by Sam Crescent
“Finally. Why did you hang up like that?” he asked.
“You sounded very busy.”
“I’m never too busy to answer the phone for you. Look, I know how it sounded, and I’m sorry. My parents arranged this party weeks ago. I didn’t know, and I decided to see them on my way back. Nothing has changed with them. They still want me to settle down with the right girl as if I’m not a forty-year-old guy who wants to make his own decisions.”
“You really don’t have to explain anything to me. This is our arrangement, remember. I shouldn’t have called you. I’m sorry.”
Silence met her words.
“Don’t. Don’t do that. I’ve got no problem with the fact you called. Do you even realize that this is the first time you’ve called me?”
She frowned. “It is?”
“Yes. I usually start all the talking and all the texting.”
“Oh.”
“Why did you hang up the phone?” he asked.
“I didn’t want to interrupt your evening. It’s fine, Daniel. I just wanted to tell you about figuring out about Billy.”
“Tell me,” he said.
She glanced over at the clock. “It’s really late, and I’ve got to get some sleep.”
Tears spilled out of her eyes. She had to take a step back now or risk even more pain when he ended this between them.
No matter how much she wanted to forget that he paid her for sex, she couldn’t. He owned her, and that was the way she’d see it.
“Goodnight, Elizabeth.”
She hung up without saying a word.
****
Daniel wanted to launch his cell phone across the damn balcony. She’d withdrawn from him. It didn’t take a rocket scientist to know why. When her call came, he’d only just gotten to his parents’ house, and he’d been so tired, he’d been somewhat taken away by everything.
Her call had been a pleasure.
Damn it.
All the ground he’d fucking covered was now gone.
Taking a seat on one of the chairs outside of his room, he watched the moon. The party had started to die down an hour ago, and he wasn’t interested in joining anyone. Once he realized that his parents weren’t interested in seeing him, and kept throwing woman after woman in his face, he’d split, heading up to his room.
From there, he’d been phoning and texting Elizabeth, hoping she’d pick up.
He’d not had an ounce to drink, and by the time he woke up in the morning, he was alert enough to keep on driving.
Deciding not to linger to see his parents, Daniel went straight to his car, and began the journey back home. Only he didn’t park outside his penthouse or the apartment where he and Elizabeth spent most of their time. He parked outside her apartment building, and using the spare key he’d gotten made, let himself inside her home.
Her apartment, though small, was always spotless. She didn’t like mess, and he appreciated that.
Heading to her kitchen, he started the coffee machine he’d purchased for her, and then he began breakfast.
She didn’t have a lot of food, not as much as they shared in both of his apartments, but he found some slices of bacon, eggs, and bread.
He’d been in her home for ten minutes when she emerged from her bedroom, holding a bat.
“Don’t worry. I come in peace, baby.”
“Daniel?”
“The one and magnificent only.”
“What the hell are you doing in my apartment?” she asked.
“I’m making breakfast. I think that’s really obvious, and I have to say you really do look cute in those pajamas.”
She dropped the bat and glared at him. “Why are you here?”
“Is this one of those deep and meaningful questions that only scientists like to debate?”
He saw the twitch of her lips, but still, she didn’t completely laugh, which he didn’t like.
“How did you get inside my apartment?”
Daniel lifted up the spare key he’d gotten made. “Not hard to do when you left them on my kitchen counter a while ago. Before dropping them off with you at the coffee shop, I had a spare set made.”
“Without my knowledge.”
“Yep. I do things like that.”
She sighed. “I better go and get dressed.”
“No need to on my account. Please, take a seat, and we can talk.”
“We’ve got nothing to talk about.”
“Actually, I think we’ve got a lot to talk about. More than you want to admit.” He began to fry up some bacon, and his stomach growled in that moment.
“Look, I was a little taken aback by the woman in the background. I’m sorry, and it won’t happen again.”
“You know, I like that you’re a little jealous.”
“I’m not.”
“And you’re a liar, too.”
She gritted her teeth, taking a seat at the kitchen counter, the only one available.
Removing his jacket, he released his tie and continued to work.
“I’m not in love with you,” she said.
“Now that stung.” He glanced over at her, and he didn’t like how determined she seemed not to have any feelings for him.
This was your own agreement. The fucking without the feeling.
Either way, he believed she was trying not to have feelings for him, even though she did.
He could work with that. No matter what Elizabeth said, she had feelings for him. He wasn’t stupid. A woman who hung up the phone and then created this distance was a woman protecting her heart, and he had no intention whatsoever of crushing it.
“I happen to care about you a great deal, Elizabeth. I enjoy the time we spend together, and you’re the first woman in my life that has ever made me feel that way. In fact, the very thought of another man touching you, or having anything to do with you, fills me with a deep-seated rage. That Billy guy you’ve spoken about, world’s biggest asshole, and I know you can do so much better. You can have me.” He tapped his chest and smiled.
There was a hint of a smile on her lips.
Plating their food, he pulled the second chair that he’d purchased when she’d been sick, and sat opposite her.
When he handed her a slice of buttered bread, she took it. “Thank you.”
“I missed you while I was away.”
“I … you don’t want love, Daniel. I’m not saying that I’ve miraculously fallen for you in the past few months, but you’ve got to understand that it’s not hard to do. I … don’t want to get my heart broken, okay? I just … I want to get through college, pay my debts, and make a new life. You can’t keep breaking your rules.”
“Didn’t you know? Rules were made to be broken.”
“Please don’t make a joke out of this or say something that seems to appease everything and everyone. I’m not trying to be a bitch here. You pay me for sex. We have a lot of sex, and I need to remember that. I can’t keep forgetting that you’re my sugar daddy in all of this.”
He watched her. From the death grip she had on her fork, she really was struggling to deal with their relationship, and Daniel couldn’t blame her.
Not once had he given her any reason to believe that there was going to be more between them, and he couldn’t do it.
Women didn’t work for him, not in the long term. He found more often than not, he got bored. Normally, he was bored with a woman within a couple of months.
That time frame had already come and gone with Elizabeth, but he didn’t want to give her false hope, nor did he want to let her go.
The thought of another man touching her filled him with jealousy so dark it was like a crushing blow in the pit of his stomach.
“I like breaking the rules. I follow the law, and I’ve watched people who have absolutely no regard for it come and go. They abuse it, and in this, we can bend to suit our needs. I don’t just enjoy sex with you, Elizabeth. It’s not like when you’re on your monthly cycle I don’t see you. I like coming to the coffee sh
op, watching you study, helping you answer stupid questions that your professors think show intellect but for me, make them total assholes. I don’t want us to stop what we’re doing. I enjoy your company, and stop bringing up the damn arrangement. You’re not a whore, not to me, you’re not.” He reached out, taking hold of her hand. “I want to be your friend just as much as I love fucking your brains out.”
Elizabeth burst out laughing. “Wow, that was so sweet, and then you added that at the end.”
“I’m a dirty lawyer.” He winked at her.
“You never made the same agreement as I did,” she said.
“Which one?”
“The … erm … other men part.”
“I’ve seen what happens when there’s more than two people in a relationship. There’s no interest for me to see or be with another woman. On that, you have my word. If there ever is another woman, I promise you, you’ll be the first to know, but I will not cheat. I couldn’t do it, not even when I was a punk ass kid and a little know-it-all.”
“Did you drive your professors crazy?” she asked.
“All the time. I answered back. I always had a smart-ass comeback for them, which they hated so damn much. It was funny. I guess I was like the class clown to a lot of kids. You see, my professors didn’t realize that I’d been reading law books since I was thirteen years old. That’s how addicted I was to the law. It’s why I’ve got no interest in advancing my love to anything else. I love the law, and that’s where I want to stay. In my opinion there’s quite a few gaps that need fixing. I believe with the right dedication, and research, and proof, we can make the system equal and just.”
He loved seeing that smile on her face, and he’d gladly do anything to see it.
“Sounds like you’re an idealist as well.”
“Much to my parents’ disgust. They believe there’s a tier system, and there are those that are above the law. No matter how often they tried to get me to agree, I couldn’t do it.”
“You’ve surprised me, Daniel.”
He kissed her knuckles, winking at her. “Prepare to be surprised more often.”
Chapter Nine
“You want to spend Thanksgiving together?” Elizabeth asked.
“Yes. We can go to my apartment. I’ll buy the turkey. I’m thinking one breast seeing as it’s only going to be the two of us.”
She glanced around the coffee shop as Daniel tried to tempt her into spending the next holiday with him. Not that it was all that hard to do. She loved spending time with him, and in the past couple of weeks, not a day had gone by that she’d not seen him.
So much for keeping her distance, and attempting to have her heart intact. He seemed constantly determined to break down her walls, and she was finding it harder not to develop even more feelings for him.
“You’re not going away or to your parents’?”
“I want to spend my time away from the office with you. We can watch a few movies, play a few board games. All I know is I want to spend that time with you, no one else.”
Her parents hadn’t been big on celebrating anything, and she couldn’t recall sharing a meal. They tended to have meals they could stick in the microwave for a couple of minutes, and it wasn’t exactly a great experience.
“I’d like that.”
“We’ll cook together. Don’t worry. I won’t make you go naked or anything.”
She chuckled.
His cell phone went off, and he cursed. “I’ve got to head back to the office. It’s a date though, right?”
“It is.”
He got up, dropping her a kiss. “Don’t work ’til late.”
“I won’t.”
Before she could tell him any more plans, she watched him leave.
Instead of waiting until her shift started, she went out back, leaving her coat and jacket, to grab an apron. For the rest of the day, she didn’t really have time to think about Thanksgiving, or how close to falling in love with Daniel she was becoming.
She did her work, smiling at their customers, even Billy, who hadn’t stopped visiting the coffee shop with his friends. He no longer tried to get her to date, which she liked, and she pretty much ignored him when the time came for it.
By the end of her shift, she was tired, but the long trek to the hospital was needed. She never lived a life of luxury. She didn’t need fine things in life, so with the extra money that Daniel paid her, she’d saved enough to pay for her hospital expenses. She wanted to pay that one particular bill as she hated it hanging over her head.
Entering the main reception, she got the directions to the billing department, and waited as they got her final bill.
She held her bankcard ready to pay for it.
“Your bill is all settled, Miss Walker.”
“I’m sorry?”
“You have no outstanding funds on your account. The bill was settled back in October.”
She tapped her finger on the counter. “Who paid the outstanding amount?”
The woman clicked on the keyboard and smiled. “Mr. Clark. At the same time, he made a very sizeable donation as well.”
“I can’t pay the amount myself?” she asked.
“No. I’m afraid not.”
Seeing that there wasn’t anything she could do, Elizabeth left the hospital, confused. It was cold, and she pulled her cell phone out, calling him.
“Hello, baby, miss me already?”
“I need to see you. Can I stop by your penthouse, or the apartment?” She never referred to it as their place or our place, always the apartment, or his apartment.
“Is everything okay?”
“Yeah, it is. Can I see you?” No, it’s really not okay.
“I’m still at the office.” He gave her the address, and she promised to be there soon.
She didn’t bother to get a taxi, as she knew a couple of shortcuts through several parks that would get her to where she needed to be.
Even though it was bitingly cold, she really needed to clear her head. Rubbing at her temples, she tried not to groan.
One of the reasons she was on that damn site was so she could pay off her debt in one lump sum while also making smaller payments. Her apartment was paid in advance.
Entering his office, she made her way to the main reception, telling them Daniel’s name, and saying that he was expecting her.
Of course, they put a call through to make sure. She must look a mess with her rather worn jacket, but she didn’t care. It kept most of the cold out, and she didn’t see the need to waste money.
She didn’t take the elevator as she wanted to walk the stairs, taking her a little longer before she saw him.
There were several floors, and by the time she was at his floor, she was a little out of breath, but with the cold, she wasn’t sweating, not yet.
She saw a small office that held about five people, all talking to each other, and she saw at the end of a long hall, Daniel’s name.
Once she was near his door, she saw his office was huge, massive in fact, and his walls were completely covered with books along one side. On the other, she saw many certificates, along with a lot of pictures.
“What took you so long?” Daniel asked, standing up from behind his desk.
She stepped inside his office, and smiled. “I walked.”
“You walked from the coffee shop?”
“The hospital.” She tucked some hair behind her ear. “It wasn’t that bad. I took some shortcuts through a couple of the parks. It wasn’t so bad.”
“Okay, please tell me I didn’t hear that?” He closed his office door and stepped in front of her, cupping her face at the same time.
“Which part?”
“You putting your life in danger by taking shortcuts through parks where you could have been beaten, raped, kidnapped.”
She frowned, seeing the potential danger there. “Okay, I see what you mean.”
He silenced her with a kiss, and she moaned, gripping his shoulders, not wanting to let him g
o. Breaking the kiss, he stroked her cheek. “Don’t do that again. If you need a car I’ll get you one. I don’t want you to put your life at risk again.”
“I won’t. I promise. I don’t need a car.”
“Why were you at the hospital?” he asked.
“I got sick some time ago, and it was one of the factors that drove me to Sugar Daddy. I’ve saved enough money, and I went to pay the bill only to find out that you’ve paid it.”
“Yes, I did. What of it?”
“How?”
“I phoned them, paid your bill, and made a donation.”
She nibbled her lip, liking the way he stroked her cheek. Even after all this time, his touch affected her greatly.
“You really didn’t need to do that. You’ve been paying me, and I’ve been saving to pay that.”
“Now you don’t have to worry about either.”
She smiled. “I can use it on my tuition.”
“I paid that as well. Your education is paid up until you graduate.”
“I don’t need the money anymore?” she asked.
“No. You don’t.”
She pulled away from him, and turned her back to look at his long wall of books. “That was the only reason I went to that site, Daniel.”
He moved up behind her, wrapping his arms around her waist and nuzzling her neck. “I like taking care of you. You don’t need to worry about anything.”
“I don’t want you to keep paying me.” She turned in his arms. “I’ve got enough money.”
“I really don’t want to get into this. I’m not going to stop this between us. If you don’t want me to pay you, then I won’t.” Slowly, he pushed her up against the desk. “I’ve got more than enough money. You didn’t need to deal with that, and I wanted to take care of you. The moment you entered this agreement with me, you became mine, no matter what you think. I take care of what’s mine. The sex, the website be damned. You’re mine, Elizabeth.”
With that, he took possession of her lips, leaving no doubt in her mind that she belonged to him.
****
Daniel pushed Elizabeth’s jacket off her shoulders and placed her bag onto the floor. Sinking his fingers into her hair, he ravished her mouth. His cock hardened, needing to claim her, to show her with his body exactly who she belonged to.
