking, her mother wouldn’t want to upset Nicole and then not speak again for weeks.

“Yes, change is necessary,” Nicole replied, after a long pause.

“So, what else is new?”

Well, you’d probably be interested to know that a very wealthy man is trying to
bribe me to spend a few nights with him in the Cayman Islands. I might not even have to
fuck him—we’re still working out the details.