by Kayla Myles
He moved his head closer, and I looked down at his lips, zoning on his pink tongue as it peeked out from the seams, and wet his bottom lip.
“Are you…really willing to do anything for me, Jamie?” he asked, his mouth dangerously close to mine now. What was he asking me, anyway?
I wasn’t even paying attention anymore.
“W-what?” I asked dumbly, hypnotized by his voice, his eyes, and those luscious lips. He smirked, and I felt his other hand move lower, just above the top of my ass, and another quiver went down my spine. I was pretty sure I had goosebumps now.
“Jamie,” he said with a chuckle, and moving closer to my lips, stopping before deviating towards my ear. “Don’t tempt me with such words, baby. I’m no good for you.”
I felt his teeth nip at the hard shell of my ear, and I jumped in his arms, emitting a shocked gasp. He soothed his bite with his tongue before sliding me off his lap and standing up. He looked down at me with that damn smirk, and it was then that I realized he was teasing me again.
I scowled at him, but that only made him snicker as he walked out of the dressing area.
“Stay here. I’ll have the lady come in and help you out,” he called, not even looking back.
I watched him walk away before reaching up to touch my ear, my fingers feeling the mark of his teeth left behind, and the coldness from his wet tongue. My cheeks were aflame, and my heart was going a hundred beats a minute.
Why was my heart beating like I just ran a marathon?
Just what have I gotten myself into?
Chapter 12
Jamie
I should’ve known Hunter was up to no good.
That night, after he had bought me enough clothes to make my closet burst, he took me back to his house and told me I was going to be living there from now on until I paid back my debt to him.
Since I automatically computed my stay to be equivalent to forever, I asked Hunter if I could borrow his phone so I could call a friend of mine regarding my living arrangements.
Instead of lending me his phone, he called someone from work, and an hour later, someone came and delivered a small box to the house. He took the package, and immediately handed it off to me, and when I opened it, my eyes went wide as I stared at a brand-new cellphone.
“Consider this as part of you making it up to me. I’m going to need you to give me weekly reports on your performance? He said.
“Huh. Yeah, that works. Thanks, Hunter,” I said, grinning up at him.
“You’re not addressing me properly,” he clarified, shaking his head at me. “What did I tell you? You are to address me as ‘Sir Hunter’, ‘Sir Drake’, or just ‘Sir.”
I narrowed my eyes at him in irritation.
“Are you serious?” I asked.
If I didn’t owe this guy for saving my life, I thought, but sighing heavily, I grudgingly gave him what he wanted.
“Okay, Sir,” I said glumly. He nodded in satisfaction.
“That’s better. But next time, be a little more energetic,” he remarked, and I refrained myself from throwing the box at his head.
“If you don’t need anything else, I’m going to go to bed. Unless you want to join me,” he said, wiggling his eyebrows suggestively. I rolled my eyes at him, and climbed up the stairs to my own room, hearing him laugh his head off.
I went inside and quickly plugged my new phone into the charger, and then went about putting my new clothes into the closets and drawers. Hunter told me that if I needed anything important from my apartment, to ask Mrs. Blossom to help me, and one of the drivers would go pick it up for me.
Oh no! I slapped my forehead. I’m supposed to work at the auction house today! And I don’t have my IDs or my wallet with me either! Holy crap, this is terrible! How could I have forgotten so many important things?!
I wondered if Hunter is still awake.
“Ugh. I guess I have no choice,” I walked out the door and closed the distance to Hunter’s room, knocking on his polished oak door, which opened upon me hitting it.
He was busy unbuttoning his shirt, and I quickly tore my eyes away from him, settling my gaze instead to the lamp by his bedside.
“What do you want?” he asked.
“Uh,” I mumbled nervously. “I’m really sorry to disturb you,”
“Jamie, save the small stuff and just tell me what you’re doing here?” he demanded, cutting me off. I bit my lip and nodded.
“Well, you see, I forgot that I had to go to work at the auction house today, and I’m pretty sure I’m going to get fired for it,” I explained. “So, I was thinking you could give me the morning off to talk to my boss about it.”
“You don’t have to worry about that. I’ll take care of it,” he said. I heard some rustling behind me, and I wondered if he was already finished dressing up.
“Are you finished getting ready for bed?” I asked him, and he grunted.
“I don’t really understand why you have to turn away from me when you’ve already seen everything,” he said. I turned around to look at him, ready to protest his statement, but I couldn’t stop myself from staring.
He was wearing nothing but his sweat pants. His wide muscular chest bare and the ridges of his abdominal muscles were so defined, and his pecs were so wide, and his shoulders and arms were so massive. I didn’t notice all of him when we first met, mostly because I was preoccupied with getting away from him, but his body was built like a Greek God.
“Like what you see?” he teased, smirking at me. I shook my head, snapping myself out of my haze and scowled at him.
“You’re terrible,” I said. “You’re going to catch a cold if you sleep like that.” He shrugged at me.
He walked over to his huge bed and pulled the covers out, climbing into bed with a sigh.
“Anything else?’ he asked, tilting his head.
“Yeah. Uh, as you know, I lost most of my stuff back at the hotel, and that includes my wallet, credit card, and IDs. Can you please help me out with cancelling my cards and getting some new IDs? It would really be helpful,” I told him, and he nodded his head.
“Okay. Consider it done,” he said, and I smiled at him. “No snide comebacks?”
He smirked at me all of a sudden and patted the spot next to him.
“Are you ready to jump in now that I’ve given in to your demands, or am I going to have to pull you in with me?” he asked.
This guy really had no soul.
“I will never jump into bed with you, you perverted asshole!” I yelled at him.
I ran out of there and straight to the safety of my room, wincing as I closed the door a little too loudly, and hoping I didn’t wake Mrs. Blossom up.
I jumped into bed and smothered myself with the pillow, screaming at my embarrassment. I could feel my cheeks heating up as I recalled his indecent proposal, and I buried my face into the fluffiness even more.
Hunter Drake. He’s such an ass!
Chapter 13
Hunter
I left for work in good spirits earlier, only for it to be zapped once I stood in front of Lark the next day.
Her pinched expression told me all I needed to know: that there was a massive amount of work waiting for me inside the office. It should’ve been done yesterday, and she was not happy because it ruined her schedule for me.
“Okay, lay it on me,” I said, sighing. “I can take it.”
“You didn’t notify me or any of your assistants of your absence, but I am not in a position to tell you off about it,” she explained. I blinked at her, not expecting this to happen.
“What if I give you the right to yell at me? Would that work?” I asked her. She hummed thoughtfully.
“I suppose that could work, sir. Would you like me to start with that?” she asked me, and I nodded. She started huffing and breathing in short puffs, and then she exploded. “You made a mess of the workplace yesterday. Do you realize how difficult it is for me to tell y
our business partners you just didn’t show up today? NOTHING GOT DONE, AND I WAS TO BLAME!”
Her usual unemotional face completely disintegrated. She was a little scary blowing her top like that, but nice to know she has a passion for the job.
I walked over to the side table and grabbed a pitcher of water and poured a glass. I handed it to her, and she sipped it quietly.
“Feeling better n0w?” I said kindly.
“You were right. I feel much better now. Thank you for letting me berate you for making a mess of the schedule yesterday,” Lark said, looking really surprised about it. She turned towards me and adjusted her spectacles. “What really happened sir? There were some important business appointments missed, and I didn’t know what to tell your associates.
“Well, do you remember when I went to the Kaede Hotel for that auction the night before?” I reminded her, and she nodded.
“Yes, I do. Does that mean…,” she gasped, her eyes widening imperceptibly. “Were you able to find your grandmother’s portrait?”
I shook my head at her sadly.
“No, but I have to admit, I wasn’t expecting it to pop up after all the hit-and-misses we’ve had before,” I told her. “But, I did buy something there, and it is the reason why I didn’t come to work the day after.”
I quickly gave her footnotes of what happened, and how I got into a bidding war so I could keep Jamie away from the rest of the perverted bidders. Then I explained how I took her home with me, took her shopping, and how we agreed she would work off her debt to me; and to keep this whole thing quiet to save my ass, just as I saved her ass that night.
Lark took it all in calmly, nodding in appropriate moments, and asking no questions during my story. When I finished, she stared at me with a little bit of wonder in her eyes.
“May I be frank?” she asked. I nodded, furrowing my brows at her. “I’m surprised you would do such a thing, sir.”
“What spend 1 million dollars on a girl?” I said, and she shook her head.
“No, sir. I meant saving a woman you hardly even knew,” she said softly.
“Am I really such a horrible person you think that of me?” I asked, feeling bad about myself now.
“That’s not it, sir. You certainly have the capability to save a lot of people. I’m just saying that you wouldn’t exhaust that capability to anyone usually,” she explained.
I wanted to contradict her, but I couldn’t; she was right. It wasn’t like me to do something of that magnitude for just some random girl, or anyone really.
So then…why did I go that far for Jamie?
“Sir? Are you listening?” I blinked rapidly, focusing my attention back on Lark. She was staring at me with that undecipherable look on her face again. Sometimes, I really wanted to know what she was thinking about when she looked at me like that.
“I’m sorry, Lark. What were you saying?” I asked.
“I was merely telling you your schedule for today, sir. Would you like me to repeat it for you?” she asked. I nodded and listened attentively this time. “Is there anything you’d like to add?”
“I forgot to ask you about this earlier. Can you please contact our guy, and help get Jamie a new set of IDs?
“Yes, sir, I’ll call them as soon as possible,” Lark complied with a nod. “Anything else, sir?”
“Yeah,” I said, smirking as I thought up an interesting way for Jamie to get started on her job. “Can you call Jamie and tell her about her chores for the day?”
Chapter 14
Jamie
I got a call from his secretary—Lark, at least that’s what I think her name was—about instructions from Hunter I should follow for the day. Since I researched some info about him from the internet, I thought he was going to make me work on things for the corporation, or something like a real office job.
Nope!
It’s a list of nothing to do with documents, and everything to do with housework—dust the shelves, mop the floors, wipe the counters, sweep the chimney, do the laundry…the list was endless. And the bastard stressed I had to finish the list today.
Like, I’m not a superhuman; I’m not even a maid! How am I supposed to accomplish all this?!
I groaned horribly as I imagined myself working to the bone all those chores, and then eventually collapsing from all the hard work.
I looked at the last item on the list, and frowned at it confusedly.
Number 47: Deliver some documents, and bring me dinner at the office.
That’s weird.
I could feel myself blazing with determination now, glaring at the list of chores with such hatred. If he thought he could get me to cry and say uncle with this, then he’s got another thing coming! My grandmother was the strongest person I know, and she raised me not to be a quitter! I was going to slay this list and impress him so much, that he’ll beg me to keep working for him!
You better watch and learn, Hunter Drake. I thought to myself. You are going down.
***
“Are you sure you don’t need me to help you, dear?” Mrs. Blossom asked, watching as I scrubbed the pots and pans clean with lightning speed. “I mean, you’ve been running yourself ragged all morning…”
“I’m fine, Mrs. Blossom!” I assured her, rubbing the pot I was holding under the water to get rid of the soap suds. “Doing chores is no big deal, and this would be perfect practice for me once I open up my own shop!”
“Oh, yes. You did tell me about your bakery plan. Are you quite skilled with a rolling pin, dear?”
I nodded and smiled brightly. If there was anything in the world I was confident about, it was my baking skills.
“Rollin pin, mixer, oven, you name it! I’ve loved to bake ever since I was little. My grandmother let me help her out in the kitchen whenever she was cooking, and I just loved how mixing and combining things turned into something so delicious!” I explained. Mrs. Blossom giggled at my excitement, and stared at me fondly.
“That’s very admirable of you, dear, to want to make something of yourself by doing what you love,” she said, and I blushed under her praise. “Have you told the Young Sir about your ambition?” I frowned and shook my head.
“No, we’ve never actually talked much for me to bring it up. And besides, I don’t think it would matter if I told him or not,” I muttered.
“But why not? Sir Hunter may be rough around the edges, but he recognizes potential when he sees it. I’m sure he’d be happy to know more about your dreams! He’d more than likely even help you out more if you asked him.”
“That’s really kind of you to say, Mrs. Blossom, but I really want to try and do this on my own,” I told her honestly. “Don’t get me wrong, I would be glad if Hunter ever offered, but I just think it would mean a lot more to me if I got it with my own self-reliance.”
“I am impressed. Not a lot of women would turn Hunter down if he offered his assistance. It shows character, Jamie, and I’m glad he finally met someone like you,” Mrs. Blossom said, smiling widely. She patted me on the cheek the same way my grandmother did, and my heart suddenly felt warmer. It’s been a while since I had a maternal person in my life comforting and praising me like this. I couldn’t believe how much I missed it.
“Tell him about it, won’t you? It wouldn’t hurt for the both of you to get to know each other better, and I promise that boy is a lot better than he seems.” Mrs. Blossom explained.
I bit my lip and nodded, promising to tell him as soon as I get the chance. I couldn’t find it in myself to tell her no, even though I was sure Hunter would see it as my way of taking advantage of him. I was already neck deep in debt to the guy, and I’m not about to add to that list. I’d tell him about my dreams, sure, but I wasn’t going to accept his help, even if he offered it.
***
I whistled lowly as I spun around to look up at Drake’s building. The place was beautiful and sophisticated. The entryway was gloriously large, and the sign behin
d the receptionist’s desk was black with the words, “Drake Enterprises” embossed and italicized in big platinum letters.
I walked toward the receptionist, and smiled before putting the documents and the lunch box on top of the counter.
“Hi. Mr. Hunter Drake asked me to bring these up for him?” I said, pointing my finger at the items.
The receptionist raised a perfectly-plucked eyebrow at me, folded her hands on top of the desk, and looked at me like a bug on a windshield.
“Do you have an appointment?” she asked, irritated. I blinked and frowned at her.
“No, but—,” I said, shaking my head, and she cut me off.
“Then I’m afraid you cannot see him,” she said, turning away and fiddling with her phone, dismissing me completely.
“But he’s expecting me,” I insisted. “Call him and see for yourself.”
She let out a low pity laugh and shook her head at me.
“Oh, honey. You are not the first one to use that line on me,” she said. “I have seen girls like you come here and try to give your love letters and food to the boss, and then cry their little hearts out when it doesn’t work.”
“But—,” I tried to protest, but she raised her hand to stop me from talking, so I huffed and let her finish.
“I can’t say I blame you. My boss is, for lack of a better word, a Sex god, but a piece of advice, girl? You have no chance in hell with him.” she said, and I blinked at her.
This bitch is crazy. I mean, certifiable. I let out a frustrated sigh and tried again.
“Listen, I’m…,”
“Jamie? Jamie Elric?” I heard someone call my name, and I spun around quickly, my eyes lighting up as I recognized the bespectacled blonde standing by the elevators.
Oh my God! I’m saved!
“I’m here!” I cried too giddily, making the annoying receptionist grimace at me with revulsion.
