Owned By Fate(24)

Damn, she looks beautiful. That was actually his first thought, when it should have been, What the hell am I doing, trying to change this girl’s mind when she’s so obviously cut from a different cloth? This woman, the one being applauded by some of the most powerful financial minds in the world, would be in his bed tonight. That is, if she didn’t back out at the last second. Something told him she wouldn’t, though. He hadn’t spent a lot of time with her, not nearly as much as he’d have liked, but she didn’t seem the type to waver once a decision had been made.

He just hoped she hadn’t come to a final decision yet about his club.

Jonah took a few steps closer toward the television, squinting at what he couldn’t possibly be seeing. But there it was. Just beneath her skirt was the outline of the garter. She was wearing it underneath her smart, tailored business suit. At the damn stock exchange.

Setting aside thoughts of opening bells and pink paint samples, Jonah walked back toward the subway, allowing a ribbon of anticipation to curl in his gut. What would she wear tonight? Something he’d have to work to remove or a dress he could slip his hands under? Would he find the lacy black garter, or would she remove it before tonight, not wanting him to know she’d worn it?

If he thought for one second she would accommodate him, he would have sent her something red to wear. To set off those green cat eyes. This unholy fixation he had on Caroline was something he couldn’t explain. Almost as if someone upstairs was having a laugh at his expense, putting a disapproving woman in his path he couldn’t seem to resist.

She thought their connection could prove unhealthy for her? Right now, while he was in the process of being denied parental rights because of his lifestyle, the least healthy situation would be subjecting himself to even more criticism. But God, the way she came alive under his hands…it felt like the furthest thing from censure. She appeared unable to resist him, either, and something about that fact made his pulse hammer. Being with one woman, inside one, had never felt essential. It unnerved him.

He needed to remember that their meeting wasn’t just about him slaking his growing need for her—it was about introducing her to something she didn’t understand. Giving her a reason not to slam his club, the way he lived, in her article. He needed to think about his professional goal here, not just his personal one. Otherwise this family-friendly apartment, all he’d done in an effort to meet his daughter, could be thrown away for one night with Caroline.

Jonah’s jaw went tight when a voice in his head whispered that she’d be worth it. No. He needed to keep his head with her tonight, remember what he wanted to prove. The dominant side of him that flowed out, easy as smoke, only came on stronger around Caroline. He’d barely managed to keep a leash on it that night at Serve. Tonight, it would be paramount. By coming to his home, even with her wealth of doubt about his character, she’d placed her trust in him. He had no intention of showing her she’d misplaced that trust.

Furthermore, if his instincts proved correct, he’d want her again. Immediately. To guarantee she’d come back for more, he’d need to tap into needs Caroline wasn’t conscious of yet. Draw responses out of her she didn’t know were possible.

Tonight, he’d make Caroline Preston an addict.





Chapter Eight

Caroline squeezed her clutch bag in a death grip as she walked into Serve. Since it was Tuesday night, the crowd was smaller than the last time she’d been there but still considerable. Colognes and perfumes wafted through the air around her, mingling with the darkly sensual music pumping through the lounge area. Just like last time, she felt distinctly out of place, possibly more so now because she’d witnessed first-hand what went on upstairs. A group of male customers sent her interested glances, and she quickly looked away before one of them could ask to drip candle wax on her private parts. Or something.

If nothing else, they’d confirmed her outfit had been a decent choice. Never one to agonize over clothing, she’d nonetheless found herself trying on no less than five different outfits. While comfort and sensibility usually reigned as deciding factors, tonight she was merely dressing to get undressed. It called for a completely different stratagem. She hadn’t analyzed her underwear so thoroughly since Prom. In the end, she’d worn a strapless nude cocktail dress that was completely out of her comfort zone, but then again, what about tonight was in her comfort zone? A big, gelatinous blob of nothing, that’s what.

As she’d dressed for her preplanned one-night stand, Caroline had allowed herself to shed the pretense that Jonah must have placed her under some form of Dom hypnosis and it merely needed time to wear off. She needed to take control of this urge and stop letting it own her. So she’d thumbed her nose at comfort, shimmied on a thong, and gone braless. If this night was the final stop on the Jonah Express, she wouldn’t hold anything back. Walking out of Serve with anything less than resolve would be unacceptable. And along the way, nothing he said or did would convince her to accept this place or what happened here. Tomorrow morning, she would go back to Preston’s and continue her quest to save it the right way.