On Her Terms (Premiere Companions Book 2) Read Free

the sadness in her brown eyes.
    Nicoletta wore the grief about her mother like an invisible cloak, but there was a vibrant energy behind that mask she presented to the world. He wanted her, pure and simple, and he would have her one way or the other, but he had to be careful here. She was far too intelligent, and lying to her wasn’t really an option. He’d have to stick to the truth as much as he was able to.
    She didn’t answer his question, just took a deep breath and turned on her heel toward the bank of elevators, and he indulged himself watching her perfect ass sway in front of him.
    Nicoletta carried herself with an inborn grace, not often found in one so young.
    Then again, not many women of her age had to nurse their cancer-riddled mother for years and then were snapped up by a father like Don Cabrizi. While the official version was that the man had left his life of crime behind, following his lengthy stay in prison, his sort had their hands in many pies. Business had certainly thrived while the Don had been supposedly incapacitated, and being reunited with his long lost daughter had done wonders for the man’s public persona.
    Nicoletta Cabrizi was the darling of the newspapers, and very much a target for her father’s enemies, which was why the Don had arranged her marriage. It was as much for her protection as it was to cement the business relationship he had with Nicoletta’s affianced. After all, who could protect the Don’s daughter better than his new head of security? And judging by the ease in which Nicoletta had slipped away from her bodyguards, a new man at the helm was very much needed.
    Jamie pushed all thoughts of the Don and his machinations from his mind when the elevator doors slid open, and followed Nicoletta inside.
    “Where to, Miss?” The liveried lift attendant smiled at her, and she hesitated.
    “We’re in the River Balcony Suite,” Jamie said, and the attendant smiled and bowed his head.
    “Ah, excellent views. Especially this time of year.”
    He pressed the relevant button, and when neither Jamie nor Nicoletta said anything, he lapsed into polite silence.
    The ride accomplished, the young attendant stepped to one side and gestured to the impressive oak paneled door in front of him.
    “Your suite is right there. Enjoy your stay.”
    “Thank you, we will.”
    Jamie slipped the man some cash, which earned him a bow from the attendant and a frown from the nervous woman next to him, and then they were on their own.
    “I did not reserve a suite, just a room.”
    Jamie shrugged and slid his keycard through the required slot. The door opened, and he ushered his reluctant subbie for the night through.
    “I know, I rang ahead and changed the reservation. I prefer a suite myself. Much more room to explore. After all, we can’t really leave while we’re here, and the service is top notch.” He suppressed a grin at her openmouthed expression, and having deposited their bags in the bedroom, opened up the French doors leading onto the balcony and the stunning views of the Thames.
    Balmy summer air flowed in, and he resisted the urge to turn around and see what she was doing. Let her find her bearings in her own time. None of this could be easy for her. After all, she’d already blasted his conceptions about her into the water.
    The girl had the resources at her fingertips to book the most expensive suite the hotel had on offer, yet she hadn’t done so. Maybe that had been out of her need for anonymity—she’d booked the room under Nicole Simpson, the surname her mother had adopted after she’d shopped the Don to the police—or maybe she wasn’t the spoiled brat she was reported to be.
    Not for the first time since Nicoletta Cabrizi had appeared on his radar did Jamie wonder how much she knew about the real reason why her mother had run from her father, and the hand that woman had had in ensuring the Don served many years behind bars.
    It was the stuff of legends, after all, as had