Because He Watches Me (Because He Owns Me, Book Nine) (An Alpha Billionaire Romance) (21 page)

She smiled at him. “I’m definitely ready. I’m yours, for you to do with whatever you please.”

He nodded. “For as long as we both shall live.”

N
icole Masters had never felt
such passion before.

Never had a man looked at her the way Red Jameson did. Nicole’s body responded to his every touch, his every word. She needed to be taken—she wanted him to do with her exactly as he wished.

Red was no ordinary man. Always in control, and always knew what he wanted. What Red wanted right now, was Nicole.

“Turn onto your back,” he said to her in a husky, seductive voice, as Nicole lay across the bed’s red satin sheets. This was the same apartment where Red had first shown her the kind of obedience he required in the bedroom.

And even though he’d recently proposed to her, Nicole understood that the rules in here hadn’t changed. Red would be in charge and she would cater to his every desire.

Dutifully, Nicole turned to her back. She was completely nude, her breasts slick around her pink, hardened nipples. Red licked and sucked and kissed them, bringing her to the very heights of pleasure.

He always took his time—his patience seemed to have no bounds.

Now he kissed lower still, down her belly, to the place where the heat grew stronger, where the flames of her passion kindled to an extreme. Nicole cried out as Red worked his magic.

Tonight he’d been so gentle, even though he was still very much in charge of their lovemaking. Nicole had expected anything, been ready to do absolutely anything he wanted, but there had been no blindfolds, no whips and chains.

Finally, he looked into her eyes as he climbed on top of her, kissing her lips tenderly. “My fiancé,” he whispered, smiling.

She smiled back as she allowed her fingers to gently caress his muscular chest and arms. There was a slight flicker of tension in his dark pupils as she touched him, as her fingers lingered on his beautiful skin. Nicole knew instantly why he was perturbed. Red didn’t like to be touched without first giving instructions on the matter.

He’d just proposed earlier in the day, in front of Nicole’s judgmental parents, and tonight was a celebration of the bond they shared. She wanted to touch him a little, to express her love and gratitude to him. But she knew she’d made a mistake.

“I’m sorry,” she said.

“Why?” he asked, as he slid against her, making her weak with need.

“I know you don’t like it when I touch you.”

He blanched. “Why would you say that?”

“Because. You told me before that I shouldn’t.”

Red moved off of her and rolled to a sitting position. “That was before.”

Nicole reached out and touched his back and saw his muscles actually flinch in response, like she’d seen horses do when a fly landed on them.

“I’m sorry I said anything.”

“You don’t have to keep apologizing to me.” He turned his back to her.

“Why are you turning away from me?”

“Because, this isn’t how it’s supposed to go. You’re making it into something else.”

“Come back to me, Red.” She held out her hand. “Please. I beg you. I need you.”

Red turned toward her again, his dark eyes staring at her with something so intense it almost scared her. His curly, dark hair was hanging over his forehead and he looked like he could be photographed right this instant for some glossy magazine.

How had she gotten so lucky—that the man who could have anyone, any woman at all, had chosen her?

“Tell me you’d do anything I say,” he growled.

“I would do anything you say. Just command me, I want to.”

“Lie on your back.”

She lay on her back again. He was suddenly upon her, like a lion on its prey, his limbs intertwining with hers, thrusting inside of her in one motion as she cried out in ecstasy. Red filled her with his manhood, took up every bit of space as he moved into her with controlled passion.

One hand grabbed her by the hair and pulled. “You’re mine, aren’t you Nicole?”

“Yes, sir.”

He smiled at her use of the word sir. He hadn’t expected that.

And of course, he liked it.

***

T
hey spent
the rest of the night at his apartment. He’d offered to bring her back to his house—mansion would have been a more apt description—but Nicole told him she wasn’t ready for that yet. This was going to be a huge transition for her; going from penniless and living with her nosey roommate Danielle, to moving into a multi-million dollar home with the CEO of the company where she interned.

Red’s apartment felt right. Sure, it was the same place he’d brought countless other women, women who filled his need for control and sexual domination. But it was also the same place where they’d spent their first night together, and she felt relatively comfortable there.

Falling asleep together, Red had not needed space. He’d moved away from her on the bed, turning so that his back faced her. For a moment, Nicole felt so alone and disappointed, knowing she couldn’t put a hand on him and ask him if something was wrong. There were certain things that she was going to have to try and get used to about Red.

Later on, though, she startled awake to find him close to her again. He didn’t know she was awake, but he was caressing her hair gently and whispering to her.

“I love you so much,” he said. “I’ll always protect you, always take care of you, and I’ll never leave you.”

He caressed her like that for a long time, and she eventually fell back asleep, knowing he was close and watching over her.

The next day, Nicole blearily opened her eyes to find Red getting out of bed. “What time is it?” she croaked. Everything was still dim, it didn’t seem like morning could possibly have arrived.

“It’s four o’clock,” he said. “I’m getting in the shower.” He was wearing his black silk boxers and nothing else.

Nicole again had that bizarre crashing sensation of impossibility. How could this be her life? The man standing before her was a god, a model of perfection, and yet he wanted her and her alone. She shook her head and smiled. “This can’t be real.”

Red grinned at her. “It will feel real enough when you get into work and tell the creative group that you’re switching departments.”

“Switching departments?” she asked. “I love my group.”

“You’re not going to be an intern anymore. You’re my fiancé, and you’ll be moved to a position that fits your capabilities and status.” He started toward the bathroom.

“Red—“ she called out, wanting to discuss it further.

He didn’t look back. “I’ll be out in ten.”

Nicole heard the shower start and she sighed, knowing that this was going to be a very strange day indeed.

Yawning, she wandered to the other room and grabbed her cell phone from the kitchen counter. She had six missed calls and four voice mails.

One was from her father, saying that he wanted to talk to her, and when she got a chance to call him. She could tell from the sound of his voice that it would be a “serious” discussion, probably at the behest of her mother.

He would try to talk her out of going forward with the marriage.

There were two calls from Danielle—one was a hang up, and the other was a very quick message. “Hey Nic, it’s Danielle. I just wanted to apologize. I miss you, when are you coming home?”

Nicole wasn’t sure what she wanted to do about Danielle. Certainly, her roommate meant well, but the way she’d gone behind Nicole’s back and told her parents about Red was a huge betrayal.

Nicole wasn’t sure she was ready to forgive and forget just yet. And what would Danielle say when Nicole told her she was moving out of their apartment to go live with her new fiancé?

Four in the morning and Nicole already was drained and mentally exhausted.

The final voice message didn’t help matters. “Hello,” a deep, cultured voice said. “My name is Anderson, and I’d very much like to speak with you, Nicole.” He paused. “I believe we have a friend in common. Mister Jameson? I think you’d very much like to hear what I have to say about him. Please call me.”

When Red emerged from his shower, towel wrapped around his waist, hair slicked back, she wanted nothing more than for him to throw her down on the bed and re-enact some of last night’s more memorable moments.

Instead, she handed her phone to Red and told him to replay the last message.

His expression grew troubled as he listened. When the message finished, he handed the phone back to her. “I have no idea who that is,” he said.

She wondered if he was lying to her. The notion made her very uneasy, and she dismissed it. She was going to have to trust him if they were to be married. “Why would someone call me and say those things?” she said. “How does he even know we’re together?”

Red shrugged. “It could be anything. I have a lot of people watching me, and a lot of enemies.”

“Enemies?” A chill ran up her spine.

He smiled at her innocence. “Yes, enemies. I run an enormous company that has ties to foreign governments. I have investments in many different entities, some of which are controversial.”

“Such as?”

“A conversation for another time,” he said, crossing to one of the closets and pulling out a suit wrapped in plastic, as if he’d saved it for just such an occasion.

Nicole sat down heavily on the bed. “I don’t know you at all.”

Red looked at her as he took the suit out of the plastic. “And I don’t know all that much about you. But I know that I love you.”

“How can you say that when you barely know a thing about me?”

“Because, I know your soul. That’s the part I know best.”

Nicole smiled and her heartbeat sped up a few beats. “How do you know my soul?”

“The first time I looked into your eyes, I knew I’d found you. A kindred spirit.” He rustled his suit. “Unfortunately for us, the world of the spirit is not always compatible with the world of the material. I believe the immortal Sting once eloquently said, ‘We are spirits, in the material world.’ As such, we still need to pay the bills, so I need to get changed and ready for my day. As do you.” He raised an eyebrow at her.

“Okay, okay.” She stood up.

They hadn’t discussed what she should do about the strange man on her voicemail. Red hadn’t seemed overly concerned about it.

In any case, Nicole decided to ignore the stranger. He could call her but she wouldn’t call him back.

After they’d gotten dressed (she’d been smart enough to pack a small overnight bag this time), Red drove them both to Jameson International.

On the way, Nicole brought up what he’d said earlier about her changing positions at the company. “I don’t want to leave the creative group,” she said, as he flipped radio stations, finally landing on some British sounding person discussing the stock market.

Red swore as they hit traffic. “How is it possible that we’re hitting traffic at this time of morning?”

“Red, did you hear me?”

He glanced at her and pursed his lips tightly. “I liked it better when you called me sir.”

“I’m being serious.”

“So am I,” he quipped.

“I’m not quitting my job,” she said, tilting her chin proudly.

“I never said you should quit, but you’re my fiancé now, and it’s not appropriate for you to work as an intern. It’s not fitting, it’s a lowly position and I won’t stand for it.”

“What would I be doing instead?”

“There’s a public relations position that’s perfect for you. You’d be working directly under me,” he said, a glint in his eye.

“That’s kind of a big step up from being an intern, isn’t it?”

“Perhaps it’s skipping a rung or three on the ladder.”

Nicole shook her head. “I don’t want special treatment. Nobody will respect me if I get preferential treatment as your girlfriend—I mean, fiancé.”

His hands tightened on the wheel. “I’m starting to get annoyed, Nicole.”

“I haven’t earned that position,” she snapped back.

He seethed for a moment, and luckily the traffic broke so he could speed down the highway and let some of his anger out on the road instead of her. Finally, he appeared to have collected his thoughts. “You’re not drawing a salary right now,” he said, his voice even, if a little strained. “Do you want to get an allowance from me, instead of a decent wage and a job you can be proud of?”

He had a point there. Her parents had cut her off financially and she needed to make money. Red had billions at his disposal, but she didn’t simply want to glom on to him, it wasn’t her style.

“I don’t know what to do about my money situation,” she admitted.

“Good,” he said. “I’m glad you’re seeing the light. So you’ll take the PR job, and we’ll pay you a very nice salary; something on the order of ninety-five to start.”

“Ninety-five what?”

“Ninety-five thousand a year.”

She guffawed. “You’ve got to be kidding.”

“It’s not a lot of money for New York City,” he replied.

“Well, it’s too much. And I’m not taking that job.”

“Then you’ll take an allowance.”

“No.” She shook her head. “I suppose I’ll keep working with the creative group, but I’ll need to make a little money for it. Just enough so that I can pay my few bills and help Danielle out with rent.”

“Danielle. Your old roommate?”

“My current roommate.”

Red breathed heavily through his nostrils. “You live with me now.”

“I’m going to have to give her some money, at least a month’s rent to help out until she finds a replacement for me.”

“I’ll take care of it,” he told her, turning onto 5
^th
Avenue, where traffic was getting congested once again. He slowed to a crawl.

“I can’t let you do that, Red.”

“You’re being ridiculous, now.” He glanced sideways at her. “You don’t have any money, and I have more than I know what to do with.”

“I can’t let you just take over everything. I need to still have some kind of independence. I need to earn it.”

“Oh, you will,” he smirked.

“Not like that.”

“Fine,” he sighed. “I suppose you’ll have to learn the hard way then.”

“I always do.”

“I’ll speak with Edward this morning and let him know that you’ll be added as a permanent member of his team. You won’t be an intern anymore, you’ll be Assistant to the Art Director, Remi Danvers.”