Cash

by Cassia Leo

  “A few days? That’s a long time for me to be away from my fiancée. What’s so important you can’t make it?”

  “It’s not a big deal,” I reply quickly, my eyes darting toward the doorway, watching for Suzy. “I just need a few days to myself.”

  He’s silent for a moment, and my pulse races as I wonder what he’s thinking. “Kara, I told you I only have one rule,” he says, his voice hard with a hint of annoyance. “We have less than three weeks to get to know each other well enough to convince people we’re engaged. I don’t have time to deal with these kinds of delays. I’m a busy man and I made my evenings available to you, to adhere to your need for discretion. But if you expect me to continue to play by your rules, then you have to play by mine, as well. Why can’t you come tonight?”

  I let out a deep sigh. “I’m in the hospital. I hurt my leg.”

  “What happened?” he asks, and I think I detect a touch of worry in his voice.

  “I’m fine. It’s just a minor injury.”

  “Kara, minor injuries don’t require hospital stays.”

  Fuck. This man is impossible to deceive. I try to think of a way out of this corner he’s backed me into, when the sound of footsteps in the corridor send me into a panic.

  “I have to go. I’ll call you back.” I end the call and hastily try to place the phone back where it was on the bed next to my leg, but the sound of the phone ringing startles me and I end up dropping it on the floor just as Suzy enters the room. “Oh, my God. I’m so sorry. Is it broken?”

  She races over to pick it up and a handsome Asian man in a white lab coat enters behind her. “The screen is cracked,” she says, standing up and forcing a smile. “It’s okay. I have insurance. They’ll replace it without question.”

  “I’m sorry, Suze. I just keep fucking up.”

  “Oh, shut up. It’s just a stupid phone.”

  The man arrives at the other side of my bed and tilts his head as he smiles at me. “Good morning, Kara. I’m Dr. Lee. How are you feeling?”

  “Is it still morning?” I reply, then I shake my head. “I’m…a little woozy, but I’m okay, I guess. When can I leave?”

  He lets out a sexy chuckle. “So eager to leave us. Well, I’m afraid you’ll be here at least for the night. That was a pretty deep puncture wound, and glass is not the best kind of sharp object to be stabbed with. It’s quite messy. But the good news is that the glass missed all major arteries and veins. We were able to repair some minor damage to your hamstring muscle and subcutaneous tissue. You should be on your feet in three to four days. And you should be able to perform all your previous activities in ten to fourteen days.”

  I look up at him, a desperate plea in my eyes. “I work on my feet. Can I go back to work in three days?”

  He looks a bit concerned at my desperation. “Hmm… I don’t think it’s a good idea for you to spend more than a half hour at a time standing on that leg until you’re fully healed. Can you take breaks to sit down for at least ten minutes every half hour?”

  I shake my head with frustration. “No, I can’t do that. I’m a blackjack dealer at a very exclusive club.”

  “Maybe your boss can provide a stool for you to sit on while you’re dealing?” he offers this solution tentatively.

  I stare at the perfect symmetry of his facial features for a moment and note his gentle bedside manner. “You’re a very nice man.”

  He smiles. “Thank you, but I sense a qualification to that statement coming.”

  “I can’t lose my job. I need you to write a very detailed note to my boss asking him to allow me to deal while sitting on a stool and all that jazz. I mean, it needs to be iron clad because I cannot get fired. Please help me.”

  His brow furrows with worry, then he nods. “I can do that.”

  I sigh as I lean my head back and look up at the ceiling tiles. “Can I go back to sleep now?”

  “Not yet,” says a deep voice.

  I whip my head to the left and watch as a policeman with a bushy blond mustache steps into the doorway.

  “May I come in?” he asks.

  I turn to Dr. Lee and his face is serious as he rounds the foot of my bed toward the officer. “She really needs her rest. Can we do this later?”

  “I’ll make it quick,” the officer replies. “You can stay here if you’d like.”

  Lee glances at me. “I have to check on a patient next door. I want her asleep by the time I get back.”

  He nods at me before he leaves and Suzy takes a seat in a chair at my bedside.

  “Uh, ma’am. Do you mind?” the officer addresses Suzy and nods toward the door as if to imply that she should leave.

  “No, I’m staying,” she insists, crossing her arms and legs defiantly.

  He shrugs as he approaches, taking out a notepad and a pen as he stops a couple feet from the foot of the bed. “I need to ask you what—”

  “Wait!” I stop him as I turn to Suzy. “I need you to wait outside.”

  “What? Why?”

  I try to swallow my nerves, but my mouth is still too parched. “Please.”

  She glares at me and I know it’s going to be a matter of time before I have to tell her all about Benny and his escalating threats. But until then, I need to keep her out of this. The less she knows, the safer she’ll be.

  She shoots out of the chair and shakes her head. “I don’t keep secrets from you, Kara. You’d better tell me what the fuck is going on here soon because I love you, but I swear to God I’ll kick your ass if you start keeping secrets from me.”

  “Ma’am, please refrain from making threats,” the officer says as Suzy storms out of the room.

  I try not to smile at the ferocity of her words because I know she’d never kick my ass. She just wants the truth. Like Cash wants the truth. And I can’t give it to either of them. I’m so fucked.

  The officer turns back to me. “I’m Officer Lawson. I’ve been assigned to take your statement. Do you know who threw the brick through your window this morning?”

  I shake my head. “I don’t know.”

  “There was a picture of you taped to the brick.” He pulls a plastic evidence bag out of his back pocket and steps forward to hand it to me. “Does this mean anything to you?”

  My blood stands still in my veins as I stare at the photo. It’s a picture of me dealing blackjack at the Billionaire Club. With this photo and the brick, Benny’s trying to send a message that he knows where I work, which means he knows I’m getting paid well, and he’s getting impatient.

  I hand the picture back to Lawson and shake my head again. “I don’t know. Maybe I have a stalker.”

  “You don’t seem very concerned about that,” he replies as he tucks the evidence bag into his pocket.

  “What do you want me to do? Break down crying?” I reply fiercely. “Whoever did this, that’s exactly the kind of reaction they want out of me, and I won’t give it to them. Are we done here?”

  He cocks a bushy blond eyebrow at me. “For now. If I have any more questions, I know where to find you. Take care now.”

  As he walks out of my room, the wall around my emotions begins to falter, and the tears fall freely. Suzy re-enters the room a few minutes later with a couple of Jamba Juice smoothie cups in her hands.

  “Found a Jamba Juice cart near the gift shop.” She sets mine down on the nightstand. “Look, Kara, I don’t know what’s going on, but you can’t hold the weight of the world on your shoulders all by yourself. It’s okay to let people help you sometimes.”

  I wipe the tears away with the bed sheet. “How’s my dad?” I ask, eager to change the subject.

  Her shoulders slump as she realizes this conversation, and her quest for the truth, are going nowhere. “He’s fine. Peter’s bringing over a bag of your personal stuff that Jacie put together. Your phone too, which I’m told needed a good scrubbing due to all the blood.” She shoots me a glare. “Then you can call Jacie and talk to her yourself.”

  “I’m sor
ry I broke your phone,” I say, though inside I’m actually kind of relieved that Cash wasn’t able to call me back.

  It really is true that a single lie can turn into a tangled web of deceit in no time. As I look up at the disappointed look on Suzy’s face, all I can think is that, for her sake, I need to untangle this web before she does.

  The soft click of the hospital door closing wakes me, but the room is so dark I can’t see if someone has entered or exited the room. I blink to try to focus my vision on the doorway, when the silhouette of a hooded man begins to materialize against the soft crack of light shining through the frame of the door. My heart races as he takes a step forward. I should scream, but I’m frozen with fear.

  Finally, I manage to open my mouth and force out a sound. “S-s-stop,” I whisper. “Don’t come any closer or I’ll scream.”

  He shushes me and the sound makes my heart thump so hard, I can hear it echoing inside my skull. He reaches behind him and I realize this is it. Even if I manage to scream, no one will get here fast enough to stop him from killing me.

  “Please don’t kill me,” I whisper. “Please I swear I’ll—”

  “Kara, I’m not going to kill you.”

  The man’s voice sounds so familiar, but I’m still a bit groggy, I must be hearing things.

  His hand comes forward and I brace myself for a gunshot. But he’s not holding a gun. It’s a phone. He presses a button and holds the glowing screen up near his face. It’s Cash.

  “You asshole!” I shout.

  He shushes me again as he approaches. “You need to be quiet. No one can know I’m here.”

  “How the hell did you find me?” I demand, making no attempt to lower my voice.

  “Kara, please,” he whispers. “You’re the one who didn’t want anyone to see us together. Otherwise, I wouldn’t have walked in here with a fucking hood over my head, using a fucking cell phone as a flashlight.”

  I take a deep breath and let it out slowly. “You scared the hell out of me.”

  “I’m sorry, but you gave me no choice.” His gaze slides down all the way to my feet, then he pulls it back and his voice softens as he looks me in the eye. “You worried me. What happened to you?”

  I try not to get emotional at the thought that this man I hardly know was out there worrying about me for the past few hours. “My house was attacked,” I whisper through the knot in my throat.

  It’s not a lie, and it’s certainly more truthful than the explanation Suzy got. If no one knows I’m seeing Cash—am I seeing him?—then there’s no risk in being a bit more honest with him.

  “Your house was attacked?” he says, his brows furrowed, though I can’t tell if he’s more worried or disappointed with my explanation. He reaches forward and my body relaxes a little when he lays his hand on my cheek. “If you don’t feel you can talk to me about this, then I’ll let it go. But I can’t let anything happen to you.” He smiles as he gently tucks a piece of hair behind my ear. “You’re my million-dollar investment.”

  I shake my head as I push his hand away. “I can’t do this anymore. I’m… I’m in way over my head, and—”

  “No.”

  “No, what?”

  “No, you can’t quit on me.”

  “But rule number two—”

  “Fuck rule number two,” he replies forcefully. “If you’re quitting because you think I’m not safe around you, then you’re wrong. And if you’re quitting because you think you’re not safe around me, then you’re also wrong. I’m getting you a bodyguard.”

  “No!” I reply, not bothering to whisper. “Nuh-uh. I don’t need a bodyguard. And even if I did need one, I don’t want one. That’s not a good way to keep from drawing attention to myself.”

  “I don’t care whether you want one. You’re getting one. This is not optional.” The ferocity in his eyes is startlingly sexy. “You may not be my real fiancée, but right now you are my responsibility. And you obviously need someone to look out for you. So, you’re getting a bodyguard whether you like it or not. And you’re staying with me until you’re better.”

  “No!” I shout even louder this time. “That is where I draw the line. And it’s not because I don’t want to. I can’t stay with you. I… I take care of someone…at home. I need to be home.”

  He narrows his eyes at me and I wonder if he’s thinking I lied about being married. “Who do you take care of? Do you have a child?”

  I chuckle at his guess. “No, I don’t have any children. I…”

  Shit. I can’t tell him about my dad, then he’ll definitely look into him. If there’s any chance of keeping my father’s connection to him a secret, I’ll blow it by telling him my dad is sick. I mean, I told him I hurt my leg and the jerk snuck into my damn hospital room in the middle of the night. If I tell him my dad is sick, he’s liable to show up at my house with a fucking medical team.

  “I take care of my dog, and he needs me. He’s… He’s with my friend right now, but she can’t keep him there long because…because he hates her cat. Just…hates him. They don’t get along. Just ruff-ruff-meow at each other all day. It drives my friend crazy.”

  He smiles at my ridiculous explanation. “I’m going to forgive that lie because I think it’s related to whatever happened at your house today, and I suppose you’re allowed one secret. But you’re still getting a bodyguard.” His gaze wanders down to my chest, lingering there for a moment as he traces his finger lightly over the inside of my forearm. His eyes lock on mine again. “And when you’re ready, he’ll bring you to me for our next session. How long until you’re on your feet again?”

  “Three days,” I reply quickly as I try to ignore the throbbing between my legs. “I’ll be back in three days, tops.”

  He smiles at my eagerness as his fingertips land on the inside of my bicep, the backs of his fingers grazing my breast. “We have a lot to work on,” he murmurs as he gently presses his knuckles into my soft flesh.

  I’m not wearing a bra, so the gentle pressure is more than enough to make my heart race. “I’ll be ready,” I whisper.

  He eases his hand forward and stealthily slips it underneath the covers.

  “Rule number three,” I breathe, my voice barely audible as his hand moves down to my belly.

  “Rule number three says we can’t have sex,” he replies. “It says nothing about me watching you come.”

  My chest heaves with anticipation as he slowly pulls my gown up until his hand is resting on my bare mound. “We can’t do this here.”

  “Why?” His finger glides between my aching folds and easily finds my clit. “The door is closed,” he whispers as he slides into me all the way to his knuckle, curling his finger inside me. “And I think this is exactly what you need right now.” His thumb massages my tender clit as his middle finger firmly rouses my G-spot. “That’s it, sweetheart. Look at me.”

  My legs twitch, sending a shooting pain slicing through the back of my thigh. “Oh, God. Please stop. It hurts.”

  His hand stops moving, but he doesn’t remove it from inside me. “I’ll go slow,” he says as he slides his finger out of me and drags my moisture up to my clit.

  His finger moves lightly over my hard nub. I close my eyes and lean my head back, but soon his free hand is under my neck and his face is inches from mine.

  “Don’t turn away from me.” His voice is a low growl, deep and commanding, but his touch is still gentle as he coaxes me toward an orgasm. “You always look at me when you come. You understand?” His gaze doesn’t soften when I nod in reply. “I told you, in the bedroom I make the rules. When you’re with me, you submit. You have to understand that if you’re going to convince the board you’re my fiancée. Do you understand?” This time he smiles when I nod. “Good girl. Don’t come yet.”

  “What?” I whisper, tightening the muscles in my abdomen to keep my legs from twitching and to stop the orgasm.

  He slides his fingertip off my clit and begins lightly massaging my labia. “You come whe
n I say you come.” His middle finger slides back inside me, lightly pressing on my G-spot until I start to whimper, then he pulls it out again. “When you’re out there living your life, you’re Kara. When you’re with me, you’re my fiancée. You’re mine. And I will do with you as I please. Understood?”

  “Oh, God,” I breathe as he glides to two fingers through my swollen folds, lightly brushing my clit but never giving me full contact. “Yes, yes. I understand,” I reply desperately.

  “Good,” he replies, easing his grip on the back of my neck as his other hand returns to my clit to finish me off. “Come for me.”

  The orgasm builds slowly, a soft rumble escalating to a thunderous roar of pleasure exploding in my core and oozing outward into my muscles, making me warm and relaxed. I gush wetness all over his hand, but he doesn’t mind. He keeps his hand between my legs, his finger pressed lightly against my throbbing clit, as he cups my mound and waits for the orgasm to roll through me. The whole time, his gaze is locked on me, watching every nuance in my expression, relishing every twinge of pleasure.

  “Do you feel better now?” he murmurs, and I nod. “Then I’ll see you in three days. I’ll send your bodyguard here to pick you up in the morning. He’ll take you home.” He slowly slides his hand out from beneath the covers and kisses my forehead before he stands up straight. “I won’t let anything happen to you, okay?”

  I nod with some difficulty as I suddenly feel very sleepy. “Okay,” I whisper.

  He smiles as he backs away from my bedside. “Sweet dreams.”

  Three days of lying in my bed with the new sheets that Suzy insisted on buying for me—to rid my bedroom of all reminders of the attack—and I am so ready to get out of the house to see Cash. He’s been texting me multiple times a day to check on me, and I must admit his messages have really kept my spirits up.

  Like the time he texted me telling me how much I was missed, then he sent me a series of pictures of himself and Hector having a “date night.” The first picture showed Hector blushing as Cash pinned a corsage to his lapel. The second picture showed them holding hands in a movie theater that looked suspiciously like the media room in his penthouse. My favorite was the last picture of the evening, showing them lying in Cash’s bed with the sheet just barely covering their private parts while Cash smoked a cigarette.