‘I…You did?’ Sienna said.
‘It’s one of Erin’s high-school yearbooks. Colton mentioned you couldn’t find yours.’
Jason perked up and patted his hand loudly on the wall next to him – the one with Colton on the other side. ‘That’s great. Thank you.’
He took the album with Sienna watching in stupefaction. He caught her hand and drew her over to the plush chair in the corner of the room. ‘She’s been searching for it everywhere. It’s been driving her crazy.’
Sienna perched cautiously on the arm of the chair. Her eyes narrowed as Jason opened the book and began flipping through the pages. ‘Yes, crazy,’ she agreed.
He stopped on a page and nodded slowly. ‘Oh, yeah. That’s what I’m talking about.’
Sienna looked over his shoulder and then rolled her eyes. ‘See? I told you I was on the dance squad.’
She smiled politely at Marilyn. ‘Thank you. I’ll make sure we return it soon.’
‘Not too soon,’ Jason muttered.
She put a hand on his shoulder.
‘It’s Erin’s, really,’ Marilyn said.
‘Thank you for bringing it.’ Erin kissed her mother on the cheek. ‘Thank you for everything.’
‘You’re welcome, dear.’ Her mother looked at her watch. ‘I have a few more errands to run, but I just might have time to go by Colton’s place.’
‘Well, yes, but –’ Erin shut her trap. He wouldn’t be there, but how was she supposed to know that?
Jason looked up from the pictures he was engrossed in. ‘You should watch the weather,’ he warned. ‘The weather guy said it’s getting slick out there.’
‘I’ll be careful.’ Marilyn leaned her head closer to Erin’s. ‘If I could just use your facilities before I go?’
Erin pulled in her feet to let her mother pass. She took a peek inside the box at the ornaments. They brought back so many memories. Maybe Colton would let her put up a tree at his place.
A familiar squeak from down the hallway made Erin’s spine suddenly jerk upright. ‘Mom?’
She bounded off the couch and whirled around the corner. She found her mother standing with her bedroom door half open. ‘Mom!’
Marilyn hesitated and pulled back. ‘Yes, honey?’
When she and Sienna had moved in, they’d agreed that Erin should have the bedroom with the master bath since she would be spending the most time here. Although that wasn’t the case any more.
Erin hurried down the hall. ‘Use this one,’ she said, opening the door to the half-bath. ‘It’s clean.’
Her mother tsked in disapproval, but slipped into the smaller room.
Erin dived for her bedroom door. She poked her head inside to see Colton. He whirled his hand at her, so she pulled out fast and yanked the door shut behind her. She waited outside it with her arms crossed until her mother made a reappearance.
Marilyn wrapped an arm around her shoulders, and Erin hoped she couldn’t feel her pulse rushing like a racehorse.
‘I know you’ve been busy with all your classes and your job search. Would it help if your father and I paid for a cleaning service?’
Erin shook her head, but kept walking down the hallway, away from her bedroom. Away from Colton. ‘I’ll do better.’
Her mother squeezed her. ‘I think you’re doing great.’
Erin swallowed past a tiny lump in her throat. ‘Thanks, Mom.’
They returned to the living room and Marilyn picked up her things. Jason helped her with her coat, and Sienna passed along her scarf.
‘It was lovely to see you,’ her friend said.
‘Always a pleasure,’ Erin’s mother agreed. She tucked her environmentally conscious bag in the crook of her arm and looked at the three of them. ‘It’s so nice to see you all together like this.’
All together, except for Colton. Erin’s heart ached a little for him in the other room. She hadn’t meant to make him an outsider again. He shouldn’t have to hide.
Her mother dropped a kiss on her cheek. ‘Have a good night. I’m off to find your brother’s co-conspirator.’
Erin winced. It would be a fruitless trek. ‘Good night, Mom.’
The door of the apartment clicked, and Erin looked at Jason and Sienna. For once, neither of them had anything to say. Jason hooked his arm around Sienna’s waist and drew her closer. Turning, Erin went back down the hallway.
She opened the door to her bedroom and found Colton sitting on the end of her bed. He had his elbows on his knees and his fingers intertwined around the nape of his neck. She could practically read his thoughts from where she stood. Before he could start saying them aloud, she walked to him.
He didn’t lift his head until he saw the tips of her shoes. When he did, it was only to wrap his arms around her and lean his forehead against her chest.
Erin sighed and slid her fingers into his hair. ‘Sneaking around isn’t as fun tonight.’
‘No,’ he agreed. ‘It isn’t.’
Chapter Twelve
‘Is Colton all right after last night?’ Sienna asked. ‘He seemed awfully quiet after your mom left.’
After he’d been allowed to stop hiding? Erin rested her forehead against the window in Sienna’s office, and her breaths fogged up the pane of glass. ‘He feels bad about lying to her – and breaking his promise.’
Sienna swivelled in her chair. ‘Wait. He didn’t try to break up with you?’
‘No, but he’s thinking again. When he goes too deep into his head, he gets all twisted up.’ And she hated that he felt guilty about the two of them. What they had was special, and they were adults. They could do what they wanted to do together.
‘Erin, he’s always been a standup guy. It’s part of what you like about him.’
‘I know.’
Sienna toyed with her braid. ‘And, looking back, that promise he made explains a lot of things.’
Like why he’d run hot and cold? She could take a hint, but there had always been a glimmer of hope for them. He’d never totally been able to shut her out. ‘But it was so long ago.’
‘That doesn’t matter to him. He has morals and pride.’
And he was bending both to be with her.
Erin turned away from the window and rested against the wall. Sienna’s office was on the opposite end from Nina’s. It was smaller, but its colour scheme matched the rest of Luxxor’s suite. The forest greens and greys conveyed safety, stability and restfulness. As soothing as it tried to be, though, it wasn’t working.
She’d never promised to stay away from Luxxor, but Colton didn’t like her associating with them. She had to sneak around to be with him, and she had to tiptoe around here. She was tired of living a secret life. She was an outgoing person. The situation was hard on her, too.
She pushed away from the wall. ‘Are you ready to go to lunch?’
‘Just let me send this email.’ Sienna turned back to her computer, and her fingers clicked fast against the keyboard. ‘OK.’
She grabbed her purse and they headed down the short hallway. In the lobby, Rielle was talking with a redhead. The woman said something that made the office manager break up in laughter. She was wiping her eyes when she spotted them. She gave a quick shake of her head, and Erin felt Sienna’s hand on her shoulder.
‘We need to wait a few moments.’
Erin’s forehead furrowed as she followed Sienna back to her office.
‘A client is coming in,’ her roommate explained. ‘We like to give everyone their privacy.’
Aha. She’d often wondered about that. For a swanky office in an upscale neighbourhood, business had always seemed slow. ‘Is that why I’ve never seen anyone else when I’ve visited?’
Other than that big scary detective? He obviously hadn’t received the memo.
‘We schedule appointments so they don’t overlap. It should just be a few moments.’
Erin felt a familiar thrill. So she and Colton weren’t the only ones who met on the sly. She was bitten by the
urge to peek out the doorway again. ‘That was a client?’
The woman was so beautiful. Why would she need Luxxor? Was it one of those reverse psychology things where her looks intimidated men?
Sienna traced the winding lines of her braid. ‘Actually…no.’
Erin’s head snapped back. ‘That was an escort?’
The hot thrill inside her chilled into an icy ball. She’d tried not to think of Colton with Luxxor’s special dates, but was that the type of woman he’d been with? The escort was so attractive and vivacious and tall. ‘But she’s funny.’
Rielle had been laughing wholeheartedly, like the woman was a good friend.
Sienna scowled. ‘Our escorts are people, too.’
‘I know, but…’ But she’d never thought of them that way. The men she’d been out with had always been dates in her mind, yet they’d been paid to be charming and nice to her. They had looks and personalities like everyone else. They just had a job that required they go out with strangers – and sometimes they did things with strangers that people normally only did with those closest to them.
Unless the client was a regular. She supposed they got to know each other better then.
Erin pressed her hand to her stomach. She didn’t know which was worse, sleeping with a stranger or the intimacy that came with knowing someone really well. An intimacy based on sex. Sex that was paid for. Colton had been out with Luxxor’s escorts. Had they looked like that? Had the redhead been one of his companions? Suddenly lunch didn’t seem like such a good idea.
‘Why do you work here, Sienna?’
Her friend flinched. ‘What do you mean?’
Erin twisted her foot back and forth. She didn’t want to accuse her friend of anything improper, but not knowing the details was driving her crazy. Nina had been evasive, and Colton had been so vague, it had only made her imagination go to worse places.
‘Colton says that Luxxor makes its money by…special arrangements between its clients and escorts.’ And not the ‘no physical contact’ contract she’d signed.
That would protect her, wouldn’t it? If Detective Morgan switched his attention to Luxxor?
‘I’m not sure what you mean. We do try to tailor our service to each client’s needs.’
‘Sienna,’ Erin hissed. She’d tried to pretend Sienna was in the dark, but her friend was way too smart for that. ‘Is this place a prostitu–’
Erin’s eyes went wide when her friend clamped her hand over her mouth, silencing her.
She pulled back nearly as quickly.
‘Sorry, I shouldn’t have…’ Sienna swept a hand through her hair, mussing up her tidy braid. ‘I don’t want to talk about that, not here.’
Wasn’t this the best place to talk about it? Erin lifted her chin stubbornly. No wonder Sienna had tried to snatch that business card away from her. She knew everything that went on between these walls, stylish as they were.
Did Rielle know, too? She seemed so sweet.
‘You’ve got a degree in Communications. You could work anywhere. Why here?’
‘Because I could work anywhere, but I was waitressing. I wasn’t receiving any offers in my field.’ Sienna wrapped her arms around her waist. There was colour in her cheeks, and her gaze was elusive. ‘I was in a bad spot, Erin, and my parents couldn’t help me out. Nina was the only person who had my back.’
Guilt kicked that hard ball of ice in Erin’s stomach. She’d been so immersed in her failed wedding plans she hadn’t even noticed Sienna was struggling. If it had been money, she could have helped. Worse, she could have just been a better friend. ‘So you think you owe her?’
‘No, I like the work here. The communications work. It’s challenging. They don’t use normal marketing tactics. I need to think outside the box, and –’ Sienna finally looked her in the eye ‘– I just don’t think about what might be happening when our escorts walk out that door.’
Erin glanced towards the hallway. Who was the redhead being paired up with right now? It was lunchtime. Did that mean a lunch date or something more? She remembered how she’d surprised Colton in his office.
Her nails bit into her palms. She couldn’t think of what he might have done with an escort. Or when. Or where. Or how.
‘Why do people turn to Luxxor? I mean, I know why I did, but I didn’t know…’ Oh, she was only making things worse.
Sienna lifted her hands. ‘You weren’t that unusual, except for being my friend. The world has become so disconnected and busy. People are online all the time, but facetime? Some people really do just need a companion on his or her arm.’
‘And the others?’
‘I don’t know, Erin.’ Sienna folded her arms across her waist again. ‘But working here has broadened my mind. I think it has to do with needs or a desire to connect or even the danger of it all.’
The sexual thrill?
Oh, God. She knew it all too well.
The phone on Sienna’s desk rang, and they both jumped. Sienna answered before the harsh jangle could sound again, and the call was short and sweet.
‘We can go now.’
Now that Luxxor’s client and his escort had discretion on their side? Erin’s stomach twisted. How could she judge them? There was no money involved, and it was more than sex, but she and Colton were doing the very same thing. And it made everything feel wrong. Cheapened. They were hiding their new relationship from their friends and family.
Suddenly sneaking around wasn’t much fun for her any more, either.
‘Erin Michelle, I should warm your bottom again,’ Colton said as he stormed into the row house. He tossed his gym bag on a chair and turned to face her. ‘What were you thinking?’
Erin lifted an eyebrow at him as she followed him through the door. Her middle name? Really? She yanked off her gloves. The weather outside had become downright cold. ‘My brother plays on the team too. Why wouldn’t I be there?’
‘You cheered every time I scored a basket.’
‘I cheered for Dustin, too.’ She planted her hands on her hips. ‘In fact, I cheered more for him tonight than you.’
Colton rolled his head as if she’d just added insult to injury. ‘I was distracted. You whistled at me.’
Letting out a huff, Erin moved closer. He was being so irrational. So she’d gone to the game and had watched from the bleachers. Why the big deal?
Maybe she could coax him out of his funk. She cosied up against his arm and ran her fingers over his biceps. ‘I was distracted, too. You were such a jock out there in your shorts and jersey.’
His eyes narrowed. ‘Thank God we weren’t skins tonight. You would have let the cat out of the bag for sure.’
Erin pouted and tore off her coat. ‘I’m your girlfriend, Colt. We’re practically living together. I just want to be like a normal couple.’
‘We almost got caught the other night by your mother.’
‘I know. You don’t want to be seen out with me, but that happened when we were staying in. Why can’t we go do things together? It was just a basketball game.’
It hurt that he didn’t want to be seen with her, even if she knew the reason for it.
‘Erin, Dustin isn’t as oblivious as you think he is. If he picks up on what’s going on, he’ll stroke out. No question.’
She looked up into Colton’s face. His hair was still damp from the shower he’d taken after the game. He smelled clean and male. He was such a good guy, why shouldn’t they be together? ‘I think my mom would have been OK the other night if I hadn’t caught her in time.’
‘You think she would have been OK finding me in your bedroom?’
Erin shrugged one shoulder. OK, maybe not there. ‘You should have seen her talking about you, though. She loves you.’
He shook his head, wordless. Erin knew he’d heard everything.
‘Marilyn is…You don’t know that for sure. Even if she is amenable, we can’t put her in the middle like that.’
Amenable. Erin smiled softly. He was
such a lawyer. ‘Can’t we settle on this?’
He glowered at her.
‘I have evidence.’ She ticked off each item on her fingers. ‘You’re handsome and in good health. You respect your elders, and you hold down a steady job.’
‘Erin.’
She cocked her head. ‘Are we having our first fight?’
He stonewalled by taking off his coat and throwing it over the sofa. ‘Don’t think you’ve won – and don’t do something behind my back that we’ll both regret.’
‘Or what?’
His gaze slid down to her hips. ‘Or else.’
The heat they were generating shifted, and awareness came over the room.
‘Would you really spank me again?’
The Christmas tree in the corner cast a sensual light over them both. She’d gone with red to match the new throw pillows she’d bought for the living room. It was a splash of colour amongst the palette of greys and blacks they’d agreed upon, but she hadn’t remembered what the colour meant until now.
Red signified blood and fire. Lust, sexuality, desire and strength.
His eyelids got heavy. ‘I said I’d give it a warming.’
Erin’s body heated, and her muscles loosened. The silence in the row house touched her, and the darkness of the staircase called. Just the possibility of it aroused her…and intimidated her…unnerved her and made her so curious she could hardly stand it.
‘And you were a bad girl again tonight.’
Her skin prickled, and her breaths went short.
And he saw. He always saw.
He waited for a long moment and then, silently, he took her hand. He led her towards his bedroom, and her pulse slowed until she heard the thump, thump, thump in her eardrums.
He hadn’t touched her like that since the first time in the back of the Town Car. She still remembered the spanking he’d given her and how dangerous their lust had seemed.
The climb up the stairs took for ever. The bedroom was lit by the moon reflecting off snow when they entered.
Erin stood immobile as Colton closed the blinds halfway. He pulled his T-shirt over his head, and his chest rose and fell as he drew in deep breaths.
Courting Innocence Page 17
