Free Sample
Preview from chapter one
His Terms
by Raven Thorne
The email came at 11:47 p.m.
Subject: Final Offer – Personal Assistant Position
Elena stared at the screen, pulse already too fast. The salary was almost double what she had asked for. The benefits were aggressive. The start date was tomorrow morning.
There was only one condition listed in bold:
You will report exclusively to me. My rules. My schedule. No exceptions.
She should have walked away.
Instead, she typed two words and hit send.
I accept.
The next morning, the elevator doors opened on the 42nd floor of Voss Tower. The air felt colder up here. Cleaner. Expensive.
A woman at the desk barely looked up. “Mr. Thorne is expecting you. Last door on the left.”
Elena’s heels clicked against the marble as she walked. She had chosen a simple black dress — professional, modest. Nothing that invited attention. She knocked once.
“Enter.”
The voice was low. Controlled. It didn’t need volume to command the room.
Adrian Thorne stood behind a wide desk of dark wood, sleeves rolled to the elbows, watching her like he had already decided something. Tall. Broad-shouldered. Dark hair slightly disordered, as if he had run his hands through it too many times. His eyes were the kind that didn’t blink first.
“Miss Reyes,” he said. “Sit.”
She sat.
He didn’t sit with her. He stayed standing, looking down.
“You’re overqualified for this position. You know that.”
“Yes.”
“Then why take it?”
Elena kept her voice steady. “I needed the money.”
A faint, almost invisible smile touched his mouth. “Honest. Good. I prefer that.”
He walked around the desk slowly until he stood in front of her. Close enough that she could smell the clean scent of his cologne and something darker underneath.
“There are rules,” he said. “You will arrive at seven-thirty every morning. You will not leave until I dismiss you. You will answer when I call, regardless of the hour. You will not question my instructions in front of anyone. And you will never, under any circumstances, lie to me.”
Elena’s throat felt tight. “Understood.”
“There’s one more.” His voice dropped lower. “When we are alone in this office, you will call me Sir.”
Heat slid down her spine.
She should have stood up and walked out.
Instead, she heard herself say, “Yes, Sir.”
Something flickered in his eyes — approval, or hunger. Maybe both.
“Good girl.”