by Ella Jade
“You’re pretty special.”
“I haven’t done anything with my life yet.”
“You will.” When he stroked her cheek her stomach fluttered. “You’ve had a rough start. Listening to you makes me realize how much of my life I take for granted.”
“I didn’t tell you those things about my life to make you feel bad. I’m going through some hard times right now, but I know things will get better. Thanks to your proposition, we won’t get evicted, I can pay off my loans and I’ll be able to help my mother.” She wanted him to understand why she had accepted his offer. “You came to me at a vulnerable time.”
“When I saw you in the kitchen the other night, I heard the stress in your voice. I know what I did was unconventional but I have no regrets.”
“You don’t?” She leaned into his face.
“I’m glad you’re here with me.” He tucked her hair behind her ear. “You got it cut.”
“Huh?” She was still stuck on the fact that he was glad she was there with him.
“Your hair, it looks pretty.”
“Thank you.”
“You’re a gorgeous woman. I can’t seem to get you out of my head. I had a horrible golf game today.” He brushed his lips along her jaw, stopping at the corner of her mouth. “Do you know why?”
Her nipples hardened when the warmth of her arousal flooded her panties. No one had ever made her feel this way. “Why?”
“Because I want to know what it’s like to really kiss you. No games, no pretending. Just the two of us here, right now. I want to kiss you because no one is watching.”
“Kiss me.” She swallowed hard, a little frightened because the terms had shifted between them.
He took her face between his hands, possessively pulling her mouth to his. She closed her eyes when he ran the tip of his tongue along her bottom lip. “Every time we’re together, I want to kiss you like this. Hold you close and tell you how much I want you.”
“I want you too.” Could this be happening? He wanted her for real.
He pressed his lips to hers, wasting no time deepening the kiss. Moving his hands from the side of her face, he ran them through her hair. She wanted to get closer, so she scooted into his lap and draped her arms around his neck. She felt the urgency, the lust in his kiss. The more he took, the more she wanted to give.
He trailed his hand down her face and to her collarbone, allowing his lips to take the same path. He left heated kisses in his wake, taking his time to reach the spot below her earlobe. He nipped at the skin before swirling his tongue along her neck.
“You’re so beautiful.”
The low tone in his voice sent vibrations straight to her core. It had been over a year since she’d had any sexual contact. She’d never had the attention of a man like Spencer before. No one had ever touched her with such attention to detail or took the time to tell her she was beautiful. She believed him when he whispered into her ear.
When he moved his hand to her breasts, she arched her back and moaned.
“I’m sorry.” He sighed as he pulled away.
“For what? From where I’m sitting, you have nothing to apologize for.” She kissed his lips, hoping that would get him to resume. “I think we were doing fine.”
“No.” He slid her off his lap. “This is wrong.”
“Why?”
“This wasn’t part of the conditions of our agreement. It isn’t fair for me to change things now.”
“I’m nothing more than a business proposition.” She felt like such an idiot. Of course a man like Spencer Cannon could never want a girl like her. They weren’t in the same league.
“That’s not true. Please don’t feel that way.”
“Save it.” She got up and headed down the path. She’d never been so humiliated. How could things have gone from feeling so right to so ridiculously wrong in ten seconds?
“Wait!” He followed her. “I didn’t mean to offend you.”
“It doesn’t matter,” she said. “I’m here because you paid me to be. There’s no reason for you to apologize. You didn’t lure me here under false pretenses. I accepted your money.”
“Let me explain.” He reached for her arm and spun her to face him. “A physical relationship will complicate things. The last thing I want is for you to feel obligated to have to do anything with me. I didn’t pay you to sleep with me.”
“I didn’t take your money to sleep with you.” She wanted to make that point clear.
“So, we’re in agreement?” He looked relived.
“No.”
“What?” He sounded exasperated.
“I mean yes, I agree I didn’t take your money to have sex with you but it doesn’t mean I don’t want to have sex with you.” She waved her hands in the air. “This is complicated.”
“See.”
“You’re making this harder than it has to be.” She pointed at him.
“Maybe so.” He pulled her close to him. “But one could argue that there’s already something wrong with my moral compass. I’m not going to cross any lines.”
“You’re not forcing me to be here. I’m a big girl. I agreed to your proposal. I’m here to convince your family you’ve moved on. I’m doing that.”
“You are, and I appreciate it.”
The laughter in the distance stopped their conversation. Spencer glanced in the direction of the sound. His jaw tightened and his shoulders tensed.
“Shit,” he muttered. She saw the disgust in his expression. “Horrible timing.”
“Am I on the clock again?”
“Ava and a few of the other girls are headed in our direction.”
“Then let me do my job, Mr. Cannon.” She grabbed him by his shirt and claimed his lips. He didn’t pull away but to her delight relaxed against her and inserted his tongue into her mouth.
No reason to do that for a make believe kiss.
The footsteps and the giggling come to a stop when the girls reached the pretend lovers. Spencer pulled away but not before placing soft kisses on her swollen lips.
“Hey, you two.” Ava’s silicon-filled lips curved into a phony smile revealing her unnaturally white teeth. “We’re heading to the after-hours rehearsal party. There’s music and a bar. Everyone is invited.”
“I’m sure you’ll have a wonderful time.” Spencer placed his arm around Coda’s back. “We’re heading to our room.”
“Come on,” Ava insisted. “Coda’s young, Spencer. You have to keep up with her or she’ll leave you behind. I’m sure she loves the club scene.”
“Not really,” Coda said. “I’m more of a homebody.”
“Then you’re perfect for Spencer,” one of Ava’s friends said. “Ava and Spencer spent a lot of time at home.”
Ava winked at Spencer, sending him some kind of secret signal.
The group cackled like a bunch of catty schoolgirls. Didn’t these rich sophisticates have anything better to do?
“Spencer and I had lots of fun at home, didn’t we, baby?” Ava continued her attempt to jog his memory.
“You ladies have a good night.” Spencer guided Coda down the path. “Let’s go.”
“Bye,” one of the girls yelled.
“Ava, I think it’s over,” someone said. “He looks pretty content.”
Coda couldn’t hear Ava’s response because Spencer had them out of earshot within seconds.
“What exactly did you see in her?” Coda asked. “You don’t look like the type of man who falls for desperate women.”
“I was a busy man who didn’t have time to fall for anyone,” he said. “Ava was convenient. We attended all of the same functions anyway. After a while it was understood we would go together. I let my grandfather and Pierce make choices for me. I made mistakes. I don’t ever intend on repeating them.”
“That’s why she thought you’d be here alone? She thought you’d pick up where you left off.”
“I suppose, but I gave her no indication that would happen.” He took
her hand. “Are you really a homebody?”
“Yeah, I was never into the club thing. Between school and work, I didn’t have time.”
“You didn’t miss much.”
“Good to know.”
He held the door open for her as they walked into the lobby.
She spotted an elaborate black piano outside the banquet room. “That wasn’t here before.”
“They brought it in for the ceremony.” He stopped and looked it over. “It’s exquisite.” He ran his fingers along the keys with the care she imagined he’d use on his lover. With one hand he played a few notes. It sounded nice.
“Will you play something?” she asked.
“What? No.” He withdrew his hand from the keys. “Would you like to stop at the bar for a drink?”
“No, since Ava’s at the club, there’s really no reason for us to be seen in public. You can go if you’d like, but I’m headed to bed.”
He looked as if she had hurt him, but for the life of her she couldn’t understand why. He’d made it perfectly clear why she was there.
“I see Tyler and a few of the guys at the bar.” He motioned with his head toward the lounge. “I think I’ll have a scotch. Are you sure you won’t join me?”
“If you don’t mind I’d like to call it a night. I’m going to call my mom and then go to bed. Tell Tyler I said hi.” She leaned forward, lingering at his lips for a few seconds before kissing him. When she pulled away he looked stunned. “That was in case Tyler and the guys are watching.” She kissed his cheek. “I wouldn’t want you to say I wasn’t good at my job, Mr. Cannon.”
“Coda, I—”
“Goodnight.” She cut him off because she didn’t want to hear any more explanations as to why they couldn’t be intimate. “I’ll see you in the morning.”
“Night.” He nodded as she turned and headed up the staircase.
When she got to the landing, she looked down to find him watching her. She gave him a quick wave before continuing up the steps.
Chapter 6
Friday morning, Spencer woke with a headache. He’d stayed at the bar a little longer than he anticipated he would and had drunk more than he should have. As he looked around the suite, he couldn’t recall how he’d even gotten back there. Had he retrieved the blanket and pillow from the closet? He hadn’t drunk like that since college. Losing control wasn’t something he liked to do.
He felt like a jerk for turning Coda down the night before. He couldn’t get the look of disappointment on her face out of his head. What right did he have to want her? A sexual relationship wasn’t part of the deal. He would never pay a woman for sex. Being intimate would blur the lines. He had two more days to keep his determination.
By then he would have survived the weekend, escaping Ava’s advances, and Coda would have a comfortable sum of money to help her get a better start in life. He wanted her to have that. There was a sparkle in her eyes that couldn’t be ignored. He had great respect for a woman who wanted to make her own way in life. Her work ethic and determination were admirable. He’d never met a woman quite like her before.
He rolled off the couch, stretched his aching back, and headed for a hot shower. The steam would do him some good. He needed a couple of aspirin and a cup of coffee. He squinted at the clock. It was after eight. How had he overslept? He walked down the hall and peeked into Coda’s room, but she wasn’t there. Hopefully she had made her way down to breakfast. He hadn’t even heard her leave the suite.
After his shower, he answered a few emails. He had to meet his grandfather, Pierce, and Tyler in thirty minutes to discuss the logo issue with the most stubborn client he’d ever encountered. If they didn’t resolve this issue soon the client was going to pull the campaign. The agency had never lost a client before, and he wouldn’t allow it to happen on his watch.
As he looked out the windows overlooking the property, he heard the double doors to the suite open. Dressed in a pair of jeans and a dark blue camisole tank top that revealed a thin line of skin below her belly button, Coda came into the foyer with a large cup of coffee and a white paper bag.
“Hey.” Her smile lit up the room and stirred his insides. “You’re awake.”
Why did she always look so happy to see him? Her mood only made him feel worse about last night.
“I never oversleep.” He walked toward her. “Why didn’t you wake me?”
“You were out.” She gazed at his bare chest and unbuckled belt. “I didn’t want to bother you.”
“Sorry.” He reached for his t-shirt. “I just got out of the shower.”
“I’ve never seen you disheveled before.”
“Is that what I am?” He laughed as he buckled his belt.
“I brought you coffee and a muffin. You missed breakfast.”
“Thank you.” He took the cup from her. “I hope my family didn’t torture you.”
“I sat with your mom. Tyler didn’t make it down either. I guess you guys over did it at the bar?”
“You could say that.”
“I hope I didn’t cause you to drink.” She looked down at her feet.
“No.” He moved closer to her and lifted her face so he could look into those wide, trusting eyes. “Are we okay?”
“We’re fine.” She nodded. “Why wouldn’t we be?”
“Good.” He kissed the tip of her nose because he needed to feel close to her. He wanted to touch her.
Selfish bastard.
“This package was at the front desk for you.” She pulled an envelope from under her arm and then set the muffin on the foyer table.
“Thanks.” He took the large envelope from her. “They’re from the art department.” He scattered the various logos Vince had sent him across the coffee table. “We have a meeting this morning, and Grandfather insists on hard copies. He doesn’t like computers.”
“May I?” She looked over his shoulder at the artwork.
“Sure.” He waved her over. “We’ve been working on this logo for three weeks. The client hates everything we do. They fear if we can’t get the logo correct, how will we accomplish anything else? I’m afraid they’re right.”
She studied the pictures, placing several of them side by side.
“Vince sent this set.” He pointed to the new logo. “We’re conferencing with the client in less than thirty minutes.”
“I’ve seen your artists working on this before. There’s too much color.” She spoke with such confidence. It intrigued him enough to listen to what she had to say.
“Hmm.” He ran his hand along his jaw. “That’s what the client said, but Tyler didn’t agree. At first they approved our initial mock-ups of the logo but nothing we do seems to make them happy.”
“I think they’re looking for something vintage. You should tell Vince to do something with black and white, maybe a hint of teal or purple to make it stand out, but the lettering should almost look like a pencil drawing. He’ll know what I mean.”
She sounded as if she knew this campaign and Vince well. He wondered what went on in that art department after hours. “Have you worked on this logo?”
She shook her head, but he didn’t believe her. “I’m the cleaning girl. Remember?”
“You’re much more than that.” He glanced at his watch. “I have to get downstairs. I’ll run your suggestions by Vince when we conference him in.” He gathered up the papers. “Thanks for your input.”
“No problem. It’s just a thought.” She grabbed the paper bag. “Don’t forget your muffin. I hope you like blueberry.”
“My favorite.” He took the bag from her. “Thanks for thinking of me.”
“It’s my favorite too, and you’re welcome.”
“I should be done in about an hour. Would you like to have lunch down by the lake? It’s supposed to be a nice day.”
“That sounds perfect.”
“I’ll have the front desk arrange a picnic for us.”
“You can do that?”
“Sweetheart,
I can pretty much do anything.”
“Smug much?”
“It’s a gift.” He kissed her cheek because he couldn’t resist. “I’ll be back soon.”
On his way down to a small conference room, he thought about Coda’s suggestions concerning the logo. Maybe it was worth a try. Nothing else seemed to work. Perhaps they needed a fresh take on the topic. She seemed to know what she was talking about.
Tyler walked into the conference room with a bottle of water. His eyes blazed red and his hair needed a comb.
“You look good.” Spencer went back to reviewing the specs.
“How is it that you manage not to look hung over?” He plopped down in the seat across from him. “You drank me under the table.”
“I doubt that.” His brother was three years younger and had much more practice at weekend drinking.
“How do you think you got back up to your room?”
“I don’t remember.” Spencer shook his head, disgusted with himself. “That’s not like me.”
“You do have a lot on your mind.” He chugged his water.
“Tell me about it. The Bradford account will be the death of us all.”
“I’m not talking about that.” He grinned. “The scotch and then those shots of Jack got your gums flapping last night. You were very forthcoming about your little waitress from Brooklyn. Did you have a successful night?”
“I have no clue what you’re talking about.”
“You fell for the decoy.” His brother’s voice was filled with amusement. “That’s so not like you. You’ve only known her for a few days, but she’s very easy on the eyes so I can see why you want her.”
“As usual, you don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“Right,” he said. “On the way back to your room you kept saying how you were going to throw caution to the wind and give in and do what you both wanted.”
“How do you even remember what I said?”
“I’m a seasoned drinker. I pace myself. You, on the other hand, were running some kind of race.”
“Hell.” He rubbed his temples. “Please tell me you’re the only one I spouted off to.”
“Just me.”
“Thank God.”
“Don’t be embarrassed. I’d have paid a lot more than a quarter of a million to be with her.” He laughed. “She looks like she’s worth it.”
