Ready for Him

  A Total-E-Bound Publication

  www.total-e-bound.com

  Ready for Him

  ISBN # 978-1-78184-462-5

  ©Copyright Tanith Davenport 2013

  Cover Art by Posh Gosh ©Copyright August 2013

  Edited by Eleanor Boyall

  Total-E-Bound Publishing

  This is a work of fiction. All characters, places and events are from the author’s imagination and should not be confused with fact. Any resemblance to persons, living or dead, events or places is purely coincidental.

  All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced in any material form, whether by printing, photocopying, scanning or otherwise without the written permission of the publisher, Total-E-Bound Publishing.

  Applications should be addressed in the first instance, in writing, to Total-E-Bound Publishing. Unauthorised or restricted acts in relation to this publication may result in civil proceedings and/or criminal prosecution.

  The author and illustrator have asserted their respective rights under the Copyright Designs and Patents Acts 1988 (as amended) to be identified as the author of this book and illustrator of the artwork.

  Published in 2013 by Total-E-Bound Publishing, Think Tank, Ruston Way, Lincoln, LN6 7FL, United Kingdom.

  Warning:

  This book contains sexually explicit content which is only suitable for mature readers. This story has a heat rating of Total-e-melting and a sexometer of 2.

  This story contains 43 pages, additionally there is also a free excerpt at the end of the book containing 3 pages.

  READY FOR HIM

  Tanith Davenport

  She’s ready for him—is he ready for her?

  In the bar at the Bellagio in Las Vegas, Jade Bleecker celebrates with her three best friends, all of whom are there to get married. Jade is their bridesmaid, and beginning to believe that three times a bridesmaid really does mean never a bride. Tattooed, pierced and a martial artist, Jade is used to inspiring fear rather than desire in men, and even if she did find one who could handle her—well, no man is worth trusting with her body.

  But as she is leaving the bar, she comes upon a mugging in progress and, with a few swift moves, makes short work of the mugger. Invited up to the victim’s room for a nightcap, she is stunned to discover he is Will Vandenmeer—billionaire poster child of the Vandenmeer hotel and casino chain, and owner of The Sanctuary, one of the best-known BDSM clubs in New York City.

  Jade finds herself hopelessly attracted to the sensual, dominant Will, and when he offers to induct her into the world of BDSM, she accepts…but can she truly give herself to him, and is Will ready for what Jade has to offer?

  Dedication

  For my mother, whose hairdresser reads my writing to her and who will be very shocked when she hears this one.

  Chapter One

  Looking at each of her friends in turn, Jade Bleecker raised her glass of champagne and smiled. “A toast, everyone. Piper, you first.”

  Piper tucked her brown hair behind her ear and thought for a moment. “To marriage.”

  Beside her, Shaundra giggled. “Oh God, I can’t think of one. You guys go ahead of me, I’ll get one in a minute.”

  “To Vegas, baby,” Leonie announced, pressing a red-lipped kiss to her glass before raising it, capping the gesture with an exaggerated wink.

  “To us,” Jade added, lifting her glass higher with mock solemnity.

  “Ooh, ooh, ooh, I got one!” Shaundra cried. “To fucking!”

  Their glasses clinked together and all four let out a cheer.

  Ten p.m., and the bar at the Bellagio was buzzing with life. Jade sat back in her chair and observed her friends as they drank, all three in their own way thrumming with excitement. All three ready to get married in four days’ time, with her as their joint maid of honour.

  Three times a bridesmaid, never the bride…

  It had already been quite the upheaval. Jade had moved out of the New York apartment she had shared with Piper a month earlier. Joey had moved himself in immediately, ready for married life. Leonie would be uprooting herself completely to live in her fiancé Darren’s home state of Iowa. As for Shaundra, no one knew what she would end up doing. She and Andrew were already sharing a studio apartment, spending money on the funkiest fashions and eating beans on toast for dinner.

  Jade took a mouthful of champagne and scanned the bar, careful not to let her eyes linger on anybody for too long. The slightest hint that she might be man-hunting and she’d never hear the end of it.

  “See anyone you like?” Piper murmured in her ear.

  “Nope,” Jade murmured back, restraining an eye roll. “These aren’t my kind of men, you know?”

  Piper shrugged airily. “You never know.”

  Well, maybe. Maybe opposites did attract. But Jade knew her appearance set a lot of these men—rich men, businessmen, professional gamblers—on edge. With a modern mohawk in black and green, her tattooed arms and her nose and brow piercings, she made most men quail at the sight. They looked at her as though she was going to either punch them or stab them.

  Even the men at her dojo were scared of her—although at least they had a reason. They knew what she could do to them.

  Shaundra’s voice broke into her thoughts. “I don’t know about you guys, but I’m going shopping tomorrow. I saw a great little vintage place when we were in the cab.”

  “I’ll go with you,” Leonie immediately chimed in. “I’m sure I saw an artwork store a few blocks away.”

  Oh God. Jade raised an eyebrow at Piper, who mirrored the gesture with a knowing look.

  “I’ll pass. I feel like hitting the casinos tomorrow. What do you think, Jade? You in?”

  “I’m in.” Jade threw her a look of gratitude. She loved Shaundra and Leonie, but God, could they shop.

  As she glanced across the bar again, her eye rested on a young man at the far end of the room. Where had she seen him before? He was tall, his blond hair messy and streaked with green, matching piercing green eyes which seemed to be taking in everything around him. Although he was dressed very casually, Jade recognised his T-shirt and jeans to be designer label. A big spender who wanted to look like a nobody.

  She definitely knew his face. Maybe he was an actor. Probably not much of a name, though. He was standing alone, glass of red wine in hand, with space around him as though he was radiating a force-field. Nobody seemed to recognise him.

  Cute, though.

  Piper nudged her, and Jade reluctantly dragged her eyes back to the table. Shaundra was pulling on her jacket, adjusting the jagged collar, which stood up in spikes and was catching on her chandelier earrings.

  “I’m going to head upstairs. Andy wanted an early night tonight—you know how it is.”

  “Mwah!” Leonie pressed her lips to her fingers and waved them at her as Shaundra sidled out of the booth. On the table in front of her, her cell phone vibrated and she picked it up, pulling an exaggerated disappointed face as she read the screen.

  “Oh, damn it. Darren wants me to come up too.”

  “Go right ahead,” Piper commented airily. “Us girls can have fun without you.”

  Leonie flipped her off as she shimmied out of the booth and ran to catch up with Shaundra, who had already reached the door to the reception area. As Jade watched, Leonie staggered on her heels and lurched forward, blonde hair and short skirt flying wildly.

  “The queen of grace and ladylike behaviour,” Piper drawled.

  Jade laughed. “Bless her.”

  Piper picked up the bottle of champagne, refilled both their glasses, then sat back in the corner of the booth and looked hard at Jade.

  “So who were you looking at really?”

  Jade’s eyes were autom
atically drawn back towards the blond man. She snapped her gaze back to the table, but Piper had already noticed, her own eyes narrowing teasingly.

  “Oh, him! Well, try not to break him.”

  “He wouldn’t touch me with a barge pole.”

  Piper cocked her head appraisingly, still looking at the blond man. “I don’t think he’s anywhere near a barge pole. Maybe a baguette.”

  “Fuck off.”

  Piper responded by raising her glass in a toast, and Jade mentally began to count down to the moment when her friend would be too drunk to carry on. It wouldn’t take much more. Piper liked a drink, but was something of a lightweight, especially with champagne.

  Half an hour later, her predictions came true.

  “I need to go upstairs. You coming?”

  “Nah. I’ll have another before I go up.”

  Jade stood to let Piper out of the booth, hiding a grin as her friend wobbled on her heels. Piper turned and laid a hand on her shoulder, looking at her with slightly drunken concern.

  “I don’t like leaving you down here on your own.”

  “Relax, Piper. I’m not going to die.”

  Piper leant down to hug her, whispering in her ear as she did so. “Make sure you fuck him.”

  Oh, Piper. Jade shook her head indulgently as Piper stumbled away from the table. Always looking out for my welfare—or my sex life.

  Instinctively she glanced across the bar to where the blond man had been standing. He had disappeared. All that remained was an empty wine glass on the counter.

  Oh, well. That’s that then.

  There was still some champagne left in the bottle. Jade refilled her glass and let her mind wander, picturing the man in her head.

  Tall. Firm-bodied. A trail of blond curls leading to a hard, jutting cock. Holding her wrists, holding her down—instinctively knowing what she would want, never doubting, but never pushing her too far. Nudging her thighs apart, thrusting inside her, pinning her arms as she moaned and writhed, and she knew, she knew he would release her if she asked, but would hold her and tie her and restrain her and finally—

  It was impossible. No man could be trusted that far. Jade tipped her head back and swallowed the last drops of champagne, blinking as the room swirled.

  Okay, that was enough. Any more to drink and she would collapse. She slid out of the booth and made her way towards the far door. She had seen earlier that it opened into a corridor that, after leading past the bathrooms, turned a corner and came out in front of the elevator, which saved having to stagger drunkenly across reception.

  As she reached the doorway, she heard noises in the corridor. Voices. The language was Spanish, but the accent was too heavy for her to pick out more than a few words. It sounded…angry.

  And then she saw it.

  Halfway down the corridor were two men, one with his back to her, pinning the other to the wall. His hand was held to the other man’s throat. Jade recognised the tell-tale glint of a knife.

  She also recognised his victim. It was the blond man from the bar.

  As silently as she could, she moved through the open doorway towards the pair. The blond man’s eyes widened slightly, but she didn’t allow herself to meet his gaze—if his attacker noticed, she would lose the advantage.

  And this was dangerous enough as it was, although the alcohol coursing through her system seemed to make that thought much less important than it should be.

  The attacker was now directly in front of her. His dark hair was tousled, his skin sweaty. Jade could smell smoke on him, mixed with the tang of too much aftershave. He wore a black shirt and trousers, all the better to conceal him if he made a break for it in the dark.

  “Look.” The blond man spoke, his eyes focused on the man. He’s holding his attention. “I don’t carry cash. This is pointless.”

  “Cash?” the other man sneered, not moving, the knife still glinting against the blond man’s throat. “That doesn’t—”

  Jade moved.

  In one sharp motion she gripped his right arm and pulled it back, using her other hand to force his wrist into an unnatural bend. The man cried out, either in shock or in pain, and the knife fell from his hand.

  Leave it.

  Jade already knew what his next move would be. The man spun round, his left arm raised, ready to strike. Jade’s arm was already up, blocking the blow. She kicked out with one foot, catching his ankle, and with an angry shout the man was falling, his legs swept out from under him.

  Before he could recover, Jade had dropped to the ground behind him, wrapping one arm tightly around his neck.

  “Jesus Christ,” said a breathless voice behind her. “Fuck.”

  Yeah, I know, Jade thought grimly, tightening her hold as the man struggled against her. Skinny little chick saved your neck. How terrible.

  There were footsteps behind her, and the voice spoke again, this time angrily.

  “Oh, now you rock up? Where the fuck have you been? This asshole had a knife! Get him out of here!”

  “I’m sorry, sir.” The second voice was also male, deeper, with a curious timbre to it that suggested military, or ex-military at least. Someone squatted down beside Jade. Turning, she saw there were two more men, both in dark uniforms, carrying walkie-talkies and weapons on their belts.

  “I’ve got him, ma’am.”

  Jade surrendered her position, watching as the newcomer—a bodyguard, possibly?—forced the attacker’s hands behind his back. Standing, she turned to face the blond man, who was glaring at his other guard, apparently oblivious to the stream of angry cursing and struggling that was going on behind her.

  “We need to get upstairs and”—the blond man glanced at her appraisingly for a moment—“I need a drink. This young woman deserves one too.”

  “Oh, look, you don’t need to—” Jade automatically responded, even though her mind was screaming. Shut up! He’s offering to take you up to his room! Take it!

  “Oh, I insist.” The blond man looked at her, cool green eyes locking with hers, and Jade met his gaze unflinchingly, forcing herself to ignore the tingling in her gut. He held out his hand to her.

  “I don’t believe we’ve met. I’m Will.”

  “I’m Jade.” Jade took his hand, feeling her face form into a smile that matched his own.

  “It’s good to meet you, Jade. Not the best circumstances, I admit. Let’s go up to my room and I’ll make us a nightcap.”

  It was the best offer she had had all night.

  Chapter Two

  Okay, Jade thought. This is just nuts.

  Will had invited her up to ‘his room’ for a nightcap. By ‘room’, Jade had assumed that it would be similar to her own standard double room—or maybe a king or queen, since he was obviously able to afford his own bodyguards. At no point had she expected to be where she was now.

  It was the fucking Penthouse Suite.

  The ‘room’ covered the entire top floor of the hotel. At the moment they were in the living area, carpeted and furnished in shades of white and teal green with accents of gold. Through a door at the far end Jade could just make out a four-poster bed and a second door which presumably led to an en-suite bathroom.

  Facing her as she sat on one of the chaise longues was a marble-topped bar, where Will was pouring two glasses of pink champagne.

  “Okay. Who are you really?”

  Will paused, a wicked smile crossing his face.

  “Who am I really? I don’t believe I lied at any point.”

  “No, but you missed out a bit. Or a lot.” Jade looked at him coolly, not breaking her stare as Will crossed the room, placed the glasses on a carved coffee table and sat down opposite her.

  “Actually, I’m rather surprised you didn’t recognise me.”

  “Is that the polite version of ‘do you know who I am?’”

  “No, I quite like it. But okay. My name is Will Vandenmeer.”

  Jade caught her breath. Well, that explained the security and the Penthouse Su
ite.

  Oh my God. Will Vandenmeer.

  She had seen his photos, read his interviews. How had she not known his face? Will Vandenmeer, the public face of the Vandenmeer hotel and casino chain. Though his father, Eric Vandenmeer, was still owner and director, Will was the company’s main asset, always used for advertising, always quoted in the press.

  She looked at him again as she sipped her champagne, hiding her eyes behind her bangs. Without the strategic lighting and makeup he looked quite different, although she could see now where the familiarity had come from. His blond hair was mussed rather than carefully styled, his green eyes paler than she remembered, catlike in an angular face, all cheekbones and pointed jawline.

  And while he knew how to work a camera, the carefully chosen emotions he used publicly were absent tonight. He was watching her now, one eyebrow raised, his mouth twisted in a sardonic smile.

  “Do I pass inspection?”

  Jade smiled back at him.

  “You don’t look like your photos.”

  Will bowed in mock acknowledgement, then a darker expression crossed his face.

  “Enough that that asshole knew who I was. And he won’t have been alone, either. I’m sorry, but I can’t let you leave tonight.”

  “What?”

  Will held up a hand, cutting off Jade’s outrage.

  “Don’t worry, you’re in no danger here. I’m putting the suite under lockdown. It’s not the first time this has happened, and I won’t have any more innocent rescuers hurt in retaliation. Bryn and Matt have radioed my team and they’re dealing with it.”

  For fuck’s sake!

  Jade screwed her eyes shut for a moment, forcing herself to calm down.

  Okay. I don’t like it, but he’s right. Shit, what have I got myself into?

  “Relax,” said Will, and Jade opened her eyes again to glare at him. “You’re safe with me. Despite what you may have heard.”