“You can’t what? Talk? Look at me?”
“All of the above.”
I rolled my eyes and shook my head. “Wow. So mature.”
She closed her eyes and reclined her chair. I figured it meant our conversation was over. She liked the dramatic exits. Exiting a plane was off the table, so this was her way of getting in the last word. Part of me wanted to poke her just to get her to talk to me. I took the high road and let it go.
I was a dick and didn’t bother to walk her to the cab. I couldn’t take any more of her negative energy. On the way to my place, I shot Ashton an email. I felt the tiniest bit guilty for foisting her on him, but I thought she would take communication better coming from him. I was going to plan a few extra outings for us. I wasn’t ready to completely give up on her.
One time with her wasn’t enough. I was sure I could get back in her good graces with a little wooing. I would treat her to a nice evening out and buy her a nice dress to wear. I had a pretty good idea what she liked to wear, and I knew what she looked good in. Cleavage. I was already dreaming about the cleavage.
By the time I got home, I had worked myself up all over again. I needed to get rid of the frustration. I wasn’t interested in rubbing one out again. Instead, I decided I needed something a little more aggressive. I wanted to bloody my knuckles. I wanted to sweat and grunt.
“Ali,” I said when my trainer answered the phone. It was a nickname. He was a retired professional boxer. I met him a few years ago at one of our properties and learned who he was. He owned a gym downtown. When I was in town and had the time, I loved getting in the ring with him.
“Oh shit, who pissed you off now?” he said with a laugh.
“Woman troubles. I need some time with you. Please tell me you’re available.”
“Come on in. I’ll find someone to knock you around.”
“Ha! Not today. I will absolutely knock the shit out of anyone you put in there with me.”
“That’s what I like to hear. Get your ass down here.”
I grabbed my gym bag and headed for the garage. I was looking forward to blowing off some steam. I wanted sex. Specifically, I wanted sex with her, but that was not in the cards. I changed into a pair of shorts and a sleeveless T-shirt.
“What’s got you so fired up?” Ali asked.
“A girl,” I said, a little out of breath. He insisted I warm up with the bag before I jumped in the ring.
“Oh shit, I didn’t think players like you got all twisted up by women.”
“We don’t.” I panted and swung. My fist landed against the bag. A muted pain exploded through my hand. I hit again and again. Left, right, left, right. I pounded the bag with every ounce of energy I had. It felt good to feel my knuckles splitting and bruising despite the gloves I had on.
“Slow down, man,” he said. “You’re going to be all out of fight before you get in the ring.”
“Trust me, I’ve got plenty of fight in me.”
“What happened with this girl?” he asked. He stood behind the bag, keeping it steady while I pounded out my frustration.
“I don’t fucking know,” I growled.
“Oh shit.” He laughed. “You are really twisted up. That’s when you know you got it bad. When a girl does this to you and you don’t even know what you did, you’re screwed.”
“It isn’t funny.”
“Let’s get in the ring.”
I took a break to down some water before crawling between the ropes and bouncing on the balls of my feet. I was ready. I was prepared to get a fat lip and even a black eye. I needed to feel the pain. Anything to get my mind off her.
“You ready for this?” he asked as he crawled in.
“I am.”
“You know, you should be talking to your girl about what it is that’s got you all tripped up. This is not going to solve anything. I’m not the problem.”
“She doesn’t want to talk to me.”
He laughed and came out of his corner swinging. We sparred for the next thirty minutes. By the time we were finished, I had a cut lip and my cheek was feeling a little swollen, but damn, I felt better. I was going to be able to sleep tonight. I had beat the hell out of the bag and felt like I finally got rid of some that tension.
It wasn’t all gone. I was still thinking about her. I knew I had to find a way back into her good graces.
Chapter 30
Paislee
I dragged my ass through the door of my apartment and dropped my purse on the table before collapsing on the couch. A few days off and I forgot how much I hated standing on my feet for ten hours a day.
I hated listening to people bitch about the price of bread and milk. They acted like I was personally responsible for raising the prices. They acted like I was a millionaire sitting around counting my money and not just like them trying to afford said bread and milk.
Bella was going to be home soon. I couldn’t wait to catch up with her. She left the day I got home for another conference in Philly. I couldn’t tell her about what happened between me and Jay over the phone. That was not the kind of news you just blurted out.
After spending a good fifteen minutes lying on the couch and doing nothing at all, I found the energy to get up and get myself a glass of wine. I sat down without bothering to turn on any lights. For one, it would save on the electric bill, and second, I wanted to sit in the dark and just reflect. I had not heard from Jay and I was beginning to wonder if I would. We didn’t part on great terms.
That was fine because I knew I was over it. I was not going to play the game anymore. I was done. Finished. Stick a fork in me.
Now, I just needed to tell him.
“Hello?” Bella said as she walked through the door.
“I’m here.”
“Why are you sitting in the dark?”
“I’m relaxing.”
“Let me get a glass of wine and you can tell me all about Jamaica. I want to know the details between the pictures. I noticed an extreme lack of pictures on the last day.”
“That’s because I was pissed and not in the mood for taking pictures.”
“Oh, that sounds juicy.” She joined me on the couch and put her feet up on the coffee table. “What happened?”
“I had sex with him.”
She spit out the wine. “You did what?”
“Yep. The second night we were there. I couldn’t resist him. He was coming on strong and I gave in.”
“Did he pressure you?” she asked.
“No. Definitely not. He flirted. I flirted. I can’t explain it but there was this crazy connection between us. I hated him and wanted him at the same time. When he kissed me, I was lost. I kind of knew I wanted him before the kiss but I wasn’t sure if he would actually try. When he did, I jumped at the chance.”
She blew out a breath. “I can’t say I’m shocked.”
“You thought I would?”
“He’s a handsome guy. He has a charm about him and he was into you.”
“I should have been stronger. It doesn’t matter because it’s over.”
“What’s over?”
“I’m not going to play his little game anymore. I’ll figure out how to pay him back for the car. If it takes me until I’m seventy, so be it.”
“Why?”
“Because when I told him we couldn’t have sex ever again, he told me I was going to beg him for it.”
She burst into laughter. “So you’re not going to follow through with your deal?”
“No. I don’t want to be near him. I hate that he thinks he can snap his fingers and I’ll get under him.”
“Did you like it?”
I smiled and felt my cheeks burning. “I did. He was wild at first, but when it came time for the main event, he was so gentle.”
“Why don’t you want to do it with him again?”
“Because I didn’t get into this for that. I didn’t want that to happen. Now I’ve given him something special that I can never get back.”
“Sweetie, you held on to it for a long time, and I don’t think he was a terrible choice.”
I shook my head. “It doesn’t matter. I’m not doing that again. This cannot happen again. I’m going to tell him.”
She cleared her throat and got up. When she returned, she handed me an envelope. “You might want to read that first.”
“What is it?”
“Your hospital bill.”
I groaned. “I don’t want to see it.”
“I think you should.”
I ripped it open and expected to see some horrible dollar amount. “What the hell? It says I don’t owe anything. How is that possible?”
“Gee, I don’t know. What do you think happened?”
I put the letter down. “No way. I really didn’t think he’d follow through paying this.”
“You sure you want to quit your deal? You would have to pay him back for that as well.”
“Shit.”
“Yep.”
“I need to talk to him,” I said.
“Yes, you do. I think you need to examine why you slept with him. You’ve dated before. You’ve never slept with someone no matter how tempted you were. I think that says something about him. He’s special.”
“It was the heat of the moment.”
“Yep, and you gave in because you like him.”
“Bella!” I groaned. “Don’t you see? That’s the problem. I do like him. I’m going to fall for him and none of this means anything to him. He is going to dump me as soon as he gets his mom off his back.”
“What if he doesn’t?”
I knew I had to talk to him. I couldn’t sit around stewing about it. I was losing sleep. I felt icky, like I was wearing my shoes on the wrong feet. I had to fix this. “I’m going to talk to him.”
She grinned. “Change.”
“What?”
“Change out of your work clothes.”
I quickly changed into a pair of jeans and a hoodie. I wasn’t going to seduce him. I just needed to draw the line in the sand. I needed him to understand this was not working for me. I couldn’t mix business with pleasure.
I hopped out of the cab, knowing I was going to be skimping on groceries next week with the cost of two cab rides in a single week. I knocked on his door before pushing the buzzer. It was just starting to rain. I should have called first. I didn’t even know if he was home. I was going to have to walk my ass to the subway to get back home. I would end up soaked to the bone.
When he didn’t answer, I changed course and headed to his main office. My hair was damp despite the hoodie being pulled up. I walked into his office and headed straight for his door. It appeared to be empty, but I saw the light on.
I should have come here first. The man was always working.
I pushed open the door and hoped like hell he wasn’t in a meeting. He looked up from his desk with surprise with the phone in his hand. “I’ll have to call you back,” he said and hung up. “Paislee, is everything okay?”
I stomped toward the desk and threw the hospital bill on his desk. “You didn’t need to do that.”
“But I already did because I told you I would.”
Oh, his cockiness knew no bounds. “This is getting ridiculous!”
He got up from his desk and came around to stand in front of me. Damn if the man wasn’t sexy as hell. I hated how he pissed me off and turned me on at the same time. I did the very thing I told myself I would never do again.
I lunged for him and kissed him. His arms came around me and pulled me in close. I initiated the kiss, but he quickly took it over. He dragged me across the room with one arm banded around me and his mouth covering mine. I heard the door slam a second before he was undoing my jeans. My zipper slid down and then his hand was cupping my pussy.
I groaned, pushing my pelvis against him. He backed me against the wall and pushed two fingers inside me. I cried out and arched against him. He wasn’t being gentle this time, and I loved it.
I undid the button on his pants and pushed them down. I wanted to get my hands on that beautiful cock I had only gotten to see briefly while in Jamaica.
“Fuck, squeeze me,” he growled.
I wrapped my hand around him and did what he asked. “Harder,” he ordered as he pushed his fingers in higher.
I went up on my tiptoes. He fingered me until I was right on the edge of an orgasm. I continued to squeeze his cock in my hand, slowly sliding up and down his long length.
“Fuck,” he hissed. Without warning, he removed his fingers, pushed my jeans down to my ankles, and spun me around. He grabbed a handful of my ass and squeezed. I groaned, pressing my cheek against the wall while he extracted the condom from his pants. What a beautiful sight watching him roll it down his length
He nudged my legs open before putting an arm around my waist and pulling my hips back. His other hand went to the middle of my back and pushed down. I found myself bent at the middle with my bare ass exposed to him. If I wasn’t so damn fired up, I would have been humiliated by the pose.
His fingers stroked over my folds and opened me enough to take his cock. He pushed in slowly at first. My hands pressed flat against the wall as he pushed all the way inside me. I gasped and moaned. My body jerked and spasmed. It was all so much.
The first time, I had been so caught up in the idea of it being the first time I didn’t think much about what was happening. I was thinking about it now.
“You’re so fucking tight,” he grunted. “You have turned me into a minute-man. I get inside you and I can’t stop.”
“Don’t stop,” I groaned. “Please, don’t stop.”
“Hold on,” he growled.
I didn’t know what he was talking about. Then he thrust. My face pressed against the wall and my knees buckled. His arm around my waist tightened and jerked me up and back. He thrust again. I understood what he wanted. I jerked my hips backward and slammed against him.
“Fuck yeah,” he groaned. “Again!”
I bucked backward like I was trying to push him away. It was quite the opposite. I wanted him deeper. His arm was like a vise holding me in place while he fucked me hard and fast against the wall. We both reached our orgasms at the same time. It was different, and if I was being honest, it was better.
He pulled away from me and walked away. I was a little stunned by the orgasm and his abrupt departure. I pulled up my pants and quickly righted myself. He stepped out of his bathroom with his pants fixed but his shirt hanging out. He had that cocky grin on his face that pissed me off and excited me.
“That is the last damn time,” I told him. “Last time. I said no sex and you got sex twice. We’re even on the bills. I will do two more events and that’s that. You’ll dump me in public and this whole damn thing is over. No more quickies in your office.”
I walked out before he could say a word. I kept my head held high as I left the building. I wanted to believe I had won, but I wasn’t sure I had. I went to tell him the whole deal was off. I ended up having sex with him and agreeing to finish out our agreement.
If I looked at it from his point of view, he’d won. He got the deal and he got sex.
“Dammit,” I muttered.
I hadn’t won shit.
Chapter 31
Jameson
I felt like a tornado had just blown through. I stood in my office and looked around. It happened so fast I wasn’t entirely sure it was real. It was like being involved in a sexy drive-by.
The scent of her perfume and the sated feeling I had were the only proof she had been there at all.
“All right then,” I said and gave myself a mental shake.
I resumed my seat at my desk. I was making calls to London, which had me in the office later than usual. I was flattered she knew where to find me. She had gone out of her way to find me, which was a good sign.
She was still thinking about me. She might not be thinking great things, but as long as I was on her mind, that was a damn good thing.
I was supposed to do another conference call, but after that little quickie, I didn’t have the focus. Despite getting to take the edge off, I wanted the woman all over again. One of these times, I was going to use that body like I craved.
But damn if she didn’t get me so fired up that by the time the opportunity presented itself, I was helpless to control my needs. It just happened. There was little finesse. I was like a rutting buck, mounting the woman, and then she was gone.
I sent a quick email to all parties involved in the upcoming conference call. They didn’t need me to plan their weekly calendar. With the last order of business out of the way, I grabbed my things and left. I needed a drink. If I smoked, I would have had a cigarette.
I sat down in the booth of one of the local bars that catered to the people that worked on the block. It was all suits and stuffy business types trying to unwind.
I was just like any one of these people. I had the same pinched expression with early graying due to stress. Julia told me I was on my way to either losing my hair or going gray because of how much I worked.
I ordered myself a drink and leaned back in the booth to scan the area. I felt my phone vibrating in my pocket and pulled it out.
“Hello,” I answered.
“Where are you?” Ashton asked, sounding more than a little concerned.
“The bar on the corner.”
“What the hell are you doing there?”
“Come join me for a drink.”
“I’m working.”
“I’m your boss. You are officially off for the day. Come join me. I’ll buy you those cheese sticks you like so much.”
He grumbled a little but I knew he would show up. I put my phone back in my pocket and waited. I sipped on my drink and watched people.
I watched men and women flirting. The game had been fun for a while, but I wasn’t sure it held the same appeal. There was something to be said for going back to the same person more than once. When I thought about sex, I thought about Paislee. I didn’t think of anyone else except her.
“Hi,” I heard a female say.
Pay Up Hot Stuff: A Billionaire Fake Fiancée Romance Page 19
