Exclusive

by Mel Teshco

  He cleared his throat. “Natalie is a girl next door kind of name.” He ran the back of his knuckles along the silken skin of her jaw, giving in to his need to touch her. “It’s perfect.”

  She blinked up at him, the blue of her eyes reminding him of the calmest ocean, but with a turbulent current beneath. “And do you prefer being with Tiffany or Natalie?” she asked.

  He chose his words carefully. “Tiffany and Natalie is the same girl, just with different guises.” He shrugged. “I guess what I’m trying to say is that I’m just as happy to rip off your jeans as I am a cocktail dress or lingerie.”

  She sighed, her tension easing. “I’ve never told a client my real name, not even Toby.”

  Amos gritted his teeth at the burning sensation in his chest. “Is Toby the client you fell in love with?”

  She nodded, and then looked away. “Yes.”

  He cupped her chin and drew her back to face him. “You deserve better.”

  He wanted to tell her she deserved him. But, most of all, he wanted to tell her he needed her in his life permanently. He no longer kidded himself that freedom was important; he’d give that up in a heartbeat to have Natalie in his life. But not if she stayed an escort. It would slowly eat him alive knowing she was spending the night with a client while he lay alone in his big, empty bed.

  First though, he had to make Jasmine understand he had zero feelings for anyone else but Natalie. Hell, he’d gladly pay Jasmine off, if it meant she’d give up on him and leave Natalie alone.

  “Call girls and permanent relationships don’t mix,” she said quietly.

  His thoughts exactly. “Would you consider giving up your profession?”

  She looked away, and his hand dropped from her face when she said, “I’m not sure that’s even possible. You’ll soon… understand why.”

  “Nothing’s impossible.” Otherwise, she wouldn’t have relented and asked him to meet her father.

  The limousine slowed and pulled beside the curb of a concrete driveway, but he wasn’t taking too much notice of the house, he was more interested in Natalie’s reaction. With her lips pressed together and her hands clasped tightly in her lap, nervous energy fairly radiated from her.

  If she was any stiffer, she’d shatter.

  “Are you okay?” he asked gently.

  She nodded and gave him a too quick smile, but, if anything, she looked paler. It was only once the chauffeur had opened the back door and Amos walked with her up the wide pathway and then a ramp to the front door, that he realized her father might well be disabled.

  She pressed the front door buzzer, and he turned to her and asked, “Isn’t he expecting us?” It seemed odd to him that a daughter would need permission to enter a parent’s home.

  Natalie shook her head. “He hates having visitors.”

  “I’m sorry he feels that way.”

  Then the door opened to a thickset man in a wheelchair, his thick shock of iron-gray hair matching his steely gray stare. His eyes only softened a fraction on seeing his daughter.

  “Nat, what are you doing here?” he asked gruffly.

  “It’s good to see you too, Dad,” she returned drily, bending then to kiss his leathery, whiskered cheek.

  Amos watched the exchange with interest. The father-daughter dynamic might well be the key to Natalie’s reluctance to leave her career as an escort and date him exclusively.

  “You know I love seeing my daughter,” her father said gruffly.

  She arched a blonde brow. “You just don’t like me seeing you.”

  He snorted. “I’m an invalid, a cripple; I don’t want anyone seeing me like this. And I most especially don’t want you to remember me like this when I’m gone.”

  Her head jerked back as though she’d been slapped. “You’re still a warrior here,” she choked out, pressing a hand to her heart.

  Her father’s eyes dampened, and he looked away from her with the kind of soul-decaying weariness Amos related to all too well. The older man’s stare connected to him and Amos stepped closer to proffer his hand. “It’s a privilege to meet you, sir.”

  When the older man didn’t extend his own hand, and instead stared up at him with a curled lip and distrust clear in his stare, Natalie cleared her throat and said, “My goodness, where are my manners. Dad, this is Amos. Amos this is my dad, Stanley.” She exhaled a panicked breath as she focused back on her father. “I’ve been seeing Amos recently and I thought it was time you met him.”

  Stanley barely looked at his daughter, not when all his attention was directed at Amos. “What are your intentions with my daughter?”

  Amos had dealt with plenty of overzealous fans, both male and female, performed on stage to thousands who watched his every move and listened to his every note, but he’d never felt judged so badly. A lesser man might have squirmed.

  “My intentions are honorable.” He wouldn’t mention paying Natalie for sex, that wouldn’t look great for either one of them. “We’re… dating.

  Stanley stared harder, clearly not convinced. “Are you now?” He looked at Natalie then. “Well, then, no point standing outside the front door when I have a perfectly functional house to entertain in.”

  The older man spun the wheelchair around, his gnarly hands pushing on its wheels to lead the way inside. Amos followed Natalie, a part of him admiring the sway of her delectable butt in the jeans he’d bought her. Not to mention her topknot of hair that was still mussed from their quad bike adventure and bedroom fun.

  His lips curled. Her hair suited her perfectly.

  She looked wild, wicked, and wanton.

  When his dick jerked with agreement, he stifled a curse. He only hoped the sharp-eyed Stanley wouldn’t notice his predicament.

  Stanley turned to them in a lounge and dining room combo that was separate from the kitchen. The house was clean and uncluttered, but with very few family pictures or signs of love. It was most definitely a house, not a home.

  Stanley eyed them. “I’m guessing you’ve both eaten? If not, I was about to have some lunch if you’d like to join me?”

  “Actually, that’d be great Dad,” Natalie said with a smile that told Amos the invite didn’t often happen.

  “Kasey!” Stanley shouted into the hallway with cupped hands. “I’ve got visitors. They’re staying for lunch.” He turned to Amos then, his mouth pinched. “Don’t you feed my daughter, then?”

  Amos barely stifled a grin. The old man was really gunning for him. In a way he was glad. Natalie deserved a man who’d treat her like a princess; she was a woman worthy of way more than her present situation.

  “Well?” Stanley gruffly demanded.

  “Daddy, seriously?”

  Amos curled an arm around Natalie’s slender shoulders, and kissed the top of her head. “I had a picnic planned on a mountaintop cabin, but your daughter had other ideas, ones that involved visiting her father. I wasn’t about to deny her that.”

  Stanley’s suspicious stare glimmered with the smallest bit of respect. “You know how to say all the right things, I’ll give you that.”

  Natalie giggled, her eyes shining as she glanced up at Amos. “I said the exact same thing.” At Stanley’s puzzlement, she added, “Amos is a singer-songwriter.”

  Her father’s mouth slackened. “A musician?” He croaked, like the very word was toxic to his health. He pushed a hand over his face. “The sex, drugs, and rock n’ roll type of musician?”

  “I don’t do drugs, and I steer clear of groupies.” He wouldn’t elaborate on why he kept away from groupies; that was one lesson he’d learned the hard way and would keep to himself. At least for now.

  Stanley’s harrumph was interrupted by the arrival of a portly, middle-aged woman who had to be Kasey. The dark-haired woman’s smile lit up the room when she saw Natalie. She placed a teapot and a platter of sandwiches and cream biscuits onto the dining table before she enveloped Natalie in a hug.

  “It’s so good to see you here”—she turned to Amos—
“and with a friend too.”

  It warmed Amos’ heart to know it was rare for Natalie to bring anyone home, and most especially a male friend. It didn’t bear thinking about that she was probably too busy making strangers every sexual dream come true instead.

  Natalie introduced Amos to Kasey, who was Stanley’s live-in carer. The whole mood lightened considerably with the other women there breaking the tension. They stayed for half an hour, chatting about inconsequential things while they ate a lunch of cold beef sandwiches with cheese, tomato, and pickles.

  It was only when they were about to leave and Natalie leaned toward Kasey and quietly enquired about her dad’s expenses, that it hit him. Holy shit! She was paying for all her father’s medical bills. No longer was it hard to understand the whys of her being a call girl.

  “If you need more for anything, just ask,” Natalie added.

  Kasey smiled and gave Natalie’s hand a reassuring squeeze. “Of course.”

  When they were in the back of the limousine again and pulling away from her father’s house, Amos watched Natalie’s tension leech out. “I know a great way to release any lingering stiffness.” He teased.

  “Honestly, I think I just want a hot bubble bath and twelve hours of unbroken sleep.”

  He put a hand on her thigh and gave her a reassuring squeeze. “You’re not working tonight.”

  He had one more night to try and convince her they belonged together.

  She shook her head, shocked and yet tellingly relieved at his admission. “Do you have any money left in your bank account?”

  He grinned. Did she have no idea of his true value? He could probably buy a small country with the money that poured in from his music. “I think Maisey is stressing that another of her call girls is going to leave. But I guess money was still a big enough motivator for her to juggle the agency’s clients around.”

  “So you’ve seriously paid for my company again tonight?”

  He nodded. “Yes, but it’s your choice if you want my driver to drop you off at your home, or come back to my place.”

  She frowned and exhaled heavily, and he held his breath as he waited for her to reach a decision. When she subsided against him and said, “Your place is closer,” he wasn’t sure whether to be relieved or disappointed.

  He wanted almost desperately to know her address. Because knowing it meant she trusted him in a way a girlfriend trusted a boyfriend. Hell, he wasn’t asking for a front door key, not just yet, even though his entire being ached to be a part of her life.

  She put her head on his shoulder and he rested his head on hers. He couldn’t expect her to trust him when they knew so little about one another. Resolve steeled his shoulders and warmed his heart.

  When Natalie woke tomorrow after a much needed sleep, he’d get past her defenses to learn more about her on a personal level. One this time that didn’t involve taking off one another’s clothes.

  He’d save that pleasurable activity for another time.

  Chapter Ten

  ‡

  Natalie stretched, enjoying Amos’ cool silk sheets and his hot, powerful body snuggled against hers. She’d woken easily ten minutes earlier, but she’d wanted to stay asleep. She’d never felt safer or more secure, her body and soul in complete harmony.

  Her cell phone buzzed and she whimpered. The sound was a disturbance she didn’t want to register. It was the same sound that would forcibly bring her back into the real world where bills waited, along with clients.

  “You’d better answer that,” Amos said in a sleepy, amused voice next to her. “Whoever it is, isn’t about to give up.”

  She cracked open an eye, and then reached for the phone she’d left on the side table next to Amos’ big bed. Blinking groggily, she read caller ID. She jerked wide awake and sat with a sharp gasp, answering the call. “Toby?”

  “Tiffany.” For a moment she brushed aside a flare of annoyance that in all the months she’d known him, he hadn’t once asked for her real name.

  Instead, she cleared her throat and said, “Yes.”

  His voice quavered. “I need to see you.”

  Her heart skipped a beat. If he’d asked this from her just a few short days ago she would have jumped through hoops to see him again. Now she felt nothing more than mild curiosity and a stirring of resentment. “Whatever for?”

  He exhaled sharply. “Christ, you really need to ask that?”

  Her eyes narrowed. She’d been waiting for over three months to hear back from him. She would have been happy with a few warm words, some crumbs of affection from him, anything that would back up what he’d told her. But she’d heard nothing, and had assumed the worst.

  She wasn’t good enough. A hooker was only meant for some fun in the bedroom, not a lifelong commitment.

  She twisted a little to view Amos. He was wide awake and watchful, but his hands behind his head in no way made him look relaxed. She sent him a weak smile before she turned away and concentrated on the man she’d actually believed she loved. “Actually, yes, I do.”

  His voice sounded hollowed out when he burst out with, “My wife signed the divorce papers.”

  She stiffened, every cell in her body going into high alert.

  She rubbed at hand over her temple. “Are you for real?”

  “Of course I am. Tiffany, what is going on? This is what you wanted, what we both wanted.”

  Not anymore it wasn’t. But despite how Toby had treated her, she couldn’t explain her change of heart toward him, not on the phone, and not without Amos hearing the truth.

  She swallowed and squeezed her eyes shout. I’ve fallen in love with Amos.

  She clutched the phone in her hands as Toby blabbered on in her ear. She really did love Amos; there was no denying it anymore. She softly sighed. She needed to tell Toby there was no hope between them, needed to tell him to patch things up with his wife or get on with his life alone.

  “Look, I can’t talk to you right now.” She cut in. “Meet me at the Crazy Duke Inn in an hour and we’ll talk there.”

  She disconnected the call and turned again to face Amos.

  “You’re really going back to him,” he said in a flat voice.

  She frowned. “I didn’t say that.”

  “But you still love him.”

  She gaped. “No! Of course I don’t.”

  His eyes darkened. “You fell in love with a married man, sounds to me like he’s a free agent now.”

  So he’d overheard at least some of Toby’s conversation. It was odd how deep Amos’ distrust cut.

  She pushed out of bed and scooped up her clothes, reverting to her career choice to cover her pain. “I’m a call girl. I’m not sure you should be too bothered about an ex-client of mine.”

  She pulled on her underwear, jeans, and top he’d flown in for her, trying not to dwell on the fact no other man had even done anything halfway as special for her. Clients wanted sex, not to please their escort. But, from the very start, Amos had been different. Special.

  She bloody adored him.

  But her emotions were too new, too raw to wrap her head around right then. Especially with this latest piece of news stirring things up.

  Amos sat, his face grim with purpose. “Natalie, don’t go. Please. Not until we talk.”

  She crossed her arms, defiance and hurt and whole lot of other mixed-up emotions swirling in her gut. “Okay, then talk.”

  He frowned, clearly not liking the way their conversation had started. “I want to take our… relationship to the next level. But to do that we need to learn more about one another. We need to open up.”

  Her heart jolted and then warmed, her senses sharpening. She was hopeful and scared all at the same time, because opening up meant trusting one another. Opening up also meant being exposed with the possibility of out-and-out failure.

  She nodded, but her voice cracked with tension. “All right. You first.”

  He raked a hand through his hair. “I’ve never been great at relati
onships. Hell, I’ve never even really had one.” His voice quieted. “Not when love and abandonment has always seemed intrinsically linked.”

  “You’re speaking from experience.” It wasn’t a question, not when his openness betrayed a past hurt that couldn’t be concealed.

  “Yes.” He didn’t look away; instead, he seemed desperate for her to read him, to understand him. “My parents died in a car accident when I was sixteen.” He exhaled heavily. “I was the driver.”

  She pressed a shaky hand to her mouth. “I’m so sorry.”

  He shook his head. “Don’t be sorry, not for me. I don’t deserve it. I was the one who took the turn too fast. I was also the one who caused the car to roll and hit a tree.” He blinked, his face going pale. “My dad was in the front passenger seat, he died from the impact. My mom would have been fine… if she’d been able to unclip her seatbelt.”

  Natalie climbed onto the bed and pulled him against her, stroking his head even as he continued, his voice breaking. “The tree was splintering under the car’s weight, and it began to slip down the incline that led to a cliff and the ocean below. There was no time to do anything but try and free my mother from her seatbelt.”

  She gripped him harder, loving him so much it hurt. She only wished she could take away even some of his pain.

  “The car lurched and the tree literally groaned, as though telling us it couldn’t hold the car back much longer. Mom grabbed my hand as if in goodbye, and then she told me to get out, that she didn’t want me to die too.” He sucked in a breath. “She was crying when she told me she loved me, and that she and dad would always watch over me.” He swallowed audibly. “I’ll never forget her tears.”

  Natalie didn’t say anything, she simply held him fast. No words could take away the memory that was no doubt as sharp in his head now as it was all those years ago.

  “When I refused, she begged me to get out.” He swallowed audibly. “I ignored her and reached for her seatbelt. But then the tree trunk cracked and the car slipped free. I think… I think it was as much self-preservation as any sort of obedience when I shoved open my door and rolled free.”