Lawful Escort (20 page)

Her hands felt clammy when she entered the firm’s foyer, and she forced a smile when Caroline greeted her.

“Mr. Merriweather is expecting you in his office. Go right in.” She pressed the intercom. “Sabrina is here.”

Forcing one foot in front of the next, Sabrina headed for Merriweather’s office. By the time she reached it, all her hesitation was gone. She knocked and heard his voice asking her to enter.

By the time she opened the door and stepped inside, Merriweather had already rounded his desk. With an outstretched hand, he walked toward her.

“Sabrina, I am so glad you came. Please take a seat.”

“Thank you.” Sabrina was surprised at how overly courteous he was. It wasn’t like him.

She took a seat in front of his desk, and he sat back behind it.

“Let me just say, the firm and I deeply apologize for how you’ve been treated. There’s no excuse for it. We were aware that Jon has had … let’s say, issues with female staff, but we never dreamed that he would go as far as harassing you. Hmm, we are extremely sorry that you felt you couldn’t talk to us about this.” He gave her a sincere look. “We … no, I hope that you know we value you highly, and we would of course offer you your job back …”

Would?
What was he saying? He’d just called her in to apologize but that was it? He had no intention of offering her a job. How hypocritical was that?

“But you won’t? You know what Hannigan did, but you won’t give me my job back?” Her voice was flat, showing no emotions. She wouldn’t give him the satisfaction that she was disappointed.

“We would be delighted to have you back, of course, but a client has asked us to be represented to obtain your …” He cleared his throat. “… hmm, services. I drafted the contract myself, and I know that our firm could never offer you what he’s willing to pay.”

Sabrina was more than surprised. She’d had very little client contact during her time at the firm, and it was impossible that a client had noticed her and decided to offer her a job.

“I don’t understand.”

Merriweather pushed a dossier across the table. “This is the contract. Before you read it, let me assure you that I’ve done everything in my power to protect you with the terms of this contract. It’s watertight, and should you decide to accept it, believe me if I say, nobody will think the worse of you. It’s an offer not many in your position would reject. We all have our price,” he added cryptically.

She raised an eyebrow but didn’t answer.

“And should you decide to reject my client’s offer, I’ll be the first to welcome you back into the firm.” He stood and rounded the desk. “I’ll leave you to read over the contract.”

“Thank you, Mr. Merriweather.”

He shook her hand and went for the door. When she heard it open and then close a few moments later, she reached for the dossier and opened it.

***

Daniel watched Sabrina sit with her back to him. He’d silently slipped into the office when Merriweather had exited, just as they'd agreed beforehand. Sabrina hadn’t noticed him come in, and he remained standing motionless near the door.

As she scanned the first page of the contract, he let his eyes glide over her. He’d missed her, truly missed her and didn’t know how much longer he could bear the separation.

“Oh my God!” she exclaimed as she went further and further down the page. He wanted her to have a chance to read the entire three-page contract, as impatient as he felt.

As she went to the second page, she suddenly jumped up from her chair. “Oh God!” came another incredulous exclamation. The shock at his proposal was evident, even though he couldn’t see her face. It was killing him, since her expressions didn’t tell him whether she was inclined to accept or reject. He needed to know. He couldn’t stand the suspense any longer.

“Sabrina.”

With a low shriek that got stuck in her throat, she twirled around. The sheets of paper landed on the floor, involuntarily released by her trembling hands. She was more beautiful that he’d ever seen her.

“You …” Her voice was shaky and broke off.

He took two steps toward her when he saw her steady herself against the desk behind her and stopped. He didn’t want to scare her.

“This is what you want?” She pointed at the contract at her feet.

Daniel nodded. “Yes.”

“Why?”

“Because at this point I’ll take whatever I can get.”

He came closer and bent to pick up the pages, pressing them back into her hands. Being this close to her after not seeing her in five days, made him want to reach out and touch her.

Her eyes locked with his. “You want me to be your escort?”

“That’s what you wanted, isn’t it? Just sex. You said so yourself.”

Sabrina held the pages up with her hand. “This is not just about sex.” She pointed at a spot on the page. “Paragraph nine: Children. Care to explain what this paragraph is doing in this contract?”

“Any children resulting from this contract shall be my legal heirs,” he recited a portion of the contract. “So, it’s all about sex. I guarantee you’ll become pregnant when you share my bed every night.”

“Paragraph six: Living Arrangements. The employee will live with the employer, sharing his bed,” she read.

“You know as well as I do what happens when we share a bed. Do you want me to remind you?” He inched closer to her, and he noticed her hold her breath.

“Paragraph seventeen: Compensation,” Daniel stated.

“I haven’t read that far,” she said hastily.

“Let me paraphrase. The employee is entitled to half the net worth of the employer.”

Sabrina gasped in shock. “You can’t be serious.”

He nodded slowly. “Read for yourself.”

She searched for the place on the page and found it. Her eyes danced over the page like a ping pong ball at a competition until her mouth fell open then quickly closed again. Instead of looking back at him, she continued reading.

“I need a moment,” she requested.

He stepped out of her way, moving away from her enticing scent. Sabrina rounded the desk and sat down in Merriweather’s chair.

Several minutes ticked by as she read the contract to the end. He still didn’t know any more than when he’d entered the office. Was she going to reject him outright? Was she going to toy with him?

When she finally looked up, her face was unreadable.

“Let me clarify this. You want to hire me as your escort, to share your bed and your home, to live with you, to travel with you, to attend every family function with you. I’m to be exclusively yours, no other lovers. And you won’t have any other lovers either. Any children I might bear will be recognized as your legal heirs and will grow up as your children. In exchange I’ll be entitled to half your wealth. And then the termination clause.” She paused. “You should fire Merriweather as your attorney. I don’t think he has your best interest in mind. The termination clause doesn’t give you an out.”

“That’s how it’s meant to be. No out for me. I’m not looking for an out, I’m looking for an in. It’ll all be in your hands, just like you wanted it all along. You call the shots when it comes to termination of the contract. I’m ready whenever you are.”

Sabrina shook her head. “I hope you don’t mind if I make changes to this contract? Nobody ever signs a contract the way it’s presented, least of all a lawyer.”

She didn’t wait for his approval but started making annotations. Did this mean she was willing to accept this crazy proposal? Would she really do it? He knew he wanted her to be his forever, and while he would have rather asked her to marry him, he was willing to start with what he thought she’d be more comfortable with.

She’d said it bluntly at the cottage. She couldn’t be more than his whore. Fine, he’d take her and then show her what she really was: the woman he loved.

When Daniel saw her sign the contract, his heart was beating up into his throat. She was his.

“Here. I’ve accepted. You need to initial Paragraph seventeen. I’ve made changes.”

Paragraph seventeen?
He frantically tried to recall what the paragraph was about, when it hit him: compensation.

She nodded when she saw the realization on his face. “It’s not nearly enough for what you want. I need more.”

More?
His heart sank. Sabrina was taking him to her cleaners. He couldn’t have misjudged her like this. She’d never shown any interest in his money, but now that she had him where she wanted him, had her true side come out? God, he hoped not.

She shoved the contract into his direction. “Don’t you want to read it?”

He felt as if his legs were filled with lead when he took a step toward the desk. Had she played him like a fiddle, pushed all his buttons, intoxicated him and then hung him out to dry?

“Daniel, read it,” she urged him. The way she said his name made him look at her and connect with her eyes. There was nothing cold in her eyes. Instead, they were full of warmth. Her actions didn’t compute with the way she looked at him.

She lowered her eyes toward the contract, begging him again to read the change she’d made. He finally did. What he saw made his heart jump. She’d crossed out the entire paragraph and written in the margin. There it was in blue ink:
Compensation – Daniel will give Sabrina his love and respect, every day, every night.

That’s all she wanted, nothing else. She’d signed the contract. He had to contain himself.

“May I borrow your pen?” Daniel was choked up as he reached for her pen.

A second later, the ink on the paper dried, his signature next to hers.

***

She looked at him and smiled. When she’d read the first few paragraphs of the contract, she’d thought he’d gone crazy. She’d even felt slightly insulted about what he was offering her, but when she’d read the termination clause, she’d realized what he was truly offering her was himself.

There was no way for him to terminate their contract. And the only way out for her? Marrying him. He would only release her from the contract if she agreed to become his wife. She understood now.

With steady steps, she walked toward him, stopping only inches away from him. She felt the heat from his body ignite the air between them.

“So you think you can pay my price?” she asked.

“I don’t think so. I know so. Want a taste of it?” His look was searing, adding to the scorching heat in the room.

She licked her lips to cool them as she watched his mouth come closer. “I need more than a taste,” she mumbled before his lips met hers.

His arm went around her waist as he pulled her into the curve of his body, crushing her breasts against his chest. With his other hand, he caressed the nape of her neck, angling her head to allow for a deeper kiss.

Her lips parted with a deep sigh and invited him in. He explored the deep caverns of her mouth, dueling with her waiting tongue. Everything in his kiss screamed of passion, love, and possession.

Her hands tugged on his shirt to pull it out of his pants. She needed to feel his skin. As soon as she slid her hands underneath his shirt, he moaned.

“Sabrina, I missed you. No more separations, not for a single night.” His eyes locked with hers.

“I signed the contract, didn’t I?”

Daniel smiled. “Yes, you did.”

“How did you know I would accept?”

“I didn’t. Frankly, at some point I thought you’d throw the contract at me and tell me to get lost.”

She raised her eyebrows. “And then?”

“I would have gone to plan B.”

“What’s plan B?”

He smirked and shook his head. “Since you’ve accepted plan A, I guess you’ll never find out.”

“I suppose I’ll just have to make the most out of plan A then.” She laughed and removed her hand from his chest only to place it onto the familiar bulge of his pants. Sabrina could clearly feel the heat underneath her hand.

“What are you doing?” Daniel asked slowly.

“Collecting on paragraph eleven.”

“Paragraph eleven?” he asked and moaned when she stroked his growing erection through the fabric.

“Daniel, do you even know what’s in the contract?”

“Remind me since my body is busy with other things right now.”

She laughed. “Paragraph eleven, and I paraphrase: the employer is required to sexually satisfy the employee at all times.”

“At all times?”

She nodded. “At all times. And I believe that includes now.”

“Here?” He gazed around the office.

“Here. Now.” She felt for the desk behind her. “Feels pretty sturdy to me,” she commented on Merriweather’s desk.

“Good thing Merriweather is neat and keeps his desk uncluttered,” Daniel responded with a sparkle in his eyes as he hitched up her tight skirt. “How about you lose those panties?”

“I don’t remember getting my other ones back from you.”

“I’m starting a collection. Care to make a contribution?”

Sabrina stepped out of her panties and handed them to him.

“What do I get in return?”

He lifted her onto the desk and spread her legs as he stepped into her center and held her close. “You choose.” His voice was low, and she felt his breath on her face as his lips descended on hers for a tender kiss.

Slowly, her hands went to his pants, first opening the button then pulling down the zipper. She heard his appreciative sigh when she pushed them over his hips and let them fall to the floor. As soon as she’d done the same to his boxers, her hand reached for his erection which jutted out proudly.

“Perfect,” she admired him and stroked her soft hand over his shaft.

“It’s been so long, baby.” His eyes looked at her with unconcealed desire. Just the way she loved it. Pulling him closer by his shirt, she brought him flush against her body, his erection nudging at her warm and moist entrance.

 “I want you, Daniel, all of you.” She was full of the love she couldn’t speak of yet. She couldn’t say the words yet, but she knew he would wait until she was ready.  In the meantime she’d be his escort, exclusively his.

“Please take me,” she begged him and pressed her lips on his, kissing him passionately.

Sabrina let out a deep moan when she felt the head of his cock breach the tight entrance to her core. Seconds later, Daniel severed his lips from hers and looked into the depths of her eyes.