by Lauren Wood
The thought brought pink to my cheeks even now just thinking about it. Leo, Grey’s driver picked me up and I went with him and one of my bags that was stuffed into my trunk. I didn’t know how I was going to get back to my vehicle, but I wasn’t going to worry about that right now. Right now I just wanted to get a few hours of sleep before I met my boss later that afternoon. I wasn’t too nervous, but I was a little unsure of the future. The trip and big move was certainly not starting out the way I wanted it to.
The city was huge, bigger than I ever would have imagined it to be. Everyone was going somewhere and it all led to chaos as he drove me through the downtown area. Leo must have known that I wasn’t from New York because he would point out some of the great places there were to go. He made me feel welcome more than I could have imagined and I greatly appreciated it. It was a lot to take in and my heart was racing a little faster with everything going on around me. It was getting later in the day and traffic had increased tenfold. Now I was thankful to be out of the streets and not having to drive. Driving here was never going to be something that I don’t think I would ever looked forward to.
“Would you like to stop and get something to eat before we arrive at your destination? I doubt that Grey has anything in his refrigerator. He never eats at home, so it will be a toss-up if Marie has anything there.”
It was strange to get information on the enigmatic man in such a way, but I was thankful for it all the same. I didn’t know what he was talking about or who Marie was, but I was hungry and the suggestion made me even more so. “That would be great. Anywhere fast on the way if you really don’t mind.”
Leo said he didn’t and I had to wonder what capacity he worked for Grey. Grey had told me that he didn’t drive, so I had to think that Leo was the one that did it for him. He certainly seemed to know him and didn’t seem all that shocked at all to pick up some strange woman, get her some breakfast and take her back to Grey’s place for some rest. That fact threw me off a little more than anything else. I half expected the man to ask me some questions, but he just didn’t and that made me wonder even more. The very idea that this was normal made it even less so.
But the driver was impeccable with his silence and the ability to not ask the burning questions. I know that if I had his job, I would be wondering what in the world was going on. There was a weird thing going on in New York. I had met only a few people so far and they all lived in a different world than I was used to growing up in Muskegon. The pace of life and what was said and not said was very different. In small towns, everyone was in each other’s business and there was always a wealth of information to be had. This wasn’t the case here. Privacy reined because the scale of people guaranteed a wide swath of anonymity.
“Here we are Miss Cameron. I will take your bag in if you like.”
“No, I got it. Thank you Leo. You were very helpful.”
The man was in his thirties and only then did he look me in the eyes, though I had felt his gaze through the rearview mirror before. He was handsome and appraised me in such a way, but then the moment was gone and I was left to get out and wave.
“If you need a ride or anything else, just give me a call. Grey told me to help you out with anything that you need. I am on call, so don’t hesitate.”
I thanked him again before he drove off in the dark car. The windows were tinted much like the other one was that Grey was driving. It just showed how much he liked his privacy. Then why was he letting a stranger stay here? It was confusing and the man was inconsistent. He was generous though and as tired and shaky as I felt, he really was a godsend.
The place was a bit intimidating. When I envisioned an apartment, I was not thinking of the sort of one that was in front of me now. The building was huge and I had to look up several floors before I could see the top. This was not at all what I had expected and I looked back to see if Leo was still close enough to flag down. How was I going to know where to go?
The door was opened for me and I smiled at the doorman. “Who are you here to see Miss?”
He knew that I didn’t belong here just by looking at me and so help me I felt the same way. I didn’t like to think of how different I was then most of the people here, but I was doe-eyed and I couldn’t help it.
“Um, I was told to come here by Grey.”
It was then that I realized that I didn’t know his last name. I was about to fish out the card from my pocket that had it on there, but the doorman took me to the elevator instead. He pushed a button that took me to the top and told me to have a good day. Like Leo, he didn’t ask any more questions and again it seemed perfectly reasonable that some strange woman was sent to his apartment. I had to ask myself over and over again in my head, who was this guy?
The elevator dinged and pulled my attention away from my thoughts and I waited a heartbeat till it opened. I was expecting a hallway or something of that nature, but instead there was no other doors, just one right in front of me as I got off of the landing. I looked back and the elevator was already going back down. I don’t know why I was so weirded out all of a sudden, but I was in a place that I wasn’t used to and it was hard to deny that it was a strange way to start this adventure.
Leo had told me that Grey was in court and wouldn’t be here when I got here, but was there going to be someone here?
The knock was loud and seemed to reverberate through the small area I was standing in. All I could do was wait, even though I really felt like an idiot right now. What if no one was here and I had come all of this way for nothing? I don’t even know if I am going to be able to find my car again. The city was overwhelming, as well as just the day in general. I was knackered from the drive up from Georgia.
“Hello, you must be Cameron.”
The small, petite woman was about my height and weight. She smiled in the sweetest way and I had no other option but to smile back at her.
“Yes, I am. I was told to…”
She waved me off and opened the door to let me in. "I was told you were coming and I have made up one of the guest rooms for you. You are welcome to take a shower, sleep, whatever you like just let me know.”
I followed her through an apartment that was huge and felt more like a house. Only when we went by a large window did I remember that I was in the city and that I was many stories up. The view was magnificent and Marie smiled, claiming that she got the same look on her face when she caught a certain view out of the window.
“It is beautiful here. I think the view pays me half as well as Grey does.”
Everyone I had come in contact with worked for Grey in one capacity or another. He must be a good boss because they had nothing but good things to say. But it didn’t change the fact that they all seemed to be normalized by the presence of me.
We stopped in front of a door and she opened it as my hands were full of breakfast and my bag. Marie reminded me that if I needed anything to contact her through an intercom system and I thanked her again. I was doing a lot of that this morning, but as I closed the door behind me, I was able to relax a little bit.
I set the bag and brown paper one down on the bed sheets and looked around the room. It was bigger than I was used to and I felt tiny in such a large area. There were roses everywhere and it took me a minute to see that there was also a bathroom connected. The bath was calling to me, but the bed and the food was calling to me more. I had several hours before I had to go to my new job to do paperwork for the next week and I hoped that I would have enough time to do both.
At the moment though, all I could think about was getting a few hours of rest before I had to get up. I ate the sandwich I bought on the way and set the alarm on my phone for a little after one. That would give me a little bit of time to get ready, take a shower and hopefully navigate my way there in enough time. I was going to have to get used to the extra pressures that I wasn’t used to before.
It wasn’t the day and what was next that kept me up thinking for a few minutes though. I was thinking about Grey a
nd how I was going to thank him for his generosity. I am not used to getting help from someone like him and not being expected to pay it back in some way. Was he any different?
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Chapter one
It was an ever-changing world we lived in and the only person to make sense of any of the chaos was Blaine. He was my next door neighbor. I secretly spied on him when he was working out with the door to his garage wide open. I had invested in a high powered telescope and binoculars to help me get my fill of the man without getting too close.
“I don’t know what would possibly compel me to come over with leftover cheesecake from the restaurant. I wonder if you could make it worth my while to stop by at the end of my shift.” I had the phone to my ear waiting impatiently for his response.
I was the hostess wearing expensive blazers and short black skirts with my blonde hair pulled back into a bun.
“I know what you’re trying to do and it’s not going to work. Michelle, we tried dating and it was a dismal disappointment. I consider you one of my dearest friends and I don’t want to lose that over a fleeting moment of pleasure. I don’t want to give you the wrong idea.” I was teasing, but in the back of my mind, there was a modicum of truth behind every word.
“I don’t know what you were thinking, but maybe you should get your head out of the gutter. I was merely suggesting a nice hard tissue massage to help alleviate the stress of the day. I’m not saying that I would be opposed to anything else if something were to happen between us.” I was notorious for my teasing gestures and flirtatious ways.
“I think that I can help with the massage, but don’t expect anything else to happen. I do have a favor to ask of you. My new assignment puts me smack dab in the middle of a biker gang. I don’t have the image and my superiors are expecting results. Could I impose on your creative license?” I had been trying to get him into my chair for the two years that we had known each other.
“Be still my beating heart. Are you telling me what I think you’re telling me?” I had a side hobby with the money made something the IRS wasn’t going to find out about.
“It goes against my better judgment, but I need this to be on a need to know basis. It’s fortuitous that I know an artist who can be trusted to keep my secret. I called you on the pretense of the cheesecake hoping that I could parlay that into an intense session with you.” There was another session that I wanted to get him into the middle of namely between my legs with my feet in the air.
“Before I answer that question I have one of my own. What kind of freedom do I have with the designs? I have an artistic temperament and I hate when people think they know what they want.” My business was out of my house in the basement where I had set up my tiny shop with an outside entrance in the back.
“I have a few ideas, but I could be persuaded to let you use my body as a blank canvas. It has to be unique and something that will stand out from the regular tattoos of skulls and crossbones. Nobody can know about this.” I didn’t have many friends and having him to talk to about my experiences with men helped me to navigate the choppy waters of dating.
“My needles are my paintbrush and I have some creations that I have been working on.” This was my window of opportunity to make him see me as a viable conquest in between the sheets.
It would also get him close enough for me to touch the body that I had been fantasizing about from the moment I spied him without his shirt on. He had the habit of washing his car during the weekend wearing nothing more than a pair of tight blue jeans. He made the women in the neighborhood ogle the merchandise.
We were fortunate to be in the great state of California where the average temperature was quite comfortable.
“I want something eye-catching to give me an unfair advantage. I’ve already acquired the motorcycle from the impound lot. I never had any aspirations of riding, but I think I might have to consider getting one after the assignment is over.” I would have gladly jumped on the back and wrapped my arms around him in a tight embrace.
“I have some experience in my questionable youth with young men wearing leather and driving a motorcycle. I won’t go into detail, but the biker look really does something for me.” I had lost my innocence on the back of an old style Harley Davidson with the engine doing most of the work for the young man who was all hands.
“I have to make a good first impression in three days. I hope that I can depend on you to get this done in an expedient manner. These guys are hardened criminals and I need to fit in like a glove.” I was anxious to get my hands on him.
“It’s pretty dead around here and I’m planning to close up early. I’m just waiting for this elderly gentleman to finish his clam chowder. Keep a light on for me and I’ll be there shortly. I know about your fear of needles and I will try to be gentle. It might be a good idea for you to find some liquid encouragement at the bottom of a tequila bottle.” Numbing him to the sensation of the needle would help him to sit still.
“Are you trying to get me junk… I mean…drunk…so that you can take advantage of me? I think that you can hear from the slur of my words that I’m already half in the bag. I will be the perfect subject when you finally arrive to take me on this interesting journey.” He was 6 feet of heaven with 200 plus pounds of muscle with bulging biceps and a noticeable lump in his trousers.
His piercing blue eyes made me feel naked every time he looked at me. He wasn’t wrong about our attempt to date. It felt like somebody was telling us something by the end of the night. I didn’t see the reason why we had to play games and could’ve jumped ahead right to the bedroom.
The elderly man finally finished and was hiking up his pants almost up to his nipples. He wasn’t very generous with the waitress and mumbled something incoherent underneath his breath going out the door.
“The chef and owner left for the evening. We only have leftovers and what I can manage to scrounge up in the kitchen. Michelle, I’m glad tonight was slow and I don’t think that I would’ve been able to keep up with any kind of rush.” Tammy was the chef’s protégé learning at the feet of the master.
“I’m going to close up for the evening. It must be the threat of the storm keeping people from enjoying a night out.” Tammy was within walking distance making working for the restaurant ideal.
“I didn’t want to say anything, but I thought staying open was a waste of time. You still have a half hour drive ahead of you and you should get going before the storm starts.” The wind was picking up and there was a definite shift in temperature.
I jumped into my Hyundai Veloster knowing that it was a spur of the moment acquisition. It was the turbo version and the engine purred to life when I touched the button.
It was a unique design with orange paint to make it not one of many. It didn’t take long for it to warm up and I was soon joining those on the desolate street at this hour. Buying it was one of the best decisions of my life.
I got a text message and I put my hand up to my mouth in startled surprise. Blaine was drinking heavily and was sending me photos of the blank canvas waiting for me to put my unique touch on.
“I thought that you would like to have some inspiration. You don’t get to look behind the curtain of my towel. I guess I could lower it a little for your amusement. Do you see what you have me doing under the influence?” I was enjoying the peep show, but I had already committed his body to memory after hours of stalking him with my telescope and binoculars.
“I can see somebody has been dipping into the good stuff. I hope you have enough good sense, not to pass out before I get there. I’m guessing the pain that I’m going to inflict on you is going to be running upstream against the liquor running through your veins.” I was doing my best to multitask with one
hand on the steering wheel and the other one text messaging at the same time.
I did have enough forethought to move to the side of the road with my four-way lights flashing. The signal was choppy and I had to continually move it around in a circle to keep from losing him.
“I’ll have you know that I’m not as think as you drunk I am.” He had switched the words without even knowing that he was doing it.
“I would say this is a fine example of what affects liquor has on the human body. You could be a test subject for those young men and women thinking about taking their first drink at an early age. A person can lose control and do something stupid like drinking and driving. Perhaps you can take this show on the road and go to the schools in the area to show them the pitfalls of drinking.” I was having fun at his expense raking him over the coals for doing the predictable thing.
I got out and stood underneath the lamp at the end of the road. It was interesting to be in the driver’s seat leading him by the nose. He was never this open and honest with his feelings and I felt that it was foolish not to take advantage of it.
“I’ll have you know that I’m a role model to young cadets getting their first taste of the action. Some of those young girls give me knowing glances and I have to be above reproach.” He was amazingly articulate with some subtle breaks in reality with words missing from his sentences
“I’m not sure you would know what to do with somebody young enough to be your daughter.” I was testing the waters and paving the way for a question that was on the tip of my tongue.
“I’ve never had any complaints. Experience is better than awkward hands and clumsy maneuvers in the back seat of a car. I could be convinced to try something different. It’s every man’s fantasy to be with a younger woman.” He was opening himself up to a follow-up question and there was no time like the present.
