The Billion Dollar Contract: The Executive Collection (10 page)

Ethan was not in a hurry to pull out. He collapsed on top of Jasmine, his lips lazily kissing her shoulder as he became more focused on catching his breath against the pillow. Jasmine stared at the ceiling through blurry eyes and wanted to do nothing but sleep after a round in bed like that.

Turned out that Ethan agreed. A few minutes later Jasmine rolled toward the edge of the bed and closed her eyes for the last time that night. She felt his body behind her, pressed against her but giving her some space. The fantasy was over.

7

Jasmine had a lot to think about.

The thinking began the next morning, when she was barely awake and groggy to the world. Ethan was already out of bed and half dressed, although he left his shirt open, and Jasmine pretended it was to torture her. But he was ear deep in a telephone conversation, and the moment he knew that Jasmine was awake he went into another room.

He informed her that he had a work emergency as she was finishing getting dressed. There were no kisses goodbye or a pat on the back. Jasmine was more or less told that she had to leave, and her parting gift was an actual gift basket.
Is he kidding?

Jasmine toted it onto the bus home. She wanted to open it up and take a look at what the latest lovers of Ethan Cole got for their time and trouble, but was afraid of other people seeing. So she waited until after she walked through her door and fended off the Norwegian cat horde that attacked her as soon as she was aware of the cat’s presence.

“Let’s see what we have in here,” Jasmine ignored the wailing of a cat who could see the bottom of its food bowl. She opened up the basket and wanted to laugh. Beneath the manila folder which was sure to contain the contract Ethan wanted her to sign, was a small bottle of wine and gourmet chocolates that were probably picked out by the last mistress.

She tried not to think about anything as she went about her day. There were errands to run – including feeding the damn cat – and other jobs to apply to. Jasmine wasn’t going to assume right now that she would sign the contract, nor would she assume she would actually get two million dollars out of the deal. She was realistic, and knew that her best bet right now was to keep applying to real jobs.

When she finally did decide to start thinking about it, however, she had already opened the wine bottle and was settling down on the couch with the volume low on the TV. She needed a drink if she was going to read this blasted contract.

Oh, how thoughtful. Ethan was considerate enough to have typed in Jasmine’s name where applicable.

“The party, Jasmine Bliss, henceforth agrees to become the sexual submissive of Ethan Cole.”
Yep, she needed another drink.

“Such an arrangement will last for the duration of six months from the day of signing the contract. After which, if both parties are satisfied, Miss Bliss will receive a total of $2 million to be paid immediately by Mr. Cole.”

That part still almost seemed too good to be true.

Clearly Blackbeard agreed when he hopped up on the couch with his human. After pawing on her lap for several seconds, Blackbeard managed to crawl between Jasmine’s legs and settle as if he belonged there. Jasmine took this as a sign that he wanted to hear about the shenanigans.

All Jasmine cared to read about right now was the terms of being a man’s submissive. She flipped a few pages until she found the terms. After one large gulp of her wine, Jasmine sank farther into her couch and sighed over what she read. “For at least 12 hours every day Miss Bliss agrees to be readily available to Mr. Cole. This means both in the business sense and the sexual sense.” How nice of him to give her a whole 12 hours to herself for the rest of the day. A mere millionaire would’ve demanded 20 hours. “Miss Bliss may decline if she is in ill health or has an emergency. However, both must be cleared with Mr. Cole beforehand.” Great.
But what about the actual sex stuff?

“Before the commencement of any sexual activity after the signing of this contract, Miss Bliss and Mr. Cole will go over an appropriate safe word to use in any situation. It may be used if Miss Bliss does not feel adequately safe or is pushed beyond her comfort zones, which are also to be established before the signing of this contract.” That would be a fantastic conversation. “Outside of the safe word just about anything will go.” Another drink was necessary already.

The contract did not skim on what was expected of her in a submissive and light-BDSM style relationship. There were mentions of blindfolds, restraints, and other such things that Jasmine often saw in the media those days. She had dabbled in them a bit before with previous boyfriends, but nothing in a lifestyle sort of way that Mr. Cole seemed to be searching for. Well, whatever. They could go over what exactly that meant before she signed any contract.

But would she even sign it? Sure, her night with Ethan Cole had been hot and exactly what she needed after a long dry spell. If things were “normal” she may even go on another date with him. That was without all of this contract stuff though. Having him immediately approach her to be a sexual submissive was another story altogether.

By now Blackbeard was completely spread out on her lap, his furry feet in the air as tufts of white fur spilled from his stomach. Jasmine rubbed it and hoped that he would not swat her.
What in the hell am I going to do?
On one hand, she was still enamored with her date the night before, the fantastic sex, and the allure of becoming a millionaire from only six months of dating a billionaire. It almost seemed too perfect. But the other side of her told her that was not only immoral, but a possibly dangerous situation as well. Who knew what Ethan Cole would really ask of her? And if she refused any time, she was afraid that he would not only fire her, not pay her for any of her services, but also give her nothing but bad words to take to other possible employers. That was a nightmare situation. The extremes were so fraught with possible peril that Jasmine didn’t even want to think about them.

But she had to. She had to think about them.

It wasn’t only about the money either. It wasn’t just about how good looking Ethan Cole was or how well he could make love to her. Jasmine could not deny that she was curious as to what else he could do in the bedroom. Restraints? Blindfolds? Sounded good to her! But she didn’t want to be naïve. She had been around a few blocks, seen a few things happen to some friends, and didn’t know how she could take that happening to her. All for some money? Some dick? No matter how long she contemplated it, she was confused as to what she should do, and Blackbeard never once moved from her lap.

“What should I do?” She rubbed her cat’s back and tried to imagine what he would say if he even understood what was going on. “Should I take the money and the sex?”

What a dumb question. Obviously the answer was yes.

8

Jasmine walked into the Jackson-Cole building that Monday morning feeling both confident and absolutely petrified.

She knew that Ethan Cole wanted her. That was as evident as a fish loving to swim in the open waters. She also knew that she could do the job of personal assistant with her hands tied behind her back – something that Ethan may well ask of her soon.

But she didn’t know these people, this world. When she stepped out of the elevator wearing her black body hugging coat, she was instantly aware of the eyes on her. They were more judgmental now than they had been the previous Friday.
They know I’m here.
Last time she could have been anybody. But somebody coming out of Ethan Cole’s office with a perplexed look on her face, and then coming back a bit later dressed like this? There was only one reason for that. Jasmine had to square her shoulders and boost her own confidence by reminding herself that this was all for her.

“I’m here to see Ethan Cole.” Jasmine stood before the beautiful woman behind the front desk and pretended that they were gal pals. She was almost willing to flirt with her if that meant getting to see Ethan sooner.

The woman put down her phone and stared at Jasmine as if she were from another planet. “One moment, please.” She dialed something on another line and waited for a reaction. Soon enough she hung up again and told Jasmine to go ahead into Mr. Cole’s office.

I wonder if he’s sleeping with her.
A woman as beautiful as that? Maybe she was an old flame that Ethan liked to keep around anyway. Jasmine wouldn’t begrudge him of that.

As if she had déjà vu from a week ago, Jasmine found Ethan sitting behind his desk once more. This time he was more focused on her as she entered the room, taking the time to size up her every curve as she sauntered up to his desk. She did not sit down.

“I hope that such a gait and gaze means good news,” Ethan said as he relaxed. “Once again I am sorry that I had to ask you to leave so suddenly the other morning. Things like that happen often. It’s one reason why it’s not feasible for me to have a serious girlfriend.”

Jasmine pulled the manila envelope out of her coat and dropped it on the desk. “Hot contract. I especially liked the part where you talk about tying me up.”

Those perfectly groomed eyebrows went up, and Ethan leaned forward, folding his hands on the desk. “Does that mean you’re saying yes?”

She stepped around the desk, her fingernails scraping against the wood as she placed her feet carefully on the carpet. “Not so fast.” She flipped the manila envelope open. “I have my own conditions. I do believe that I get to make some changes if I want, yes?”

Now it was more than arousal swirling in this man’s eyes. There was a hint of intrigue there as well. “What kind of changes?”

“Well, first I’m not crazy about this 12 hours thing. Make it 10 during the work week.”

“Done. But in return I want your whole Saturdays.”

“Seems like you’re busy on Saturdays to me.”

“Not always.”

“Fine. But I get Sundays off. From both work and you if I choose.”

“Sounds fair. Anything else?”

“Oh, lots of other things. I want a proper lunch break during the week. Don’t think I don’t know you’re going to try to fuck me in the supply closet when everyone’s eating lunch. I’m not into that. If I’m dealing with your shit all morning, it’s only right that I get off lunch every day. This means I can do what I want, and tell you no with no repercussions.”

“Hard bargain. But it’s not like I’m usually free during lunch anyway. Done.”

“You will also agree to never put me into any mortal danger. I noticed that was missing from the contract.”

“Good eye. Of course I won’t.”

“I also will not break the law for you. So no sex in the middle of the street.”

“Darn. That’s one of my favorites.”

Jasmine sat on the edge of his desk right next to him. She was close enough to touch him, but she wouldn’t. She would rather tease him with her presence, to make sure he knew what he was getting into. And of course, how much he still wanted her. “There are a few other things that we can go over later,” she said. “But first there is one big demand that I have, and if you won’t agree, I will run out of here right now.”

Finally, the hardened man in the business suit, the very man who controlled so many destinies, was fidgeting a little. “Yes?”

Jasmine sucked in her breath. “I want three million.”

The air went quiet. For a moment Jasmine thought that he would laugh at her. But he merely smiled, his fingers drumming against the arm of his chair.
I wouldn’t mind hopping in his lap right now.
Restraint. Jasmine was sure that plenty of that would come later… if he agreed to her terms.

“Three million dollars is a lot of fucking money.” Ethan turned toward her in his chair, both hands clasping either side of it. “What’s wrong with two million?”

“Nothing.” Jasmine opened the top of her coat where she had nothing but bare skin hidden beneath. “But you seemed to have such a good time Friday night. If you really want me still, you’ll be willing to pay more for it.” This was something she had to recite in her head before she came here.
Now I really feel like an escort or something.
But if Jasmine was essentially going to accept the money in exchange for her love, by God she was going to get paid for it. She didn’t quite know what she was getting into. For all she knew these next six months could be utter hell. If she was going to go through all that, she was going to get the Benjamins to prove it and set her up for the rest of her life. She knew that she risked him turning her down entirely. He may even call her bluff and keep it at two million, knowing that she would take it anyway.