She spotted Otis standing near the piano looking as though he had stepped out of a GQ magazine spread. What was it about that man that made him equally sexy in a grungy t-shirt and a pair of ripped jeans as he was in a three-pieced suit?
“We need to get on the road soon if we’re going to make your six o’clock reservation, boss,” Clyde was saying as she walked through the dining room toward the piano in the entryway.
Otis glanced at his watch impatiently. “Yeah, I know, but …”
Both men looked up as she entered the room, and Brooke was caught off guard by their open-mouthed expressions. Otis’ lustful gaze was like a mixture of gratitude and awe, and Brooke blushed slightly under the weight of his stare.
“It fits,” she said with an anxious smile.
“Yes, it does,” he mumbled as he looked her over slowly. “We’ll be out in a minute, Clyde.”
The bodyguard nodded his head and turned, leaving them alone, as Otis slowly began to circle her.
“Baby, you look amazing,” he said quietly.
“Thank you.”
“I’m sorry,” he smiled, looking at her sheepishly. “I didn’t mean to call you baby.”
“Oh. It’s okay,” she said. “I mean … don’t let it happen again, obviously.”
He smiled at her response. “Of course.” He stood in front of her looking her over with a critical eye. “Mmm … something’s missing,” he murmured.
Brooke frowned and looked down at her dress. “No. This is everything that you left for me. Even the perfume,” she said.
“No,” Otis replied, looking her over from head to toe as if he couldn’t figure it out. “You look stunning, but something’s not right. Oh! I know.” He reached into the pocket of his suit pants and pulled out a small black velvet box. “You need these,” he said opening the box and presenting her with the most gorgeous pair of diamond stud earrings.
Brooke gasped as she stared at them. They had to be close to two carats total. Heart shaped. Clear and perfect. “Otis!”
She appeared to be speechless, and Otis smiled at her. “Do you like them?”
She stared up at him in shock. “They are beyond beautiful. But … I can’t …”
“Yes, you can. I picked them out just for you,” he said quietly.
“Otis, why are you doing this?” she asked imploringly.
“Because I can,” he smiled. Then he took a step closer to her and added conspiratorially, “It’s sort of what we sugar daddies do, you know?”
“What?” she asked, looking startled by his words.
He shrugged at her. “Most of us probably don’t attempt to recreate Pretty Woman, but …”
“Oh, my God,” she whispered, knowing instantly that he had overheard her conversation with Shelly yesterday morning. “Otis, I … I don’t know what to say. I’m sorry. I should just go.”
“Wait! No, no, no, no,” he said, wrapping his arms around her waist as she attempted to flee. “Brooke, I don’t want you to go.”
“But you obviously heard Shelly and me talking.”
“Yeah, I did,” he confirmed. “And I was … sort of amused by it.”
“Amused?”
He nodded his head in response.
“So, what? You brought me here and showered me with new clothes all day as some sort of joke?” she asked.
“No, Brooke. This is not a joke,” he assured her. “I brought you home with me because I wanted to spend more time with you. And I bought you the clothes from this morning because I didn’t want you to have any reason to go back home early. But tonight … this surprise … I will admit that I remembered your Pretty Woman comment and inspiration struck. I just thought it would be fun. But that’s as far as the joke goes. Our destination, and getting to spend the evening with you … that’s all real, Feisty.”
Brooke didn’t know what to say. He seemed completely sincere in his explanation. And he certainly didn’t appear to be upset with her in the least. In fact, he had been excited about the plans he had been making all day. And he looked at her now with such a sweet expression as he caressed her face.
“Will you please accept the earrings?” he asked, presenting the box to her again.
Still in shock, she silently nodded. And as she reached up to remove the tiny silver balls that normally adorned her ears, Brooke couldn’t help but remember her sister’s words about her being a giver, not a taker. And she inwardly cringed when she remembered Pepper telling her that with a little effort she could get whatever she wanted out of Otis.
“That man is obviously so into you, he doesn’t know what hit him. All it would take is just a slight change in your attitude and Otis Ivory would be begging you to let him give you the moon.”
She couldn’t do this. She knew in her heart that she simply was not cut out to be the opportunistic, gold-digging, sugar daddy-seeking kind. Shelly was right. It’s just not who she was.
Otis watched as she removed her old earrings and replaced them with the diamond hearts. Smiling at her, he leaned in and kissed her just below her ear. “You look beautiful,” he whispered. Then he placed a hand on the bare skin of the small of her back and led her outside.
The waiting car was a stretch limo, and Otis’ bodyguard stood dutifully by, waiting to open the door for them as they climbed in. She noticed though, that he wasn’t the one doing the driving. Instead he slid into the passenger seat while the car was chauffeured by a driver. And when they got underway, Otis reached out and hit a button, raising the privacy panel that separated the back of the car from the front.
“Is this one of yours?” Brooke asked.
“No, this is rented,” Otis smiled. “I thought this surprise deserved a little style.”
Brooke smiled shyly at him, still feeling uncomfortable. She still couldn’t get over what had transpired back there. “Otis? Why aren’t you angry with me? I basically told my sister that I was thinking about using you, and you heard all of it. Why aren’t you furious at me?”
Otis stared at her as he thought about her question. She was right, of course. He should be angry. But he shook his head slightly at that thought because he knew why he wasn’t. He had no right to be. He couldn’t be angry at her because what he was doing was no different. He asked her out originally because he thought she was hot. And at the time, all he expected to come of it was nice dinner and a good lay. Nothing more, nothing less. But then Noah had to go and mention the B word. And he couldn’t deny the fact that this friendship … courtship … whatever it was becoming had begun because he wanted to win a bet. He was using her, just like she was using him. He didn’t have a right to be angry. But he knew that he couldn’t tell her that.
“I enjoy your company, Feisty,” he said, smiling at her. “I enjoy shocking you, and making you smile. And I get a kick out of the fact that you don’t hesitate to call me on my shit. The things that come out of your mouth sometimes,” he laughed. “I like you, Brooke.”
She smiled at him, feeling a little bit lighter than she had only moments ago. Maybe Pepper and Shelly had both been right when they said Otis was into her. And there was no use trying to hide the terrifying truth from herself anymore. She was beginning to like him too. A lot. But she knew that she had to keep that knowledge to herself. She couldn’t let him know how she felt. If she did, he would have the power to hurt her.
“Well … I like calling you on your shit,” she replied softly. And he laughed at her.
They drove straight to the Van Nuys Airport, and in true Pretty Woman fashion, the limo pulled right out onto the tarmac where Jagged Ivory’s private jet was waiting, red carpet and all.
“You are too much, Otis Ivory,” she smiled as she took his offered hand and emerged from the limo.
“I just like making you smile,” he replied.
They boarded the plane, and Brooke noticed that Otis’ bodyguard was still with them, although he remained discreetly in the background. Minutes later they were in the air and sipping champagne.
“Are you trying to seduce me, Mr. Ivory?” she whispered.
“Is it working?” he asked softly, still kissing her neck.
“No,” she breathed.
He smiled against her skin and felt her shiver. “Liar.”
He kissed her deeply then, his hand caressing her face as his tongue caressed hers, gently sucking and tasting her.
Between the kissing and the staring into each other’s eyes, they didn’t talk much for the remainder of the thirty minute flight. And when they landed in San Diego they disembarked and climbed into another waiting limo.
“Where are we going?” she demanded with a little girl’s giggle, and Otis smiled at her, shaking his head.
“I bet you are hell at Christmastime,” he smiled. “If you must know … we’re going to dinner.”
“We couldn’t eat dinner in Malibu?” she asked.
“Well, we could,” he smiled. “But then we’d be hard pressed to make it to the real surprise on time.”
“And what is the real surprise?” she practically screamed, and Otis laughed. But he refused to answer her question.
Dinner turned out to be a very fancy, French affair at one of the most beautiful restaurants Brooke had ever seen. And she allowed herself to give in to the fantasy, and Otis’s lighthearted mood, for a while as they were seated at their reserved table. She let him do the ordering for her, and was pleasantly surprised when he ordered them both the very rich lobster mac and cheese served with a simple mixed greens salad with a tart vinaigrette. It was so delicious! They talked easily through dinner about music and dance, and they laughed a lot as they shared annoying younger sibling stories over a shared chocolate raspberry soufflé for dessert.
Finally, Otis looked down at his watch and smiled at her. “We should get going. We don’t want to be late.”
“Late for what?” she huffed.
Otis paid for their meal and they left the restaurant arm in arm. And thankfully, there were no intrusive paparazzi waiting to ambush them when they stepped outside. They climbed back into the limousine and were driven to the San Diego Civic Theatre. And as soon as they pulled up outside the building, Brooke’s face lit up like a child’s at Christmas, and she turned to him with the biggest smile.
“You’re taking me to the ballet?”
“No,” he replied, smiling at her. “You’re taking me to the ballet. I’ve never actually been to one before.”
“You’re kidding! You’ve never seen a ballet?”
“Not a whole one. And never in person,” he explained. “So, I thought … who better to see my first one with than a ballerina?”
She could actually feel herself swoon as she stared at him. “See. You’re not being a pig right now; you’re being adorable. It makes it hard for me to resist you,” she said, smiling at him.
“Then don’t,” he smiled as he leaned in and kissed her passionately.
“So,” she breathed when he pulled away. “What am I taking you to see?”
“Dracula,” he answered.
“Ooh. Sexy,” she replied.
“So I hear.”
“You’re going to love it!”
They purposely waited until time for the doors inside the theatre to open. Otis and his bandmates had learned early on that there’s no sense causing a ruckus if one can be avoided. So, about ten minutes before showtime, they exited the car and made their way inside, and they were shown to their reserved seats on the premier mezzanine by a very friendly usher just as the house lights began to dim.
Seated squarely in the front row center of the mezzanine, the view was perfect, and Brooke watched the performance with rapt attention. Otis paid as much attention as he could, but he found it difficult not to simply stare at her instead of the action on the stage. She was beautiful, and he loved seeing her expressions as she watched the intensity of the ballet. He reached over and took her hand, holding it sweetly throughout the performance.
When the performance was over, they stayed seated as all around them began to move to the exits. The theatre was pretty packed, and Otis didn’t relish the thought of getting stuck in that crowd. Luckily for them, he had made arrangements to be escorted out of the building via the alternate exit. An usher came and led them from the mezzanine through the alternate route, down a long empty hallway and through a large set of doors, and out to the front of the building. They avoided the crowd completely and were back in the chauffeured limo in no time. All without the annoyance of the paparazzi.
“That was so much fun,” Brooke exclaimed as she beamed at him. “Did you enjoy it?”
“I did. I have to admit, when I started planning this thing and I discovered that the San Diego Ballet was doing Dracula, I was a little disappointed,” Otis told her. “I was hoping for something a little more … I don’t know … classic, I guess. I didn’t realize Dracula was even a ballet.”
“It’s a very famous ballet,” Brooke told him. “And lots of companies do it in the fall each year, just like they do The Nutcracker at Christmastime.”
“Well, I didn’t know that. But I’m glad we came. It was fun,” he smiled.
“Do we go back to the plane now?” she asked.
“We do,” he smiled. And she looked at him with the cutest smile on her face, and he just couldn’t help himself. “Come here,” he said, wrapping his arm around her and pulling her close. They sat cuddled together, talking about the ballet, as they drove back to the San Diego Airport.
Their return flight to Van Nuys was just as quick as the flight out, and when they climbed into the waiting limo and got underway, Brooke was giggling like a schoolgirl at something Otis had said. She was so busy hanging on his every word as he talked about being on tour that she was startled when she looked up and realized where they were going.
“Wait a minute, Otis, we’re headed back to Malibu,” she said looking from the car window to him.
“Yeah. We’re going back to my place,” he smiled.
“Your place? Otis, I can’t stay at your place again, I have to work in the morning.”
“I know that,” he confirmed. “But I consulted with one of my partners in crime and checked your schedule for tomorrow. I know that your first class doesn’t start until ten, and I promise to have you home in plenty of time.”
Brooke stared at him, shaking her head slightly in disbelief. He really had gone to a lot of trouble to pull this day off, and she found herself wondering again, why?
“So … Shelly is aiding and abetting this little adventure of yours, huh?”
Otis laughed at her. “I told you before, I will not reveal any of the magic secrets, and I won’t give up my sources.”
“Mmm hmm. She is so dead,” Brooke mused, rolling her eyes playfully.
When they got to the house, Otis took her by the hand and led her inside. But instead of going through the house to the kitchen like before, he turned to the right near the entryway and led her up the front staircase. As they neared the landing her turned to her and smiled.
Brooke felt his fingers on her back, between her shoulder blades, and he ran them slowly down her spine.
“Have I told you how beautiful you look in this dress?” he asked softly as they reached the landing.
“Yes,” she replied.
“Would you mind if I told you again?” he asked, pulling her into his arms as he kissed a soft trail around her ear and down her neck as he continued to run his fingers over the skin of her lower back.
“Oh. No,” she whispered as her skin began to tingle.
He slipped his hand beneath the dip in her dress, allowing it to caress and lightly squeeze her ass as his lips found hers and stifled her soft moan. He loved the way she seemed to ooze into hi
m as her body relaxed and her arms encircled him as they kissed. He wanted her so much.
Brooke pulled away slowly, trying desperately not to lose her head. “Otis …”
He cleared his throat anxiously. “There’s uh … there should be a bag in the guest room with something comfortable for you to change into,” he said softly. “I thought maybe you could come across the hall and we’ll have a night cap before we turn in.”
“Across the hall?”
He nodded silently as he studied her eyes.
“Okay,” she replied.
Then she turned and made her way to the guest room. And Otis let out a deep sigh of frustration as he turned to his own room.
Inside the guest room, Brooke went about getting out of the beautiful gown and carefully placing it back into the garment bag. Then she found the small bag sitting on the bed and opened it up to find a comfy pair of pink pajama pants and a matching tank top with a sleeping ballerina on the front! It was precious. And the perfect piece to end such an amazing day. And she marveled once more at the attention he’d paid to every detail.
She changed into her new PJs and ran a hand through her hair as she looked herself over in the mirror. The pajamas made her smile. The thought of Otis choosing these pajamas especially for her made her smile. She shook her head as she thought of him. He was not what she had expected him to be when they first met, and she couldn’t deny her feelings for him any longer. And she knew that she probably shouldn’t go across the hall to his bedroom for a drink because she wasn’t certain that she would be able to resist him much longer. Lord knew she didn’t want to. She wanted to be with him. She could feel his passion every time he kissed her, and it made her dizzy. She wanted to just let herself go, no inhibitions, and let him do as he pleased with her. But she was so incredibly scared. She couldn’t give herself to a man like that ever again. Not one that she was so into. Not one that she knew meant something to her. Meaningless sex was one thing, and maybe something she would try in the near future. But giving herself to a man she had real feelings for? That was something Brooke didn’t ever plan to do again. Not at the risk of getting her heart broken a third time.
The Essential Jagged Ivory (Jagged Ivory Boxed Set) Page 92