His Terms

“Why?” He took her chin between his thumb and forefinger and lifted her head up so she had to look at his face.

“Why do you embarrass me?” she asked softly.

He nodded.

“Because I’ve never been dolled up like this before, worn clothes that cost more than my salary, and had a man look at me the way you are looking at me.”

He stared into her light amber colored eyes, and the need to kiss her rose up like a violent monster inside of him. He leaned down and kissed her softly, letting her know that he could be a gentleman when the time called for it. For the last couple of days he had been thinking about what she had said in the car after he had taken her into the city for shopping.

But he admitted to himself that these last few days had changed something inside of him concerning her. He looked at her, felt this warmth move in his veins, and hated that he hadn’t been strong enough to keep this at a professional level, well, as professional as the contract allowed.

He hadn’t wanted any emotional attachment, and despite knowing that he was letting himself get more involved with her than what he had originally planned, Rian also couldn’t deny that he’d felt something for her before she signed this agreement.

“What was that for?” she asked softly when he pulled away from her.

“Because I wanted to kiss you, Sorcha, and because you look gorgeous.” He cupped her face in his hands. Her skin was luminescent, and the make-up she wore wasn’t gaudy or obvious, but natural and elegant. “I have something for you.” He turned away and walked over to the small table by the front door. She’d think he was insane for what he was about to give her, and for what he was starting to feel. It was like things were moving so fucking fast, but he also knew that these feelings were genuine—crazy and not what he had ever felt before—but real.

It was something he didn’t want to ignore, something he wanted to explore, but the truth was it also scared him. Rian didn’t get frightened about anything. He was the one that put fear in others.

He grabbed the small velvet box out of the drawer and faced her.

“What’s that?” She glanced down at the box and then started twisting her fingers together.

He didn’t answer, just moved toward her and opened the box. Her eyes widened as she looked at what was inside. “It’s nothing big or extravagant, but I saw it and thought it would look lovely on you.” He took the thin tennis bracelet out and set the box down. It was a delicate little platinum chain with four pearls spaced out in intervals, diamonds between those, and a small little sparrow hanging from the clasp. “Let me put this on you.” He glanced up at her with only his eyes, and when she lifted her arm, he noticed her hand shook. He placed it on her wrist, and then grabbed the matching pearl and diamond earrings out of the box. She put those on, and when she was finished he looked at her and felt this longing inside of him. He grabbed her shoulders and turned her around so she could see herself in the mirror that hung on the wall.

She placed her fingertips on the earrings and then looked down at the bracelet. “They are beautiful, but why did you get them for me?” She turned and stared up at him.

“Because I saw them and knew I wanted you to wear them. Although they are beautiful, you’re far more gorgeous.”

“Wow, great pick-up line.” She smiled, and although he had been dead serious in saying that, he also couldn’t help but feel this easiness with her.

How fucking wild that all it took was this short time alone with her for him to realize that all along he had been fighting his attraction to more than just her body.

He liked her personality, loved that she played hardball with him, too, and he felt like she complemented him well. She was his opposite in every way, the kind of person he tended to stay away from because they clashed with his already overbearing personality.

But Sorcha made him feel something more than just the anger and annoyance of butting heads with another person. He didn’t bother telling her it wasn’t a pick-up line, because it wouldn’t have mattered. She probably wouldn’t have believed him. He stared at her face, wanting to kiss her again.

“Sir, the car is ready to take you to the party,” Theodore said from behind him.

“Thank you. We’ll be down in a moment,” Rian said but kept his focus on Sorcha.

“You’re looking at me funny,” she said with this slight tremor in her voice.