If Angela had harbored any chance of sneaking inside the place unobserved and thereby buying herself an extra minute or two, those hopes were quickly dashed as she stood poised at the entrance of the cocktail lounge located at the front of the restaurant. Nick was already there, larger than life, and had very obviously been watching for her. He was sitting at one of the high, raised tables, a half-empty glass in front of him. His sinfully seductive mouth curled up at the corners as he extended a hand to her while remaining seated. He was not going to make this easy for her, was forcing her to come to him of her own free will, and asserting his dominance over her at the same time. This, she knew, was now the point of no return, that with each slow, tentative step she took in his direction she was sealing her fate, agreeing to his proposal, and that once she placed her hand in his there could be no turning back.
“Your hand is shaking, Angel. Are you afraid?”
She nodded, knowing it was pointless to lie to him for he would only need to look into her eyes to see the truth. “I’m terrified.”
He chuckled. “I know. I watched as you got out of that cab and waited out on the sidewalk for over five minutes. A few times I swore you were going to start running down the street, though how in hell you would have pulled that off in those shoes is beyond me.” He tugged her in closer, whispering in her ear, “And I will definitely fuck you with those shoes on tonight.”
Angela trembled, resting a hand on his broad shoulder to steady herself. “Oh, God. Nick – I’m not – I should go – this - ”
“This is what was meant to be, Angel,” he assured her gently. “Don’t be frightened, okay? And the only place you’re going right now is to our table, where I’ve got a bottle of very expensive champagne waiting for us.”
She gave a nervous little laugh. “You already ordered? Wasn’t that a little presumptuous?”
“Nope, not a bit.” He shook his head. “I knew you’d show up, knew you wouldn’t be able to stay away.”
Angela lifted her chin defiantly. “You’re that sure of yourself, are you? So sure that I wouldn’t be able to resist the thought of going to bed with you?”
He brought her hand to his lips with a grin. “No, Angel. Because I was positive you couldn’t resist the need to be controlled. Now, let’s go celebrate.”
Title: Shattered
Author: Janett Nissenson
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Release Date: May 5, 2015
