Read At His Word: The Billionaire's Beck and Call, Part 6 for Free Online

Or would she be able to tell with just one look
that I was a nobody--just some temp he decided to sleep with this week?
    The car rolled forward, and I swallowed hard.
    By the time we were parked, nestled next to
Mercedes, BMW's, and what looked like James Bond's Aston Martin, my mouth was bone
dry. Mr. Drake's hand on my leg made me jump.
    "Are you okay, Isa? You look positively
shaken."
    "I'm fine. Really."
    How could I tell a man like this that this kind of
thing terrified me? That I knew I wasn't good enough? That just the sight of a
house like this made me want to curl up into a ball and disappear? He would
never understand. How could he, when he grew up here?
    "You're not fine, Isabeau. You're missing something."
His voice was low, with a hint of humor in it.
    "Missing something?"
    "Of course, little slave," he said, his
hand caressing my throat. "Did you think I wouldn't notice?"
    I sucked in a breath, the touch of this thumb over
my delicate skin making me shiver with longing.
    "I gave you that collar to wear, not to leave
behind when you left this morning. A beautiful woman like you should always wear
beautiful things."
    He reached into the glove compartment and pulled
out a velvet box. When he opened it, the diamonds on the platinum choker glittered
in the moonlight. I looked down at my hands, clasped in my lap.
    "It feels like too much."
    "Isabeau." Mr. Drake tilted my chin up,
forcing me to meet his gaze. "It's not too much, and it makes me happy to
give it to you. Please wear it. Let the world see that you are mine."
    Hesitantly, I ran a finger over the charm in the
shape of a lock, caressing its edges. "Alright. But I feel silly wearing
something so extravagant."
    "Trust me, Isa. No one will think twice
seeing it around your neck."
    He brushed my hair off my shoulders and fastened
it for me. His fingers trailed from the lock down the skin exposed by my
blouse, before dipping beneath the silk and tracing the top of my cleavage. My
body heated in response to his touch, and suddenly, I wished we didn't have to
be here. That we could go straight back to his home and he could savage me in
his dungeon. I moaned at the thought. Looking up into those green eyes of his,
I knew he was thinking the same thing.
    He drew his hand back and sighed.
    "Let's go."

 
    ***

 
    I found myself touching the necklace for
reassurance as I strolled at Mr. Drake's side through the crowd of dinner
guests. As if the honest-to-God butler who showed us in wasn't enough, the
house itself was covered in luxuries that made my eyes pop. A fabrige egg stood
on a polished silver stand next to marble statuettes in an enormous glass case,
and oil paintings of who I assumed were family members lined the walls. The
place reeked of old money in a way that made the hair on my neck stand on end.
    What could I possibly have to say to someone who
lived in a place like this? Would his family hate me right away, or would they
wait until I inevitably made a fool of myself to shun me?
    I closed my eyes and balled my hands into fists.
Just breathe...
    Mr. Drake's hand on my arm brought me back.
"Relax, Isa. You're doing fine."
    He smiled, and my heart warmed at the way his eyes
crinkled ever so slightly in the corners. I wanted to stand on my tip toes and
kiss him then and there, but I settled for putting my hand in his and letting
him lead me through the room.
    "Chase, darling. So glad you could make it
after all, although I wouldn't know it from all those calls you ignored."
    "Hello, Mother. You look lovely, as
always."
    Mr. Drake leaned over and kissed her papery cheek.
She was in her sixties with silvery blonde hair swirled into an elegant up-do.
Her hard, grey eyes assessed me, roaming from the top of my wavy hair down to
the points of my heels, before coming back up to rest on the choker.
    "Yes, well. Some of us have to keep up
appearances." She touched the strand of pearls at her throat and pursed
her coral lips.
    Mr. Drake's hand on the small of my