The Domville 8: The Domville, #8

By C.J. Fallowfield

A second chance romance

 

Camilla Domville, heiress to The Domville chain of six-star hotels, was used to the finer things in life. But a stint in rehab, and some harsh parental love, forces her to change her ways, even if her aspirations and dreams of taking over the global chain remain.

 

Matt Taylor knows he's hit the jackpot with the hotel mogul's daughter, but when a secret comes to light and Mr. Domville forces Camilla to choose between her inheritance, or Matt, will money or love come out on top?

 

The Domville 8 is the last in a series of standalone hot reads that take part in the exclusive six-star hotel chain. They are told in alternating points of view of the hotel guests and/or staff.

 

All of them can be read as standalone stories in which ever order you choose. Not all of them are guaranteed a happy ever after, and some cover topics and push boundaries that I felt strongly enough about to explore.

• Language: English
• Publisher: C.J. Fallowfield
• Release date: Jun 16, 2020
• ISBN: 9781393061045

C.J. Fallowfield

C.J. Fallowfield writes novels that will leave you hot under the collar one moment, have you crying with laughter the next, before she rips your heart out and then slowly rebuilds your faith in a happy ever after. She is an Amazon #1 UK and international bestselling author of contemporary humorous erotic romance novels, and released her debut novel in January 2014. C.J. lives in the beautiful Welsh countryside with her significant other, and two much loved tuxedo pets, Mr. Pumpkin, feline of mass destruction, and Waffle, the boisterous cockerpoo. She has a myriad of titles under her belt, under two pen names, and is proud to be both an independent, and traditionally published, author. Her website the most comprehensive information about her, as well as her current and up and coming releases.  Her sweeter alter-ego, Charlotte Fallowfield, is an Amazon UK top 50 bestselling author who writes romantic comedy novels. Her titles have hit the Amazon #1 bestseller charts internationally for romantic comedy, humour, and contemporary romance.  C.J. is represented by Meire Dias of The Bookcase Literary Agency. All publishing enquiries should be directed to her at: [e-mail]

Book preview

Prologue

The History of The Domville

Mr. Domville

A picture containing drawing Description automatically generated

The Domville chain of six star hotels is my pride and joy. It took me years of hard work to build up to the opening of the flagship hotel in New York, but it set the benchmark for all other hotels. I now have one in every major city in the world. All hotels aspire to offer the level of comfort, service, and extra finishing touches that have become standard in my chain.

––––––––

Luxury is a word that has become synonymous with The Domville and I intend for it to stay that way, especially in my Signature suites, the crème de la crème of hotel penthouses, affordable only to the rich and famous. They are protected by bulletproof glass, and the interiors are adorned with suede and calf-leather walls, 18-carat gold trim, and priceless works of art and artefacts. We also only use luxurious 1200 thread count Egyptian cotton sheets embroidered with 22-carat gold, at $2,400 a sheet. What really sets us apart though, are state-of-the-art heat signature cameras that enable staff to observe and come and go undetected as they clean up and replenish supplies.

––––––––

My staff are only appointed after a long and vigorous assessment, our customer service has to be second to none, and when it comes to our Signature suite guests, nothing is too much trouble. Nothing is impossible.

––––––––

As for my guests, well, they come from all walks of life, but the one overriding common denominator is money. My guests are people of means. They pay top dollar because they expect the best and that’s what we offer, no exceptions. While my clientele may be financially secure, it goes without saying that their private lives can be somewhat risqué. If only I had normal cameras to capture what really happened in my hotel suites, then I truly would be the richest man in the world.

––––––––

There’s a well-known saying that most definitely applies to the guests of The Domville, no matter which country they may be staying in.

––––––––

No one knows what goes on behind closed doors.

Chapter One

A Birthday Surprise

Camilla

A picture containing drawing Description automatically generated

I snorted my last line of cocaine and knocked back another glass of champagne, trying to remember when my favorite addictions had become the norm for breakfast. I’d pretty much spent the last fifteen years in an alcohol, drug, or sex-fueled haze, sometimes all three at once, and what did I have to show for it?

I was in love with a man who loved someone else and had made his distaste for me abundantly clear. I’d been the apple of Daddy’s eye for years, he’d have done anything for me, but since that bitch of a stepmother, Beatrice, deliberately got herself pregnant and had a son, Daddy only had eyes for him. Chaucer fucking Domville, the eight-year-old stepbrother sent to ruin my life. Every day that passed, I could feel Daddy drifting further away from me. He’d become harsh, and I no longer got whatever I wanted, when I wanted it. He'd started using the word no when I demanded something. In fact, it was now the most used word in his vocabulary with me. Chaucer was a love vacuum, sucking all of Daddy’s love from me and keeping it for himself. Not to mention my birthright, the billion-dollar Domville hotel chain. I was in competition with a fucking precocious eight-year-old for my own father’s affection and my inheritance.

I closed my eyes for a moment as the rage inside me started to rise. The one thing Daddy hadn’t begrudged me over the years was a therapist to help me deal with my anger management. Not that I needed it. Surely everyone had a temper tantrum now and then, trashed their rooms and broke things? It was only material damage, it wasn’t like I hurt anyone. Unless you counted the time I threw a priceless Ming Dynasty vase out of the fortieth-floor penthouse window and it landed on a Pekinese pup on the sidewalk below, missing his owner by an inch. Nobody saw the irony of a Chinese dog being flattened by a Chinese vase. I mean, what were the odds? I giggled to myself as I thought of it. Because of that one event, my weekly sessions with my therapist were upped to daily sessions, and I had to employ inner visualization and breathing technique crap to keep myself calm when I felt that an episode was coming on. That was pretty much all of the time around Beatrice and Chaucer, or seeing Daddy moon over them the way he used to with me. I jumped as the iPad hooked up to my high-tech apartment indicated that someone was at the front door.

‘What is it, Blaine? I’m busy, I need to get ready for my party,’ I snapped. Daddy’s head of security looked unapologetic as he stared down the camera.

‘Happy thirtieth birthday, Miss Domville. Your father has requested that you go to his office.’

‘He has?’ I sat up straight on the sofa, my interest suddenly piqued. Maybe Daddy had softened and wanted to spoil me for my big day. I’d had my eye on a new Ferrari for some months and had been dropping hints to him.

‘He has,’ Blaine confirmed.

‘Ok, give me a couple of hours to get ready. I have the team from the spa coming up to get me ready for my lunchtime party.’

‘I’m under strict instruction that he wishes to see you immediately, Miss Domville. His time is limited.’

‘It always is when it comes to me lately,’ I huffed, tossing my long blonde hair over my shoulder. ‘Come on in then, I just need to throw on some clothes. I’ve been lounging around in a v-string, practically naked. You remember how much you loved me naked?’ I coaxed. I hadn’t had sex for three days. Three damn days. I was virtually climbing the walls.

‘I’ll wait here,’ Blaine responded, his face impassive.

‘It’s not like you haven’t seen it all before, Blaine. You could see it all again now, if you’re quick.’

‘We don’t have that kind of relationship anymore,’ he retorted with an edge of annoyance. ‘You know very well that you used me when it suited you, then tossed me aside when you fell for that escort, Logan. No one else was good enough after him, were they? I could have been good for you, but all you cared about was someone with looks and money. Your days of using me to make yourself feel better are over.’

‘Don’t be like that, Blaine, we had some good times. It’s not my fault that I can only be seen with people of a certain social standing, is it? You know how Daddy is, he’d have sacked you on the spot if he'd known you were fucking me.’

‘This isn’t something that I ever want to discuss, Miss Domville, especially not over the intercom system. You made your feelings on the matter perfectly clear and I moved on. Please don’t bring it up again, and don’t make me come in there and drag you out, which I will if I have to. You have five minutes to get yourself into some clothes.’

‘Happy birthday to me,’ I muttered snarkily as I swiped my finger across the screen to cut him off and tossed the iPad to the side.

I sighed and made my way back to my master suite, throwing on a pair of jeans and an off-the-shoulder, loose-fit tee. Truth be told, I missed Blaine. We’d gotten on really well in the times we’d spent together. Until my Strangers for the Night fantasy with high class escort Logan Steele, I’d never had sex so good. Damn Logan. If it hadn’t been for him ... he’d ruined me for all other men. No one stacked up sexually, and sweet as Blaine had been, he didn’t have Logan’s looks, charm, or financial status either. Blaine just wasn’t good enough for me, simple as that. Daddy would never have approved of him, whereas Logan ... yes, I had a feeling that he’d have loved Logan, assuming he never realized his former profession as a male fuck-toy for hire. Was I ever going to get over him? In spite of how things had turned out with him after that booking, he was still up on a pedestal, the one to whom everyone else had to compare, and of course no one did. And I’d tried plenty since, desperate to erase him from my memory, but he was in the media so often now in his new job, I could never escape him. Neither could my heart.

‘Finally,’ Blaine muttered as I threw open my front door. His eyes scanned me and his eyebrows raised. ‘Shoes?’

‘I’m only going along the thickly carpeted corridor to Daddy’s office four doors up, Blaine. It’s not like we’re leaving the hotel and I’m at risk of shredding my feet on the sidewalk.’

‘I’d prefer that you put on some shoes, please.’

‘Hmmm, which shoes to wear with my carefully thought out ensemble?’ I mused, putting a finger to my lips. ‘I’m sure you won’t mind telling Daddy that you kept him waiting because I had a footwear-related dilemma?’

‘Fine, have it your way,’ Blaine responded, the muscles in his jaw tightening immediately. ‘Bag?’

‘Don’t need it,’ I retorted as I sashayed off up the corridor, feeling the effects of my latest hit starting to wake me up. I grinned to myself as I heard him mutter something behind me. If he was going to torment me by refusing to fuck me again, I could torment him in return.

I eyed up two of the security team in their uniforms, flanking the double doors to Daddy’s office, and my heart started racing with excitement. What present could he possibly have in there for me that needed him to position security guards outside his own office? The entire floor had more protection than Fort Knox and only housed his office, private suite, and the finance team’s offices, along with my own apartment, which had been converted from a number of suites to give me plenty of space for parties and sleepovers. I threw the doors open and virtually skipped into Daddy’s enormous office to see him standing with his back to the doors, both hands in his pockets, as he stared out at the view over Manhattan and Central Park. I suddenly wanted to run to him, to throw my arms around him and have him hug me back the way he used to. I missed him so much, but the strain in our relationship over the last few years held me back.

‘Miss Domville, Sir,’ Blaine announced, as I came to an abrupt halt halfway across the room and clasped my hands in front of me, suddenly feeling on edge. I could sense the tension radiating off Daddy from where I was standing.

‘Thank you, Blaine, I’ll call