An Indecent Proposal

by J. C. Reed

  “You like it?” Chase took the seat opposite from me and rested his hands on the white tablecloth, watching me.

  “Like? Try love it,” I gushed. “It looks so expensive, I’m surprised you don’t have to pay just for sitting and swallowing the air.”

  Chase laughed—the sound caressing my nerve endings and reverberating through my body. It was so beautiful, I wished it would never subside.

  “You should try the food. It’s delicious…just like you.” He handed me the menu and waited for the waiter to fill our glasses with water.

  “Have you ever been here before?” I asked, ignoring the sudden cartwheel my heart did.

  “Yes.” He smiled. “But never with a woman as beautiful as you.”

  “Yeah, right.” I smirked. “Aren’t you the charmer?”

  “In my line of job, I have to be, but with you it comes naturally.”

  He was laying on the charm…and boy, did it work when it shouldn’t have. I stared at him, at the way he cocked his head whenever he looked at me, and realized I had to keep a strong hold on my heart if I didn’t want to fall for him and his gray-blue eyes.

  I put the menu down and cleared my throat. “Why are you doing this, Chase?“ I paused, considering my words. “You could have picked a less lavish place, and yet here we are.”

  He shrugged. “Why would I do that when I didn’t want to? You’re only getting married once.”

  Oh, come on!

  “I know, but….” The tip of my tongue flicked over my lip as I carefully prepared my words. “This wouldn’t be your usual marriage, Chase. It’s all about convenience. We don’t have a real relationship.”

  “Yet.” The word cut through the air and made me flinch. My heart jumped into my mouth as the meaning of it sank in.

  “We will never have a real relationship,” I whispered so low I wasn’t sure he could hear me. “You don’t know me, and I don’t know you. You don’t know what a relationship with me could mean for you.”

  “I’m a patient man. I’m not asking you now.” His fingers brushed my hand over the table. “You never know what tomorrow brings. All I’m asking is that you give us a chance to get to know each other, to figure out whether there could be more between us.”

  I frowned. “What exactly?”

  “That you’ll have to figure out yourself.”

  Pretending I didn’t hear, I swallowed hard and pulled my hand out of his grip to pick up the menu. There was nothing between us. Period. Maybe just a bit of mutual understanding. Okay, a tiny bit of attraction. But that was it, and I wanted it to stay that way.

  We both scanned the menu in silence.

  “I’m having today’s three-menu course. Chicken tagine with figs and olives sounds too good to resist. What do you think, Laurie?” Chase’s voice drew me back from my shock at the prices as the list progressed, each one more absurd than the last.

  Holy shit.

  Why hadn’t he told me in advance we’d be visiting this place so I could have taken out a loan?

  A thousand bucks for a piece of special truffle cake? Even the salad cost more than an entire evening plus leftovers for the next day at the place where Jude and I usually ate on special occasions. This was ridiculous. I had to settle for a salad. I could do that, couldn’t I?

  “I don’t know.” I scanned the list once more to find the cheapest item…and found nothing that even remotely fit into my financial plan. “I’m not really that hungry.”

  Which was a lie. I was starving. The air smelled mouth-wateringly delicious, and my stomach had growled ever since a waiter had passed us by with a tray full of what looked like green pasta and salmon.

  “There must be something you like, Laurie.” Did I detect a hint of irritation in his voice?

  I sighed and scanned the menu one last time, my gaze glued to the prices as though my mind could make them shrink.

  “I’ll go with the French garlic soup,” I said at last, my voice thin. Closing the menu, I caught Chase’s grim expression and remembered that garlic wasn’t so great for kissing. He probably figured the same, and he had expressed an interest in making out later, so…I changed my mind. “Or maybe the mussel soup.”

  I groaned inwardly. Assuming that we’d be ending the night with a kiss was ridiculous. Where the hell did that come from? Not that I didn’t want to, but I hadn’t been so obvious about it, had I?

  “Soup?” Chase sounded incredulous, almost pissed. “I’m paying for dinner, Laurie, and I insist you choose something that’s actually nourishing.” He tapped his fingers on the menu. I didn’t want to point out that soup was nourishing. People all over the world ate it. “Unless you’re on a diet?” He raised his eyebrow, but it wasn’t with amusement, and I remembered our first date slash interview, during which he had expressed distaste for women who couldn’t tuck into a wholesome helping of spare ribs.

  “Okay, if you insist, I’ll have the same. Chicken tagine with figs and olives, it is.” I sighed. “Can we at least split the bill?” His scowl lifted almost instantly.

  “Not going to happen.” He looked at me, amused. “But I’m taking you up on your offer.”

  I frowned. “What offer?”

  He grinned. “After this date, when I drop you off at your home, I expect another kiss.”

  I stared at him, unsure whether I should laugh off his absurd demand or pretend I didn’t hear him. In the end, I decided to go with the second option.

  “I hardly know anything about you,” I said to both brush him off and steer the conversation in a different direction.

  A waiter approached with our wine glasses. I folded the napkin as he lit some candles and then retreated again.

  “There isn’t much to know,” Chase said as soon as we were alone again.

  He appeared to be a mystery, and he wanted to keep it that way. But just because I could see that much didn’t mean it pleased me.

  “Look.” I sighed. “I’m not really the dating type. Even if I wanted to do this, the whole marriage thing, I couldn’t possibly pay you, Chase,” I whispered. “I don’t have the money, and I doubt I’ll have it in a year. I can barely afford to pay my rent.”

  “We can agree on installments.”

  I grimaced.

  “I was just joking,” Chase said, taking a sip of his wine. “I told you, it’s not about the money.”

  Everything’s about something in life. There’s no such thing as a free ride.

  The knowledge had been burning inside my head for the past few hours, lingering in my brain like a disease.

  Sure, I knew he wanted to date, but it couldn’t be the only thing he wanted.

  “There has to be something in it for you,” I said slowly, rolling the wine glass between my hands. “People don’t do good deeds out of goodwill.”

  “I do. I want to help. Your pussy would be a great bonus, though.” He grinned, and for a moment I wasn’t sure whether he was indeed joking.

  I shook my head at his unwillingness to share his true feelings with me. Much like the fire in the candles burning, it had a life on its own. I was too tired to deal with a hot, walking enigma.

  “If you had led the life I have, you’d do the same.” His voice drew my attention back to him.

  I raised my brows. “How so?”

  “We aren’t so different, Laurie. Maybe if I tell you something about me, you’ll understand why I’m doing this.”

  My breath hitched. He was finally ready to disclose more about his life…and yet I couldn’t push it.

  “You don’t have to. It’s fine.” Even though I wanted to know more about his past, I didn’t like the gravity in his voice. His expression had turned serious, his eyes betraying something I couldn’t identify, and seeing him like that hurt me in a way I didn’t understand.

  Our gazes locked, and I almost flinched at the dark glint in his beautiful gray-blue eyes. Hurt. Disappointed. He had a haunted look, the kind of look people get when they experience great trauma and loss.


  “No, it’s okay. I want to. You told me something about you, and I want to do the same.” He paused for a moment and moistened his lips. The sudden distant look in his eyes betrayed that he was traveling into a past long gone. “My mother died on the road when I was nine. We were all traveling together that night. I remember I was sleeping when someone shouted, waking me up. I was disoriented, and I remember having a strange feeling, like I could tell something bad was about happen.” He drew a sharp breath and let it out slowly. “It happened so fast. One minute I was sleeping, and the next, our bus crashed into a tree on the side of the road. My mother couldn’t be helped in time. There was nothing anyone could do.”

  “I’m so sorry,” I whispered.

  He nodded. “It was hard. But it was even harder growing up and finding that, at some point, my memory became fuzzy. I just couldn’t remember her.” He took another sip, his glance far away in the past. “I never really knew much about her, anyway, and she left me nothing of importance. The pictures I have of her might just as well be of a stranger.” He looked up to me, his eyes focusing on me with renewed interest. “At least your mom has left you something. I like the idea that she left you personal letters, even if they turn out to be nothing but drivel. They’re still from her, and I want you to have them. Is that so hard to understand?”

  “That’s selfless,” I said, meaning it.

  “Maybe,” Chase said, hesitating. “It just feels right. Like I’m solving a puzzle from my own past through you. But I’m also doing it because, well, you have no one else. There aren’t many days left, Laurie. If I’m not marrying you, who else could possibly help you but me? Try walking away from this situation. It’s not as easy as you make it sound.”

  I remained silent as I considered his words. It was true. I didn’t have much time left. Besides, the chance of coming across someone else who’d agree to help me was like finding a needle in a haystack. But Chase felt as though he couldn’t walk away. My guilty conscience kicked in.

  “I appreciate it, but I don’t want to cause you any trouble,” I whispered.

  “You’re not. And, to be honest, I’m kind of enjoying this.” His mouth twitched into a hesitant smile as he continued, and I sensed that the conversation was about to take yet another turn. “If we’re doing this, then we’ll have to agree on some ground rules.”

  I raised my brows. “Like?”

  “Like no dating or sleeping with others.”

  “I thought you weren’t the commitment type.”

  “I’m not,” Chase said, his smile still in place. “But I take care of my health and needs. Seeing that we’ll be dating, I only want to ensure that whatever we’ll be doing we’ll only do with each other. And there’s a lot I’ll be teaching you.”

  Oh, god.

  I looked away before he could glimpse the major blush scorching my cheeks.

  “What makes you think I’ll sleep with you?” I asked, barely able to control the sudden tremor in my voice.

  He bent forward, and his hand closed around mine. “Isn’t that what you’ve been wanting ever since setting your eyes on me?”

  Was that a question or a statement?

  Still avoiding his gaze, I bit my lip hard until I thought I might just draw blood.

  “No. Of course not.”

  He laughed at my unconvincing attempt to disguise the truth.

  “There’s nothing wrong about wanting someone, Laurie,” he whispered, and his thumb began to circle the sensitive skin on my hand.

  Oh, for crying out loud.

  Did he have to be so full of himself?

  “I need to use the restroom.” Without waiting for his answer, I jumped up, ready to dash for the exit, when his reply came.

  “You can run away from me all you want now. Soon enough, you’ll be heading in the opposite direction, and I’ll be there.”

  That stopped me in mid-stride. Slowly, I turned around to face him, my blood boiling in my veins. It began to boil even hotter when I met the naughty glimpse in his eyes, which were the color of storm clouds and hurricanes.

  “What makes you so sure about that?”

  “I see it in your eyes, Laurie.” He got up and closed the space between us.

  Ready to sweep me off my feet.

  Ready to drown me in the lust I was beginning to feel for his hard body.

  Luckily, our booth was shielded from prying eyes.

  “You’ll have to get used to your needs,” he whispered. “If you don’t listen to your body, your passion will make you unhappy, and I can’t afford that.”

  “Maybe I want you just a little bit,” I said through gritted teeth. “But you can’t force me to give in.”

  “I would never impose myself on you,” Chase said, his hard voice matching mine in determination. “You’ll be the one begging me for more.”

  I laughed, but the tone sounded fake and choked. “I doubt that.”

  His sexy lips curled up into a gorgeous smile. “Well, that’s because you haven’t had me inside you…yet.”

  The sudden heat between my legs almost immobilized me. Holding my head up high, I stormed for the bathroom and slammed the door behind me, unsure whether I was angry with myself for hiding my attraction to him so badly, or with Chase for being so brutally honest and ungentlemanly about it.

  In the end, I decided to be angry with Jude for bringing him into my life. It was easier to hide behind a wall of pretense-anger than to admit that I had never felt so intrigued in my entire life.

  Chapter 18

  The moon shimmered against the black night sky, bathing the street in a silvery stream. As we exited the restaurant, Chase’s arm was wrapped around me, and he pulled me to him possessively. We walked down the stairs, huddled close together, my head spinning from so much good food, alcohol…and Chase’s intoxicating presence.

  The visit to the restroom had helped me gain my composure, after which I even managed to have a drink. Chase acted as if nothing had happened, and then we ordered dinner and engaged in small talk—nothing too heavy. As it turned out, we shared many interests and hobbies. I tried hard to listen when he talked about his taste in music, but my mind kept swaying back to his last words and the possibility of us getting intimate, and I found myself wondering what would happen and what it would mean for me.

  I didn’t know what made me think that, but there was something interesting about him. Maybe not interesting so much as intriguing, as if his mere presence stirred me deep inside, awakening parts of me I never knew existed.

  “One day I’ll take you to see them live in concert. What do you think?” Chase said as we reached his car.

  See whom in concert?

  My attention snapped back to him, and I realized I had no idea what he was talking about.

  “Laurie?” Chase prompted, his hand lingering on the passenger door, one or two inches from my hip. The way he regarded me made me painfully aware of just how close we were standing and how easy it would have been to tangle my fingers in his hair and invite him to take charge.

  “What’s so great about them?” I moistened my suddenly parched lips as my brain fought to remember our train of conversation.

  “You have to listen to them live. Just pure awesomeness.” His fingertips brushed my hip as he opened the door while his other hand touched the small of my back to guide me inside. It was such a small, innocent movement, and yet I found myself more perturbed than ever.

  “Chase—” My voice came hoarse and heavy.

  What, Laurie?

  Ask him to touch me again? Ask him to stop being so damn sexy and do all those innocent things that shouldn’t have made me feel the way they did? I couldn’t say any of that. Not now. Not ever.

  “Yes?” His gaze was interested and sharp, as if he’d sensed the change in me.

  I was shaking my head grimly when I noticed a flash. Instinctively, my eyes scanned the parked cars on the other side of the road, just as another flash caught my attention. Given that the Lux was frequente
d by celebrities, I wasn’t surprised to see a paparazzo with a long-lens camera glued to his face…only it was focused on us. I turned back the other way to see if someone might be standing behind us, but no one was there.

  “That’s strange,” Chase whispered. His tone sent a chill through me.

  “What?” I asked, even though I knew already what was wrong. I spun slowly, my gaze searching for the long-lens camera. And then I saw him again, focused on us, snapping away. It was such a strange moment. The knowledge of being watched felt surreal. It made me feel powerless, as though I was in a bad dream and unable to wake up.

  Chase was an actor. Maybe the guy had recognized him, and Chase wasn’t the small-time artist he pretended to be. I should have headed over and just asked, but my feet remained glued to the spot. It was so easy to pretend that Chase was the object of attention that I almost believed it.

  But only almost.

  A grain of fear settled in my heart and instantly began to grow. When the photographer noticed my lingering stare, he hastily pulled out of the parking lot and sped past us.

  “Did you see him?” I whispered in shock, and regarded Chase’s features. His expression was a mixture of anger and disbelief. There was no question he had seen the guy.

  “What the fuck?” he muttered. “Get in, Laurie.”

  Without waiting for my reply, he ushered me into the car and rounded it. For a few seconds, we sat in silence, my blood pumping hard through my veins, our giddy excitement replaced with tension.

  “Are you okay?” Chase’s voice drew me back. He was back to his usual composed self.

  I nodded silently, even though I wasn’t sure it was the truth. “Is this always happening to you? Because if it is, it’s scary as hell.” I laughed in an awkward attempt to infuse some humor into the situation but, judging by Chase’s expression, failed miserably.

  His jaw set, and his eyes turned a shade darker. “I’ll take you home.” He pushed the key into the ignition, fingers hovering, ready to turn.