The Deal (Trading Hearts #3) Read online

  Her voice hiccupped as if she was about to cry.

  Naomi risked a glance at Lucas.

  His thunderous expression was fast morphing into disbelief. She could tell he was riveted. As was she. The desire to be gone was still urging her to stand up and walk, but she wanted to know what Clara would say next.

  Clara's vitriolic mood vanished in a heartbeat. "I'm on my own with a small child, and Lucas manages to get it right the first time with a happy ever after."

  So that's what she really thought, Naomi realized, that Lucas was happy. And it didn’t suit his ex one little bit.

  "Clara," Lucas said, "we're not in competition. I'm there for Toby as much as you need me to be. I agree that I've got lucky meeting Naomi, but I've been alone a while."

  "I'm sorry. I suppose I have been a bit...unreasonable." Clara started rooting around in her handbag, her voice faltering as she spoke. She pulled out a tissue and began sobbing into it.

  Oh dear god. Naomi rose to her feet, unwilling to watch Lucas's ex sniveling, nor Lucas trying to console her. "If you'll excuse me, I think I've said all that needs to be said. You two can sort your differences without me."

  Lucas rose to her feet. "Naomi?"

  She shook her head at him, her emotions far too unsteady to talk any more. She gestured at his ex. "This is obviously way overdue."

  "You're right. Thank you. But won’t you stay?"

  "No! I'm leaving you two to communicate without me as mediator." She stared at him, trying to exert her mood without being as much of a drama queen as his ex. Could he let her dictate terms in this situation? She could see he was struggling with it, but she needed out.

  Concern marked his brow. "You and I need to talk too. I have your contract."

  Again it felt like bait, like the first time he'd offered her one. Clara had dripped her poison and even though she was backing down it was too soon. "Not negotiable right now. I need to clear my head. Consider it a dealbreaker."

  Shock registered in his expression.

  He lifted his hands in a signal of surrender.

  She moved fast, out the door and down the corridor in case he came after her. She didn’t want to talk to him right now.

  What a mess. It annoyed her that he hadn't warned her, at the very least.

  Clara was there first, she was prepared. Had he planned it that way?

  Her thoughts were in turmoil as she stormed out of the building into the busy London street. She walked fast, and in the general direction of the nearby tube station, but when she got there she couldn't face descending into the throng.

  She needed space to think. Her home in Edinburgh – everything she knew and understood – called to her. She kept walking, but a few minutes later found herself phoning home as she walked.

  Megan answered the shop phone.

  "Megan, hi, it's Naomi."

  "Woohoo, Is it done? Have you signed the contract?"

  Naomi cringed, remembering the last text she'd sent Megan was to tell her she was on her way to complete the contract. "Not yet. I just had to hear your voice and see how you were."

  "Is that so? Hmm. It sounds like there might be more to it than that. How about you tell me what's bugging you? I can always tell when you're fidgety… is it something to do with Lucas?"

  Naomi's paced slowed to halt and she slumped against a nearby bus shelter. "Yes, well, yes."

  "Your last text said the contract was next."

  "We did get an offer of representation." She forced herself to be upbeat for Megan. "I'm so happy."

  "You don't sound happy."

  "It's just...it's hard to explain. He arranged some meeting with me and his ex-wife. It was awful."

  "Okaaaaaaay. And did he say why?"

  Naomi began to feel silly very quickly, but she was annoyed and she needed to vent. "He wanted us to agree to be civil to each other."

  "And?"

  "We sort of did, but I am so annoyed with him! I went in there expecting to go over the contract, the final step. Instead he's negotiating "terms" between me and his ex in case our paths cross in the future."

  A muffled laugh emitted from the other end of the phone.

  Naomi pursed her mouth, jostling with passers-by to maintain her spot as the line moved to climb aboard a bus. "What's funny?"

  "He obviously wants you in his life permanently to go to such lengths."

  Naomi harrumphed. "I don’t know, he didn’t say that exactly." As soon as she said it, she remembered he had said that, right at the beginning. Was she judging him too harshly? "I didn’t hang around long."

  "So, what you're telling me is that once again you walked out on the contract."

  Her stomach turned. "Oh...bloody hell! I suppose I did." One hand against her forehead, the other gripping the phone tightly, she turned back toward the Eaglestone offices. "What the hell have I done?"

  "You've been out for a breath of air." Megan spoke soothingly. "Chances are he'll just be sitting there waiting for you to return. But why did it upset you so much, sweetheart? You like the man don’t you?"

  "A lot." More than anything in this world.

  "Is the ex-wife vile?"

  "Well, not vile exactly. Let's just say she's not best buddy material." When she pictured Clara it was her sniveling into a tissue. Guilt swamped her.

  "That'd be too weird. Look you're struggling because you've never been out with a guy who's got a child to think of. He didn't want to upset you. Look at it from his perspective. He's trying to make it work for everyone."

  "What would I do without you Megan?"

  "You'd get there in the end." Megan chuckled. "Now hang up and go back."

  "I will. Thank you." She pushed her phone into her bag. As she did, she caught sight of herself reflected in a nearby window. She was a mess, her hair awry and her eyes panic stricken. She couldn't go back there like that.

  Glancing around, she spotted a coffee house and headed inside.

  By the time she'd secured a table tucked away in a secluded corner, she knew what she had to do. She pulled a pen out of her bag.

  "What can I get you?" asked the waitress.

  "A large Americano and a piece of notepaper, please."

  The waitress smiled. "You got it."

  Chapter Nine

  Lucas turned his swivel chair to face the view from his office window. Staring out across the myriad buildings and rooftops of the London skyline, he wondered where Naomi had gone. He'd taken a risk. Too big a risk. She'd walked out. He tried her mobile phone again. It went straight to voicemail. He'd already left a message.

  Willing her to come back, he scoured the city landscape. The view of London had always been a trigger for big ideas for him. Ambitious projects, desires and dreams. Purpose was critical to him, and never before had he had such purpose. Naomi had made everything worthwhile, he knew that now.

  He wasn’t sure how long he stared out the window, seeing only his favorite images of her, but when there was a knock at the door it took him by surprise.

  "Enter."

  Naomi sashayed over as he swiveled his chair back to face the desk.

  Lucas studied her, intrigued.

  She looked calm, determined. It wasn’t what he was expecting.

  He rose to his feet. "Thank you for returning."

  "I came back because of my contract."

  His stomach balled. Was that all she'd come back for? "I'm sorry about what happened earlier. I didn't handle it well."

  "I would've preferred some notice of the set up." She gave him a chastising look as she spoke.

  "I thought you might not come if you knew."

  "I would've, if you'd explained. That would've been better than being thrown in at the deep end."

  "I'm sorry you feel that way. In all honesty I didn’t mean to upset you in any way. I wish I could go back and do it differently. You mean the world to me, Naomi. Why would I jeopardize what we have on purpose?"

  She shrugged.

  She wasn't giving muc
h away. He wanted to hold her, to kiss her, yet he didn’t feel able to approach until she indicated it was what she wanted.

  "Besides," he continued, "you owned that situation. What you said to Clara, well, you just amaze me." He paused and stared at her. "I've never once seen that woman cry, ever, let alone admit she was being unreasonable."

  "Did you sort things out with her?"

  "Yes. You were right, we needed to talk. She's not coping well, and she resented asking me for help."

  "But she will now…without making a scene?"

  "Yes. I think she will. She was embarrassed at the way she'd behaved toward you, once she realized. You did that."

  She glanced away.

  "You're the most incredible woman I've ever met." He meant it. And he wanted to be with her, always.

  "I think you mean I'm the most reasonable woman you've ever met." She looked back at him and gave a wry smile.

  "I've fallen in love with you, Naomi."

  Her eyes flickered. "I fell in love with you ages ago."

  He moved to hold her, but she put up her hand, stopping him.

  "But I'm my own woman," she continued. She pulled a folded note out of her jacket pocket and opened it out. Placing it on the desk, she pointed at it. "Here's the deal, a contract of my own, if you like. Take it or leave it."

  The deal? Lucas withheld comment, but pride and pleasure lodged in his chest. She was meeting him half way. She was willing to move forward.

  He opened the scrap of paper, noted the handwriting, the bullet points, and the coffee house logo, then he read the statement.

  I feel it's in our best interests to negotiate the terms of our relationship.

  These are my demands:

  You will not rely on me to point out your communication difficulties with your ex wife from now on. I'll always support you in putting your son first in your timetable, but I don't intend to negotiate with your ex wife ever again. Unless she gets difficult about arrangements for Christmas, then I'll flatten her.

  You must continue to leave my business development to Georgio Melandros and not intervene in any way. I'll take your guidance as a lover and a soul mate, but want no special circumstances regarding my business opportunities. That said, you may accompany me on any promotional trips I do, if it fits in with your own timetable.

  You must trust me to be honest in my submission to you, and never fear mastering me. I'll always tell you when it's a dealbreaker, do not doubt that.

  You must promise to make me a good girl and take me to "Mass" as often as possible.

  If you agree to honor the above points, I vow to be your willing slave for as long as you want me.

  Lucas had never felt more grateful for an opportunity in his life.

  It was this contract she'd come back for. He knew that now. He restrained his smile, set the sheet of paper down on the desk and lifted his head to study her. She hadn’t moved. Elegant and poised, she stood by with her arms loosely folded in front of her, awaiting his reply. The look in her eyes told a different story. Desire glistened there. She wanted him to react. Lucas loved that she was challenging him but he also knew that she was dying to submit. "Making demands now, is that how it's going to be?"

  She didn't move, but her lips curved.

  He tapped his fingers on the surface of the desk, pretending to glance at the contract again. "So you think it's in our best interests to strike this deal?"

  She quickly nodded. "I believe so."

  "It's an adventure, our relationship, don't you think? Part of that is not knowing the boundaries until we hit them."

  Her eyebrows lifted. "I agree. But you're always the one stating terms and boundaries, revealing the deal. It's time I made some requirements of my own."

  She lifted her chin as she faced him off. How could he not adore that?

  "I assume you're not requesting a more dominant role in all aspects of our relationship? Sexually, for example."

  With an audible intake of breath, she shook her head. "We're compatible as we are, sexually."

  Lucas laughed softly and stared around the desk until he was inches from her. "You're offering to be my willing slave if I accept your terms?"

  "For as long as you want me." Her eyes blazed.

  Triumphant, he touched his thumb against her lush lower lip. "That's a big commitment. I'm in this for the long haul."

  Her eyes flickered. "It is. And I'm ready for it."

  "Ready to play, too, by the looks of you. I admire your efforts to remain businesslike, my love, but I can tell what you're thinking."

  "Lucas…" She shook her head. "Please answer my terms."

  "I will. You have my word. But right now I have to address something much more important. You. I can see what else is on your mind, and its distracting both of us. You’re a naughty girl thinking naughty thoughts. It's written all over your face."

  The back of his hand made brief contact with her jaw line. He wanted her to be ready for everything. That served as a promise, and a warning.

  Barely contained sexual electricity coursed between them.

  Her eyelids lowered. She understood.

  “You’re aroused and you make me want you. I can’t even focus on your contract because you're such a sexy distraction."

  She looked at him pleadingly from under her lashes.

  He could see the lust in her eyes. "I think you’ll agree we both need some basic training in focusing on the job.”

  He took off his jacket slowly, before casting it aside on a chair.

  Her lips curved and she nodded quickly. "Perhaps you're right."

  He loosened his necktie, then rolled up his shirt sleeves.

  Naomi watched his every move.

  He pointed at the surface of his desk. “Bend over and put your hands on my desk."

  She did as instructed, bracing her hands and elbows on his desk.

  Her hair fell forward, trailing over the contract she'd produced for him.

  Beautiful in her submission, and yet so regal – the sight of her standing that way made the pulse at the base of his spine thud, the need to come inside her building fast. Lucas stored the image away, knowing he would think of it often as he worked here in the future.

  “Imagine how you'd feel if there was a glass wall behind us, like the meeting rooms, and people were watching you, knowing you had to be reprimanded for your lack of self control.”

  She gasped then glanced back over her shoulder.

  "Face front!" He stood behind her and lifted her skirt, revealing her stockings, garters, and black lace panties. How glorious she looked. He intended to treasure her, give her everything she wanted and more. He kept pushing the skirt up until it bunched around her waist.

  She groaned. He noticed her hands fisted. She was highly aroused.

  It thrilled him to see her responses, to know he could push her, tease her long and hard, and then bring her to orgasm. “It seems you want to be humiliated like this, here in my office, where we should be discussing the terms of our deal like civilized business colleagues.”

  “I want you,” she blurted, as if unable to hold back the words.

  “All in good time,” he murmured, "we have to resolve this before we can discuss terms. You know that, don’t you?”

  Trailing his fingers between her legs, he followed the line of her crease down, pressing the fabric of her panties until he reached her clit. When he touched her there, she moaned loudly. The humid heat he felt there made him edgier still, lust getting the better of him, “Pull down your panties and let me see you.”

  She reached back and wriggled her underwear down her thighs until it fell around her knees.

  “If you want to succeed in business, you must learn to concentrate, no matter what sort of distraction is going on, is that clear?”

  Again, she nodded.

  “Your terms are perfectly acceptable to me,” he continued, “and I admire your spirit. But you couldn’t even stick to your own terms! You couldn’t control your
desires long enough to see it through. That’s no way to cut a business deal!” He fought to control his smile.

  She squirmed on the spot, her body arching. "You're so right."

  He stood behind her and made quick bursts of contact on her buttocks with the palm of his hand. She shuddered, swaying as she tried to maintain her position over the desk. Seeing her offer herself – after believing he might have lost her for good – made him rock hard and ready. “I expect more from you. Is that understood?”

  She gasped for breath. “Yes.”

  He spanked her again, smiling when her back arched and her bottom met his hand eagerly. He admired his handiwork, the red mark from the point of contact like a flag to his lust, fuelling the need for more physical contact. “Your pale skin marks in the most spectacular way,” he commented. “One more time, for good measure.”

  Her body tensed. He spanked her against the underside of her buttocks, his palm making contact with her bared pussy. She was hot, and wet.

  She panted loudly and looked back at him with a plea in her eyes. It was time. He unzipped and pulled out his cock. He moved into position, pushing her legs farther apart with his knee.

  “You've submitted all of this today of your own free will?”

  "I'm yours, your willing slave," she offered.

  He slapped her on the buttock and positioned her hips.

  “If I thought you'd paraded in here with a list of demands and a promise to be my willing slave just to get my attention, you’d be in even bigger trouble than this,” he challenged, reaching down to run his thumb back and forth over her clit.

  "You know I meant it."

  Of course I do.

  She reached orgasm moments later, crying out with relief.

  He didn't keep her waiting. She was still shuddering with release when he opened her up with two fingers and eased his cock into her.

  “Oh yes,” she groaned in relief.

  He pulled her hips hard on to him, lifting her physically, his cock buried deep inside her. She grasped at the far side of the desk for anchorage and let him ride her

  The brutal intensity was everything he wanted.

  The red hue on the globe of her buttocks was deepening before his eyes. "Your beautiful derrière is branded by my hand."