All He Needs (All or Nothing) Read Online Free PDF

other than the office. Or were his vices common knowledge? “Why did you think I might need something?”
    “You were all alone in the dark.” Opaque glass panels framed the door.
    “Drinking.”
    “I see that.”
    “Would you like a drink?” A gratuitous impulse or perhaps a mechanical prompt in a situation like this.
    “If you wouldn’t mind.”
    He shut his eyes, the bittersweet phrase like a punch in the gut: he’d said it to Katherine during their first breakfast together at the Garden House, and again after the cocktail party in Hong Kong, both occasions lush with memory. “Actually, I
would
mind,” he said, his voice suddenly crisp as he shoved himself upright from his lazy sprawl. “I’m sorry, Miss Ismay.” He smiled politely. “I’m too drunk to be good company. Although I appreciate your concern. It was a pleasure to meet you”—he dipped his head—“again. Have a pleasant evening.” He grabbed the bottle, pulled out the cork, and thought about offering an additional apology when she didn’t move. But he stared at her instead until shedid move because he had no intention of fucking her. Now or ever.
    After a slow five count, she turned away.
    Jesus, he thought glumly, watching the door shut on Miss Ismay; he couldn’t even accept a beautiful woman’s offer of sex. He was seriously fucked up. Then a highly unpleasant thought surfaced. There wasn’t a chance in hell Katherine was going without sex—not with her libido. And for a fraction of a second he thought about calling Tatiana back. But he didn’t want her; he wanted only Katherine—who could never get enough fucking, who was always ready, who was so incredibly responsive he had only to touch her and she was wet for him.
    He swore under his breath, then out loud.
    Christ, it was like going through withdrawal, his cravings so intense he couldn’t function normally. He was edgy, couldn’t sleep; he was drinking alone when he never did. At least he wasn’t hallucinating yet. Then he swore again. Katherine was on his mind constantly, her image stamped on his brain, and if that wasn’t hallucinating it was only a matter of interpretation.
    He shoved the bottle away, then the glass.
    An addiction could be overcome.
    He’d dealt with worse problems in his life.
    And it wasn’t as though he didn’t have countless women willing to spread their legs for him. A shame he felt no pleasure at the thought; not necessarily a rare feeling—that lack of pleasure in his life. But it was infinitely worse now after having climbed to the top of the mountain with Katherine and witnessed the great beauty of the world.
    He probably shouldn’t have bolted; perhaps a less fucked-up person would have stayed.
    But she’d left too.
    So the riddles of the universe remained.
    He absently glanced at the clock as though to confirm his location in time and space in the more prosaic world, then turned to the windows and registered brief surprise. It was completely dark. With a weary sigh, he reached for his phone, punched in a number, and spoke rapidly in French. “I’ll be down in ten minutes, Henri. No, I don’t think so. No, I’m not hungry. Just home, and then you’re free for the night.”
    Pushing himself to his feet, he switched off the TVs, found his way to the door in the light from the windows facing the Quai d’Orsay, and checked the hallway in the event Miss Ismay hadn’t taken her dismissal to heart. He was grateful to find himself alone.
    It would have been a huge effort to be courteous even for as long as it would take to get to the entrance doors downstairs. He wasn’t in the mood for polite conversation.

FOUR
    I n the next few weeks, Max and the entire staff in the Paris office were on guard around Dominic. His moodiness was undiminished, his temper volatile, his patience nonexistent.
    Max had delayed going home; with his demons back in full force, Dominic needed a babysitter. But Max was finally leaving for Hong Kong and in an effort