When I'm With You: The Complete Novel (8 page)
“Mr. Noble, good evening.”
His eyes were a piercing cobalt blue. They flicked off Francesca for a split second. She managed to suck some air into her lungs during the reprieve.
“Zoe, isn’t it?” he asked.
Zoe couldn’t hide her pleasure at the fact that Noble had known her name. “Yes, sir. I work in Imagetronics. May I introduce Francesca Arno, the artist you chose as the winner in the Far Sight Competition.”
He took her hand. “It’s a pleasure, Ms. Arno.”
Francesca just nodded. She couldn’t speak. Her brain was temporarily overloaded by the image of him, the warmth of his encompassing hand, the sound of his low, British-accented voice. His skin was pale next to his dark, stylishly coiffed, short hair and gray suit.
Dark Angel.
The words flew into her brain, unbidden.
“I can’t tell you how impressed I am with your work,” he said. No smile. No softness in his tone, even if there was a sharp curiosity in his stare.
She swallowed uneasily. “Thank you.” He released her hand slowly, causing his skin to slide against hers. A horrible moment of silence passed as he just looked at her. She gathered herself and straightened her spine.
“I’m glad to have this opportunity to thank you in person for awarding me the commission. It means more to me than I can convey.” She said the rehearsed words in a pressured fashion.
He gave an almost imperceptible shrug and waved his hand negligently. “You earned it.” He held her stare. “Or at least you will.”
* * *
Click here for more books by Beth Kery
Beth Kery
lives in Chicago where she juggles the demands of her career, her love of the city and the arts, and a busy family life. Her writing today reflects her passion for all of the above. She is the
New York Times
and
USA Today
bestselling author of
Because You Are Mine
. Find out more about Beth and her books at BethKery.com or Facebook.com/Beth.Kery.
When I’m With You
PART I: WHEN WE TOUCH
Because You Are Mine
PART I: BECAUSE YOU TEMPT ME
PART II: BECAUSE I COULD NOT RESIST
PART III: BECAUSE YOU HAUNT ME
PART IV: BECAUSE YOU MUST LEARN
PART V: BECAUSE I SAID SO
PART VI: BECAUSE YOU TORMENT ME
PART VII: BECAUSE I NEED TO
PART VIII: BECAUSE I AM YOURS
Berkley Sensation titles by Beth Kery
WICKED BURN
DARING TIME
Berkley Heat titles by Beth Kery
SWEET RESTRAINT
PARADISE RULES
RELEASE
EXPLOSIVE
One Night of Passion series
ADDICTED TO YOU (WRITING AS BETHANY KANE)
EXPOSED TO YOU
One Night of Passion Specials
BOUND TO YOU
CAPTURED BY YOU
WHEN I’M WITH YOU
PART TWO
WHEN YOU DEFY ME
Beth Kery
When You Defy Me
Copyright © 2013 by Beth Kery
The right of Beth Kery to be identified as the Author of the Work has been asserted by her in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
Published by arrangement with The Berkley Publishing Group, a member of Penguin Group (USA), Inc.
First published in this Ebook edition by Headline Publishing Group in 2013
Apart from any use permitted under UK copyright law, this publication may only be reproduced, stored, or transmitted, in any form, or by any means, with prior permission in writing of the publishers or, in the case of reprographic production, in accordance with the terms of licences issued by the Copyright Licensing Agency.
All characters in this publication are fictitious and any resemblance to real persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.
Cataloguing in Publication Data is available from the British Library
eISBN 978 1 4722 0410 3
HEADLINE PUBLISHING GROUP
An Hachette UK Company
338 Euston Road
London NW1 3BH
Contents
All it takes is. . . One Night of Passion. . .
Beth Kery
lives in Chicago where she juggles the demands of her career, her love of the city and the arts, and a busy family life. Her writing today reflects her passion for all of the above.
Because You Are Mine
Wicked Burn
Daring Time
Sweet Restraint
Paradise Rules
Release
Explosive
One Night of Passion series
*Addicted To You
*Bound To You (e-novella)
Captured By You (e-novella)
Exposed By You
*previously published under the pseudonym Bethany Kane
New York Times
bestselling author Beth Kery’s addictive new novel continues in this second part as Lucien and Elise are bound together by a dangerous desire – and the secret they share.
Elise’s teasing and impulsiveness have landed her back at the erotic mercy of Lucien, who is determined to teach her discipline – even if all he wants to do is to give in to the beast within and consume her completely. When he discovers her in a dangerous situation that could have been avoided, he punishes her – and once again tests the limits of his own control. By dominating her, he hopes to teach her the meaning of self-control through total submission. But even though he sets strict rules on himself, he still isn’t entirely prepared for feeling Elise shudder in surrender in his arms.
Lucien challenges her, excites her. . .bewilders her to the point of distraction. Does he want her, or doesn’t he? Elise is afraid to reveal to him just how vulnerable – just how naïve she is when it comes to sexual games. None of her typical wiles work on him. And what brought Lucien to Chicago with a new name and new identity? What does it have to do with his industrialist father’s disgraceful downfall? Who is Ian Noble, the provocative new stranger in Lucien’s shadow? And why has Lucien taken to following him in the night? For Elise the answers will come soon enough. She has other things to worry about now, such as Lucien’s observance of her foolish behavior. . .and the inevitable consequence to come.
More to come. Don’t miss
When I’m With You, Part III
, available 19
th
March
His hand struck the lower curve of her ass cheeks, causing a burst of sensation.
“Ouch.”
“Je suis désolé,”
she heard Lucien apologize huskily behind her. He touched her buttocks, his palm warmed from her spankings. Her breath hitched. “It will take me a time or two to learn what you can tolerate . . . what you need.”
Her clenched eyelids sprang open. “What I need is for you to stop torturing me this way.”
His hand disappeared.
Smack
.
“Wrong. You need a consequence for your actions.”
The nerves on the surface of her bottom stung and burned. There was an inexplicable link between those nerves and her sizzling clit. She bit her lip, experiencing an almost overwhelming desire to touch herself . . . to staunch the ache growing between her thighs.
“Brace yourself,” Lucien warned, his voice a low, sexual purr that washed over her exposed, flaming ass and tickled at her damp pussy. She firmed her hold, following his order instinctively, and clenched her teeth. His hand landed again and again, the brisk cracking sound of skin against skin creating a strangely erotic contrast to the rich yet highly controlled notes of the symphonic music filling her ears.
The tail of her smock flipped down over a buttock. She inhaled shakily when he paused and took a moment to carefully replace the edge of her smock at her waist, once again revealing her ass. She could just imagine how pink it must look to him. The breath burned in her lungs when he spread his hand over the crack between her buttocks, his fingers spread, his fingertips below his palm.
“So beautiful,” he murmured.
She whimpered softly at the hint of awe in his tone. He was so large that he encompassed her. He rubbed, and her vagina clenched tight. She moaned feverishly, wanting . . . needing his touch on her sex. He was only inches away from her pussy. She gyrated her hips slightly, rubbing him back in an open invitation.
Smack
. She gasped at the unexpected, sharp pain of his hand cracking against her ass.
“Damn it,” she seethed.
“You’re doing it again,” he said, a thread of amusement in his hard voice.
“What?”
“Trying to grab for the reins.”
“Ouch . . . ooh . . .
merde
,” she mumbled incoherently when he spanked her.
“Every time you attempt to seduce me, I’ll spank you an extra time. Submit,
ma chère
. Let go. I’m taking control for the time being.”
A tear leaked down her cheek, but she remained determinedly still. For a few seconds, she and Lucien were as one. She feared the flex of Lucien’s muscle, the swing of his arm, but she also anticipated it, sensed it perfectly . . . wanted and needed it. There, for a few seconds, she understood precisely what Lucien had meant.
Discipline. Need
.
“Two more,” she heard him growl.
She twisted her chin and saw his arm stretched back. He looked awesome in that moment, his long legs spread slightly, nostrils flared, eyes blazing, muscles coiled and tense. He paused with his hand back and met her stare. It happened so quickly that later she wondered if she’d imagined it. He cupped her hip with his free hand and pressed her burning ass to his crotch, grinding her against rock-hard thighs and cock.