Tied to the Billionaire(33)

“I’ll be back shortly. I mean it, Hope. By the end of this weekend you’ll consent to be my wife and that will be the end of it.” Simon slammed out of his bedroom, leaving her tied to his bed.

The bed was luxurious. The Egyptian cotton sheets were a pleasure to have under her naked skin. The rope that tied her wrists and ankles to the bed was soft against her skin. Simon was a dominant, not a sadist. He loved bringing her pleasure and the pain he used was only ever intended to heighten her arousal.

She’d never known a man like him. The moment Simon entered a room he commanded attention and respect from everyone present.

Hope opened her eyes and gazed at the mirror on the ceiling. She stared at her body, seeing the red marks from his lips on the tops of her breasts. Simon had forgotten to shave before kissing, licking and sucking her body. It was unlike Simon to forget even such a minute detail.

Since the moment she’d met Simon he’d taken over her whole world. Their meeting had been unique to say the least. The start of their relationship would stick with her always.

With the economy being in chaos, Hope had lost her job and she’d been searching for a new place to work. Allen International had been the first company to offer her an interview. The position had been for the personal assistant of the manager of the building. What she hadn’t realised at the time was that the leading CEO was in fact the owner of the whole branch of Allen International. Hope had been shocked to get such a high-ranking and well-paid job.

At the time of her hiring, Simon had been away for the first six weeks on some important foreign business deal. He’d spent the entire six weeks helping her get used to his system over the phone. His voice alone could melt her knickers away from her body. She would pay good money to listen to him read erotic literature aloud. The six weeks of talking with Simon hadn’t prepared her for the true impact of meeting him. Their first meeting would forever be embedded in her mind.


Staring at her reflection, she recalled the first time she had come face to face with her boss.



* * * *



Hope was running late. The first time she was supposed to meet her boss and she wasn’t going to be there to receive him. Simon would be pissed with her. He’d made a point of informing her over the phone that he hated tardiness. Checking her watch, she saw she had a few minutes left.

“Come on,” she said to herself, trying her best to keep her feet moving. The busy city street and all the people bumping into her didn’t help matters. She spent most of her time apologising to people who’d bumped into her.

With only minutes to spare, she charged through the reception doors and ran towards the elevator. She tried to use her willpower to force the damn metal contraption to move faster. She hated elevators. They scared her—she’d watched Speed one too many times.

Biting her lip, Hope kept her gaze fixed firmly on the white light showing the change of floors. When the elevator stopped, she tapped her foot while leaning against the wall of the stall. Closing her eyes, she tried to calm her breathing to stop herself from panicking.

The bell sounded and she brushed past the sea of bodies in the small compartment to make it to her floor. Several people gave her odd looks, but she ignored them.

Without slowing her stride, she made her way to the staff room and quickly made Mr Allen’s coffee just the way he’d described on the phone. He liked it hot with two sugars and no cream.

A quick glance at the time. She saw she had a few minutes to spare. “Please don’t let him be here yet.” She was too flustered from almost being late. Hope didn’t want Simon to see her like this.

She stirred the hot liquid and rushed towards his office. A quick glance at her office saw the mail resting on the top of her desk. Breathing a sigh of relief, Hope figured he hadn’t made it into work.

In that split second of checking her desk, Hope didn’t see the figure standing at his door.

The hot coffee spilt on the floor and down her front as she careened into a hard male chest.

Hope jumped back and stared up at Simon Allen.

She knew it was him the moment she saw the heated look in his eyes. Her pristine white shirt was pressed against her skin with the brown stain of coffee. The coffee scalded her skin but Hope was unable to look away. Simon was much taller than her. She knew he was older by a good ten years. She was twenty-five years old.

His dark black hair was neatly cut to his face and his features were always so serious, which she’d seen from the magazines he graced. The hard square of his jaw tightened as he clenched his teeth together. His eyes were a dark brown and almost black from the angle she was staring at him.

“Miss Pattern, I assume?” he asked. His voice was clear without any quiver of uncertainty.

“Mr Allen, I’m so sorry.” She pulled out of his arms. Simon must have reached out for her to stop her from falling farther.

Instead of firing her on the spot, he pulled her into his office and closed the door. He lifted her face up for his inspection with a finger under her chin. Hope could do nothing but wait for his assessment of her.

“You’re the woman I’ve been talking to?” he asked.

She nodded as her words failed her. What could she say?

Simon turned her face this way and that. She wondered what he was thinking as he stared at her.

His finger moved from her chin to stroke her cheek. “I’ve never seen a hair colour like this. It is like pure golden sunshine.”