by E. L. Todd
His lips brushed my hair then he placed a gentle kiss along my hairline.
My eyes were growing lidded, and sleep wanted to take me. My soft sheets enveloped me, making me feel like I was sleeping on a cloud. My eyes were heavy and I fought to keep them open. When I realized I couldn’t, I sat up.
I stretched my arms over my head and yawned. “Man, I’m tired.” I moved my fingers through the tangles of my hair. Cato’s large hand put it in disarray when he gripped it savagely.
“Me too,” he said quietly.
I got out of bed and put on a t-shirt and shorts. Then I waited for him to get dressed.
He lay naked on the bed, just staring at me.
What was he doing? Why wasn’t he getting dressed?
Cato watched me with equal interest. “Are you coming to bed?”
“If I lay down again, I’ll fall asleep.”
“Then lay down…” He cocked an eyebrow.
“But I need to walk you out.”
His face quickly changed. His dark eyes narrowed as they honed in on my face, and his eyebrows tensed and moved a few inches up. His lips pressed tightly together, making a thin line, and then he sat up and didn’t look at me. “Gotcha.” He quickly pulled his jeans on and faced the opposite way, giving me his back. Then he pulled on his t-shirt and grabbed his keys and wallet.
His attitude completely changed and I wasn’t sure what caused it. He was relaxed just a moment ago. Now he was moving like he couldn’t get out of there quick enough. I followed him to the living room and realized he was already at the front door. “Night.” He walked out.
“Whoa, wait.”
He sighed as he turned to me, clearly annoyed.
“What’s wrong?”
He stared at me for several heartbeats, not blinking. “Not a damn thing, sweetheart.” His tone was colder than liquid nitrogen.
What was I missing here?
Cato turned away to walk out.
“You aren’t going to kiss me goodbye?” I knew there was something wrong but he wouldn’t tell me what it was.
“Why?” he asked. “I came over here like a one-night stand and made you come. Now I’ll be out of your hair.” He bowed deeply, glaring at me as he did it, and then marched off.
“Cato!”
He didn’t turn around this time.
I stood in front of the open door and tried to figure out what went wrong. We were lying in bed together, both recovering from the pleasure we gave to one another. Then when I prepared to walk him out, his attitude completely changed. He turned vicious, just like he used to be when we first met.
What did I say?
What did I do?
His last comment echoed in my mind. Did he think I used him? Was he upset I didn’t ask him to sleep over? That didn’t seem like something a guy would get mad over. But maybe that was it.
I’d never had a guy sleep at my place before, not since Ethan. We fooled around and had our fun, but then I sent them packing directly afterwards. I didn’t do sleepovers. It was a habit I hadn’t broken.
But would that really make Cato upset?
With a distracted mind, it was difficult to get work done. Cato was in my thoughts, and the last words he said to me were permanently ingrained in my ears. While I was signing documents on my computer, I kept thinking about him and marked the wrong date. Then I made another mistake. Stress weighed on me and I wondered if I would be able to finish the workday without messing up again.
A knock sounded on my door. “Can I come in?” It was Joey.
Now wasn’t the best time but I’m sure he had something important to say—business wise. “Come in.”
He entered then sat in the chair facing my desk. A folder was in his hand. Silently, he stared at me. It was a little creepy, honestly. He didn’t speak, and that was just weirder.
“How can I help you?” I finally said.
He tossed the folder on my desk. “A professional escort, huh?”
His words sunk into me and put me on edge. Was he talking about Cato? He knew? How did he figure it out? I decided to play dumb. “Sorry?”
Joey rested his ankle on the opposite knee. A snide smirk stretched one side of his lips. He seemed to be enjoying himself immensely. “You paid Cato to pretend to be your boyfriend. I know everything, Kat.”
I kept my poker face and hid my real emotions. The fact he knew my secret could be detrimental. He could tell my entire family and I would be a laughing joke until the day I died. “And how do you know such a thing?”
His grin stretched wider. “It wasn’t that difficult. I just did a little digging.”
I wanted to smack that smirk right off his face. Actually, I wanted to strangle him. “So you stalked Cato?”
“I didn’t stalk him,” he corrected. “I just got some information.”
Maybe Cato was right about Joey. He was a psychotic and obsessive creep.
He shifted his other ankle to the opposite knee, still smiling the entire time. “Kat, what were you thinking?”
“That I needed to get my family off my back,” I said coldly. “That’s what I was thinking.”
“But you could have just been with me,” he reasoned. “Wouldn’t that make more sense than hiring some guy to be your boyfriend?”
“No, actually. Because you’re a creep.”
His eyes widened to orbs. I’d never said anything so cold to him and he didn’t know how to process it.
“Cato was hired to be my boyfriend—in the beginning. But our relationship is different now. I truly care about him, and we have something really great. He’s the first man I can see myself moving on with. Maybe I was paying for his time in the beginning, but now I’m not.”
He nodded his head slowly. “And you expect me to believe that?”
“I don’t care what you believe,” I hissed. “Now get out of my office. I refuse to entertain a weasel when I have a million things to do.”
“A weasel?” he asked coldly.
“Perfect description, isn’t it?”
That annoying smile finally dropped from his face. “I wouldn’t insult me if I were you.”
“I’ll do whatever I wish.” I kept my hands on the desk so I wouldn’t attack him.
He stared at me for a long time, his blue eyes darkening and becoming two lumps of coal. The muscles of his face remained perfectly still. It seemed like I was staring at a lifeless doll, but there was slight movement in his eyes. The silence weighed heavily in the room, and I didn’t know what to expect next. Joey clearly had something on his mind, and judging the way he spoke, he’d rehearsed several times. “This is what’s going to happen.” His voice was low, like he feared someone would overhear. “You’re going to end your little arrangement with Cato and you’re going to date me—really date me.”
How was I blind to Joey for so long? He was borderline crazy. “No.”
“Yes.” His eyes held his command.
I ground my teeth together. “I said no.”
“If you continue to say no, I’ll tell everyone what Cato does for a living. And I’ll mention that you hired him to play a part. Not only will people think less of you and look down on you, but you’ll be a joke to our society. No one will respect you, and more importantly, they’ll pity you. You’ll disgrace your parents, and they’ll only smother you more.” That smile returned to his lips, evil and full of malcontent. “You have no other choice but to get rid of Cato and give me a chance.”
“No other choice?” I asked coldly. “I think otherwise.”
“Oh really?” Judging his tone, he didn’t believe me at all. “You think I’m bluffing?”
It took a lot to make me angry. After losing my husband in such a brutal way it made every other problem pale in comparison. I really understood pain and the depression that came along with it. Everything else was irrelevant.
But Joey was pissing me the fuck off.
I slowly rose to a stand, giving him the darkest look of menace I could muster. It easil
y stretched across my face, making my eyes burn with their own furnace. “If you have to resort to such measures just to land a girl, then I feel sorry for you. Tell everyone the truth, I really don’t give a damn. I would much rather suffer that humiliation than ever be stuck on a date with a weasel like you.”
His eyes burned in offense and his jaw was clenched tightly.
“Now get the hell out of my office.”
I called Cato a few times but he didn’t answer. I left him a voicemail the second I got off work, and after running a few errands before heading to my apartment, he still hadn’t returned my call.
When hours passed, I started to get worried. He always took my calls. I couldn’t recall a time when he didn’t answer by the second ring. I called him again, needing to hear his voice.
“What?” Spikes of ice came through the phone and penetrated me. There was so much annoyance and irritation in his voice I thought I was speaking to someone I didn’t know.
“Cato?”
“Who else would it be?” he snapped. “And why are you blowing up my phone? I’ll call you back if and when I feel like it.”
I stood in my kitchen and stared at the ground. The hostility burning through the receiver was terrifying. “Why are you so upset?”
“Maybe it’s because I’m talking to you.” He hung up.
I heard the line go dead. The phone was still held to my ear because I didn’t know what else to do. Cato and I were fine yesterday. We had a great time and then we fooled around and played with our chemistry.
So what was his deal? I called him back.
“Fuck, you’re annoying.”
He’d never been so rude to me. Even when we first met it wasn’t this bad. “Why are you being an asshole?”
“I’m being an asshole?” he asked incredulously. “You’re the one being a bitch.”
My heart sunk into my stomach. Did he really just call me that? “Why are you so pissed off? What the hell did I do?”
“The real question is, why do you care that I’m pissed off? I’m just some guy you fuck around with then throw outside like a damn dog. My feelings mean nothing to you. Never have and never will.”
“I didn’t throw you out like a dog. I was tired and needed to sleep.”
“And why couldn’t you sleep with me?” he demanded.
I didn’t have a real answer. “I don’t know…I just wasn’t thinking about it.”
Cato was quiet for a long time. But when he spoke again, his voice possessed more anger. “I told you I was looking for something more with you. I don’t want to be used and tossed aside like garbage. You disrespected me and treated me like all the other guys you fuck and forget about. Just like the rest of them, you don’t even remember what the fuck I look like. So, go pick up a different guy tonight. I’m no longer interested.” He hung up.
I listened to the line go dead again.
Cato refused to take my calls. It always went to voicemail. I refused to leave a message because I assumed he wouldn’t listen to it anyway.
When I asked him to leave my apartment, it wasn’t because he didn’t mean anything to me. It was just a habit. I felt terrible for giving him the wrong impression, for letting him think he was just a meaningless relationship. That wasn’t true at all.
But he wouldn’t let me apologize.
I didn’t know where he lived and I wasn’t sure how I would track him down. There was only one place I could go. And that was Beautiful Entourage.
When I approached Danielle’s desk, she looked up at me with irritation. “How can I help you?”
“I was wondering if Cato was here…?” I looked around, hoping there was an office where he worked.
“He’s not.” She peeled a banana and ate it while she looked at her computer.
“Well, can you tell me where I can find him?” I asked hopefully.
“You have his number, don’t you?” She refused to face me.
“Well, yeah. But I wanted to stop by his apartment and surprise him. Can you tell me where he lives?”
Danielle turned her brown eyes on me, and they were colder than the ice burg the Titanic crashed into. She slowly rose to her feet, her shoulders squared and her claws out and ready for a fight. “You hurt Cato.” She stared into my eyes as she paused. “So you hurt me. I suggest you leave him alone and walk out now. Otherwise, I will stab you in the eye with a pen.”
I didn’t call her bluff. Wordlessly, I walked out and wondered what I would do next.
I worked from home for the next few days. I was too depressed to head to my office, and I feared Joey would make another appearance. Since I was so angry over Joey, I didn’t trust myself not to stab in the balls with the heel of my stiletto and make him permanently infertile.
I called Cato throughout the day, hoping he would answer. Of course, he never did. Desperate to communicate with him, I started to leave voicemails. “Please call me back…I’m sorry.” I hung up then waited for my phone to ring. It never did.
More hours passed and I tried to brainstorm a way of speaking to Cato. I needed to apologize and make him understand that he really meant something to me, that my behavior didn’t represent the way I felt.
Since I was desperate, I did something extremely unethical. I left another voicemail and lied out of my ass. “Cato, Joey is here and he won’t leave me alone. He picked my lock and now I’m hiding in the bathroom. He’s drunk and I’m scared…” I hung up and swallowed the lump in my throat.
I was a terrible person.
Cato practically broke the door off the hinges. It flew open so fast it slammed into the opposite wall and made a noticeable dent. His arms were stiff by his sides and he scanned the room for danger. The wicked gleam of violence was in his eyes, and he looked like he wanted to destroy someone.
His eyes eventually moved to my face. “Are you okay?” I was sitting at the kitchen table, so he kneeled down and examined me.
“I’m fine.”
“Where is he?” He stood up again, looking around like Joey might pop out of the shadows.
I knew Cato was going to be pissed after I told him the truth. I closed the front door and pressed my back to it so he couldn’t get out, unless he picked me up and moved me.
Cato turned to me and watched me with intelligent eyes. “Where is he?”
“He’s not here…”
“He already left?” he asked. “I’ll hunt him down. He better hope he’s on an airplane because that’s the only way I can’t reach him.”
I was about to be the recipient of those angry eyes and I didn’t want to be. “He was never here, Cato. I made that up so you would come over.” I cringed as his face contorted in a strong look of hate.
He took a few steps toward me, his powerful arms hanging by his sides. His strong body was formidable and I hoped I wouldn’t be his next punching bag. He looked mad enough to rip me apart. “What the fuck did you just say?”
“I wanted to apologize…in person.” I continued to block the door so he couldn’t get out.
“You lied to me.” It wasn’t a question or a statement.
“I know…I was desperate. I wanted you to know I was sorry. When I didn’t ask you to stay over that night, it wasn’t personal. I just wasn’t thinking. I’ve never had a guy stay over, and it’s just a habit. You aren’t meaningless to me and I’m sorry for making you think that.”
Cato was still just as angry as before. “You kicked me out, Kat.”
“No, I didn’t. And I assumed you wanted to leave. We both had work the next day.”
“What the fuck does that matter?” He stepped closer to me. “You would have slept with me then kicked me out before the following morning. Good thing I didn’t let that happen.”
“It’s not like that,” I argued. “Honestly. This is knew for me, and I asked you to be patient.”
“I am being patient,” he snarled. “But patience has nothing to do with this. You used me then cast me aside.”
“No, I didn�
�t,” I argued. “Not at all.”
He shook his head. “Just like last time…”
“Sorry?” I asked, unsure what he said.
“Nothing,” he muttered. “Now get out of my way.”
“No…not until we work this out.”
His eyes darkened. “Move out of the way or I’ll pick you up and move you.”
I flattened my back against the door. “Let me prove it to you. Spend the night tonight.”
“No,” he hissed. “It doesn’t mean anything when you’re only doing it because I’m pissed off.”
“That’s not the only reason why I’m doing it, Cato,” I said. “I really like you and I don’t want to lose you.”
“You already lost me, sweetheart.’ His voice was full of condescension.
“Don’t say that...” I felt my heart kick into overdrive. “This isn’t worth breaking up over. Why are you jumping the gun?”
“Because I’m tired of you doing this to me.”
“What?” I asked. “When have I done it before?”
He ignored my question. “You’ll never change. I’ll always be hung up on you, and you’ll always be indifferent to me. If all you want is a meaningless fuck and someone to waste time with, then just admit it. Don’t drag my heart through the mud.”
“That isn’t what I want!”
“That’s how you treat me.”
He wasn’t making any sense. What was I missing? “Cato, please explain this to me. I don’t understand.”
“You don’t understand how to treat a guy you’re seeing with respect?” he demanded. “You really are a piece of work…” He marched toward the door and tried to get around me.
I tried to push him back and keep him on this side of the door. “Don’t leave.”
“I didn’t want to leave—last week. But now I do.” He grabbed my wrist and tried to yank me.
I pulled back. “No. I’m not letting you leave.”
He ground his teeth as he stared me down. “Move. Or I’ll throw you.”
When he picked me up, I wouldn’t be able to block the door anymore. He was twice my size and height. I had no chance. Instead, I went for the next alternative. I jumped into his arms and wrapped my legs around his waist.