Broken Glass
Authors: Arianne Richmonde
(The Glass Trilogy #2)
by
ARIANNE RICHMONDE
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Arianne Richmonde 2015
Kindle Edition
Copyright © Arianne Richmonde, 2015. The right of Arianne Richmonde to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted by her under the Copyright Amendment (Moral Rights) 2000
This book is a work of fiction. Names, places, characters and incidents are either a product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
Cover design and photography © by: Arianne Richmonde
Arianne Richmonde is an American writer and artist who was raised in Europe. She lives in France with her husband and coterie of animals.
Broken Glass
is based on much of her personal experience—she used to be an actress.
As well as
The Pearl Series,
she has written
The Star Trilogy
, and the
USA TODAY
bestselling suspense story,
Stolen Grace
.
The Pearl series:
The Pearl Trilogy bundle (the first three books in one e-box set)
To be advised of upcoming releases and giveaways, sign up:
ariannerichmonde.com/email-signup
For more information on the author visit her website:
Broken Glass
is the second book in
The Glass Trilogy
. This is not a stand-alone; you need to read
Shards of Glass
first.
Daniel Glass is back. Not only as Janie’s director, but as her leading man in the BDSM-themed movie,
The Dark Edge of Love
, the sexiest romance since
Fifty Shades of Grey
.
But Janie can’t shake off her obsession that Daniel is still in love with his late wife, the invincible blonde bombshell, Natasha Jürgen. Not only that, but rumor has it he’s sleeping with half of Hollywood. Janie is determined to keep Daniel at a comfortable distance, but his insistence, charm, and the power he has over her psyche wins her over. She simply can’t resist.
Because of family commitments Janie finds herself in Vegas, with Daniel in pursuit. And just when she finds out that he is not the man she feared he was, a calamity befalls the couple.
Daniel Glass is broken . . .
And everything Janie has come to believe . . .
Is worse than just a lie.
W
HEN I WOKE UP I had no idea where I was. The last thing I remembered was I’d blacked out, Daniel’s sexy voice in my ear, threatening to take me over his knee and spank me and fuck some sense into me.
My head was fuzzy. Where was I? I wasn’t at Star’s. At Daniel’s place? Had he taken me here and done unspeakable things to me? If so, why couldn’t I remember? It was night, yet the room was not completely dark. I jerked up from the bed but got myself tangled up; I had an IV in my arm. What the hell had happened?
“Janie.” It was Daniel sitting in a shadow. He was thumbing through a book.
“Where am I?”
“In Cedars-Sinai Medical Center. Ssh, just relax, don’t exert yourself.” He took my hand and squeezed it gently.
“I’m in a
hospital
? Why can’t I remember getting here?”
“Because you fainted.”
I tried to sit up but then slumped back down into the comfort of the pillows. “What’s wrong with me?”
“You’re suffering from stubbornness, disobedience, and willfulness.” He said this deadpan, no trace of a smile.
I stifled a giggle. “Seriously, Daniel, why am I here?”
“You’re anemic. They gave you a drip to bring your iron levels up. You’ve not been eating your spinach, obviously. I should have known—so slim and pale—you need to eat more, Janie, and take care of yourself better. Have you been feeling dizzy, your heartbeat fast or irregular, shortness of breath, cognitive problems, and so on?” He sounded like a doctor, and his expression was deadly serious. All he needed was a clipboard and a white coat.
I cocked a knowing smile. “All of the above.”
“Shit.”
“Definitely cognitive problems; definitely lack of reasoning and rational thought.”
“Really?” he said. He didn’t catch my irony. Too busy playing doctor.
“If I’d been thinking straight,” I told him, “I never would have kissed you at that meeting, and I
certainly
wouldn’t even be
contemplating
doing
The Dark Edge of Love
with you, especially now that you’re offering yourself up as my leading man.”
He tried to contain a smile. “So you
will
work with me again?”
“I didn’t say that.”
“Well, your wicked sense of humor has returned, Janie, so I can only assume you’re feeling more chipper. Still, you need to rest—we can talk all this over tomorrow.”
“I’m a bit tired, but I really don’t need to be in a
hospital
! Where is everyone, anyway? Where’s the doctor, where are the nurses?”
“The nurse has gone for a break. The doctor will see you on her rounds tomorrow morning. I insisted you stay here the night, just to make sure your B-12 and iron levels return to normal. Well, not
your
normal, as they were far too low, but a
normal
person’s normal.”
The door flew open. “Hey, I figured I’d get ten minutes before they chucked me out. Man, it’s dark in here. Where are your gatekeepers?” It was Star bursting into the room with a huge box of chocolates and a basket of fruit. “No point bringing flowers if you’ll only be here a night. That’s what they told me on the phone. Hi, Daniel, we met a long time ago at the Vanity Fair Oscar party.”
He stood up. “That’s right. You won that year for best actress for
Skye’s The Limit.”
They awkwardly shuffled about, not knowing if they should kiss cheeks or shake hands, although Star’s arms were full, so the two of them kind of blew kisses in the air. The type of greeting I knew Daniel hated with a vengeance. Well, Star blew kisses, he sort of half winced, half smiled.
“Well, I’ll be off then,” he said. “Nice seeing you, Star.” He bent down and let his head rest beside mine and breathed me in, inhaling my hair. I was glad I’d washed it that day or I would have felt awkward. He stayed that way for several beats as if he just didn’t want to leave me but felt forced to because of Star’s presence. His lips rested on my cheek without actually kissing me. Then he finally whispered, “Please take more care of yourself, Janie. I don’t know what I’d do if I lost you. See you tomorrow.” He squeezed my limp hand and then left the room.
“Only five more minutes,” a voice said, peeping through the doorway. It was a whippet-thin nurse wearing horn-rimmed glasses. She looked like she belonged in another era. “You need some light in here.”
The room flooded white with hospital glare, and the nurse disappeared. I was still reeling from Daniel’s apparent one hundred and eighty degree turn. Desperately concerned. Personally involved. Invested in me. As if I were his bona fide girlfriend.
“I had a heart attack when they told me you were here, even though I heard it wasn’t life threatening,” Star said, ripping open the chocolate box.
“Who let you know?”
“Pearl.”
“This whole thing’s pretty crazy. I had no idea at all that I was anemic. I mean, years ago I suspected, and I had myself checked over, but they told me I was fine.”
“That was a surprise, seeing Daniel here.” Star popped a chocolate into my mouth and then chose one for herself.
“He was here when I woke up,” I said, the toffee in the chocolate sticking between my teeth. “Am I allowed to eat these? I mean, it doesn’t mess with my sugar levels or something, does it?”
“The more you eat right now, the better. You’re not diabetic, you’re just anemic.”
“Anyway, he was staring at me, watching me sleep. If I wasn’t so crazy about him I would have been creeped out.”
“Yeah, well, he is kind of giving you mixed messages.”
I nodded. Star was right. “The latest message is that he’s going to play opposite me in the movie, as well as directing—he’s back in the picture, in more ways than one. Simon got fired. Cal got fired. Damn it, I forgot to ask Daniel about Cal! I’ll call Cal later. Crap! All this has been so crazy and intense!”
Star stopped chewing. “What? Daniel wants to direct the movie again? And play the leading role? I thought he didn’t want anything to do with Samuel Myers!”
“Samuel Myers has given him artistic and creative control and is going to let Daniel do whatever he wants now.”
“Which is?”
“Shoot the sex scenes in black and white and make it all arty and classy. Or so he says.”
Star grabbed a bunch of grapes. “I can see why you’re all riled up about him. There’s no denying that he’s very hot. Jeez, did you see his eyes?”
“I know,” I said helplessly.
Those eyes
that had been my undoing for all these years.
Those
eyes
that ripped through the very fabric of my being. “You think I haven’t noticed?”
Star shoved five grapes into her mouth at once. “So you’ll do the movie, right? I mean you have to.”
I told her the whole story, about how the no-nudity clause would be null and void and how I’d be Daniel’s pawn, putting my trust in him completely if I said yes.
She moved onto an apple. Something told me the fruit hamper and chocolates were her breakfast, lunch, and dinner. “Stop being so fussy. Just do the goddamn movie already and enjoy yourself.”
“This is a far cry from your earlier advice, Star, when you warned me to keep away from him because he was fucking Natasha Jürgen lookalikes.”