Professional Sin

by Cleo Peitsche

  He doesn’t go for a chauffeured car, and instead unlocks a gorgeous sedan. It’s powerful and dark and quietly imposing, just like its owner.

  He gets the door for me before sliding into the driver’s seat. As he pulls out of the garage, I try to imagine what I could possibly say to make things better.

  “So you know, I don’t think you’ve told us everything,” he says as he drives.

  “I…” My mind is so busy working on the problem that I don’t immediately realize he’s going in the wrong direction. Maybe he wants to talk or something. I don’t say anything because the longer I have to change his mind, the better.

  “You did a stellar job at the meeting,” he says as he pulls into the parking lot of an enormous shopping center.

  “So I’m not fired?”

  He gives me a strange look. “We wouldn’t actually fire you because you didn’t suck Romeo’s dick.”

  He has no way of knowing I overheard them in the conference room, but it sounds like I’m in the clear, so I just nod.

  He parks the car right at the curb, in the loading zone, and puts on the hazards. “I’ll be back in a minute,” he says, and he disappears inside the store.

  I watch women with overflowing carts push out of the exit, and other women with empty carts go in. This isn’t the sort of place frequented by people like Hawthorne.

  My mind races, trying to figure out what he’s getting. Not food. Definitely not clothes. Pens? Doesn’t make sense.

  Condoms?

  I nod. Condoms would make sense.

  A few minutes later he comes out with a plastic shopping bag the size of a trash bag that he puts in the trunk.

  Despite how curious I am, I don’t ask anything when he gets back into the car. If he wants me to know, he’ll tell me.

  And it’s weird to be alone in a car with him. And he’s so proper, like he wasn’t just fucking my mouth and my pussy and my ass. It makes me feel like I imagined the whole evening.

  He pushes a button and the car fills with the chiming of a ringing phone. Now I’m starting to feel invisible, like when my grandfather had discussions about sensitive or embarrassing matters in front of what he called “the hired help.”

  “Hello?” a woman’s voice answers. She sounds pretty, which is perhaps a strange assessment, but given that Hawthorne is calling her on a Friday night, she’s unlikely to be ugly.

  And now I feel really inconsequential. I lock my arms across my chest and stare, fuming, out the window. Without my bra, my chest feels deflated. The rest of me, too.

  “I just wanted to make sure you’re home,” Hawthorne says.

  “Of course,” she says. “You’d better not be canceling. I rearranged my night for you—”

  “I’ll be there in about fifteen minutes,” Hawthorne says, and he hangs up.

  “Not to ruin your fun,” I say icily, “but unless you’re planning to drop me off at a bus stop, it’s going to take more than fifteen minutes to get there.”

  “I’m taking you home,” he says. “You’re not going to have an easy time lugging all the stuff I bought on a bus.”

  When he stops again, we’re in a modestly upscale neighborhood, in front of a stone home that looks cozy and lovely. He leaves the car running.

  Before he reaches the front steps, the door is opening, and I see the silhouette of a woman in tight pants. I can’t really see her face, but she’s got a slim body, nice curves, and shoulder-length dark hair.

  Two golden retrievers are at the door, tails wagging. They look happy to see Hawthorne and aren’t acting like he’s a stranger.

  He disappears into the house and returns a moment later with what looks like a duffel bag. But instead of putting it into the trunk, he comes around to my side of the car and opens the door.

  “For you,” he says, and he carefully places the duffel on my lap. “If your landlord gives you a hard time, I’ll talk to them.”

  Stunned, I stare down at it, and only then do I realize it’s moving slightly, and suddenly all the clues fall into place. The woman with the dogs must be his sister, the vet.

  I look up because I want to wave to her, to thank her for nursing Bandit back to health, but she’s dragging the dogs away and closing the door.

  Hawthorne gets into the car and backs out of the driveway. I quietly unzip the soft-sided cat carrier and peer inside.

  Even in the dark, I can see Bandit watching me. He opens his mouth and makes a gentle little meow. He’s bigger than before, now fully adult size, or close to it. I stroke my fingers over the dark, mask-like pattern around his eyes. His coat is now soft and free of tangles. Hard to believe he’s the same animal I used to sneak scraps of my lunch to.

  “Thank you,” I whisper.

  “Not a problem, Lindsay,” Hawthorne says easily, like giving me this gift is no big deal. And to him, it probably isn’t. His right hand briefly lands on my knee, then moves quickly back to the steering wheel. “He’ll be good for you, I think. Tell him your secrets. You have to trust someone.”

  “It’s just a cat,” I say, but I gather Bandit into my arms and press my face into his soft fur, and I wonder if my luck has finally changed.

  ~ ~ ~

  Curious about Cleo? Swing by my blog for the latest news, to join the mailing list or to contact me.

  http://cleopeitsche.wordpress.com/

  Or click here to go directly to my New Releases mailing list. (Note: I love releasing books at a temporary lower price to thank my readers, so if you want in on that, sign up!)

  Please visit your favorite online bookstore for these and many other stories!

  CARELESS (After Forever/Bisexual Billionaire Trilogy #1. Box set now available!)

  After being forced out of his company, Nelson returns home a billionaire with a hole in his life. When he meets Kimberly and Samuel, he decides he’ll have them both.

  But Kimberly and Samuel aren’t a couple, and Samuel’s the one holding things up. He hasn’t dated a woman in five years, and even though it’s plain he loves Kimberly, he agrees to Nelson’s threesome on the condition that it be only one night.

  Kimberly would marry Samuel in an instant if he asked. He’s just not interested. But a single night to satisfy her curiosity is better than never knowing Samuel’s kiss.

  There’s no way for Nelson, Samuel and Kimberly to all get what they want, and one careless moment of weakness carries the power to destroy everything.

  OFFICE TOY (Office Toy #1)

  Elle’s job interview starts with Cunningham throwing away her cheap clothes and sending his assistant to buy new outfits. He’s got her naked, so of course he’ll lay her out on the conference table and claim her mouth. Soon Elle is trussed up, all of her holes stretched full while three hot men have their wicked way.

  She loves her first tastes of liberated, naughty sex. But she’d better not start falling for her boss—no matter how safe he makes her feel—because while office sex is encouraged, romance is strictly forbidden.

  WANTED BY A DANGEROUS MAN (By a Dangerous Man #2)

  Bounty hunter Audrey knows that Corbin Lagos isn’t her soul mate. He may have saved her life, but he’s a coldblooded killer, wanted for crimes that he neither excuses nor denies. Yet every time she crawls out of his bed, the line separating legal and illegal seems to have moved.

  As a rival bounty hunter closes in on Corbin, Audrey must decide how far she’s willing to go to protect her secret lover, and an unexpected confession reveals that Corbin’s far more dangerous than she’d ever realized.

  TOUCHING PARADISE (The Shark Shifter Paranormal Romance #1)

  Despite his billions in the bank, Koenraad is a shark shapeshifter haunted by secrets and regrets. Unable to move on with his life, he relentlessly patrols the waters near the island he once considered home. Fate puts the beautiful Monroe in his path, and duty demands he offer his services, but one look into her eyes and he knows the lonely, frightened woman secretly yearns for adventure.

  Monroe is havi
ng a hard time getting into the vacation spirit. She’s surrounded by powdery white sand and swaying palm trees, but she’s terrified of the ocean. When her tour boat breaks down at sea, she’s thrilled to skip the so-called trip of a lifetime. However, a gorgeous man with a sleek yacht is determined to change her mind… and maybe her life.

  SLEEPING LADY (Fantasy Playland #1—Box set now available!)

  Georgia is broke, and she can’t resist the ad in the paper: “Women with low libido needed for sex theme park.” Never mind that as someone who masturbates several times a day, she hardly qualifies … she needs money, and she’ll do anything to get it.

  But first she has to pass the audition. All she has to do is pretend to sleep while the sexiest man she’s ever seen uses her however he pleases.

  USE ME HARD (Standalone story, but is included in the Take Me Hard compilation)

  Even before Alyssa meets Eric at a party, she knows all about him. That he likes to tie up submissives, that he has a dungeon somewhere, and that he breaks more hearts in three months than most guys do their whole lives. As far as she's concerned, Eric is just another rich playboy, and though part of her craves him, Alyssa knows men like him are good for one thing: nothing!

  When Eric overhears her claiming that he can't possibly be good in bed, he challenges her to prove it—one week, no sex necessary (unless she begs). Instead of slapping him, she accepts. She can't pass up the opportunity to make him publicly admit that he's clueless about women.

  If he wins ... but he couldn't possibly win. Could he?